KHCB Broadcast – Pastor’s Q and A – January 25, 2024

KHCB Q & A – 01-25-2024 – Full Program Transcript

Announcer: [00:00:00] Good evening. Welcome to our weekly Question and Answers program. A program where you can call us with your questions about the Bible, a scripture or the Christian way of life. And our guests will answer that question for you live on the air. Tonight’s guests are Dr. Andy Woods, Senior Pastor at Sugar Land Bible Church. He’s also president of the Chafer Theological Seminary. He has authored and contributed to many Christian books and theological journals. He also speaks on a variety of topics at Christian conferences and churches. Also tonight we have Dr. Jim McGowan, Associate pastor of Sugar Land Bible Church. The church website can be found at SLBC.org.

You can also reach them at the “Pastors Point of View” found on YouTube (Pastor’s Point of View) and Rumble (Pastor’s Point of View) and their website Andy Woods Ministries.org.

If you’re calling from inside the Houston listening area, you can dial 832- 922-4444. That’s 832- 922-4444. If you’re calling from around the KHCB network outside the Houston area, you can dial 877-999-5422. That’s 877-999-5422. Or if you’d rather email your question to us, you can send that to questions. That’s plural Questions@KHCB.org and it will appear on our computer screen here in the studio and we’ll forward it to our guests. We ask that you not mention any denominations or personal names, because our aim tonight is to answer questions relating to the Bible. And now to get us started, here are our Pastors Dr. Andy Woods and Dr. Jim McGowan.

Pastor Jim: [00:02:37] Welcome once again listening, friends, thank you for tuning in this evening. Jim McGowan here with my friend, published author, conference speaker, president of Chafer Theological Seminary, and Senior Pastor at Sugar Land Bible Church, doctor Andy Woods. And we, together with Brother Noe, our producer and call screener, have some wonderful news for you this evening. And that is that God is going to do something marvelous just for you. And we know this because we will be mining precious nuggets from God’s Holy Word, the Bible, the only inspired, authoritative revelation of everlasting truth and God’s Holy Word, properly interpreted, has the answers we need for all things that pertain to life and godliness. So expect to hear from God this evening and expect him to speak to you. And remember to be sure and thank Him for the answers he provides you. And just before we go to the phones, let me remind you to. If you would be so kind, please remember that when we bring you on the air to please keep it to one question only. Also, we want to ask you to please remember to turn the volume down before we do bring you on the air. And that prevents, uh, feedback and the like for other callers. So appreciate that. And then finally, be sure and to remember that once you give us your question on the air, go ahead and hang up and listen for the answer. And that way you won’t have any interference with trying to listen to us over the phone and trying to listen to your radio at the same time. So with all that said, let’s see here. Looks like we do have one person waiting. So let’s go right to the phones this evening. Thank you for calling the program this evening. What is your Bible question for Doctor Woods?

Caller: [00:04:18] Yes. Uh, it’s in relation to prophecy and the Great Tribulation. Uh, I understand that the church will be Raptured. Uh, and then that will be the beginning of the Great Tribulation. So no believer will be on the earth at that time. But we also know that there will God will raise 140,000 evangelists of Jewish, uh, background. So since they are born-again believers and they will be preaching during the Tribulation, they I don’t understand, uh, their presence on the earth since the church has been Raptured and then their converts that become like they and like we members of the body of Christ, those who come to faith in Christ during the Tribulation, they will not experience the Rapture either. So these evangelists and their converts will go through the Tribulation. So how can that be since the church will be in heaven with the Lord? So that’s my question. I do not know if I express myself clearly, but that is, uh, the question that I have.

Pastor Jim: [00:05:40] All right. That is an excellent question. And let me just, uh, encourage you and say thank you for calling, because I can tell you, there are a lot of people that have asked that very same question and are wanting an answer to it. So let me kick it over to Doctor Woods, and I know he has a great answer.

Pastor Andy: [00:05:55] Well, as I understand it, he’s asking, how are the 144,000 converted after the church is gone? Um.

Pastor Jim: [00:06:03] And the distinction in their identity? He mentioned that they were all members of the church. So we probably need to clarify that also the Tribulation saints, or maybe not in the same thing as Saints.

Pastor Andy: [00:06:15] Yeah. Well, the church, um, is a unique, uh, new man. It’s a spiritual organism, uh, where Jew and Gentile are united in one new body called the Body of Christ. You’ll see that developed in Ephesians 2, verse 14, Galatians 3, verse 28, many other passages. And that’s just a unique period of time that we’re in. It started on the day of Pentecost, and that the earthly sojourn of the church will end with the Rapture. So the people that get saved in the Tribulation period are not the church. In fact, the word church is used 19 times the Greek word ecclesia in chapters 1 through 3 of the Book of Revelation. But by the time you get to that futuristic section of the book, um, the word church doesn’t even appear. So whoever these people are, that they get saved, they’re not part of the body of Christ. I’m not saying that they’re not going to Heaven, but they’re not part of this unique man called the Church. So I would put them under the category of, you know, saved, uh, saints. And just like when in the Old Testament there were Jews, and you think of Gentiles like Ruth and, you know, a number of others, you know, the Queen of Sheba, perhaps. You know, maybe those that Jonah ministered to in Nineveh. Um. Uh, you know, that were saved. But we don’t we don’t say they’re part of the Church. They were saved looking forward before the Church Age started. And so all you have in the Tribulation period is a lot of people. And there’s an overwhelming number in Revelation 7 people that are saved, you know, after the Church Age has ended and the church is already in heaven. But one question that’s beyond that, that’s very interesting is if the 144,000 Jewish evangelists evangelized these people, how do they get saved? And we really don’t have with the church in Heaven, how do we don’t really have a clear answer on that.

Pastor Andy: [00:08:19] Um, one possibility is they’re reading something. You know, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Yeah, a lot of people leave tracks, you know, where they think the 144,000 are going to be. And maybe it’s kind of like a Gideon’s Bible sort of experience where a lot of people get saved, uh, in hotels just by opening Gideon’s Bible following the references. That’s one possibility. Another possibility is maybe these 144,000 get saved like the apostle Paul got saved, you know, through a direct, uh, vision. You know, remember, Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9 and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” And that led to the conversion of Saul. You know where he became Paul. So maybe some kind of private vision, you know, is how these 144,000 are saved. But, you know, we’re really not told. But they are they do get saved, right? They’re called the first-fruits because they’re going to reach a bunch of people later. And they’re going to reach, uh, the rest of the nation of Israel. Uh, more of the nation will get saved. And then a whole bunch of, uh, gentiles will get saved, um, in Revelation chapter 7. But that’s there’s all of these salvations I’m talking about are not to be confused with the body of Christ, which is already ended at the point of the Rapture. So yeah, I hope I answered the question.

Pastor Jim: [00:09:45] So, we would see a distinction between Old Testament saints, Church Age saints and Tribulation saints. And it’s important not to confuse those categories. Right?

Pastor Andy: [00:09:55] Yeah. People say what use the word saints. Well, what saints are you talking about? You just name the three categories Old Testament saints, pre-Church Age saints. In other words, Tribulation saints, post-Church Age saints or people that are saved in our age, um, who you know are Church Age saints, right?

Pastor Jim: [00:10:15] Right. Amen. Well, we hope that was helpful to you. Thank you so much for calling the program. And speaking of calling the program, let me give out those numbers again. I noticed that we don’t have any lines lit up. So if you’re in the local area, you can call 832-922-4444. Again 832-922-4444. If you’re outside the local area, you can call toll free at 877-999-5422. That’s 877-999-5422. If you prefer, you can always email us here at KHCB at Questions@KHCB.org. So while we’re waiting for the phones to light up, pastor, let’s go to our mail box here and see what we have. Here’s a question. This individual emailed in and says, um, in excuse me. “In Psalm 19:12. The NKJV reads who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. And the question is, whose errors? God’s errors?  Uh, what does the psalmist or why does the psalmist ask that question?”

Pastor Andy: [00:11:30] Well, Psalm 19 is, um, one of those psalms talking about the revelation of God and how God has revealed himself. He’s disclosed himself in two sources. One is what we would call general revelation. Uh, that would just be nature and conscience and things like that. And you see that there in verses 1 through 6. But when you get to verse 7, it says, the law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. Now he’s talking about special revelation where God has disclosed himself in His Word. And the truth of the matter is, the word has functions in our lives. Um, it’s called in Hebrews 4 verse 12, you know, a sharp, two edged sword, you know, dividing soul and spirit. Uh, Paul writing to Timothy in 2nd Timothy 3, verse 16, uh, you know, all Scripture is God breathed and profitable. And then he lists the reasons why it’s profitable for correction. Rebuke, reproof, training, and righteousness. So with all of that being said, when Psalm 19, verse 12, talking about God’s Word, says, “who can discern his errors? Acquit me of my hidden faults”. It’s talking about the work of the Word in David’s life. Yes, you know the work the word exposed David to, to David, the center that he was. And he’s lamenting that.  And that’s what the Word of God does, and praise the Lord. The Word does that because if we didn’t understand that, we would never embrace, you know, the salvation message of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Jim: [00:13:13] Amen. Great answer and great question. We hope that was helpful to you. And I see we have a couple of people waiting. So let’s go back to the phones. Uh, thank you for calling the program. What is your Bible question for Doctor Woods this evening?

Caller: [00:13:26] Hello.

Pastor Jim: [00:13:27] Yeah. Hi. How are you?

Caller: [00:13:29] Okay. Yes, sir. Yes. Um, okay. I’m not exactly sure. Um, I mean, I know where this verse is, but I can’t put my finger on it right now. But I know that you can, because it’s very common. It’s about the Rapture. It’s either in Thessalonians 4, but I think it’s in Matt. It’s I believe it’s in the one of the ones in Matthew, like Matthew 24. But I’ll, I’ll just say my question and I know you can find it fairly easily. And then if he can please tell me what I think, that I think there’s another meaning to reading this. All right. I’ll just say it. Okay. It’s where it says, um, where in the dead in Christ. It’s about the Rapture and where the dead in Christ shall rise first. And I, I’m looking at that like, doesn’t that mean that believers who are dead to themselves or to their flesh, but they’re alive to Christ, they’re surrendered to Christ? That is isn’t that could that possibly mean the same as the dead in Christ shall rise first? Because I don’t understand when we die, when I die, I’ll be right away with the Lord like that. And so, um, that’s a little bit, um, I just want to know if he can agree with that or explain what he thinks about that. Possibly. does that make sense?

Pastor Jim: [00:14:56]  Makes great sense. And what a great question. Thanks for calling the program you’re called and you’re asking the right person. Doctor Woods is an expert in prophecy.

Pastor Andy: [00:15:06] All right. Well, the verse verses she’s talking about is 1st Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18. And before we get to the part about the dead in Christ will rise first. I mean, it’s important to understand the context. Verse 13, Paul writes to the Thessalonians and he says, “we don’t want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep”. Now, asleep is a euphemism, you know, a polite way of saying death. And Paul only uses that to describe the death of the believer. Because just like sleep is temporary, um, the non-use of this body, you know, is temporary. So he says, “but we do not want you to, uh, to be uninformed, brethren, about those who have fallen asleep, um, that you may grieve, as do the rest, who have no hope”. And basically, what he’s saying is it’s appropriate to grieve when a loved one dies. But don’t grieve, um, as if there’s no hope. Don’t grieve as if you’re never going to see them again. Because if they’re a believer and that’s who Paul is dealing with here, um, you’re going to see them again at the point of the Rapture. So if I were to die before the Rapture occurred, um, the Bible teaches Second Corinthians 5, verse 8, “absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”. Uh, Philippians 1:21 through 23 Paul says, “for me to live as Christ, to die is gain. It would better for me to depart and be with Christ, which is much better”.

Pastor Andy: [00:16:45] So, that’s where the believer goes when they die pre-Rapture, they go into the presence of the Lord. So when the Rapture occurs, the Rapture actually begins with those deceased loved ones in the presence of the Lord. They are placed in resurrected bodies first and they begin to descend. And those who are alive and on the earth at the time are placed in resurrected bodies. Second, and they begin to ascend. They are Harpazo, it says, caught up. And there’s a reunion in the sky between the two groups. And at the Rapture, Christ’s feet never touched the earth. That will happen at the Second Advent. So the two groups unite in the sky and the two groups are – forever with the Lord.  And so Paul here is explaining that you’re going to see your deceased loved ones again, the dead in Christ at the point of the Rapture, because he had taught them about the Rapture, but they didn’t understand how the doctrine applied to those that had died since Paul left. And so that’s his explanation. That’s why he says comfort one another with these words. Verse 18, so that’s who the dead in Christ are. That’s not people that have, uh, achieved some kind of, you know, spiritual victory through the mortification of the flesh. I mean, dead there, just needs to be identified verse 16, I think it is, with verse 13. So, uh, hope, hope that helps a little bit.

Pastor Jim: [00:18:21] All right. Great answer and great question. Thank you again for calling the program. Let’s go back to the phones. Thank you for waiting. What is your Bible question for Doctor Woods this evening?

Caller: [00:18:30] Hello. Good evening, Pastor Woods and McGowen. Um, hi. How are you doing? I have a quick question regarding for 1^st Samuel 28, 11 through 16, but I’m thinking, um, it’s about the Witch of Endor. My question is, um, I’m sure you had this question before, but why is it in some translations, it says that there are gods coming out of the earth. In other words, whenever she was calling out for the dead, for Samuel. And then, um, the other question would be, was that really Samuel who saw both to thank you and, uh, have a good night. Have a good evening.

Pastor Jim: [00:19:07] All right. Thank you so much for that. Great question. Pastor?

Pastor Andy: [00:19:11] Well, I didn’t quite hear the first part of it. He said something like, why are there gods coming out of the earth?.

Pastor Jim: [00:19:18] Yeah because it says that there were they saw gods coming up out of the earth. And of course, this was a pagan woman that was saying this, right? The witch.

Pastor Andy: [00:19:24] So I guess I would understand that as she’s satanically influenced, demonically influenced. Um, but related to Samuel, you know, was that really Samuel or not? There’s a big debate on that. Um, a lot of people will say, well, you know, uh, Hebrews 9:27, it’s appointed for man once to die then to face the judgment. So the dead, you know, can’t come back into this life at all. And so they take Samuel there as, um, a demon pretending to be Samuel. Which is a possible interpretation. Um, I’m not of that persuasion. When I read 1st Samuel chapter 28 and these different passages about the Witch of Endor, it just says, Samuel. Um, and I think, um, uh, it was Saul right there dealing with him. I think he was startled. Because it really was Samuel who had already died. And so God, for whatever reason, allowed Samuel to come back and sort of make a guest appearance in this particular occasion. So it is a general rule, you know, it’s appointed once for a man to die, then to face the judgment. But it’s not like God can’t set aside the rule at times. I mean, he did it with Lazarus. John 11, you know, Lazarus, uh, died. And then he came back. He was resuscitated. John 11 by Jesus. And then he died again. So there are some exceptions to the rule. So, uh, you know, the text just says Samuel doesn’t really give you any impression in the text itself that it was a demon, you know, impersonating Samuel. Although a lot of people, uh, hold at that position.

Pastor Jim: [00:21:07] Great question. We hope that was helpful to you. And God bless you for calling the program. All right. I think we have one more caller waiting. So let’s go back to the phones. Thank you for waiting. What is your Bible question for Doctor Woods this evening?

Caller: [00:21:19] Uh, hello, Doctor Woods, I’m interested in knowing the difference between Jethro’s priesthood, the priest of Midian, and, uh, the Melchizedek priesthood. And I’ll hang up and listen. Thank you. Have a great day.

Pastor Jim: [00:21:32] All right, thank you for calling the program.

Pastor Andy: [00:21:35] Well, the Melchizedek priesthood is goes into the book of Hebrews. And, uh, the author of the book of Hebrews reaches back to this character that’s only mentioned once in the Bible, Genesis 14, around verses 18 through 20. You know this man Melchizedek, and he kind of uses him to develop, um, a whole concept called the Melchizedek priesthood, which is the priesthood that Jesus now occupies. And the point of the book of Hebrews is that Christ, Christ’s priesthood, is higher than Aaron’s priesthood. Um, you know, Aaron ministered in an earthly tabernacle. Jesus ministers in a heavenly tabernacle. Aaron’s priests died and had to be replaced. You know, Jesus, Hebrews 7 lives forever more, you know, to make intercession for us. Um, the priests under Aaron’s line came from a specific tribe. The tribe of Levi and Jesus could not have been a normal Aaronic priest because he was born from the tribe of Judah. So the author, it’s very interesting of Hebrews, develops all of these connections with this ancient character, Melchizedek, to kind of use typology to show that Jesus and where he’s at currently is, is in a higher place than Aaron’s priests were in. And that’s really important to the author’s audience, because the author is concerned that his audience is going to lapse backward from the full revelation of Christ back into Judaism to escape persecution that they were under, the Hebrews. And so, you know, the author of Hebrews is communicating the point that why would you do that when you have such a superior priest? Uh, in the Melchizedekian system, Jesus being that Melchizedek and priest. So hope that helps.

Pastor Jim: [00:23:36] Yeah. He also mentioned Jethro, uh, who was a priest of Midian, and he was wondering what the distinction were between him and Melchizedek and the I think one big distinction is that we don’t have a whole lot of information about Jethro like we do about Melchizedek. So Jethro was a Midianite, and we don’t know. He could have been a follower of the one true God. I think there’s some question on both sides of that, but it’s a completely different ministry altogether, I think. So, anyway, hope that was helpful to you. All right. Let’s see here. Uh, we’re waiting for more calls. So let’s go back to our mailbox here. I have another question, pastor. It says here. Good evening. My question is, “how did Noah know which animals were clean and unclean”?

Pastor Andy: [00:24:22] Well, you know, we’re not told. Um, I would think that of all of the revelation that Noah received from God concerning the construction of the ark, that God at some point would have, you know, gotten that information across to Noah through direct revelation. We also have the possibility that God is the one that brought the animals to Noah, like we see in Eden, uh, where Adam named the animals that the Lord brought to him. And, you know, it’s the interesting thing about animals is they have, um, an extra sense about them where they could recognize trouble coming. You know, before it happens. Like my cats and our dogs and things recognize sometimes a storm is coming, you know, long before, you know, we’re aware of it. And so they probably had some kind of instinctive instinct that the flood was coming. And so they rushed towards Noah and just the right animals, you know, rushed towards Noah at the right time. Those are all just some speculations on my part, you know, because we don’t know exactly how he knew the distinction between clean and unclean. But the thing to understand about the Bible is it’s very selective. It just doesn’t tell you everything. I’m thinking of John 20, verses 30 and 31, where Jesus, uh, John, of Jesus, says many other things Jesus did which are not written in this book. And I suppose if I told you everything he did, the world itself would contain the books written thereof. So the Book of Genesis is that way, too. It doesn’t tell us every little thing. And we can kind of put together some speculation, which I’ve tried to do here. But the bottom line is, I don’t think we know specifically how Noah, you know, could distinguish between clean and unclean.

Pastor Jim: [00:26:14] Yeah. I wonder, you know, again, this is speculation also. But, you know, this is Moses who’s writing down the record of these events. And of course, when Moses was on the scene, uh, you know, God is going to be giving the law where he delineates clean and unclean. And I’m wondering if it’s just possible that when he’s making this record of what happened back in Noah’s day, if he’s identifying these animals as clean and unclean for the individuals who are going to be reading it from him, going from his time forward, because they would have an understanding of those terms. Just a thought, you know?

Pastor Andy: [00:26:48] Yeah. More of a Mosaic point of view.

Pastor Jim: [00:26:50] Yeah, yeah. All right. Great. Let’s see here. Let’s go back. We have one more email question here before the station break. And this individual writes in here, uh, referring to second Peter 2 and says ”what are who are the celestial beings and why and how are they being slandered”?

Pastor Andy: [00:27:11] Well, it’s it’s another case where we don’t know exactly. Um, I would say it relates to some kind of false teaching. Uh, these false teachers were so bold in their, uh, presentation of themselves that they actually were slandering, you know, false, uh, angelic beings. Um hum. I’m not sure exactly what that means. But that’s the point is they were just arrogant and they were doing something that Michael didn’t even want to do.  Remember, Jude is very connected to 2nd Peter and Jude verse 9 talks about how Michael, when it came to a dispute about the body of Moses, did not want to bring a railing accusation against Satan, but said, the Lord rebuke you. And these false teachers were doing things that not even Michael, who’s no slouch by the way, he’s an archangel. Not even, uh, a Michael would do. So, um, the 2nd Peter chapter 2 is bringing all this information out to show the total arrogance of the false teachers that he’s dealing with in this particular chapter.

Pastor Jim: [00:28:19] Yeah and you know, it’s interesting, I think if we bring that to our present day, we have many instances of individuals. I won’t name any names though, but individuals who are standing up in pulpits on TV and other places and really just saying all kinds of things about God and angels and such. And I sit there and listen and I go, goodness gracious, did you not read your Bible? Go look at Jude, because, you know, it’d be better just not to say anything.

Pastor Andy: [00:28:45] Well, a lot of guys want to give Satan a black eye and run him out of town. And they want to bind Satan and scream at Satan and have conversations with Satan. You look at all that and you say, well, Michael doesn’t even do stuff like that. So I have a feeling it was that kind of false teaching that Peter is, is interacting with here.

Pastor Jim: [00:29:05] Amen. All right. Well, we’re coming up for our station break, so stick. Stay with us. And in just a few moments, we’ll be back with you for our prayer for the nation. See you in a moment.

Announcer: [00:29:21] Let the uplifting music and messages of hope on commercial free Christian radio enrich your day. Welcome to KHCB-FM Houston 105.7. You’ll also hear uplifting music and messages of hope in Lockhart, San Marcos, Austin, Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Natchitoches, Louisiana. Keeping Him Close By.

Pastor Jim: [00:30:17] All right. Welcome back to the KHCB’s Question and Answer program. As is our custom at the top of the hour, we like to pause and pray for the nation. So we’d encourage you to join us if it’s safe for you to do so. And we’ll go to the Lord in prayer at this time. Abba, father, we come before you this evening with thanksgiving, because you are the father of lights, who, according to James 1:17, provides every good thing given and every perfect gift that comes from above, from your own hand. We thank you also because you’re unchangeable in your divine attributes and because you are good all the time. We also come before you this evening to thank you for the gift of our Republic and the Constitution upon which it was formed and operates. Our prayer is that your hand of mercy will continue to extend to the United States of America and over all and upon all those who wish her well and gracious and loving father. You’ve instructed us in 1st Timothy 2:2 to pray for all who are in authority, so that we might lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. And so we come to offer up our petitions for our leaders. We come first, asking that you might lead them to humble themselves before you. For you exalt the humble and bring down the prideful.

Pastor Jim: [00:31:46] We come also, asking that you might guide them to an acknowledgment of the truth that you, O Lord, are sovereign over your creation, and that there is a greater and higher power to which they must surely give an account. We ask also that this knowledge would inform their every decision. We ask you all, the father, to fortify those in our government who know you, and encourage them to seek the wisdom that comes from above, the wisdom that is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering and without hypocrisy, as we’re told in James chapter 3, verse 17. We lift up our Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government, along with our state and city officials, and pray that they might make godly decisions in cooperation with your divine plan and will not only for themselves, but for all the people they serve. Help them as they enforce and formulate new laws and make legal decisions and rulings. Move on, motivate and convince these men and women to make wise and godly decisions for the good and betterment of all the people at each level of government – local, State, Federal. Bring conviction upon them and remind them of their duty to uphold the laws, regulations, and principles which they swore by an oath to defend. And ABBA, Father, please also protect all of our first responders, law enforcement officers, firemen and women, EMTs, doctors and nurses, the men and women faithfully serving in our military, and all those who put their own lives in jeopardy to save and rescue others.

Pastor Jim: [00:33:44] Bless them and bring them home safely to their families. And help us, your children, father, to be salt and light to those within our circle of influence who are lost and dying, those many without hope, so that they too might come to place their faith, trust, and confidence in Jesus, your one and only beloved son and the Savior of their souls. And finally, father, thank you for loving us so much that you do not leave us as we are, but you work within us to conform us moment by moment in our attitudes and actions. And Lord, you just make us more like Jesus. We pray that you would receive our praise and thanksgiving for your super abounding over the top, amazing grace that is demonstrated continually in our lives. And this we pray in the name of Jesus. Maranatha and Amen and Amen. Thank you so much for praying with us. We do appreciate that. And I see we have a caller waiting. So let’s go right back to the phones. Thank you for waiting. What is your Bible question for Doctor Woods this evening?

Caller: [00:34:56] How are you doing?

Pastor Jim: [00:34:57] Doing great.

Caller: [00:34:59] Yes. I got a question about, uh, John 19 and scripture 11.

Pastor Jim: [00:35:10] All right. Do you know, do you have the scripture handy.

Caller: [00:35:12] Can you explain that to me?

Pastor Jim: [00:35:13] All right. Let me pull it up here, John. Chapter 19, verse 11. All right, John, chapter 19, verse 11. “Jesus answered, you would have no authority over me unless it had been given you from above. For this reason, he who delivered me to you has the greater sin”. Pastor, how would we explain that verse?

Pastor Andy: [00:35:41] Well, I mean, the first. Um, there we go. Have a little trouble with my ears there. The first part of it is the sovereignty of God. It’s God that installs kings. Uh, Romans 13, verses 1 through 7. So, you know, Pilate is acting like he’s in the position of authority. And Jesus correctly points out that you wouldn’t even be in that position had had God the Father not put you in that position. And then secondly, there’s the issue of the greater sin. He who turned you over, uh, turned me over to you as guilty of the greater sin. And there he’s not speaking of Pilate. He’s speaking of the Jewish people who had a, uh, complete revelation from God. They had a completed canon. And they would not. It’s not that they could not, they would not recognize him as the Messiah. And so the Bible teaches to whom much is given, much is expected. Uh, the more light a person has, the greater their degree of accountability. And so, you know, both men were in sin. But here, 1^st Century Israel, sin nationally was actually worse because they were operating from a completed canon, uh, Old Testament that they had from God that the Roman leadership did not have.

Pastor Jim: [00:37:01] All right, pastor, great answer. And thank you so much for that question. We really appreciate you calling the program. Let’s go back to the phones. Thanks for waiting. What is your Bible question this evening?  Hello, caller.

Caller: [00:37:12]   Oh, okay. Um, yeah. I was wondering if there was a scripture that said, um, something to the effect that no scripture has been given for private interpretation.

Pastor Jim: [00:37:28] Yes, sir. Pastor?

Pastor Andy: [00:37:29] Yes, there is a verse on that. It’s in 2nd Peter chapter 1, and I think you’ll find it around verse 21.

Pastor Jim: [00:37:42] Would you like me to read that?  All right. Uh, this is 2nd Peter, chapter 1, verse 21, “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God”.

Pastor Andy: [00:37:57] Yeah. And the meaning of that is, if you go back to, oh, I think it’s verse 17 where it talks about eyewitness testimony. Uh, eyewitness testimony here in this case, the Transfiguration is the most powerful kind of evidence that you can introduce in a court of law. And Peter says, because he’s extolling prophecy, you know, verse 19, that we would it’s a light shining in a dark place that we would do well to pay attention to. He calls the prophetic word more sure than even eyewitness testimony. And he’s trying to get people to focus on prophecy so they won’t be so discouraged in this dark world because there’s a better world coming. And you’d only know that through the prophetic pages of God’s Word. And so in the process of describing prophecy, he’s explaining that when the prophets prophesied, they weren’t given their own personal interpretations of things. You know, they were they were, uh, carried along by the Holy Spirit. Um, it’s the idea of, you know, being carried along. It’s the idea of, um, same word in Greek. I think of wind that’s used in Acts 27 about how wind came and filled the sails of a sailboat. And propelled the boat in the same way the Holy Spirit came upon the writers of Scripture in a supernatural way, and they pinned God’s Word. And part of his word was prophecy. And we would do well to pay attention to it, because it’s a lamp shining in a dark place. And when the prophets prophesied, they weren’t giving their own private interpretations to things.

Pastor Jim: [00:39:37] Yes. And that’s one thing that makes the Bible unique. Uh, with regard to any other religious book, is that there is prophecy that was given that we can see was directly, completely, entirely fulfilled, uh, word by word and in the past. And that gives us confidence in the prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled.  Amen. All right. Thank you so much for calling the program. We hope that was helpful to you. And let’s go back, if we could, to another email question, this individual writes in and says, “Zechariah and Mary were informed by the same angel that the same thing would occur. And they asked the same question, but with different results. And the question is, why was that”?

Pastor Andy: [00:40:24] Well, there’s different results because the baby, you know, in Elizabeth’s womb was different than the baby in Mary’s womb. And that’s important. That’s important. One is the forerunner, John the Baptist. Uh, one is the savior or the Messiah? Uh, John the Baptist said of Jesus, you know, he must increase, I must decrease. And Jesus is the main act. And John, you know, was sort of like Ed McMahon in the Johnny Carson show, right? Here’s Johnny and Ed McMahon’s job is to turn the spotlight to Johnny. And that’s sort of what John the Baptist did, and that’s why. Uh, same angel and all that, but totally different, uh, purposes in these two men.

Pastor Jim: [00:41:10] All right, well, let me give out the phone numbers. Once again, it looks like we have some lines that are open. If you’d like to call in and ask a Bible question, call 832-922-4444. And that’s a local number 832-922-4444. If you’re outside the local area, you can call toll free at 877-999-5422 again 877-999-5422. And you can always email us your questions here at Questions@KHCB.org. Well, let’s go back to our email. And uh, here’s another question that came in while we’re waiting for a caller says “what’s the difference in our sins? In our sins are forgiven and remembered no more. And the judgment for empty words that have been spoken.” And then they give a couple of passages there.

Pastor Andy: [00:42:07] Well, it is true that when you trust Christ, your sins are forgiven past, present and future and he, uh, does not remember them anymore. Hebrews 8:12, Jeremiah 31:34, and Matthew chapter 8 verse. Excuse me, Micah chapter 8, verse 17. He cast those in the depths of the sea. I guess she’s wondering, well, if all of that is true, then what do we do with Matthew 12:36 and 37 where Jesus says, “I tell you, I tell you that everyone will have to give an account of judgment for every word that they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned”. So if Jesus has forgotten all of our sins, what’s this future judgment about? Well, the issue here is context. Um, Jesus in Matthew 12 verses 36 and 37 is talking to unsaved, you know, unregenerate Pharisees. And if you just back up in the paragraph there in Matthew 12 and you go back to verse 24, it says, “but when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this man casts out demons only by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons”. So all of Christ’s statements from that point on, you know, all the way through verses 36 and 37 are aimed at the Pharisees. That’s how I would distinguish those verses from the verses that say he, you know, uh, you know, uh, forgets our sins.

Pastor Jim: [00:43:50] Uh, context is really important. It’s always important to go back and look what comes before and after a particular verse. Great. Uh, great email question. Great answer. Pastor. Thank you so much. I see we have someone waiting on the phone, so let’s go back to the phones. Thank you. We appreciate you calling the program this evening. What is your Bible question for Doctor Woods?

Caller: [00:44:09] Uh, I’m looking at 2nd Timothy 2, uh, verse 12, specifically 12:b and it always kind of throws me and confuses me. And in the context of verses 11, 12 and 13, 12b seems kind of contradictory. If we deny him, he will also deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. So could you please explain that for me?

Pastor Jim: [00:44:38] Thank you. Yes, ma’am. Great question. Thanks for calling the program. Pastor?

Pastor Andy: [00:44:42] Well, let’s start with verse 11. It says this is an untrustworthy statement. If we died with him, we shall live with him. So that’s speaking of our death because we’ve been identified as Christians in Christ’s death, burial, resurrection and ascension. So if we’re if we’re believers, we died with him. Romans 6. Um, the day is going to come when we’re going to live with him. But then it goes on and it says, if we endure, we shall reign with him. Now he’s not talking about just an average, uh, ordinary Christian. He’s talking about the believer that endures in their calling. And he was trying to get Timothy here who was a Christian, a believer, who was a pastor at the church at Ephesus, to not lapse away from his calling as a pastor, which Timothy was thinking of doing, he was shrinking back. And so he basically is saying to Timothy and all of us that are, uh, called to live for Christ, which is every Christian, don’t don’t lapse backward because, um, you’re going to reign with him.  And if you lapse backward, you’ll be in Heaven or in the Kingdom, but you won’t reign, um, the fullest extent you could. Remember the minas – Luke 19. One man. What was he given? Five cities. One, one given ten. I mean, why isn’t God into equity? Why doesn’t he just give everybody, you know, the same amount? Well, some believers endure more than others.

Pastor Andy: [00:46:13] And Paul is explaining this reality to Timothy. But what if Timothy doesn’t endure? What if he caves and leaves and is afraid of the Neronian persecution and everything else? It says in verse 13, if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. In other words, Timothy, if you don’t endure in your calling, you’re going to forfeit authority in the kingdom. But your salvation is secure because it’s given to you on the basis of grace. And God can’t deny that, um, any more than he can deny himself, so he can deny you rewards, authority. That’s why the word reign is such a big deal there in verse 12. But he’s not going to deny you entrance into the kingdom. Entrance into heaven. You may. You know, Peter talks about how we should enter the kingdom. Fully rewarded. There are. Paul talks about people, 1st Corinthians 3 verse 15, who, um, are in heaven, but they smell the smoke on their garments. So their rewards are consumed at the Bema Seat judgment of Christ. But they’re in heaven. So he’s warning Timothy of that reality. Uh, the the forfeiture of rewards, the forfeiture of authority. But verse 13, you’re never going to lose your salvation.

Pastor Jim: [00:47:37] Yeah. Once again, I think it’s just so vitally important that we understand that when we looking at Scripture that we make sure we know what the message and the purpose of the book is and not lose sight of that as we go into individual passages. Because as you pointed out, what Paul is doing here in writing to Timothy, he’s encouraging Timothy to continue in the ministry, to continue to be strong, to continue to serve the Lord. That’s what that’s all about. And so when you come to this passage, if you don’t keep that in mind, you can come up with all kinds of interpretations. So praise the Lord. Great answer and great question. Appreciate that. And let’s go back to the phones. We have another caller waiting. What is your Bible question for Doctor Woods this evening?

Caller: [00:48:22] Good evening, pastor Andy. I love your, uh, your wisdom and your insight and the discernment that you shared the truth with each one of us to help us grow more in our faith. My question is, and it’s been pondering on my head for a while, and I already know you know who this is. So the question is, when Jesus died on the cross, many came out of the grave. Can you tell me anywhere where it shows what happened to them? What happened to those that when the graves were opened and when he came out, what happened? All right, my question.

Pastor Jim: [00:48:53] Thank you so much for calling the program. We do appreciate that. Yeah. That’s a great question, isn’t it, pastor?

Pastor Andy: [00:48:59] Well, yeah, it’s a wonderful chapter there in Matthew 27. Um, that, you know, the Bible says, uh, by the 2 to 3 witnesses, you know, let her matter be confirmed. And God allowed all kinds of different witnesses to be sure to testify to the reality of what Jesus had done on the cross. If you go back to verse 50 of Matthew 27, it talks about him dying, and then it talks about the, uh, the veil in the temple was torn. Um, and it’ll talk about in this chapter, I think it is about darkness, you know, covering the earth kind of abnormally at that time. It’ll talk about rocks splitting. And if memory serves, I think it also talks about earthquakes and different things like that.  Earth shook. So this this is just one other thing that God allowed to happen, uh, where he died. And, uh, these people in tombs that apparently, you know, had already died were allowed to come out of those tombs, you know, temporarily we would call this a resuscitation. And they, um, I would assume that they fell back a, uh, they died later. So the general rule is you’re, you know, uh, it’s appointed for man once to die than to face the judgment. As we said earlier in this show, uh, that’s a general rule. God can set it aside when he wants to. And it was just one of the witnesses, one of many witnesses to the significance of what had just happened, the death of Christ that was so significant that God allowed the tombs to be opened in Jerusalem. Many bodies of the Saints who had fallen asleep were raised. So they, uh, came out of the graves. And I assume that at some point they died again. It says in verse 53, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered the city and appeared to many. And so there was a kind of a resuscitation before the resurrection of Jesus.

Pastor Jim: [00:51:07] Wow. Amazing isn’t it?

Pastor Andy: [00:51:09] Yeah. And I don’t take this as, uh, resurrection. Because when you’re resurrected, you never die again because you’re in a resurrected body. I think these people came out in their natural bodies, and then at some point died again. Just like Lazarus who was resuscitated?

Pastor Jim: [00:51:24] Yeah. And that comes back to the point you were making before about here were all these witnesses, you know, I mean, I can’t imagine it says they entered the holy city and appeared to many. And, you know, here are all these people. What do you think they were saying when they were appearing to these many people? They I suspect they were probably talking about Jesus being the Messiah and such. So wow, what a testimony.

Pastor Andy: [00:51:46] I will add this I’m very uncomfortable with modern scholarship that wants to de-historicize this. For whatever reason, this is a target of people. They don’t like this. Um, it may have something to do with the fact that they think it’s a threat to the resurrection of Jesus as the first fruits. Um, but this doesn’t interfere with that at all. No, this is not a resurrection. Uh, this is just a resuscitation and they are using this category called apocalyptic genre. I’ve noticed to try to historicize that this. I’m not on board with them in doing this at all. This is a real historical event that happened subsequent to the death of Christ in the first century in the city of Jerusalem.

Pastor Jim: [00:52:32] Amen all right, great question. We hope that was helpful. Uh, that answer was helpful to you. We do appreciate you calling the program. Well, pastor, I don’t see anyone waiting, uh, to call, and we’re out of email questions. So could you take a moment and tell us a little bit about, uh, Chafer Theological Seminary? Uh, I know you’re doing some special classes right now and such, but could you just tell us a little bit about that?

Pastor Andy: [00:52:55] Yeah. Uh, it’s a school that, um, wants to get back to. You know, we hear a lot about Make America Great again. Um, at Chaefer, we kind of feel like a lot of our seminaries have gotten away from what made them all great to begin with. And that’s, uh, commitment to a consistent, literal interpretation of the whole Bible, taking into account figures of speech when they’re self-evident, a commitment to training people in systematic theology, uh, the original languages of Scripture, a commitment to what we call dispensational theology, where there’s a future kingdom that’s coming through Israel, there’s a Rapture of the church, we’re in the Church Age now, etc.. So we want to get back to all of that. And, uh, we offer our crown jewel degree, which is our THM 120 units. We offer an MABS, which is 60 units, and then we offer certificates that are 30 units. And they, you know, you can specialize in different things. Uh, but we have some wonderful teachers. All of our teachers are pastors. So wonderful. There’s no better way to learn than someone than from someone who’s actually doing, you know, what it is they’re teaching. Yeah. And so, you know, we’ll take you through all 66 books of the Bible, um, uh, teach you how to work your way through those books. We’ll teach you systematic theology, Greek and Hebrew exegesis, church history. And so we deliver theological education from anywhere to anywhere. Our professors and our students are scattered all over the country and the world for that matter. I’ve just taught a class earlier, before I came to the radio station and the first class of the semester, I’m teaching Hebrews through Revelation. I’ve got 30 students in the class and they’re scattered everywhere. Canada. Um, Norway, Australia. Scattered around all over the United States, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.. And so it’s just wonderful that the Lord has given us this technology that we have today.

Pastor Jim: [00:55:11] Yeah, I was going to, excuse me. Let me interrupt you really quickly because I, I was sitting here thinking, yeah, this sounds great, but, you know, do you have to come to a central campus somewhere? So what I’m hearing you say is, no, it’s online. And, uh, so. Wow. So you mean I could be in Australia and I could take a class where I’m online with you live?  Uh, that’s what you were doing today.

Pastor Andy: [00:55:32] That’s what I was doing today. And, um, um, you could be pastoring a church and not have to leave your church to take these classes. You know, the old days, you uprooted yourself, your family, to go to some brick and mortar school. Now, I, we think that model is sort of deceased, um, you know, where it’s sort of become unnecessary. Um, so it’s theological education from anywhere to anywhere for. For what purpose? To equip you. So you can better do your ministry. Awesome. That’s why it exists. Chafer Seminary, go to https://www.chafer.edu to learn about that.

Pastor Jim: [00:56:14] Excellent. I appreciate so much you sharing that information. I know the folks listening did too, and.

Pastor Andy: [00:56:19] I’d love to. If you give me a chance to promote our prophecy conference, please Sugar Land Bible Church “From Flood to Final Days”, um, February, Saturday, a Friday evening, the 23rd and then all day Saturday the 24th. Sugar Land Bible Church, where we’re trying to connect the dots between protology, the doctrine of the beginning with eschatology, the doctrine of the end. Um, our featured speakers will be David Reagan, Olivier Melnick, and Russ Miller is going to be holding up the creation side of it. He’s a creation scientist. I’m going to be doing a few prophetic messages. And so we have a Friday gathering at Sugar Creek Country Club and then the all-day conference on Saturday, uh, beginning, beginning of the day till the end. And then, uh, we’ve got a couple of these guys, Olivier Melnick sticking around and David Reagan sticking around for our church services at Sugar Land Bible Church on Sunday. So we invite people to stay for that. And we have special music, um, Lev Shelo, which is more of a um, uh, contemporary messianic, uh, type singers and musicians. So that’s always a lot of fun. And, well, I know I’m forgetting something, but just go to the SLBC website and sign up for the conference. And if you can’t make it, we got free live streaming.

Pastor Jim: [00:57:53] Yes. And, uh, that’s something that you want to take advantage of if you can’t be there because you can see and hear it live wonderful things. Well, pastor, looks like we’ve come to the end of our program. It’s, uh, had a great evening this evening. I want to thank everyone for calling. Thank you so much for your questions and your participation. We couldn’t do this without you. We ask you to pray for us. We’re praying for you. And please remember to stay around because, uh, we’ll be back in another couple of weeks. God bless you. Have a great evening, and we’ll talk to you later.