Rapid-Fire Questions: Round 4

Hey everybody, it's R-F-T time. Rapid fire time. Rapid fire. You guys love rapid fire. I do too, to a point, as long as I can answer the questions, because I do not know what the questions are going to be. It's kind of like this crazy suicidal moment where I sacrifice my supposed intellect on the altar of your questions. Kind of terrifying, kind of fun. I'm not afraid of it, because if I don't have the answers, go to the Bible because God does. And so I have one minute and it's timed and the crew here, they're going to hold me to 60 seconds to answer a question. So again, zero rehearsal, jumping right in. And here goes, Jack, your willing sacrificial lamb to your questions that you have submitted. So team, are we ready to do this? So here we go. First question, do you have an opinion of why the United States isn't referenced in the Bible? Do I have an opinion? My opinion is that it's not referenced in the Bible, and so it's best for us not to talk about it. It doesn't mean that we cannot carefully speculate, but it is amazing that the most powerful, most wealthy, most free, most Christian, most everything nation that has ever existed ever, is not in the Bible, both its inception or its demise or its removal from the world scene. It doesn't say. The Bible doesn't say. I know people will try to say, well, it's the young lions thereof in Ezekiel 38, or it's the eagle reference. Nope, that's all made up jumbo stuff, not going to work. There is no reference of the United States in the Bible, just like there's no reference of Canada in the Bible. Quite interesting, right? So that's my opinion. But we'll leave it as an opinion because the fact of the matter is the Bible... out of time. What does it mean when John ate the little book that the angel gave him in Revelation 10, 9? Wow. So John eats the little book that was given to him in the book of Revelation, just like Ezekiel was told to eat a book, the Word of God. And so John takes in the Word of God. He assimilates the Word of God for this main reason, to proclaim it. He's told to take it up and to take it in. And the same thing is true. As Ezekiel, the word of God goes in for the word of God to come out. So think of it this way. We are to eat the word of God. The Bible says in Jeremiah that God is going to give us shepherds who will teach us the word of God so that we might eat or consume the word of God. Why? What you consume comes out. So John is playing out a role in the book of Revelation that is very, very indicative to the challenge of Revelation chapter 1. Tell everybody about this. The things that were, are, and shall be. The revelation of Jesus Christ. Does having a statue of Jesus in the church constitute a graven image? I don't like statues of Jesus in a church. I don't know what it's there for. I've never heard a good argument as to why it justifies anything. Because if there's ever going to be a graven image, think about it. A graven image is something that you focus on instead of the reality. So icons, images, rocks, crosses, statues. What's the point? Now, I know in Catholicism, it's a big deal, but I'm going to go with Paul the Apostle who said, just stay away from statues altogether. It's just not good because they can become very, very dark things. Read 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians for that matter. Statues, Why? Jesus on a cross? Why? He's not on a cross. Jesus was on a cross only for a few hours on his resurrection day. I don't like seeing Jesus on a cross because it speaks of his sacrifice and his defeat. It doesn't remind us of the empty tomb. Don't like statues. I don't like them. If the prophetic time clock started May 14th, 1948, and this is the generation that does not pass away, and Psalm says a generation is 70 to 80 years, wouldn't the rapture have to happen by May 14th, 2028 for it to be this generation? We still wouldn't know the day or the hour within that 80 years, though. Yeah, this is why your question is flawed. The Bible references several generations being at several epochs of time. It's not just 70. It can be 100. It can be 40 years a generation. For example, a generation who was led out of Egypt, that was a 40-year generation. So you can't pinpoint what a generation is. Second thing is this, that... I believe it means this, that Israel being born a second time, Isaiah 63, on May 14, 1948, that generation, meaning Israel, the Jew, will never cease to exist until Christ returns. That's what it means. You can't pick a date. You can't even pick a year. Now, I do believe that we'll know the times and the seasons, but even that's generic. We will never know the day or the hour. We'll sense the nearness, but we won't know when. I don't believe that we'll even know the year. But listen, don't make a mistake. The Jews will never cease to exist from May 14, 1948. They're not going anywhere. Pastor Jack, my grandson is being raised by his father and stepmom. My daughter died of colon cancer in December of 21. There does not appear to be any spiritual guidance in that house. As his grandmother, can I retroactively dedicate him to the Lord? Absolutely. Absolutely. In fact, I'll answer your question, what I believe is very personal. As far as I know, I've never said this publicly, but... But I think I'm the byproduct of my grandmother on my dad's side, my grandmother who was a Christian. She was known to be a Christian. She was known to pray. She was the only Christian that I've heard of in my family along that line. By all means, you take up that mantle. You pray for these grandkids. You intercede. You dedicate them— God has put you there for that very specific task, that very mission. And I would celebrate that with boldness. Lord, I'm bringing my grandkids to you. Jesus, I'm presenting them to you. Do that every day because I'm a firm believer. I am where I'm at right now because of my grandmother praying for her family. And I met her one time as a little kid. We never knew each other, but I believe I benefit from her prayer. What do you say to someone who says, I am saved. I know I don't live the life of a Christian, but at least I have fire insurance. You're not saved. I'm going to be honest with you. You are absolutely not saved. You are committing what is known as antinomianism. Antinomianism means that I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm not going to do what God wants me to do. But I'm going to say to my own conscience, I believe in Jesus so I can have some fire insurance. Listen, you're not only, you not only do not have fire insurance, you're lost. You're not going to heaven because you said it yourself. Jesus said out of your own mouth and you said it. You don't follow Jesus. You don't walk the Christian life, but you believe. Listen, you may believe that Jesus existed just like you believe George Washington existed, but you're not trusting George Washington just like you're not trusting Jesus Christ because why? Your belief never took you to faith. A lot of people believe. Jesus says these are they who believe for a while, but they wind up in hell. Read Matthew 13. No, see, listen, you don't have any faith. That's why there's been no change in your life. This is a fun one. If you donate organs or body parts when you die and the rapture happens, does that body part come out of that person? I have no idea. I don't know how God's going to work that out. I'm so glad that that's God's problem because, wow, I know. Like, so, you know, a lot of you guys know Bethany Hamilton, right, the surfer? So that shark, that tiger shark bit her arm off at the shoulder, right? While she was surfing. And in the rapture, is Bethany going to be raptured with one arm? Missing? I don't think so. So how's that going to happen? Or transplants? You're right. If you donate a liver, how's that work? Hey, you know what? I don't know. I don't think anybody knows that one. So thank God that that's his realm. I finished that before the clock went off. Do you believe the gift of tongues is still in operation today? If so, do you believe it is biblical for it to be practiced publicly during a church gathering without an interpreter? First of all, read 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Read Romans 8. Read Ephesians chapter 4. The gift of tongues. All the gifts of God are given without him taking them back. That is a statement. God's scripture is very clear on that. But the use of the gifts, they are sovereignly up to the Holy Spirit. God gives at least one gift to every believer. Right? Some believers have more than one gift. The gift of tongues is an interesting thing because it is for the edification of the entire body. The gift of tongues cannot be operated without someone or that individual having also a secondary gift known as the gift of interpretation. Now, So it's public, but the time is made for that to take place. It's got to be done decently in an order. Corinthians tells us, chapters 12, 13, 14. Oh, I have to go. I'm going to borrow from my previous question. I'm borrowing from my previous question. That, it must be interpreted or the tongue cannot happen. Go ahead and read it. And in a gathering, it can only be up to three times and no more, never a fourth time. Extremely ordered. Okay, that's where it is in operation. But make sure you understand this. There's the gift of tongues and then there's praying in the Spirit. Okay. One's a gift. The other one is available to all Christians, and it's not a gift. It's a type of prayer. I had to throw that in because I had the time to. Is there such a thing as standing in the gap for loved ones that don't practice? That don't practice their faith? Yeah, I will say it this way. God says, I'm looking for a man to stand in the gap. Okay, we know this, that we are to intercede. That is, we are to get in between God and our lost loved ones or the sick ones in our life or the ones that are hurting, and we are to pray for them continually. Before the Lord like that. Okay, that's called intercession. By all means, we can do that. But listen, we cannot save them. If they're lost, we can intercede for them. I believe that we're commanded to do that. And we should do that. Just understanding that what you're doing is you are crying out for them because they're either not crying out for themselves. They're either sick, wounded, lost, whatever the situation is. If you're burdened for them, you're carrying their load before the Lord and you are interceding. Again, like my grandmother, I believe, did for our family. Hope that answers your question. Are sins, iniquities, and transgressions the same or is there a distinction? Psalm 103 mentions all three of these. Yeah, all three are mentioned because all three are different, but keep this in mind. Let's do this. So see this umbrella? Okay, the umbrella, this is sin. From here to here is sin. Sin means to miss the mark of perfection. That's sin. Under the umbrella of sin are things like transgressions. or what was the other word, I'm sorry? Iniquities. Iniquities. Iniquities also could be wickedness. All of that is under the canopy of sin, but transgression, for example, transgression is willful sinning, where sin means I missed the mark, transgression, That means I know what I'm supposed to do, and I am not going to do it. I'm going to do the opposite. Transgression, if you can put it this way, if you want to divide this up, transgression is a worse sin than just sin because it's deliberate. It's what the Old Testament calls sins of the high hand. It's I'm going to do it anyway. Yikes, that's bad news. Adam did that, by the way. Adam transgressed. This may be a crazy question, but I'm seeing this over and over on social media posts. People asking, how did Jesus find guys in the Middle East by the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? Okay, I'm trying to compose myself right now. Jesus didn't go around looking for John. Jesus didn't say, anybody out there by the name of John? John's name wasn't John. John's name was Yohannin. Well, how do I know? Jesus didn't walk around Galilee speaking English. That's in the English Bible. If you have a Hebrew Bible, it's Yohannin. the names that you and I read, they are the English translations of Hebrew or Greek names. It's very important. So for example, Mary wasn't Mary. Her name wasn't Mary. Mary! Her name's not Mary. I'm sorry. I just want to let this kind of let that out a little bit. Oh my gosh, I can't believe he said that. Mary's not Mary. No, the English Mary that we talk about Mary, or any Mary for that matter, in the Bible is Miriam. Miriam. Don't think that God wrote and spoke in English. That's... God's... Okay, okay. How do you know what your spiritual gift is? I can't seem to figure mine out, and when I ask others what they think it might be, there's a struggle with them being able to answer. Okay. Don't ask others what you think it is. They will have their opinion, and you're going to build your service to Jesus on an opinion? Never. You're going to build your service to Jesus on the reality that you know what you're supposed to do. And you say, well, Jack, that's the problem. It's not a problem. It's a journey. So watch this real quick. the fellowship, the church that you attend, for example, look around, ask God to show you what needs to be done. He's going to show you something. If I ask the same thing, I'm going to see something different. When you see something that needs to be done, step up and go do it. And if you excel at it, God has given that gift for you to perform for that, for the church. And if it doesn't work, no worries. No worries. Go look around. Ask God, Lord, show me where my gift is. And he's going to show you something of interest. You're going to be gravitated toward it and you're going to do it under his power. He gets the glory and you get all the thrill and you're going to love it. That's one of the great things about the gifts of God. You will love doing your gift. What did Jesus do while his body was in the tomb? Jesus' body was in the tomb, and the scripture says in the book of Ephesians chapter 4, as well as the book of Psalms, as well as Peter's epistle, that Jesus descended into what is known as paradise, also referred to as Abraham's bosom. Jesus preached to the captivity, those that were there. And by the way, many scholars believe that when you read about Abraham's bosom in Luke chapter 15 and 16, that when Jesus made that announcement, he announced both to Abraham and all those godly who died. before the resurrection of Christ, and all those that were in Hades, across the way in torment. He announced to the entire area of the dead who he was, that he came and arrived. And then it says that he led captivity captive. That is, he scooped up those that were in Abraham's bosom, or what is known as paradise. Remember the thief on the cross, you'll be with me today in paradise. In other words, Jesus is saying, come with me, thief. Come with me, thief. We're going to go down. We're going to rescue all those who trusted and believed in me because I am going to be on the first fruits of the dead, which means nobody can go to heaven, but me first. And I'm going to lead the way. I'm going to empty out Abraham's bosom. And the thief on the cross had a whirlwind tour. Wow. Where did baptism come from? It starts with John the Baptist, but I don't see it in the Old Testament. Yeah, it doesn't start with John the Baptist. It only starts with John the Baptist in the biblical record. Baptism is an ancient practice. The Jews practiced baptism, Syrophoenicians, Babylonians, Zoroasterists. practiced it. Baptism is simply you presenting yourself to that which you're dedicated to, and you are so dedicated to it that you're giving your life for it to live for it. So what they would do is baptize you, and you would come up, and you are now devoted to that belief system. So don't think that John the Baptist invented baptism. John the Baptist was the one who was Of the first one to baptize Jesus, we follow in the same footsteps as Jesus because Jesus was fully immersed in the plan of God, and we are living out the full immersion of us being sold out to Jesus Christ. Final word. Baptism is reserved for those who are saved. You do not get saved when you're baptized. Because you're born again, then you go get baptized. Announcing to the world, the internal commitment I made, I just made a public display that I'm fully committed to Christ Jesus. Do you think that we will see the 10 kings ruling over the 10 regions before we are delivered by the rapture? It's possible. It's possible. If I had to guess, like a hard guess, I would say no. But I have to tell you, I'm not going to freak out if I do. In other words, he's referring to 10 key leaders will arise after some sort of a collapse of global powers. Like, let's say America collapses soon. Looks like it is. Let's say America collapses soon and the world sets up 10 key leaders. Could we see that? Sure we could. If we do, I'm going to walk around with one eye up and one eye straight ahead like that funny lizard, you know, because that means, man, we are so close to the end because the Bible says during those 10 kings, the Antichrist is going to arise. He's the 11th. So, wow, if you see 10 rulers replace the world governments, and think about it, you guys, if you like Trump or not, it's irrelevant. If you like Netanyahu or not, it's irrelevant. There are very few leaders left in the world right now, very few. How do you guide an 18-year-old child heading to college who is ungrateful and defensive about everything after being raised in a Christian home? you're not going to like my answer, but we all have to do this who have lived through this. You have to turn them over to the Lord. You need to take them. Let's say it's little Billy here. And Billy's the little brat. Billy the brat. And he's ungrateful, unthankful, because he's a spoiled, entitled little turd. You place him to the Lord, and you say, Lord, 1 Peter 5, verse 7, I cast Billy the turd my ungrateful son or grandson into your hands, Jesus. He thinks he knows it all. I can't convince him he's in your hands. I turn him over to you, Lord. I will pray for him every day, but I leave him into your hands. Billy's got a rough road ahead of him because Billy is his own authority. But you know what? God's got a wonderful way of humbling us. He's done it to all of us. He's taken us out at the knees, has he not, to bring us to him? And so don't lose hope on Billy. But listen, don't enable Billy either. Do not enable him. When he blows it like the prodigal son, don't give him any more money. Let him learn how to suffer. Jesus, in his human state, said he didn't know when the rapture would happen. Does he still not know? Or does he know now since he is no longer in his human state? Yeah, he didn't say rapture, by the way. He referred to his second coming, if you read that portion of scripture carefully, because he talks about when he returns and when he sets up his kingdom, when he sets up his rule and reign. He said, only the angels know of my return. That's exactly true. Write this down. Please don't forget it. K-E-N-E-S-I-S. K-E-N-O-S-I-S, kenosis. Jesus willingly, when he was born into the world, willingly laid aside his ability to know everything. It's called kenosis. He could have reached for it at any moment, but he chose not to do that, to show you and I how to walk the walk of faith. He said, I don't even know when. Only my father knows. Translation, the... I could know anytime I want to know, but none of you know. So I'm just like you. I'm showing you to follow the Father like I'm following the Father. Just to know the fine print. This is kenosis, meaning I choose not to know. I could know anytime I want, but I choose not to know. Now that Christ is resurrected and ascended back to heaven, he knows. I believe he knows. But it doesn't matter if he doesn't know. That would be some very sweet choice thing where he anticipates our gathering together. It certainly could apply to the rapture, but the context prevails that it would be his kingdom age, his kingdom return. Do we hold our healing back by lack of faith or belief? Or is it God's will that some people stay sick for God's glory to be revealed? I do not believe at all that if we are willingly open to God healing, but we have little faith. Scripture is pretty clear about this, that our faith doesn't hinder him. From healing. When he was in the Galilee, the people did not want him in their village. And it says he could not do many miracles there because of unbelief. They didn't want him. That's probably different than what we're talking about. God will heal you no matter how little your faith is. That's a very damning doctrine that, oh, sorry, buddy, you're still sick because you don't have enough faith. That puts the power of healing upon you and not God. To you be the glory, my friend, because you've got such great faith. That is an abomination. Now, the second part of that question is, what? Or is it God's will that some people stay sick for God's glory to be revealed? Paul the Apostle stayed sick. No matter how you want to argue that, Paul the Apostle stayed sick. Three times he petitioned God for healing and God said, nope, my strength will be made perfected in you. My grace will be sufficient for you. And sometimes God doesn't heal. Yeah. You need to make sure you understand that because if you get caught up into this bizarre wealth, health, and prosperity doctrine, you're going to lose your faith because someday you're going to get sick. You're going to get hit by a truck or get cancer, and you're going to think God left you. How tragic is that? No, he'll never leave you or forsake you. Pastor Jack, am I missing something? When Jesus cast out the legion of demons into the herd of swine and they ran off the cliff and drowned, didn't that free up the demons to go possess other humans? Absolutely, yes, it did. Yeah, you're not missing anything. This is a great thing you raised. Demons, not fallen angels, there's a difference. Fallen angels. Satan is a fallen angel. Demons must inhabit something. Statue, Paul says in Corinthians. Animals, objects, people. Watch the movie Nefarious by Steve Deese. They must possess something or someone because they're looking for body, a body. And a demon, when those pigs drowned, they had to go look for something else to inhabit. No doubt about it. Great question, by the way. My daughter-in-law is Jewish. Are there special, specific scriptures that I can share with her to help her see Jesus in the Old Testament? I have a verse that is the Jew glue. I have a verse that every Jew I've shared with said, Yeah, I don't know what I'm going to do with that verse. You ready? Proverbs 30, verse 4. That's where you start. Proverbs 30, verse 4. Read it. It's the everlasting Jew stopper. It will cause the Jew to just absolutely freeze in their steps and just say, Oh my gosh, I didn't know that. Every Jew I know told me, My rabbi never told me this. Proverbs 30, verse 4. It has saved your life. It's amazing. During the millennium, there will be many nations bowing to King Jesus as he will be governing all of the earth. Will everyone speak one language or will there be many languages as there is now? I don't know if during the millennium that we all speak the same language. I think that's true, by the way, about eternity. I think in eternity we'll all speak the same language, God's language. But... It may be that in the millennium, we, because we'll be glorified, remember that, it may be that people will understand others in their languages. So it can go either way. I simply don't know. But one thing is certain, everybody's going to understand. That's for sure. We do know that people will be mortals who are living during the millennium, those who were born in the millennium. They're going to hear the gospel. They're going to hear the call to come and worship Jesus in Jerusalem. Every nation of the earth will have the opportunity to come and make a pilgrimage to see Jesus. And if they refuse, if that nation refuses to worship the Lord, the Bible says, God will withhold rain from their land. Wow. So it's going to be, no one's going to be walking around saying, I don't get it. they'll get it. What I don't understand is, if you're a Christian but you backslide and ask for repentance, are you subject to wrath and or lose your Christianity? Basically, does Christ expect Christians to be sinless once you're saved? I never really understood how this works. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Listen, you are not sinless. I'm not sinless. You will never be sinless until you die in Christ Jesus. Okay? Listen, backsliders, you cannot backslide, right? You can't backslide unless you've slidden forward. Only a believer can backslide. And if you're a believer, then you're going to go to heaven. That doesn't mean I'm condoning sin. The Bible makes it very clear. And again, the book of Corinthians where Paul says, there's a man in the church who's having relationships with his stepmother, cast that guy out of the church so that he's outside the fellowship, let Satan kill him so that his spirit and soul are saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wow. Listen, if you're truly born again, you can never be unborn again. The problem today in America and in the world is there's a lot of people who think they're born again, and they're not. If you're born again, you're not going to lose your salvation, even if you backslide. God, listen, God could take you home prematurely as a believer, but you don't lose your salvation. And you can only be a believer, you have to be a believer to backslide. It's interesting. It's interesting. Why is the pre-mid-trib so debated amongst so many pastors? Because it's lame. No, it's really lame. Think about it. It's the ultimate declaration of not knowing exactly what the scriptures say, but I don't know where to put myself, so I'll just stand in the middle. Right? There's like Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. That's the same kind of thinking. Well, I'm not sure about this, and I'm not sure about that, so I'm just going to land right here. It's an invention. It doesn't hold any water. By the way, I encourage all of you to read the book by Dr. John Wolvard titled The Rapture Question. The mid-trib or pre-wrath rapture view fails to recognize that the seven year tribulation period is Jewish. It's regarding God's focus upon the nation of Israel. And the first three years, first three and a half years, Satan during those seven years, the first three and a half years, the antichrist being manipulated by Satan deceives the world by peace and prosperity. The first three years of, three and a half years are very bad, but they're very wealthy and very peaceful. The last half is very, very bloody, very, very horrific, and it's also the wrath of God. Both sections are the wrath of God. The church will not experience the wrath of God. It's impossible. How long should young people slash young adults date before marriage, especially if one is a new Christian? I have no idea. You can't set a date just like I don't know when the rapture is going to happen. But listen, if I were dating a new believer, I would try to fight my emotions and have it extend out to see if this commitment's real to some degree. You got to be careful and prayerful. You know, a big thing that we're talking about here is letting go. You got to let go of your kids. You've got to let go. And the day that you brought little junior home from the hospital was the first day that you started to prepare your kid to let them go. Remember that. But if that's you and you're now engaged to this unbeliever and they become a Christian, praise the Lord. Um... Encourage them, disciple them, pour yourself into them. But you can't set a date. I mean, my goodness, I knew my wife for several months before I asked her to marry me. But our situation was opposite. She was the awesome Bible stud. And I was a relatively new believer. And so I was impressed by her walk with God. So I just thought, man, I'm not going to let this get away. So one size does not fit all. Two more. Jesus says he is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. I don't understand because there is no beginning and end to God. I'm sure it's some figure of speech that I just don't understand. You could say it's a figure of speech, but you can't leave it there. It's much greater than that. When Jesus says he's the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, and the technical... The technical term next is the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the alpha and the omega in that Trinity statement. I think it's found in Revelation 22, 13. It means that Jesus Christ is the totality of all things and by him all things have been created and exist and he is outside of all ability to mark, measure, limit, observe. He's beyond all things. So he's the engineer of the start of the physical universe. He's the end of the physical universe, but he's also the one who existed in eternity. Eternity is not created. Eternity is the existence of God. We can't even fathom that. Eternity is where he's at. So he's trying to communicate to us in our, what's the word? I always mess this word up. Anthropomorphic? I don't know if I said that right. He's trying to tell us divine realities in human terms so that we'll begin to get our mind around it, if that helps. Last question. Are Adam and Eve in heaven? I believe Adam and Eve are in heaven. Yes. I just believe that. I can't prove it. When you read Genesis, you assume that they trusted in the Lord to save them, which I'm going to throw this question in. On what basis then would he save them? They fell, they ruined everything. So what do you mean save them? On what basis? On what basis? On the basis of him doing ultimately what he did in the garden, he shed innocent blood and provided for them clothing, sheepskin, or I mean animal skin. If they're saved, they're saved like Abraham is saved. They had to look ahead to the promise. And you look at their longevity, and you look at those great descendants of the faith that lived parallel with Adam and Eve, And I want to believe that they believed what the great founders of the faith believed. I hope they're in heaven. If they are, it's because of the same Jesus Christ you're trusting in right now. There's no other answer. Adam and Eve are in heaven only if they look forward to the coming of the Messiah. The only way that you're going to get to heaven is if you look back to the coming of the Messiah. The cross is the very image that links God. the past to the future together, salvation in Christ alone? That was the last question, right? God bless you guys. Thanks for joining us.