Ask A Bible Teacher
Announcing a new website feature!
Recent events in the world have brought us many new readers and generated many questions. I’ve answered them all individually via email but from now on I’ll be publishing the ones that give added insight into the prophetic issues that confront us as well.
Announcing a new website feature!
Recent events in the world have brought us many new readers and generated many questions. I’ve answered them all individually via email but from now on I’ll be publishing the ones that give added insight into the prophetic issues that confront us as well. I’ve done a little editing, mostly to conserve space and correct spelling and grammar, but overall the questions appear pretty much as you wrote them. I’ll continue to add new questions with my answers as I receive them in a non-stop Q & A designed to give even greater insight into the times in which we live. We’re calling this feature “Ask a Bible Teacher” and making it a separate category on the right hand menu bar of the Home Page. Here’s a sample of questions we’ve recently received.
Q. About your article on “Iran Vs America and the Us Port Sale”……What does this mean to us ordinary Americans? Should we empty our bank accounts or will our money be no good? What can we do to prepare for such an event?
A. Good question. I’m not a financial expert and so am not equipped to advise you on those matters. Typically in times of inflation the price of foreign made goods increases, as does the price of American goods made from imported materials. Today, that’s just about everything, so I would expect prices to go up, maybe a lot. The prices of products made from oil would be especially vulnerable to increase.
The biggest difference in the value of US money would be seen if you travel outside the US, but the only way money would become worthless is if the government failed, an unlikely event.
Beyond that, it’s anybody’s guess. Since you read my article, I’m assuming you’re a Christian. Remember I quoted the European Think tank LEAP as saying there’s an 80% likelihood of this happening, and that the US and /or Iran could do things to reduce the probability. So it’s not a sure thing. Let’s pray it that the Lord would cause world leaders to act to avoid this crisis. I would also suggest you read Matt. 6 especially verses 24-34. It will remind you that the Lord has sworn to keep you through difficult times. (Note: As of April 8 the Iranian Oil bourse had not opened due to “technical difficulties.”)
Q. Re: “If God doesn’t judge America, he’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Please don’t misunderstand. But I have always understood the quote you attributed to Billy Graham was actually made by Ruth Bell Graham, his wife. My intent is solely to keep your ministry error free as I have the utmost appreciation for your desire to be biblical and timely as well as accurate.
A. There is much confusion here, with some “experts” attributing the quote to Rev. Graham and some to his wife Ruth. Apparently both have made the statement in public. The confusion may be due to whether she was quoting him when she said it. Most leading Prophecy sites credit him. Many other reference sites credit her. Can you help us officially clear this up?
Reader Follow Up. I spoke with the Billy Graham Association and they are not sure even if the comment originated with either of the Grahams. They acknowledge that both have been quoted as making the comment. However, even they are unsure as to which of them may have quoted it first.
Now I too can feel comfortable quoting either of them as the source. Thank you for your spirit of peace and desire to be forthright in all your kingdom endeavors. My prayers will be with you and your ministry as you continue to glorify the Father by proclaiming and promoting His son.
Q. I just read an article written by you that was included in my “Prophecy Update” email that I receive. (Seven Things You Have to Know to Understand End Times Prophecy) I have a question – on what Scripture do you base your statement that as soon as the believing church reaches a predetermined number, the Rapture will occur? I have been interested in Eschatology for years, and I don’t recall that verse.
A. The verse upon which the view is based is Romans 11:25 “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.”
It’s based on the belief that God’s dealing with Israel and the Church are mutually exclusive. When He was focused on Israel there was no church, and while He’s been focused on the Church there has been no Israel. Plus the phrase “full number” was often used in a nautical sense to describe the full complement of crew and cargo necessary to accomplish a ship’s mission. The ship couldn’t sail till those requirements were met. The word translated “come in” means to arrive at a designated place.
For there to be a working Temple in Israel at the End of the Age, Israel has to first return to God. Otherwise no Temple is necessary. Paul wrote that Israel’s heart won’t be softened toward God until the full number of Gentiles has come in. In to where? Into the church, which is then raptured to our designated place to hide us from the End Times judgments, and allow God to focus on Israel again.
Acts 15 :14-18 supports this view saying that after the Lord has taken a people from among the gentiles, he’ll return to rebuild David’s fallen tabernacle. (the Temple) So when the church has reached its appointed number, the Rapture occurs. The Jews hearts are softened toward God and they demand a Temple in which to worship Him. Since this softening happens at the end of Ezekiel 39 (see v. 22 and 29) the Church must be raptured before or during Ezekiel’s battle, and Ezekiel’s battle must precede Daniel’s 70th week. Both Daniel and Paul (2 Thes, 2:4 ) allude to the Temple being desecrated in the Middle of the 70th week.
Q. I have just “discovered” your wonderful website. I do believe you have a gift from God on prophecy. I can’t get enough of it! In what order do you see the following happening?
Rapture … Ezk. 38-39 … Israel, U.S. vs. Iran. Feel free to fill in any blanks if you like.
A. Thanks for those kind words. I believe the Rapture will precede Ezekiel’s battle, but could happen as late as simultaneously because Ezekiel’s battle turns Israel back to God which begins Daniel’s 70th week. And that means God’s focus will be on them, not the church. He’s never dealt with both at the same time, so the church has to go, just as Israel had to go when the church was born.
Whether the Israel / US attack on Iran will be part of Ezekiel’s battle or will precede it is something I’m not sure of, but I do think that attack will likely happen very soon. I don’t think the US will allow Iran to set up a competitive oil exchange as they’ve proposed to do on March 20th because it could damage, or maybe even destroy, the US economy within a relatively short period of time. Iran’s defiance of the UN’s order to stop processing uranium will be used to justify the attack.
Q. If scripture says that it will be as in the days of Noah and Lot, I like to keep it simple and think that while things are sort of normal, that is when we meet the Lord, then the ark door will be closed and the fire and brimstone will happen. Could it be that, that is how the US will lose its power.
A. In Matt 24:37 where the “days of Noah” phrase appears, Jesus is talking about the 2nd Coming, not the Rapture of the Church. And He’s reminding people that when Noah entered the ark the world was so totally given over to all sorts of evil and mayhem that no one heeded Noah’s warning that judgment was coming. They refused to enter the ark and be saved, so they all perished in the flood.
At the 2nd coming it will be the same. The world will be so totally given over to evil and mayhem that no one will heed the warning that Jesus is coming back to judge the world. They’ll refuse to call upon His name and be saved, and will perish in the eternal fires of Hell.
The church is promised escape from the Great Tribulation, but nowhere are we promised a “normal” life. In fact, many believe the world is on the verge of becoming very abnormal.
The days before the flood were an extreme test of faith for Noah and his family. Not one person supported their decision to abandon their “normal” life and obey the Lord’s commands. And for seven days after they entered the ark nothing happened. Can you imagine how their friends laughed and jeered while they sat there waiting for the rain to come?
The days before the rapture of the Church could also be a time where our faith is tested. In this world you will have trouble, the Lord said. But take heart, for I have overcome the world. (John 16:33).
Q. I have discovered your site as of late and am blessed by the ease of understanding. This article is an example of the beauty of the truth and of your God-given and blessed talent in presenting it. I have a question and I am hoping for some guidance.
I understand the spirit being taken out of the way so that the rest of the “nasty” can begin. But I have read somewhere, not sure where to be honest, that this cannot possibly be true. The question is then posed how would believers be born again (or saved or filled with the holy spirit) as is mentioned in Revelation if the holy spirit was taken away.
Now I realize I don’t have the scripture references in Revelation to direct you to this concept and the only thing I can tell you is that the reference was to a time frame after the church/holy spirit was “taken out of the way”.
However, when I did my own search, Revelation11:11 and 14:13 may support this issue. Basically, If I could restate my question, maybe it would sound better like this, “What spirit fills the ones who miss the rapture but are saved during the tribulation if that which keeps the devil at bay is taken away at rapture.”
A. Great question! Just as the Holy Spirit came upon people during Old Testament times, but was not sealed within them, the same will happen during the post church period. The special church age ministry of the Holy Spirit will cease, but the work of the Holy Spirit goes on, perhaps bringing more souls to salvation during the post church period than in all of preceding history. Like Old Testament saints, these believers won’t be part of the church, and will have a different role in eternity, but they’ll be saved none-the-less.
Remember, the Spirit of God is omni-present, but chose to dwell within the body of believers during the church age as a special blessing to those who believed by faith, guaranteeing their inheritance. Once the church is safely hidden, the Holy Spirit is released to return to His work on Earth, as your post-rapture references in Revelation 11 and 14 show.
Q. Re: Honest To God.
Because so much is lost in an email, my tone is one of pleading in love for a brother… I don’t understand how you can so bluntly reprimand people for not taking God’s Word at creation when you try to fit millions of years (evolution) into the Bible? You’re contradicting yourself. If you think you need to add millions of years into the Bible to make what the secular scientists say fit into the Bible, then who do you really trust? God or the scientists? Why add something in there that isn’t there? Basically that’s all it comes down to: who are you going to trust, God or the very fallible scientist with very fallible dating methods? If it took millions of years to make the earth “appear old”, then you’d think God would’ve added an extra line in Himself saying, “Oh yeah, by the way millions of years passed right here in between these verses…”
If you start with the Bible and observe the world everything makes sense. But if you start with the scientists and then look at the Bible, you have to do things like squeeze “undetermined amounts of time” into the creation to explain the “old earth” (or so scientist insist). What next? You’d have to squeeze dinosaurs out of the Bible instead of having them exist with man on Day 6 just because the word “dinosaur” isn’t in there? You’d also have to squeeze the light from distant stars as having to have taken billions of years to reach earth, then the earth would be a block of ice an no one would be alive… unless God created it the way He says He did…
So I plead with you who have a wide audience frequenting your site who will not take the time to dig for themselves… take God at His Word on creation. Don’t compromise with the scientists by trying to squeeze a non-existent millions of years into the Bible when it’s simply not there.
And last, if there was judgment before Adam then there was death on earth before Adam, and that means God lied when He said death came because of Adam… which in turn means we’re all still in our sins because Christ’s atoning death sacrifice wasn’t for Adam at all. Either way, it’s bad news and bad doctrine.
A.WOW! You’re reading an awful lot into my brief paragraph explaining the difference of opinion on one word, a difference, by the way, that has been around for generations in the Evangelical community, and has nothing to do with science. A number of the greatest Evangelical scholars have believed as I do, and my study Bible offers the use of “became” instead of “was” as an alternate translation in Genesis 1:2.
In my article I was pleading for a return to a literal understanding of the creation account, which begins in verse three with Day one. I only mentioned the issue over verse two to show that it’s the only part of the entire account where there’s any room for interpretation, and no matter how you view it, it doesn’t change the fact that God created the world just like it says. Remember Day one takes place in verse 3.
Satan’s judgment is a matter of biblical record, in Isaiah 14:12-20 and Ezekiel 28:11-19. It occurred before Adam and is not mentioned in the Creation Account so it must have happened before verse 3 but had to have happened after verse 1. Job 38 says the angels shouted for joy when the Lord said “Let there be light.” They’re created beings, yet no mention of their creation is made. When did it happen?
I made no mention of death in my summary. Neither man nor animal had been created yet, so who was there to die? And in the original Hebrew language of verse 2 the “oh by the way” idea you mention may actually appear. That’s why I brought it up.
I also believe the visible ravages caused to Earth were caused by the Great Flood and don’t see how you concluded that I don’t. I made no mention of dinosaurs, or light from distant stars, nor did I take issue with a single point of the Biblical Creation account that begins in verse 3.
Q. Re: The Three Components of Humanity
Please explain to me where this comes from. What about the rest of the races that exist on this earth? This one really threw me..and other people that are looking to this site for truth.
Be glad to. First of all it comes from the passages I quoted, one from Ephesians and one from Corinthians. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Ephes. 2:15-16) Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks (Gentiles) or the church of God (1 Cor. 10:32). The article goes on to document their destinies as specified in the Bible. These three are the only subdivisions of humanity the Bible deals with, and as I said everyone on earth belongs to one of them.
The Bible doesn’t disclose the eternal destinies of Canadians, or Africans, or British or Iranians, or any other nationality because God has only separated humanity into three groups, and all of humanity belongs to one of the three. It doesn’t matter what country you live in or what nationality you are, if you’re born again you’re in the Church and your eternal destiny will be different from that of either Jews or Gentiles. If you’re not a religious Jew and not born again, then you’re a Gentile and your eternal destiny will be different from either Jews or the Church. Likewise, Israel’s destiny is unique to them. Understanding prophecy requires a correct understanding of this concept. Otherwise it’s easy to take prophecy meant for one group and apply it to another.
Well that gives you an idea of the kinds of questions we get, and more are coming all the time. We’ll keep posting them in this special new feature. Look for “Ask a Bible Teacher” on the Menu Bar along the right side of the Home Page. We’ll add new posts as we get new questions, so check in often. And better yet, if you have a question on any biblical topic, just email it to questions@gracethrufaith.com and I’ll do my best to respond right away. And who knows? Maybe you’ll see it in Ask a Bible Teacher, too. 04-08-06
