The Christian's Coat of Armor

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:1-16, Romans 14:5, 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Date: 09/29/2013 
The medieval knight was one of three types of fighting men during the medieval ages: knights, foot soldiers, and archers. The knight was the equivalent of the modern tank.
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Doug Batchelor: Hello friends. How about an amazing fact? The medieval knight was one of three types of fighting men during the medieval ages: knights, foot soldiers, and archers. The knight was the equivalent of the modern tank. He was covered in multiple layers of armor and could plow through lines of foot soldiers standing in his way. Knights were also generally the wealthiest of the three types of soldiers and this was for good reason. It was very expensive to be a knight.

His horse, armor, shield and weapons cost a fortune. A knight wore a linen shirt and pair of pants that had wooden blocks fastened onto it and it was covered with a suit of chainmail made of over 200,000 tiny metal rings all linked together. Knights also covered their chest, back, arms and legs with plates of metal. A bucket like helmet with a hinge metal visor protected the knight's face and head. A suit of armor weighed between 40 and 60 pounds. Some knights even protected their horses with armor. The knight's principle weapon were a sword and lance or spear. The sword was about 32 pounds, worn on the knight's left side in a case fastened around his waist.

His lance was a long wooden pole that had a sharp metal end. It enabled him to engage the enemy while still on horseback. He also had a shield made of either wood or metal. On average, it took about 5 years to make a coat of armor and about an hour for the knight to put it on. But once in his armor the knight was almost impenetrable to his enemy. Did you know friends that Christians also need to wear a coat of armor? Stay tuned for more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.

[PROGRAM INTRODUCTION]

Jëan Ross: Hello friends. This is Pastor Jëan Ross. Pastor Doug is out this evening but this is Bible Answers Live. It is an international interactive Bible study. And if you have Bible related questions, we would love to hear from you tonight. Our phone line here in the studio is (800) 463-7297. Let me give you that number again. It's 800-463-7297. And we have phone lines that are now open. We'll also give you another number a little further into the program that is our resource line. And we'll be sharing with you some very important study resources. Working the phones this evening is Allen Davis. He's the Executive Vice President at Amazing Facts. Allen, thank you for stepping in and joining us this evening.

Allen Davis: Oh, it's good to be here this evening, Pastor Ross. How are you?

Jëan Ross: Doing very well. We just start the program with a word of prayer.

Allen Davis: I would love to, Father in heaven, thank You so much for the opportunity to share Your Word and Your wisdom that You impart to us day by day. We ask that those listening to us this evening both on the road and at home will gain a blessing. And that every word imparted would be straight from the Holy Scriptures themselves in Jesus name. Amen.

Jëan Ross: Amen. Oh, you know, Allen, we started the program by talking about the armor that was involved with the medieval knight. There was a tremendous amount of work that went into preparing this armor and they’re just putting it on.

Allen Davis: It's really amazing when you think about these men that were the knights, the tanks as you put it, and how much weight they were carrying around you know, and it's just really amazing. And as you were going through each one of these pieces, you know, you were talking about the sword and the other breast plate and the helmet and what not. Don't we have a Scripture that talks about that as well?

Jëan Ross: We do. The passage in the Scripture that comes to mind is a passage written by the apostle Paul and it's found in Ephesians Chapter 6. And let me read it to you. It's Ephesians 6:13, 'Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you might be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth and having put on the breast plate of righteousness; and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you are able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.'

And then Isaiah in the Old Testament adds an additional item for the Christian's armor. He talks about the breast plate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation; but in Isaiah 59:17, he adds a cloak and he calls it, clad with zeal as a cloak. So not only does the Christian need to have the Word of God, and the helmet of salvation, and the breastplate of righteousness, and so on; but we will also want to have that holy zeal, that faith, that enthusiasm.

Allen Davis: Amen. And you know when you look at each piece of this armor: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, zeal and the Word of God, all of these represented Jesus after every single piece. So really what Paul is telling us is that we are to be in Christ walking in the Spirit.

Jëan Ross: Clad in His righteous.

Allen Davis: Clad in His righteous.

Jëan Ross: You know, friends, we have a book that talks about the armor of God. Not only identifying what these various spiritual applications are for the different parts of the armor but more importantly how can you put on the armor of God. And we'll send you this book absolutely for free if you would call our resource line and ask for the book, The Armor of God.

Allen Davis: And that resource number is 1 (800) 835-6747, again (800) 835-6747 and our folks would be happy to send that to you.

Jëan Ross: If you have a question, the number here to the studio is (800) 463-7297. We have two more lines open; that's (800) 463-7297. Let's go to our first caller this evening.

Allen Davis: All right, our first caller is Bev. She is on line 3. Good evening, Bev. We welcome to the program. You're on the air.

Bev: Well, sorry, but Bev's a guy.

Allen Davis: Oh, okay.

Bev: And he's been a guy for 70 years. [Laughs] So there you go. But that's alright. I accept your apology.

Allen Davis: Well, we apologize for that, Bev. You know, I am aware that there are some gentlemen named Bev but it is a name few and far between accredited to men.

Bev: Okay. The question I have is out of 1 Timothy Chapter 3. It's talking about the overseers and the deacons and... they say that the overseer must be above reproach the husband of but one wife. And then in verse 12, it says a deacon also must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well.And I just have some questions. We're attending a church which will be nameless but because of divorce, people are not allowed no matter if they've been married 10, 20 or 30- 40 years, they're not allowed to be a Deacon. And I just wondered if you could give me some insight into that.

Jëan Ross: All right. Well, that's a good question. Folks sometime will ask, "Well, does this mean in 1 Timothy 3:2 that somebody who was previously married perhaps spouse passed away or maybe there was a divorce involved... and there might have been a Biblical ground for the divorce is that person able to be a Deacon or to be a Bishop or an overseer? The overwhelming... commentary and evidence for that is yes, the person can.

When Paul wrote these things, there were people who were becoming Christians from pagan backgrounds who had multiple wives and they were becoming Christians and learning the truth and changes were taking place in their lives and things had to be sorted out with their family. We also know back in the Old Testament times God did make provision for situations where there could be multiple wives. Bev, are you still there? You know what? I think we might have lost Bev there for just a minute.

Bev: No, I'm still here. I hear you.

Allen Davis: Oh, you’re still here.

Jëan Ross: All right, Bev, you're still there. Can you hear us okay? We seem to have caught a little technical difficulty here.

Bev: Oh, okay. No, I've been here all the time.

Jëan Ross: All right. Was that helpful for you?

Bev: Yes, I’m just wondering what, you know, like today... because of the laws of the land you're given a divorce and you're free to remarry bill... You know, based on what the Bible says about whether the marriage was broken because of adultery or... because of an unbeliever, that's the two things that I believe a divorce can happen for, Biblically. And so when today's concept, you can't be married to two people and yet the church that we're attending that's what they hang on their hat on so that's why people can’t become a deacon because...

Jëan Ross: Right. Yeah. I think that's a misapplication of the verse. There are many different cultures in the world. I know … I'm from Africa and that was one of the things that would have to be considered for various positions of leadership in the church is whether the person had one or multiple wives. That might not be something that we consider here in North America but especially at the time when Paul was writing, that was something that people would run in to from time to time.

Allen Davis: And Bev I would have to agree with Pastor Ross wholeheartedly in that it is a misinterpretation of this particular text of the Scripture; but you really hit, I think on the key issue, is the remarriage … and you know, whether that resulted perhaps from a divorce … is that a Biblical reason that ensued? If it wasn't, now that has to be reexamined in the light of the Scripture.

Jëan Ross: Umm- hmm.

Allen Davis: Now, obviously if a spouse in this particular case, the wife, had passed away and now it's the man who had remarried, Paul makes that very clear the individual is no longer under obligation once his spouse has died.

Jëan Ross: You know, we do have a book that covers the subject of marriage, divorce, and remarriage. And for anybody wanting to learn more about what the Bible has to say about this important subject, we'll send you the book for free if you would call our resource line. It's just (800) 835-6747 and you can ask for the book: Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage. Thanks for calling, Bev. Who do we have next?

Allen Davis: All right. On line 4, we have Darren. Darren, good evening. You're on the air.

Darren: Good evening. Thanks for taking my call. And... Well, my question is in regards to a Scripture in Roman 14:5.… This one says, "One man esteemeth one day above another. Another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." And then it goes on to say, 'He regards the day, regard it to the Lord. If he does not regard the day, regard it not to the Lord' and all that.

But then also in Colossians and I guess it's... chapter 2 in verse 16, "let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of a holy day, or the new moon or the sabbath' and if you look at the word day, I guess, this is italicized. So anyway a brother was ... we were talking back and forth. He pointed this out to ask me and he said where did that fit in to the ... still being you know, of course under that commandment of the 7th day Sabbath why would that be in there like that?

Jëan Ross: Right, that is a common question that we come to from time to time. What we need to recognize is what was happening in Paul's day when he wrote these letters both Romans and Colossians … you had a number of Gentile individuals who were becoming Christians. There were also Jewish Christians and many of which were telling the Gentile Christians that they still have to observe the various feast days and ceremonial sabbaths that you read about in the book of Leviticus. And Paul is saying if somebody chooses to observe one of those ceremonial sabbaths, for example the Passover and the like, so be it but it's not for everybody to be forced to observe one of the ceremonial sabbaths.

In the context of Romans Chapter 14 specifically, there it’s talking about people who are fasting on a certain day and others who were eating on that particular day. And Paul is saying some considered this day as a day of fasting, others considered it not a day of fasting. So Paul is not addressing the question of the 4th commandment whether or not we need to observe the Sabbath. He was addressing a problem that many of the Gentile believers as faith from the Jewish Christians with reference to the observance of the feast days.

Darren: Okay. So I have to suppose then that in the Romans account, even though it doesn't specify that. It pretty much just simply says any day and on every day alike and one day above another, that would include that?

Jëan Ross: Well, yes, but he's not really … in chapter 14 … he's not really addressing a day of holiness or a sabbath day. If you read the context in verse 3, it says, 'Let not him who eats, despise him who does not eat. And let not him who does not eat, judge him who eats for God has received him.' So as part of the ceremonial days that were observed by the Jews, there were certain fast days.

Do you remember the parable that Jesus told about the Pharisee and the Publican, they went to the temple to pray. And the Pharisee prayed with himself, Jesus said, 'I fast twice a week' so the Jews believed and required certain days of fasting and that's what is being pushed on the Gentile believers and Paul in chapter 14, isn't addressing observing a day holy, he's referring to observing a day either a day of fasting or as one of the ceremonial sabbaths. He wasn't talking about the 7th day Sabbath.

Darren: That I agree with and I just didn’t have any other in-depth explanation for the guy. I had what I had said to and you know of course, there's plenty of other Scriptures in the New Testament, tells us about the Commandments of God, you know, as a whole so...

Jëan Ross: Absolutely. You know we got a book dealing with this called Feast Days and Sabbaths. It looks at some of these verses in Romans 14 and also in Colossians, and a few others. We'll send that to you for free, Darren, or for anyone who would like to learn more about the subject. Just call our resource line and ask for the book, Feast Days and Sabbaths.

Allen Davis: And you can call that resource line at 1 (800) 835-6747.

Jëan Ross: Our phone line here to the studio is (800) 463-7297. Who do we have next?

Allen Davis: Our next caller is Jimmy. He is on the line 5. Jimmy, good evening. Welcome to the program.

Jimmy: Good evening. I just got finsihed reading the Spiritual Israel booklet and I wanted to know, you know 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the man of perdition … the booklet says that the protestant scholars have applied this person to be a papal power but I wanted to know, you know, what was your take on this person, is he a historical person? Is he ... Is this a future event?

Jëan Ross: Okay.

Jimmy: So that's my question.

Jëan Ross: Let me ... Good question. Let me read the verse. It says, 'Let no one deceive you by any means for that day will not come,' and the day that was being referred to there is the second coming of Christ. Apparently from Paul's first letter to the believers in Thessalonica, some had reached the conclusion that the coming of Jesus had already taken place or was very, very close. And so Paul is writing now and he says, 'The day will not come unless there would be a falling away first,' meaning from those who claimed to be the followers of Christ. In the Christian community, Paul says that there's going to be a falling away and the man of sin will be revealed, the son of perdition. So a number of Bible scholars have identified the man of sin or the son of perdition as representing the medieval church, the papal power that for the 1260 years of the dark ages ruled and that in many ways placed itself above the Scriptures and placed tradition either on par or even up or on parity and that Paul knowing this was writing to the believers and telling them that there would be a falling away from the truth.

We also find this true in Matthew chapter 24 where Jesus talks about events connected with the second coming, just prior to the second coming and He said... 'Take heed for the devil's deceptions will be so well crafted that they will deceived you possibly even the very elect.' So there would be a falling away and we also find that in Revelation chapter 13, where it talks about a beast power rising that would lead the world astray and that's been identified by a number of scholars all the way back from Martin Luther and even before as the papal power during the dark ages.

Allen Davis: One other thing you can look too, Jimmy, is in verse 4, it says, 'Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.' Now this is a very interesting passage in that phrase sits in the temple of God ... a lot of people believe there's going to be another temple rebuilt in Jerusalem but if you take a look at 1 Corinthians 3, Paul tells the Corinthian believers, 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,' speaking in the plural.

Such that the church of God, the believers rightly fit together as living stones are the temple of God so what's being said here is that this individual rises up in the church of God itself and this is what Luther and all of the reformers were in agreement upon. They weren't in agreement on much but this particular pillar of the reformation, they were agreed upon... that they believed the papal power was the anti-Christ power.

You know, we have a study guide that gets right into the heart of this subject. And, Jimmy, we'll send it to you or to you anyone who calls and asks for it. It's called Who is the Anti-Christ? And if you call our resource line, we'll send that out to you. And you can get that number 1 (800) 835-6747 and also you can call in the program 1 (800) God-Says; that's (800) 463-7297.

Jëan Ross: Who do we have next?

Allen Davis: Next on line 6 is Linda. Linda, good evening. Welcome to the program.

Linda: Oh, hi.

Jëan Ross: Hi.

Linda: Thank you for taking my call. I'm sorry. I'm (inaudible 19:54) and I was just changing my phone out so this one wouldn't die on the battery. Actually, I wanted to ask a question about Romans 11.About … but I actually found the answer while I was waiting. [laughs]

Jëan Ross: Okay. Good.

Linda: Listening to the previous caller about the Sabbath that my question was that we as the church of Christ, the believers in Jesus, that we have salvation through beliefs in Jesus.And my question was, was there salvation for physical Israel because in our Bible study, we had a conversation about that but as I was reading Romans 11, it says in verse 23 ... Sorry, Romans 11:23 speaking and they, the Jewish people also if they do not continue in unbelief will be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again so they can be grafted back into the...

Jëan Ross: Absolutely, you know the message that we find in the New Testament is that if somebody believes in Christ, if they're a follower of Christ, they're considered to be Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promises that God made to Abraham. So no longer does it really concern your DNA or your family heritage but it's your faith in Christ. If you believe in Jesus, then you are Abraham's seed; you are a spiritual Jew. And you can be a recipient of the wonderful promises that God made to Abraham and to his descendants.

Linda: Right. And the Jewish people, any Jewish people that have not believed in Jesus yet and that they are waiting still for His first coming, they can only be recipients of salvation through Jesus.

Jëan Ross: Correct. There's only one name given among men whereby we must be saved and that is through Jesus Christ. I believe that there is going to be a wonderful revival that will take place amongst literal Jews as we near the end of time. Those whose hearts are opened to the guiding of the Holy Spirit, they'll come to a clear understanding that the Messiah is Christ and that He is coming again the second time. And He did come the first time and I think there's going to be a wonderful revival and tremendous work of evangelism that will take place in Israel amongst the Jewish believers, amongst Jewish people.

Linda: And is that what it means when it says through the Gentile's mercy?

Jëan Ross: That's right. God is using the Gentile to reach back to the Jews, of course, Christianity began with the Jews. You have the 12 apostles. And then you have, of course, Paul was a Jew but he principally ministered to the Gentiles and the work grew a lot larger amongst the Gentiles than it did amongst the Jews; and now you have the Christians. Those believers in Christ reaching back to many of the Jews, trying to share with them the truth about the Messiah, the truth about Jesus.

Linda: You know, I just surrendered my life back to the Lord 7 months agoand I didn't know about the 7th day Sabbath. I've never known about that.And I turned 60 this year. Now, I have the truth about the Sabbath and that was the first truth that He brought to me and just I've learned so much that when you.. Your heart is in the right condition to receive truth how Jesus brings that to you and He lets you grow as long as you will receive it.

Jëan Ross: Amen.

Linda: When He brings that truth to you, receive it, believe it and then He'll just continue bringing you more truth.

Jëan Ross: Absolutely.

Linda: And what a wonderful God we have the way that He has this in this Romans 11, how He [laughs] uses the ... first He takes salvation to the Jews and they're blinded and they reject Him and the Gentiles received Him and believed Him and then, He uses the Gentiles to go back and help the Jewish people. What a lovely God and understanding. His ways are just incredible.

Jëan Ross: That's right. Oh, what a wonderful testimony, Linda. Thank you for sharing with that. We just praise God for your surrendering of yourself to Him. And may He continue to guide you in to a fuller and clearer understanding of truth. I think we have time for one more caller before our break, who do we have next?

Allen Davis: All right. Next on line is Mike. He's a repeat caller. Mike, welcome to the program again.

Mike: Hi, good evening. Thank you for taking my call.

Allen Davis: Absolutely. How can we help you this evening?

Mike: I wanted to ask Matthew 5:18. There's a verse where Jesus is talking and says, you know, in summarizing heaven and earth pass away not one, you know, bit of the law will by means pass until all is fulfilled. And my question is when did Jesus mean when He said until all is fulfilled? It's almost sounds like, you know, He's placing a condition on, you know, what He just said and saying, 'Well, once all is fulfilled, then it might be possible for part of the law to pass away,' so I'm just kind of curious to that what the meaning with that was.

Jëan Ross: All right. Good question. The word fulfill means to fill to its full or to its completion. Here Jesus is telling us that He didn’t come to do away with the law. Now when you talk about the law, there were four categories of law in the Jewish mind. There was the 10 commandments which is the moral law. There were civil laws which helped to govern of nation of Israel. There were the ceremonial laws that were used with a reference to the sanctuary and the services; and then you have the health principle, the health law that we'd find in Scripture. Now of those 4 categories of law, the law that came to an end was the ceremonial law that pointed forward to Christ. And it was fulfilled in the life and the death of Jesus.

But with reference to the 10 commandments, we know that sin is defined as the transgression of the law. And Jesus came to save us from sin, that is the transgression of the law. Jesus didn't come to do away with God's law, meaning that now we can kill and steal and commit adultery. To the contrary, Paul says do we make void the law through faith or by grace, God forbid we establish the law. So Jesus was not talking about the 10 commandments being done away. Actually, Jesus came to show us how to keep the commandments. He came to fulfill the commandments. He came to reveal its fullness. He's not referring to the taking away of the 10 commandments.

Mike: So the fulfilling here is the fulfilling of the ceremonial law?

Jëan Ross: The fulfilling of the ceremonial law but also with reference to even the 10 commandments. Jesus came to show us how to keep the 10 commandments, how to live it fully or completely.

Allen Davis: One of the things about the law here, Mike, is the fulfillment or the concept of finding the Christian character and one of the things that the law does is that it points us to Christ Who makes us perfect in Him. You're listening to Bible Answers Live.

Jëan Ross: You know, friends, were gonna be taking a short break coming up here but don’t go anywhere. We're gonna be back with some important announcements but just before we take that break, we’d like to let you know about a few of our websites that we have and one that we haven't spoken of too often but it's a tremendous resource … it's kind of got a strange title. It is called Hell Truth. What does the Bible have to say about the destruction of the wicked?

Does a loving God burn people eternally in a place of torment? What is the teaching that we find in Scripture? Well, to learn more, go to helltruth.com. There's a number of resources. You can do studies. There's also videos that you can watch dealing with this important subject. Again, that website is helltruth.com. Read it. Study it and share it with your friends. Friends, we're gonna be back with more Bible questions right after the break.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

Jëan Ross: Hello friends. Welcome back. This is Bible Answers Live. And if you have a Bible related question, we would love to hear from you this evening. That number again to our studio is (800) 463-7297, again (800) 463-7297. My name is Jean Ross and filling in on the phone is Allen Davis. Thank you, Allen. Who do we have next?

Allen Davis: Next on line is Kim. And, Kim, welcome to the program.

Jëan Ross: Hi, Kim. You're on the air.

Kim: Yes. Yes. Can you hear me okay?

Jëan Ross: We can, yes.

Allen Davis: Yup.

Kim: Okay, yeah. I'm calling about 1 Peter 4:17. I'm gonna speak kind of fast here. When actually does... I'm seeing a lot of different things on the subject. Does probation close for Sabbath-keepers or does it close at the passing of the national Sunday law or does it close at the death decree?

Jëan Ross: All right. Good question. Let me share with you a little bit for our listeners who might not be too clear on what you're referring to. The close of probation, let me read the verse, 1 Peter 4:17, it says for, "The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. And if it begins with us, what would be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?' Now, there's an important principle that we find in Scripture, just a little bit of background. There is something that we call the close of probation. That is when in Daniel chapter 12, it speaks of Michael standing up in Revelation chapter 22, Jesus says, "He that is holy, let him be holy still. And he that is filthy, let him be filthy still and behold, I come quickly and My reward is with Me."

So just prior to the second coming of Jesus, there is this close of probation. Those who are holy will remain holy. Those who are unrighteous or filthy will remain unrighteous. There is this closing of probation. Following the close of probation, you have what the Bible refers as the 7th last plagues that are poured out and then you have the second coming of Jesus. Now, Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24 as it was in the days of Noah, so also would it be when the Son of Man is revealed. And we know that in the days of Noah, Noah and his family entered in to the ark and the door on the ark was shut. That is the close of probation. People couldn't get in the ark and those in the ark, couldn't leave the ark. It didn't rain immediately.

Seven days passed before the rain came. So likewise at the end of time. There is a closing of probation for the inhabitants of the earth and then you have the plagues and then you have the second coming of Christ. So does that close of probation take place earlier for those who know the truth and would have been following God's commandments? While in a sense, yes. Even now, people are making up their minds as to whose side they're going to be on. In some ways if you like, the close of probation is the final test but the test doesn't really determine whether or not you pass or fail.

You’re determining whether you fail or pass based upon how much preparation you’re doing. How much studying is taking place; so the test just reveals what's really on the inside. And so it is when probation comes or probation closes. It will really be a revealing of the hearts of people. Those who loved the Lord versus those who don't love the Lord. Those who are being faithful and righteous and those who have been unfaithful, unrighteous.

Allen Davis: There's a type in Scripture in Daniel 3. If you take a look at that, Kim, where the 3 young Hebrews: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. They were out on the plain of Dura And the golden image was set up and they were told once they heard the playing of the music and all sorts of things, that they would have to bow down to this image. And, of course, they didn't do it. They were taken before the King. And the King gave them a second chance and they said, 'We don't need a second chance. It doesn't matter what you do. We're still not going to bow down.'

And, of course, the 3 young worthies were cast into the fire but they were not burned up. And the question has to be asked, why not? And a lot of that has to do because Christ was with them but when they made up their minds not to bow down, did they do that right on the spot? I bet there were thousands upon thousands of people on the plain but, no, you go back to chapter 1, they purposed in their hearts back then not to defile themselves with anything that came from the King. And they were without blemish. And they were faithful so that when the test came, they had already done the preparation. It's like if you've ever taken a test in school, the minute you go on to the classroom, your time to prepare is over.

You have not been given the test yet. So you haven't had the chance to fail it or to pass it but your opportunity to prepare is over. And the likelihood is if you've not prepared, then you may not pass this test.

Kim: Okay. Is there a book or something that I can go back to? Do you have any sermons or anything I can go and look at or wait or..?

Jëan Ross: You know, I'm just looking to see if we have something specifically on that subject and nothing pops out right at me. However, I think if you go to the Amazing Facts website, we have a little search bar, if you just type in there probation or the close of probation, you'll be able to pull up sermons and even Bible questions related to that subject so that might be a good resource for you to go and check out.

Kim: Okay.

Jëan Ross: All right. Thank you for your call, Kim. Good question. Who do we have next?

Allen Davis: All right. Next on the line is John. John, welcome to the program. You're on the air.

John: Thank you so much. My question has to do with the state of the dead. And I was looking at Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, as I had juxtapositioned that with Luke 20, the answer of Christ to I think the Sadducees 34 through 38 of the emphasis I'm looking at is versus 37 and 38 in Luke 20. And... A little bit later in Luke 11:31, Jesus says, 'A greater than Solomon is here.' And I'm wondering is Jesus giving a commentary and a superior to Solomon's position or is Jesus's comment esoteric in nature and… And hence a bit difficult to understand or it has some type of secret meaning.

When you say that God is the God of the living. Well, all live unto Him. He's not a God of the Dead and He talked about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The final part is that Moses, who Jesus says was aware of this Himself, came down from the mountain of transfiguration and Peter, James and John apparently were aware of Him.And he spoke to Christ and at one point, Moses had died on a physical plain so I was just wondering could you illuminate that for me.

Jëan Ross: Sure. Absolutely. Well, let's begin with the verse that you referred to last in Luke chapter 20 verse... Let's see, verse 37, let me just read. It says, "But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised when he called the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and of Jacob." Now the context here is you have the Sadducees that came to Jesus. The Sadduccees ... There were two groups of Jewish leaders in the time of Christ, the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

The Sadducees didn't believe in a resurrection. And so they came to Jesus trying to trick Him and they said that there was a certain woman that had all these husbands and they died one by one and then the resurrection came and in the resurrection, who's she gonna be married to? And then Jesus goes on to address that question and says in the resurrection, they shall be as the angels. And then to drive home the point that there is going to be a resurrection, He emphasizes in verse 37 that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not the God of the dead, meaning that He will resurrect them. They have a promised reward and that reward is at the resurrection. Now, what about Moses?

Didn't he appear at the Mount of Transfiguration with Elijah? Yes, he did. But according to the book of Jude, you can read the passage where Michael is disputing with the devil over the body of Moses and did not bring an accusation against him but said the Lord rebuke thee. So here you have Moses who died but was resurrected, taken to heaven and you have Elijah who was translated to heaven without seeing death appearing now on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. Moses, representing those who will be resurrected at the second coming of Christ, and Elijah representing those who'll be translated to heaven without seeing death.

Allen Davis: And John, we have a couple of resources that can help you out with this. You can go to our website amazingsfact.org and type in a search for the lesson: Are the Dead Really Dead? And you can also take a look at our website, ghosttruth.com. And for either one of those resources, you may call (800) 835-6747.

Jëan Ross: Thank you for your question, John. Hope that helped. Who do we have next?

Allen Davis: All right. Next on the line is Kenny. And Kenny is calling in from Paradise, California. Good evening, Kenny. You're on the air.

Kenny: Hi. How are you guys, today?

Jëan Ross: Doing well.

Allen Davis: Very well.

Jëan Ross: And your question.

Kenny: Yes, I have a question. It's important to me because I got some (inaudible 40:25) idea and I don't wanna too far off. Where in heaven in Revelation 12:7 and then verses 9, 10 and 13are rolled in to it. I got two questions. When was that war? And then the war in heaven, what... What weapons did Satan use?

Jëan Ross: Okay. Let's take the first part of the question. When was the war in heaven? The war in heaven took place ... well there’s two parts. The first is Satan being cast out of heaven. And that took place even before the creation of the earth. That was referred to in Revelation 12:7, it says, 'There was war in heaven. Michael and His angels fought against the dragon. And the dragon fought and his angels. And they did not prevail nor was place found for them in heaven any longer.'

So before the creation, Lucifer and his angels are cast out of heaven. They sort of wondered around the universe and it's right around that time that Earth is created and Adam and Eve are created. Satan comes down and tempts Adam and Eve and, of course, they gave in to his temptations and then Satan claims the earth as his headquarters so to speak. And claims to be the representative of earth. We have a story in Job where Satan shows up in this gathering of the representatives of the unfallen worlds, the sons of God and God said where'd you come from? And he says "Oh, from walking to and fro upon the Earth."

So Satan claims the Earth as his but there is a second casting down to the earth that happened at the death of Christ. And that's what we find in verse 9 of Revelation chapter 12. So the great dragon was cast out that old serpent of old called the devil and satan, which deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him. And then verse 10 says, 'Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying now salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God has come and the power of His Christ has come."

Now that's referring to the crucifixion where Jesus now is representative of the earth. No longer can Satan claim to be the representative but now Christ through His sacrifice is the second Adam. He is the representative of the Earth. So there was war in heaven and Satan and his angels are thrown out of heaven; but then at the cross Satan is cast down a second time and no longer can he claim to as a representative.

Kenny: Okay. So he wasn't allowed back into heaven at all. Like in Job, he was... I assume that, that meeting took place some place in heaven.

Jëan Ross: Correct.

Kenny: But after afterwards when Satan said Jesus send

Jëan Ross: That's it.

Kenny: When he was... he wasn't even allowed in heaven anymore.

Jëan Ross: Right. He can't go anywhere now. He's bound to the Earth. He's waiting for judgment.

Kenny: Yeah, okay. So but to see ... is there any text or anything that I might find or some writings, you know, the red book or something that I might find that there's a ... that I can study this more? That would show maybe what ... the weapons of war were.

Jëan Ross: Oh, you know, we don't know. The Bible doesn't specifically tell us but probably this much we can assume, Satan's angels didn't leave willingly so it wasn't just a war of words. There came a point where actually physically they -

Kenny: Oh no. I think there was a (inaudible 43:43) battle here.

Jëan Ross: They weren’t being withdrawn... I mean pushed out of heaven. They were kicked out. We don't know whether it was just God's glory that shone forth and drove them out or whether the actual angels physically took the fallen angels and dragged them out. Here we don't know. It was a real battle and that battle that began in heaven continues here on the Earth and we get to witness that battle in very real ways from day to day. So the Bible doesn't actually tell us you know what type of weapons were used in heaven if there was weapons or how they worked out but we do know that it was a real battle, a real war.

Kenny: But the whole heavenly thing, you know the (inaudible 44:23), war, God and all that ... all these different things you read in the different cultures and so on.

Jëan Ross: That's right and all of that sort of, you know, there's probably roots of truths in these different stories that have been passed down from generations. You know, there is a book, a commentary that's just outstanding; that talks about sort of the fall and how sins spread to this earth, called Patriarchs and Prophets. And that the first few chapters of that book deals with this. The chapter I believe is entitled, Why Sin was Permitted, and it actually gets into that in more detail and I think that's a great resource to take a look at. Thanks for your call, Kenny. Who do we have next?

Allen Davis: Next on the line, we have Fred. And, Fred, you're on the air. Welcome to the program.

Fred: Oh, yes. Hello. I was gonna ask you about 3 John 2, was that at that time just a regular introductory like we would say hi, how are you today?

Jëan Ross: You know, to some degree but I think it's more than just a casual ‘hi’. John really wanted to see the believers prosper. Let me read the verse for those that do not have their Bibles in front of them. This is John, 3 John 2, it says, "Beloved, I pray that you might prosper in all things and be in health just as your soul prospers." So this is part of a greeting that the apostle gives to the believers in the letter but it's... It's a meaningful greeting.

He earnestly desires that they be in good health and that they prosper even as they are prospering spiritually. And I believe that's God's will for us even now. That's why we find certain health principles in Scripture. And God has given us these principles that if we follow them, we might be in good health and we will be able to prosper. That is God's purpose and desire for us.

Fred: Okay. Thank you.

Jëan Ross: Thanks for your call. You know we have a study guide that talks about these Biblical principles of health and it’s called God's Free Health Plan. And we'll be happy to send that to anybody who calls in and asks for it. It's called God's Free Health Plan. The number to call for that resource is (800) 835-6747. Ask for the study guide, God's Free Health Plan. Who do we have next?

Allen Davis: All right. Next on the line is Linda. And, Linda, you are on the air. Welcome to the program.

Linda: Hi.

Jëan Ross: Hi, Linda. You're on the air.

Linda: Okay, great. Thank you. I do in-depth Biblical studies of the Bible and I came to a big wall and I need some assistance if possible.

Jëan Ross: All right. We'll do our best.

Linda: In Revelation chapter 2 ... In Revelation chapter 3, it's speaking about the 7 messages of the 7 churches and Pastor Doug referred to these inputs as in the context of the historic church from the first coming to the second coming. And then it goes to the military and political aspects. I see the historic context, but I'm not seeing military or political other than the souls and the trumpets, if you could elaborate on that more or if you could direct me to something that could really take me in to more in depth of exactly what that is meaning.

Jëan Ross: Sure. With reference to the seven churches, you've got a series of sevens in Revelation, you've got 7 churches, followed by 7 seals in chapter 5-- actually in chapter 6, the 7 seals, and then you have what's referred to as the 7 trumpets. The 7 Churches, the 7 seals and the 7 trumpets, cover the same time period of Christian history. It's from the first coming to the second coming of Christ. The 7 churches is dealing with conditions that are prevalent in the church during these 7 time periods.

And then the 7 seals deal with certain political issues as related to the church during that same time period. The trumpets have a strong military component and highlights certain military movements or rising of nations that affected God's people during that same time period. So the 7 churches, 7 seals, 7 trumpets cover basically the same time period but they emphasized different aspects or conditions that were prevalent and that affected the church during that time period.

Linda: And when you say about political, does that mean nation … kingdoms. And you know of anything that I can go and do further … I mean where it actually clarifies about the military political during the seven time periods please. So could you let me know what just what's the outline for the 7 time periods?

Jëan Ross: Well, you know... Linda we just recently published a resource-

Allen Davis: A little bit less than a year ago called the Daniel and Revelation magazine.

Jëan Ross: Correct.

Allen Davis: And specifically talks about the 7 Churches. You can actually call our resource and counseling line at (800) 835-6747 or go to the Amazing Facts bookstore at afbookstore.com.

Jëan Ross: It's called Daniel and Revelation and answers these specific questions that you have that highlights the different time periods and actually gives you some dates that you can work with when you study the 7 churches, the 7 seals and the 7 trumpets. So go to the amazing facts website and just type in Daniel and Revelation magazine and then you'll be able to get that. I think that will be a great help, Linda.

Linda: Okay. Thank you so much. God bless.

Jëan Ross: You’re welcome.

Allen Davis: Ba-bye.

Jëan Ross: Thanks for your call. Who do we have next?

Allen Davis: Listening next is John, calling in from Placerville. Not too far from here. John, welcome to the program. You're on the air.

John: Thank you. My question is about men with long hair because there's the whole Samson hair thing and there's a group of people that didn't cut their hair; but for today, they're ... looking in, I don’t know the exact text, but the first Corinthians where Paul's talking to them. It says stuff about long hair for men and then it's great for women. Is that a time frame thing or I mean like we're not supposed to have long hair now?

Jëan Ross: All right. Good question. You know, I think back in in the time of Jesus and even in the time of Paul, for the most part, men would have hair that would be maybe a little bit longer than what you might consider today for a number or reasons. They were the ones who were out working and if there was some sort of military action, you know, you didn't want to have long flowing hair but a woman back in Bible times would typically grow their hair long. And that was part of their cultural tradition. And I think today, there needs to be a distinction between both the dress as well as the appearance of man and woman. Not only the way that we dress but even you know in the way that we take care of our hair. Having said that though, I don't think that it's a sin for somebody to have you know longer hair if it's a man or if it's a woman to have shorter hair. There are certain styles that would fall into the category of a lady's hairstyle or a lady's hair versus a man's style. Does that help you a little, John?

John: Oh, yes. I understand completely.

Jëan Ross: All right. Then, good. Thank you. Good question.

John: All right. Thank you.

Jëan Ross: All right.

Allen Davis: All right. Next on the line is Ken. Ken you're on the air. Welcome to the program.

Ken: Good evening. My question just had to do with Joshua through the book of Joshua chapter 7 on the Achan and on the curse thing. And then... my question had to do with the fact that the... my understanding from reading, it is the that Achan when he was supposed to turn his ... after Joshua defeated Jericho … was supposed to turn all their gold and treasures in to the Lord. And Achan failed to do this and buried it underneath his tent but I heard an individual preaching on the matter and said that the reason it was a cursed thing because it was buried in a Babylonian cloth. Well, I’m just wondering if you can clarify that to, you know, if it being a cursed thing only because it was in a Babylonian cloth because at the same time, it was supposed to turn those treasures in to the Lord.

Jëan Ross: Sure. You know it's very specific. God gave instructions to Joshua prior to them defeating Jericho. And it was a test for their faithfulness to God. In order for God to be able to guide them and bless them in the conquest of Canaan they have to be faithful and Jericho was that test of faithfulness. So God was specific on saying you are not to take anything that was in the city of Jericho.

And then you have Achan who noticed the gold and the clothing and he coveted that and took it. So it was cursed not just because of, you know, of the cloth and the gold bars, no. It was all cursed. God said leave it alone. Don't touch it. It's not for you. That was to be a test for Israel in the same way that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a test of the faithfulness of Adam and Eve. It was a test for the Israelites as they enter into the promised land.

Ken: I see. I see. Well that answers my question. That makes it quite clear. And if you have any time in your program where you can extend a little bit on the law, I would appreciate that because you were talking about the moral and the civil law and all that kind of thing and I just wondered how the Levitical law fits in with respect to the New Testament.

Jëan Ross: All right. Real quick. Let's try and touch to that again. Just to recap there’s four categories of law that we find in the Old Testament. There's the 10 Commandments which we call the moral law. There is the ceremonial laws and that refers to the sacrifices. The ceremonial laws were established as a result of sin way back after Adam and Eve sinned.

We have the sacrificial system instated and any of the sanctuary service put into place in the time of Moses. Then you have the health laws. Health laws were given so that God’s people can be healthy. The principles of which are still applicable and binding today and then you have the civil laws. The civil laws were there to govern the nation of Israel and theocracy. Now we don’t have a theocracy today; but the principles that God gave in the civil laws are still important. And countries that follow those principles are usually the countries that prosper versus the ones that turned away from the civil authorities. Well, Ken, and listeners, you can hear the music playing in the background, that means we've ran out of time for another program.

We want to thank you so much for joining us. And if we didn't get your question, give us a call next week. We'll try and answer as many questions as possible. Until then, God bless.

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