July 2, 2024 • 28 mins
On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast (07/02/24), Hank continues to expound the theme of hermeneutics, focusing on figurative language and similes in particular.
Hank also answers the following questions:
Is the biblical description of hell literal or figurative? Joel - Springdale, AK (4:59)
How do you reconcile Romans 10:13 and Acts 13:48? Warren - Vancouver, BC (15:10)
Is it okay for Christians to drink alcohol? Derek - St. Louis, MO (17:41)
Is Jesus equal or inferior to God? How would you interpret Isaiah 42:1 in this regard? Ken - Nashville, TN (22:28)
Hank also answers the following questions:
Is the biblical description of hell literal or figurative? Joel - Springdale, AK (4:59)
How do you reconcile Romans 10:13 and Acts 13:48? Warren - Vancouver, BC (15:10)
Is it okay for Christians to drink alcohol? Derek - St. Louis, MO (17:41)
Is Jesus equal or inferior to God? How would you interpret Isaiah 42:1 in this regard? Ken - Nashville, TN (22:28)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
From Charlotte, North Carolina. You'relistening to the Bible answer Man broadcast with
Hank Hanagraph, president of the ChristianResearch Institute. The reason the Bible answer
Man is on the air is todefend the Christian faith, proclaim the gospel
of our Lord and Savior, JesusChrist, and to teach discipleship to his
followers because life and truth matter.For more information or to order equipping resources,
(00:33):
call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII, which translates to eight eight eight
seven thousand two seven four, orgo online to equip dot org. That's
equip dot org. The following programwas pre recorded and now here's your host,
Hank Canagraph. Thank you, whichRandy is always great to be in
(00:55):
studio as we answer your questions throughoutthe United States and Canada. Yesterday I
began mentioning the fact that a lotof people are simply tripped up by the
notion of figurative language in the Bible. In other words, somehow or other
they suppose that figurative language is inopposition to reading the Bible literally, But
(01:21):
in reality, to read the Bibleliterally means to read the Bible as literature,
which means that you take into accountall the various forms that you find
within the inspired text, and ofcourse, figurative language abounds in the Word
of God. That language differs fromliteral language, in which words mean exactly
(01:49):
what they say. In other words, figurative language requires readers to use their
imagination to comprehend what but the authoris actually driving at. Of course,
three of the most basic literary termsused to classify these figures speech are metaphor,
(02:12):
simile, and hyperbole. I talkedabout metaphor yesterday. A metaphor is
an implied comparison that identifies a wordor phrase with something that it does not
literally represent, And, of course, far from minimizing biblical truth, a
metaphor serves as a magnifying glass thatidentifies truth we might otherwise miss. Today,
(02:38):
I want to touch on the subjectof simile for just a minute or
so, because, like a metaphor, as simile draws a comparison between two
things. But whereas the comparison isimplicit in a metaphor, it is explicit
(02:59):
in a simile. Similes therefore employwords such as like or as in making
the comparison. For example, thesimiles the apostle John uses in his description
of Jesus are such that he saysthings as among the lamp stands with someone
(03:22):
like a son of man, dressedin a robe reaching down to his feet,
and with a golden sash around hischest. His head and his hair
were white like wool, as whiteas snow. His eyes were like blazing
fire. Comparisons such as parables orallegories beginning with the word like while their
(03:44):
extended similes. A classic case inpoint is the parable of the mustard seed.
What shall we say the Kingdom ofGod is like? Or what parable
shall we use to describe it?It is like a mustard seed, said
Jesus, which is the smallest seedyou plant in the ground, Yet when
planted, it grows and becomes thelargest of all garden plants, with such
(04:09):
big branches that birds of the yearcan perch in its shade. So as
with metaphors, the danger is alwaysto interpret similes in a wooden literal fashion.
The Kingdom of God is obviously notlike a mustard seed in every way,
nor did Jesus intend to make hisparables walk in all fours. A
(04:29):
kingdom does not look like a mustardseed, nor is a mustard seed,
the smallest seed in the kingdom.Rather, the Kingdom of God is like
a mustard seed in the sense thatit begins small and becomes large. I've
written about this in various places,including The Apocalypse Coade. I have also
written about this in my book HasGod Spoken, which is also available to
(04:53):
the ministry. Check it out onthe web at equip dot org. Right
to the phone call. First upis Joel listening in Springdale, Arkansas.
Hi, Joel, Hi, Hank. I appreciate you taking my call.
You are welcome. The question isin regards to the description of Hell in
the Bible, and I heard youmention the other day that you believe that
(05:15):
Bible describes it more of a metaphoricalsense of it and not like a literal
hell. And you know, Ithink that Jesus described Hell at the place
of torment, a place of firewhere the fire never ceases to exist and
the worm never dies. Yeah,that's right. Would you explain your stands
(05:36):
on that, maybe give me somescripture. Yeah. What I said is
that the Bible uses metaphorical language todescribe the horrors of a real, literal
place called Hell, a place thatmay be in another dimension of God's good
creation, and it used a lotof examples of why we would say that.
(06:00):
The Bible, as I said yesterdaywhen I was talking about metaphor,
uses all kinds of metaphors that involvefire. For example, the Bible speaks
of God's throne as flaming with firein its wheels are all ablaze. Now,
one does not suppose that God isliterally sitting on a throne that's on
(06:21):
fire and that has rollers on it. Again, these are metaphors, and
we intuitively recognize that an implied comparisonis in view. And likewise, when
we read it the lamps of firebefore the Throne of God, we apprehend
that there's more going on than merefire. And yet that is precisely what
(06:43):
the Bible uses in terms of metaphor. It says lamps of fire that are
before the throne of God. Ifyou were to take that in a wooden
literal sense, you would say thatthere are literally lamps of fire that are
standing before the throne of God.And if you said that, you would
wrong. And the reason we knowthat you are wrong in this case is
(07:04):
John makes it explicit. In fact, he explains what the lamps of fire
are when he says, they arethe seven spirits of God. So the
notion of fire is to communicate justhow horrible it will be to be separated
(07:24):
from the love and goodness and gracefor all eternity. But there are other
metaphors that are used with respect toHell. For example, it is delineated
as blackest darkness forever. Now,if you were to take these metaphors in
a wooden literal sense, they wouldconflict because blackest darkness is such that there's
(07:45):
no light, and flames, ofcourse emit light. So we intively,
just common sense wise recognize that ametaphor is in view, But that does
not minimize the horror of hell.Martyr's experience fire. But what they did
not experience was the horror of beingperpetually unloved by the very one in whose
image they had been created. Andthat is what Hell will be, forever,
(08:11):
distanced from the goodness and glory,the love and provision of God.
So you don't believe that it isa place of torment. No, I
do believe it is a place oftorment. What I'm saying is that the
metaphor of fire is used to expressthe horror of that torment. Well,
I agree with you on that,but it is a horrible place, and
(08:35):
I think that people need to realizethat that's the place of the journal damnation.
And Jesus described it when he toldthe story of the Richmond in Lazarus
as a place where the Richmond wasthirsty and in pain and didn't want his
family to go there. And Ithink, I mean, maybe I'm mistaken,
but when a person called, shefelt that I need to tell my
(08:56):
friends that it's not a literal placeof damnation and pain that you know,
it's just that they're going to becast out of God's presence and that's all
that is just going to happen.You don't think that's horrible, Well,
I think that's horrible, But Ithink the Bible describes that in a deeper
sense, don't you think, Well, that's exactly right. So the flames
don't get at the deeper sense.They're metaphors that give us a way to
(09:20):
think of the horror, but theydon't extend to the full horror of what
it will be to be separated fromthe love and goodness and grace of God.
So the Biblical text lets us knowthat hell is everlasting destruction. It
is in the words of Paul,to be punished with everlasting destruction, and
(09:43):
shut out from the presence of theLord and from the majesty of His power,
and what is in view, thereis desolation. In other words,
fruitfulness is destroyed. And then theBible says hell is eternal torment, and
your right to say that we havean earnest of hell in Luke chapter sixteen.
(10:05):
Although Luke Chapter sixteen isn't describing Hell, it is describing what the rich
man is experiencing in a disembodied state, awaiting that time of judgment that happens
when Jesus appears a second time.But even beyond that, the torment of
hell is the torment of the deprivationof those who are created to have fellowship
(10:31):
with God no longer experiencing that fellowship. The blackest darkness is horrible. If
you think about being in solitary confinement, no light, no one, just
blackest darkness. It is a horribleimage. And yet that is the image
that the Bible uses as a metaphoralong with flames. So there are various
(10:52):
metaphors that communicate just how horrible itwill be to be separated from God for
all eternity, and that is preciselywhat the impenitent want. But Jesus is
making very clear that this is ahorrible existence. Please don't touch that dial.
(11:13):
To find out more about the materialsmentioned on the show, call a
CRII resource consultant toll free at eighteight eight seven thousand cri that's eight eight
eight seven thousand CRII. Our websiteis also an excellent reference destination to help
you. Just go to equip dotorg and find articles by Hank, books,
(11:37):
CDs and DVDs. Again, that'sequip dot org or write CRII PO
Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte,North Carolina, Zip two eight two seven
one. The Bible answer Man willcontinue in just a moment. Has God
(12:05):
Spoken? Are the words of Scripturemerely human in origin? Or are they
in fact the very words of Godhimself. Three years in the making and
based on two decades of research andreflection, Hank Henagraph's monumental book Has God
Spoken answers what is surely the mostimportant question facing our world. In Has
(12:28):
God Spoken? Memorable proofs of theBible's Divine inspiration, Hank counters the contentions
of the Bible attackers and clearly showsthat belief in the Holy Scriptures is not
a guess or wishful thinking. Itis the only logical conclusion after an honest
examination of overwhelming evidence. Order hasGod spoken? From the Christian Research Institute
(12:50):
By calling eighty eight seven thousand CRIIor go online to equip dot org equip
dot org. Anyone who's been payingattention knows there's a war going on,
not just on traditional morality, civility, and decency, but even more fundamentally
on historic notions of truth. Andthe enemy isn't just the onslaught of fake
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membership, simply visit equip dot org. The Complete Bible answer Book Collector's Edition
(14:03):
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helped seekers and skeptics alike sort throughthe truth on topics such as reliability of
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To receive your copy of the CompleteBible answer Book Collector's Edition, Revised
and Expanded, call eight eight eightseven thousand CRII and make a gift to
(14:46):
support the Christian Research Institute's life changingoutreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRII or
visit us at equip dot org.Once again, here is Hank Catagraph back
(15:09):
to our phone callers. Next stepis Warren listening in Vancouver British Columbia,
Canada. Hi Warren, Hello Hank. My question is Romans ten thirteen compared
to Acts thirteen forty eight. Itsays in Romans, whoever called the name
(15:31):
Lord shall be saved, and thensays that Acts eighteen forty eight only those
who ordained believe. Well, yeah, I think this is a great passage
to demonstrate that both Luke and Paulare saying precisely the same thing. And
(15:52):
by the way, the Greek fourappointed in the context of Acts chapter thirteen
is ambiguous, could be translated asmany as set themselves to eternal life believed.
So this verse is not used asa pretext for Calvinism, for example,
(16:12):
but in context, the Jews rejectedthe Gospel which gentiles had become disposed
to receiving. But again, whatyou see in the passage is precisely what
you find in Romans, which isthat people are broken off why because of
(16:32):
their unbelief, and they are receivedbecause of their belief. And so when
Paul and Romans quotes, he quotesfrom Old Testament passages to demonstrate that God
is not capricious. People are rejectedbecause they respond in disobedience, and that's
why they're vessels made for ignoble purposes. God makes vessels for noble purposes because
(16:57):
they respond in obedience, and thecontext here in Acts Chapter thirteen mix that
plane. Then Paul and Barnabas answeredboldly, we had to speak the word
of God to you first. Sinceyou reject it, I do not consider
yourselves worthy of eternal life. Wenow turn to the gentile. So this
(17:21):
is self determined rejection that is communicatingthe passage in complete concert with what Paul
is doing in the Book of Romans, where he again is assuming that we
know the context from the Old Testamentpassages that he's alluding to, like Isaiah
twenty nine and Jeremiah eighteen. Talknext to Derek and Saint Louis, Missouri.
(17:44):
Hi, Derek, My question foryou is I'm wanting to know your
take on alcohol. And I personallyam a Moornigan believer, was raised at
alcohol. There's nothing good that cancome from alcohol, so you know,
do everything you can to stay awayfrom it, and you know, I
(18:06):
just want to know what you're takingit because there's so many people specifically around
me, but I'm sure everywhere thatfeels that having a beer won't send you
to hell. But there's such awitness that goes with that. If you
go into a store and buy asix pack, you're going to drink over
a two month period. That still, you know, I go back to
(18:26):
Luke seventeen is it two where hetalks about, you know, causing another
one's stubble, it'll be better totie a millstone around your neck. I
mean that's pretty serious. So I'mjust want to know what your take on
alcohol is. Well, I thinkyou're absolutely right that there are a lot
of serious considerations when it comes toalcohol. But the reality is, you
(18:49):
know, the Bible speaks of wineas a blessing as a classic case in
point. Think about what Solomon saidwhen he says your barns will be filled
to overflowing, and your vats willbrim over with new wine. Or I
think about what David said when hesays he makes grass grow for the cattle,
(19:11):
and plants for man to cultivate,bringing forth food from the earth.
And then later on he says winethat gladdens the heart of man, oil
to make his face shine, andbread that sustains his art. So there
are passages that will point to thesekinds of things used in the proper way
(19:32):
as a blessing. Paul of coursetells Timothy to take a little wine for
his stomach, So he tells himto take wine from medicinal purposes. But
it is the abuse that is inmind in scripture, which is to say,
we are never to drink too muchwine. In fact, that's exactly
how Solomon puts it. Listen,my son, and be wise and set
your heart on the right path.Do not join those who drink too much
(19:57):
wine. And then he said,or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards
and gluttons become poor, and drowsinessclose them in rags. So what he's
doing is correlating those who drink toomuch wine to those who gorge themselves on
meat, which is to say,those who abuse the physical aspect of their
(20:22):
humanity as well as those who abusethe metaphysical aspect of their humanity. We
are to treasure both, and thereforewe should never be in a drunken state,
nor should we be a glutton thatis overweight. I see, my
pastor had a message on this,and one of the statistics that he had
(20:44):
found studied on was that one outof every i believe twelve people to take
a drink of alcohol in their lifebecome an alcoholic sometime during their life,
and that just there's so much.I mean, I've take it, like
I said, it's the way Ifeel. I don't do it, but
I just I think there's so muchquestionally in our this day and age.
It seems to be I don't knowthat it's worse, I mean, but
(21:07):
it's pretty bad. Well, Ithink it's a prudent word of warning on
your part, and I think it'ssobering and we should listen to what you
have to say. I think it'svery important. The proverbs tell us that
wine is a mocker, beer isa brawler. Whoever's led astray by them
is not wise. But again,I think that we should also realize.
In the same voice, Solomon issaying that just as we should not drink
(21:30):
too much wine, so we shouldnot eat too much, because both gluttony
and drinking too much wine is somethingthat is displeasing to the Lord. But
to your point, I mean,I think you're also right in saying that
by drinking or buying wine or beerin public, you could cause someone else
(21:52):
to stumble. So when you doit. You have to do it in
a sense where you feel totally convincedand satisfied in your own spirit that you're
not displeasing the Lord. Yeah,and that's kind of where I've been,
he know, the discussions and talksI've had with other people that have done
it, that proclaim to be Christians. You know, I just say,
you know, I feel convicted ifI'm doing it or thinking about, you
(22:15):
know, going to buy a beer. The Holy Spirit has convicted me,
and I just anything I'm convicted ofim wanna, you know, do my
best to stay away from him obviously. Yep. Well, appreciate your contribution
on the broadcast today. Back tothe phone lines, Doctor Ken in Nashville,
Tennessee. Hi Ken, Hello,Hank. My question has to do
with Jesus' hierarchy within the Trinity.I know that your view on this is
(22:38):
that he is equal with the Fatherand the Holy Spirit. But as I
read through the Bible, I alwaysrun into passages that don't necessarily mess with
that. And I'm going to giveyou only one example, which is Isaiah
forty two to one, in whichhe says, here is my servant whom
I up pulled my chosen one,and he said, I will put my
(23:00):
spirit in him. And all thesethings really make it sound like Jesus is
somehow one level below God in someway. And there are similar things throughout
the Bible. And I read andI just can't rectify it with the other
position, of which I know thereare also quotes which justify that position.
(23:21):
Yep, can you help sure?Good question, Ken, And I think
it's certainly true that there are passagesin the Bible that point to Jesus in
the incarnation. There is a timein which Jesus voluntarily takes on the limitations
of humanity, and yet he doesn'tdivest himself of a single attribute of deity,
(23:41):
so he is yet fully got.In the incarnation. However, he
voluntarily limits the prerogatives of divinity.But you're also right in saying that the
Bible elsewhere, in its main andplain passages, makes very clear that Jesus
Christ is himself equal to the Father. For example, John One says,
(24:03):
in the beginning was the word,and the word was with God, and
the word was God. Of coursethe word referring to Jesus Christ. We
know that from the context the wordbecame flesh and dwelt among us. In
Clautionans one, you have all thingsbeing created by Jesus Christ. He is
before all things, and God waspleased to have all his fullness dwell in
(24:29):
him. Only did he has,of course, the prerogative creation pre exists
all things and personifies the full essenceor nature of God. Or think about
Hebrews Chapter one, where God theFather himself says that Jesus Christ is God.
But about the Son, the Fathersays, your throne, oh God,
(24:51):
will last forever and forever. Sonot only is the entirety of Hebrews
IE devoted to demonstrating the absolute deityof Jesus Christ, but in verses ten
through twelve, the inspired writer quotesa passage in the Psalms which refers to
Yahweh and then directly applies it toChrist. And in doing that, the
(25:12):
scripture specifically declares that Jesus ontologically interms of nature or essence, that is,
is equal to Israel's God. Thereare many other passages that could be
cited, like Revelation one, whichsays that Jesus is the Alpha and the
Omega, who is, who was, who is to come the Almighty,
(25:33):
and in fact, in the lastchapter of Revelation, Jesus applies those words
to himself, or Second Peter chapterone, which declares to those who,
through the righteousness of our God andSavior Jesus Christ, have received a faith
as precious as are so. Numerouspassages could be cited from the Bible which
(25:56):
back up Christ's claim to deity.I've written about those and memorable keys to
a central Christian doctrine. Like tocontinue the conversation, but out of time
for this installment of the Bible answerMen Broadcast. Thanks for tuning in.
We'll see you next time with moreof the Bible Insmen Broadcast. Thank you
for joining us today. Our missionat the Christian Research Institute is to defend
(26:18):
the faith, answer Bible questions andencourage Christians to watch their life and doctrine
closely. To find resources to helpequip you go to equip dot org.
That's equip dot org, or callus at eight eight eight seven thousand CRII.
You can also write CRI at PostOffice Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte,
(26:41):
North Carolina, two eight two sevenone. The Bible answer Man Broadcast
is supported by listeners like you.We're on the air because life and truth
matter. Has God Spoken? Arethe words of Scripture merely human in origin?
(27:10):
Or are they, in fact thevery words of God himself. Three
years in the making and based ontwo decades of research and reflection, Hank
Henagraph's monumental book Has God Spoken answerswhat 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 Bibleattackers and clearly shows that belief in
the Holy Scriptures is not a guessor wishful thinking. It is the only
logical conclusion after an honest examination ofoverwhelming evidence. Ordered Has God Spoken from
the Christian Research Institute by calling eightyeight seven thousand CRII, or go online
(27:53):
to equip dot org. Equip dotOrg
From Charlotte, North Carolina. You'relistening to the Bible answer Man broadcast with
Hank Hanagraph, president of the ChristianResearch Institute. The reason the Bible answer
Man is on the air is todefend the Christian faith, proclaim the gospel
of our Lord and Savior, JesusChrist, and to teach discipleship to his
followers because life and truth matter.For more information or to order equipping resources,
(00:33):
call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII, which translates to eight eight eight
seven thousand two seven four, orgo online to equip dot org. That's
equip dot org. The following programwas pre recorded and now here's your host,
Hank Canagraph. Thank you, whichRandy is always great to be in
(00:55):
studio as we answer your questions throughoutthe United States and Canada. Yesterday I
began mentioning the fact that a lotof people are simply tripped up by the
notion of figurative language in the Bible. In other words, somehow or other
they suppose that figurative language is inopposition to reading the Bible literally, But
(01:21):
in reality, to read the Bibleliterally means to read the Bible as literature,
which means that you take into accountall the various forms that you find
within the inspired text, and ofcourse, figurative language abounds in the Word
of God. That language differs fromliteral language, in which words mean exactly
(01:49):
what they say. In other words, figurative language requires readers to use their
imagination to comprehend what but the authoris actually driving at. Of course,
three of the most basic literary termsused to classify these figures speech are metaphor,
(02:12):
simile, and hyperbole. I talkedabout metaphor yesterday. A metaphor is
an implied comparison that identifies a wordor phrase with something that it does not
literally represent, And, of course, far from minimizing biblical truth, a
metaphor serves as a magnifying glass thatidentifies truth we might otherwise miss. Today,
(02:38):
I want to touch on the subjectof simile for just a minute or
so, because, like a metaphor, as simile draws a comparison between two
things. But whereas the comparison isimplicit in a metaphor, it is explicit
(02:59):
in a simile. Similes therefore employwords such as like or as in making
the comparison. For example, thesimiles the apostle John uses in his description
of Jesus are such that he saysthings as among the lamp stands with someone
(03:22):
like a son of man, dressedin a robe reaching down to his feet,
and with a golden sash around hischest. His head and his hair
were white like wool, as whiteas snow. His eyes were like blazing
fire. Comparisons such as parables orallegories beginning with the word like while their
(03:44):
extended similes. A classic case inpoint is the parable of the mustard seed.
What shall we say the Kingdom ofGod is like? Or what parable
shall we use to describe it?It is like a mustard seed, said
Jesus, which is the smallest seedyou plant in the ground, Yet when
planted, it grows and becomes thelargest of all garden plants, with such
(04:09):
big branches that birds of the yearcan perch in its shade. So as
with metaphors, the danger is alwaysto interpret similes in a wooden literal fashion.
The Kingdom of God is obviously notlike a mustard seed in every way,
nor did Jesus intend to make hisparables walk in all fours. A
(04:29):
kingdom does not look like a mustardseed, nor is a mustard seed,
the smallest seed in the kingdom.Rather, the Kingdom of God is like
a mustard seed in the sense thatit begins small and becomes large. I've
written about this in various places,including The Apocalypse Coade. I have also
written about this in my book HasGod Spoken, which is also available to
(04:53):
the ministry. Check it out onthe web at equip dot org. Right
to the phone call. First upis Joel listening in Springdale, Arkansas.
Hi, Joel, Hi, Hank. I appreciate you taking my call.
You are welcome. The question isin regards to the description of Hell in
the Bible, and I heard youmention the other day that you believe that
(05:15):
Bible describes it more of a metaphoricalsense of it and not like a literal
hell. And you know, Ithink that Jesus described Hell at the place
of torment, a place of firewhere the fire never ceases to exist and
the worm never dies. Yeah,that's right. Would you explain your stands
(05:36):
on that, maybe give me somescripture. Yeah. What I said is
that the Bible uses metaphorical language todescribe the horrors of a real, literal
place called Hell, a place thatmay be in another dimension of God's good
creation, and it used a lotof examples of why we would say that.
(06:00):
The Bible, as I said yesterdaywhen I was talking about metaphor,
uses all kinds of metaphors that involvefire. For example, the Bible speaks
of God's throne as flaming with firein its wheels are all ablaze. Now,
one does not suppose that God isliterally sitting on a throne that's on
(06:21):
fire and that has rollers on it. Again, these are metaphors, and
we intuitively recognize that an implied comparisonis in view. And likewise, when
we read it the lamps of firebefore the Throne of God, we apprehend
that there's more going on than merefire. And yet that is precisely what
(06:43):
the Bible uses in terms of metaphor. It says lamps of fire that are
before the throne of God. Ifyou were to take that in a wooden
literal sense, you would say thatthere are literally lamps of fire that are
standing before the throne of God.And if you said that, you would
wrong. And the reason we knowthat you are wrong in this case is
(07:04):
John makes it explicit. In fact, he explains what the lamps of fire
are when he says, they arethe seven spirits of God. So the
notion of fire is to communicate justhow horrible it will be to be separated
(07:24):
from the love and goodness and gracefor all eternity. But there are other
metaphors that are used with respect toHell. For example, it is delineated
as blackest darkness forever. Now,if you were to take these metaphors in
a wooden literal sense, they wouldconflict because blackest darkness is such that there's
(07:45):
no light, and flames, ofcourse emit light. So we intively,
just common sense wise recognize that ametaphor is in view, But that does
not minimize the horror of hell.Martyr's experience fire. But what they did
not experience was the horror of beingperpetually unloved by the very one in whose
image they had been created. Andthat is what Hell will be, forever,
(08:11):
distanced from the goodness and glory,the love and provision of God.
So you don't believe that it isa place of torment. No, I
do believe it is a place oftorment. What I'm saying is that the
metaphor of fire is used to expressthe horror of that torment. Well,
I agree with you on that,but it is a horrible place, and
(08:35):
I think that people need to realizethat that's the place of the journal damnation.
And Jesus described it when he toldthe story of the Richmond in Lazarus
as a place where the Richmond wasthirsty and in pain and didn't want his
family to go there. And Ithink, I mean, maybe I'm mistaken,
but when a person called, shefelt that I need to tell my
(08:56):
friends that it's not a literal placeof damnation and pain that you know,
it's just that they're going to becast out of God's presence and that's all
that is just going to happen.You don't think that's horrible, Well,
I think that's horrible, But Ithink the Bible describes that in a deeper
sense, don't you think, Well, that's exactly right. So the flames
don't get at the deeper sense.They're metaphors that give us a way to
(09:20):
think of the horror, but theydon't extend to the full horror of what
it will be to be separated fromthe love and goodness and grace of God.
So the Biblical text lets us knowthat hell is everlasting destruction. It
is in the words of Paul,to be punished with everlasting destruction, and
(09:43):
shut out from the presence of theLord and from the majesty of His power,
and what is in view, thereis desolation. In other words,
fruitfulness is destroyed. And then theBible says hell is eternal torment, and
your right to say that we havean earnest of hell in Luke chapter sixteen.
(10:05):
Although Luke Chapter sixteen isn't describing Hell, it is describing what the rich
man is experiencing in a disembodied state, awaiting that time of judgment that happens
when Jesus appears a second time.But even beyond that, the torment of
hell is the torment of the deprivationof those who are created to have fellowship
(10:31):
with God no longer experiencing that fellowship. The blackest darkness is horrible. If
you think about being in solitary confinement, no light, no one, just
blackest darkness. It is a horribleimage. And yet that is the image
that the Bible uses as a metaphoralong with flames. So there are various
(10:52):
metaphors that communicate just how horrible itwill be to be separated from God for
all eternity, and that is preciselywhat the impenitent want. But Jesus is
making very clear that this is ahorrible existence. Please don't touch that dial.
(11:13):
To find out more about the materialsmentioned on the show, call a
CRII resource consultant toll free at eighteight eight seven thousand cri that's eight eight
eight seven thousand CRII. Our websiteis also an excellent reference destination to help
you. Just go to equip dotorg and find articles by Hank, books,
(11:37):
CDs and DVDs. Again, that'sequip dot org or write CRII PO
Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte,North Carolina, Zip two eight two seven
one. The Bible answer Man willcontinue in just a moment. Has God
(12:05):
Spoken? Are the words of Scripturemerely human in origin? Or are they
in fact the very words of Godhimself. Three years in the making and
based on two decades of research andreflection, Hank Henagraph's monumental book Has God
Spoken answers what is surely the mostimportant question facing our world. In Has
(12:28):
God Spoken? Memorable proofs of theBible's Divine inspiration, Hank counters the contentions
of the Bible attackers and clearly showsthat belief in the Holy Scriptures is not
a guess or wishful thinking. Itis the only logical conclusion after an honest
examination of overwhelming evidence. Order hasGod spoken? From the Christian Research Institute
(12:50):
By calling eighty eight seven thousand CRIIor go online to equip dot org equip
dot org. Anyone who's been payingattention knows there's a war going on,
not just on traditional morality, civility, and decency, but even more fundamentally
on historic notions of truth. Andthe enemy isn't just the onslaught of fake
(13:13):
news, facilitated by a post truthculture and turbocharged by growing legions of ideological
spinductors. Note the real enemies oftruth range from postmodernist convictions that there is
no objective truth to militant scientism thatclaims that only science can determine truth and
religion is little more than primitive superstitions. But CRI Support Team members are not
(13:37):
waving a white flag of surrender.They're holding the fort by undergirding everyone of
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learn how you can make a differenceand enjoy all the benefits of support team
membership, simply visit equip dot org. The Complete Bible answer Book Collector's Edition
(14:03):
is the comprehensive collection of the mostoften asked questions Hank Hannigraph has received throughout
his four decades as host of theBible answer Man broadcast. With more than
half a million copies already in print, this newly revised and expanded Collector's Edition
helped seekers and skeptics alike sort throughthe truth on topics such as reliability of
(14:24):
the Bible, religions and cults,the resurrection and afterlife, and many more
issues vital to a better understanding ofGod in Christ and our relationship to Him.
To receive your copy of the CompleteBible answer Book Collector's Edition, Revised
and Expanded, call eight eight eightseven thousand CRII and make a gift to
(14:46):
support the Christian Research Institute's life changingoutreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRII or
visit us at equip dot org.Once again, here is Hank Catagraph back
(15:09):
to our phone callers. Next stepis Warren listening in Vancouver British Columbia,
Canada. Hi Warren, Hello Hank. My question is Romans ten thirteen compared
to Acts thirteen forty eight. Itsays in Romans, whoever called the name
(15:31):
Lord shall be saved, and thensays that Acts eighteen forty eight only those
who ordained believe. Well, yeah, I think this is a great passage
to demonstrate that both Luke and Paulare saying precisely the same thing. And
(15:52):
by the way, the Greek fourappointed in the context of Acts chapter thirteen
is ambiguous, could be translated asmany as set themselves to eternal life believed.
So this verse is not used asa pretext for Calvinism, for example,
(16:12):
but in context, the Jews rejectedthe Gospel which gentiles had become disposed
to receiving. But again, whatyou see in the passage is precisely what
you find in Romans, which isthat people are broken off why because of
(16:32):
their unbelief, and they are receivedbecause of their belief. And so when
Paul and Romans quotes, he quotesfrom Old Testament passages to demonstrate that God
is not capricious. People are rejectedbecause they respond in disobedience, and that's
why they're vessels made for ignoble purposes. God makes vessels for noble purposes because
(16:57):
they respond in obedience, and thecontext here in Acts Chapter thirteen mix that
plane. Then Paul and Barnabas answeredboldly, we had to speak the word
of God to you first. Sinceyou reject it, I do not consider
yourselves worthy of eternal life. Wenow turn to the gentile. So this
(17:21):
is self determined rejection that is communicatingthe passage in complete concert with what Paul
is doing in the Book of Romans, where he again is assuming that we
know the context from the Old Testamentpassages that he's alluding to, like Isaiah
twenty nine and Jeremiah eighteen. Talknext to Derek and Saint Louis, Missouri.
(17:44):
Hi, Derek, My question foryou is I'm wanting to know your
take on alcohol. And I personallyam a Moornigan believer, was raised at
alcohol. There's nothing good that cancome from alcohol, so you know,
do everything you can to stay awayfrom it, and you know, I
(18:06):
just want to know what you're takingit because there's so many people specifically around
me, but I'm sure everywhere thatfeels that having a beer won't send you
to hell. But there's such awitness that goes with that. If you
go into a store and buy asix pack, you're going to drink over
a two month period. That still, you know, I go back to
(18:26):
Luke seventeen is it two where hetalks about, you know, causing another
one's stubble, it'll be better totie a millstone around your neck. I
mean that's pretty serious. So I'mjust want to know what your take on
alcohol is. Well, I thinkyou're absolutely right that there are a lot
of serious considerations when it comes toalcohol. But the reality is, you
(18:49):
know, the Bible speaks of wineas a blessing as a classic case in
point. Think about what Solomon saidwhen he says your barns will be filled
to overflowing, and your vats willbrim over with new wine. Or I
think about what David said when hesays he makes grass grow for the cattle,
(19:11):
and plants for man to cultivate,bringing forth food from the earth.
And then later on he says winethat gladdens the heart of man, oil
to make his face shine, andbread that sustains his art. So there
are passages that will point to thesekinds of things used in the proper way
(19:32):
as a blessing. Paul of coursetells Timothy to take a little wine for
his stomach, So he tells himto take wine from medicinal purposes. But
it is the abuse that is inmind in scripture, which is to say,
we are never to drink too muchwine. In fact, that's exactly
how Solomon puts it. Listen,my son, and be wise and set
your heart on the right path.Do not join those who drink too much
(19:57):
wine. And then he said,or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards
and gluttons become poor, and drowsinessclose them in rags. So what he's
doing is correlating those who drink toomuch wine to those who gorge themselves on
meat, which is to say,those who abuse the physical aspect of their
(20:22):
humanity as well as those who abusethe metaphysical aspect of their humanity. We
are to treasure both, and thereforewe should never be in a drunken state,
nor should we be a glutton thatis overweight. I see, my
pastor had a message on this,and one of the statistics that he had
(20:44):
found studied on was that one outof every i believe twelve people to take
a drink of alcohol in their lifebecome an alcoholic sometime during their life,
and that just there's so much.I mean, I've take it, like
I said, it's the way Ifeel. I don't do it, but
I just I think there's so muchquestionally in our this day and age.
It seems to be I don't knowthat it's worse, I mean, but
(21:07):
it's pretty bad. Well, Ithink it's a prudent word of warning on
your part, and I think it'ssobering and we should listen to what you
have to say. I think it'svery important. The proverbs tell us that
wine is a mocker, beer isa brawler. Whoever's led astray by them
is not wise. But again,I think that we should also realize.
In the same voice, Solomon issaying that just as we should not drink
(21:30):
too much wine, so we shouldnot eat too much, because both gluttony
and drinking too much wine is somethingthat is displeasing to the Lord. But
to your point, I mean,I think you're also right in saying that
by drinking or buying wine or beerin public, you could cause someone else
(21:52):
to stumble. So when you doit. You have to do it in
a sense where you feel totally convincedand satisfied in your own spirit that you're
not displeasing the Lord. Yeah,and that's kind of where I've been,
he know, the discussions and talksI've had with other people that have done
it, that proclaim to be Christians. You know, I just say,
you know, I feel convicted ifI'm doing it or thinking about, you
(22:15):
know, going to buy a beer. The Holy Spirit has convicted me,
and I just anything I'm convicted ofim wanna, you know, do my
best to stay away from him obviously. Yep. Well, appreciate your contribution
on the broadcast today. Back tothe phone lines, Doctor Ken in Nashville,
Tennessee. Hi Ken, Hello,Hank. My question has to do
with Jesus' hierarchy within the Trinity.I know that your view on this is
(22:38):
that he is equal with the Fatherand the Holy Spirit. But as I
read through the Bible, I alwaysrun into passages that don't necessarily mess with
that. And I'm going to giveyou only one example, which is Isaiah
forty two to one, in whichhe says, here is my servant whom
I up pulled my chosen one,and he said, I will put my
(23:00):
spirit in him. And all thesethings really make it sound like Jesus is
somehow one level below God in someway. And there are similar things throughout
the Bible. And I read andI just can't rectify it with the other
position, of which I know thereare also quotes which justify that position.
(23:21):
Yep, can you help sure?Good question, Ken, And I think
it's certainly true that there are passagesin the Bible that point to Jesus in
the incarnation. There is a timein which Jesus voluntarily takes on the limitations
of humanity, and yet he doesn'tdivest himself of a single attribute of deity,
(23:41):
so he is yet fully got.In the incarnation. However, he
voluntarily limits the prerogatives of divinity.But you're also right in saying that the
Bible elsewhere, in its main andplain passages, makes very clear that Jesus
Christ is himself equal to the Father. For example, John One says,
(24:03):
in the beginning was the word,and the word was with God, and
the word was God. Of coursethe word referring to Jesus Christ. We
know that from the context the wordbecame flesh and dwelt among us. In
Clautionans one, you have all thingsbeing created by Jesus Christ. He is
before all things, and God waspleased to have all his fullness dwell in
(24:29):
him. Only did he has,of course, the prerogative creation pre exists
all things and personifies the full essenceor nature of God. Or think about
Hebrews Chapter one, where God theFather himself says that Jesus Christ is God.
But about the Son, the Fathersays, your throne, oh God,
(24:51):
will last forever and forever. Sonot only is the entirety of Hebrews
IE devoted to demonstrating the absolute deityof Jesus Christ, but in verses ten
through twelve, the inspired writer quotesa passage in the Psalms which refers to
Yahweh and then directly applies it toChrist. And in doing that, the
(25:12):
scripture specifically declares that Jesus ontologically interms of nature or essence, that is,
is equal to Israel's God. Thereare many other passages that could be
cited, like Revelation one, whichsays that Jesus is the Alpha and the
Omega, who is, who was, who is to come the Almighty,
(25:33):
and in fact, in the lastchapter of Revelation, Jesus applies those words
to himself, or Second Peter chapterone, which declares to those who,
through the righteousness of our God andSavior Jesus Christ, have received a faith
as precious as are so. Numerouspassages could be cited from the Bible which
(25:56):
back up Christ's claim to deity.I've written about those and memorable keys to
a central Christian doctrine. Like tocontinue the conversation, but out of time
for this installment of the Bible answerMen Broadcast. Thanks for tuning in.
We'll see you next time with moreof the Bible Insmen Broadcast. Thank you
for joining us today. Our missionat the Christian Research Institute is to defend
(26:18):
the faith, answer Bible questions andencourage Christians to watch their life and doctrine
closely. To find resources to helpequip you go to equip dot org.
That's equip dot org, or callus at eight eight eight seven thousand CRII.
You can also write CRI at PostOffice Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte,
(26:41):
North Carolina, two eight two sevenone. The Bible answer Man Broadcast
is supported by listeners like you.We're on the air because life and truth
matter. Has God Spoken? Arethe words of Scripture merely human in origin?
(27:10):
Or are they, in fact thevery words of God himself. Three
years in the making and based ontwo decades of research and reflection, Hank
Henagraph's monumental book Has God Spoken answerswhat 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 Bibleattackers and clearly shows that belief in
the Holy Scriptures is not a guessor wishful thinking. It is the only
logical conclusion after an honest examination ofoverwhelming evidence. Ordered Has God Spoken from
the Christian Research Institute by calling eightyeight seven thousand CRII, or go online
(27:53):
to equip dot org. Equip dotOrg
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