BAL 2024, Ep16 - Should a Christian Vote ?

Doug Batchelor: Well, friends, would you like to hear an amazing fact? From its first flight in 1969 for 35 years until 2005, the Boeing 747 reigned supreme as the largest passenger plane in the world. Everything about the plane was big, so big that a new building had to be constructed to assemble it. The main building where the Boeing was built in Everett, Washington, was the world's largest building by volume, covering nearly 100 acres that enclosed an impressive 472 million cubic feet of space. That's enough room to contain Disneyland with 12 acres left over for parking. The wingspan of the original 747-100 model was 195 feet and 8 inches. This is longer than the first flight of the Wright Brothers.

So, how many passengers can you fit on a Boeing 747? Normally, it was somewhere between 400 and 500. But there's one case where 747 carried over 1000 passengers. On May 24th, 1991, as part of Operation Solomon to evacuate Ethiopian Jews to Israel, an EL AL Boeing 747-400 took off from Addis Abba with 1086 passengers and landed in Israel with 1088. Two babies were born en route. This flight still holds the record as the largest number of passengers in one aircraft. Brother Alden, you know, I think about in the Bible where it says God is going to evacuate His people to another Promised Land, and we're looking forward to that, but that's a pretty big payload to carry over 1000 people on one flight.

Alden Ho: But the cloud's going to carry even more people than that.

Doug: That's right, and you know, there's a verse in the Bible that tells us about that. You can read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." And so, I was reading the history of this incredible evacuation. Israel, actually, they chose to do this on the Sabbath. And what they did is, for one thing, they needed all the available airplanes because Ethiopia was going to close the gate, allowing the Ethiopian Jews to leave. They weren't going to let them leave after a certain deadline. So, they had to mobilize as many planes as they could. And according to their law, you know, acts of mercy to save life were permitted. And so they sent all these airplanes down and just filled them up. This one plane had over 1000, but there were lots of planes and they brought thousands of these Ethiopian Jews who were being persecuted into Israel, where many of them are today.

Alden: That's amazing. You know, we have a study guide on this that deals also with the very same thing. But this is the "Ultimate Deliverance," for us when Jesus returns. And you can receive this if you actually call 1-800-835-6747. Or, let me explain to you, on your phone if you're--happen to be driving, to make it easy than punching in all those numbers, you can just hit #250 on your phone and say, "Bible Answers Live" and ask for "Ultimate Deliverance," and we'll be glad to send that to you. And before we start, why don't we begin with a word of prayer? Loving Father, we thank You for this opportunity to be able to answer some questions from Your Word. We ask and pray that You would be with us and guide and direct us and show us what it is that we should answer to those who are calling, and continue to lead us into all truth. We pray in Jesus's name, amen. We have our first caller, Grace. She's in California and she has a question regarding the Ten Commandments. Grace, are you there? Welcome.

Grace: Yes, yes, good evening, my question is about the Ten Commandments. I'm doing the lesson "Written on the Stone!" from Amazing Facts with my friend, and they asked me this question: Were the Ten Commandments there in heaven before the fall of Lucifer?

Doug: Were the Ten Commandments in existence before the fall of Lucifer? You could even say before the Fall of Man. The principles of the Ten Commandments have always been in existence because the Ten Commandments are basically an expression of love. God is love. The first four commandments deal with our love for God, the last deal with our love for our fellow man. In the very beginning, you look in the Garden of Eden, and right after Adam and Eve were evicted, before the Ten Commandments were written down, God said to Cain, "Sin lies at your door." Cain knew that murder was a sin. And Joseph, before the Ten Commandments were written, he said to Potiphar's wife, "How can I commit this sin against God?" Joseph knew that adultery was a sin before the Ten Commandments were written. So, you can find that the principles of the Ten Commandments have been in existence ever since Creation. You know, the Sabbath may not have been in existence on our planet before the seventh day, but the principles of the Ten Commandments, being love for God and love for others, have always been in existence, or eternal.

Alden: We actually have a free offer on that, it's called "Written in Stone!" And if you call 1-800-835-6747, we'll be glad to send that to you. And if you happen to be driving and you want to actually call in on the program, you can call 1-800-463-7297. We have another caller here. Glenn in Ohio, he's got a question regarding Colossians 2. Glenn, are you there?

Glenn: Yes, it is. Thank you very much and good evening to you from Bethel, Ohio.

Doug: Good evening, Glenn.

Glenn: People still today have a problem with Colossians 2:16. And the problem that I see there is a couple of grammatical problems. Number one is "let no man." I think the elocution of the word "man" is very important because you shouldn't let any--just any man in general can judge you in meat and drink and holy days and Sabbath. And so, it's important that you allocate that property, that you not--that you are talking about a general population and not somebody that's in the know. The other grammatical areas in the second part of the verse where it's in italics and was added by the translators. So if you take that out of there, you come out with, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or drink, or holyday, or sabbath: but the body of Christ judge you," and you put a little trailer on the end there to judge you. I think it makes sense that the statement is being made that you want somebody who's in the know to judge you by keeping those special days.

Doug: All right, Glenn, what is your question?

Glenn: Does it make sense, that proper interpretation?

Doug: All right, first, for our friends listening, let me read the verse because a lot of folks are driving down the road and they're going, "Colossians 2?" They may not know what that is. So, here Paul is speaking in Colossians and he's talking to Colossians believers that were sort of being, probably, hassled a little bit by some of the Jewish Christians. These are Christians--or Jews who had accepted Christ that were saying, "Now that you've accepted Christ, you still need to keep some of the Mosaic Laws, the annual feasts, and, like, the Passover, Day of Atonement, and some of the new moons and festivals." And Paul said, "Don't let them judge you regarding those things, which are shadows of things to come, but the substances of Christ." Now, the substance of those Old Testament ordinances was pointing to Jesus. When Jesus came, when He died on the cross, He died on the Passover, the veil in the temple was torn in two, the ceremonial system was really brought to an end at that point.

But the Ten Commandments, that's a separate thing. So, some people say where it says, "Don't let any man judge you regarding Sabbath Days," it's talking about the Jewish annual Sabbath Days. It's not talking about the Sabbath of the weekly cycle. But--and then you said, "But let the body of Christ judge you," and I've got to take a closer look at that. I've never really seen that verse that way, and you may be right. I just--I'm going to have to investigate the last half of that. Thank you, Glenn, and appreciate your insights.

Alden: All right, we have another caller. Tydus is calling from Virginia and he's got a question regarding the covenant. Tydus, welcome to the program.

Tydus: Hey, good evening.

Doug: Evening.

Tydus: I was wondering how to address the view on Mary as an ark of the covenant type.

Doug: You mean, like, Mary the mother of Jesus.

Tydus: Yes.

Doug: And you're wondering, is she somehow synonymous or-- with the ark of the covenant?

Tydus: No, I'm wondering how to explain to somebody how she's--how you don't worship her.

Doug: Yeah, well, I've heard some of my Catholic friends have said in the same way that the ark of the covenant held the Word, Mary is the mother of Jesus held the living Word, which is Christ. So, is that what you're talking about? That analogy? Yeah, well, that's a beautiful analogy. I don't think that that would support deifying Mary in any way. And, you know, she's not the golden box. So, I don't buy that analogy, though it might sound, you know, it might sound beautiful and attractive. But I don't think that Mary is divine. I think Mary was a godly woman. She was a saint in the same sense that other faithful people can be saints, but that--she's not to be deified or worshiped. And so, when, you know, when I hear my Catholic friends share analogies like that, it's almost like they're--at the very center of the Jewish worship was the ark in the middle of the Holy of Holies. And so, to put Mary in that place would almost put her in that place of worship. You know, we have a book that's called--it's about Mary in the New Testament. Mary the mother of God, the--answering the mysteries about the mother of Jesus. And if you call and ask for our gift book on Mary, you can call or pound--text.

Alden: That's right, the book is called “The Mystery of Mary," and they can call 1-800-835-6747. We'll be glad to send you the book. "The Mystery of Mary." So now we have Malachi. Malachi is calling from Connecticut, and he's got a question about Jesus and Michael.

Malachi: Good evening.

Alden: Hi.

Doug: And your question tonight?

Malachi: So my question tonight is: Did Jesus become Michael, an archangel, to fight Lucifer, according to Revelation 12:9?

Doug: Well, when you--this is something that people often get confused about, is the subject of Michael the Archangel. Jesus has many names and before Christ came to earth, in the Old Testament every now and then Jesus would enter--He would kind of go between the veil and He would come to humanity. And the one who spoke to Abraham, when it says Abraham spoke to the Lord, that was Jesus. When this holy soldier met with Joshua and He said, "Take your shoes off," well, obviously, He's God because He's being told to worship Him. He said, "I've come as captain of God's army." So, one of the titles that Jesus uses to appear in the Old Testament is that of Michael.

Now, Jesus is not an angel. Jesus is the ever-living Son of God. But when you read, for instance, in the New Testament, it says, we just read this tonight, "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel." Christ has the voice of the archangel. And then you read where it says in the book of Jude verse 9 when Michael came to resurrect Moses, and the devil disputed with him about the body of Moses. Well, who is the one that resurrects? Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and life." And then you look in Daniel chapter 12, it says just before the great time of trouble, Michael stands up. Well, it's Christ who ceases his intercession and he stands up. Judgment is over. Then, a great time of trouble comes. So, when you look at all the pictures of Michael in the Bible, you realize that this is just one of the Old Testament terms for Christ. So, when it says "the dragon fought with his angels against Michael and his angels," well, the dragon is the leader of evil. Michael, Christ, is the leader of good. The dragon is a symbolic name for Satan. Michael is a symbolic name for Christ.

So, we're not saying Jesus is an angel. Michael is never called an angel. He's called the archangel, which means the greatest messenger. And we've got a book on that. "Who is Michael the Archangel?" We'll send you a free copy.

Alden: And you can get that if you call 1-800-835-6747. We'll be able to get that out for you. Those of you who are driving down the road, if you want to give us a call or sitting at home, 1-800-463-7297. And we'll be able to try and get your call. Now, we have Gary. Gary from Illinois. He's got a question in regards to the beasts of Revelation 13. Gary, are you there?

Gary: Yes, in Revelation 13, two beasts and a dragon come into power, and they help each other into power. Verse 7 says they "make war against the saints and overcome them," so my question is: Is this scenario starting to happen right now? I know the beast as civil and religious power. Is this happening right now?

Doug: All right, Gary, great question. And in a word, yes, it is happening now. When you study the two beasts of Revelation chapter 13, it says one of these beasts, he comes up out of the sea, and then you go to verse 11, another second beast comes up out of the land. And in a word, very simply, this represents a religious political power, the first one being centered with the Orthodox Catholicism in Europe, the second one with apostate Protestantism in North America. And they are going to lead-- they're going to basically join hands together, and through the union of these two great religious powers there's going to be religious laws made that will persecute people that are biblical Christians. And so gradually we're seeing that, you know, I don't think too many people would disagree that Pope Francis is becoming more and more political, talking about social issues as opposed to biblical issues and salvation. And churches in North America are also getting political. And where, you know, you just-- now, I do believe in, you know, having freedom to worship and protecting that, and I'm all for that, but you don't want the church to get to the place where it legislates how to worship.

I think it was Roger Williams, one reason America I think became a great country and everyone came over here is because Roger Williams realized, on the Ten Commandments you need to separate. While all ten should be taught, you need to separate that the government has no business in forcing the first four. The first four commandments say what is God, who is God, rather, what is His name, and you know, how to worship Him, talking about whether or not idolatry, when to worship Him. Government should have nothing to do with that. But the last six commandments, a government must uphold the sanctity of marriage, the rights of property, parental leadership over the children, life and so forth. But there's going to be an amalgamation of those two powers and they're going to persecute God's people. I could go on and on, but we got a study guide. Talks about, "Who is the Antichrist?" And we'll send you a free copy of that, Gary, and I think that'll answer those questions.

Alden: I was thinking of the one, "The USA in Bible Prophecy."

Doug: We can do both.

Alden: Both of those are good. And you can get that 1-800-835-6747. Thanks, Gary. We now have Michaela in Connecticut. She has a question in regards to the status of humans. Are you there, Michaela?

Michaela: Yes, hi. Good evening, pastors. My question tonight is: According to Psalms 8:5 and 6, were we created a little lower than God or angels-- or His angels?

Doug: Well, we're definitely created lower because we are not God. And then Hebrews says, and Hebrews is quoting from Psalm 8, that man has been made a little lower than the angels. Now, man was made in the image of God. And so, man is, man meaning humans, are the crowning act of God's creation on earth. And originally, the dominion of our planet was given to humanity, but we basically disobeyed God, handed it over, we gave the keys to the devil, so to speak. Jesus speaks of the devil as the prince of this world. But--and we're also made a little lower than the angels when it comes to power. And you know, angels are spiritual beings and they're the ministering spirits of God. So, yeah, there is a distinction. There's an order there. But angels are created, humans, with the exception of Adam and Eve, were born. So, there's a difference there.

Alden: But some actually think that they're maybe equal to God.

Doug: Yeah, well, there's no doubt there are people and religions that say that you are, can be, equal with God. And that's, of course, wrong.

Alden: Right. All right, thank you, Michaela. We have Lynn in Alabama, and Lynn is--got a question in regards to women being ordained.

Lynn: Yes, I would like to know if it's biblical for a woman to be a ordained pastor.

Doug: Okay, great question. Of course, it's a controversial question, but we want to give you the Bible answer. So, if you're upset, take it up with God. In the Bible, God makes a distinction between the roles of men and women. And I think for, you know, probably thousands of years, most people thought that was what you would call a self-evident truth, that women are a whole lot better at nurturing children than men are, and their bodies have three biological functions that men don't even possess. And men are better at some things. I mean, you know, when you try and get girls to compete in men's sports, it doesn't go well, and it's not fair for men to compete in women's sports, in some areas anyway. So, there's a distinction. God designed originally that He made Adam first, and man is to be the servant leader in the family. And you know, we are to love our wives as Christ loves the church. There should be a sacrificial love there. And in the same way, though, it does say that men are to be the priests in the family. So, there's no example in the Bible of woman serving in the capacity of a priest or offering sacrifice.

When Moses was told to choose leadership for Israel, it said, you know, "Choose men to lead out in tens and fifties, hundreds and"--I forget, was it hundreds? Or did it go to thousands? But he said, "Choose men." When the New Testament church was growing, Peter said God had inspired him that they should pick out seven men. When Jesus chose apostles, He chose 12 men. And all the kings that God chose were men. Of course, they would be called a queen if they were chosen that way, but--so God typically, in the Bible, He says that men should be the servant leaders, and only men are called to be apostles, pastors, priests in the Bible. Now, you do have women that served in the role of prophetess in the Bible. You've got some women prophetess in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. But that's different than the roles of a pastor. You don't ever see in the Bible a woman performing, you know, a baptism or Communion. So, these were kind of sacred functions that were reserved for the men, the apostles, the priests and so forth. So, I do have a book on that and it's called, "Women in Ministry." We'll send you a free copy, Lynn, if you'd like that.

Alden: You know, the struggle that we have with this is that men are not stepping up to the plate, doing their role right now.

Doug: So, the vacuum is being filled by false theology, really.

Alden: Yeah, and that's what Satan wants altogether. So once again, the book is called, "God's Role for Women in Ministry," and we'll be glad to send that to you if you call 1-800-835-6747. And our next caller is Marcus from California, and he's got a question in regards to the blood atonement. You there, Marcus?

Marcus: Yes, my question, it--and it came to me as I was reading the book of Matthew last week. Christ, He bore our iniquities and our infirmities, our sicknesses. Now, the blood of Christ--did His Atonement--did the blood of Christ atone for all of the sicknesses and diseases and the healings that He did prior to shedding His blood on the cross? Was it retroactive, per se?

Doug: Well, every good and perfect gift comes from God, so even the healings before the cross is by the grace and the power of God. You know, you can read in Psalm 103 where it says that "He heals all of our diseases." And that's, of course, in the Old Testament. So, God miraculously heals in the Old Testament. Hezekiah had a terminal disease. As a matter of fact, Isaiah told him it was terminal. And when he prayed, by the grace of God and all the goodness that's come to us, Old and New Testament is through the blood of Christ, Hezekiah was healed. God can do it miraculously, instantly. Who was it? Miriam had leprosy, God healed her. Naaman had leprosy, God healed him. And you know, Naaman, he was washing in the Jordan River. That's sort of like synonymous with baptism. But the water didn't heal him. It was the power of God. So, I don't know. Hopefully, Marcus, am I answering your question that you're asking?

Marcus: Well, the question is pretty much Christ died on the cross and He embodied sin. He embodied--God's wrath was poured out on Him. Now, in order to be healed from a sickness and healed from a disease, somebody had to pay for that. I mean, I'm thinking. So, when Christ says He bore our infirmities and every disease and sickness that we have, He died for that, in order for us to be healed, if that makes any sense.

Doug: It does, and let's just put it another way. The people in the Old Testament who are saved are not saved by their works. They are saved by faith, looking forward to the sacrifice that would be made, hasn't been made yet, but they were saved by faith, looking forward. We're saved by faith, looking back at the sacrifice and the blood. So, everybody saved or healed is all by the grace of God and through the sacrifice and Atonement of Christ. So, hopefully that makes sense. And you know, we do have a book that talks about the blood of Christ. We've got, of course, that book that deals with, "Does God's Grace Blot Out the Law?" And it talks about the Atonement. I was trying to think we had another one and—

Alden: I don't remember that one.

Doug: Yeah, anyway. "Does God's Grace Blot Out the Law?" That'll work.

Alden: If you just tuned in and you've got some questions yourself, you can feel free to call us at 1-800-GOD-SAYS or 1-800-463-7297. And we've got Ruth calling from California and she's got a question about how do you actually say something nice to explain to somebody that their loved one's not in heaven? You there, Ruth?

Ruth: Hi, yes. Hello, Pastor Bachelor and Pastor Ho. Thank you for taking my question. So, I had a recent loss in the family in May, and a lot of people, well-meaning folk, come up to me and say, "Oh, you know, she's in heaven and she's watching you," and all the niceties. And I understand they're well-meaning, but I believe what the Bible says about the state of the dead. But--then they come back at me, and they say, "Oh, she's-- was absent in the body but present in the Lord." So how do you concisely but truthfully share that she isn't there?

Doug: Well, you know, I try to remind people that all the church cemeteries used to say "RIP," which means "Rest In Peace," and they were resting. Folks used to know that. And so, when they say "absent from the body, present with the Lord," I say, well, that's absolutely true. When a believer dies, their next conscious thought is the resurrection. But that may not happen for 1000 years. So, for them, you can rejoice and say, "I'm so thankful the next thing they'll know is the resurrection in the presence of the Lord." But the resurrection hasn't happened. It's really easy to show that. I mean, you just look in John chapter 6, three times he says they're resurrected the last day. Its future hasn't happened. So, yeah. And you read in Thessalonians the dead in Christ will rise at the Second Coming. Sometimes, you know, in passing, when someone's trying to comfort you, you don't have time for a Bible study and you can just, you know, say, "Oh, well, thank you so much. And yeah, we look forward to seeing them in heaven," you know. So, it's--a lot of it is the timing, and how well you know the person, and are they ready for, you know, an on the spot Bible study? But yeah, there's a lot of misconceptions out there in the world and all different variations of what happens. Some people think you're reincarnated and you come back as something else, and others think you go right to heaven before a judgment, before a resurrection. So, a lot of misunderstandings.

Biblically, it's really clear: people sleep in the grave until the resurrection. And the Bible says when that trumpet sounds the dead in Christ will rise. They are not disembodied spirits that are floating around in limbo or Abraham's bosom. Bible doesn't teach that. Their next conscious thought is the resurrection. It's like the Bible says in Acts, "King David is dead and buried, his tomb is with us to this day." He's not ascended in heaven. But David died 1000 years before Christ. His next conscious thought will be the resurrection. And you know, friends, we do have an offer that talks about, are the dead really dead? When we come back from after a break, we'll tell you how to get a free copy. Don't go anywhere. We've got more Bible questions coming your way in just a few moments.

Announcer: Stay tuned. "Bible Answers Live" will return shortly.

Doug: The US government is drowning in debt to the tune of $22 trillion. But before you wag your finger at the government's spending, the Federal Reserve says the average American household carries over $137,000 in debt. Well, it was never God's plan that we live with the burden of debt. Proverbs 22:7 warns us: "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." Living with debt is a stressful burden that actually hurts your relationship with God. In my new pocketbook, "Deliverance from Debt," I outline the Bible principles on how to properly manage your money with some practical suggestions, and how you can get out and stay out of debt. If you or someone you love is drowning in debt, order a copy of, "Deliverance from Debt," today. It can be a lifesaver to keep you from going under. Please call 800-538-7275, or visit afbookstore.com.

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Announcer: Did you know Amazing Facts has a free Bible school that you can do from the comfort of your own home? It includes 27 beautifully illustrated study lessons to aid in your study of God's Word. Sign up today for this free Bible study course by calling 1-844-215-7000. That's 1-844-215-7000.

Announcer: Did you know that Noah was present at the birth of Abraham? Okay, maybe he wasn't in the room, but he was alive and probably telling stories about his floating zoo. From the creation of the world to the Last Day events of Revelation, biblehistory.com is a free resource where you can explore major Bible events and characters. Enhance your knowledge of the Bible and draw closer to God's Word. Go deeper. Visit biblehistory.com.

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 if you tuned in along the way, this is a live international interactive Bible study where we take your questions that come in from around the world. We open our Bibles here and we study and learn the answers together. My name is Pastor Doug Batchelor.

Alden: And I am Pastor Alden Ho.

Doug: See, I didn't know if you'd catch the cue. Alden's sitting in for Pastor Ross tonight, who's on vacation, and we're just so thankful. You know, we do have a couple of lines open, and so if you have a Bible question, sometimes the lines are all locked up, but maybe it's because it's the tail end of the Fourth of July holiday, call in with your Bible questions at number 800-463-7297. That'll bring it into our studios, our friendly screeners will pick up the call and type your question out for you real quick, and we'll get you on the air. And we have some other stations—

Alden: Yeah, we want to say greetings to our listeners at WJOU in Huntsville, Alabama. Welcome to you. And also at KASL in Newcastle, Wyoming. Thanks for listening and watching.

Doug: All right, who's next?

Alden: Well, we have Kelly in Washington. Kelly's got a question in regards to 1 Kings. Welcome to the program, Kelly.

Kelly: Hi, thanks for taking my call. So, I'm studying--reading the Bible from cover to cover and I'm kind of stuck in 1 Kings 13. Thereabouts, verses starting at 18 through about 32, it's a long story that I think-- like a novel. I'm confused. There's an older prophet and then a young prophet. Young prophet's been sent by God. He wasn't supposed to eat or drink anything and stop at anybody's house, but he does stop at the older--and the older prophet tricks him, lies to him, says, "Come on over to my"--" Oh, you know." "Yeah, but I'm a prophet and it's okay." Of course, this causes the young prophet's demise, as he's eaten by a lion on the way back and returning from his trip. But then the older prophet wants to go get his body and give him a proper burial. It makes no sense to me that somebody who is part of the demise and fall of sin of another person wants--what is--what's going on here?

Doug: I know that--it is, you know, the Bible--one reason I love the Bible is that it tells us stories that you would think, well, that doesn't really make anybody look good, but it's history. What do they say? The truth is more bizarre than fiction. And this is a true story. Just--I'll quickly review what Kelly was sharing. Is that God sent a prophet, we never know what his name is, and he is to rebuke Jeroboam the son of Nebat because he had turned the Northern Kingdom to idolatry. And God's power is obviously with this young prophet. The altar is split in two, and the king's hand is paralyzed, and then he prays, and the king is healed. And on his way home, word is spread about this event, and an old prophet sends his sons and--or the old prophet, I think, accosts the man and says, "Come home and have some bite." He says, "No, God's told me I'm not supposed to eat bread or drink water in this place. There's a curse on it because I've turned to idolatry." He said, "Well, but I'm a prophet also and God told me you're supposed to come home."

Well, this man is being tested. The old prophet lied to him, and you might think, well, I thought prophets always told the truth. No, Balaam was a prophet who-- he kind of went bad. And so, this prophet, he says, thinking that God is with this young man, "I want him--I want to spend time with him. I want to pick his brain and find out what the Lord's been telling him." And so, he lies and says, "You can come to my house." And then in the midst of their eating, the Spirit of the Lord comes on the old prophet and says, "Oh, you shouldn't have done this." He says, "Now a lion's going to eat you when you leave." And the man is killed by a lion. And the old prophet says, "He was certainly a man of God, and what he prophesied is going to come true."

Now, that--the prophet that died, that's killed by a lion, was a true prophet, and I expect to see him in heaven, but he was kind of tricked and he disobeyed God's--you know, when you hear the Word of the Lord from the Lord, don't take someone else's word that something's different because the devil will always try to, like, trip you up and twist the Word. And his prophecy that Josiah, a king would be born by name, this is one of the most amazing prophecies--and to see the full fulfillment, Kelly, of what you're reading, you almost have to go to the end of Chronicles where it talks about King Josiah who fulfills what this young king--young prophet foretold. And it actually mentions the graves of the young prophet and the old prophet in 2 Chronicles. So, it's just an amazing story that spans hundreds of years, but it does seem to have a bizarre beginning. It's--I probably need to do a whole sermon on that someday. It's a very interesting story. All right, I don't know if that was a meandering answer or not.

Alden: Well, we got a few more minutes. I mean, we're still in the program. So, if you're listening and just tuning in, give us a call at 1-800-463-7297 and we'll be glad to try and take your call here. We've got Olga in California, first time she's calling, and she's got a question about Revelation. Who's the bride?

Olga: I am here, Pastors. Good evening to both of you. Pastor Batchelor and Pastor Ho.

Doug: Yeah, and thanks. And your question tonight.

Olga: Pastor, my question is in regards to the bride, or slash, wife of Jesus. Well, because I'm looking at Revelations 21, verse 9 and 10, and I have some other verses relevant to this issue, and the only reason why I'm asking about it is because this gentleman that I met at work, I'm not going to disclose the church where he's from, but supposedly this is what they use to hook people in to bring them to the church. And every day he comes to--after every weekend he comes bragging about how many people they brought into the church. Anyways, enough of that. He keeps insisting that Jesus has an actual bride, slash, wife in heaven. And I told him, I said, "No, the bride--we are the bride. The church is the bride of Jesus Christ, which, we are the church." And he showed me some other verses, you know, that are supposed to be relevant to this, and I have them written down, but I read those verses and I read--and I also read the book you guys--that you all have in the Amazing Facts book—

Doug: In our bookstore, our study guides, yeah.

Olga: Yes, and I didn't find anything to what he's telling me. And so, it's been bugging me and I was like, I need more verses to find out--to prove to him that we are the bride, we are the wife.

Doug: Well, let me give you a couple. There's actually dozens of them in the Bible. So, when it says in Revelation, just for our friends listening, Revelation 21 it says, "Now I saw the new heaven and the new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. And there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, as a bride prepared, or adorned, for her husband." It says "as," so the New Jerusalem is God's people. Jesus is not married to any kind of a physical literal bride. There's some people that try to, you know, minimize it. Let me give you a couple of verses. Isaiah 54, verse 5, it says, "For your Maker, your husband, the Lord of hosts is His name." Now, this is a message to Israel. And you can look in 2 Corinthians: "For I'm jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." That, again, is 2 Corinthians 11:2. Paul is talking about the church is being betrothed to Christ. Ephesians says, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church." And he wants to present a spotless church. And there's many, many verses. The whole book of Hosea is talking about how the church has wandered from God and played the harlot, and He wants to bring her back again. So, the idea of it being a literal woman or wife or something like that, that's not taught anywhere in the Bible. That's a distortion.

Alden: Yeah, and many people will tell you all kinds of stuff, especially in these Last Days.

Doug: Yeah, well, you know, I will tell one quick little anecdote here. I was preaching in Waco, Texas, a long time ago and I came out of the church there and, lo and behold, some Branch Davidians met the people at the door. And the thing that they wanted to tell us is that the Holy Spirit was a woman and that Jesus is married to the Holy Spirit. So, I thought this was really strange and I don't know if what this sister's running into is the same thing, but it sounds a little cultish to me.

Alden: Basically, anything you want to hear nowadays you can find whatever you want to find, so. All right, well, thank you, Olga. We have Connie in Arizona and Connie's got some questions here in regards to the Second Coming. Are you there, Connie?

Connie: Yes, I am. Thank you very much. Good evening to you both.

Doug: Evening, hello.

Connie: Yes, hi. Okay, my question, both, actually has to do with heaven. And this would be, the saints that already have gone to heaven, where--like Moses and Abraham and others, what are they doing for all these hundreds of years in heaven? And the second question is about the new heaven and earth. Will everyone in the new heaven and earth be adults? Because many babies and many young children will be risen with all the saints. Will they grow up, or is there anything in the Bible about that? Thank you.

Doug: Oh, good. If it's okay, I'm going to start with your second question first. And if you look for instance in, oh, let me see here, Malachi chapter 4, it says that, speaking of the new heaven and the new earth, says, "But to you who fear My name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings; And you shall go out and grow up like cows of the stall." So, there are children in heaven, you can read in--by the way, that was Malachi 4, verse 2, and you read in Isaiah 11, it talks about that "the children will play on the hole of the venomous serpent and they will not be harmed." And so, there are definitely children in heaven. I think it's--is it Zephaniah where it says, "And children will play in the streets"?

So, you've got an image that there are some who are resurrected as children and they grow up in heaven. Now, I think they're going to grow more slowly. You look in Genesis and it seems like they didn't even get married till they were 100. They grew more slowly. That's why it says in Isaiah 65, is it, that a child will die 100 years. And that actually means they won't even cease to be a child until they're 100. So that's the first part. The second part, you're asking about what is Abraham and all the saints doing during this time. Well, most of the people who have died from the time of Creation to the present, they are sleeping a dreamless sleep in the graves. There's no consciousness of time. For them, their next conscious thought is the resurrection. But they're resting. And just like when you've had a hard day's work and you sleep and all of a sudden you wake up, it's morning, and you don't know where the six hours went, that's what it's going to be for them. It says they awake. Jesus says, "My friend Lazarus is asleep and I go to wake him." And He said Lazarus is dead. So Jesus called death a sleep. When Lazarus woke up after being dead for four days, he didn't make any comment on his experience in death because it was an unconscious sleep. Anyway--and we could send that lesson that we talked about earlier. "Are the Dead Really Dead?" And how does a person get that?

Alden: Well, and I was also thinking there's another one called, "Heaven: Is It for Real?"

Doug: Oh, perfect.

Alden: That's a good one, too, and you can get that if you call 1-800-835-6747. And we'll be glad to send that to you if you're in Canada, United States, or the US territories. And if you're international, sorry, we can't have that, but we might have a digital download if you call in or write in for us. And before I forget, if you have questions and you want to email them after our hours, you can email them to BALquestions@amazingfacts.org. Let's try Brenda in Texas and she's a first time caller and she's got a question in regards to Christian's voting. Brenda, are you there?

Brenda: Good evening, Pastor Batchelor and Pastor Ho. How are you?

Doug: Doing great. Thanks for calling.

Brenda: I have a question. Should we as Christians vote, or what obligation, if any, do we have?

Doug: Yeah, well, if--and you know, you may be talking about different countries, I'm assuming you're talking about America, and in the United States we have a government that is governed by the people, and that's believers and unbelievers. If only unbelievers are voting, then, you know, woe be the country. And so, by all means, the idea of voting comes from the Bible. You can even see, you know, in the Bible, sometimes they would choose out people from among them. And when our Founding Fathers that were mostly Christians, they said, you know, "We need a government that is chosen by the people," they were hoping that, you know, people, especially believers, would get involved in selecting leaders and policies that would be just, reasonable, and protect the freedom of the proclamation of the gospel. So, I think Christians should vote. I know sometimes you look at what the options are and it can be discouraging. But, you know, as far as possible, first of all, don't do anything that you can't do by faith. So, if you don't have faith or you feel uncomfortable, Paul says, well, don't. If it's not of faith, it's sin. You know, otherwise, I think you ought to consider what the issues are and always vote for the thing that is going to do the most to protect and preserve the principles of Christ.

Alden: You have a pocketbook you just wrote on that, and I just finished reading this last week.

Doug: Actually, I think I wrote it about three or four years ago, but it's called, "Should a Christian Vote?"

Alden: And I just read that, and if you'd like to get that—

Doug: Did that make sense? You like it?

Alden: It was good. It was very informative because I thought, hey, you know, I can't vote being a Canadian, but I want to know what's going on with all this. And if you'd like to get that, give us a call at 1-800-835-6747, and we'll be glad to send you that book, called, "Should a Christian Vote?" We have Virginia in California, and she's got a question about Mark. Are you there?

Virginia: Yes, Pastors. I actually wanted to ask about the question on Mark 3:17 about--it says, "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nurses--nursing babies in those days." What does that mean, Pastor?

Doug: Okay, you're talking about Mark 13, verse 17.

Virginia: Mark 13. Yes, I'm so sorry. Mark 13:17.

Doug: Well, Jesus is describing a time that historians know about it when about 40 years after the Crucifixion, the Romans came in 70 AD and they besieged Jerusalem. And it was a great time of trouble that fell upon the city. And it--actually, at one point they even turned to cannibalism. And so it was especially hard on women with children to feed. And Christ was saying that--see, at the beginning of Mark 13 the disciples are saying, "When will the destruction of Jerusalem be? What is the sign of Your coming in the end of the world?" Because He said there'll be a time when there isn't one stone left upon another at the temple. So He's talking about the destruction of Jerusalem there. So, this was going to be a time of special trial for the people that were listening to Him at that time.

Now, there's also another time of trouble immediately before the Second Coming when, again, it's going to be very hard for families. And that's why Jesus said, "Pray that your flight is not in the winter or on the Sabbath Day because there will be great tribulation, great distress of nations, men's hearts failing for fear." And Christ talks about a time of trouble such as there never has been, or ever will be, immediately prior to the Second Coming. So, yeah, He's just saying, when you see that time coming-- but I think this verse in particular--in Mark He's talking more to the people that would be living before the destruction of Jerusalem.

Alden: All right, thank you so much. We've got Ethan in Texas and he's got a really good question in regards to the Sabbath. Ethan, are you there?

Ethan: Hi, what's going on?

Alden: Hi.

Ethan: Yeah, so my question was, I'm one of--I am a small business owner. I own a company. I've been working on my company for a few years before I really discovered what the Sabbath was and what my obligations are. My main issue is, my company is a--it's a weekend company. So, all of our business goes on, like, Friday to Sunday, and I've been working on it for a few years to bring it to fruition. And just as it's about to, you know, become profitable, and I'm you know, I'm doing this to take care of my family, is right when I discovered my obligations. So I'm trying to wonder how should I handle it. And then, also, where do my responsibilities end? Because I'm not the only one in the company, you know, there are others working in it.

Doug: Yeah, that's a great question. Well, let me give you a couple of things to think about. In the Sabbath command it mentions the phrase "within your gates." Now, that phrase "within your gates" means within your realm of authority. Let's see, let me give you an example. Let's suppose that I own a business and it's, you know, doing something on Sabbath, and I own it with two other guys. And--or you, maybe, you own stock in a company where you own 1/1000 of the business, but you don't own controlling interest. I can't be responsible for, you know, if I own stock in Trader Joe's, I don't even know if they have stock, if I own stock in Trader Joe's and I learn the Sabbath truth and I say, "Look, you guys have to all close down on Saturday," well, I can't really ask them to do that. I don't own controlling interests. You see what I'm saying? But if I have controlling interest in a company and I learned the Sabbath truth, then I'm going to have to sell my company to someone feels differently, or I'm going to have to close it. And--but I can't knowingly say, "Well, I have the power to make a decision or make a change, but I'm not going to make the change because I might be tested. It might be difficult, and doesn't God want me to feed my family?"

You know, when it comes to obeying the commandment, you just remember what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did. The king said, "When I tell you, you bow down, worship my idol, when you hear the music." Well, they were going to lose their jobs if they didn't obey the king, and they were going to lose their lives. So, they could have argued and said, "Well, you know, it's going to be hard on our families if we don't bow down." But they said, "Look, it's God's command, and even if we die, we're not going to disobey." That's real courage, that's real faith, and God blessed them. And so, God sometimes does His biggest miracles when we are facing the biggest test. What or how you're to deal with that, Ethan, I don't know. We'll be praying for you that God gives you both wisdom and courage, but you'll never be sorry if you stand up for your convictions. Now, if you only own, like, 1/3 of the company, but you may eventually want to sell out your third, but you can't really tell them what to do. Hopefully, that makes sense.

Alden: Sabbath questions always a very--struggle. I went through that, too, when I worked in the business world. And when I stood up for it, God blessed immensely. And so we--that's part of our testing that we go through, each and every one of us. Tiwana, she's in Virginia and she's got a question about Communion and the sick people. Tiwana, are you there?

Tiwana: Yes, I am. Can you hear me?

Alden: Sure can, yeah. Go ahead with your question.

Tiwana: Awesome. First of all, and I know you strapped on time, but I have to say this: Pastor Doug, and I don't know the other pastor's name, you don't know how you changed my life. It was 3 o'clock in the morning, and I thank God for you every single day and Amazing Facts because the truth with the Bible is amazing. And I tell everybody I'm a member of Granite Bay, but I'm not yet because I have to finish the Bible study courses. But I just wanted you to know that, that I tell everybody. It's all--it was only because the God sent you in my life, and I thank God for you every single day, and I can't wait to meet you in person, your wife, and everyone at Granite Bay because I am going to become a member. So, you're stuck with me. But my question is about taking Communion. My family, not Seventh-day Adventist, I'm actually the only one, and you can imagine what I'm going through with that. Every time someone gets sick, whether it's on their death bed or they got a common cold, they say, "Take the Holy Communion," because the Holy Communion, Christ died for our transgressions. And I know Isaiah 53:5, I just pulled it up really quickly, and I know James 5:14, verses 14 through 16. But I keep telling her that He died for our spiritual healing. And--because what's happening, and I don't know how to ask the question, but what's happening is, they get sick, they start just taking the Holy Communion, and then they feel sick.

Doug: So they're almost feeling like the purpose of Communion is that there's some kind of magical properties in it that's supposed to heal them. Well, let me tell you, there is a place where Paul, and maybe Pastor Ho can look that up, but there is a place where Paul talks about that some, this is in 2 Corinthians, he says, "Some are taking it unworthily and that's why some are sick among you." Paul doesn't say that taking Communion heals you. He does say that some people were taking Communion in the wrong spirit and they were actually physically sick because they were abusing it. So there's a difference there. Nowhere does Jesus intimate that taking Communion is going to heal you. In fact, after Jesus took Communion, He was crucified. So, it's not magical properties of physical healing. Now, there may be some people who've experienced that by faith, and I don't want to deny that. There's power in renewing it. But really, Communion is about accepting the sacrifice of Christ and His forgiveness, and it's renewing that covenant of believing in His blood.

Alden: Yeah, we found--it's in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and it says: "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." And in verse 29 it says, again, the same thing, the very same words. So, it's something we have to be--it's a very sacred thing, so we have to be very careful with that. That we don't abuse it. It's not like some magic wand.

Doug: And you--when people wonder how often do you do Communion, there's only really two time scales in the Bible. Some things were annual feasts, some things were weekly. You know, there's probably nothing wrong with the churches that celebrate Communion, you know, some do it monthly. I've been to some churches, every week they have Communion. I think that's too much. But some churches do it-- Methodists do it quarterly. I think our church adopted it from the Methodists. But the idea of doing it every time you get sick, I don't know if that's the reason for it. So, hopefully that helps a little bit.

You know, Pastor Ho, I'm thinking that we're--looks like we're narrowing down where if we take another question, it's going to insult somebody. If we did not get to your question tonight, give us another chance. Now, for those listening, we're signing off with our satellite listeners, but stay by, those of you on the land base stations, because we're going to come back for rapid-fire Bible questions in about 45 seconds.

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.

Alden: Well, welcome back. We've got a question here. Roger's asking in these rapid-fire questions, "Pastor Batchelor"--said, "The book of Jude quotes from the book of Enoch, but Enoch is not scripture. Why does Jude quote from what is not scripture and put it in scripture?"

Doug: Yeah, great question. In the book of Jude, which is an inspired book of the Bible, he quotes from a passage from the book of Enoch. The book of Enoch was not written by Enoch. Of course, Enoch lived before the Flood, so that would have meant that Enoch gave it to Noah, who gave it to who knows who, and it just kept getting passed down. The book of Enoch was written during the Babylonian Captivity. It doesn't appear anywhere in Hebrew literature before that, and it was a devout Jew who wrote out some passages. Well, Jude recognized that there were some things that he wrote that were prophetic, that were true, and so he took that and--it's true of many things that while the whole book may not be inspired, there could be some inspired statements. You know, how many people have quoted Ben Franklin where he said that--what is it? "Waste not, want not," and "Early to bed, early to rise makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise." There's a lot of proverbs of Ben Franklin that were really inspired, but he's not a prophet. So, you'd be surprised how many people quote Ben Franklin. I think it's in the Bible somewhere. But--so, even Paul does it. Paul quotes from a Greek poet and he says what the poet said in this one passage is true. So, Bible prophets might take truth that they read somewhere else and quote it. So, yeah, hopefully that makes sense. But the book of Enoch is just part of Hebrew literature. There's that one passage quoted by Jude that is, therefore, inspired.

Alden: All right, one more. Chris asks, "When Jesus cleanses the sanctuary for the final time, how are the saint--sins transferred to the devil? The earthly sanctuary used a scapegoat. What will this process look like for the heavenly sanctuary?"

Doug: Yeah, the--it's talking about the final service in Leviticus 16 about the Day of Atonement when they had two goats. One was the Lord's goat, one was called the scapegoat. The Lord's goat is sacrificed and the blood cleanses-- the scapegoat is not sacrificed. It bears the ultimate guilt of the people away and was carried into a foreign land and forever separated. That is believed to be the devil. And in the very end, the ultimate one who is responsible for the origin of sin is Satan, he is going to be cast into the lake of fire and he's going to receive the punishment for his deeds at that time. And then, ultimately, it says in Ezekiel, "Never will you be any more." He'll be forever separated from God's people. No more sinner sinners. Hey, friends. Thank you so much for joining us in "Bible Answers Live." Don't forget, all week long you can go to our mothership website: AmazingFacts.org. We'll talk again next week.

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