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Search the Scriptures Daily Program #4406a Transcript follows: Welcome to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call featuring Dave Hunt and T. A. McMahon. I’m Gary Carmichael, we’re glad you could tune in. Coming up in today’s broadcast in our Understanding the Scripture segment, Dave and Tom will continue their in-depth study of the Book of Acts, and, “How did Paul and Silas rile the Romans?” In Religion in the News, “What is gay history?” We’ll take a look at that story and examine the question: “How can Christians reach today’s culture?” We hope you can stay with us. Our ministry, The Berean Call, offers a wide variety of teaching materials, including books, tracts, audio and video tapes and copies of our weekly broadcast on tape or compact disk. You may also subscribe to our monthly Newsletter, which we offer free of charge. We’ll let you know how to order later in the program. Now, this week’s Cover Article. We continue our series of programs based on Dave Hunt’s book, When Will Jesus Come? This week we address the question: “Why can’t the Rapture be post-trib?” Along with Dave Hunt, here is T. A. McMahon. Tom: Thanks, Gary. You’re listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a program in which we encourage everyone who desires to know God’s truth to look to God’s Word for all that is essential for salvation and living one’s life in a way that is pleasing to Him. If you’re a new listener to our program, we have for a number a weeks now, in this segment, this particular segment of our program, Search the Scriptures Daily, we’ve been discussing Dave Hunt’s book, When Will Jesus Come? subtitled: Compelling Evidence For The Soon Return Of Christ in this our feature segment. Dave, for the last couple of weeks we’ve been giving reasons why the Church must be removed. I’m sure many of our listeners, or at least some of our listeners, the Church being removed? I know when I came to Christ as a new believer, the Rapture, coming out of Roman Catholicism, the Rapture was not a teaching that we had any idea about. I was clueless about it. Dave: Well, the Catholic church, of course, does not teach the Rapture. It wouldn’t work because of Purgatory. Tom: Right. Dave: You have to spend different lengths of time in Purgatory so you couldn’t possibly resurrect everybody. The Rapture is a resurrection. Tom: Right. Dave: So, how could you resurrect everyone at the same time? Tom: And you go immediately to be with Christ. Dave: Right. Tom: So, Purgatory doesn’t work well with that belief. Dave: Anyway, you’re talking about the Church being removed from this earth before the Great Tribulation. Tom: Correct. And, that would be the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel. And that’s the catalyst that starts it off so that’s one of the reasons. Another reason is that the saints have to be in heaven to come with Christ at the Second Coming. Dave: Right. Tom: So, it has to be the event that’s needed to bring the antichrist immediately on the scene to institute the covenant of peace with Israel. Dave: Yeah, Tom, we probably talked about this in-depth, but just very briefly, how are you going to unite the world under one man? Politically, religiously, all the world is going to worship this man. How are you going to bring that about? There is no possible way except the Rapture. If 100 million, I think it might be at least 100 million real Christians out of two-billion professing Christians, if they suddenly vanished from this earth we can’t imagine the terror that would be on this earth, and a man arises immediately with all the power of Satan, can do lying signs and wonders. He says I know where they went, take my mark, that will be the pledge that you won’t leave. I don’t know the various scenarios, there would be a number of possibilities. But, the fact is that the earth is terrified and they are all united. Muslims and Israelis, Baptists and Presbyterians, atheists and Christians because there will be a lot of Christians left behind. Tom: Dave, why is that? I thought everybody who’s a Christian goes in the Rapture. Dave: Maybe I was careless with my language. A lot of “professing” Christians, thank you. People who call themselves Christians who don’t really know the Lord. They call themselves Christians but they have no intention of following the Bible, following what Jesus Christ said, either His example or His teaching. Therefore, they’re not Christians. Tom: The person preventing the Antichrist from rising, according to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, he must be taken out of the way. And of course that person is the Holy Spirit who inhabits the Church, and you can look to Ephesians 2:22 and 1 Corinthians 6:19, the latter verse talks about it being the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Dave: Well, that too, I guess, Tom, I guess we’re giving you a little review here. In John 7:37, it says, On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink, and out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. And then John, adds this commentary, This spake he of the Holy Spirit which they that believed on Him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. So, although the Holy Spirit came upon the prophets and inspired them in the past, yet David prayed in Psalm 51, Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Now, some churches sing that. Please don’t sing that if you’re a Christian, it’s not biblical. That was biblical for David because the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified, but now He indwells us. Tom: Well, we are sealed until the day of resurrection, so He cannot leave us. Dave: Absolutely. So, you can’t remove the Holy Spirit because He is omnipresent. You can’t remove God. God is the only one who could keep Satan from putting his man in power, Antichrist. So--- but you can’t remove God, you can’t remove the Holy Spirit, He is God, He is omnipresent. What is Paul talking about? He’s talking about, as you mentioned, Tom, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Church permanently, not to come and go, but we are sealed by Him. We belong to Him, and the Church will have to be removed to remove that presence, that new presence of the Holy Spirit that is on this earth for the first time since the day of Pentecost. Furthermore, the Scripture says that the Antichrist is given authority---that’s by Satan--- to make war against the saints. Now those are the tribulation saints who come to Christ during the Great Tribulation, because the gospel will be preached and to overcome them. And anyone who does not bow down and worship his image is killed. Well, that would be the entire Church. Jesus said the gates of hell could not prevail against the Church. The Church is the bride of Christ. He is not going to leave us to the tender mercies of Antichrist to wipe us all out. So that’s another reason why we must be removed. Tom: Dave, you make another point that I never thought about, which seems reasonable to me. You say that the Church, if it were left here when the Antichrist appears, they would actively oppose him. Now that would throw a wrench in the works of his really bringing everybody under his control right away, or those being so attracted to him because of the event and the solutions that he brings and so on, if you’ve got a prominent, active opposition to him on the earth. Dave: Backed by the Holy Spirit. He’s not going to make it, but of course that must be removed before he can be revealed. Tom: Well, you pointed out that, let’s say conservatively, if there are one hundred million Christians removed from the earth, if they were here that would be a pretty large opposition to him. Dave: Right. Tom: The Antichrist, as you pointed out, would destroy the church and you quoted Matthew 16:18, that’s another point. The only other way to protect the church is to allow Antichrist to kill all the saints is to remove the Church and these saints who come after the Rapture, they are going to be martyred. The Scripture is very clear on that. Dave: They will pay for their faith with their lives. Tom: Now, out of that, Dave, you make a point, a post trib Rapture. Then, based on what we have said you say it would be a non event. Dave: Yeah, a classic non event because there is nobody left to Rapture. It’s quite clear if you don’t take the mark of the beast you can’t buy or sell. Now you’re starving to death, eating out of garbage pails if you could run fast enough to keep ahead of the world police who are on your tail. If you do not bow down and worship his image---of course if you do either of those things the wrath of the Lamb comes upon you. So this would only be true believers who would not do that. You don’t bow down to worship his image you are killed, it’s that simple. Can he find you? I think he can find you anywhere because, Tom, I don’t want to try to get into the technology of the thing because we’re not sure of that, but we have the technology to trace everybody. And you get GPS in a car, you don’t have to tell Bambi where you are, you just punch in there where you want to go and immediately the voice tells you---start off in this direction or that. If you get off the road, Bambi or whoever this voice is, it’s usually a woman’s voice, it’s rather excited: You’re off the road! You’re off the road! Or if you are on a new road that wasn’t on the map that she had when they programmed her in. So, Antichrist can know right where you are if you have this chip, and there’s not reason for not having the chip, it makes all the sense in the world, because no more counterfeiting, no dollar bills. Tom: No more identification theft. Dave: Right, no more muggings and robbing of people, burglarizing and so forth. I don’t think you could even burglarize. Who are you going to sell it to, the stuff? So, everything is run through these chips. Wonderful! This would be an honest world, so well organized, and so forth. But everywhere that chip goes they are watching you. You can’t hide from Antichrist. So, if you follow Christ and disobey Antichrist you are martyred. So, what Christians are there left to rapture at the end of the Great Tribulation? I sometimes facetiously compare this with Titus 2:13: Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious returning of the great God our Savior Jesus Christ. Well, here’s the blessed hope for a post-trib Rapture. Well, if you can eat out of enough garbage pails and run fast enough to keep ahead of the Antichrist, and you are one of the very few that the world police haven’t caught for not bowing down and worshipping that image, and you survive to the end of the Great Tribulation, blessed hope! You’re going to get raptured! I don’t call that a blessed hope, Tom. I’m not trying to make fun of these dear people that believe that, but it doesn’t make any sense. And another reason that we talked about, Paul said in 2 Timothy Chapter 4, he said, There’s a crown of righteousness laid up for me, and not for me only but for all those who love His appearing. Now, if you love His appearing at the end, you’re one of the few who survived the murderous intent of the world police who have been after you, and you would love Christ’s appearing at that point---I don’t think that’s a reason for a special crown of righteousness. But if you love His appearing now---stock market’s going up, well, it goes down, too, but let’s say it’s really going up and you’re making a lot of money, you’ve got a good retirement plan, money in the bank, you’re going on vacation, maybe you’ve retired---everything seems fine, all the problems of the Middle East have been solved---wow! This world is really a wonderful place to be in. You love His appearing then, I think that’s what’s Paul is saying, there would be a special reward, a crown of righteousness. Tom: Dave, related to all this, a post-trib Rapture certainly eliminates the doctrine of imminency and how important that is. I know some who believe in a pre-trib Rapture have been characterized by saying, oh, it’s kind of a helicopter theory, you just want to get out. The antithesis of what you just said. You just want to eliminate your problems and go on and be with the Lord. But, imminency doesn’t teach that. I mean, that’s not what the Scripture says. Jesus said, “If you love Me keep my commandments.” We’re to occupy until He returns, we’re to be excited about His return and we want to hear those words, “well done thou good and faithful servant.” Dave: Well, we’re the Bride and hopefully the Bride is excited about the wedding. If not, you’d better call it off. We should be eagerly waiting our Lord to catch us up and take us up there because there will be a wedding in heaven. So, imminency is a very important doctrine. If we went to Luke 17 or Matthew 24, in both places Christ says that to imagine a delay in His coming. Well, I John 3 says, “everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself.” If Christ could come at any moment I don’t want to be doing something that would bring dishonor to Him, that would be an embarrassment. John says in I John 2 that we not be ashamed before Him at His coming. But, I’m not worrying about being ashamed before Him at His coming if He can’t come until after the anti-Christ gets here. Anti-Christ is not there, so when anti-Christ shows up then I can clean up my act. The post-trib Rapture, as you said, does away with imminency and that is very important because I have a time left. But Jesus said, “but and if that wicked servant says in His heart, my Lord delays His coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants,” etc. The Lord will come at a time when he thinks not. So, Jesus indicated that the thought of a delay in His coming, in other words, a rejection of imminency, Jesus said that would breed evil in the heart. So this is another powerful reason. And, of course the Church, the early Church, was taught imminency. Tom: Well, that’s a question, Dave, and your Chapter 16 is titled, “A Post-Trib Scenario.” You quote I Thessalonians 5: 2-6, “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” Now, Dave, you follow that with the statement, “One frequently hears the argument: ‘There is no record that the early Church believed in the imminent return of Christ. The idea of a pre-tribulation Rapture wasn’t dreamed up until the 1830’s.” Dave: Well, Tom, I never learned of a pre-trib Rapture from some commentary. I got it from the Bible. Tom: Many people say Darby was the first one. Dave: Right. And, that’s not true. There were plenty of believers in the pre-trib Rapture before in the 1700’s, in the 1600’s, etc., and that could be documented. But that, I think, is beside the point. The point is what does the Bible say? You see, Tom, we’ve talked about it I guess in the past, there are some bright young men who claim to be evangelicals who have converted to Roman Catholicism. Why? Because they began to read the early church fathers, so-called, and they said, oh, these guys believed in the real presence, you know, they believed in Catholic doctrines. Well, if you want to understand what the apostles taught, get back as close as you can to when they wrote the Scriptures and those who knew them, etc. And, Tom, that argument does not hold any water at all. It’s a very bad argument because Paul in Acts 20 said to the Ephesian elders, “after my departing shall grievous wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” So, if the very men that he trained, the Ephesian elders, and that was the best church, as far as we can tell that was active at that time, if they were going to go astray, I’m not impressed by somebody a hundred years, about as close back as you can get. No, what does the Bible say. Alright, the Bible says, Philippians 3:20, “For our conversation [that means our manner of life] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body,” etc. In I Thessalonians 1:10-11, somewhere around there, Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven.” Ok? So, in Philippians, Paul says, “you’re looking, expecting,” now they’re waiting. In Hebrews 9, around verse 27, 28, it says, “unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” We quoted Titus 2:13, “looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing.” What? We’re supposed to watch, Jesus said. In Luke 12, “watch for the Lord when He returns.” So now, if you’re supposed to be watching and waiting and looking and expecting, it doesn’t make sense if this can’t happen until after the anti-Christ, after the Great Tribulation. It could only be something that could happen at any moment. So again, this is imminency. There are many signs to be fulfilled before the Second Coming. No signs at all before the Rapture. Nothing prevents Christ from coming at any moment or ever prevented Him from coming at any moment to catch up His Bride into heaven for that wedding. And, of course, before that comes the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment seat of Christ, of course, if for believers, where it says we will receive for the deeds done in the body, I Corinthians 3. Our works will be tried by fire, not to see whether we’re saved or lost, but that will determine our reward. Now, this must be distinguished from the Great White Throne Judgment in Rev. 20, “I saw the dead small and great stand before God. The Books were opened, etc. I saw a great white throne whereon sat, this is Christ, and it says from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away. So, we must distinguish between these two. The judgment seat of Christ is when believers will be purified, clothed in white robes, the righteousness of saints, to be wed to Christ at that marriage in Rev. 19.

Search the Scriptures Daily Program #4406b Transcript follows: Gary: This is Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Still ahead, answers to your questions in Contending for the Faith, and in Understanding the Scriptures, Dave and Tom will resume their conversation on God’s salvation. In addition to this radio program we publish a monthly Newsletter which we make available free of charge. We also produce and distribute a wide variety of teaching materials including books in print, e-book, and audio book formats, CD’s, DVD’s and other items to encourage the serious study of God’s Word. For a complete list of materials, or to get a copy of today’s broadcast write to us at POB 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708. Call our toll free order number 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org. If you would like a copy of this broadcast, ask for Program #4406, and be sure to mention the call letters of this station. And, now, if you would like to watch Dave and Tom, our weekly broadcast is available on DVD. Ask about a subscription when you contact us. You can also download both audio and video pod cast at our website. We’ll repeat this information at the end of the program. RELIGION IN THE NEWS Now, Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media. This week’s item is from Baptist Press, May 12, 2006, with a headline: California Senate Passes Gay History Textbook Bill. The following are excerpts: A landmark bill that would require public school textbooks in California to include gay history passed the California Senate. The bill, SB1437, would mandate that textbooks include the contributions of people who are lesbians, gay, bi-sexual or transgender to the total development of California and the United States. It would also prevent teachers from speaking adversely about homosexuality. Randy Thomason, President of California based Campaign for Children and Families, said it was ironic that the bill passed days before Mother’s Day, a holiday traditionally focused on the natural traditional family. This terrible bill forces local schools to go against parents by mandating trans-sexual, bi-sexual and homosexual education upon their impressionable children. Whose children are they anyway? This mental molestation of kids as young as kindergarten is very wrong. Children deserve academics, not sexual indoctrination. The bill was sponsored by Democratic State Senator Sheila Cool, a lesbian. All we’re saying is, let us also be reflected in history, Cool said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Bill supporters and homosexuals should be reflected in history just as blacks and other minorities are. But State Senator Bill Morrow, Republican, disagreed. If you are a black American you can’t help it, you were born that way, Morrow said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. There is not one scintilla of credible scientific evidence that suggests that homosexuality is biological in origin, it is behavioral, it is not racial. Tom: Dave, when I first read this article the phrase, gay history, came up, and I’m just wondering. Well, why don’t they take us back to Sodom and Gomorrah, to really get to the fix of this thing. Dave: That would be a good point, Tom. Or they could take us to the shores of--- a book out there called, The Fatal Shore, Australia. It was originally populated, it was a penal colony for England, and it was rampant with homosexuality. You ought to read that book and the letters of some of these guys writing back to England, saying how they were forced into this as sex slaves. They hated it, and let’s include that in the history. And let’s include some of the crimes and the horror of pedophilia and so forth, and the corruption of our youth. But the bill says you can’t speak adversely about homosexuality. Then what kind of history is this? This is not history. Tom: No, this is propaganda. Dave: Propaganda, it is a whitewash. And Tom, It is criminal because these people intend to force themselves upon the rest of society. First of all they insist upon being normal, that this is just a normal way of behavior, just an alternate way that those who do this are not wrong. Now, for centuries, thousands of years it was always looked upon as a perversion. Tom: As a perversion, Dave, unnatural. Dave: Absolutely, and now suddenly it is being changed and these people are forcing this on us. Tom: So, let’s rewrite history, I mean, let’s do that, Dave. Let’s present this as though---I mean, it’s really a bad joke, I mean, it a tragedy, it’s absolutely tragic. Dave: Well, it’s an attempt to brain wash with lies, as you say, rewrite history. Tom, Bill Morrow makes a very good point. He says there’s not one scintilla of credible scientific evidence that suggests that homosexuality is biological in origin. You know, they say, Well, it’s just like the racial thing, you know, we should have minority status. Well, wait a minute! This is something you chose, it wasn’t something you were born with, it’s something you chose. And Tom, you know the many arguments---for example, you were Catholic once upon a time. You know that some Catholic seminaries, you’ve got all men stuck in there together, and they have taken vows of celibacy, seventy percent some of them, homosexuals. Now, isn’t that amazing that all of these men who have these genes, who happen to be born with this tendency towards homosexuality, is the natural way for them to behave, they all end up in Catholic seminaries! I wonder how that could come about! Or, these people who were sent to the penal colony in Australia---probably ninety percent of them down there were into homosexuality. Many of them hated it, and they wrote home about it, we have their letters. Isn’t that amazing that these people who had these homosexual genes in their bodies, which they inherited from parents, they ended up down in Australia in such a concentration! Tom, I get really angry! This is a joke! Now furthermore, these people believe, most of them, believe in evolution. If you’re homosexual you don’t breed children! Evolution, this natural process of survival of the fittest and natural selection, would breed these people out. Instead of that it gets worse and worse as they continue to force themselves upon the public trying to insist that this is a natural way of life, in fact, a desirable way of life---Let’s teach it to our kids in grammar school so that they will know the options that they have. This is wicked, and they will be punished by God for this. Tom: And Dave, it’s really sad that many people buy into this. It’s not reasonable, it’s not rational. You would think that legislators would have enough common sense to see this. This is what really floors me. Dave: Well, Bill Morrow has. Tom: Yes. Dave: But, he would be in the minority. In fact, Tom, it wouldn’t even take evolution if they got their way, everyone adopted this so-called lifestyle, it would be the end of the human race. Tom: If they were consistent. Dave: Right. Are they going to be proud about that? Well, that would sure cut the population way down fast and eventually it would eliminate it. So, you’re going to wipe out the human race and this is good? And you’re going to have gay pride parades and you’re going to give us a corrupted history to deny the truth. Tom, this is a crime. It shouldn’t be allowed.

Search the Scriptures Daily Program #4406c Transcript follows: Gary: You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Still to come Dave and Tom continue their weekly in-depth study of the doctrine of salvation, please stay tuned. CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here is this week’s question: Dear Dave and Tom: “I know you guys are against a popular trend in evangelical Christianity called the “emerging church” which claims to be the best way to witness to the post-modern generation. I can’t say I disagree with you, but what do you recommend in reaching our culture today?” Tom: Dave, first of all for our listeners who, maybe some of these terms “emerging church,” and “post-modern generation,” is a little new to them or their not really aware of what that’s all about. But “post-modern generation,” it’s highly characterizing what we see going on today. So there are people out there who, you know, want to do their own thing. They disdain rules. Ok? Truth to them is relative. They don’t put much stock in commitments. This is the culture that supposedly in the “post-modern” and this is what the emerging church--these are the people the emerging church wants to reach. They live for pleasure, pursue pleasure, they live for the moment, they scorn the rational, prefer the emotional, you know, whatever feels good do it, let your feelings be your guide. And, they have a preference for the experiential, those who would be thinking spiritually anyway. They prefer the experiential over the doctrinal and they have a propensity for visual imagery over the written word. So, how do we reach this segment of our society? Dave: Well, I have a few ideas, Tom. First of all, that long list you gave of their propensities, their behavior, sounds very much like it’s always been. They give it a new name but this is rebellion against God. That’s how simple it is. Doing my own thing, wanting to live for myself, it’s self-centered. You could go to II Timothy 3 and you’d find pretty much the list. Lovers of self, etc. Number one. So, how do we reach any generation? Well, we are not going to update the Bible. We’re not going to edit the Bible, we’re not going to change it in order to reach some new generation. The Bible is written for every generation. It’s like Solomon said, as in water face answers to face, in other words, you see a reflection in water, so the heart of man to man. Now, that wouldn’t be just during some generation. Same thing, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, Jeremiah writes, of course inspired of God. So, how are we going to deal with the heart? Well, I, the Lord, search the heart. That’s what God says. David writes in Psalm 139, Search me, O God, and know my ways, my thoughts, etc. So, it’s the Spirit of God is going to have to convince of sin, of righteousness and judgment to come. This is what Jesus said in John 16, when He the spirit of truth is come, He will convince the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment to come. Of course we need a little addendum there, “until the new post-modern generation comes along” and then spirit of God will have to change His tactics or we’ll need a new spirit of God, we’ll need new scriptures, or whatever. Absolutely not true. So, Tom, these people are trying to make excuses for turning away from the Bible and coming up with something else in order to deal with their problems, the same old thing as “Christian” psychology. Tom: Well, Dave, those who are leaders in this emerging church movement, they believe they recognize that the post-modern generation is interested in things spiritual. Let me give you a quote from one of the leaders. He says, “The changes in our culture are influencing emerging generations to crave a raw and vintage approach to Christianity and church. Therefore, contemporary seeker-sensitive methodology goes against what connects with them most deeply.” Now, I’ve read the books. I’ve followed some of these leaders in terms of what they’re offering. Dave, it’s amazing because it goes back to what I grew up in. It goes back to, you know, what do they mean by “authentic” and “vintage” Christianity? They mean Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Russian Orthodoxy. They’re talking about ritualism, they’re talking about sacramentalism, they’re talking about all the things I grew up in. Dave: Right. So, Tom, how is that a post-modern? Tom: I have no idea. Dave: It goes way, way back. So, this is skewed thinking. They’re not even logical or rational, but they’re certainly not biblical. We were talking about homosexuality a little while ago. You know what they say about that. We could quote one of the leaders or more than one of the leaders saying, well, now, is anything wrong with homosexuality, should that be accepted and should there be homosexuals in the pulpit, etc., well, we can’t come to a conclusion on that just yet. It’ll probably take another five years and then we may be able to come up with a conclusion, and if we haven’t reached it then…. So, what does that mean, Tom? The Bible is very clear. So these people do not believe the Bible. They’re not willing to obey the Bible. They want to twist it around some way to escape what it says. Therefore they come up with these terms, “post-modern,” “emerging” whatever and they’re going to use that as an excuse for escaping what God has clearly said. Tom: Right. So this approach, which pretends to bring a generation, this generation, to truth, what truth are they bringing them to, Dave? Certainly not biblical truth, that’s the problem. Dave: They have abandoned the Bible. I think when the Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures, I would say that would be the clearest, best way it could be said. God knows our hearts. He knows the needs of every generation. And He gave it to us like we need to have it. We can’t be massaging the Bible around and changing it. It is supposed to change us. Tom: Dave, I don’t know how the church can reflect the culture and deliver the culture from its sin and bring the solution of the gospel. I don’t see how that can happen. Dave: Very good point. Gary: If you have a question for Dave and Tom to answer in a future Contending for the Faith, stay tuned, we’ll have our contact information at the end of the program. You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call.

Search the Scriptures Daily Program #4406d Transcript follows: . Now our final segment: UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES We resume our excursion through the Book of Acts. Here again are Dave and Tom. Tom: This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, and we’re in the book of Acts, Acts 16, and we’re going to pick up with verse 19, “And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the market place unto the rulers, [and of course, the reference here is this woman who had masters, she was into divination, she had a spirit, and supposedly impressed people with the false idea but that she could tell them the future.] Dave: Well she may have been revealing things about the present also that they didn’t think she could know. Of course, demons would know that. And these unscrupulous masters, their owners, the slave owners of this woman, actually, they’re making money off of her and I suppose they’re giving her a percentage. But, anyway, they don’t know how she does this and they wouldn’t care whether this was an evil spirit. But, Paul cast the evil spirit out of her and she lost her supposed supernatural powers. That’s all they’re upset about. They’re business has been ruined. Tom: Right. So, verse 20, “And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.” Dave: But, Tom, I have in my Bible, kind of drew a little square around that phrase, “being Jews.” What does that have to do with it? And, so you see anti-Semitism, way back. It’s been going on for many, many centuries. Tom: Well, obviously, if they were Jews who believed in their Scriptures, they didn’t participate in bringing these guys any money. They didn’t buy into this. Correct? The people who were there? Dave: Right. But, apparently, there weren’t any Jews in the city, it seems, because they’re blaming this on them being Jews. I guess Jews were not accepted, I don’t know, Tom. But, anyway, it sounds a little anti-Semitic, and with good reason because way back in Deuteronomy God warned His people through Moses that if they disobeyed Him they would be cast out of the land, scattered everywhere and hated and persecuted like no other people. And, of course, that came true. So, although the Jews and Israel, although they’re under God’s protection right now, woe to those who attack them, nevertheless they are at the same time under God’s judgment. And, we see just a little picture of that here. They’re troubling our city. Well, how are they troubling our city? Verse 21, “and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.” I don’t think Paul and Silas were teaching customs. That was the very thing they were opposed to. It’s not by works of righteousness. They were teaching grace, salvation by faith through grace. Tom: “And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.” Dave: Tom, I don’t think they were in a comfortable chair with their feet in the stocks. They were lying on their backs. Their bloodied, ripped up backs from the scourging that they’ve just received. In the muck and dirt, you know, what all there was there. And, you can see the problem with a mob. You can arouse a mob. And, of course, this is what we’ve got around the world with Islam today. For example, the uproar over the Danish cartoons, and you had mobs all over the world burning down buildings, killing people, rioting, and so forth, or you had mob action there in Paris and various parts of France with the Muslims. Tom: I think about over in Israel where two soldiers made a wrong turn into Ramala where Arafat was. Dave: But Tom, they weren’t even in uniform, as I recall, they were just Jews, like this recognizing Jews. Tom: And they were beaten to death, the atrocity, this mob just tore them apart literally. Dave: They not only took them apart but they took refuge in there. They managed to get into a police station, and we have a video of them being thrown out of the second story of the police station. The police would not protect them, and they threw them down to the tender mercies of this mob. Wow! Well, this is the heart of man that we’ve been talking about, and it shows how you could whip up---Of course, Hitler was a master at that when you see some of the videos of the mob that he had in front of him by the hundreds of thousands, and he could get them aroused to do almost anything. It’s a tragedy because people---you know, you take a comfort in a mob action. It’s something, I’d really like to be violent, I’d really like to smash some windows downtown you know, and get in there and take some stuff out. But if I did it all alone they would get me. That would be breaking the law, but if we can get a whole mob together, then it’s okay, now we’re justified in this. And tragically, the media justifies what these terrorists, Muslims are doing against Israel. They blame Israel for it, and I don’t recall that they blamed Islam for the riots in Paris, never did that come out that I know of, maybe some obscure writer mentioned it, but it was finally justification for these people. Well, but they didn’t have jobs, and they would be discriminated against, and they need some more social programs for them. Tom: And of course the society wouldn’t let them assimilate, right? O, brother, how wrong. Dave, Paul and Silas’ reaction to this, it really grips your heart. How could they, after their backs being torn to shreds, how do they react to this? Are they bitter, are they yelling and screaming at the jailer, and this is unfair, and so on? Dave: They are lying on their backs with their feet up, bare backs probably. Tom: Well, there it is, Verse 25: “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Dave: Wow! That must have been a shock. What a testimony to the prisoners. But I rather suspect, prior to that time they were preaching the gospel to these prisoners because that was what Paul and Silas were about. They went everywhere preaching the gospel. That’s why they came to Philippi, and that’s what they were doing when they were arrested and beaten. So, I’m sure they were telling the gospel, telling the good news to the prisoners, and then they began to sing, they pray and they begin to sing praises to God. Wow! What a testimony! That must have really impressed the fellow prisoners, they’ve never seen anything like this. Tom: More so than what takes place next, Verse 36: “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.” Dave: It’s amazing, Tom. Of course, I think they recognized the connection between these men and their praise of God and the gospel and the earthquake. Every man’s bands were loosed, but later on Paul says, Verse 28, he says: We are all here, because the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled, that was the penalty. A prisoner escaped, they killed you. Wow, that was tough in those days. “But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.” Now, why would all those prisoners stay? Tom, they must have been converted. It doesn’t say that, but they had had a change of heart. They recognized something miraculous is going on, they don’t just all get up and flee. Tom: “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” That’s the great question, Dave, and next week, the Lord willing, we’ll provide the answer from the Scriptures. Dave: Very good. Dave and Tom will resume their discussion on the topic of salvation next week, we hope you can join us. This is Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. In ancient ages the great Hebrew prophets predicted that before the coming of their promised Messiah there would be specific fulfillments of their prophecies to signal the end of the age. But not until the Jews returned to the land in 1948 did those signs become evident. Today, after some 50 years back in the land the realized predictions are crystal clear even to the casual observer. From the mountains flowing with sweet wine to the wars of the Jews, to the rebuilding of the third Jewish Temple, to the field Eastern gate, and much more, you will experience and see it all as 25 Messianic Signs presents an unfolding drama of the prophetic signs pointing to the pivotal event of our times---the return of the Messiah! Video producer Ken Cline: Gary, the fact that Israel is in the land today is one of the principle reasons why we should be looking for the coming of the Messiah. When you get this film it will encourage your faith and it is a resource to help you reach loved ones for Christ. See the land, see the people, see the places, 25 Messianic Signs, a new video from The Berean Call. Information on how to order in just a moment. And now, to tell you more about our ministry, here is TBC’s Executive Director Tom McMahon: The name, The Berean Call, is taken from the book of Acts, Chapter 17, Verses 10 and 11, where we find the apostle Paul entering the synagogue in the Greek city of Berea after he had just come from Thessalonica. To these Bereans he preached that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah sent from God. They were commended for being noble or fair minded, not only for their willingness to hear what Paul had to say about the matter, but more specifically, because they search the scriptures daily to find out whether or not what the apostle was saying was found in God’s Word. That’s what we hope to encourage through this ministry. Our prayer is that we can be used of God to stimulate Christians to look to the Bible alone as their rule of faith, authority and practice in living lives pleasing to our Lord and Savior. Gary. Would you like to expand your knowledge of God’s Word? We offer a wide variety of items that you will find helpful, from books and tracts to audio and video recordings, CD-ROM, our website and much more. For a complete list of materials or to get a copy of today’s broadcast, write to us at POB 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708. Call us at our toll free order number 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org. 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I’m Gary Carmichael, and for Dave, Tom and everyone here at The Berean Call, I would like to thank you for joining us and invite you to tune in again next week. In the meantime, if you desire to know God’s truth, search the scriptures daily. For more information about The Berean Call, write to us at POB 7019, Bend, Oregon 97708. Call us toll free at our order number 877-882-4253, that’s 877-88Bible, or visit our website at www.thebereancall.org.