Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the Bible answer Man Broadcast with Christian Research
Institute President Hank Hanigraph. Our mission at CRII is not
only to equip you with Christian doctrine, apologetic accuracy, and discernment,
but to help you become a faithful apprentice of Jesus Christ,
because life and truth matter. If you'd like to know
(00:28):
more about CRII and the Bible answer Man broadcast called
eight eight eight seven thousand CRII eight eight eight seven
thousand CRII, or go to our website at equip dot org.
That's equip dot org. The following program was pre recorded
and now here's Hank Canigraph.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
My birthplace was Lighten in the Netherlands. That was something
I did not, something I could not plan or pre arrange.
And as you might well imagine, I still have lots
of friends and family members in Holland, and every year,
especially during the Christmas season, lots of packages originating in
(01:12):
Holland find their way to my doorstep in the United States.
But were it not for seven points of identification, they
might well end up somewhere else. They could end up
in a factory in China or a hotel in Jakarta.
Or a home in Taiwan. But there are seven points
(01:36):
of identification that ensure that the packages leave Holland and
arrive on my doorstep. Seven points separate me from six
billion options my name, my number, my street, my city,
(01:56):
my state, my zip code, and my country. And just
as there are points of identification that allow a package
to arrive on my doorstep, so too there are prophecies
that identify Jesus Christ as the only one who could
(02:16):
emerge through the doorway of Old Testament prophecy. And to
make those points memorable, I've associated them with the first
seven letters of the alphabet, beginning with the ancestry of
Jesus Christ. The ancestry of Jesus from Eve to Mary
(02:37):
in and of itself, marks a very narrow doorway through
whom only the offspring of David could emerge, and add
to that his birthplace, and all possibility of an impostor
is eliminated. But anyway in my book has God spoken,
I give you those seven points of identification, which prove,
beyond the shadow of a doubt, that only Jesus Christ
(03:01):
could emerge from that doorway. And again I give it
to you in a memorable format. So you can not
only read, but you can remember. And if you can remember,
you can use this to be an effective witness. All
part of Has God Spoken now available through the Ministry
of the Christian Research Institute for your gift to our
(03:23):
ongoing work. You can check it out on the worldwide
webbityquip dot org. You can write me at Post Office
Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina, zip code two
eight two seven one. You and also pick up the
telephone talk to our resource consultants triple eight seven thousand,
and the letters CRI A lot of you hanging on
will go right to our phone callers. First up is
(03:45):
Noel listening in Memphis, Tennessee.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Hi, Hey, thanks for taking me call.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
You're welcome.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
I have a very dear friend that is termally deal
with cancer and am we're still praying for a miracle.
So hopefully the Lord will give a stab him today
about his faith. And he's a Muslim, or he says
he's a Muslim. Here's where it gets a little confusing,
is that you know he said, he made it clear
I'm not like the radical Muslims that you hear about
(04:13):
on TV in the Middle East. Those guys will know
what you're talking about. And as we were talking, it's like, well,
you know, he says, he's been praying a lot, and
so we've been praying for him, and of course he
knows I'm a Christian and that he thanked me for that,
for I was praying for him in all. And anyway,
I started asking him about, well, you know, if you
(04:35):
I said, we're all going to, you know, leave eventually,
but of course we're praying that you're going to stay
here with us for a lot longer. But I said,
you know, if you when whenever, whenever you leave, what
what what do you say to the Father when he
stands before him and he asks you why should I
let you into my kingdom? And you know, he didn't
have a quote Christian answer for that, but I use
(04:59):
that to go over the essentials of the Christian faith
with him, and he said he agrees with all that.
And you know, Jesus was lived a perfect life, that
God's holiness the man's and that he was offered us
a purpose sacrifice in our place to pay the price
(05:21):
for us, and that guy raised him from the dead
on the third day. And anyway, he agreed with all
these things, and.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
So then I wanted to make sure I.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Wasn't talking past him somehow, ask him that you know
that Jesus is the Son and God, you know, And
he agreed with that. And I say, in Jesus is God,
and I went over to God, the Father, God, the Son, Gala,
Holy Spirit. And he didn't accuse me of the sin
of shark or anything like that. He agreed with me.
(05:54):
And so he says he's a Muslim, but he agrees
with the essentials from Christian doctrine. So I mean, I
don't know what to say. I mean, are we on
the same page here or are we talking past each other.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Well, it doesn't sound like you're talking past one another.
It sounds like you're communicating very clearly. And he's saying,
in essence, I don't believe what Muslims believe, as you
point out. I mean, a regular Muslim will tell you
that if you believe that Jesus Christ is begotten of
the Father, that you have committed the unforgivable sin a shirk.
(06:30):
But again it takes defining your terms. If he believes
that Jesus Christ is God, if he believes that Jesus
Christ was the only one to satisfy the justice, righteousness,
and holiness of God, something that we could not do.
If he's placing his trust in Jesus Christ so that
(06:51):
he can be reconciled to God for time and for eternity,
then whatever words he uses, he's expressing the Christian belief.
And I don't think ultimately it is the absence of
truth that damns. It is the despising of truth the damns.
If you want to look at it in a very
(07:13):
cursory fashion, everyone has the light of creation. He's not
denying that he believes that there is a God. To
that light, you can also have the inner light, which
is to say, we know from the universe in which
we live there has to be a God. But God
has placed a knowledge of himself on the tablet of
(07:33):
our hearts as well. And if we respond to the
light from without and the light within, then we can also,
as Paul points out in Romans chapter three, we can
receive the light of Jesus Christ. And again the issue
is not the word, it's the meaning poured into the word. Obviously,
(07:54):
the Muslim view of Christ is far different from the
Christianristian view of Christ. And if you're clearly articulating that,
as it certainly seems you are, and he's agreeing with that,
then he's disagreeing with the Muslim belief. And I would
point this out, there are a lot of Muslims that
(08:15):
I have encountered over the years that I've had rich
dialogues with who really don't embrace Islam in the truest
sense of the word. First of all, many of them
are not that steeped in their own religion, just like
there are many Christians that misunderstand the Christian faith. Are
they really Christians? Well, we make a difference between cultural
(08:37):
Christians and those who are bought by the blood of
Jesus Christ, and I think we could say the same
thing about Islam. There are cultural Muslims. So I think
that you are doing the right thing. You're communicating ultimately,
if he's asking questions and you can continue the conversation,
you can fill in the blanks and give him more
(08:59):
and more details and proof of all these kinds of things.
But if he believes that Jesus Christ is the only
way of reconciliation, that's what we believe. So he disbelieves
Islam and believes Christianity regardless of what label he uses.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Yeah, So, like you're saying, a cultural Muslim perhaps because
he was grew up in that society and he wants
to play himself as that, But it seems as if
he agrees with our faith. So well, his wife is
a Christian and they've only been married a few years,
but she got him a Bible and he's been reading
(09:36):
that recently. And he was quoting to me so scripture
in Arabic and trying to, you know, translate it into English,
and basically he's you know, it's about Jesus being you know,
sent from God, from the soul of God and raised
from the dead and you know, died for our punishment
(09:56):
and race from the dead. And and that's when I
kind of I want to make sure we talk about
the same thing about Jesus being the son of God
but being God, and kind of quoted him John John one,
you know, and in the beginning what's the word and
explained that to what over that? And I recommended that
he start reading in John, Well.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
There's no accident that God has brought you into his life,
and you are there for a purpose. He is a
Christian wife, and he is not believing what Muslims believe
in general, because Muslims in general believe that Jesus Christ
wasn't even crucified, that God made someone look like Jesus,
and the lookalike was crucified in place of Jesus. And
not only that, because they don't believe that he was crucified,
(10:38):
they don't believe he was resurrected. So again, what you
are doing is phenomenal. God has you at the right
place at the right time, and the God continued to
bless your witness, will be right back with more answers
to questions, So please don't touch that dial.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
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The Bible answer Man broadcast will return in just a
few moments. Has God Spoken? Are the words of Scripture
(12:09):
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 our world. In Has God Spoken?
(12:29):
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 calling eighty eight seven thousand CRII or
(12:53):
go online to equip dot org. Equip dot org Bertrand
Russell famously said most 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,
(13:14):
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(13:38):
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and equipping believers at home and abroad to stand for
life and truth. Check out the benefits of membership at
equip dot org. Once again, that's equip dot org breaking
(14:03):
the code. If the Book of Revelation has become an
international obsession, the result has been rampant misreading of scripture,
bad theology, and even bad politics and foreign policy. In
the Apocalypse Code, find out what the Bible really says
about the end times and why it matters today. Hank
Canagraph argues that the key to understanding the last Book
(14:24):
of the Bible is the other sixty five books of
the Bible, not current events or recent history. The Apocalypse
Code offers sane answers to some very controversial questions, such
as what does it mean to take the Book of
Revelation literally? Who are the Antichrist and the Great Horror
of Babylon? And what is the real meaning of six
hundred and sixty six? Order The Apocalypse Code by Hank
(14:47):
Cantigraph today, available in softcover, MP three CD or MP
three download from equip dot org or call eight eight
eight seven thousand CRI. Now back to the Bible answer
(15:08):
Man broadcast and your host and canagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
I want to go back to the phone lines. Let's
talk to Nick. Nick is listening in New Jersey. Hi, Nick, Hey, Hey,
how you doing good?
Speaker 1 (15:19):
How are you good?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
I have an important question to ask you. That's Nate
killing me and I have friends with m mats and
stuff like that that want to know the same thing.
I'm a Christian, I've been born again twelve years ago,
i had took bad car accidents, and I've just spoke
in medical Mauntjuana for fifteen years now. I quit last
month because everybody around me is that made you feel convicted?
But I wanted to know what your take is on this,
(15:42):
because the doctor gives you pain medicine, which is man
made chemicals, and doesn't it saying the Bible were in
control of all the earths of the ground and thing
God make everything growing.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
Yeah, and we shouldn't abuse anything. And the point I
think with medical mirror want is we should use good
discernment here and recognize that given the studies that have
been done, which are fairly extensive, there are side effects,
and so you should take into consideration the full corpus
of information that's available. But even beyond that, I think,
(16:18):
even if it is permissible in places because of medical use,
you need to be judicious because we're called not to
be in an altered state of consciousness in the metaphysical sense,
just as we are called not to abuse our bodies
in a physical sense. So I think ultimately you have
to make the decision are you going to take care
(16:39):
of your body and are you going to take care
of the metaphysical aspect of your humanity in a way
that is circumspect and surrounded by biblical principles, or are
you going to use the letter of the law as
an escape clause. Now I'm not suggesting that I'm making
some kind of an iron clad rule here. But what
(17:01):
I'm trying to do is get you to think about
this clearly and be judicious in your decisions. It's not
the state that ultimately matters. I mean, you have to
obey the state as a Christian, but you have to
go beyond that. You need to make sure that you
take care of the physical aspect of your humanity and
the metaphysical aspect of your humanity.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
And I agree with you. And see, I mean people
don't know unless you go through this kind of pain.
I've had ten operations, metal plate, my joll, severe sciatica,
you name it, and it's constant pain twenty four to seven.
I mean, a good day is when the pain is
a little less, you know what I mean. Yes, And
when I did it, I did it a little bit
at a time, which helped extremely. And then you talk
(17:45):
about side effects, there's way more side effects than man
made chemicals like percosets and pay medicines and stuff like that,
which the doctors want a lot job on.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yeah. Well, you've got a good perspective from an experiential
standpoint as well. And I think this is the thing
you have to look at the moral law, you have
to look at your civic responsibilities, and you have to
look at whether medical marijuana has more problems associated with
it than good that you can derive from it. But
(18:18):
I'm not at all unsympathetic to what you are going through.
I can honestly say I haven't experienced it, and therefore
I don't want to shout. But I'm just trying to
caution you to be as judicious as you possibly can,
so that you don't exacerbate one problem with a bigger problem. Again,
I want to emphasize for everybody listening in the principles
(18:40):
here this is not dealt with explicitly in the Word
of God number one, but in principle we are not
to be subject to states of drunkenness or in appropriately
altered states of consciousness. So in general we are to
abstain from mind altering drugs. The principles stated in many
(19:02):
places in scripture, but to mention one in Ephesians, where
not to get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery,
instead be filled with the spirit. So this gives you
at least a principle in terms of medical marijuana. This
has been studied fairly extensively now, and there are side
(19:22):
effects that should be taken into consideration even when it's prescribed.
So there are general principles here. I can't speak to
the specific cases, but I think we should take seriously
the principles that are part and parcel of a biblical worldview.
Let's go back to the phone lines. Talk to Erleine
in Saint Charles, Missouri, Hirelen, good evening.
Speaker 5 (19:43):
Thank you for taking my call, my pleasure. You know,
I've read many books on prayer and how to pray effectively.
I've also heard pastors talking about prayer and they've often
used the terms to pray in the spirit. And I've
heard him also say to walk in the spirit. What
(20:04):
does it mean to pray in the spirit or to
walk in the spirit? Is that the same as speaking
in tongue?
Speaker 2 (20:10):
No, we're told to test the spirits. Do not believe
every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they
are from God. Because many false prophets have gone out
into the world. Satan's foremost strategy of seduction is to
disguise himself as an angel of enlightenment. And I've often
said that a slick of slogan is field don't think.
But God's Spirit, in contrast to that, illumines our minds
(20:34):
so that we may understand what He has freely given
to us. So, before you became a Christian, reading the
Bible is like reading someone else's mail. But once you
become a Christian, reading the Bible is Jesus Christ speaking
to you through his word. As Jesus said himself, my
(20:55):
sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they
follow me. So you have the illumination of God's spirit.
That illumination ultimately comes through the Word of God, which
illumines our hearts. So to pray in the spirit on
all occasions is to take up the sword of the Spirit,
(21:15):
which is the Word of God. And one of the
most amazing aspects of that sword is that it's alive.
It's active, it's not dead and dull. So God speaks
to us today through the mystery of the world. So
when we're praying, it's not a monologue, it's a dialogue.
And it's also a way of recognizing the sovereignty of
God over every detail of our lives and affect. You're saying,
(21:36):
thank God, this world is under his control and not mine.
So to pray in the spirit on all occasions is
to pray in concert, in harmony with the will of God.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
Okay.
Speaker 5 (21:49):
You know, I've also heard pastors say why you're speaking
to speak in tongues?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
Well, tongues is one of those secondary issues that Christians debate,
But from from my perspective, I don't see any basis
on which to say the gift of tongues is normative today.
Can God cause someone to speak in a tongue or
a language yes? Is it normative? No? And therefore I
can't categorically say that it ceased at a particular point
(22:17):
in time, but I can categorically say it is not normative,
and therefore I don't think to pray in the spirit
has anything to do with praying in tongues.
Speaker 5 (22:26):
Okay, thank you very much for taking my question.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
You got it early and want to go back to
the phone line. Talk to Dan Oakhill, West Virginia.
Speaker 6 (22:33):
Hi, Dan, Hi, Hey, thank you for taking my call.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
You're welcome.
Speaker 6 (22:37):
My question has to do with the end times. I
used to listen to Jack Man Humty quite a bit
and I just pretty much accepted that, you know, that's
the way things were going to happen. And I've heard
you talk against things like that, and I've begun to
change my mind with the help from you and a
friend of mine. But anyway, doesn't it say in the
Bible somewhere that we will know when the time is near,
even at the door. Or is that something that I've
(23:00):
maybe a preacher said, or something.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
No, I mean it is something that you find in
the all of a discourse. Certainly there are signs of
the times, and Jesus Christ spoke specifically about that. The
problem is people want to take his words and apply
them to something in the twenty first century. When his
words were directed specifically to a first century audience, he
(23:25):
was talking about the destruction of the temple, and the
disciples are amazed. And so when they get him in private,
they ask, when is this temple going to be destroyed?
When is the end of sacrifice going to take place?
When is your coming in judgment? And Jesus Christ answers
that question specifically, he says, learn a lesson from the
fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and
(23:48):
its leaves come out, you will know that summer is near.
Even so, when you see all these things, you know
that it is near right at the door. I tell
you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away
until all these things have happened. And then he says,
having on earth will pass away, my words will never
pass away. He's talking about the question that the disciples
(24:11):
have asked him. He's answering that question. The problem is
people don't know how to read their Bibles, and therefore
you have people like bart Erman, who's now a skeptic,
who says, well, Jesus thought he was going to come
back then within a generation, because he said, immediately after
the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened,
the moon will not give its light, the stars will
fall from the sky, and the heavily bodies will be shaken.
(24:34):
Of course, anyone that's read through the Bible immediately knows
that this is language from the Old Testament. It's judgment
language that now Jesus is applying to Jerusalem and the
destruction of the Temple in the first century. So the
skeptic that says Jesus is a false apocalyptic prophet simply
doesn't know how to read the Bible for all it's worth,
and that ultimately is the mistake that's made and this
(24:55):
is the problem that you have with people like how
Lindsey and Jack Fvin MP. They're constantly misreading the Bible,
and therefore they're calibrating dates. We don't know when Jesus
Christ is going to come back. The fact is we
know that Jesus Christ will come back, that he will,
as Hebrew says at Pere a second time. We just
(25:17):
don't know. We know that when he comes back, he'll
put all things to right. The dead will raise, immortal, imperishable, incorruptible.
We will be changed in a moment, in a twinkling
of an eye. He will deal forever with the problem
of sin and Satan, and we will enter the New Jerusalem,
coming down into Heaven prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed
(25:38):
for her husband. So Paradise lost will become Paradise restored.
A great place to end the broadcast today, because we
are in time for this edition of the Bible Answer
Van broadcast. You can check this out what I've just
said at a number two places, including the Apocalypse Code
and Has God Spoken. They're available, as are many other
resources when you check them out on the web at
(26:00):
equip dot org. Again, thanks for tuning in We'll see
you next time right here with more of the Bible
answer Man Broadcast.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
You've been listening to the Bible Answerman Broadcast with Hank Hanagraph.
To learn more about Hank or the Christian Research Institute,
just go to equip dot org. Equip dot org is
a fountain of information and resources designed to help you
defend the faith and grow in your knowledge of the truth.
You can also stream the broadcast live or download archived broadcast.
(26:32):
To talk with a resource consultant by phone, call eight
eight eight seven thousand CRII, or you can write to
us at Post Office Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina,
two eight two seven one. The Bible answer Man Broadcast
is supported by listeners like you. We're on the air
because life and truth matter. Has God Spoken? Are the
(27:08):
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 our world
In Has God Spoken? Memorable proofs of the Bible's divine inspiration.
(27:32):
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. Ordered has God spoken?
From the Christian Research Institute by calling eighty eight seven
thousand CRII or go online to equip dot org. Equip
(27:57):
dot org