Q&A - Part 1

Blessings to Israel presents Discerning the Times, a program committed to encouraging you to view current events through the lens of the Bible. Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, please join us for today's program. Welcome to the program.

My name is Brian Thomas. So glad to be with you once again this week on the program where we encourage you to discern the times by viewing life through the window of the Bible. I want to remind you, as I always do, before we get into the message that your eternal state is far more important than your current state.

And so if life has not played out the way you had hoped for, I want you to know that the best is yet to come. But that is only if you have put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. If you have done so, eternity is coming and that is going to be the greatest thing that we could ever imagine. But if you have not received him as Lord and Savior, then the alternative is what is going to be your destination, which is the lake of fire.

So I encourage you, if you have never received Jesus Christ, receive him today, profess him as Lord and Savior, and you too can inherit eternal life. So once again, it's so great to be with you all once again this week. We are today going to take questions from listeners that have been submitted to us. So I'm going to be joined by my co-host, Dr. Bruce Logan, and we're going to tag team and and just get into some good question and answers. So I'm really looking forward to this program.

And Doc, how are you doing? You got your laces strapped on tight and ready to go? All ready to go. Let's do this. All right. All right.

All right. So again, we're looking forward to and we appreciate the listener questions that have been submitted. So going to begin first, the first question that we have is Jesus said in Matthew chapter 16, verse 28, that some standing there would not die until they saw his return. All that were there have died and Jesus has not yet returned. So where is truth in the statement of Christ?

So this is a great question. And this is a question that I pondered for myself years ago when I first came across this passage as also wondering, well, what is what is this all about? What did Jesus mean? So let's first look at Matthew chapter 16, verse 28, the verse in question. It reads is surely I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. Now, most interpret the words of Christ to the apostles to say, and I'm paraphrasing here, some of you standing here will not die until you see me return to establish my kingdom.

Now, again, all of the apostles have died, but Christ has not yet returned as king. So how do we make sense of this? Well, Numbers chapter 23, verse 19 declares God cannot lie. So we know God is not a liar. So again, how do we make sense of this verse?

Well, there are two possible answers that I would like to share with you. The parallel quotes of Matthew 16, 28 are Luke 9, 27 and Mark nine, verse one. So for the first possible answer, note that in each of the synoptic gospels, the next event that is recorded immediately after the statements of Jesus was the transfiguration. The transfiguration is the event in which Jesus led Peter, James and John up a high mountain, and Jesus was transfigured before them as his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as the light.

That's Matthew 17, verse two. The Bible tells us that Moses and Elijah appeared, which were representations of the law and the prophets of the Old Testament, and they spoke with Jesus. So the three apostles, therefore, saw Jesus in all his splendor and glory.

Now, the Greek word translated kingdom can also mean royal splendor, which is another way of saying king. So Matthew 16, 28 could be translated to read some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the son of man coming in his royal splendor, which is why some translations read see the son of man coming as king. So it is possible that Jesus was referring to the transfiguration rather than his coming to the earth to establish his kingdom. The three disciples at the transfiguration witnessed him as he really was in royal splendor as the king. Now, there is a second possible answer that I want to share with you, as there was an apostle who did see Jesus Christ return to establish his earthly kingdom. Now, you may be saying you just said Christ has not returned, but now you say one of the apostles saw him return.

So what are you talking about? Well, turn to Revelation, chapter 19. We look at verse 11, going to verse 16. It says, Now I saw heaven open and behold, a white horse and he who sat on him was called faithful and true. And in righteousness, he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns.

He had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood and his name is called the word of God. And the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. Now, out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the nations.

And he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written King of kings and Lord of lords. So the one that was standing there saw the return of Jesus Christ. That was the apostle John.

He wrote the Book of Revelation while he was in exile on the island of Patmos for preaching the gospel of Christ. And the Lord sent his angel to John. And the angel took John into the future by way of a vision to the time of the tribulation and the return of Christ. So John saw all of the events of Revelation that are still yet future for us. So he witnessed the coming of Christ to establish his kingdom. But with that said, I will say I do go to the first answer that I gave as being the one I truly believe is what Jesus was referring to when he said some of you because he used a plural term.

He said some of you standing here will not taste death until you see me coming in my kingdom. So that is my take on that. But, Doc, do you have anything to add? No, I I think you gave a great answer to that question. As a matter of fact, it's the exact answer that I was thinking, because one of the things about scripture, as you mentioned, as you pointed out when you first began your explanation or answer the question is you pointed out that God cannot lie.

And this we know to be a fact. And so the question then becomes, how do we interpret what seems to be contradictory? And what you you know, you simply apply the principle that I've always believed in, and that is you allow scripture to interpret scripture. And if you really look at the example that you pointed out of the Transfiguration, the very next event after Jesus made that statement was, in fact, the Transfiguration. And so it would stand to reason that that would be the most logical answer to to the question. And also you gave another great answer when you when you referenced Revelation Chapter 19, in which John literally was taken into the future before he died. And of course, now it could be argued that both examples could be part of what Jesus intended.

But the most likely answer is, of course, the Transfiguration because of the proximity in which the Transfiguration occurred in relation to Jesus making that statement. All right. Good deals. We're on the same page. All right. So what do we have up next? What's the next question that you have from the next question that we have here from our listing or from our listeners rather is what is the meaning of Daniel 12 and four? This is a very good question. So before I begin to answer, let's look at what Daniel 12 and four said. Daniel 12 and four says, But you, Daniel, shut up the words and fill the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. Now, the question is, what does that mean?

Well, it is a very long and complicated answer. But to make it kind of short and succinct, the reference is here is to the time of the end is describing a time. And notice how this verse begins. It says many shall run to and fro. Let's just just unpack that first part just for a second and notice that if you compare the way transportation was during this particular time, during the during ancient times and compare it to now, it's really amazing when you think about the fact that I can go from coast to coast in about five hours. And the Bible tells tells us that many shall run to and fro, meaning that what let me just say that a lot of scholars believe that this is referring to the the way that travel, the way people will be relocating and moving and traveling in the last days. Remember, this is this passage is associated with the last day.

So you have to make that connection with this passage and what the last days will look like. And of course, we're living in a time where you can literally travel from one I mean, really circumvent the globe in a rapid period of time and compared to ancient times. And and that has a lot to do with the knowledge and the technology that we have available in these last days. And when you think about it, just in terms of communication, we're able to instantly communicate around the globe just by picking up our phones and the way that we're able to travel. But I recall just not long ago, I went to Hawaii and in ancient times, it would have taken months in order to go to Hawaii. But I was actually which is to me, it seemed like months.

But I was on a plane for eight hours flying to Hawaii, which is really no time in the grand scheme of things. It's kind of letting us know that we are living in a time where knowledge has increased. The physical knowledge has increased. But along with the with the increase of the physical knowledge, the technological knowledge that we now have in this and these last days, and then you got to think about it, too, that just over the past less than 100 years, the advancements in technology just mind boggling when you stop to think about it. And so in the last days, knowledge should increase. Technology will become advanced beyond anything that, of course, people in ancient times could have even conceived of. But then you add that to the fact that not only will knowledge or technological knowledge be increased, but when you compare the advancement in technological knowledge with the increased understanding of where we're at on God's time calendar, and we're able to make a connection between where we're at in God's calendar or on God's timetable as relation to where we're at in terms of the increase in knowledge that has really dominated the world. And you can clearly see that we're living in a time that is reminiscent or an example of the period in which Daniel had prophesied about.

That's a very kind of simplistic response. And I can actually go into a lot more detail. But in general, I believe that this passage is referring to natural human knowledge as well as or primarily natural human knowledge. But then again, it also has to do with the with the relation of that natural human knowledge, the not corresponding level of understanding that will gain in terms of where we're at on God's divine prophetic calendar.

They both kind of correlate. Yeah, that's great. I agree.

I agree with you totally. Technology so much has increased knowledge. And and to your point, you mentioned during a previous podcast that we did that we see prophecies now. We understand them better than people did 100 years ago with 200 years ago because at one time people wonder, well, how can the whole world look upon the bodies of the two witnesses? But because of the increase in knowledge with advancements in technology, we now know everybody can just pull out a smartphone and see through a live feed their bodies lying in the street. So.

So, yeah, I agree with you totally on that. Well, we're going to pause for a brief announcement, but please don't go away on the other side of the break. We'll be back with more of our listening listener questions. So please come back and join us for listener questions and answers on the other side of the break. You are tuned into discerning the times.

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Kio Box 266, Nightdale, North Carolina, 27545. Now let's return to the conclusion of today's program. Welcome back to the program. My name is Brian Thomas being joined today by my co-host, Bruce Logan. And we are answering listeners submitted questions. So the next question that we have is, is it true that God ordered a prophet to marry a prostitute?

So the short answer is yes. God ordered Hosea, a prophet, to marry a woman of harlotry, as is recorded in Hosea chapter one, verses one and two. That text reads the word of the Lord that came to Hosea, son of Birai during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. And during the reign of Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, king of Israel, when the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, go marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her. So we can see clearly that from the scripture that God commanded Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman.

But then the question is why? Because say a young man were to come today to me seeking counsel concerning finding the spouse. I would not and I'm sure many of you out there listening would not advise him to go search out a prostitute and take her hand in marriage. Nobody in their right mind, not even nonbelievers in Christ, would give that kind of advice. So if we continue by looking at the last portion of Hosea one, two, we find for like an adulterous wife, this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord. So telling a man to marry a prostitute goes against conventional wisdom.

But we must remember that God stated, my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. God would sometimes have prophets symbolically represent a prophecy. And in this case, God commanded that Hosea marry a prostitute to illustrate Israel's unfaithfulness to him. Now, imagine what Hosea must have felt upon hearing this charge from God to take a woman as a wife who a large portion of the men in town had sexual relations with.

And of course, he suffered, I'm sure, emotional and psychological pain, coping with this and knowing that she was also going to return to this prostitution during the marriage. But he obeyed God. Hosea one, three says, so he married Gomorrah, daughter of Diablium, and she conceived and bore him a son. So the people of Israel had repeatedly been unfaithful to God by practicing idolatry to Baal and other false gods. And God equated this feeling to that of a married woman practicing whoredom. And God stated that the Israelites following false gods was the same feeling as a wife forgetting about her husband and running after other men. Hosea 2 13 reads and went after her lovers. But me, she forgot, says the Lord.

But he declared that he would still love her forever. So Gomer, Hosea's wife, she did indeed. She left him. She returned to her immoral life on the streets.

But here's the interesting thing. God commanded Hosea to go look for her and purchase her back as wife. That's in Hosea chapter three, verses one through three. So even after adultery, Hosea restored her as wife as a symbol of the way that God would restore the Israelites even after they went after idol gods. And God was continuing his illustration, except now he wanted to show the greatness of his grace. He said, love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods. So this is a foreshadow of God's love that would be demonstrated through Jesus Christ for not only Israel, but for everyone. He purchased us back by shedding his blood on the cross. So I hope that is a succinct and sufficient answer.

But, Dr. Logan, you have anything you would like to add to that? You shared that, explained it perfectly. Basically, God, through the prophet Hosea, was sending a message to Israel that you had rebelled against me and that God, in fact, was comparing their rebellion against him to the rebellion of a prostitute against her husband. And that was the analogy that he was making. But then he was also saying, I'm still married to you.

The meaning meaning that I still love you. And basically he was making that analogy a more of a big picture analogy that he was using Hosea's experience with Gomer to illustrate where they stood with him or where God stood with his people. Yeah. And that's truly amazing that God, you know, he still takes us, you know, as long as we'll turn back and repent. And it's just amazing. And folks, it shows the weight of when we are unfaithful to God, when we sin, when we go after idols, how it makes God feel. We should really think about that. How it would make us feel if we had an unfaithful spouse. So. All right, Doc.

So what's what's next from our listeners? OK, I have a very controversial. One of the more controversial questions of our time, a question that I often wonder why it's so controversial is considering the fact that the word of God is so clear on the subject.

But again, you know, we live in a culture where, you know, this has become a major deal. And the question is, I know of several people who were born with the attraction to same sex individuals and they feel that God, quote, made them this way. Growing up in a Pentecostal church, the the the questioner goes on to say, we call them sissy, quote, unquote, and other terrible names from the pulpit. We are taught to shun them.

We didn't want that spirit, quote, to jump off on us. And I'm and I'm just going to pause for a minute because I'm sure that there are many out there listening that have heard that, you know, we don't want that spirit to jump off on us or, you know, hear them called sissies from the pulpit. And but then then the question concludes by saying, what scriptures do you suggest sharing with them on deliverance and salvation? But let me just start by saying that the I can tell that the person who wrote this question grew up in a Pentecostal church because he used a couple of phrases in the quest and asking of the question or the framing of the question that I've heard over and over again. I've actually heard bishops use the word sissy from the pulpit.

And I've also heard, you know, the term we don't want that spirit jumping off on us. I can't even tell you how many times I've heard that stated over the pulpit. But the question is, what scriptures do you suggest sharing with them on deliverance and salvation? First of all, for starters, as believers and as ministers of the gospel, we have to come to grips and we can't shy away from a very important issue on this particular topic.

And that is the fact that there is a harsh reality that we cannot escape. And the reality is that the sin of homosexuality is one of the two sins along with divination and the occult that God said, this is an abomination. This is a sin that that God wiped out entire civilizations over. And if you heard me say on previous podcast episodes that God did not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because they had some racist police.

So because, you know, there were slaves there, that was not the reason that Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed. And so that's that's a harsh biblical reality that's really inescapable. But with that said, we have to confront the sin and we have to draw our distinction between the individual and the sin. There's an old saying that I used to hear quite often and I believe is true that we are to love the sinner, but hate the sin. And so I can understand the offense that someone would have over hearing terms like sissy coming over the pulpit. So so I would absolutely say that as believers, we need to refrain from that type of usage of the language or the type of usage of language. But however, we can't shy away from the topic because God made them male and female, period.

Point blank. God did not make you this way. So we have to start there. And it doesn't even apply necessarily just to homosexuality. This principle can apply to any sin in our lives. If we if we have adultery, whatever it is, sin might be in our life. We have to confront the sin.

And so that's point number one. We have to acknowledge the fact that God absolutely did not make you this way. And there's a passage of scripture because the proliferation of this movement and our culture.

I just heard today on the radio, I was running errands this morning and I heard on the radio this morning where where Disney is planning to make a transgender cartoon, a transgender cartoon. And that's something that they have in the works currently at this goal to show you how far gone this culture has become on this particular topic. And there's a scripture, Second Thessalonians Chapter two, verse 11, where God says that he was going to give people over to a strong delusion. And that's exactly what we're seeing in our culture today, is that people are being given over to a strong delusion or reprobate mind as recorded in the Book of Romans Chapter one.

And simply put, God sends a strong delusion to those who choose not to believe the gospel of Christ, those who take delight in mocking and rejecting him by the Bible says he will condemn. So we need to put have perspective. We need to put perspective over the fact that the sin of of of homosexuality and same sex, same sex attraction is not of God.

So we need to start there. We need to start stop blaming God or saying God is the cause for me being this way. That's the same as saying God is the reason why I'm a thief or God is the reason why I'm an adulterer or whatever the case might be.

God is the reason why I'm a liar or whatever the case might be. The fact of the matter is, is that we are products of a sinful, endemic nature. That's why we needed a savior in the first place. So God comes to save us from our sins. And that's the position that I believe that we as believers and as ministers of the gospel should always take when it comes to dealing with any sin. But especially this particular sin of homosexuality, a same sex, same sex attraction. And, you know, again, to put it short, we have to start by loving the sinner, but condemning the sin. And we have to draw that distinction. And we should be cognizant of that distinction when we're speaking, especially over the pulpit. Man, doc, you hit that nail square on the head. I mean, that was that was an excellent answer.

And I'm with you. I hear that term calling people sissies from the pulpit. And I always cringe when I hear that because like this this question that came in from the listener states, we want people to be delivered. But when you you mock them and you call them names, especially publicly, it's not going to make somebody feel like they're being drawn to the Lord. It's going to make them instead feel shunned.

And it's probably going to drive them further out. So I'm glad you mentioned that. Well, we're out of time for this week, but these are just great questions. I'm really loving these questions that came in and we're going to park it there for this week. But we have more. So we're coming back next week with more listener questions and answers. So please come back and join us as we continue to encourage you to.