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Amazing Facts

Doug Batchelor

Jean Ross

Fight the Good Fight

No volume ever written has been more loved and quoted, and its words, sometimes simple and sometimes mysterious, should always be studied carefully.

Welcome to Bible Answers Live, providing accurate and practical answers to all your Bible questions.

This broadcast is a previously recorded episode.

To receive any of the Bible resources mentioned in this broadcast, call 800-835-6747.

Now, Here's your host from Amazing Facts International, Pastor Doug Batchelor.

In 1969, a well-groomed 74-year-old gentleman was jumped from behind as he walked down 53rd Street in New York City.

The muggers had the surprise of their lives as the old man broke loose, spun around, and proceeded to knock both of his assailants flat with his fists, leaving them sprawled on the sidewalk.

They might have thought twice if they had known the old man they'd singled out as an easy target was a former professional boxer.

But not just any boxer, but the ferocious world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey.

He was known as 1 of the toughest boxers in history and a hero for the likes of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

When later asked by reporters Dempsey replied, I guess I was just acting out of instinct.

He knew how to fight in a pinch because he had practiced in real life.

You know the Bible says every believer must train to fight the good fight of faith against the attacks of the devil.

You know you can read about that in First Timothy, Pastor Ross, where it says in chapter 6, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called, and have confessed a good confession in the presence of many witnesses." Sometimes people are told that, you know, once you accept Jesus, everything's going to be fine.

They don't Really understand that there's going to be struggles the Christian walk sometimes involves battles It says we run we wrestle we war we strive and People need to know that there's a fight and you can train in preparation for a fight.

You know before an army goes into battle they go into training.

They call it boot camp and they prepare so that they can be successful in battle and as Christians there is preparation that we can do so that we can be successful in the most important battle of all.

Often in the Bible the Christian and the church is like an unto us soldier and an army and we are fighting in the Lord's cause, not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers as Paul puts it.

How can we resist the assaults of the devil?

It's called Tips for Resisting Temptation.

If you've made a decision to be a Christian, you know about temptation because the devil does not want people to follow the will of God, to keep his commandments.

We'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks.

The book is called Tips for Resisting Temptation.

And if you have a smartphone, You can just dial pound 250 and say Bible Answers Live and then ask for the book, Tips for Resisting Temptation and we'll be happy to send that to anyone out there.

You know Pastor Doug, it's so important that we as Christians as you mentioned in the beginning recognize that once a person gives their life to Christ, the battle isn't over.

And if ever we need the armor of God and the Spirit within us, it's living the victorious Christian life.

And that's 1 of the messages throughout Scripture from Joshua to Gideon to David that there are battles involved but if you're fighting in God's battle, He gives you strength and He'll give you victory.

Well, before we go to the phone lines, as we always do, we would like to begin the program with prayer.

Dear Father, we Thank you that we have this opportunity once again to study your word.

We know that the Bible is like a sword that the Christian needs when he battles against the forces of darkness.

So we pray that you guide us as we open up your word and study together.

Pastor Doug, we also want to welcome all of those who are joining us.

I know we have folks who are watching on AFTV, also listening on the radio.

Those who are listening also on Facebook, the Doug Batchelor Facebook page, the Amazing Facts Facebook page, also on Amazing Facts YouTube, and on AFTV.

I think I mentioned that and some who are watching on Hope Channel.

So we'd like to welcome all of those who are participating in this live interactive international Bible study.

And if you have a Bible question, the phone line here to the studio is 800-463-7297.

800-GODSAYS and that will bring you here into the studio with your Bible question.

Our first caller this evening is Anthony, listening in New York.

My question is based on Exodus chapter 8, verses 22 and 23, and I guess the question is, why did the Israelites have to suffer the first 3 plagues, and why did God only, you know, make a division between the Israelites and the Egyptians on the fourth plague?

Well another way to say that that's very interesting is why did God then deliver them from the 7 last plagues?

And if you look in Revelation, of course, God delivers his people during the 7 last plagues in Revelation.

But I think 1 reason is because God reminds us that people suffer as a result of decisions of others.

None of the Israelites were in Egypt because of a decision they had made.

They were suffering because of a decision their ancestors had made.

And why are we suffering in a world of sin?

People suffer because of a decision our ancestors made going all the way back to Adam and Eve and subsequently others since then.

So I think God is illustrating that even in a war, even innocent people suffer.

And so yes, they did experience the first 3 plagues and they were not the most catastrophic part of the plagues.

The plagues started easy you might say and they got tougher and tougher as it went along.

You know we do have a study guide that talks about the origin of evil and why we live in a world with sin and why do good people sometimes suffer?

The study guide is called, Did God Create a Devil?

It's part of our set of amazing facts study guides.

Again, we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks.

The number is 800-835-6747 or dial pound 250.

You can say Bible Answers Live and then ask for the study guide.

And of course we'll send that to anyone here in the US, in North America, Canada.

Hi, my question is, are we living in the book of Revelation?

I get this from Matthew 24, you'll see plagues and pestilence, wars and rumors of wars, these are the beginning of sorrows, and Revelation 8, 7.

The world will end by fire and hail fire everything west of the Rocky Mountains 75 wildfires going on for 6 months and took to put them out and then hail you go to YouTube hailstorm, Georgia, Texas, France.

They show you hailstorms, size of baseballs going through windchills.

And so even now, atmospheric rivers, we never had that 10, 5 years ago.

Well, in a word, yes, we are living in the book of Revelation because Revelation, the prophecies actually begin with, he says, the time is at hand.

So Revelation is covering a span of history from the first coming to the second coming of Jesus.

And so we're definitely living in the time of Revelation.

And I think we're also living in the time of Matthew 24.

As a matter of fact, Jesus said there'll be wars and rumors of wars, but the end is not yet.

In other words, don't let every war that comes along make you think this is the end.

But what you would see as you got closer to the end is that the wars and the natural disasters and earthquakes and the plagues and pestilence would increase in intensity and frequency.

Jesus talks about it as birth pangs and when a woman's about to have a baby, you start the contractions and as the contractions get closer together, they get more intense And then you've got a baby eventually.

So that's what's happening is as we near the end of time, it's almost like a top as it's about to fall over.

And our whole planet is sort of gyrating right now.

Paul says the whole creation groans and travails together And so I do think you've seen an increase the last world wars in the last century we're unprecedented and now we've got weapons and you know if if Russia uses 1 of its nuclear weapons and how many other countries have nuclear weapons now?

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Fight the Good Fight

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