October 10, 2025 • 28 mins
On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast (10/10/25), Hank answers the following questions:
Does the Bible forbid first cousins from marrying? R.C. - Kansas City, KS (0:56)
Was Revelation intended to serve as a secret code to Christians at the time about the Romans? Leanne - St. Louis, MO (3:43)
How can I overcome depression? Christian - Salt Lake City, UT (7:26)
What is the biblical view of predestination? Is it based on God’s foreknowledge? Wes - Memphis, TN (15:13)
Will all our prayers be answered if we have enough faith? Madison - Columbia, MD (19:32)
Does the Bible forbid first cousins from marrying? R.C. - Kansas City, KS (0:56)
Was Revelation intended to serve as a secret code to Christians at the time about the Romans? Leanne - St. Louis, MO (3:43)
How can I overcome depression? Christian - Salt Lake City, UT (7:26)
What is the biblical view of predestination? Is it based on God’s foreknowledge? Wes - Memphis, TN (15:13)
Will all our prayers be answered if we have enough faith? Madison - Columbia, MD (19:32)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Heard all across the United States, Canada, and around the world.
This is the Bible answer Man Broadcast with Hank Hannagraph.
Hank is president of the Christian Research Institute at CRI.
Our desire is to equip you to not only defend
the historic Christian faith, but become an apprentice of Jesus
Christ because life and truth matter. To learn more or
(00:31):
to find resources to help you grow in grace, call
eight eight eight seven thousand CRII that's eight eight eight
seven thousand two seven four, or go to our website
at equip dot org. The following program was pre recorded.
Now here's Hank Hanagraph.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Thank you very much. Randy has always great to be
in studio as we answer your questions throughout the United
States and candidate. But if you're hanging on, we'll go
right to our phone callers. First step ar Seated, Kansas City, Kansas, HIERCI.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Hello, Hank, longtime supporter and miser. I need to find
out what the Bible does condone and not condone with
first cousins having intimate relationships which ultimately leads to marriage.
But we know that you know marriages pertain to different states.
As far as what it is I just want to
(01:23):
know what the Bible condone.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, think about it in principle for a moment. I mean,
if you look at what's going on in the scripture,
the laws against incest were instituted for a reason. They
weren't just gratuitous. They were instituted because over time, genetic
imperfections accumulate, and so God sets those laws into place
(01:50):
at a particular point in time to spare us from
those kind of imperfections. So, prior to this you had
Adam and Eves's children being able to intermarry, but that
changed again when the laws of incest were instituted in
the scripture. Now, from the standpoint of scripture, then there
(02:16):
is no current law against first cousin marriage period. But
there are laws from the standpoint of the state, and
we are to respect those laws. There are some states,
and I think you're calling from Kansas, they do prohibit
first cousin marriage in Kansas. So it depends on the state,
(02:38):
and we are to abide by the laws of the state.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Wow, that's what I needed to know, because you know,
especially when our first cousins, we grew up with them
and they're pretty much we treated them like our own
brother and sister. And I know that if I'd adopted
somebody and treated him like my brother and sister, I
would still consider that interest. And later on they got married,
(03:02):
and you know, there's obviously no biological prohibition there, but
that itself, the relationship value itself, I think, you know,
it really really weighs my mind in conscience when my
first cousin, you know, is in relationship with my siblings.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah. Well, again, the principle has to do with what
you find in the scripture, no prohibition in the scripture.
And secondly the issue of the particular state that you
live in. We are called to conform our ways to
the state if in fact what the state is asking
us to do does not violate what scripture asks us
to do. I want to go back to the phone lines.
(03:44):
Talk to lee Anne listening in Saint Louis, Missouri on
bud Radio.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Hi lee Ann, Hi, how are you good?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Thank you?
Speaker 4 (03:51):
How are you good?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
I love your show. And I was having a conversation
with my younger brother the other night. As soon as
he brought this up to me, I knew I was
going to have to call you the next chance I got,
because I knew I would be able to get some
reliable answers from you, But what we were talking about
was just kind of a lot of different stuff, and
we got onto the topic of the Book of Revelation,
and he told me that he had been informed that
(04:15):
the book was meant to serve as some type of
secret code to Christians at the time about what was
going on in Rome, and that Antichrist was supposed to
be the Roman emperor Nero, and that now today we're
supposed to look at it as what it was in
that time and not a predictor of the end times
that are to come. And that just contradicts everything that
(04:36):
I believe. And so I didn't really know where he
got that information from, or if a lot of people
believe that, or what your thoughts are on that subject.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Well, here's what my thoughts on that are. Revelation was
written to the churches in the epicenter of a Caesar cult.
So if you look at the Book of Revelation at
the very beginning, it says that these are letters to
seven churches. These churches are going to suffer greatly, and
they're being asked to be faithful. They're going to suffer
(05:06):
for a short time, but they're going to receive an
eternal vindication. So these churches are going to suffer greatly,
and that's clearly communicated as something that's going to happen
to them, not to a twenty first century church. So
what they're being told applies to us in the twenty
(05:29):
first century. But these are seven letters to seven churches
in the epicenter of a Caesar cult. Furthermore, if you
look at what revelation actually says, it says it is
the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to
show his servants what must soon take place. Now, if
that's not enough, the Lord Jesus goes on through the
(05:54):
apostle John to make clear that soon means soon in
saying he made it known by sending his angel to
a servant, John, who testifies to everything he saw. That
is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear it and take to
(06:15):
heart what is written in it. Because the time is near.
Soon means soon. Near means near. When Jesus says that
there's a looming apocalypse on the horizon, and that the
time is near. It is contrary to all decency and
propriety to dogmatically declare that his words are meant to
(06:41):
convey an event that is in the far future. So
I think it's an unconsciental abuse of language to say
that the word soon or near means two thousand years
hence or a faraway epic of time. As always, what
was written was written to believers in that epic of time.
(07:01):
If you read Romans, it was written to Roman believers.
But every single word of scripture is useful to us
today as well. So what's going on in the Book
of Revelation is they are being exhorted about something that's
going to happen in their epic of time. But ultimately,
just like all of the Biele looks forward to a
(07:22):
time where there's a new halfn a new Earth wherein
Dwell's righteous as back to the phone lines, we're talking
next to Christian listening in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hi, Christian.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Hey for various reasons which I'm not even sure if
I've been undergoing like a great deep depression, and can
some of this just be deception from the wicked one,
because you know, sometimes people I noticed that David suffered depression,
Elijah did, people like Spurgeon suffered depression, And I'm just
(07:52):
trying to get some relief because it's really difficult.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, do you.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Think that's you know, like I've been saying recently, thing
I've been trying lately to saying, Lord, you know, forgive
me for being deceived if I am. You know, what
do you think about that?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Well? I think a number of things. Number one, I mean,
if it's a medical problem, then you have to treat
it medically. If it's a spiritual problem, you have to
treat it spiritually. But you also have to recognize that
this is the condition of humankind. We go through times
of great elation and sometimes great despondency. Our lives are
(08:27):
subject to these kinds of ebbs and flows as long
as we live in a real world. So I think
the antidote isn't a magic bullet. The antidote is always
getting back to basics, getting into the Word of God,
getting the Word of God into you so that when
you face these times of despondency and depression, the Word
(08:48):
of God can refresh your mind and renew your spirit.
It's also incumbent upon us to develop a relationship with
the lover of our soul. So many people think that
prayer is a way to get things from God, but
in reality, it is a way of developing intimacy. And
(09:08):
so when we go through these times a despondency or depression,
we can go to our Lord and let him know
precisely where we are, and he can be that balm
of Gilead in our life. We also need to be
sure that we're connected to a healthy, well balanced church,
because when we stumble, when we fall, when we're in
a state of depression, we need the Body of Christ
(09:31):
to rally around us and to give us strength. This
is one of the reasons that the Bible makes so
clear that when you become a believer, you're not born
again in isolation. You're born into a family of God.
You're a living stone in the Temple of God. And
as Romans twelve makes very clear, all of us need
(09:53):
one another. So when you suffer and fall, I need
to be there to pick you up, and vice versa.
That's why it's so plain in scripture that we are
not to isolate from one another, but we are to
be integrated as living stones in the Temple of God,
not marbles bouncing off of one another in an empty cathedral.
(10:19):
So again, there's no magic bullet. You always have to
get back to basics and then realize that we live
in a fallen world. Christianity is not meant to give
us a panacea. Christianity promises peace in the midst of
the storm. In this world you have trouble, take heart
of overcome the world. Be right back into a few moments.
(10:41):
Please don't touch that dial.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
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The counterfeit Christ exhorts followers to abandon their families and
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support the Christian Research Institute's mind shaping, life changing outreaches.
That's eight eight eight seven thousand croi. Or visit us
online at equip dot org. That's equip dot org. Don't
(11:49):
tune out. Hank Hanagraph will be back with more right
after this 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
(12:13):
foreign policy. In the Apocalypse Code, find out what the
Bible really says about the end times and why it
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,
(12:35):
such as what does it mean to take the Book
of Revelation literally, who are the Antichrist and the Great
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
(12:55):
eight eight seven thousand CRII. The Complete Bible answer Book
Collector's Edition is the comprehensive collection of the most often
asked questions Hank Hannigraph has received throughout his four decades
as host of the Bible answer Man broadcast. With more
than half a million copies already in print, this newly
(13:17):
revised and expanded Collector's Edition helped seekers and skeptics alike
sort through the truth on topics such as reliability of
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and Expanded, call eight eight eight seven thousand CROI and
make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's life
changing outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CROI or visit
us at equip dot org. Bertrand Russell famously said most
(14:03):
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do not so with CRI Support Team members. Support Team
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(14:26):
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home and abroad to stand for life and truth. Check
(14:47):
out the benefits of membership at equip dot org. Once again,
that's equip dot org. Now back to the Bible answer
(15:08):
Man broadcast and your host and canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Back to the phone lines. We'll talk next to Wes
listening in Memphis, Tennessee. Hi, Wes.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Thank I'm a long time listener, a first time caller,
and a financial supporter of your ministry. I want to
thank you so much for all you do.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Well, thank you for your support.
Speaker 6 (15:29):
My question is regarding predestination. I'm in a vigorous debate
with my sister and I've heard you talk on this before,
and I believe that the Bible teaches that salvation is
offered to everyone, and the basis for predestination is God's
(15:50):
foreknowledge of whether or not we will accept Christ as savior,
while my sister believes that salvation is only offered to
the elect. And I've heard you describe these two beliefs,
but I don't believe i've ever heard you say which
(16:12):
side you come down on, And I was wondering your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Yeah, Well, first of all, I think it's important to
recognize that all Christians believe in predestination. Predestination is a
biblical word. It is a biblical concept. But you're right
in pointing out in the prolog to your question that
the issue is not the word. The issue is the
meaning that you pour into the word, and I think
(16:38):
in this case it is a very significant issue. Now,
it's never a deal breaker because there are believers who
hold to circumstantial or compatibilistic freedom who are within the
pale of orthodoxy. There are also believers who hold to
what's called libertarian freedom who are within the pale of
(16:59):
work the dodoxy. But within that debate, which is a
debate within the body of Christ, there are very significant ramifications,
and you've again outlined them in the prolog to your question.
The issue is simply this, can everyone respond to the
wooing of the Holy Spirit. My answer to that question
(17:21):
is yes, the Holy Spirit woos we can respond. We
can either reject the wooing of the Holy Spirit, or
we can respond to the wooing of the Holy Spirit.
Those who believe in circumstantial or compatibilistic freedom, which are
synonymous ideas, roughly speaking, a hold that God creates everyone
in such a way that they cannot respond to the
(17:42):
wooing of the Holy Spirit. In other words, everyone is
created so that they cannot respond. But then God regenerates
or if you will, rewires those who are the elect,
and now they have ears to hear, they can respond.
But everyone that God does not regenerate or rewire, they
don't have ears to hear, and therefore, just as a
(18:04):
cow can't fly, they can't respond to the Gospel. I
don't hold to that position, but I do contend that
that position is acceptable within the pale of orthodoxy. And
what we've done in this regard, and I think this
is extraordinarily helpful, is we have provided a debate in
(18:24):
the Christian Research Journal, and what we've done in this
regard is provided a Calvinist and a non Calvinist, and that,
by the way, is a very important distinction. A lot
of people think if you're not Calvinist, you're an Arminian,
and that's not the case either. So we've presented the
viewpoint of a very articulate Calvinist and then the counterpoint
(18:48):
from a very articulate non Calvinist. They debate this in print,
and what you were able to do when you read
that article is you're able to test their arguments in
light of scripture and then hold fast to the good.
So that's what I recommend you do. Hang on. I'll
(19:09):
send you that article or you can get it on
the web at equipped dot org. And then you can
look at the arguments and see which arguments hold water
when you test them and light to scripture and hold
fast to the good.
Speaker 6 (19:22):
Okay, that would be That would be awesome. I would
really appreciate.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
That, my pleasure. Hang on.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Thank you for your support and your encouragement. Thank you, Hank,
God bless you. Madison. Next Medisine is listening in Columbia,
Maryland on the Worldwide Web. Hi, Hi medicine.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Hello.
Speaker 7 (19:41):
First of all, I just wanted to say that I
really love your ministry and I'd love to listen and
thank you so much for what you do.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
You got it, Madison, I have a question Matthew.
Speaker 7 (19:53):
I think it's Matthew nine nine says, according to your faith,
it will be done into you. Why don't believe that
if I asked go to do something, I pryor ask
God to do something, but he'll necessarily do it if
I believe it'll happen. But then if that's so, then
what does that verse mean? Can you explain that?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, I think what's really important is to get the
basis here of what's going on when we talk about faith.
Because faith is only as good medicine as the object
in whom it is placed. So if we have faith
in our own faith, that's misplaced faith. But if we
(20:32):
have faith in our God, then that's well placed faith. So, ultimately,
as I've said on the Bible answer Man broadcast many times, medicine,
faith is a channel of living trust between a person
and their God. Faith is only as good then as
the object in whom it is placed. And again repeating
(20:54):
that for a reason, if it's placed in your own faith,
it's misplaced if it's placed in God, it's well placed faith.
Now how that makes a difference is God sees the
whole of your life. We see just snapshots. So a
lot of times we ask for things in faith that
(21:16):
we would really like to see happen. But God, who
loves us more than a father loves a child on earth,
he loves us perfectly. He oftentimes knows that what we
want is not really what we need, and therefore he
doesn't grant us through his grace what we're asking for,
because he knows it'll only harm us. And that's why
(21:40):
our faith should always be augmented with the words, if
it be Thy will, if it's God's will for something
to happen, then it will happen, and it will happen
in accordance with His providence and plan for our life.
So when you go to the passage in Matthew chapter
and medicine, then he touched their eyes and said, according
(22:04):
to your faith, will it be done to you, and
their sight was restored. Now, Jesus in this passage is
the object of their faith. And it was Christ's will
that they be healed. And thus they were healed according
to God's will. But that's not always God's will for us.
God's will for us is not to save us from
(22:27):
the difficulties of life. It's not even to give us
a panacea. It's to give us peace in the midst
of the storm. So Jesus made clear, in this world
you'll have trouble, but take heart, I've overcome the world.
So he teaches us to look beyond the present to
full restoration in a new heaven and a new Earth
wherein dwells righteousness.
Speaker 7 (22:49):
You were talking about like putting your faith in Jesus
or putting your faith in your own faith. What is
putting your faith in your own faith?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Yeah, that's a really good question. Medicine. Okay. There are
people who teach in the Christian Church today that faith
is a force, that words are the containers of the force,
and that through the force of faith one can create
their own reality. So what they do is they try
to conjure up this force of faith, and if I
(23:20):
have enough of it, then I'm going to have health,
and I'm going to have wealth, and everything will be fine.
That's what I call putting your faith in your own
faith as opposed to putting your faith in God and
recognizing that God can do all things in accordance with
his will, and what he does, he does perfectly. So
(23:43):
again we see a snapshot of our life. He sees
the total of our life. And so if we put
our faith in him, it's not going to preserve us
from difficulty, and it's not always going to give us
a healing, but it will provide us what all of
us long for, and that is peace in the midst
of life's difficulties and turmoil.
Speaker 7 (24:05):
So is putting your faith in yourself basically just declaring
anything into your future and assuming it'll happen.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
It's very much like that. Yes, that's exactly right.
Speaker 7 (24:17):
What exactly would be putting your face in God as well?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Well, think about it this way, Madison. If I'm in
an airplane and you're flying it, and I have faith
that the airplane is going to make it to California,
that's probably misplaced faith because you've probably never flown an airplane.
So that wouldn't be a smart use of my faith. Right,
I'm putting my faith in something that's not faithful, Because
(24:42):
if you have been trained to fly an airplane, putting
my faith in you to get me to California. In
the airplane, it's probably going to cause me to be
in a wreck somewhere in Texas. But if I put
my faith in an airline pilot who has been trained
and no how to deliver the goods the people that
(25:02):
are on the plane to the place that the plane
is going, then that's well placed faith. And that's sort
of a small analogy to what it means to place
your faith in God. Now, no airplane pilot is perfect,
but God is perfect, our perfect heavenly Father. If we
place our faith in him, that's well placed faith. But
(25:23):
if we place our faith in other people or in
our own faith, that's just credulity.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Good question.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
We're at a time for this edition of the Bible
Landesman Broadcast, and I remember you can give in a safe,
secure fashion on the web. It equipped dot org so
long for now look forward to seeing it with more
of the show.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Thank you for joining us for the Bible answer Man Broadcast.
In today's post truth culture of confusion, The Christian Research
Institute exists to equip listeners like you with answers to
communicate the Gospel of hope to a world in desperate
need of life and truth. Because life and truth matter.
(26:01):
In addition to truth, we want to equip you with life,
not simply to know about God, but truly to know him.
Experiencing union with Christ enables us to live life not
merely by our own energy, but with the energy of
the Lord Jesus working powerfully through us. For more information,
(26:22):
call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII. That's eight eight
eight seven thousand CRII. You can also write CRII at
Post Office Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina two
eight two seven one, or just visit us online at
equip dot org. That's equip dot org. The Bible answer
(26:47):
Man Broadcast is funded by listeners like you. We're on
the air because life and truth matter. Breaking the Code.
If the Book of Revelation has become an international obsession,
(27:07):
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 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
(27:28):
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 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,
(27:50):
MP three, CD or MP three download from equip dot
org or call eight eight eight seven thousand CRI
Heard all across the United States, Canada, and around the world.
This is the Bible answer Man Broadcast with Hank Hannagraph.
Hank is president of the Christian Research Institute at CRI.
Our desire is to equip you to not only defend
the historic Christian faith, but become an apprentice of Jesus
Christ because life and truth matter. To learn more or
(00:31):
to find resources to help you grow in grace, call
eight eight eight seven thousand CRII that's eight eight eight
seven thousand two seven four, or go to our website
at equip dot org. The following program was pre recorded.
Now here's Hank Hanagraph.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Thank you very much. Randy has always great to be
in studio as we answer your questions throughout the United
States and candidate. But if you're hanging on, we'll go
right to our phone callers. First step ar Seated, Kansas City, Kansas, HIERCI.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Hello, Hank, longtime supporter and miser. I need to find
out what the Bible does condone and not condone with
first cousins having intimate relationships which ultimately leads to marriage.
But we know that you know marriages pertain to different states.
As far as what it is I just want to
(01:23):
know what the Bible condone.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Well, think about it in principle for a moment. I mean,
if you look at what's going on in the scripture,
the laws against incest were instituted for a reason. They
weren't just gratuitous. They were instituted because over time, genetic
imperfections accumulate, and so God sets those laws into place
(01:50):
at a particular point in time to spare us from
those kind of imperfections. So, prior to this you had
Adam and Eves's children being able to intermarry, but that
changed again when the laws of incest were instituted in
the scripture. Now, from the standpoint of scripture, then there
(02:16):
is no current law against first cousin marriage period. But
there are laws from the standpoint of the state, and
we are to respect those laws. There are some states,
and I think you're calling from Kansas, they do prohibit
first cousin marriage in Kansas. So it depends on the state,
(02:38):
and we are to abide by the laws of the state.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Wow, that's what I needed to know, because you know,
especially when our first cousins, we grew up with them
and they're pretty much we treated them like our own
brother and sister. And I know that if I'd adopted
somebody and treated him like my brother and sister, I
would still consider that interest. And later on they got married,
(03:02):
and you know, there's obviously no biological prohibition there, but
that itself, the relationship value itself, I think, you know,
it really really weighs my mind in conscience when my
first cousin, you know, is in relationship with my siblings.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Yeah. Well, again, the principle has to do with what
you find in the scripture, no prohibition in the scripture.
And secondly the issue of the particular state that you
live in. We are called to conform our ways to
the state if in fact what the state is asking
us to do does not violate what scripture asks us
to do. I want to go back to the phone lines.
(03:44):
Talk to lee Anne listening in Saint Louis, Missouri on
bud Radio.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
Hi lee Ann, Hi, how are you good?
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Thank you?
Speaker 4 (03:51):
How are you good?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
I love your show. And I was having a conversation
with my younger brother the other night. As soon as
he brought this up to me, I knew I was
going to have to call you the next chance I got,
because I knew I would be able to get some
reliable answers from you, But what we were talking about
was just kind of a lot of different stuff, and
we got onto the topic of the Book of Revelation,
and he told me that he had been informed that
(04:15):
the book was meant to serve as some type of
secret code to Christians at the time about what was
going on in Rome, and that Antichrist was supposed to
be the Roman emperor Nero, and that now today we're
supposed to look at it as what it was in
that time and not a predictor of the end times
that are to come. And that just contradicts everything that
(04:36):
I believe. And so I didn't really know where he
got that information from, or if a lot of people
believe that, or what your thoughts are on that subject.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Well, here's what my thoughts on that are. Revelation was
written to the churches in the epicenter of a Caesar cult.
So if you look at the Book of Revelation at
the very beginning, it says that these are letters to
seven churches. These churches are going to suffer greatly, and
they're being asked to be faithful. They're going to suffer
(05:06):
for a short time, but they're going to receive an
eternal vindication. So these churches are going to suffer greatly,
and that's clearly communicated as something that's going to happen
to them, not to a twenty first century church. So
what they're being told applies to us in the twenty
(05:29):
first century. But these are seven letters to seven churches
in the epicenter of a Caesar cult. Furthermore, if you
look at what revelation actually says, it says it is
the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to
show his servants what must soon take place. Now, if
that's not enough, the Lord Jesus goes on through the
(05:54):
apostle John to make clear that soon means soon in
saying he made it known by sending his angel to
a servant, John, who testifies to everything he saw. That
is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear it and take to
(06:15):
heart what is written in it. Because the time is near.
Soon means soon. Near means near. When Jesus says that
there's a looming apocalypse on the horizon, and that the
time is near. It is contrary to all decency and
propriety to dogmatically declare that his words are meant to
(06:41):
convey an event that is in the far future. So
I think it's an unconsciental abuse of language to say
that the word soon or near means two thousand years
hence or a faraway epic of time. As always, what
was written was written to believers in that epic of time.
(07:01):
If you read Romans, it was written to Roman believers.
But every single word of scripture is useful to us
today as well. So what's going on in the Book
of Revelation is they are being exhorted about something that's
going to happen in their epic of time. But ultimately,
just like all of the Biele looks forward to a
(07:22):
time where there's a new halfn a new Earth wherein
Dwell's righteous as back to the phone lines, we're talking
next to Christian listening in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hi, Christian.
Speaker 4 (07:32):
Hey for various reasons which I'm not even sure if
I've been undergoing like a great deep depression, and can
some of this just be deception from the wicked one,
because you know, sometimes people I noticed that David suffered depression,
Elijah did, people like Spurgeon suffered depression, And I'm just
(07:52):
trying to get some relief because it's really difficult.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah, do you.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Think that's you know, like I've been saying recently, thing
I've been trying lately to saying, Lord, you know, forgive
me for being deceived if I am. You know, what
do you think about that?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Well? I think a number of things. Number one, I mean,
if it's a medical problem, then you have to treat
it medically. If it's a spiritual problem, you have to
treat it spiritually. But you also have to recognize that
this is the condition of humankind. We go through times
of great elation and sometimes great despondency. Our lives are
(08:27):
subject to these kinds of ebbs and flows as long
as we live in a real world. So I think
the antidote isn't a magic bullet. The antidote is always
getting back to basics, getting into the Word of God,
getting the Word of God into you so that when
you face these times of despondency and depression, the Word
(08:48):
of God can refresh your mind and renew your spirit.
It's also incumbent upon us to develop a relationship with
the lover of our soul. So many people think that
prayer is a way to get things from God, but
in reality, it is a way of developing intimacy. And
(09:08):
so when we go through these times a despondency or depression,
we can go to our Lord and let him know
precisely where we are, and he can be that balm
of Gilead in our life. We also need to be
sure that we're connected to a healthy, well balanced church,
because when we stumble, when we fall, when we're in
a state of depression, we need the Body of Christ
(09:31):
to rally around us and to give us strength. This
is one of the reasons that the Bible makes so
clear that when you become a believer, you're not born
again in isolation. You're born into a family of God.
You're a living stone in the Temple of God. And
as Romans twelve makes very clear, all of us need
(09:53):
one another. So when you suffer and fall, I need
to be there to pick you up, and vice versa.
That's why it's so plain in scripture that we are
not to isolate from one another, but we are to
be integrated as living stones in the Temple of God,
not marbles bouncing off of one another in an empty cathedral.
(10:19):
So again, there's no magic bullet. You always have to
get back to basics and then realize that we live
in a fallen world. Christianity is not meant to give
us a panacea. Christianity promises peace in the midst of
the storm. In this world you have trouble, take heart
of overcome the world. Be right back into a few moments.
(10:41):
Please don't touch that dial.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
The Church of Almighty God, also known as Eastern Lightning,
is a socially subversive pseudo Christian cult. It follows a
self proclaimed female Christ whose heretical doctrines incite violence, denying
the Trinity and biblical authority. Eastern Lightning uses psychological intimidation,
(11:03):
disrupts families, and has even perpetrated physical assaults in graphic language.
The counterfeit Christ exhorts followers to abandon their families and
devote themselves to recruiting new converts, branding those who refuse
as worthless. You can read more about the Iron Rod
of this false Almighty God in a special print issue
(11:26):
of the Christian Research Journal. To receive your copy, call
EIGHTA eight seven thousand croi and make a gift to
support the Christian Research Institute's mind shaping, life changing outreaches.
That's eight eight eight seven thousand croi. Or visit us
online at equip dot org. That's equip dot org. Don't
(11:49):
tune out. Hank Hanagraph will be back with more right
after this 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
(12:13):
foreign policy. In the Apocalypse Code, find out what the
Bible really says about the end times and why it
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,
(12:35):
such as what does it mean to take the Book
of Revelation literally, who are the Antichrist and the Great
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
(12:55):
eight eight seven thousand CRII. The Complete Bible answer Book
Collector's Edition is the comprehensive collection of the most often
asked questions Hank Hannigraph has received throughout his four decades
as host of the Bible answer Man broadcast. With more
than half a million copies already in print, this newly
(13:17):
revised and expanded Collector's Edition helped seekers and skeptics alike
sort through the truth on topics such as reliability of
the Bible, religions and cults, the resurrection and afterlife, and
many more issues vital to a better understanding of God
in Christ and our relationship to Him. To receive your
(13:37):
copy of The Complete Bible answer Book Collector's Edition, Revised
and Expanded, call eight eight eight seven thousand CROI and
make a gift to support the Christian Research Institute's life
changing outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CROI or visit
us at equip dot org. Bertrand Russell famously said most
(14:03):
people would rather die than think, and many of them
do not so with CRI Support Team members. Support Team
members are not only serious thinkers, but their membership and
CRI's Support Team helps to equip hundreds of thousands of
fellow believers around the globe each and every month. Are
you not a member, then you're missing out. Not only
(14:26):
do Support Team members form the backbone of Christian Research
Institute's outreaches, but they enjoy their selection of resources from
our Equipping Essentials Library to discover how you can make
a difference twenty four to seven and equipping believers at
home and abroad to stand for life and truth. Check
(14:47):
out the benefits of membership at equip dot org. Once again,
that's equip dot org. Now back to the Bible answer
(15:08):
Man broadcast and your host and canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Back to the phone lines. We'll talk next to Wes
listening in Memphis, Tennessee. Hi, Wes.
Speaker 6 (15:18):
Thank I'm a long time listener, a first time caller,
and a financial supporter of your ministry. I want to
thank you so much for all you do.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Well, thank you for your support.
Speaker 6 (15:29):
My question is regarding predestination. I'm in a vigorous debate
with my sister and I've heard you talk on this before,
and I believe that the Bible teaches that salvation is
offered to everyone, and the basis for predestination is God's
(15:50):
foreknowledge of whether or not we will accept Christ as savior,
while my sister believes that salvation is only offered to
the elect. And I've heard you describe these two beliefs,
but I don't believe i've ever heard you say which
(16:12):
side you come down on, And I was wondering your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Yeah, Well, first of all, I think it's important to
recognize that all Christians believe in predestination. Predestination is a
biblical word. It is a biblical concept. But you're right
in pointing out in the prolog to your question that
the issue is not the word. The issue is the
meaning that you pour into the word, and I think
(16:38):
in this case it is a very significant issue. Now,
it's never a deal breaker because there are believers who
hold to circumstantial or compatibilistic freedom who are within the
pale of orthodoxy. There are also believers who hold to
what's called libertarian freedom who are within the pale of
(16:59):
work the dodoxy. But within that debate, which is a
debate within the body of Christ, there are very significant ramifications,
and you've again outlined them in the prolog to your question.
The issue is simply this, can everyone respond to the
wooing of the Holy Spirit. My answer to that question
(17:21):
is yes, the Holy Spirit woos we can respond. We
can either reject the wooing of the Holy Spirit, or
we can respond to the wooing of the Holy Spirit.
Those who believe in circumstantial or compatibilistic freedom, which are
synonymous ideas, roughly speaking, a hold that God creates everyone
in such a way that they cannot respond to the
(17:42):
wooing of the Holy Spirit. In other words, everyone is
created so that they cannot respond. But then God regenerates
or if you will, rewires those who are the elect,
and now they have ears to hear, they can respond.
But everyone that God does not regenerate or rewire, they
don't have ears to hear, and therefore, just as a
(18:04):
cow can't fly, they can't respond to the Gospel. I
don't hold to that position, but I do contend that
that position is acceptable within the pale of orthodoxy. And
what we've done in this regard, and I think this
is extraordinarily helpful, is we have provided a debate in
(18:24):
the Christian Research Journal, and what we've done in this
regard is provided a Calvinist and a non Calvinist, and that,
by the way, is a very important distinction. A lot
of people think if you're not Calvinist, you're an Arminian,
and that's not the case either. So we've presented the
viewpoint of a very articulate Calvinist and then the counterpoint
(18:48):
from a very articulate non Calvinist. They debate this in print,
and what you were able to do when you read
that article is you're able to test their arguments in
light of scripture and then hold fast to the good.
So that's what I recommend you do. Hang on. I'll
(19:09):
send you that article or you can get it on
the web at equipped dot org. And then you can
look at the arguments and see which arguments hold water
when you test them and light to scripture and hold
fast to the good.
Speaker 6 (19:22):
Okay, that would be That would be awesome. I would
really appreciate.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
That, my pleasure. Hang on.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Thank you for your support and your encouragement. Thank you, Hank,
God bless you. Madison. Next Medisine is listening in Columbia,
Maryland on the Worldwide Web. Hi, Hi medicine.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Hello.
Speaker 7 (19:41):
First of all, I just wanted to say that I
really love your ministry and I'd love to listen and
thank you so much for what you do.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
You got it, Madison, I have a question Matthew.
Speaker 7 (19:53):
I think it's Matthew nine nine says, according to your faith,
it will be done into you. Why don't believe that
if I asked go to do something, I pryor ask
God to do something, but he'll necessarily do it if
I believe it'll happen. But then if that's so, then
what does that verse mean? Can you explain that?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Yeah, I think what's really important is to get the
basis here of what's going on when we talk about faith.
Because faith is only as good medicine as the object
in whom it is placed. So if we have faith
in our own faith, that's misplaced faith. But if we
(20:32):
have faith in our God, then that's well placed faith. So, ultimately,
as I've said on the Bible answer Man broadcast many times, medicine,
faith is a channel of living trust between a person
and their God. Faith is only as good then as
the object in whom it is placed. And again repeating
(20:54):
that for a reason, if it's placed in your own faith,
it's misplaced if it's placed in God, it's well placed faith.
Now how that makes a difference is God sees the
whole of your life. We see just snapshots. So a
lot of times we ask for things in faith that
(21:16):
we would really like to see happen. But God, who
loves us more than a father loves a child on earth,
he loves us perfectly. He oftentimes knows that what we
want is not really what we need, and therefore he
doesn't grant us through his grace what we're asking for,
because he knows it'll only harm us. And that's why
(21:40):
our faith should always be augmented with the words, if
it be Thy will, if it's God's will for something
to happen, then it will happen, and it will happen
in accordance with His providence and plan for our life.
So when you go to the passage in Matthew chapter
and medicine, then he touched their eyes and said, according
(22:04):
to your faith, will it be done to you, and
their sight was restored. Now, Jesus in this passage is
the object of their faith. And it was Christ's will
that they be healed. And thus they were healed according
to God's will. But that's not always God's will for us.
God's will for us is not to save us from
(22:27):
the difficulties of life. It's not even to give us
a panacea. It's to give us peace in the midst
of the storm. So Jesus made clear, in this world
you'll have trouble, but take heart, I've overcome the world.
So he teaches us to look beyond the present to
full restoration in a new heaven and a new Earth
wherein dwells righteousness.
Speaker 7 (22:49):
You were talking about like putting your faith in Jesus
or putting your faith in your own faith. What is
putting your faith in your own faith?
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Yeah, that's a really good question. Medicine. Okay. There are
people who teach in the Christian Church today that faith
is a force, that words are the containers of the force,
and that through the force of faith one can create
their own reality. So what they do is they try
to conjure up this force of faith, and if I
(23:20):
have enough of it, then I'm going to have health,
and I'm going to have wealth, and everything will be fine.
That's what I call putting your faith in your own
faith as opposed to putting your faith in God and
recognizing that God can do all things in accordance with
his will, and what he does, he does perfectly. So
(23:43):
again we see a snapshot of our life. He sees
the total of our life. And so if we put
our faith in him, it's not going to preserve us
from difficulty, and it's not always going to give us
a healing, but it will provide us what all of
us long for, and that is peace in the midst
of life's difficulties and turmoil.
Speaker 7 (24:05):
So is putting your faith in yourself basically just declaring
anything into your future and assuming it'll happen.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
It's very much like that. Yes, that's exactly right.
Speaker 7 (24:17):
What exactly would be putting your face in God as well?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Well, think about it this way, Madison. If I'm in
an airplane and you're flying it, and I have faith
that the airplane is going to make it to California,
that's probably misplaced faith because you've probably never flown an airplane.
So that wouldn't be a smart use of my faith. Right,
I'm putting my faith in something that's not faithful, Because
(24:42):
if you have been trained to fly an airplane, putting
my faith in you to get me to California. In
the airplane, it's probably going to cause me to be
in a wreck somewhere in Texas. But if I put
my faith in an airline pilot who has been trained
and no how to deliver the goods the people that
(25:02):
are on the plane to the place that the plane
is going, then that's well placed faith. And that's sort
of a small analogy to what it means to place
your faith in God. Now, no airplane pilot is perfect,
but God is perfect, our perfect heavenly Father. If we
place our faith in him, that's well placed faith. But
(25:23):
if we place our faith in other people or in
our own faith, that's just credulity.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Good question.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
We're at a time for this edition of the Bible
Landesman Broadcast, and I remember you can give in a safe,
secure fashion on the web. It equipped dot org so
long for now look forward to seeing it with more
of the show.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Thank you for joining us for the Bible answer Man Broadcast.
In today's post truth culture of confusion, The Christian Research
Institute exists to equip listeners like you with answers to
communicate the Gospel of hope to a world in desperate
need of life and truth. Because life and truth matter.
(26:01):
In addition to truth, we want to equip you with life,
not simply to know about God, but truly to know him.
Experiencing union with Christ enables us to live life not
merely by our own energy, but with the energy of
the Lord Jesus working powerfully through us. For more information,
(26:22):
call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII. That's eight eight
eight seven thousand CRII. You can also write CRII at
Post Office Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina two
eight two seven one, or just visit us online at
equip dot org. That's equip dot org. The Bible answer
(26:47):
Man Broadcast is funded by listeners like you. We're on
the air because life and truth matter. Breaking the Code.
If the Book of Revelation has become an international obsession,
(27:07):
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 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
(27:28):
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 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,
(27:50):
MP three, CD or MP three download from equip dot
org or call eight eight eight seven thousand CRI
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