Love Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom, blessings, and welcome brothers and sisters wherever you are around the world. Thank you for joining us for this important and very interesting Q&A session. But before anything else, a very warm welcome to you, Baruch, and welcome back to Israel.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Thank you. We enjoyed being in Mexico City very much and now we're back in Israel. It's good to be home.

Guest (Male): Yes, we've heard some wonderful things, feedback coming from the conference in Mexico. So we praise the Lord for that. It's a question and answer podcast, but some of the questions that we will go through, we know of course that some of our viewers do know the answers to them. Of course, we just felt that we have a responsibility. It could be people that are new in the faith asking these questions.

We find all the answers in scriptures and that's why we'll elaborate a little bit on some of the questions with scripture. But some of them are the ones that have come up previously as well, but we want to reiterate the response from a biblical perspective. So if you're ready, Baruch, let's begin. Let's kick things off, Baruch. Now, some of these questions we don't want to be of course offensive to people, but questions are asked. So of course we have a responsibility to answer these from a biblical perspective.

Let's look at the first question, which is... and we left the names and the locations anonymous of course for people that asked these questions. First one is, "We know some people that are homosexuals, lesbians that are married and that are Christians and attend church. Are they saved?" I copied exactly the same way the question was. I think that before we get into this, Baruch, and I seek your response to this, that maybe should be of course people that are married and claim to be Christians, I would say is more appropriate. But I'll hand over to you, Baruch, first of all and then we'll look at some scripture.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, first of all, I don't believe that there's a marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman. God does not recognize such a union. It is rooted in rebelliousness and therefore I don't see any way possible that they are married. Secondly, again, I appreciate what you just said. They claim to be Christians. Here's the question I would ask: Now, one is saved by the gospel. One is saved by what Messiah has done on the cross.

And my response would be this way: We all struggle with sin. Can there be a homosexual or a lesbian that says it's wrong but I struggle in that? If they have received the gospel, we all struggle in sin. But here's the question that I would have to ask: If they are a lesbian or a homosexual and they're saying, "No, this is an acceptable way of life. You can be a believer and practice this," then I don't believe that they have ever repented. They haven't accepted the truth and they are not saved. So my general response to that question is they are not saved.

Guest (Male): Correct. I think repentance there is the key, isn't it Baruch? By not only asking the Lord's forgiveness but turning away from that lifestyle. We're going to look at a couple of scriptures just to support this. Revelation 21:27: "But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life." We know that the Lord makes a regular reference to that lifestyle being an abomination before the Lord. Hebrews 10:26: "If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of truth, no further sacrifice for sin remains." Your comments Baruch.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well here is Hebrews 10:26. It says if you have received knowledge of the truth... I would say it this way: that you know what the truth is, but it doesn't impact your life. You continue to choose sin. And if that's the case, it says no further sacrifice for sins remains because you know what the sacrifice is. It's Messiah's death upon the cross. So if that's not changing you, if you haven't received that in true faith, then obviously there's no other means for salvation. There's no other means for a sacrifice that redeems. So that's what I believe that Hebrews 10:26 is speaking about.

Guest (Male): Great. And once again, like you touched on, Baruch, for God so loved the world. So if you have been in that practicing that lifestyle, it's something that if you have true repentance in your heart, the Lord will forgive you and he will welcome you into his kingdom. But there needs to be that real repentance.

Let's move on to the next question. If people reject the Trinity, will they be allowed into heaven? They believe that Jesus is their Lord, but reject the Trinity. Your response Baruch.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, the problem is if you reject the divinity of Messiah, you really haven't accepted the biblical Messiah. And therefore, my strong belief is that if you reject the Trinity... the Trinity is entirely connected to the divinity, who Messiah is. If you reject that, you're not going to be in the kingdom of God. Oftentimes we have people that are really committed to this concept of heaven.

Heaven is temporary. There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. What we should be focusing on is the kingdom of God. So they might believe that Yeshua is their Lord, but if you reject the Trinity, you haven't received the biblical Messiah, the biblical Savior. So my response is no, if you reject the divinity of Messiah, you will not be in the kingdom of God.

Guest (Male): Correct. And then we've said this previously as well, that we understand for those that will probably start making comments on the comment section that the word Trinity doesn't appear in the Bible. We understand that. But of course, we do see God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We always refer people to, especially in that passage when Jesus is being baptized, there we see the three persons of the Godhead basically in that situation individually at work.

Linked to this is another one regarding the divinity of Jesus, but we'll come back to that. Number three: Most popular ministries like John Hagee, David Jeremiah, Amir Tsarfati, Jack Hibbs and others claim that the Rapture can happen at any moment. Why does your ministry persist that it will not happen before the tribulation? If I can just put one scripture up on the screen Baruch, and then I'll hand over to you for your comments. 2 Thessalonians 2:3: "Let no one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come unless the falling away or the apostasy comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition." Over to you, Baruch, for your comments.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, I would say a couple of things. Number one, he mentioned the tribulation. There is no biblical reason whatsoever, and frequently I challenge people... I've never had anyone provide me a verse. But there's no biblical reason for linking the timing of the Rapture to the tribulation. Now, a verse that oftentimes people will give is Revelation 3:10. If you study that, it has nothing to do with speaking about the tribulation. It's speaking about the wrath of God, speaking about those who dwell upon the earth. If you do a study of those who dwell upon the earth in the book of Revelation, this is referring to those whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of life but will receive the wrath of God. So again, when we look at this question, there's no reason to link the timing of the Rapture to the tribulation.

Secondly, another issue was raised and that is imminency, that people say it can happen at any time. I would just challenge someone... I have a little booklet where I go through all the verses that people... I went through many different preachers and Bible teachers that believe in the doctrine of imminency. What I did was I went through and compiled this list of scripture and I showed in this little book that even though they use these verses to speak about imminency, when you really look at it, those verses that are offered up don't support this view that the Rapture can just happen at any time.

And I think, I appreciate you, Christian, this is a great verse of scripture. It's talking about the day. What day? The day of Christ, which is a very important statement and term referring to, as you pointed out, the Rapture. So we have to have the apostasy happen before the Harpazo, the blessed hope, the Rapture will happen. And another thing, the man of sin to be revealed. How is the man of sin revealed? He's revealed at the time of the abomination of desolation. You say, where's that taught? Well, this is 2 Thessalonians 2:3. If you look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verses 4 and 5, it has a clear definition of what the abomination of desolation is.

So let me just conclude by saying this: If we look at the book of Revelation, it talks about believers suffering. So this whole idea that we will escape persecution, we won't be here for a time of tribulation, I simply reject that because overwhelmingly the scripture says that in the last days, believers are going to be persecuted. That's why we're told to repent. That's why we're told to overcome, persevere, endure, and that's why we're told to watch. He says watch repeatedly. Well, if it can happen anytime, what are we supposed to be watching for? So I reject basically what this question is referring to.

Guest (Male): And I think you and I have mentioned previously as well on other videos that, yes, we agree scripture is very clear that we are not appointed to wrath. But there is a very, very big difference there. And my personal opinion, the names that were mentioned, those people have been known time and time again to give false teaching. So we just caution people of who they listen to, rather just go to the word of God. The next question: Do you think that this generation will see the return of Jesus? I know that you and I never set a date. We don't do that. But your comments Baruch.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, again, I don't think that the kingdom is furthered by speculation. I don't know. I do believe, and we've talked about this many times, Christian, that things are moving towards the end time. Now, there's not a temple in Jerusalem yet. Will there be? Yes, there will.

But I would say this: that perhaps we will, perhaps we won't. I just don't think God's kingdom is advanced by speculation. I don't have any advance knowledge of this. So important question, I would say this: Instead of thinking about it, let's be ready. That's what we're supposed to be, be ready for that wonderful time of Messiah's return to gather up believers and place us into the kingdom of heaven. Let's be ready, let's not speculate.

Guest (Male): And I think another word of caution as well, Baruch, is we've been doing these videos now for about six or seven years and every year we see for example some ministries, I won't mention them again, but they'll bring up: "Look, the red heifers. Now it's happening. The red heifers are there." The blood moons, all these type of thing. Brothers and sisters, you have to be very cautious about what you're hearing.

We said it last year, Baruch, when we did a video about the red heifers that were all talking about it, it's gone silent again. Then it was I think last September/October, many ministries of false teachers were saying the Rapture's going to happen in September/October. We advise people: No, biblically it can't happen yet. Go to your scriptures and here we are. So I think it's more of a word of caution about who they should be or not be listening to.

Let's look at the next question. Question 5: This person says, "I believe Jesus is the son of God and that he's the only way to the Father but I do not believe he is God as the Bible tells us there is only one God the Father. I have heard you say that if someone does not believe that Jesus is God, then we are not saved. Is that correct?" I'll just put a scripture up and then we can talk about that Baruch. John 8:24, very clear here: Jesus said himself there, "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins." Your comments Baruch.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, great verse of scripture. We need to believe that Messiah is indeed divine, that he's the son of God. And we see a couple places in the scripture it uses the term the son of the Most High. Well, Most High, who's the Most High? God. So clearly... Now, the gentleman said that God is one. I believe God is one, but the one God has indeed revealed himself, and there's numerous scriptures to support this. He has revealed himself as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The reason why I say that is that we find that all sins of blasphemy in regard to the Father and Son will be forgiven, but blasphemy of the Holy Spirit will not. Why? Because Holy Spirit, he is God. And we see numerous examples in the scripture where we find a poetic passage and it's speaking about God the Father and who's parallel to God the Father? God the Son.

So I think that it's very, very safe to say when looking at the scripture and when you're trained to interpret the Bible using the standard rules of hermeneutics and exegesis, that the scripture does indeed refer to the son of God, refers to the Messiah, the Christ as being divine. And again, I stand by this: If you reject the divinity of the Son, you haven't received the biblical Messiah. You don't understand what the gospel is, that God did something, that God left heaven, he took on human flesh. The incarnation is another important doctrine that the scripture has many verses that talk about how the Son became flesh and dwelt among us. So biblically we see that the divinity of Christ is indeed mentioned in the scripture. If you reject that, you haven't received the biblical Messiah.

Guest (Male): Correct. Thank you Baruch. The next question, and we've seen a bit of this in the headlines over the last two or three weeks: Are aliens and UFOs real? Recently Perry Stone said that 1,000 pastors were told by the government to prepare their congregations because what was going to be revealed would shake people's faith and make them question the Bible.

Just before I hand over to you Baruch, of course, anyone listening to Perry Stone is alarming. He is a known false teacher. He's always sensationalizing things. And from what I hear, this has all been now cleared up, that they were mentioning some government officials, the actual government officials denied that they had said any of this. And the documents that were revealed is in no way anything new from what we've seen in the past with blurred little pictures or things of that nature that of course was no reason for any alarm whatsoever. And the other people that were aligned with so-called the 1,000 pastors were people other false teachers like the Demon Slayers, the group of guys that regularly says that you need deliverance if you're a Christian. We'll talk about that in one of the last questions. But your comments Baruch.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, again, we need to base our beliefs upon the Bible. I do not see any evidence to believe that there are aliens or UFO crafts. I think all of this is false. Here again, I believe that it's something that people like to bring up and discuss this possibility, but we don't see any clear evidence for alien life, for UFO vessels and such. So I think it's, here again, people are talking about it. We want to respect people, but I don't put any credence whatsoever in aliens, UFOs, or stuff like that.

Guest (Male): And I think that also brothers and sisters, we need to be very cautious that the enemy will use any lie, anything to try and divert attention away from God's word, anything to put fear or doubt into people's minds and hearts and we just need to reject that. Let's proceed to the next question. Question 6: Why do so many Christians suffer so much around the world? Why does God permit so many bad things to happen to Christians? Your comments Baruch.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, we're living in an evil world. Therefore, those who walk according to the truth, those who want to be faithful, what we find is that they're going to be persecuted, the world's going to hate them. But here again, it's not a time for discouragement or doubt, but realize something. Again, we have to be biblical. What did Messiah say? Messiah says they hated me, they're going to hate you. They persecuted me, they're going to persecute you.

So this is not something that should be unexpected. In fact, what should we do? Well, as it says in the scripture, count it all for joy when you are persecuted for righteousness' sake. So let's not be discouraged, let's not doubt, let's not struggle in our faith, but realize we live in this world. This world does not belong to God. God's the creator of it, but the scripture also talks about the prince of this age, the prince of this world. And therefore what we need to realize is that we will be persecuted. It's really evidence of our new birth, that we belong to him and not to the world.

Guest (Male): Correct. And the other flip side of that, the other side of the coin is as well trials. Scripture is very clear. We've done videos on that as well Baruch, that as believers we will go through trials by fire and to not be surprised as if something was wrong with us when we're tested by fire. So there's two things that we need to take into account. Let's go to the next question. Some famous teachers say that miracles stopped at the times of the apostles. Do you still think they can still happen?

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, God is the same forever. Now I realize that scripture is speaking about Yeshua the Son of God, but God does not change. In fact, the scripture says he's immutable. So God doesn't change. If God did miracles in the past, and we know the Bible's full of them, of course, miracles are still possible today. And I'm oftentimes encouraged to hear different testimonies from people about a person who's been healed.

Now, here again, do they happen to the degree that they had in the past during the time of Messiah? No. But I believe that towards the end of this age, we're going to see once more a growing tendency for miracles to be the norm rather than the exception for those who are being persecuted for their faith, for those who are suffering because of their faith. God is faithful to provide. He's done this in a miraculous way in the past. So my answer is yes, God still is doing miracles today.

Guest (Male): Amen. And those that don't believe so, they're called cessationists, correct Baruch?

Dr. Baruch Korman: You're absolutely right.

Guest (Male): Okay. Next question. This person says, "I attend a church where they make me feel so unworthy. They tell me that unless I support Israel, follow the Sabbath, and don't eat pork that my salvation is not secure. Please help." It's interesting because before I go to you Baruch, we've seen this question come up as we meet every two weeks online with a Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters and also with English-speaking brothers and sisters separately and this has come up. And it's very sad to see that people are being oppressed by people that don't know scripture or being manipulative in some way. But I'll hand over to you Baruch.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, here again, salvation is by grace through faith, not of works. So this question is basically saying, listen, if you don't support Israel... should we support Israel? It's a good thing to do as Israel's following the word of God. If they are, we should support any types of obedience. If Israel's doing something that is against the will of God, then obviously we don't support Israel. All these things are based upon, well, I'm supposed to follow Shabbat, I'm not supposed to eat something. That puts the basis for salvation on man, what we have done. That is false.

The basis for salvation is what Messiah has done when he died upon that cross, when he shed his blood. The glory and the praise goes to God the Father for sending his Son into the world to do the work of redemption so that we can be saved. Again, the problem with this question is that it places salvation based upon our works rather than upon God's grace and upon faith. So it's very problematic that this person is attending a congregation where the leadership makes them feel unworthy rather than edifying. That's a big flag right there. And they don't understand that salvation is based upon faith and the grace of God, not upon works.

Guest (Male): Great. Thank you Baruch. Second last question: In my church they celebrate Halloween and they have female pastors. I feel uncomfortable there. Should I leave this church? And we get this often by the way. Your comments Baruch.

Dr. Baruch Korman: The short answer is yes. If they are celebrating things that are not biblically based, if they are in violation in fact... you mentioned Mexico City earlier in our broadcast... the thing that I was asked to speak on for the first night was, is it acceptable according to the Bible for women to be pastors? Obviously, I said no, it's not acceptable, it's not God's will and went through looking at several scriptures in order to document what the word of God says about this.

So I have no hesitancy whatsoever. If you're in a church and the leader of that church is a female, God is calling you out, away to leave that church. Do not stay there. This church has other problems as well, and I have no hesitancy whatsoever to saying: find another church. Pray about it, see where God wants you to be, but I can assure you God doesn't want you to be in that church.

Guest (Male): Correct, 100%. Run, run as fast as you can. The last question: There is a growing movement everywhere around the world that teachers say that Christians need deliverance regularly from demons. What is your view? Just before I hand over to you Baruch, and I will put some scriptures up on the screen.

We've done a couple of videos about this, whether it be false deliverance ministries, people teaching falsely about generational curses, things of that nature. I would say also run away from those type of churches and teachings. They are false. And I just want to put two scriptures up on the board, on the slide and then I'll come over to you Baruch. 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, a new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here." John 8:36: "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." I don't see any exceptions there whatsoever. But your comments Baruch.

Dr. Baruch Korman: Well, I think we're in total agreement here. First of all, if you are a believer, you are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not going to allow a demon to possess you. So no Christian can be possessed by a demon. So the whole basis of having to be delivered... now I would say this: We find deliverance because the word salvation is oftentimes related to a deliverance experience.

So the moment that you are saved, you are delivered from the power of the enemy and that enemy is not going to be able to possess you. You're not going to have a demon, none of this. So my response is those churches that are teaching that again, clear evidence to find another church. This is not where God wants you to be. You're not going to be fed there. You're not going to be encouraged there. You're not going to be edified there. Go someplace else.

Guest (Male): Correct. Amen. Well said. And I think tied to that, those people usually find, and I've seen it myself, that those people want you to come back. Why? Because they'll charge you for it. They'll charge an enormous amount of money. I've heard actual testimonies of people saying, "But I've gone and I've gone and I've paid and I've paid."

It's a scam and they're just after your money. Or they're totally ignorant of scripture or they're doing it deliberately just to keep people oppressed. Baruch from my perspective, what do you think is... you and I both concur, we've seen we've said that before, that convergence we're entering into what we say as the end days. But what do you think is the greatest danger to believers?

We know that scripture says Jesus said to the disciples deception. Beware that you not be deceived. So we know it's deception. Is it deception from false teachers? Is it people that are deceived themselves because they don't spend enough time in scripture, in the word of God and in prayer? Is it because they're listening more to family members or not wanting to offend other people and they'd rather be accepted by the world? What is your thought? What do you think is the greatest danger facing the body of Christ?

Dr. Baruch Korman: A lack of reverence for the word of God. I see it so frequently. When people are committed to biblical truth and you go to a church where the pastor is speaking, teaching the word of God... you know what I've always noticed about those churches? There is great diversity. People from different backgrounds, from different ethnic groups, different colors of skin. They come there because they all have something in common. They respect the word of God, they want to hear the word of God and that brings together a very healthy diversity that I think is so important. So reverence for the word of God.

The second thing I would say is this: that the message that I truly believe is most relevant for the church today is what Messiah said: pick up your cross and follow me. What is that saying? Get ready to suffer. And again, I realize that people want to hear, "Oh, we're going to be out of here before any pain, any suffering, any persecution." But I don't see it in the scripture. And we're obligated to share biblical truth.

So pick up your cross, follow me, and have reverence for the word of God. If you do, you're going to be amazed with how your life comes into a godly order. If you don't, then you're going to find that there's going to be deception, there's going to be a lack of power, a lack of the anointing of the Holy Spirit and you're not going to have a testimony that is pleasing to God.

Guest (Male): Amen. Well said. Well, brothers and sisters, I hope that this has been a blessing to you. We hope that maybe in future we will do other Q&A sessions like this as well. And thank you Baruch for spending this time. I know you've just got back from Mexico into Israel so I appreciate your time. So brothers and sisters, thank you.

Dr. Baruch Korman: I was just going to thank you for compiling all the questions and adding the scripture. I think it's a very necessary thing. People learn so much through questions and answers, so I commend you for reaching out and doing all the work so that we could have this short podcast.

Guest (Male): Thank you, my friend. God bless you. So brothers and sisters, thank you. If you haven't subscribed to the main Love Israel channel, we ask you to please consider subscribing, liking and sharing these videos. And if you have any questions for any future podcast, the email is seen now on the screen. You can write to us and we'll certainly add them to a future podcast. So from Baruch in Israel, from myself here in Sydney, Australia, thank you for joining us. Shalom and blessings.