September 18, 2025 • 28 mins
On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast (09/18/25), Hank answers the following questions:
In Deuteronomy 14:28-29, God instructs the people on what to do with the tithe at the end of every three years. Why don’t churches today follow this practice? Kim - Rural Hall, NC (3:09)
Who was Melchizedek? Antonio - Bakersfield, CA (5:22)
Is meeting the Lord in the air from 1 Thessalonians 4:17 meant to be understood metaphorically, or literally? Mark - Baltimore, MD (7:31)
Can you explain the meaning of Jesus being seated at the right hand of God? Sharlene - Godfrey, IL (15:11)
What are the crowns that we will throw at the feet of Jesus? Sharlene - Godfrey, IL (18:07)
Can you clarify your statements about hell not being a place? Is Satan real? Richard - Charlotte, NC (19:44)
In Deuteronomy 14:28-29, God instructs the people on what to do with the tithe at the end of every three years. Why don’t churches today follow this practice? Kim - Rural Hall, NC (3:09)
Who was Melchizedek? Antonio - Bakersfield, CA (5:22)
Is meeting the Lord in the air from 1 Thessalonians 4:17 meant to be understood metaphorically, or literally? Mark - Baltimore, MD (7:31)
Can you explain the meaning of Jesus being seated at the right hand of God? Sharlene - Godfrey, IL (15:11)
What are the crowns that we will throw at the feet of Jesus? Sharlene - Godfrey, IL (18:07)
Can you clarify your statements about hell not being a place? Is Satan real? Richard - Charlotte, NC (19:44)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're just in time for the Bible Answer Man Broadcast
with Hank Canagraph, the radio outreach of the Christian Research Institute.
Our purpose here at CRII is to equip Christians to
provide Biblical answers to life's most important questions, to read
the Bible for all it's worth, and counter the teachings
of cults and world religions that deviate from the plumb
(00:30):
line of God's word, because life and truth matter. For
more information, to order resources or donate, call eight eight
eight seven thousand CROI or go online to equip dot org.
That's equip dot org. The following program was pre recorded.
(00:50):
Now here's the president of the Christian Research Institute, Hank Canagraph.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Thank you very much for India. We begin the broadcast
today with just a word about resource. It is a
laminated four y six flip chart titled maps Memorable Keys
to the Bible's Divine Inspiration. Of course, the contention that
the Bible is merely human as opposed to divine in origin,
(01:16):
the product of contaminated copies, cleverly invented stories, corrupt collaborators
is nothing new. It's been the stock and trade of
bastions of higher learning for centuries, but that's not the
case today. What was once the province of private academia
(01:39):
is now being popularized in the public arena. When reason
prevails over rhetoric, however, a completely different perspective emerges again.
That is precisely why we are making this flip chart
available to you. It has to do with authority. How
(02:01):
do you know that the Bible is a genuine authority?
Muslims say it's not the Bible, it's the Quran. Mormons
say it's not the Bible, it's the Book of Mormon.
How do we know? How can we know? How can
we be absolutely certain that what we have given our
lives to is credible, sustainable, in fact, is objectively true.
(02:27):
Again maps memorable keys to the Bible's divine inspiration. You
can master the proofs for the divine inspiration of the
Bible in minutes, remember them for a lifetime. It's a
memorable defense of the most significant literary work in the
history of humanity. That's a mouthful, but it's absolutely true.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Again.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
You can order for your gift on the web equip
dot org via the mailbox eighty five hundred Charlotte, North
Carolina is a code two eight two seven one, and
of course you can pick up the telephone talk to
one of our resource consultants triple eight seven thousand in
the letters CRI. A lot of you hanging on already.
(03:10):
We'll go right to the calls. First up Kim at
North Carolina, BI, Kim, Hi.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Henk How you doing good?
Speaker 4 (03:17):
How are you just fine? My question is coming from
a Deuteronomy chapter fourteen, verses twenty eight twenty nine and
Deuteronomy twenty six eleven through thirteen. Now it says that
every third year but tide is supposed to be taken
up and giving back to the people. I guess today
would be the people in your congregation. And my question
(03:38):
is why don't.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
We do that?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well? I think if you look in the same chapter
of Deuteronomy, you see the reason for the tithe. Moses
communicates there that we tithe so that we may learn
to revere the Lord our God always and learning to
reverence the name of God is a timeless principle. It
(04:02):
is as crucial today as it was in the days
of Moses. Now how that tithe is used, of course,
is for the benefit of God's people, but ultimately for
the propagation of God's word, and one of the ways
in which the word is propagated is when people recognize
(04:23):
the reality that the people of God love one another
and the love of Christ constrains them to come. That
was true and the New Testament Church equally true in
the Old Testament context as well. And of course, you know,
if you go on and read the contextualization of tithing,
you find out that long after Moses, Jesus reaffirmed the
(04:49):
practice of tithing not for outward appearances, but as an
outward expression of an inward reality. And that's why failing
to tithe is a prescription for financial ruin. Again, it's
not that the tenth is the issue. The issue is
(05:11):
learning to trust God with all that you have and
then using what you have again for His glory and
for the extension of His kingdom. Want to go back
to the phone lines. Talk to Antonio in Bakersfield, California,
High Endtonio.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
Hey, I'm really I can't even believe I'm pogging you
right now.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Hi.
Speaker 6 (05:32):
How you doing now?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I'm doing good. It's great to talk to you as well.
Speaker 6 (05:35):
Yeah, man, I just want to call and you know,
me and my father had been listening to you for gosh,
thirteen years now. I got saved about fourteen years ago,
and he turned me on to you, and we both
came out of the Word of Faith movement because of
the thing that we were hearing God say through you
on the radio. And you just opened up our eyes
(05:56):
just so much. And I am totally thankful to God
for you. You are amazing and I thank God for
you so so much. So, man, I'm kind of give
you right now. So I'm sorry. The question take is Melkendedek? Yes,
And I kind of wanted to know more information about
who he was. I read a little bit about him
(06:19):
in the Book of Hebrews, and so I kind of
wanted whatever you can give me on him, I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
A couple of things that I would say. One is
I wrote about this extensively in my book Has God Spoken,
But in short, Scripture not only designates Melchizedek king of
Righteousness and King of Peace, but overtly tells us that
he is without mother or father, without genealogy, without beginning
(06:46):
of days or end of life, but that like the
Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Because of
all of this, I would say that Melchizedek is a Christophany,
which means an appearance of Christ. He didn't trace his
descent from Levi, and yet he collected a tenth from
Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt,
(07:10):
the lesser person is bussed by the greater. In one
case the tenth is collected by men who die, but
in the other case by him who is declared to
be the living. So in contrast to men who die,
Melchizedek is declared to be the living. All of that
and more reasons that I believe that Milchizedek is a Christophanity.
I want to go back to the phone lines with
(07:32):
talk next to Mark. He's listening in Baltimore, Maryland. Hi, Hank,
good afternoon.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
I have a question regarding the rapture you did mention
one time in one of your broadcasts.
Speaker 6 (07:44):
I was listening to that the.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
Rapture, the proper interpretation of I think Sessalonians four seventeen
is that if we should take that as a metaphor
rather than literally, the line that says we will meet
the Lord in the air. I just wanted to to
elaborate more why should make the interpretation as metaphor than bitterly.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Well, the point here is first and foremost that this
does not have to do with a pro tribulational rapture
at all. It has to do with resurrection. And you
know that by context where Paul says, brothers, we do
not want you to be ignorant about those who fall
asleep or to grieve like the rest of men who
have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again,
(08:32):
and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus
those who have fallen asleep in him. So this is
a great and glorious passage on resurrection, not a pro
tribulational rapture. So my point simply is that nowhere in
this text do you see Jesus Christ coming down, hovering
in mid air, and then having people come up to
(08:53):
meet him, then reversing directions and taking them to Heaven
during the tribulation, and then coming back a second time. Rather,
what you have literally here is that the Lord will
descend with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God. So far
(09:14):
from a secret coming, this is what happens when Jesus
appears a second time. As far as the language itself
is concerned, what Paul is communicating is not that Jesus
comes down and reverses direction, but we meet him and
we take him back to our village, as it were.
(09:37):
Because this is precisely what you get when you interpret
scripture and light a scripture. It's not as though Heaven
is up there someplace. It is a new heaven and
a new Earth wherein dwells righteousness. And John sees this
on the island of Patmos, when he sees a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and
(09:59):
first Earth had passed, and there was no longer any sea.
And he saw the Holy City, the nuturism, coming down
out of heaven from God prepared as a bride, beautifully
dressed for a husband. And then he hears a loud
voice from the throne saying, now the dwelling of God
is with men, and he will live with them. They
(10:19):
will be his people, and God himself will be with
them and be their God. So far from this being
some kind of a platonic reality, this is a very
physical reality. This is this universe transformed. It now groans
intravail and it is awaiting its liberation from bondage to decay.
(10:41):
That's what we hope for, and along with that we
have our physical resurrection. So this is language that is
rooted in reality, and we dare not take our own mythological,
stereotypical beliefs and force them on the Bible. Rather, we
(11:02):
should learn to read scripture in light a scripture.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Very good.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Thank you so much, You got to thank you so
much for your call. Will be write back in just
a few moments with more answers to your questions. Don't
touch that dial.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
To find out more about the materials mentioned on the show,
call a CRII resource consultant toll free at eight eight
eight seven thousand cri that's eight eight eight seven thousand CRII.
Our website is also an excellent reference destination to help you.
Just go to equip dot org and find articles by Hank, books,
(11:37):
CDs and DVDs. Again, that's equip dot org. Or write
CRII PO Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina, ZIP
two eight two seven one. The Bible answer Man will
continue in just a moment.
Speaker 7 (12:01):
Truth matters, Life matters. More details Hank Hanigraff's personal pilgrimage
from his long defensive truth to his discovery that life
matters more. Essentially, two books in one. Part one equips
Christians to defend the essential truths of the historic Christian faith.
Part two explains why truth is necessary but hardly sufficient.
(12:22):
That the map is not the territory, the menu is
not the meal. We are created to experience life to
the full through union with God in Christ. Is there
more to the Christian life than what you are experiencing?
Truth matters, Life matters more, unveils the unexpected beauty of
an authentic Christian life. To receive truth matters, Life matters
(12:42):
more for yourself or as a terrific gift to a
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or visit us online at equipp dot org.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
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 militant secularists at home, to militant
Islamists abroad. The assaults on Biblical Christianity are growing dangerously,
but Christian Research Institutes Support Team members aren't in favor
(13:22):
of feeding these wolves. Instead, each day they're making possible
an array of outreaches that defang these wolfpacks with solid
arguments and evidence that have stood the test of time.
What's more, Support Team members are equipping themselves with criis
equipping Essentials, a handpicked collection of the best apologetics tools around.
(13:43):
Your selection of resources are just our way of saying thanks.
To learn more about the benefits of membership, simply visit
equip dot org. Once again, that's equip dot org. Has
(14:05):
God Spoken? Are the words of Scripture merely human in origin?
Or are they in fact the very words of God himself.
Three years 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
(14:26):
our world. In Has God Spoken? Memorable proofs of the
Bible's Divine inspiration, Hank counters the contentions of the Bible
attackers and clearly 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.
Order has God spoken? From the Christian Research Institute by
(14:50):
calling eighty eight seven thousand CRII or go online to
equip dot org. Equip dot org and now here's Hank canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Thanks very much, Randy. We'll go right back to the
phone calls. Next step is Charlene listening in Godfree Illinois
by Charlene Hi Hi.
Speaker 8 (15:18):
A question in regards to throughout the Bible talks about
Jesus sitting at the right hand of God. If God
is on a throne and even at the completion of time,
is Jesus, you know, talks about him being the lamb
that was plain? Is there actually three personas? I'm a
little confused about that.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Well, the Bible uses anthropomorphic language, which is in essence
of heavenly condescension. It is speaking in ways to which
we can relate. So if the Bible tells you that
God walks with Adam and even the cool of the day,
you don't suddenly suppose that God has feet. And when
the Bible uses the metaphor of Jesus sitting at the
(16:00):
right hand of God, what the Bible is communicating is
not that Jesus is inn a seated position, or that
he's even on a throne. It is that he shares
fully the divine nature. That's the communication that is being rendered,
because what Jesus did in the incarnation is he divested
(16:23):
himself of the ability to voluntarily use the prerogatives of divinity.
And I didn't divest himself of a single attribute of deity.
He was fully god. He's in the incarnation one person
with two natures, one hundred percent human and one hundred
percent divine. But he voluntarily limited the divinity. But when
(16:47):
he resurrected from the dead, he once again took on
those prerogatives. So instead of taking on the nature of
a servant, he takes on the full prerogatives of what
he is, theanthropist, the god man. And to say that
he's seated at the right hand of the Father is
(17:08):
communicating that very notion in a very eloquent way. Jesus
looked into heaven and prayed, Father, the hour has come,
glorify your son, that your son may glorify you, for
you granted him authority over all people, that he might
give eternal life to all those you have given to him.
(17:30):
Now this is eternal life, that they may know you,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, him you have sent.
I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the
work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify
me in your presence with the glory I had with
you before the world began. So again, this is what
(17:52):
is being communicated with the metaphor of Jesus being seated
at the right hand of the Father. He is glory, horrified,
and he has the glory he had with the Father
before the world began.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Perfect.
Speaker 8 (18:07):
And I have one more questions, the crown that we
are to strive or to endure or raceful? What is
that crown?
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Well, these are all crowns that we will throw at
the feet of Jesus Christ. But the crowns again are
actually symbolic of something much more wonderful. They are crowns
that in essence are communicating that we have in fact
(18:38):
done things for the Lord, and we have been rewarded
for the things that we have done for him. And
so there are many different crowns that are communicated in
the scripture. The crown of righteousness, the crown of life,
the crown of glory, and the idea here is imagery
again used to portray the enduring reality of eternal reward. When,
(19:04):
for example, Christ returns, Peter writes about the crown of
glory that will never fade away, because he's contrasting that
crown of glory with the fading character of a garland
of leaf like gold that's awarded to the winner of
a race. Our reward is not going to be like that,
(19:25):
because our reward will never fade. It will be an
enduring reminder that we are chosen people, a royal priest
and a holy nation, a people belonging to God. And
so we have these crowns portrayed as enduring rewards of perseverance.
Back to the phone lines, we'll talk next to Richard
(19:46):
and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Hi, Richard, Hey, Hank, I just wanted to concur with
the previous callers and actually tell you that your articulation
and explanation of the Bible is just phenomenal and to
say thank you for your broadcast first and foremost, bless you.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
I've actually been listening to you broadcast since about April,
and interestingly enough, I've been living right around the corner
from your All's broadcast station for like almost the last
three years and didn't even know about it. So I'm
definitely a divine in nature. I feel that maybe God's
brought us to you, my wife and I, but it
was actually calling to see if I could get you
(20:27):
to explain a previous explanation or discussion that you've had
on the show of if whether or not Hell or
the Devil is real or just a personification of eternal
separation from God.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah. Well, first of all, the Devil is real and
Hell is real. Now what's important is to recognize in
the first case that though the Devil is not physical,
yet he is a very real spiritual being. God is
not physical, and yet God is real, although we serve
(21:00):
recognize that God took on flesh in the person in
the work of Jesus Christ. So to say that Satan
is a spiritual being or a spirit does not in
any way indicate that he is not real. Of course,
he is real, and he does sit as we're on
our shoulder and whisper into our ear. The whisper cannot
be heard with the physical ear, but it does penetrate
(21:22):
the ear of the mind, and that's why the apostle
Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God.
As far as Hell being a place, Hell is a place,
but it is not presently a place, and what I
mean by that is that it isn't a physical place.
It is a reality that we can expect to be
(21:42):
a physical reality when Jesus appears a second time. Remember Jesuss,
do not be amazed at this time is coming when
all in the grace will come out. Some will rise
to live, and some will rise to be totally condemned.
That means everyone who has lived on the planet will
be resurrected. Some will be resurrected to Heaven, which is
a real physical universe with a real physical Christ where
(22:07):
we will learn and grow and develop forever. And Hell, likewise,
is a physical place because it is inhabited by physical beings,
but at present it is not physical. And what I
mean by that is, if you die today, you're absent
the body present the Lord. And what happens then is
(22:27):
there is an unnatural rending between body and soul. Souls
are not physical, they're metaphysical. They're non corporeal, and so
to be absent the body does not mean that you
don't continue to exist. Yes, you do continue to exist,
and you do continue to exist in torment actually, but
that's only a foretaste of what hell will be when
(22:49):
Jesus returns a second time.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Okay, And you know, honestly, that's what I've been doing
some research on here lately because I kind of help
co lead sometimes a Bible Study here in Charlotte, and
tomorrow is our day to meet for the Bible Study,
and that's actually the topic that I had introduced to
the Bible Study so we could talk about and do
some research on our own time and kind of bring
it in and talk about it. And I've been trying
(23:13):
to get the other guys in the Bible Study to
kind of hear some of this and look into some
of the things, because there's a lot of apologetics involved
with Christianity, and it's great to be, like your website,
equipped with the information to speak to others and defend
your faith. But you know, the one thing that I've
been researching and looking into, and I completely agree with
(23:35):
what you just said, was a lot of times we
as humans misunderstand what a conscience is or what the
devil is as a part of that non physical real being.
And sometimes you know, we miss interpret things and also
look at saying it's us doing our work, our humanistic
(23:56):
work or will, as opposed to doing God's will. And
that's I think the word conscious is a big word
because it looking back at the root of it. I
think I've heard you even explain it to them as
well on the show, saying that you know, consciousness like
a Greek originating word meaning with science and science and
Greek was with knowledge and knowledge comes from God. So
(24:20):
it's kind of interesting to think of some of that
and if you could eliberate on that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Well, one of the things I point out, and there's
an afterword or a conclusion in my book Has God Spoken,
where I point out how important it is to have
not only reason, because reason left to itself can often
lead you to the blind of ignorance. We see this,
for example with the very people who codified the laws
(24:49):
of reason. You look at the great philosophers in Greece.
They had reason, but their reason alone was insufficient. It
allowed them to believe, for example, in a universe ministered
by moody gods. The Christian Ethic said, reason is not enough.
Reason can allow you to, as it were, sit in
(25:10):
a dark cave with twenty twenty eyesight but see absolutely nothing.
But if you have reason augmented by revelation, then you
will start to see things as they really are. And Augustine,
for example, elucidated that very idea, and that's what actually
(25:31):
led to science. It led to all kinds of innovations
because now people started to learn to think God's thoughts
after him. Why, because they underscored the reality and the
necessity of revelation. Revelation augmented reason, and that led to
(25:51):
Christian universities. It led to scientific discoveries. It led to
what we have in Western six civilization today. And that's
why I so often say that Western civilization is based
on the DNA of the Bible, reason augmented by revelation,
both general and special revelation. By the way, we're gonna
(26:12):
have to leave it at that, so long for now.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Thanks for tuning into the Bible answer Man broadcast. Our website,
equip dot org has an abundance of resources to sharpen
your discernment skills and help you grow in life and truth.
We provide books, videos, and informative articles. You can also
listen to the broadcast, download archived programs, get answers to
(26:35):
pressing Bible questions, or connect with us via social media.
All this and more at equip dot org. Again, the
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is supported by listeners like you. We're on the air
Because Life and Truth Matter.
Speaker 7 (27:01):
Hank Hanigraph has dedicated his life to defending truth. Because
Truth Matters. Yet, an encounter with Christians in the underground
Church of China left Hanograph contemplating his Christian experience. They
were experiencing something beyond truth. They were experiencing life. Truth matters.
Life Matters More by Hank Hanigraph is two books in one.
Because Truth Matters. Part one equips Christians to defend the
(27:25):
essential truths of the historic Christian faith. In Part two,
Hank explains why life matters more and how we can
experience the height of human existence union with God. Prepare
to move past intellectually knowing about God to experientially knowing
God in Christ. To receive your copy of Truth Matters,
Life Matters More. The unexpected beauty of an authentic Christian
(27:46):
life called eight eight eight seven thousand CRI and make
a gift to support the Christian Research Institutes life changing
outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRI or visit us
at equipped dot org.
You're just in time for the Bible Answer Man Broadcast
with Hank Canagraph, the radio outreach of the Christian Research Institute.
Our purpose here at CRII is to equip Christians to
provide Biblical answers to life's most important questions, to read
the Bible for all it's worth, and counter the teachings
of cults and world religions that deviate from the plumb
(00:30):
line of God's word, because life and truth matter. For
more information, to order resources or donate, call eight eight
eight seven thousand CROI or go online to equip dot org.
That's equip dot org. The following program was pre recorded.
(00:50):
Now here's the president of the Christian Research Institute, Hank Canagraph.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Thank you very much for India. We begin the broadcast
today with just a word about resource. It is a
laminated four y six flip chart titled maps Memorable Keys
to the Bible's Divine Inspiration. Of course, the contention that
the Bible is merely human as opposed to divine in origin,
(01:16):
the product of contaminated copies, cleverly invented stories, corrupt collaborators
is nothing new. It's been the stock and trade of
bastions of higher learning for centuries, but that's not the
case today. What was once the province of private academia
(01:39):
is now being popularized in the public arena. When reason
prevails over rhetoric, however, a completely different perspective emerges again.
That is precisely why we are making this flip chart
available to you. It has to do with authority. How
(02:01):
do you know that the Bible is a genuine authority?
Muslims say it's not the Bible, it's the Quran. Mormons
say it's not the Bible, it's the Book of Mormon.
How do we know? How can we know? How can
we be absolutely certain that what we have given our
lives to is credible, sustainable, in fact, is objectively true.
(02:27):
Again maps memorable keys to the Bible's divine inspiration. You
can master the proofs for the divine inspiration of the
Bible in minutes, remember them for a lifetime. It's a
memorable defense of the most significant literary work in the
history of humanity. That's a mouthful, but it's absolutely true.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Again.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
You can order for your gift on the web equip
dot org via the mailbox eighty five hundred Charlotte, North
Carolina is a code two eight two seven one, and
of course you can pick up the telephone talk to
one of our resource consultants triple eight seven thousand in
the letters CRI. A lot of you hanging on already.
(03:10):
We'll go right to the calls. First up Kim at
North Carolina, BI, Kim, Hi.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Henk How you doing good?
Speaker 4 (03:17):
How are you just fine? My question is coming from
a Deuteronomy chapter fourteen, verses twenty eight twenty nine and
Deuteronomy twenty six eleven through thirteen. Now it says that
every third year but tide is supposed to be taken
up and giving back to the people. I guess today
would be the people in your congregation. And my question
(03:38):
is why don't.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
We do that?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Well? I think if you look in the same chapter
of Deuteronomy, you see the reason for the tithe. Moses
communicates there that we tithe so that we may learn
to revere the Lord our God always and learning to
reverence the name of God is a timeless principle. It
(04:02):
is as crucial today as it was in the days
of Moses. Now how that tithe is used, of course,
is for the benefit of God's people, but ultimately for
the propagation of God's word, and one of the ways
in which the word is propagated is when people recognize
(04:23):
the reality that the people of God love one another
and the love of Christ constrains them to come. That
was true and the New Testament Church equally true in
the Old Testament context as well. And of course, you know,
if you go on and read the contextualization of tithing,
you find out that long after Moses, Jesus reaffirmed the
(04:49):
practice of tithing not for outward appearances, but as an
outward expression of an inward reality. And that's why failing
to tithe is a prescription for financial ruin. Again, it's
not that the tenth is the issue. The issue is
(05:11):
learning to trust God with all that you have and
then using what you have again for His glory and
for the extension of His kingdom. Want to go back
to the phone lines. Talk to Antonio in Bakersfield, California,
High Endtonio.
Speaker 6 (05:27):
Hey, I'm really I can't even believe I'm pogging you
right now.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Hi.
Speaker 6 (05:32):
How you doing now?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
I'm doing good. It's great to talk to you as well.
Speaker 6 (05:35):
Yeah, man, I just want to call and you know,
me and my father had been listening to you for gosh,
thirteen years now. I got saved about fourteen years ago,
and he turned me on to you, and we both
came out of the Word of Faith movement because of
the thing that we were hearing God say through you
on the radio. And you just opened up our eyes
(05:56):
just so much. And I am totally thankful to God
for you. You are amazing and I thank God for
you so so much. So, man, I'm kind of give
you right now. So I'm sorry. The question take is Melkendedek? Yes,
And I kind of wanted to know more information about
who he was. I read a little bit about him
(06:19):
in the Book of Hebrews, and so I kind of
wanted whatever you can give me on him, I'll take it.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
A couple of things that I would say. One is
I wrote about this extensively in my book Has God Spoken,
But in short, Scripture not only designates Melchizedek king of
Righteousness and King of Peace, but overtly tells us that
he is without mother or father, without genealogy, without beginning
(06:46):
of days or end of life, but that like the
Son of God, he remains a priest forever. Because of
all of this, I would say that Melchizedek is a Christophany,
which means an appearance of Christ. He didn't trace his
descent from Levi, and yet he collected a tenth from
Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt,
(07:10):
the lesser person is bussed by the greater. In one
case the tenth is collected by men who die, but
in the other case by him who is declared to
be the living. So in contrast to men who die,
Melchizedek is declared to be the living. All of that
and more reasons that I believe that Milchizedek is a Christophanity.
I want to go back to the phone lines with
(07:32):
talk next to Mark. He's listening in Baltimore, Maryland. Hi, Hank,
good afternoon.
Speaker 5 (07:38):
I have a question regarding the rapture you did mention
one time in one of your broadcasts.
Speaker 6 (07:44):
I was listening to that the.
Speaker 5 (07:46):
Rapture, the proper interpretation of I think Sessalonians four seventeen
is that if we should take that as a metaphor
rather than literally, the line that says we will meet
the Lord in the air. I just wanted to to
elaborate more why should make the interpretation as metaphor than bitterly.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Well, the point here is first and foremost that this
does not have to do with a pro tribulational rapture
at all. It has to do with resurrection. And you
know that by context where Paul says, brothers, we do
not want you to be ignorant about those who fall
asleep or to grieve like the rest of men who
have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again,
(08:32):
and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus
those who have fallen asleep in him. So this is
a great and glorious passage on resurrection, not a pro
tribulational rapture. So my point simply is that nowhere in
this text do you see Jesus Christ coming down, hovering
in mid air, and then having people come up to
(08:53):
meet him, then reversing directions and taking them to Heaven
during the tribulation, and then coming back a second time. Rather,
what you have literally here is that the Lord will
descend with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God. So far
(09:14):
from a secret coming, this is what happens when Jesus
appears a second time. As far as the language itself
is concerned, what Paul is communicating is not that Jesus
comes down and reverses direction, but we meet him and
we take him back to our village, as it were.
(09:37):
Because this is precisely what you get when you interpret
scripture and light a scripture. It's not as though Heaven
is up there someplace. It is a new heaven and
a new Earth wherein dwells righteousness. And John sees this
on the island of Patmos, when he sees a new
heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and
(09:59):
first Earth had passed, and there was no longer any sea.
And he saw the Holy City, the nuturism, coming down
out of heaven from God prepared as a bride, beautifully
dressed for a husband. And then he hears a loud
voice from the throne saying, now the dwelling of God
is with men, and he will live with them. They
(10:19):
will be his people, and God himself will be with
them and be their God. So far from this being
some kind of a platonic reality, this is a very
physical reality. This is this universe transformed. It now groans
intravail and it is awaiting its liberation from bondage to decay.
(10:41):
That's what we hope for, and along with that we
have our physical resurrection. So this is language that is
rooted in reality, and we dare not take our own mythological,
stereotypical beliefs and force them on the Bible. Rather, we
(11:02):
should learn to read scripture in light a scripture.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Very good.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Thank you so much, You got to thank you so
much for your call. Will be write back in just
a few moments with more answers to your questions. Don't
touch that dial.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
To find out more about the materials mentioned on the show,
call a CRII resource consultant toll free at eight eight
eight seven thousand cri that's eight eight eight seven thousand CRII.
Our website is also an excellent reference destination to help you.
Just go to equip dot org and find articles by Hank, books,
(11:37):
CDs and DVDs. Again, that's equip dot org. Or write
CRII PO Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina, ZIP
two eight two seven one. The Bible answer Man will
continue in just a moment.
Speaker 7 (12:01):
Truth matters, Life matters. More details Hank Hanigraff's personal pilgrimage
from his long defensive truth to his discovery that life
matters more. Essentially, two books in one. Part one equips
Christians to defend the essential truths of the historic Christian faith.
Part two explains why truth is necessary but hardly sufficient.
(12:22):
That the map is not the territory, the menu is
not the meal. We are created to experience life to
the full through union with God in Christ. Is there
more to the Christian life than what you are experiencing?
Truth matters, Life matters more, unveils the unexpected beauty of
an authentic Christian life. To receive truth matters, Life matters
(12:42):
more for yourself or as a terrific gift to a
friend or loved one called eight eight eight seven thousand
CRI and make a gift to support the Christian Research
Institute's life changing outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRI
or visit us online at equipp dot org.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
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 militant secularists at home, to militant
Islamists abroad. The assaults on Biblical Christianity are growing dangerously,
but Christian Research Institutes Support Team members aren't in favor
(13:22):
of feeding these wolves. Instead, each day they're making possible
an array of outreaches that defang these wolfpacks with solid
arguments and evidence that have stood the test of time.
What's more, Support Team members are equipping themselves with criis
equipping Essentials, a handpicked collection of the best apologetics tools around.
(13:43):
Your selection of resources are just our way of saying thanks.
To learn more about the benefits of membership, simply visit
equip dot org. Once again, that's equip dot org. Has
(14:05):
God Spoken? Are the words of Scripture merely human in origin?
Or are they in fact the very words of God himself.
Three years 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
(14:26):
our world. In Has God Spoken? Memorable proofs of the
Bible's Divine inspiration, Hank counters the contentions of the Bible
attackers and clearly 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.
Order has God spoken? From the Christian Research Institute by
(14:50):
calling eighty eight seven thousand CRII or go online to
equip dot org. Equip dot org and now here's Hank canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Thanks very much, Randy. We'll go right back to the
phone calls. Next step is Charlene listening in Godfree Illinois
by Charlene Hi Hi.
Speaker 8 (15:18):
A question in regards to throughout the Bible talks about
Jesus sitting at the right hand of God. If God
is on a throne and even at the completion of time,
is Jesus, you know, talks about him being the lamb
that was plain? Is there actually three personas? I'm a
little confused about that.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Well, the Bible uses anthropomorphic language, which is in essence
of heavenly condescension. It is speaking in ways to which
we can relate. So if the Bible tells you that
God walks with Adam and even the cool of the day,
you don't suddenly suppose that God has feet. And when
the Bible uses the metaphor of Jesus sitting at the
(16:00):
right hand of God, what the Bible is communicating is
not that Jesus is inn a seated position, or that
he's even on a throne. It is that he shares
fully the divine nature. That's the communication that is being rendered,
because what Jesus did in the incarnation is he divested
(16:23):
himself of the ability to voluntarily use the prerogatives of divinity.
And I didn't divest himself of a single attribute of deity.
He was fully god. He's in the incarnation one person
with two natures, one hundred percent human and one hundred
percent divine. But he voluntarily limited the divinity. But when
(16:47):
he resurrected from the dead, he once again took on
those prerogatives. So instead of taking on the nature of
a servant, he takes on the full prerogatives of what
he is, theanthropist, the god man. And to say that
he's seated at the right hand of the Father is
(17:08):
communicating that very notion in a very eloquent way. Jesus
looked into heaven and prayed, Father, the hour has come,
glorify your son, that your son may glorify you, for
you granted him authority over all people, that he might
give eternal life to all those you have given to him.
(17:30):
Now this is eternal life, that they may know you,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, him you have sent.
I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the
work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify
me in your presence with the glory I had with
you before the world began. So again, this is what
(17:52):
is being communicated with the metaphor of Jesus being seated
at the right hand of the Father. He is glory, horrified,
and he has the glory he had with the Father
before the world began.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
Perfect.
Speaker 8 (18:07):
And I have one more questions, the crown that we
are to strive or to endure or raceful? What is
that crown?
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Well, these are all crowns that we will throw at
the feet of Jesus Christ. But the crowns again are
actually symbolic of something much more wonderful. They are crowns
that in essence are communicating that we have in fact
(18:38):
done things for the Lord, and we have been rewarded
for the things that we have done for him. And
so there are many different crowns that are communicated in
the scripture. The crown of righteousness, the crown of life,
the crown of glory, and the idea here is imagery
again used to portray the enduring reality of eternal reward. When,
(19:04):
for example, Christ returns, Peter writes about the crown of
glory that will never fade away, because he's contrasting that
crown of glory with the fading character of a garland
of leaf like gold that's awarded to the winner of
a race. Our reward is not going to be like that,
(19:25):
because our reward will never fade. It will be an
enduring reminder that we are chosen people, a royal priest
and a holy nation, a people belonging to God. And
so we have these crowns portrayed as enduring rewards of perseverance.
Back to the phone lines, we'll talk next to Richard
(19:46):
and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Hi, Richard, Hey, Hank, I just wanted to concur with
the previous callers and actually tell you that your articulation
and explanation of the Bible is just phenomenal and to
say thank you for your broadcast first and foremost, bless you.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
I've actually been listening to you broadcast since about April,
and interestingly enough, I've been living right around the corner
from your All's broadcast station for like almost the last
three years and didn't even know about it. So I'm
definitely a divine in nature. I feel that maybe God's
brought us to you, my wife and I, but it
was actually calling to see if I could get you
(20:27):
to explain a previous explanation or discussion that you've had
on the show of if whether or not Hell or
the Devil is real or just a personification of eternal
separation from God.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yeah. Well, first of all, the Devil is real and
Hell is real. Now what's important is to recognize in
the first case that though the Devil is not physical,
yet he is a very real spiritual being. God is
not physical, and yet God is real, although we serve
(21:00):
recognize that God took on flesh in the person in
the work of Jesus Christ. So to say that Satan
is a spiritual being or a spirit does not in
any way indicate that he is not real. Of course,
he is real, and he does sit as we're on
our shoulder and whisper into our ear. The whisper cannot
be heard with the physical ear, but it does penetrate
(21:22):
the ear of the mind, and that's why the apostle
Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God.
As far as Hell being a place, Hell is a place,
but it is not presently a place, and what I
mean by that is that it isn't a physical place.
It is a reality that we can expect to be
(21:42):
a physical reality when Jesus appears a second time. Remember Jesuss,
do not be amazed at this time is coming when
all in the grace will come out. Some will rise
to live, and some will rise to be totally condemned.
That means everyone who has lived on the planet will
be resurrected. Some will be resurrected to Heaven, which is
a real physical universe with a real physical Christ where
(22:07):
we will learn and grow and develop forever. And Hell, likewise,
is a physical place because it is inhabited by physical beings,
but at present it is not physical. And what I
mean by that is, if you die today, you're absent
the body present the Lord. And what happens then is
(22:27):
there is an unnatural rending between body and soul. Souls
are not physical, they're metaphysical. They're non corporeal, and so
to be absent the body does not mean that you
don't continue to exist. Yes, you do continue to exist,
and you do continue to exist in torment actually, but
that's only a foretaste of what hell will be when
(22:49):
Jesus returns a second time.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Okay, And you know, honestly, that's what I've been doing
some research on here lately because I kind of help
co lead sometimes a Bible Study here in Charlotte, and
tomorrow is our day to meet for the Bible Study,
and that's actually the topic that I had introduced to
the Bible Study so we could talk about and do
some research on our own time and kind of bring
it in and talk about it. And I've been trying
(23:13):
to get the other guys in the Bible Study to
kind of hear some of this and look into some
of the things, because there's a lot of apologetics involved
with Christianity, and it's great to be, like your website,
equipped with the information to speak to others and defend
your faith. But you know, the one thing that I've
been researching and looking into, and I completely agree with
(23:35):
what you just said, was a lot of times we
as humans misunderstand what a conscience is or what the
devil is as a part of that non physical real being.
And sometimes you know, we miss interpret things and also
look at saying it's us doing our work, our humanistic
(23:56):
work or will, as opposed to doing God's will. And
that's I think the word conscious is a big word
because it looking back at the root of it. I
think I've heard you even explain it to them as
well on the show, saying that you know, consciousness like
a Greek originating word meaning with science and science and
Greek was with knowledge and knowledge comes from God. So
(24:20):
it's kind of interesting to think of some of that
and if you could eliberate on that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Well, one of the things I point out, and there's
an afterword or a conclusion in my book Has God Spoken,
where I point out how important it is to have
not only reason, because reason left to itself can often
lead you to the blind of ignorance. We see this,
for example with the very people who codified the laws
(24:49):
of reason. You look at the great philosophers in Greece.
They had reason, but their reason alone was insufficient. It
allowed them to believe, for example, in a universe ministered
by moody gods. The Christian Ethic said, reason is not enough.
Reason can allow you to, as it were, sit in
(25:10):
a dark cave with twenty twenty eyesight but see absolutely nothing.
But if you have reason augmented by revelation, then you
will start to see things as they really are. And Augustine,
for example, elucidated that very idea, and that's what actually
(25:31):
led to science. It led to all kinds of innovations
because now people started to learn to think God's thoughts
after him. Why, because they underscored the reality and the
necessity of revelation. Revelation augmented reason, and that led to
(25:51):
Christian universities. It led to scientific discoveries. It led to
what we have in Western six civilization today. And that's
why I so often say that Western civilization is based
on the DNA of the Bible, reason augmented by revelation,
both general and special revelation. By the way, we're gonna
(26:12):
have to leave it at that, so long for now.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Thanks for tuning into the Bible answer Man broadcast. Our website,
equip dot org has an abundance of resources to sharpen
your discernment skills and help you grow in life and truth.
We provide books, videos, and informative articles. You can also
listen to the broadcast, download archived programs, get answers to
(26:35):
pressing Bible questions, or connect with us via social media.
All this and more at equip dot org. Again, the
address is equip dot org. The Bible answer Man broadcast
is supported by listeners like you. We're on the air
Because Life and Truth Matter.
Speaker 7 (27:01):
Hank Hanigraph has dedicated his life to defending truth. Because
Truth Matters. Yet, an encounter with Christians in the underground
Church of China left Hanograph contemplating his Christian experience. They
were experiencing something beyond truth. They were experiencing life. Truth matters.
Life Matters More by Hank Hanigraph is two books in one.
Because Truth Matters. Part one equips Christians to defend the
(27:25):
essential truths of the historic Christian faith. In Part two,
Hank explains why life matters more and how we can
experience the height of human existence union with God. Prepare
to move past intellectually knowing about God to experientially knowing
God in Christ. To receive your copy of Truth Matters,
Life Matters More. The unexpected beauty of an authentic Christian
(27:46):
life called eight eight eight seven thousand CRI and make
a gift to support the Christian Research Institutes life changing
outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRI or visit us
at equipped dot org.
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