Thru the Bible - Questions & Answers

Steve Schwetz: Since God is the creator of all things, does this mean He also created evil? If so, does this make God responsible for all of man's evil actions? We'll find out by staying with us to hear the answer to these questions and many more.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent word. What more can He say than to you He hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus hath fled. Fear not, I am with thee.

This is Steve Schwetz for the Thru the Bible Radio Network, and you're listening to the Question and Answer program with our Bible teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee. Now, we hope that you'll be able to join us for the next 30 minutes as we learn from the wit and wisdom that Dr. McGee brings to answering the questions of his listeners.

We begin today with a topic concerning the prophetic. A Los Angeles listener sends this question: "Would you please explain the signs of the coming last days, which you don't mention in your notes on the book of Daniel?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Well, may I say to you that it would be a little difficult for me even on the Question and Answer program to exhaust that, for I personally believe that there are many signs that are in existence. The coming events do cast their shadows. I do not think that there's the red signal up, but I do think that the orange signal is up today. That means stop, look, and listen, if you please.

Now, the first one I would say, and I'll enumerate them briefly, is the apostasy in the church. There is a great apostasy that exists in the church today. And I think, frankly, that that is the most impressive one at all. Then the very fact that in the West, you're seeing the need for Western Europe to be brought together. And that will take place under the revived Roman Empire. That is to be in the last days.

Then there's that great Northern Confederation of nations, which we see in existence today. And then there is the sign of Israel being back in the land. There is the sign of the great awakening in the Far East. And then the very fact of this atomic age. For if you read 2 Peter 3, you'll see that the heavens are to be dissolved with fervent heat. These are some, I think, of the most spectacular signs. There are many other signs given in the scripture concerning the last days.

Steve Schwetz: Here's a question from another listener in Los Angeles who writes: "I've heard you explain on two occasions the following passage, but I'm still not clear on it. Could you please explain again what the meaning of this passage is: 'Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and the other left.'?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, the reference that you are making is, of course, to Matthew the 24th chapter. That section of Matthew that has to do, if you please, with the Olivet Discourse. Now, the Olivet Discourse is not given for the church. It hasn't anything again to do with the church. It's our Lord answering these apostles three questions: "When shall these things be?" One stone not left on another. "What shall be the sign of Thy coming and the end of the age?"

Now, the end of the age is when He comes to this earth to establish His kingdom. And it has to do with the Great Tribulation period. Now, He says, "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the time of the coming of the Son of Man." And then He goes on to say that in the days of Noah, before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

That is, the world will not expect it when He comes, anymore than they expected a flood in Noah's day. They'll not be expecting the coming of the Son of Man. I want to pause to just make this comment. Now, I do not know this, but as a student of the Word of God, I believe that God at the end of the age—and I think we're at the end of the age—God apparently is going to permit man to do some phenomenal things.

And wouldn't it be a terrific thing if a man went to the moon and returned from the moon? You must admit that would be a remarkable feature. In fact, that would dull the edge of the return of Christ. So you could well understand that if that takes place, that after the church is removed, then men in that day would not attach very much significance to it. They'd say, "Well, sure, we've had a man that's been to the moon and back, and we know something about that. We're not expecting anyone to come from heaven. That is something that we are not looking for."

In other words, the miraculous, the supernatural, and the startling thing about it would be removed. And as a result, it would be more or less like today the unbeliever looks at the life of the Lord Jesus. They say, "Sure, He lived. He was a good man. He's a wonderful teacher." But they've taken off the supernatural: His birth, His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension, you see.

Now, they'll do that in that day. So that it'll be as it was in the days of Noah. They said, "That old man's out there building a boat on dry land. We think he's a little touched in the head. We think that he's just being a little fanatic." They didn't know until the flood came, took them away, what really had happened. Now, that's the way the coming of Christ is going to be.

Now, the resultant situation is stated next: "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, the other left." All right, let's look at that for a moment. Now, the thing that our Lord was talking about was the days of Noah. Let's go back and look at the days of Noah.

Now, those people didn't know until the flood came was coming. And what happened? Who was really taken off? Was it Noah? No, it was Noah and his family that were left. Who was taken away in judgment? Why, it was the whole civilization of that day. The whole Cainite civilization was wiped out by the flood. They were removed.

Now, it's going to be like it was in the days of Noah. The church will have already been taken out of the earth and will have been raptured and is with Christ. Now, He's coming in judgment. Two will be in the field. One's going to be taken. Taken where? In a rapture? No, that's been taken place. And after all, Christ is coming to the earth to establish His kingdom. So there'd be no taking away, except for what? In judgment.

Two shall be in the field. One's going to be taken away in judgment, the other left for the millennial kingdom here upon this earth. And there'll be two grinding; they'll be working together side by side. Today it'd be in a factory, maybe out at one of these defense plants. Here's a man that's a Christian. He's taken away at the rapture. That's happened long before.

But wait a minute. The rapture of that man caused another man there to turn to God. But another old scoffer, he didn't believe a thing and he's not impressed. So when our Lord comes to establish His kingdom, the scoffer is the one taken away—not in a rapture, friends, but taken away in judgment, if you please, just like it was in the days of Noah.

Now, I've spent a little time with that again. In fact of the matter, I have given you a rather extended discussion of this, and I've done it for a purpose because apparently there must be several people that have heard me give this several times, and they still miss the point. And you ought not to miss the point. We don't want you to miss it. This is very important to get.

Now, I suppose that one of the difficulties is that when people have been taught one thing so long and heard it so much, that it's difficult for them to change. Actually, that ought not to be. We are told today, in fact, one of the most eminent of the world's psychologists, Dr. Adler, has made studies, and his findings are that you can learn just as much when you're 50 years old as you could when you were 5, or 15, or 25.

Somebody says, "Now wait just a minute. I know that's not true because there was a time when I could memorize, and today I can't memorize." Yes, you can. You memorize just as good today as you could then. Oh, you said, "No." Well, wait just a minute. Have you tried it? The thing is, you just haven't tried it, have you?

Actually, people can learn more at 50 than they could when they were 15. I wish that I could get over to you older people today that these great truths of the Word of God that you learn wrong so many years ago, that you can get them straight if you will. And so set your mind to it. And what I've said today relative to this passage that so many people have said it refers to the rapture, when it doesn't have any reference to it at all, see it in its setting, in its context. And then, friend, you just won't have any trouble with it at all from now on. I appreciate the question, however, because it has enabled us to clarify this very moot sort of thing.

Steve Schwetz: We turn now to a question from a listener in San Francisco who writes: "Would you please explain what the Christian's attitude toward abortion should be? Does the Bible provide any guidance in this area?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Well, relative to abortion, it was not practiced, as far as we know, in Bible days as such. It is actually a modern device. And the question goes back to: what is abortion? Is it just a surgical operation that relieves a woman of the fact that she's going to have a baby, and for some reason she does not want to have a baby?

There could be several reasons. Probably the baby would be born because the woman was raped. It could be because of the fact that for some reason, it would save the mother's life. The mother might die if the baby was not taken from her. You'd have to explore and find out why it was performed. Now, if it was performed just to get rid of the fetus and keep a woman from having a baby because, very candidly, she does not want the baby—now, there could be several reasons for that.

May I say to you, it would actually be murder. And the scripture, I think, is very clear on that. There's no way of escaping it. If you go to Psalm 139—that's the one I have been using for years, and I notice now it's being used pretty well as the reason—and I consider it a very good scripture. In fact, there's nothing better than this. Listen to David as he said he attempted to get away from God.

And he tried every way. But no matter whether he went into heaven above or hell beneath, why, he could never escape God. Francis Thompson years ago in the poem "The Hound of Heaven" thought of God as pursuing just like a dog that's on a scent. Just never get away from him. Some thought the poem was irreverent or blasphemous, actually, and I don't really think the author had that in mind.

Now, I think that it was to show how tenaciously God keeps on our trail. And that's what David is saying here. He says, "For Thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." Now, he was a person in his mother's womb. "I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

He's speaking of the fact the way a child is made in a mother's womb. He says, "My substance was not hid from Thee." Now, he's not even talking about a body here. He was just a substance. And he says, "When I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth." Down in the depths of a woman's womb, why, he was formed. "Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect."

It wasn't hands and feet and eyes and nose. "And in Thy book all my members were written." God knew about it. The person was not even formed, but it was a person. "Which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." And there was no members of the body at all. But David says, "I was a person, and even then I couldn't get away from God."

And, my friend, you don't get away from God when you take a child out of the womb before its time for it to come out, to get rid of it. That's murder. Nothing in the world but murder. You've destroyed a person. And you'd be arrested if you took a knife and put it through the heart of a person who's walking down the street. But that person was a person in his mother's womb.

And had you taken it out of the mother's womb by some kind of an operation, that's murder. And there's many a person today guilty of murder that actually would say, "I would never take a gun and shoot anyone." No, but you do something that actually may be worse than that. You're taking the life of somebody that would have been somebody in this world.

And that is terrible because we think today that killing a little child is worse than killing an old man. Fact of the matter, they think about getting rid of the old man and old women. But the children, it's terrible. Why not go right on back to where they begin? And that's actually more terrible, I think. And the scripture's very clear, I think, at this point.

That should be the Christian's viewpoint toward abortion. It's described in the Word of God as murder, and a Christian has to take that viewpoint of it. Now, there are times when operations have to be performed to save the life of the mother. And there are many operations that are performed today where the life is at stake. A doctor, I know, said to me, "I don't know that this will get rid of cancer for you, but I have to perform it." And sure you're going to have it performed; you want to save your life, but you might lose it on that operating table also.

Steve Schwetz: This Visalia, California listener wrote about a man who said that since God created man and knew that he had evil in him and was predestined to be evil, then man could not be held responsible for his actions. So the listener writes: "Would you please explain the biblical perspective of this comment?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Well, may I say that that's the old chestnut that comes around. And that is today coming out as a fruit of this strong doctrine of election which is being taught today, apparently on the radio, and it is a terrible thing. This leads to a very horrible doctrine. So let's look now at what's being said here: that God created Lucifer or the devil. God did not. I disagree with that.

God created him, we're told, as an angel of light next to the throne of God, which means he was to guard the throne of God. Now, God gave to him something that He apparently does not give to all of His creatures. He gave to that highest of all creatures free will. He could determine his own course. And he could disobey God.

And if the only thing he could do was to obey God, he'd be a robot. And I think that many of God's creatures are like that. I was back East and we heard a noise and looked out the window, and there was geese flying over. And we hadn't had but one little cold spell. What was it that caused those geese to fly south?

Why didn't a little old goose stay up there and say, "Well, I'm going to stay up here this winter. I don't like making that trip down there; you have to pack your suitcase and live out of a suitcase for several months. I'm just going to stay here." Why doesn't one of them do that? Well, because God sent the little fellow down there. You say, "God did it?" Yes, He did. How'd He do it? By instinct. God's put that in them, and they obey Him like that.

You and I are different. You and I, God's creature that's given a free will as Satan had free will. I think a lot of the angels just bow down and worship Him because that's all they know to do. Then I think there's a great company of angels higher than the others—there are gradations of angels—and they are given a free will. And they've already seen what's happened.

Lucifer disobeyed God. And that's what brought sin. What is sin? That which is contrary to God. Why is it wrong to murder? Because it looks like some people it'd be nice to get them out of the way. Why is it wrong to murder? Well, it's wrong to murder because God says it is. That's the reason. There's no other reason for that.

We'd be lawless creatures on this earth because we were given a free will. And what happened? Man disobeyed God. And today you can go on disobeying God as much of the human family is today. Now, God didn't make you that way. That's what was brought upon you by the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. That came to you through your birth. You still have got that free will, and you can make a decision for God if you want to. That's entirely up to you.

Now, somebody says, "What about the election of God?" Well, you know, God has never let me in on the inside of all of this. I hear some people talking as if they are the fourth person of the Trinity. They talk as if they are on the inside, and they say there is the elect and there's nothing you can do about it; God'll see to it that He gets His own and I don't have to do a thing.

You can take that position, but that's a cop-out, if you ask me. That's a cop-out, anyone that takes that kind of a position today. And that is not election. Election means that God knows and you don't know, and that every person has a free will. And when God says, "whosoever will may come," that whosoever will could be Vernon McGee. Thank God it was. It could be you, my friend, whoever you are. The free will of God says that you can make the choice.

Therefore, this idea of taking the position of the cop-out is just not exactly accurate. You don't have all the information, and I don't have all the information. Don't misunderstand me. I don't want to speak like a know-it-all, because that's the thing I resent in these people that are talking on election today. They act as if they know it all. They seem to me that they're saying to God, "Move over. I'm going to sit next to you and tell you about how things are going to be run."

You don't know how things are going to be run. God hasn't let anybody in on it at all. And He's told us to go and preach the gospel to every creature. That's our responsibility. And the other part is the Holy Spirit. He seems to know who to touch and who not to touch, and I don't know that. And we have no right to talk like this at all. It's a part of your fallen nature that is reacting when we hear a person speak like this.

So that you cannot blame God for the devil. God created him an angel of light with tremendous responsibility and a free will, a free will that could choose against God, and he did. If you want to know what free will is, that creature had a free will. And you've got a free will. And you know you have.

You can make a decision. You can get up from where you are now, and if you've got the money, you can fly to the other side of the earth if you want to. And if you don't have the money, there seems to be all kinds of things you can win today that will give you a trip around the world. So get with it, brother. You've got a free will, and you have a free will to accept God and to take Christ as your savior.

Steve Schwetz: Today's final question comes from a listener in El Cajon, California who writes: "My Sunday school teacher contends that we have no obligation to witness. I quoted him the Great Commission and John 15:16. He said the first is not for us, and the second means to show fruit and is fruit of the spirit. I said fruit was souls for Christ, as in 'be fishers of men.' Could you please resolve this issue?"

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Well, may I say to you that if I were you, that I would not argue on the tack you're arguing on, because your teacher's winning the argument because the teacher's right. John 15:16 reads: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you."

Now, that does mean the fruits of the Spirit in your life. That's actually in John 15. The first part of that chapter deals with this matter of fruit-bearing. And that fruit-bearing, I believe, is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life. And a Christian that has that kind of fruit in his life is going to be a very good witness for Christ.

But why not approach him from a different viewpoint? Because of the fact that fruit-bearing has to do with the Christian's life, but we're also in the fishing business. And we're also sowing seed in the world, which is the Word of God. That's what the Lord Jesus is doing. He is the sower. The field is the world, and the seed's the Word of God.

Our business is to sow seed in the world. And it's very comforting, especially if you're not doing anything to get out the Word of God today. You can just sit back and take a ho-hum position as the world around us is going straight to hell. We need to witness. And we need to get out the Word today. And we need to fish in this old muddy fish pond of this world because the Lord wants us to do that. He called His own; that was to be their main business.

Steve Schwetz: And that's the main business of this ministry. We here at Thru the Bible, with your support, are taking the whole Word to the whole world. We're proclaiming the Word of God through the airwaves and on the internet, bringing the message of salvation to the multitudes. As we bring today's program to a close, we'd like to encourage you to join us during the Thru the Bible Radio program heard every Monday through Friday on this station.

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Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow.

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