The Berean Call Podcast

Question: I have long wondered what Paul meant when he said that he and the other apostles were “the last appointed unto death.” Did that mean that no one else after them would ever be martyred for their faith? If so, he was wrong.

Response: Paul was not wrong when he wrote these words: “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men” (1 Cor 4:9). 

Some argue that Paul and the other apostles thought that the Rapture would occur in their day. Not so. Although he taught believers to expect the Rapture at any moment (Phil 3:20-21; 1 Thes 1:9-10; Titus 2:13, etc.), Paul knew that he would be martyred before it occurred: “For I know...that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in...” (Acts 20:29); “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Tim 4:6). 

Likewise Peter wrote, “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle...I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance [i.e., he was putting in writing what he had taught them orally]” (2 Pt 1:14-15). Thus we see that the Apostles did not expect to be raptured but knew they must each die for their Lord.

This is number 212 in our series of “Get Biblical Understanding.” In this session we’re reading many but certainly not all of the biblical verses that have to do with spiritual guidance.

A believer’s life in Christ is fully dependent upon his or her understanding of the Word of God and the guidance and enablement of the Holy Spirit.

ACTS 13:2-4 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

ACTS 16:6-10 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

ACTS 18:5-6 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

ACTS 18:9-10 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.

ACTS 20:22-23 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.

ACTS 21:4 And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.

ACTS 21:10-12 And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judæa a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

In today’s program, Tom welcomes author Ray Yungen to discuss the impact of the New Age movement on today’s evangelical church. Now, along with his guest, here’s TBC executive director, Tom McMahon

Tom: Thanks, Gary. My guest for today’s program and, the Lord willing, next week as well is Ray Yungen. Ray is the author of - in my opinion and others’ that I know - he’s the author of some very valuable books regarding biblical discernment - in particular, adverse teachings and practices that have infected Christianity in our day.

Ray, welcome to Search the Scriptures 24/7!

Ray: Thank you, Tom. I’m glad to be here.

Tom: You know, two of Ray’s books that I want to discuss are A Time of Departing and For Many Shall Come in My Name. Now, you also have another book out, Ray, coming out soon, and hopefully it will be available by the time this program is aired or released or whatever, whatever the cyber term - cyber space term is. Anyway, we have it in stock - hopefully we’ll have it in stock when you’re hearing this program. We’ll talk about that book in more detail next week.

Ray, let’s start with how you got started writing the books that you have.

Question: If unbelievers do not have the Holy Spirit, how do they get answers from God? Are they not separated from God, as Romans says? How do they go to the throne of grace with their petitions? Please explain, because I had always learned that the only prayer an unsaved person could make was one related to salvation, yet in 1 Kings 8:39, God is talking to Israel and to pagans as well.

Response: Unbelievers have no access to God to have their “petitions” fulfilled by Him. Furthermore, rarely would they turn to Him (in whom they don’t believe) unless they were in a life or death situation in which only a miracle would help them. As you point out, the only prayer the unsaved can make is a prayer of repentance. Man is separated from God by his sin. It is not surprising that some pray to Mary, the “saints,” or other deities. Even the religious counselors of King Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged, “...There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh” (Dan 2:10-11).

On the other hand, God does intervene in the life of an unbeliever for His own sovereign purpose, to draw someone whom He knows will repent and come to Him, and in answer to the intercessory prayers of believers praying specifically for the salvation of unbelievers. In Scripture we see examples of individuals such as Hagar, weeping over her inability to protect the life of her son, Ishmael (Gen 21:14-19), though previously God had already heard and responded to her “affliction” (Gen 16:11). God had not only protected him (Gen 21:19-21), but God blessed Ishmael exceedingly (Gen 16:10-12).

The people of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah with the hope that Nineveh might be spared (Jon 3:5-10). God, in his mercy, did not destroy the city of Nineveh as He had threatened. The people of Nineveh may not have approached God as the Scriptures demanded, but they did know what repentance was.

In 1 Kings 8:38-39 we read, “What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men)....”

Solomon is interceding for Israel and acknowledges the necessity of “knowing the affliction of his own heart....” Consequently, we see examples such as Cornelius the Roman centurion who met the Lord in Acts 10:4: “And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”

Question: Jesus said, “This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” (Mat 24:34). How long is a generation? Was that the “generation” that saw Israel restored to her land in 1948? If so, how much more time do we have before the fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy? Aren’t we running out of time?

Response: God told Abraham that his descendants would be slaves for “four hundred years” and would enter Canaan “in the fourth generation” (Gen 15:13-16). Was a “generation” 100 years, and thus we have until 2048? Moses said, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten” (Ps 90:10), so had a generation gotten shorter, and we only have to wait until 2018?

There is no basis for thinking that Christ meant the “generation” which would see Israel restored to her land. Furthermore, Israel hasn’t been fully restored yet. We know He didn’t mean the generation then alive, for that would have been a false prophecy. Preterists say Nero was the Antichrist, and that “all these things” prophesied by Christ in Matthew 24:1-33 came to pass in AD 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem, and that Israel no longer has any place in the prophetic scheme. Preterism is easily disproved.

Christ said a tribulation was coming that would be worse than anything before or after (Mat 24:21). The tribulation of AD 67-70 was nothing compared to Hitler’s slaughter of 6 million Jews. Verse 22 says, “except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved….” Surely there was no danger that the weapons available in AD 70 might wipe out all flesh, nor was the tribulation cut short on that account. Verses 29-31 mention signs in the heavens, including everyone visibly seeing “the Son of man coming...with power and great glory” and the angels “with a great sound of a trumpet...gather[ing] together his elect...from one end of heaven to the other”—none of which occurred in AD 70. The “generation” alive in Christ’s time did not see the fulfillment.

This is number 211 in our series of “Get Biblical Understanding.” In this session we’re reading many but certainly not all of the biblical verses that have to do with spiritual guidance.

A believer’s life in Christ is fully dependent upon his or her understanding of the Word of God and the guidance and enablement of the Holy Spirit.

ACTS 9:15-16 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

ACTS 10:3-8 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

ACTS 10:9-17 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,

ACTS 10:18-23 And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

ACTS 10:30-33 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.

ACTS 11:12 And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house:

ACTS 11:13-14 And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.

Tom: Thanks, Gary. Today, I’m in conversation with G. Richard Fisher. Dick is a retired pastor and coauthor of The Confusing World of Benny Hinn, and a long-time contributor to the Personal Freedom Outreach Journal, and as I’ve said, I’m continuing to say, it’s just an excellent apologetics magazine. Dick, thanks again for joining me on Search the Scriptures 24/7.

Dick: Good to be here.

Tom: Dick, we really covered a lot of territory last week, so I’d encourage our listeners who haven’t heard Part 1 of this series to, you know, it’s on the internet, it’s on our website, and you need to go there. We’re talking about the Hebrew Roots Movement, which is—Dick, as you said last week, this is something of recent, what, 1980s, this movement?

Question: The amount of time you invested in your careful writing of What Love Is This? was well spent. How I needed this information! I have one question.... In 2 Timothy 2:24-26 Paul talks about God granting people repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.... What is this talking about? Would you address this passage sometime?

Response: Here is that scripture: “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth...that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” Obviously, Paul doesn’t believe that some are predestined to heaven and others to hell, or such a general prayer for sinners would be both senseless and blasphemous. 

Christ commissioned Paul to go to Jews and Gentiles “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:18). Paul declared that “the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not...” (2 Cor 4:4). And he warned that during the reign of Antichrist God will send upon those who “received not the love of the truth...strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned...” (2 Thes 2:10-12). They willfully rejected the love of the truth to follow Satan’s lies. In sending them a strong delusion God is only helping them to believe the lie they wanted to believe. “Sinners are taken captive at his [Satan’s] will” because they willingly believed his lies in rejection of the truth.

Therefore Paul suggests a specific prayer for the lost: that God would help them not to believe the lie they want to believe but would help them to understand and in repentance admit the truth. The prayer Paul suggests does not ask God to sovereignly regenerate sinners and give them the faith to believe the gospel—but to help them to understand and admit the truth. What they do with that understanding will be up to them, for they must from their hearts embrace the truth in order to “recover themselves out of the snare of the devil....”

You are 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. Dave, last week we said that this was our concluding program, but here we are again. But this time I honestly believe that we will conclude this, but we’ll see. We are going through—if you are a new listener to our program—we are going through Dave Hunt’s book, Judgment Day, Islam, Israel and the Nations, and we’ve been 

Today and, if the Lord tarries, next week we’ll be in conversation with G. Richard Fisher. Dick is a retired pastor, coauthor of The Confusing World of Benny Hinn, and a long time contributer to the Personal Freedom Outreach Journal, an excellent, and I mean excellent, apologetics magazine.

Dick, thanks for joining me on Search the Scriptures 24/7.

Dick: Thanks for having me on, Tom. I just hope I can add something that’s helpful for someone.