Doug Batchelor - The Amazing Facts Book of Bible Answers: Real Questions from Real People

Copyright 2010 by Doug Batchelor
Second printing 2006
First printing 2004

All rights reserved.
Printed in the USA

Published by
Amazing Facts, Inc.
PO Box 1058
Roseville, CA 95678-8058
1-800-538-7275

Edited by Anthony Lester
Cover Design by Haley Trimmer
Text Layout by Greg Solie Altamont Graphics

ISBN 978-1-58019-176-0

Table of Contents

Section 1:

Section 2:

Section 3:

Section 4:

Section 5:

Section 6:

Section 7:

Section 8:

Introduction

An Amazing Fact: The name of the pilot program, which aired in April 1995, for Bible Answers Live was called Your Questions, Bible Answers.

N early every Sunday night since October 1, 1995, Amazing Facts Bible Answers Live has been broadcast out of Sacramento, California, to a potential audience of millions. This live nationwide call-in radio show has been a blessing to the many thousands who have had their Bible questions answered in a biblical and faith-building way. Even more who might never call have received solid spiritual nourishment, helping them grow in their relationship with Christ.

Ironically, when Pastor Doug Batchelor, president of Amazing Facts, conceived the idea of the program, he was warned that religious call-in shows on Sundays often fared poorly. Bible Answers Live has shown to be an astounding exception, and is now heard on more than 160 stations nationwide and around the world in places like Canada, Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Tahiti, Costa Rica, Belize, South Africa, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, France, and in other European countries. Furthermore, the live streaming broadcast, available at www.amazingfacts.org , has opened up a whole new audience, from those in the United States outside a radio listening area to Internet surfers in Japan. Its no wonder that phone lines light up well before Bible Answers Live begins and stay busy for the entire hour.

Although the program may sound like a one-man show, much more happens behind the scenes than most listeners are aware. Pastor Doug Batchelor and co-host Pastor Jean Ross are supported by a regular full-time staff of radio buyers and producers who work each week before and after the broadcast to ensure the best possible program. In addition, many rotating volunteersincluding documenters, call screeners, audio engineers, and Bible researchersgive their time to an evangelistic broadcast that is changing lives for the better.

Over the past nine years, it is estimated that Pastor Doug has fielded more than 6,000 questions from callers. Thus this first volume is just the tip of the iceberg of inquiries from listeners who have asked some of the most challenging and thought-provoking questions about the Bible. We hope that Pastor Dougs answers, here revised and expanded with more Bible verses, will give you fresh insights into Gods Holy Word and will inspire you to share those insights and this book with others.

Watch for another collection of Bible answers sometime in the future as the Holy Spirit leads. Until then, thank you for listening and for making Bible Answers Live a tremendous success.

The Editor

Who Created God?

How did God get there if there was nothing there to create Him?

This is a good question, and if I could answer it, Id probably be God. I cant honestly answer it, but the Bible does say a few words about Gods eternal nature. In Psalm 93:2, we are told, Thy Throne is established of old; thou art from everlasting to everlasting. That means God has always been, and thats difficult for us to understand.

But it remains trueGod has always existed. Before time even began, God was there. Thats why Jesus refers to Himself as I Am, meaning Hes the self-existing one. Hes always been, He always is, and He always will be.

Furthermore, the Bible says, God is love. You cant love when youre the only person aroundnot the kind of sacrificing love that God is anyway. So God the Father, Son, and Spirit must have always been, showing love for one another even before the first creature was made.

Its very difficult for humans to imagine because we live in a realm where everything has a beginning and an end. But not so for GodGod inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15). He can dwell in any and all parts of time at the same time. He lives outside this physical realm, and He created the dimension of time for His creatures. He doesnt have a beginning, and He wont have an end. That is a mystery for all ages.

What Is His Form?

What form does God take? The Bible says He is a spirit, but then man was made in His image.

In John 4:24, we read, God is a Spirit: And those who worship Him must do so in spirit and truth. But keep in mind that because God is a spirit, it does not mean that He is just ethereal vapor or that He cant have a body. Many believe that spiritual things cannot be physical. Thats a misconception. God wants you to be spiritual, and yet you still have a physical body.

Angels are spirits living in a spiritual realm, but the Bible repeatedly identifies them as having a form. Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14). God the Father is a spirit, but Daniel sees God on His throne and describes what He looked like in that vision (Daniel 7:9).

Of course, Jesus now has a physical, human body. When He rose from the dead, He received a glorified body. Remember what Jesus said to His disciples: Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have (Luke 24:39). He said a spirit, or ghost, does not have flesh like Him. He had a spiritual body, yet He ate in front of them to emphasize that He was real. When we get our new bodies, they will be real but also spirituallike Jesus now has. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44). And Philippians 3:21 adds, Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. Hebrews 1:3 says, Who being in the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Now, doesnt it ring true that God must have a form if Jesus is sitting at His right hand?

And What Is His Name?

My friend says that God commands us to call Him Jehovah? Where does it say that in the Bible?

Im sure many of our readers have had people come to their doors and have been told that Jehovah is the only appropriate name to call God. There is another group that claims that it must be Yahweh, which is the sacred name of God.

But I respectfully disagree with the idea that God desires we call Him by one name over another. In reality, God goes by many names in the Bible. It is true that God says to Moses in Exodus 6:3, And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. However, here God simply revealed a new name to them. And you will find that God continues to reveal new names throughout the Bible. He never says we should use just one name when calling on or referencing Him.