January 10, 2026 • 28 mins
On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast, Hank brings up the Legacy Reading Plan, an innovative guide for reading through the Bible each year, so you can gain a better understanding of God’s Word.
Hank also answers the following questions:
If the Magi followed the star in the East, wouldn’t that have taken them in the wrong direction? David - Columbus, IN (2:06)
What are your thoughts on the ministry of Michael Rozell and Refuge Ranch? Why don’t we see the signs described in Mark 16:17-18 today? Aaron - Hendersonville, TN (4:25)
My pastor is starting a series based on the book Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman. Do you know anything about this? Bob - Atlanta, GA (6:50)
How reliable are the notes in a Study Bible? Laura - Charlotte, NC (15:10)
Who are the Illuminati? Roxanna - Phoenix, AZ (16:49)
Are you a Young Earth or an Old Earth Creationist? Jeff - Alto, TX (19:38)
Acts 16:25 records the singing of hymns; what kind of music is acceptable for churches? Bill - Modesto, CA (21:51)
Hank also answers the following questions:
If the Magi followed the star in the East, wouldn’t that have taken them in the wrong direction? David - Columbus, IN (2:06)
What are your thoughts on the ministry of Michael Rozell and Refuge Ranch? Why don’t we see the signs described in Mark 16:17-18 today? Aaron - Hendersonville, TN (4:25)
My pastor is starting a series based on the book Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman. Do you know anything about this? Bob - Atlanta, GA (6:50)
How reliable are the notes in a Study Bible? Laura - Charlotte, NC (15:10)
Who are the Illuminati? Roxanna - Phoenix, AZ (16:49)
Are you a Young Earth or an Old Earth Creationist? Jeff - Alto, TX (19:38)
Acts 16:25 records the singing of hymns; what kind of music is acceptable for churches? Bill - Modesto, CA (21:51)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
From the Christian Research Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. You
are listening to the best of the Bible answer Man
broadcast with Hank Cantagraph. We're on the air because life
and truth matter. The mission of the Christian Research Institute
is to equip believers to answer life's essential questions soundly
and persuasively, and to give the reason for the hope
(00:29):
that you have with gentleness and respect. For more information,
go online to equip dot org. The following program was
pre recorded and now here's Bible answer Man host Hank Cantagraph.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Thank you, Reddy. I want to start by talking about
the Legacy Reading Plan. Whenever we're on the cusp of
a new year, it's important for us to perhaps get
into a habit that we haven't been in prior year.
The Legacy Reading Plan is an innovative approach that I
developed or reading through the Love Letters of God, one
(01:07):
book at a time for the rest of your life.
And the overarching objective of the plan is to read
through the Bible once a year, every year for the
rest of your life. The reading calendar is naturally segmented
into seasons, and then the seasons in two months at
the beginning of each year. You know that during the
(01:28):
winter your focus will be on the Pentateuch and poetry,
in the spring the historical books, in the summer of
the Prophets, and during the fall the New Testament. And
then each season is further broken down in two months.
And therefore every January your goal is to read through
Genesis and Exodus, and every December of the Synoptic Gospels
(01:48):
and Acts. There are times when you'll naturally read ten chapters,
and others when you'll read one or two. But more importantly,
you'll read the Bible just as you read their literature. Again.
An innovative plan. You can find it on the web
had equipped dot org. A lot of you hanging on
will go right to the phone callers. First up as
(02:10):
David in Columbus, Indiana.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Hi David, yes, he thank you for taking my call.
I have a question about the wise men. We were
said to be from the east, and that they still
saw a star in the east. And so if they
follow the star in the east, that wouldn't take them
west to Jerusalem, take them somewhere east, like India or
(02:32):
something like that. I don't reckoncy that well.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
The text says that the Nagi came to Jerusalem from
the east and then they saw his star in the east.
Natural stars, of course, appear to rise in the east
and then set in the west to the earth rotation.
Of course, the text doesn't tell us whether the star
was a natural or a supernatural phenomenon. So in short,
(02:58):
it doesn't mean that they followed in an eastward direction.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Oh okay, well that.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. And by the way, some of
the things that I've noted and a devotionally do for
the season with respect to Christmas is that when you
look at the star and the magi following the star,
the Bible makes it crystal clear that the wise men
were led by God, both by means of the star
(03:27):
which guided them to Christ, and by means of the
warning that kept them from returning to Herod. And not
only that, but contrary to the practice of astrology, which
involves divination and attempts to predict the future apart from God,
the star that the magi followed was not used to
foretell the future, but to fourth tell the future. In
(03:47):
other words, the Star of Bethlehem didn't prophesy the birth
of Christ. It pronounced the birth of Christ. And again,
when we come to all these kinds of things in Scripture,
we have to have a truly open mind, which is
to say, we have to allow for both natural as
well as supernatural explanations for what we encounter in the world.
(04:08):
So some of the things can be explained through natural explanations,
some require a supernatural explanation. And again the text doesn't
tell us whether the star was a natural or a
supernatural phenomenon. We just don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
All right, Well, thank you very much, you got it.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Appreciate your call back to the phone as we'll talk
next to Aaron in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Hieran, Hey, my question is about a pass I mean
Michael Rozille. He has a ministry called Refuge Ranch Ministries.
I want to know if if you've heard of him
and what you thought were about him.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah, it's a deliverance model of spiritual warfare, which I
am very strongly opposed to on biblical grounds. In fact,
I wrote a book called The Covering God's Plan to
Protect You from Evil, which counters that model of spiritual
warfare and lays out a biblical model is delineated by
the apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter six, verses ten or twenty.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Okay, in Mark sixteen, verse seventeen, it says, these signs.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Will company those who have believed in my name.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
They'll cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
They will pick up serpents, and if they drink any
daily poison, it.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
Will not hurt them.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
They will lay hand them the sick and they will recover.
How come I don't see much of that around me.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Well, A couple of things that I would say about
this is, first and foremost, you are quoting a passage
of scripture that is not found in the most reliable
early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses, and so this is
a questionable ending to the Book of Mark. But if
you do consider it as part of the photographer or
(05:54):
the original writings, I think that you find some of
those principles manifest in the life of the New Testament writers.
But again, this is not normative for us today, which
is to say that the writers of the Bible were
attested to by the miraculous. Furthermore, I think it's really
(06:16):
important that we recognize that there's nothing in the Holy
Scripture that suggests in any way whatsoever that a believer
can be demon possessed. Unbelievers are of their father, the devil,
but believers are in dwelt by the Holy Spirit. And
therefore your temple is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
(06:36):
is not shared with a demon. So the whole notion
of deliverance of believers is simply an unbiblical notion, which
unfortunately is being plied before the altars of churches. Back
to the phone lines, we talked to Bob Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Hi, Bob, Oh, thank God, bless you. I wish your mystery.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
I have a question for you. My wife and family,
we've been attending the church here and we've got a
new past or in the last six months, and he's
about to start a series on the book called not
a Fan by Idleman, and I'm wondering. I looked online
and there's a couple of reviews that associate him with
lordship Salvation, and I wonder if you could shed some
(07:18):
light on that.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah. Well, we've actually put together a little fact sheet
on this whole controversy with respect to lordship salvation. Predominantly,
as it's argued by on the one side, John MacArthur
and the other riary and so if you hang on,
we can send that out to you. I'm not real
familiar with the specifics of what Idleman is teaching. I'm
(07:42):
not that familiar with him.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Putting a lot of emphasis on following Christ and how
your life should change. You know, they give as example
as people that quit their jobs and go to remote
villages in South America to help take wills or villages.
And you know, that's an extreme but it seems like
(08:05):
the pastors spends an awful lot of time. It's almost
almost a works righteousness.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
There's a couple of things I would say about that.
I mean, I think it's really true that if you
want to live the life that Christ lived, then you
have to do the things that Christ did, which is
to say that Christ fasted. Christ was intimately acquainted with
the Word of God. Christ often withdrew to lonely places
(08:38):
and prayed because he treasured fellowship with his heavenly Father.
And so to be what Christ was, to be an
imitator of Jesus Christ in our own lives, it means
that we need to do what Christ did. We have
to imitate those life practices modeled by our Lord. That's
what Paul says, imitate me as I imitate Christ. But
(09:00):
then we also have to recognize that the Christian life
is an ingrafted life. It is not even our own life.
Christ not only died for our sins, but we died
with Christ. And when we die with Christ, it means
that we have been crucified with Christ and we no
longer live, but Christ lives in us. So we have
to nurture the divine life within as we move through
(09:26):
the tangled web of human existence. So I do think
that it's important for us to recognize what it means
to follow Christ, not only in doctrine, but also life.
I mean, that's what Paul says to young Timothy, says,
watch your life and your doctrine closely, persevere in them,
because if you do, you'll save both yourself and your hearers.
(09:50):
But ultimately, what we do is we hold as Christians,
our time, our talent, and our treasure with an open hand,
so that God can take out and put in as
he sees fit. That's always the goal, to be a
steward of our time, talented treasure. To recognize we don't
even own them as believers. We have given them to Christ,
and now we follow him. And that is in whatever
(10:13):
calling He places on our lives. Some people are called
to make a lot of money and then to steward
that money for the purposes of the kingdom. That's a reality.
We shouldn't abandon wealth, but we should harness wealth. By
abanding wealth, that just means someone else controls it. But rather,
if we've been gifted in that area, we need to
(10:35):
use the gift that God has given to us. So
if our gift is giving, we have to give according
to the grace given to us. If our gift is
showing mercy, we need to do that cheerfully. If our
gift is teaching, we have to teach. If it is serving,
we have to serve. But the idea is to use
our gifts for God's glory and for the extension of
His kingdom. Coming up to a station break, be right
(10:56):
back on the other side of the break with more
answers to your questions.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
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Once again, that's equip dot org. Has God Spoken? Are
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in fact the very words of God himself? Three years
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and reflection, Hank Henagraph's monumental book Has God Spoken answers
what is surely the most important question facing our world.
In Has God Spoken? Memorable proofs of the Bible's divine inspiration,
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Bible really says about the end times and why it
(14:19):
matters today. Hank Canagraph argues that the key to understanding
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The Apocalypse Code offers sane answers to some very controversial questions,
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(14:40):
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Speaker 2 (15:09):
Let's go back to the phone lines. We'll talk next
to Laura listening right here in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Hi Laura, Hi Hank, thanks for taking my call, my pleasure.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
I just wanted to know how trustworthy are going by
the note in like a study Bible.
Speaker 7 (15:24):
Yeah, I know that they're not inspired.
Speaker 6 (15:26):
Scripture, but you know, are they pretty safe to go by?
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Well? I think it's really helpful to use insights that
you find in commentaries and the like. But here's the deal.
You're absolutely correct in saying they're not inspired, and therefore
you have to take them with a grain of salt,
which is to say, you've got to test them and
then hold fast to that. Which is good because the
writers who make the comments in the commentaries have their
(15:54):
own predilections, and sometimes they're correct and sometimes they're not.
But overall, commentaries can be greatly helpful because we have
to recognize as Christians that were pigmies standing on the
shoulders of giants, which is to say, we're learning from
others who have gone before us, and we can learn
a lot from them. We all have limited time, and therefore,
(16:16):
you know, in one lifetime, we don't always have an
opportunity to become an expert on every book in the Bible.
That's quite a chore. So you might find some very
credible man who's spent his life studying the Book of Romans. Well,
we can learn a lot from someone like that. So
I think commentaries can be very helpful, but you have
(16:37):
to have that discernment factor that you mentioned at the
very opening of your question. That is that they're not
infallible and therefore you want to make sure you test them.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Okay, hey, you got it.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Back to the phone lines, we'll talk next to Roxanna.
She's listening in Phoenix, Arizona. Hi.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Roxanna, Hello, I have.
Speaker 6 (16:56):
Something like it's totally disturbing me. It's about my kids.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (17:00):
I was on YouTube just playing around when they and
saw the groups that they like, and they're all displaying
Illuminati symbols and all that, and I'm wondering about the Illuminati.
And the more I started looking into it, the videos
they have have goat heads and I mean it's just
completely linked with the Illuminati.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, A couple of things that I would say about that.
One thing that I think would be very helpful to
you is to get my book The Covering, God's Plan
to Protect You from Evil, because what that book does
is it really helps inoculate you. If you put on
the full armer of God, or what I call the
covering that Paul describes in Ephesians chapter six, you are
(17:40):
invincible in spiritual warfare. If you do not, you're a
guaranteed casualty. So the greatest thing you can do for
your kids is really give them the inoculation, teach them
what the full armor of God is and how to
apply it in their lives. Secondly, I think it's very
important to recognize that one of the pieces of the
(18:00):
full armors the belt of truth, and unfortunately, truth is
that which corresponds to reality. The Illuminati does not correspond
to reality. This is not to say that Satan is
not real or that evil is not real, but this
notion that there is a Satanic ruling council or Illuminati
(18:21):
is a conspiracy theory that doesn't have basis in reality.
So this notion that there is a carefully crafted curtel
that encompasses policemen and politicians, even pastors secretly engaged in
subterfuge to advance their Satanic agenda, and that this agenda
(18:42):
has now moved Satanism into the very wholes of power
as well as sanctuaries of religion, simply is not true.
And I actually point this out and give the evidence
for it in my book The Covering. It's a small book,
it's easy to read, but it's an absolute must for
Christians to put on the full Arm of God, to
(19:02):
know precisely what it means to put on the form
of God, so that we can always be ready to
give an answer, so that we can always be fortified
in spiritual warfare, so that we never fall, but we
can always stand. And one of the things that Paul
points out is that the power of the Lord to
(19:24):
protect is far greater than the power of Satan to pillage.
And so again, if we put on the full arm
of God, we're invincible. If we do not, we're guaranteed casualties.
I want to go back to the phone lines to
talk to jeff next in Alto, Texas.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
Hi, jeff Ah, I thank you for taking my call,
and I want to apologize up front. I really enjoy
listening to your program, but I'm not always assistant enabled
to listen consistently. And you may have already covered this.
I think you interviewed the author of the book and
I don't even remember the title of the book, but
basically where it was discussing Old Earth beliefs. And I
(20:04):
think you've even had some follow up calls after that,
but I never really got a clear answer as to
where you stand as far as Young Earth or Old Earth,
or what exactly do you believe as far as the
age of the Earth.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Yeah, here's the main point that I make with respect
to the age of the Earth. My major contention is
that the Bible does not give us a chronology of creation.
It does give us a hierarchy of creation, which culminates
in the crowning jewel of God's creation, which is humankind,
but it never gives us a chronology of creation. So
(20:39):
if you want to know about the age of the Earth,
you have to look at the Book of Nature. And
what I mean by that is the Bible makes very
clear that the invisible characteristics of God, or the invisible
qualities of God, his divine nature, his eternal power, can
be seen through what He has made. And therefore, as
(21:01):
Pall points out, men are without excuse. So we can
look at the universe that He has made. For example,
we can look at starlife, and there doesn't have to
be a lot of conjecture here, because we can see
stars in infancy, we can see stars in midlife, we
can see stars when they're white dwarf stars, and through
(21:22):
observing the universe, we can come up with an idea
of the age of the universe. And this is true
whether we are talking about star life or the speed
of light, or even sequential layers and ice cores in
Antarctica or Greenland. So there are a lot of ways
in which we can come up with a chronology. But
(21:43):
I don't think the Bible really gives us a chronology.
It gives us general parameters that we can go by,
but it doesn't give us a chronology. I want to
go back to the phone lines now. Talk to Bill.
He's listening on KCIV, Modesta, California. Hi Bill, Hi good.
Speaker 7 (21:57):
How are you pretty good?
Speaker 6 (21:59):
Sir?
Speaker 7 (22:00):
I had a question in Acts sixteen, verse twenty five,
and the question would be singing hymns of praise to God,
and the prisoners were listening to them, and I'm I'm
in a quandary personally because the church I attend started
(22:23):
singing modern contemporary songs, which you know well and good,
but I get no worship from those songs. And I
was wondering, you know, with that verse there in the
fusion five nineteen of you know, they're singing in the
spirit and I just myself personally, you know, with electric
(22:49):
guitars and drump drums bang, and I just you know,
is it is it am I behind the times? Or
or am I not being current or what you know?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Is it me? That's my yeah, well, good question. And
a couple of things I would say in this regard
the apostle Paul urges us to sing to one another
with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs in Ephesians chapter five.
Singing songs is a magnificent means for intercession and instruction
(23:20):
and even the internalization of scripture. But in addition, the
great hymns of the faith have stood the test of time,
and they're rich in theological tradition and truth. And then
there are such things as spiritual songs, which in turn
communicate the freshness of our faith. So it's crucial that
(23:43):
we preserve both a respect for our spiritual heritage and
a regard for contemporary compositions. But to your point, I
think that oftentimes there's excessive repetition in current songs, and
oftentimes the people who write these songs are not theologically trained,
(24:08):
they don't really read their Bibles carefully, and so the
lyrics oftentimes are not biblical, they're anti biblical. And so
we should be aware of this, and we should have
the kind of discernment and the kind of questions that
you're asking. Despite the benefits of worship choruses today, they
(24:29):
tend to reflect the values of our popular culture, and
we shouldn't buy into them without question. Instant gratification, intellectual impatience,
a historical immediacy, incessant novelty seem to rule the day.
And so you're right to ask that question, and your
(24:51):
right to use, as I said, your discernment skills in
these kinds of circumstances.
Speaker 7 (24:57):
Well, Hencott, I appreciate your answer.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Well, I appreciate your question, and let me make just
a couple of follow up comments as we close out
the program today. I've written about this in a book
called Counterfeit Revival. People look for God in all the
wrong places, and oftentimes the problem is that they're not
exercising discernment skills. And this ministry ultimately is that it's
(25:21):
a discernment ministry. We're equipping people to be able to
discern the difference between wheat and chaff, heat and light.
And when you can discern, then you're in the best circumstance.
Because remember, Satan doesn't come to us in his naked deformity.
If he did, we'd never buy into his lies. He
(25:43):
comes as an angel of enlightenment. It sounds so good,
it feels so good, and so we often bite the apple.
But with discernment skills, we can not only help ourselves,
but we can help others. Thanks for tuning in. Look
forward to seeing you next time with more of the show.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
We appreciate you tuning in to the Bible answer Man Broadcast.
Before we sign off today, here's our contact information by
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(26:26):
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(26:48):
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From the Christian Research Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. You
are listening to the best of the Bible answer Man
broadcast with Hank Cantagraph. We're on the air because life
and truth matter. The mission of the Christian Research Institute
is to equip believers to answer life's essential questions soundly
and persuasively, and to give the reason for the hope
(00:29):
that you have with gentleness and respect. For more information,
go online to equip dot org. The following program was
pre recorded and now here's Bible answer Man host Hank Cantagraph.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Thank you, Reddy. I want to start by talking about
the Legacy Reading Plan. Whenever we're on the cusp of
a new year, it's important for us to perhaps get
into a habit that we haven't been in prior year.
The Legacy Reading Plan is an innovative approach that I
developed or reading through the Love Letters of God, one
(01:07):
book at a time for the rest of your life.
And the overarching objective of the plan is to read
through the Bible once a year, every year for the
rest of your life. The reading calendar is naturally segmented
into seasons, and then the seasons in two months at
the beginning of each year. You know that during the
(01:28):
winter your focus will be on the Pentateuch and poetry,
in the spring the historical books, in the summer of
the Prophets, and during the fall the New Testament. And
then each season is further broken down in two months.
And therefore every January your goal is to read through
Genesis and Exodus, and every December of the Synoptic Gospels
(01:48):
and Acts. There are times when you'll naturally read ten chapters,
and others when you'll read one or two. But more importantly,
you'll read the Bible just as you read their literature. Again.
An innovative plan. You can find it on the web
had equipped dot org. A lot of you hanging on
will go right to the phone callers. First up as
(02:10):
David in Columbus, Indiana.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Hi David, yes, he thank you for taking my call.
I have a question about the wise men. We were
said to be from the east, and that they still
saw a star in the east. And so if they
follow the star in the east, that wouldn't take them
west to Jerusalem, take them somewhere east, like India or
(02:32):
something like that. I don't reckoncy that well.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
The text says that the Nagi came to Jerusalem from
the east and then they saw his star in the east.
Natural stars, of course, appear to rise in the east
and then set in the west to the earth rotation.
Of course, the text doesn't tell us whether the star
was a natural or a supernatural phenomenon. So in short,
(02:58):
it doesn't mean that they followed in an eastward direction.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
Oh okay, well that.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. And by the way, some of
the things that I've noted and a devotionally do for
the season with respect to Christmas is that when you
look at the star and the magi following the star,
the Bible makes it crystal clear that the wise men
were led by God, both by means of the star
(03:27):
which guided them to Christ, and by means of the
warning that kept them from returning to Herod. And not
only that, but contrary to the practice of astrology, which
involves divination and attempts to predict the future apart from God,
the star that the magi followed was not used to
foretell the future, but to fourth tell the future. In
(03:47):
other words, the Star of Bethlehem didn't prophesy the birth
of Christ. It pronounced the birth of Christ. And again,
when we come to all these kinds of things in Scripture,
we have to have a truly open mind, which is
to say, we have to allow for both natural as
well as supernatural explanations for what we encounter in the world.
(04:08):
So some of the things can be explained through natural explanations,
some require a supernatural explanation. And again the text doesn't
tell us whether the star was a natural or a
supernatural phenomenon. We just don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
All right, Well, thank you very much, you got it.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
Appreciate your call back to the phone as we'll talk
next to Aaron in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
Hieran, Hey, my question is about a pass I mean
Michael Rozille. He has a ministry called Refuge Ranch Ministries.
I want to know if if you've heard of him
and what you thought were about him.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Yeah, it's a deliverance model of spiritual warfare, which I
am very strongly opposed to on biblical grounds. In fact,
I wrote a book called The Covering God's Plan to
Protect You from Evil, which counters that model of spiritual
warfare and lays out a biblical model is delineated by
the apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter six, verses ten or twenty.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Okay, in Mark sixteen, verse seventeen, it says, these signs.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Will company those who have believed in my name.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
They'll cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
They will pick up serpents, and if they drink any
daily poison, it.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
Will not hurt them.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
They will lay hand them the sick and they will recover.
How come I don't see much of that around me.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Well, A couple of things that I would say about
this is, first and foremost, you are quoting a passage
of scripture that is not found in the most reliable
early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses, and so this is
a questionable ending to the Book of Mark. But if
you do consider it as part of the photographer or
(05:54):
the original writings, I think that you find some of
those principles manifest in the life of the New Testament writers.
But again, this is not normative for us today, which
is to say that the writers of the Bible were
attested to by the miraculous. Furthermore, I think it's really
(06:16):
important that we recognize that there's nothing in the Holy
Scripture that suggests in any way whatsoever that a believer
can be demon possessed. Unbelievers are of their father, the devil,
but believers are in dwelt by the Holy Spirit. And
therefore your temple is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
(06:36):
is not shared with a demon. So the whole notion
of deliverance of believers is simply an unbiblical notion, which
unfortunately is being plied before the altars of churches. Back
to the phone lines, we talked to Bob Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Hi, Bob, Oh, thank God, bless you. I wish your mystery.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
I have a question for you. My wife and family,
we've been attending the church here and we've got a
new past or in the last six months, and he's
about to start a series on the book called not
a Fan by Idleman, and I'm wondering. I looked online
and there's a couple of reviews that associate him with
lordship Salvation, and I wonder if you could shed some
(07:18):
light on that.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah. Well, we've actually put together a little fact sheet
on this whole controversy with respect to lordship salvation. Predominantly,
as it's argued by on the one side, John MacArthur
and the other riary and so if you hang on,
we can send that out to you. I'm not real
familiar with the specifics of what Idleman is teaching. I'm
(07:42):
not that familiar with him.
Speaker 4 (07:44):
Putting a lot of emphasis on following Christ and how
your life should change. You know, they give as example
as people that quit their jobs and go to remote
villages in South America to help take wills or villages.
And you know, that's an extreme but it seems like
(08:05):
the pastors spends an awful lot of time. It's almost
almost a works righteousness.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
There's a couple of things I would say about that.
I mean, I think it's really true that if you
want to live the life that Christ lived, then you
have to do the things that Christ did, which is
to say that Christ fasted. Christ was intimately acquainted with
the Word of God. Christ often withdrew to lonely places
(08:38):
and prayed because he treasured fellowship with his heavenly Father.
And so to be what Christ was, to be an
imitator of Jesus Christ in our own lives, it means
that we need to do what Christ did. We have
to imitate those life practices modeled by our Lord. That's
what Paul says, imitate me as I imitate Christ. But
(09:00):
then we also have to recognize that the Christian life
is an ingrafted life. It is not even our own life.
Christ not only died for our sins, but we died
with Christ. And when we die with Christ, it means
that we have been crucified with Christ and we no
longer live, but Christ lives in us. So we have
to nurture the divine life within as we move through
(09:26):
the tangled web of human existence. So I do think
that it's important for us to recognize what it means
to follow Christ, not only in doctrine, but also life.
I mean, that's what Paul says to young Timothy, says,
watch your life and your doctrine closely, persevere in them,
because if you do, you'll save both yourself and your hearers.
(09:50):
But ultimately, what we do is we hold as Christians,
our time, our talent, and our treasure with an open hand,
so that God can take out and put in as
he sees fit. That's always the goal, to be a
steward of our time, talented treasure. To recognize we don't
even own them as believers. We have given them to Christ,
and now we follow him. And that is in whatever
(10:13):
calling He places on our lives. Some people are called
to make a lot of money and then to steward
that money for the purposes of the kingdom. That's a reality.
We shouldn't abandon wealth, but we should harness wealth. By
abanding wealth, that just means someone else controls it. But rather,
if we've been gifted in that area, we need to
(10:35):
use the gift that God has given to us. So
if our gift is giving, we have to give according
to the grace given to us. If our gift is
showing mercy, we need to do that cheerfully. If our
gift is teaching, we have to teach. If it is serving,
we have to serve. But the idea is to use
our gifts for God's glory and for the extension of
His kingdom. Coming up to a station break, be right
(10:56):
back on the other side of the break with more
answers to your questions.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
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(11:46):
Or visit our website at equip dot org. We'll return
shortly with more from Hank hanagraph. The number of wolves
surrounding the Christian flock is growing, and they relish nothing
more than docile's sheep, utterly incapable of defending themselves from
(12:10):
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(12:52):
Once again, that's equip dot org. Has God Spoken? Are
the words of Scripture merely human in origin? Or are they,
in fact the very words of God himself? Three years
(13:15):
in the making and based on two decades of research
and reflection, Hank Henagraph's monumental book Has God Spoken answers
what is surely the most important question facing our world.
In Has God Spoken? Memorable proofs of the Bible's divine inspiration,
Hank counters the contentions of the Bible attackers and clearly
(13:36):
shows that belief in the Holy Scriptures is not a
guess or wishful thinking. It is the only logical conclusion
after an honest examination of overwhelming evidence. Ordered Has God Spoken?
From the Christian Research Institute by calling eighty eight seven
thousand CRII or go online to equip dot org. Equip
(13:57):
dot org breaking the code. If the Book of Revelation
has become an international obsession, the result has been rampant
misreading of scripture, bad theology, and even bad politics and
foreign policy. In the Apocalypse Code, find out what the
Bible really says about the end times and why it
(14:19):
matters today. Hank Canagraph argues that the key to understanding
the Last Book of the Bible is the other sixty
five books of the Bible, not current events or recent history.
The Apocalypse Code offers sane answers to some very controversial questions,
such as what does it mean to take the Book
of Revelation literally? Who are the Antichrist and the Great
(14:40):
Horror of Babylon? And what is the real meaning of
six hundred and sixty six. Order The Apocalypse Code by
Hank Cantigraph today, available in softcover, MP three, CD or
MP three download from equip dot org or call eight
eight eight seven thousand CRI. And now here's Hank Canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Let's go back to the phone lines. We'll talk next
to Laura listening right here in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Hi Laura, Hi Hank, thanks for taking my call, my pleasure.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
I just wanted to know how trustworthy are going by
the note in like a study Bible.
Speaker 7 (15:24):
Yeah, I know that they're not inspired.
Speaker 6 (15:26):
Scripture, but you know, are they pretty safe to go by?
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Well? I think it's really helpful to use insights that
you find in commentaries and the like. But here's the deal.
You're absolutely correct in saying they're not inspired, and therefore
you have to take them with a grain of salt,
which is to say, you've got to test them and
then hold fast to that. Which is good because the
writers who make the comments in the commentaries have their
(15:54):
own predilections, and sometimes they're correct and sometimes they're not.
But overall, commentaries can be greatly helpful because we have
to recognize as Christians that were pigmies standing on the
shoulders of giants, which is to say, we're learning from
others who have gone before us, and we can learn
a lot from them. We all have limited time, and therefore,
(16:16):
you know, in one lifetime, we don't always have an
opportunity to become an expert on every book in the Bible.
That's quite a chore. So you might find some very
credible man who's spent his life studying the Book of Romans. Well,
we can learn a lot from someone like that. So
I think commentaries can be very helpful, but you have
(16:37):
to have that discernment factor that you mentioned at the
very opening of your question. That is that they're not
infallible and therefore you want to make sure you test them.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Okay, hey, you got it.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Back to the phone lines, we'll talk next to Roxanna.
She's listening in Phoenix, Arizona. Hi.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
Roxanna, Hello, I have.
Speaker 6 (16:56):
Something like it's totally disturbing me. It's about my kids.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (17:00):
I was on YouTube just playing around when they and
saw the groups that they like, and they're all displaying
Illuminati symbols and all that, and I'm wondering about the Illuminati.
And the more I started looking into it, the videos
they have have goat heads and I mean it's just
completely linked with the Illuminati.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
Yeah, A couple of things that I would say about that.
One thing that I think would be very helpful to
you is to get my book The Covering, God's Plan
to Protect You from Evil, because what that book does
is it really helps inoculate you. If you put on
the full armer of God, or what I call the
covering that Paul describes in Ephesians chapter six, you are
(17:40):
invincible in spiritual warfare. If you do not, you're a
guaranteed casualty. So the greatest thing you can do for
your kids is really give them the inoculation, teach them
what the full armor of God is and how to
apply it in their lives. Secondly, I think it's very
important to recognize that one of the pieces of the
(18:00):
full armors the belt of truth, and unfortunately, truth is
that which corresponds to reality. The Illuminati does not correspond
to reality. This is not to say that Satan is
not real or that evil is not real, but this
notion that there is a Satanic ruling council or Illuminati
(18:21):
is a conspiracy theory that doesn't have basis in reality.
So this notion that there is a carefully crafted curtel
that encompasses policemen and politicians, even pastors secretly engaged in
subterfuge to advance their Satanic agenda, and that this agenda
(18:42):
has now moved Satanism into the very wholes of power
as well as sanctuaries of religion, simply is not true.
And I actually point this out and give the evidence
for it in my book The Covering. It's a small book,
it's easy to read, but it's an absolute must for
Christians to put on the full Arm of God, to
(19:02):
know precisely what it means to put on the form
of God, so that we can always be ready to
give an answer, so that we can always be fortified
in spiritual warfare, so that we never fall, but we
can always stand. And one of the things that Paul
points out is that the power of the Lord to
(19:24):
protect is far greater than the power of Satan to pillage.
And so again, if we put on the full arm
of God, we're invincible. If we do not, we're guaranteed casualties.
I want to go back to the phone lines to
talk to jeff next in Alto, Texas.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
Hi, jeff Ah, I thank you for taking my call,
and I want to apologize up front. I really enjoy
listening to your program, but I'm not always assistant enabled
to listen consistently. And you may have already covered this.
I think you interviewed the author of the book and
I don't even remember the title of the book, but
basically where it was discussing Old Earth beliefs. And I
(20:04):
think you've even had some follow up calls after that,
but I never really got a clear answer as to
where you stand as far as Young Earth or Old Earth,
or what exactly do you believe as far as the
age of the Earth.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Yeah, here's the main point that I make with respect
to the age of the Earth. My major contention is
that the Bible does not give us a chronology of creation.
It does give us a hierarchy of creation, which culminates
in the crowning jewel of God's creation, which is humankind,
but it never gives us a chronology of creation. So
(20:39):
if you want to know about the age of the Earth,
you have to look at the Book of Nature. And
what I mean by that is the Bible makes very
clear that the invisible characteristics of God, or the invisible
qualities of God, his divine nature, his eternal power, can
be seen through what He has made. And therefore, as
(21:01):
Pall points out, men are without excuse. So we can
look at the universe that He has made. For example,
we can look at starlife, and there doesn't have to
be a lot of conjecture here, because we can see
stars in infancy, we can see stars in midlife, we
can see stars when they're white dwarf stars, and through
(21:22):
observing the universe, we can come up with an idea
of the age of the universe. And this is true
whether we are talking about star life or the speed
of light, or even sequential layers and ice cores in
Antarctica or Greenland. So there are a lot of ways
in which we can come up with a chronology. But
(21:43):
I don't think the Bible really gives us a chronology.
It gives us general parameters that we can go by,
but it doesn't give us a chronology. I want to
go back to the phone lines now. Talk to Bill.
He's listening on KCIV, Modesta, California. Hi Bill, Hi good.
Speaker 7 (21:57):
How are you pretty good?
Speaker 6 (21:59):
Sir?
Speaker 7 (22:00):
I had a question in Acts sixteen, verse twenty five,
and the question would be singing hymns of praise to God,
and the prisoners were listening to them, and I'm I'm
in a quandary personally because the church I attend started
(22:23):
singing modern contemporary songs, which you know well and good,
but I get no worship from those songs. And I
was wondering, you know, with that verse there in the
fusion five nineteen of you know, they're singing in the
spirit and I just myself personally, you know, with electric
(22:49):
guitars and drump drums bang, and I just you know,
is it is it am I behind the times? Or
or am I not being current or what you know?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Is it me? That's my yeah, well, good question. And
a couple of things I would say in this regard
the apostle Paul urges us to sing to one another
with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs in Ephesians chapter five.
Singing songs is a magnificent means for intercession and instruction
(23:20):
and even the internalization of scripture. But in addition, the
great hymns of the faith have stood the test of time,
and they're rich in theological tradition and truth. And then
there are such things as spiritual songs, which in turn
communicate the freshness of our faith. So it's crucial that
(23:43):
we preserve both a respect for our spiritual heritage and
a regard for contemporary compositions. But to your point, I
think that oftentimes there's excessive repetition in current songs, and
oftentimes the people who write these songs are not theologically trained,
(24:08):
they don't really read their Bibles carefully, and so the
lyrics oftentimes are not biblical, they're anti biblical. And so
we should be aware of this, and we should have
the kind of discernment and the kind of questions that
you're asking. Despite the benefits of worship choruses today, they
(24:29):
tend to reflect the values of our popular culture, and
we shouldn't buy into them without question. Instant gratification, intellectual impatience,
a historical immediacy, incessant novelty seem to rule the day.
And so you're right to ask that question, and your
(24:51):
right to use, as I said, your discernment skills in
these kinds of circumstances.
Speaker 7 (24:57):
Well, Hencott, I appreciate your answer.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Well, I appreciate your question, and let me make just
a couple of follow up comments as we close out
the program today. I've written about this in a book
called Counterfeit Revival. People look for God in all the
wrong places, and oftentimes the problem is that they're not
exercising discernment skills. And this ministry ultimately is that it's
(25:21):
a discernment ministry. We're equipping people to be able to
discern the difference between wheat and chaff, heat and light.
And when you can discern, then you're in the best circumstance.
Because remember, Satan doesn't come to us in his naked deformity.
If he did, we'd never buy into his lies. He
(25:43):
comes as an angel of enlightenment. It sounds so good,
it feels so good, and so we often bite the apple.
But with discernment skills, we can not only help ourselves,
but we can help others. Thanks for tuning in. Look
forward to seeing you next time with more of the show.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
We appreciate you tuning in to the Bible answer Man Broadcast.
Before we sign off today, here's our contact information by
phone dial eight eight eight seven thousand CRII, which translates
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(26:26):
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