Angelic Messengers

Voice Over: Welcome to Bible Answers Live, where you'll get honest answers to your Bible questions. Let's face it, it's not always easy to understand everything you read in the Bible with 66 books and more than 700,000 words. The Bible can generate a lot of questions. If you’d like answers to your Bible questions, you've come to the right place, now here's your host, Pastor Doug Batchelor, president and speaker of Amazing Facts.

Pastor Doug Batchelor: Now here is an amazing fact, it turns out the fastest bird in the world just got passed up by a flying mammal. That's right, the Brazilian free-tailed bat just smashed the old record for horizontal flight, beating out the world's fastest birds. For example, the common Swift has a top speed of around 68 miles an hour, a pigeon 77 miles an hour, an albatross 79 miles an hour. But now researchers from the Ornithology Institute in Germany, have found that Brazilian free-tailed bats, a tiny bat that weighs about half an ounce, can reach a top speed of 99 miles an hour.

The team says of the bat’s unique ability for sonic flight seems to stem from its extremely light frame and larger than average wings. To measure the bat speed, they had to affix tiny half gram radio transmitters to a number of the little bats. Once these transmitters were attached, the team used a mobile receiver on a small aircraft to monitor their speed.

Researchers admit they had trouble clocking their speeds because those little critters are fast. It's no wonder they can catch up to 600 insects in a single night. Don't worry about the little experimental bats, the transmitters were designed to fall off on their own after a few days. Now keep in mind, this record is for level flight as opposed to a diving maneuver, the record for the fastest diving speed goes to the peregrine falcon which can reach the blinding speed of around 242 miles an hour.

But these little bats are going to fly faster than a falcon horizontally. The Bible says that bats and birds have nothing on the speed of angels. Stay with us friends, we're going to learn more as Amazing Facts brings you this edition of Bible Answers Live.

Voice Over: You're listening to Bible Answers Live, honest answers to your Bible questions. Our phone lines are now open, if you have a Bible related question, call us at 1800-GOD-SAYS, that's 1-800-46- 7297. Now let's join our host, Pastor Doug Batchelor.

Pastor Doug: Bible Answers Live and phones are live. This is the most exciting part of the week, for me, to be able to just open up the lines, meet new friends and do our best to answer your Bible questions. If you got a question, I got a lot of lines open right now, here is the number again, 800-463-7297, that's 800-GOD-SAYS. One more time, you’re ready? Call now, good chance you'll get your question on tonight's program 800-463-7297.

I am pastor Doug Batchelor and my co-host Pastor John Ross has the night off. With the help of those in the studio and the Lord, we're going to do our best to answer your questions. And we're going to talk to the Lord right now. Father in Heaven, we thank you so much for this opportunity and this technology that helps us to make new friends from around the country and the world and talk about the word of God. Please bless, Lord, we pray that we can rightly communicate the truth and that the truth will have power to change hearts, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Friends I was amazed, I've always been fascinated with bats. I went to summer camp as I was a kid and my name is Batchelor, but you don't spell it B-A-C, you spell my name B-A-T-C-H-E-L-O-R. And at summer camp, I would catch bats and they called me Doug bat catcher instead of Batchelor. I've always been intrigued with bats, and so it was interesting to hear that the fastest flying critter was not a bird, it's a bat. And it's these free-tailed bats there in Brazil. They've also got the Mexican free-tailed bats, they could probably give them a run for their money.

But in the Bible, it tells us that angels can travel much faster. You probably already knew that, but there is actually a story that you find in the book of Daniel chapter nine, it tells us that the prophet Daniel was praying. And while he was praying, and you can read the prayer, probably takes about over four or five minutes to read through the prayer.

At the end of his prayer, it says that "While I was speaking," verse 20, "While I was speaking and praying in confessing my sin and the sin of my people--" this is Daniel 9:20," and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God, for the holy mountain of my God. Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel--" and that's Gabriel the angel, who appears to Mary about 500 years later, which tells us that angels don't age.

"Gabriel, who I had seen in the vision of the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly. He reached me about the time of the evening offering, and he informed me and talked with me and said, "Oh Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill and understanding at the beginning of your supplication, your prayer, the command went out and I've come to tell you."

At the time that Daniel began to pray, God told Gabriel, "Go help Daniel understand the vision." By the end of Daniel’s prayer, Gabriel was there, and if you think about the immensity of space, angels do not travel the speed of sound or even the speed of light, they must travel the speed of thought. We don't even have a measurement for how fast they travel but I'd tell you they must really be cooking when they fly because they get across the cosmos in just a few moments.

It's good to know that if we're in trouble and we pray, that God could have an angel at our side, the Bible says He will give His angels charge over you, to bear you up in your hands lest you dash your foot against the stone, and he edges us with His angels. Bible has quite a bit to say about angels and we have a study guide that we will send you tonight about special messages that have come from angels, and it's called Angel Messages From Space.

If you'd like a free copy of tonight's lesson, beautifully illustrated color Bible lesson, it's called Angel Messages From Space, it is free for anyone and here's the number call 800-835-6747. This is a different number from the call-in question number, this is the resource number. We also have chaplains standing by, that are willing to pray with you if you have some special need for prayer at this number, here it is again 800-835-6747, ask for the free study guide Angel Messages From Space, tell them you're listening to Bible Answers Live.

All right, with that, we're going to start talking to some of our friends that are calling in. And we've got Lisa who's calling from Queens New York. Lisa, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.

Lisa: Yes, hi Pastor, how’re you doing and good evening to you.

Pastor Doug: Evening.

Lisa: I have a question, it’s been on my mind through the week on masturbation, is this in the Bible any type of way, is it ungodly?

Pastor Doug: Well, it's-- obviously, I got to be delicate in the way I answer this question because we have families and kids listening. But Jesus said in-- I think it's Matthew chapter 6, that if a man looks on a woman to lust after her in his heart, that he can commit adultery without actually committing the act because of what's happening in the mind. Now obviously, that principle would be the same with a man or with a woman.

And fantasizing about adultery, that is often accompanied with the physical self-gratification, that's not being pure of heart, the Bible says, "Blessed are the pure at heart." Now we recognize a lot of people struggle with all kinds of sins and temptations, and the Bible says that God is merciful and we can repent of our sins, God can change and give us pure hearts, but it's pretty hard to justify biblically that that would be falling under the criteria of being pure in life and pure in heart.

Sexual activity biblically is blessed in connection with a Christian marriage and within the sanctity of a marriage, outside of that, the Bible doesn't say anything that approves it. I don't know, I hope that helps a little bit Lisa. I appreciate your questions, probably lot of people that have wondered and worried about that. Sex is a unique issue because God created us with a number of desires, we have physical desires for food, and if you don't satisfy that desire you die. We've got physical desires for shelter and clothing for warmth and those are really important necessities.

Sex is a very powerful physical desire but believe it or not, you won't die if you don't satisfy it [laughs]. It's just a strong constant desire and God gave that to all people so that, of course, we procreate and develop families. But it's to be realized within a marriage. Anyway, I appreciate your question, Lisa, and we do have a sermon online that you can listen to where it talks about power in purity. And if you go to the Amazing Facts website, that address is simply amazingfacts.org. It’s a sermon I did called The Power of Purity. I found a lot of these sermons people copy and put them on YouTube. You could probably find it there as well.

With that, thank you for your question. We’re going to talk to Vanessa, who is calling from Atlanta, Georgia. Vanessa, you’re on the air with Bible Answers Live.

Vanessa: Good evening. How are you?

Pastor Doug: I’m doing well. How are you doing?

Vanessa: That’s good. I’m okay. I’m a bit confused about this. My questions are what does the Bible say about divorce the reason being domestic violence, abuse, spiritual abuse, mental abuse, and physical abuse?

Pastor Doug: Well, there’s really just a couple of criteria that deal with divorce in the Bible. One of them being, if a person who is married violates the marriage vow through adultery. And you could find that in Matthew 19, and it’s in the Sermon on the Mount as well that -- and you could read like I read in Matthew 19:4. He said, "Have you not read, He that made them at the beginning made them male and female? And so for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And the two shall become one flesh."

So they are no longer two but one flesh. And then he goes on to say, "they said, "But Moses said, "Give us a certificate of divorce and put her away." "There was some problem," Jesus said, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning, it was not so. And I say unto you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality and marries another, commits adultery. And whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." Now, I want you to notice divorce is different from separation. Did you catch that, Vanessa?

Vanessa: Yes.

Pastor Doug: If you’re in a situation where you’re being abused, you should separate from that situation. God does not want any person, man or woman, to put them in a situation where they’re physically at risk. And there’s [sic] other forms of abuse obviously, and you might tell your spouse, "Look, we’re not getting back together. We’re separated unless you get counselling, and there’s some hope to redeem or restore our relationship."

But that doesn’t mean you have to get divorced to get remarried to someone else. So separation is actually a different issue from divorce. Divorced people usually go through divorce, because they’re putting themselves back on the market to get remarried. See what I’m saying?

Vanessa: Okay.

Pastor Doug: Separation is different.

Vanessa: Yes, we are separated and have been for almost -- for a while, but things are getting worse.

Pastor Doug: So you must still be in contact if things are getting worse--

Vanessa: Yes, we have to be, because we have children.

Pastor Doug: Yes, that --

Vanessa: We’re not living together at all.

Pastor Doug: Do you have a -- I’m wondering if you have a local pastor or somebody that you can counsel with?

Vanessa: A pastor? No, but I’ve heard, and I know about the Bible verse that says, "A man should love the woman as God has loved the church."

Pastor Doug: That’s right, and if--

Vanessa: And other Bible verses and I know about the death. If you have a death of a spouse, that it classifies you for getting remarried, it’s also adultery. It is adultery.

Pastor Doug: That’s right. And you know there, you’ve got a case where there’s a nonbeliever like the Samaritan woman, and she had several husbands and was living with a man she wasn’t married to. Jesus revealed himself to her. But I’m sure that after that, she began to follow the biblical principles.

Vanessa, I would like to recommend -- we’re going to offer you a free book tonight. It’s called, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage. And I wrote this book especially for people struggling with issues like you are. If you call the resource number, you tell them you’re listening to Bible Answers Live. I will send you a free copy of the book, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage. It covers everything I could find in the Bible on that subject, and it gives you the principles.

Here is the number for the book, the resource, 800-835-6747. That’s 800-835-6747. Tell them you’re listening to Bible Answers Live, and you’d like the book, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage.

Thank you for your call, and that would free up another line. If somebody has a question, and you want to call, the number is 800-GOD-SAYS. With that, we’re going to Islena. Is that how you say your name -- from Milwaukee? Islena, Milwaukee, are you on the air with Bible Answers Live? Milwaukee, are you listening?

Ilena: Yes.

Pastor Doug: How do you say your name?

Ilena: Ilena.

Pastor Doug: Ilena, I’m sorry. There was an extra letter in the screener’s address [laughs]. And your question tonight?

Ilena: Yes. I’ve been struggling with an addiction almost my whole life. And I want to know -- I know God is a God of love and forgiveness, but how do we know if God will continue to forgive us especially when we know that it’s wrong? That’s one question, and then two -- well, it’s really the same question. The Bible -- I came across a scripture a few days ago I can’t remember where -- where it says, "Those who continue to sin when they know it’s wrong--

Pastor Doug: Yes, that’s Hebrews: 10--

Ilena: --but then there’s no longer a sacrifice."

Pastor Doug: Yes, "If we continue to sin willfully after we’ve received the knowledge of the truth, there’s no more sacrifice for sin." That’s Hebrews 10, I think, 26. Well, let me answer your first question. Don’t give up doing all that you can do humanly to turn to God for victory. I can’t tell you how many times I quit smoking before I really quit smoking. Like Mark Twain said, "Quitting smoking is easy, I’ve done it 100 times." But finally, by the grace of God, I quit for good, and I haven’t picked up a cigarette in 37 years or something.

So He can give you the victory. Some people are struggling with addictions for years. My dad, he struggled with smoking 50 years, and he finally quit. I’m just picking smoking as one example, but any addiction is an addiction. Some people struggle with food addictions. And then I’ve known folks who’ve battled with that for 20, 30 years, and then this God gives them the grace, and there’s a big change that comes into their life, and they change their lifestyle, and everything gets turned around, and they’re just so happy.

People who struggle with drugs or a variety of bad habits -- don’t underestimate the power of God. Now, there’s some hope in the Bible. It talks about Mary Magdalene, out of whom God casts seven devils. And so that doesn’t mean all at once He cast seven devils, that means seven times she fell back into her old patterns, and God set her free. So He can do that for you, too. Are you still with me?

Ilena: Yes.

Pastor Doug: Now, that verse in--

Ilena: I just feel so dejected and like a failure.

Pastor Doug: Well, no. First of all, I’m not going to tell you to feel good about doing bad, because we should feel some remorse about sin. Some pastors are out there saying, "Cheer up, don’t feel bad about sin." Well, Jesus died for our sins, that’s serious business. But don’t be discouraged because He is graceful and He is merciful. And the very fact that you’re calling, means the holy spirit is working in your life. It’s even the holy spirit that gives us the gift of conviction.

Now, let me read that verse to you. You asked about a verse in Hebrews 10:26. "For if we sin willfully after we received a knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin." That word there, If we sin willfully, in Greek, that word is if we continue to sin willfully. Now, it sounds like you’re regretting your sin, and you’re wanting victory and deliverance from your sin. Now, everyone falls, and we all slip up, but it’s a different thing to really be trapped in a pattern of sin. And would it be okay if I just have a quick prayer for you?

Ilena: Please, yes.

Pastor Doug: Well, let’s do that right now. Father in heaven, I just want to pray that you be with Ilena, and please give her victory over the struggles in her life. Help her not to be discouraged and know that you are a God of grace and that a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again. And you can give her victory and set her free completely. I pray that you’ll help her to experience some encouragement and hope in the next few days and progress in her walk with you. And so just bless her with your presence and help her to understand your grace and power. I pray in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Ilena: Amen. Thank you so much.

Pastor Doug: All right. Hey, thank you. I’m going to send you a book, and don’t let this title of the book scare you. But if you call the resource number, they’re going to send you a book, and it’s called, No Turning Back. It’ll just encourage you in how you can live a victorious life. It’s a study guide called No Turning Back. It’ll give you a bunch of scriptures to encourage you there.

Ilena: Okay.

Pastor Doug: All right. Hey, the number is 800-835- 6747. Now, that does free up another phone call friends. If you-- another line, if you want to call in with your Bible question, the number is 800-GOD-SAYS for the studio, for your question, 800-463-7297. Let me see who is lined up next. We're going to be talking to John, calling from Sacramento, California. John, Welcome to the program.

John: Thank you very much. I really appreciate your program. I'm getting a lot out of it. I had a question that's been bothering me, and I was wondering if you might be able to help. I know that in the Bible, talks about the creation of man and that God created men, but I'm wondering who created God? Can you offer any insight into that?

Pastor Doug: Well, my insights will be parallel to the alternatives. In other words, I am not going to be able to tell you who created God, because I'd probably have to be God to do that. Let me give you some things to think about on that line. We can also be asking, "If nobody created God, where did anything come from?" A matter, as far as we know, scientifically, does not self-create. We see nothing in our observable world where intelligence creates itself.

All of the organization and design that we see, and industry, the intelligence of men, puts these systems, whether it's a car, or a factory, or computer, we put them together, because there's an outside intelligence that is developing that. We can ask the same question about God. At some point, we have to say, somewhere, something always must have existed. People who believe in evolution, when you say, "Where did the world come from?" Hang with me for just a moment.

I'm going to give you a very simplistic answer. Where did the world come from? When the world was formed, when our solar system was formed, when our sun went spinning out as the Milky Way galaxy was spiraling through space. And it flung off the nine planets and their moons in our solar system. They say, "Okay, where does the sun come from?" "Well, when there was some supernova and it created this galaxy. And where did that come from? It came from a nebula exploding. I'm paraphrasing here. "And these gas particles came together." "Okay, where did the gas particles come from?"

Now, they actually say that the whole universe was formed by a piece of matter that was as a small as a head of a pin [laughs]. I've heard all kinds of interesting theories. Finally, every evolutionist will say, "We don't know. Something always existed." Matter does not create itself. We got the laws of thermodynamics that we observe. We can either believe that all of the incredible beauty, organization design, symbiotic relationships we see in this world, all happen purely by chance and came from matter that always existed. Or that there has been an intelligent God, and God says in His word, "From everlasting to everlasting, I am God."

Jesus said, "He's the alpha and the omega." There's no beginning or end to God. We can't comprehend that. It just makes our brain start to boil when we think about it. I can't tell you where God came from. I can just tell you what the Bible says is that He always has been. He says, "I am that I am." He is eternal. That's makes him omnipotent, and we can't understand that.

John: That's very good. Thank you very much.

Pastor Doug: All right. Hey, I appreciate your question. Thank you very much for calling in. With that, we're going to talk next to Timothy, he's been waiting patiently. Timothy, calling from Spring Creek, Nevada. Thank you for your call.

Timothy: Hi, Pastor Batchelor, how are you?

Pastor Doug: Doing well, how are you?

Timothy: I'm doing all right. My question is what's your viewpoint or what you think on Ellen White's writing of Amalgamations?

Pastor Doug: On Ellen White's writings of Amalgamation?

Timothy: Or Amalgamites, however it's said.

Pastor Doug: Amalgamation. Well, do you have a Bible question for me?

Timothy: It sounds out of there. I do.

Pastor Doug: Well, I'll just tell you the word amalgamation means, is when you biologically try and breed certain characteristics and hybrids. Amalgamation, is you're going to have amalgamation of seed, or you take a good zucchini, and a bad zucchini, and you cross-pollinate them, you amalgamate, you mix the seed, and you end up with an inferior hybrid. There's a statement I know where she says, "One of the things that really bothered people before the flood was the amalgamation of men and beast." Some have thought that meant amalgamation of man with beast. She didn't say that.

An example of an amalgamation of men in the Bible is tells us that Goliath had-- one verse says it was his brother, in another verse, it was this son, that had six fingers on each hand and each foot. The way that you get that problem in most cases, with an extra digit, is through genetic weakness through inbreeding. Some have speculated, the Philistines were trying to inbreed the giants of Goliath to create an army of giants. That's amalgamation. You end up with the defects through inbreeding. She didn't say the inbreeding of men with beast, it was men and beast. Pit bulls, are specifically bred for their jaw strength so they can do maximum damage. Did you have a Bible question though?

Timothy: I do. Evidence or proof, or going towards Jesus, or is Jesus, Michael the archangel?

Pastor Doug: Many of the reformed theologians, and I agree with them, believe that the Christophanies, the times that Jesus appeared in the old testament when he appeared as the angel of the Lord to Joshua. And he said, "Take your shoes off your feet." When it says the Lord descends from heaven with the shout of the archangel, the Lord has the shout. Archangel means greatest messenger.

The Bible tells us that when Michael stands up, Michael the archangel, that there's a great time of trouble, and it's Daniel 12. In Revelation 12, you read where the dragon, who is a symbolic name for the devil, goes to war with Michael, who is a symbolic name for Christ. Michael and his angels, the dragon and his angels. Jesus is not an Angel. That name Michael is one of the pre-incarnation names or titles for Christ.

The word angel is used in the Bible for angels, for men, for God. It just means messenger, angelus in Greek. Yes, Matthew Henry, Adam Clark, a number of the great reform of the Theologians believe that Michael was an example of Jesus being used back then. One more thought on that question Michael, we do have a book, and I'll send you a free copy. It's called, Who is Michael the Archangel. If you don't mind, Timothy, go to-- call the number 800-835-6747. Ask for the book, Who is Michael the Archangel. It's got all the verses, and cross references in there. Friends, we're going to take a break. Call back in with your questions. Line is open.

Voice Over: Stay tuned. Bible Answers Live will return in a moment.

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Voice Over: Every Bible question you have answered moves you one step closer to the fullness of God's will for your life. What are you waiting for, get the answers you need for a fuller, richer, more confident life. You're listening to Bible Answers Live We still have a few phone lines open. If you have a Bible related question, call us at 1-800-GOD-SAYS, that's 1-800-463-7297. Now, let's join Pastor Doug Batchelor for more Bible Answers Live.

Pastor Doug: Welcome back friends. If you've tuned in somewhere along the way this is Bible Answers Live, one of the biggest interactive Bible studies in the world. You are invited to join in, we have a couple of lines still open. That number to the studio, 800-GOD-SAYS, that's because the Bible, God's word, is our source book here, 800-463-7297, and I'm Doug Batchelor, Pastor Ross is off for the evening. We're going to go right back to the phones and I'll be talking here next, let me see, hang on, Pastor Ross isn't here and so I'm having to think. Daniel has been waiting the long time, we're going to talk to Daniel calling from Winchester, New York. Daniel, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.

Daniel: Yes Doug. What does the Sikh people believe in?

Pastor Doug: The Sikhs?

Daniel: Yes.

Pastor Doug: I had some Sikh neighbors when I lived in New Mexico. They were just very kind lovely people. It is a religion that's lot more native to India. It's not really a Bible question, so I can't really give you a chapter and verse on the sigh movement, but it was articulated in their scriptures from their guru. They believe in faith and meditation, one creator, unity, equality for all mankind and they do somewhat believe in a righteousness by works.

Probably one of the best things you could do is, if you go to just Wikipedia and you type in, Sikhism, they've got articles on the religion. It typically will take a Bible question, takes three minutes to answer a Bible question, I'd have to do their religion justice, I'd probably have taken a little more time than that and I hate to do that to anybody's faith and just kind of summarize it in a sentence or two.

But I'm thinking that Sikhism is probably the third largest or fourth largest religion in India, after Buddhism, Hinduism rather and Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism and it's spreading to different parts of the world. They've got several temples even here in North America. Let's say their men I think are always supposed to have a knife on them, a secret knife, kind of some interesting beliefs. There's a headgear that they wear that's connected with their beliefs. But, dear, take a look at that online, Daniel, you'll probably find more information on that. We're going to talk next with Ron, who's calling from Waterford North Dakota. Ron, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live. Ron, you're there?

Ron: Good evening?

Pastor Doug: Evening.

Ron: I got a question if someone takes their own life, do they deserve eternal separation from God?

Pastor Doug: Well, a person automatically be lost because if we got two kinds of people; we got saved and lost in the judgement. And you're asking, will a person be lost if they commit suicide?

Ron: I guess if a believer shows to take his own life, will he be separated?

Pastor Doug: I've got to always be careful, I'm going to be right upfront and tell you why I got to be careful when answering that question. Everybody listening out there knows somebody that probably committed suicide. You got to be very careful about saying, everybody who's committed suicide is automatically lost. Because there are rare cases where a person may have been just overwhelmed with some physical pain or grief that we can't comprehend. They served the Lord with their lives, there's even a few hymns in a typical Christian hymn note, that were written, very famous hymns, by someone who committed suicide. Because they struggled with depression, it could have been a chemical problem. God knows those things. So I needed to just make that clear.

Most cases, I'm afraid, suicide is a result of a person who has lost faith and they've lost hope. The Bible says without faith it's impossible to please God. We're saved by faith. By grace through faith and so it's not a good indicator if the Bible says, "Thou shall not kill," and the last act of a person's life is self-murder, that would not be a good for boating. I think in most cases it doesn't look good.

I remember doing a funeral for a young lady, that teenager became discouraged, took some pills and then realized what she'd done and called and said, "Look I've taken some pills, I don't want to die." Who knows what happened on her way to the hospital, but they tried to pump her stomach and they could not save her. She repented to have that decision to commit suicide, her death certificate will probably read suicide but who knows, she may have repented and God could have forgiven her like the thief on the cross. We've got to be careful to automatically say, everybody who commit suicide, they're going to be lost. That said, Samson in the Bible,-- You're still there Ron?

Ron: Yes.

Pastor Doug: Samson, one of the last acts of his life was to lay his life down. He knew for well he was going to die when he pushed the temple down, but he was filled with the spirit of God to do that. He is listed in Hebrews 11, among the faithful. We'll probably see Samson in heaven, but some might classify him as suicide. He really laid down his life to defeat God's people from their enemies. I think they were getting ready to execute him, he knew that.

Anyway, I know people that have sacrificed their lives, they willingly died to save someone else. Would you say they're suicide? It's a little different there. Jesus, he sacrificed His life to save others. If anyone out there is thinking of suicide, don't do it because it's probably not going to board very well. Most people who commit suicide are going to wake up in the wrong resurrection. People commit suicide because they get tired of life thinking things will somehow get better by killing themselves, and they're going to find out, when they wake up, things have gotten very bad [laughs] and there's no hope.

Who was it? Solomon that says in Ecclesiastes "a living dog is better than a dead lion." Where there is life there's hope. Hang on. My mother used to struggle with suicide, I'll just admit that and tell you. She called me after I became a Christian, to tell me she was struggling. I said, "Mum, once you commit suicide you can never change your mind and you'll lose all your options and who knows what you're going to miss tomorrow?"

Her curiosity always got the best of her and she thought, "Can I make it one more day?" Sometimes a good night sleep can change everything. If anyone out there is toying with suicide, just forget about it. It won't make things better. Where there's life there's hope. Hey, hope that helps a little bit Ron. I appreciate your call. With that, we're going to talk next to Henry. By the way, a line is open, no, we got a couple of lines open, 800-463-7297 with your questions, talking to Henry on line eight. [unintelligible 00:37:52] New York, Henry, you're on the air.

Henry: Hello. How are you? I have a question.

Pastor Doug: Thank you.

Henry: My question is, I asked a Bible scholar from [unintelligible 00:38:03] and he didn't answer my question very good. When Jesus Christ comes back, for the women who are saved and they are pregnant, if they're nine months, seven months, will they be going to heaven?

Pastor Doug: All right. First of all, that's a valid question. Someone asked me, "What will happen to a woman who is pregnant if Jesus comes?" I said, she'll be delivered. Of course, that's a play on words. I believe that there are, of course, children in heaven. The Bible tells us, there are young infant children. Because it says in Isaiah that in heaven, the infant child will play on the hole of the venomous serpent but it will not hurt them.

So there's infants in heaven. I just think that when a woman who is fully pregnant with a child and the Lord comes, probably right then, the angels will place a baby in her arms. It's not a problem for God, I'm sure she'll have her child in heaven. Lord may accelerate the gestation period just like he made Adam. Adam wasn't made a baby, he was made a full-grown man. God can just at the second coming say, "All right, here is your baby [laughs]." Enjoy the glorified baby and glorified body and you'd be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

So it will be something like that. Sometimes people will say, "What's going to happen to those that are in the international space station when Jesus comes?" I get some very interesting questions. Hey, thank you very much, Henry, I do have a lesson, I'll send you a free copy if you'd like, the talks about the second coming. And if you call the resource line and say you'd like the Amazing Fact lesson about the ultimate deliverance, talks about the second coming of Jesus [laughs]. I told you a lady will be delivered when the Lord comes, if she's pregnant, the ultimate deliverance. We'll send you a free copy of that just call 800-835-6747 and we appreciate your call With that, we're going to be talking next to Alisha, who's calling from Huntsville, Alabama, listening on WJOU. Alisha, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.

Alisha: Hi.

Pastor Doug: Get real close to your phone. You're all the way out there in Alabama.

Alisha: Hi.

Pastor Doug: Yes, and our question tonight?

Alisha: I was wondering how many temples were constructed in the Bible? Was the sanctuary in the wilderness considered a temple, or was Solomon's temple considered the first temple? If so, how many preceded it?

Pastor Doug: Most people believe that the sanctuary tabernacle, or temple, was a temple because the presence of God dwelled there, they met with God there, the arch of the Covenant was there, it had the same main three compartments; it had the courtyard, it had the holy place, and it had the inner sanctum known as the Holy of Holies. You find those same three rooms in the permanent temple that Solomon built, that was destroyed later by Nebuchadnezzar, and then when Ezra and Nehemiah came back from the Babylonian captivity, they rebuilt that temple that was later embellished and modified by Herod the Great.

So there were three temples, the first one was a mobile home, it was a portable temple. They travelled, they'd take it down, they'd set it up. It met the criteria of being a place where God met with the people, a place where they offered sacrifice, so I think it does fall in the category of being, what you'd call, a temple.

Alisha: Okay.

Pastor Doug: It was just very uniquely designed to be portable because they were a nation of pilgrims at the time.

Alisha: The temple that Ezra and Nehemiah set out to build, was not built, or it was built--

Pastor Doug: No, it was built.

Alisha: --or just was not finished?

Pastor Doug: It took a long time to get it built because they'd start on it and then the government in Persia changed, and then they had a stop order issued. They gave another start order, but it was built. You can read about that if you read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. A matter of fact, I'm trying to remember the prophet that prophesied that the glory of that third temple was going to be greater than the glory of the first two.

Haggai, he said that the glory of this house would be even greater because Jesus actually taught in that third temple, that was built during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. It went through a great renovation under Herod the Great. He was a king that was real dichotomy; he killed the babies in Bethlehem, but he loved to build temples. Go figure that out.

Alisha: Okay.

Pastor Doug: Yes, and a matter of fact, you can remember when the Jews came to Jesus, and Jesus said, "I'll destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days, I'll make one without hands." They said "46 years this temple was under construction, how will you raise it up in three days?" That's because the renovation project of Herod the Great had taken over 40 years.

Hey, I appreciate your question, I've got a lesson I'll be happy to send you on the temple. It's called God Drew The Plans. It talks about the Bible temple and what it's function was. You'll love this lesson. Just call the resource line 800-835. Anyone out there, if you'd like to better understand the Bible temple, it's a beautifully illustrated lesson. It has all the scriptures, fun to read, 800-835-6747, ask for the lesson God Drew The Plans. You can learn about salvation from that temple. If you have a phone call, we still have some lines open. That number is 800-GOD-SAYS. 800-463-7297. Talking next to David, calling from Minneapolis, Minnesota. David, you're on the air.

David: Hi, Pastor Doug.

Pastor Doug: Thanks for your patience.

David: Pastor Doug, real quickly, I lived in Rivermore for 10 years and my dad was a medic with the marines on Guata Canal. He said they always kept a bullet for himself. Also, what about the people who jumped out of the World Trade Center, was that suicide? And then my main question was, I was raised to believe there is a purgatory. Is that true, and where would they get that from?

Pastor Doug: All right, well let's start with your last question first. The purgatory in the Roman Catholic teaching is a concept that everyone needs to go through some purging, that's where you get the word purgatory. Some sort of fire or purging to purify you before you are really fit for heaven. Some may need more than others. You don't really find that in the Bible, a matter of fact, I understand the Catholics, I think a recent pope even dismissed their belief in purgatory. They said that--

You don't find it in the Bible, some have wondered about the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus that the rich man was in purgatory, but it doesn't say that. That is, in my humble opinion, a man made doctrine that you don't find. As far as the people that jumped off the World Trade Center, would it be a suicide? No, I don't think so. I think that there are some people that are-- If you're on a building that's on fire and you've got the choice of jumping and burning to death and you chose to jump, I think that's actually a sane decision.

They understand that several people, they took the hands of others and they said, "Look, we'll do it together." They knew that there was no hope coming and they were either going to suffer the agony of the fire or-- Instinctively when you're burning, you withdraw from it. It's just a physical reaction. I'd never accuse anyone that jumped from a burning building of suicide. Hey, I hope that helps a little bit, we appreciate your question, David. With that, we're going to talk next to April, who's calling from Loma Linda, California. April, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.

April: Hi, I accidentally encountered your program before, I just think it's great [laughs].

Pastor Doug: Thank you so much.

April: Thank you. My question is, what is the biblical definition of a fool? Maybe ask a little too narrowly, a little too simply, maybe if you want to cover the topic, maybe it's too difficult, because I know there are quite a few references to either fools or foolishness. If you could just speak to it in whatever way you choose, I would appreciate that. I thought I would start with that. What is the or a biblical definition of a fool? I'll listen to you off the air, and thank you again, very much, I'm enjoying this program.

Pastor Doug: Great, thank you so much for your call. That's very kind of you, April. It's interesting because Jesus said, "Don't call your brother a fool." Then Jesus uses that same term, at least in the King James Version, many times. He often says, "Oh fools and slow of heart to believe." He calls the Scribes and the Pharisees fools. When he said don't call anyone fool, well, you're in danger of the judgement, I think Jesus was using the word don't tell anybody that they're worthless.

There are different words, and sometimes the word for a fool is coming from the definition of somebody that is being simple-minded. Let's face it, the Bible talks about foolishness as in the heart of a child. Sometimes, children, they're young, they do silly things and simple-minded things. Christ often rebuked people for their not thinking things through, doing foolish things.

When Jesus says you don't call a person a fool in Matthew chapter 5, He's saying "Don't tell anybody that they're worthless." It's really a different emphasis that he's making there. The Bible is pretty clear, it tells us that the fool has set in his heart there is no God. It is a foolish thing. That is suicide; to deny the existence of God, especially when there is so much evidence for God in the natural world around us. I appreciate your call, April, and I hope that helps a little bit. We do still have a line or two open, 800-463-7297. Talking next to Eugene, calling from Pontiac, Michigan. Eugene you're on the air with Bible Answers Live. Hi.

Eugene: Bad connection here.

Pastor Doug: Can you hear me?

Eugene: Cheap phone. Speaking of fools, I was a complete fool. My question is about Scriptureon the subject [Unintelligible 00:49:12]. I offended a young lady neighbor of mine very much so. Enough so that she moved out on me, because of me. I wanted Scriptures on the idea of when you offend someone extremely bad, what do you do?

Pastor Doug: That's a great question and it's a practical question. Don't feel like you're alone, Eugene, there's probably nobody listening right now that hasn't said something foolish. I just recoil with regret when I think about the silly careless things I've said or done to offend people. I can't count them. Even David said, "my transgressions are more than the hairs of my head."

When you offend someone and you want to communicate sorrow for that, if they let you approach them, then you can go to them. Jesus said if you offend your brother, read Matthew 18, the whole criteria about how to be reconciled, go to them alone and apologize sincerely. You can be specific and just say you're very sorry and you hope they all forgive you. Maybe you can't approach them in person, you can write a kind note say, "it would mean so much, I'm so sorry if I offended you. What I said or did was so foolish and thoughtless."

It's like with the Lord, we repent of our sins, we confess our sins with God. It's appropriate to repent and confess. The Bible says in the book of James, "Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another." Sometimes, it might send the wrong message if this is a young lady, but sometimes if you do something, you can give a person a little gift and say "please forgive me. I'm sending a peace offering [laugh]." It shows that you care.

Those are the typical things you do. If they don't forgive you, you tell the Lord you've than all you can do as humanly to clear your soul and then you move on. You ask God to forgive you and you move on from there. Whenever you think about it, sometimes, you'll have a painful remembery and you'll have some regrets, but you don't let the devil beat you up. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and then cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's 1 John 1. Talking next to Amanda, calling from Lauren, Michigan. Amanda, you're on the air with Bible Answers Live.

Amanda: Hi. I actually had a quick question about meat eating. There's specific kinds of meat in the Bible that tell us about, as far as, there's meats that are an abomination to us, and then there's meat that you can eat.

Pastor Doug: Yes.

Amanda: That just confused me just a little bit because there's a lot of meats that are unclean.

Pastor Doug: Well, most of the things that the Bible described as unclean are not a problem for most people. I mean, the Bible says, "You're not supposed to eat buzzards and you're not supposed to eat camel." People in the middle east still do eat camel. That's why Jesus said that "Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel, but--

Amanda: There's people that eat cows.

Pastor Doug: Well, biblically, for an animal-- You'll find this criteria in-- Well, it talks about it in Genesis a little, but mostly it's in Leviticus. You can look at Leviticus 11. For a mammal to be clean, biblically, it needed two criteria. One was, it needed to be an animal that was a vegetarian, it'd eat grass and it chewed its cud. And then it needed to cloven hoof. That's where it's got the devil split hoof like a cow or a deer or a goat or a sheep. They're all considered clean animals. If it was a bird, it needed to be a foraging bird like a chicken or a turkey or a pigeon. That birds of carrion, vultures and crawls, those things were unclean, scavengers were unclean.

If it's a fish, it needed two things to be clean. It needed to be fins and scales or trout and bass and tuna would be considered clean. The other things God said-- Well, first of all the idea of diet for a man is a vegetarian diet. That's what Adam and Eve were in the garden Eden, that's what were going to eat again in heaven. So it's a lead from the tree of life. Remember where Daniel in chapter one, he and his friends said, "we're not going to eat the Babylonian food because it was unclean." At the end of 10 days, they were tested and they found to be healthier and 10 times wiser than all of the other candidates that had been eating from the royal Babylonian cafeteria.

There's principle off through the Bible, our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit. We got to care for our bodies. I've been a vegetarian. You can tell I'm a little bit radical. I've been a vegetarian for 38 years and I'm doing pretty good. I can out run most teenagers and I'm almost 60 and I have six and a half grandkids. The idea that you can't be hoofing to be a vegetarian is a myth. People say, "You're not going to get enough protein." You eat a peanut butter, jelly sandwich, you can get plenty of protein [laughs]. You can get protein, plenty of places. All right, now, I'm off my hobby horse, did that make sense?

Amanda: Yes, it does. Thank you. I wanted-- Actually, I did have one quick question. I actually-- I heard you were in Michigan a few months ago.

Pastor Doug: Yes.

Amanda: Will you be coming back to Michigan?

Pastor Doug: I'm sure I will, but I don't have a date yet. But if you keep track of us on the Amazing Facts website, or go to my Facebook page, we'll try and let you know when we're going. I've been going there for about every year or two for years. I've got some great people out there. Hey, by the way, I want to offer you a free lesson that talks about these health laws that are in the Bible. It's called God's Free Health Plan. I'll send you a free copy. Amanda just call 800-835-6747. And it's called, God's Free Health Plan. Thank you for calling.

Let me see, I'm going to talk, probably, get time for maybe one more call here. I'm going to talk to Karen who's listening on line eight. Karen, you're on the air. We got about a minute. Can I help you?

Karen: Yes. The verse that says, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." Isn't it closer to biblical that that whole chapter is talking about how to live sinless during this life?

Pastor Doug: Well, some have wondered if when it says, absent [crosstalk]

Karen: Because we're never absent from the body.

Pastor Doug: Right. Well, yes. Some-- I'm agreeing, there are some that when they read the verse, and you find this in 1 Corinthians 5, they're connecting that where with Paul talks about living for the spirit and not for the flesh. Being absent from the body means I'm not living for the flesh, I'm not going to live for the carnal nature, I'm going to live for the spiritual nature and be present with the Lord.

But Paul seems to be really talking about when the Lord comes and we'll be in God's presence. Meaning, when a believer dies, their next conscious thought is the presence of the Lord. Now we got a whole less and that talks about that, just to go to Amazing Facts and you can read our Are the Dead Really Dead? And it addresses that verse. Friends, the beautiful music is chasing us off the air. You can learn more of by going to amazingfacts.org. Remember, Jesus is the truth.



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