Join Steve Schwetz and Dr. J. Vernon McGee as they unravel various challenging biblical questions posed by passionate listeners. From exploring the controversial topic of baptism for the dead and distinguishing between professing Christians and true believers, to understanding how ordinances from the Old Testament apply post-crucifixion, this episode offers thought-provoking insights. Listeners share their concerns and queries about biblical translations and manuscripts, prompting a discussion on the King James Version’s prominence in modern Christianity. For anyone seeking a deeper comprehension of scriptural teachings and prophetic messages, this session is a treasure trove of wisdom, bringing clarity to complex
00:00:00 Introduction and Proclamation of Pentecost
On the great day of Pentecost, Peter stood before the crowds and proclaimed the good news of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. To support his sermon, he quoted King David’s prophecy that Christ’s soul would not be left in hell. Did Jesus’ soul go to hell? Well, stay with us as our Bible teacher, Dr. J. Verna McGee, deals with this topic and more on today’s question and answer program.
SPEAKER 03 :
of 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 have fled.
SPEAKER 1 :
Fear not, I am with thee.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is Steve Schwetz welcoming you to another edition of the Question and Answer program with our Bible teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, who for over 30 years answered the many questions of his listeners. So pull up a chair and open your Bible and prepare yourself for the wit and wisdom Dr. McGee brings to the understanding of God’s Word. Now let’s get to those questions. We start with a question from a listener in Pacific Grove, California. He says, Malachi 4.1-3 seems to indicate that the wicked, those who have rejected Christ, will be completely destroyed. Would you please comment on these verses?
SPEAKER 02 :
May I say to you that these verses were given in the last book of the Old Testament about 400 years before Christ came into the world. And so it had a present meaning in that day and it classifies those. the wicked that have turned away from God and God’s system at that time, the Mosaic system. Now let me read those three verses. For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord.” of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch, but unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings, and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall, and ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.” Now, he says in the day that he does this. Well, you have to determine what day he’s talking about. And Malachi is looking forward to that day when God will establish his kingdom here upon this earth. And at that time, the wicked are to be removed from the earth. As far as their bodies are concerned, they’ll be utterly consumed. There’ll be nothing in the world but ashes on the earth to walk upon. But they are to be raised for a final judgment at the great white throne judgment, but they’ll be removed from the kingdom. You remember the Lord Jesus said when he comes to establish his kingdom, he’ll send his angels to gather his elect from the four corners of the earth, that is, those that are going to enter the kingdom. Now, that hasn’t anything in the world to do with the rapture, the rapture of the church. He doesn’t even come in the neighborhood of this little planet we live on. We’re to meet him out yonder, we’re told, in the air. That word for air is up air. It means space. We’re to meet him out in space. That’s not the second coming of Christ, you see. So when you put this into its correct position here, when you say the wicked are to be utterly destroyed, far as their life on this earth is concerned, yes, they are through, by the way. And that ends it all.
SPEAKER 01 :
We turn now to 2 Peter 2, verses 20 through 22. A listener in Los Angeles asks, does this passage refer to saved Christians or to those who profess to be Christians?
SPEAKER 02 :
I’m turning now to 2 Peter 2, verse 20, and I’ll begin reading there. And it says, For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they had known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” Well, he’s talking here about those who profess to be Christians. And we’re living in a day when there’s a great deal of profession. In fact, the way that many churches are receiving people into membership is on the basis of self-esteem. If they think well of themselves, then they’re a candidate for membership. The fact that they’re a sinner, and need a savior? That’s another question altogether. That’s not necessary. And as a result, there are a great many people today that are professing to be Christians that apparently are not Christians at all. They do not know what it is to be saved as a sinner by the precious blood of Christ. That to them is way out. That’s for somebody else. It’s not for this fine group of people who are filled with self-esteem. But Peter makes it very clear. that it would be better for these people actually never to have heard the gospel. Dr. Gaebelein used to conclude a message by saying, if you are here today and you reject Jesus Christ as your Savior, I’m the worst enemy that you have. because you could never go into the presence of God and say that you did not hear the gospel. You see, God judged Israel more harsh and more severe than he did any of the nations round about, and that is still obvious today. Why? Because they had the light and they turned from it. These other nations did not. I like to put it like this. I think God’s going to judge America harsher than he’ll judge Russia. You can’t get the gospel through an accent by radio. Apparently there are a great many Christians in Russia, but there’s no gospel preaching. But today it’s all over the radio. It’s all over the TV today. It’s everywhere today. Some of it may not be clear gospel, but nevertheless, the word of God is going out today. And to turn from it and have heard it creates a tremendous responsibility, you see. And that’s what he’s talking about here is that and that alone, by the way.
SPEAKER 01 :
Acts 2.31, speaking about David, says, He, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. So, a listener in Asheboro, North Carolina says, Did Jesus’ soul go to hell?
SPEAKER 02 :
Now, I would like to begin by attempting to straighten out this word hell. I guess it needs straightening out, but I’d like to at least give a proper understanding of it because there’s probably no word in scripture that’s more misunderstood And the word hell, when it was translated in the King James and even before that in the Old Testament, it was the word sheol. And sheol simply means the place of the departed. And that could be either the body or the spirit. It’s used in both sense. It speaks of the grave and then it speaks of the spirit. And the New Testament word is Hades. And Hades, it means the same thing. It’s the unseen world. It’s where those that die go. And we understand that there is two compartments there. the place that’s Abraham’s bosom, or the place where the blessed go, and then the place where those that are lost go. Our Lord gave a parable of the rich man and Lazarus, and I don’t think he ever made up any parable. I think he took it actually from real life. And he actually brought a name into this one, which he usually didn’t do. And I feel like the reason he did it was in order to accentuate the fact that this was something that was true to life. He’s seeing this before. Spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Now, these two places He’s talking about not hell as we understand it today or we popularly use the term, the expression that the world has of go to hell. Well, they mean something entirely different than what the Scripture is talking about. The Scripture describes the place of the lost, the eternal death, as the lake of fire, and that’s in Revelation. Both Sheol and Hades, meaning that same thing, practically, that they speak of that which is temporary, actually, because the dead are to be raised, we’re told, that way the lost are saved. And therefore, we say the grave will give up its dead. Well, nobody’s coming from hell because that’s not opened up till you get to the end of the book of Revelation. Now, the way that I would explain then Acts 2.31 is that Peter on the day of Pentecost was preaching a sermon, and in that he was showing that Scripture was fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ. and that the thing that had happened, this miraculous thing that had taken place, and men couldn’t explain it, and then they tried to be facetious and tried to explain it away, Simon Peter stood up and said, look, I want you to know that this thing that has happened is according to the fulfillment of prophecy, and a prophecy that says that the Messiah will be raised from the dead, and Jesus, Whom you took and crucified, he is back from the dead.” Peter had seen him as well as the others had seen him. And then did Jesus’ soul go to hell? He went to the place that paradise is. That’s another name for it, but he went to paradise. and he never went to the place of the lost and preached the gospel to them because they had had that when they were here on earth and had rejected it and there’s no second chance given as far as we know and therefore the word there means he went to the place where these people go that die that are christ today and then we’re told that at his resurrection and ascension He led captivity captive. That is, he took these folk that had died, all Old Testament saints, and took them with him when he returned back to heaven. Now, I think that I’ve answered your question.
SPEAKER 01 :
A woman from a small town in Arkansas is concerned about a comment made by Dr. McGee. She says, You said that the ordinances, rituals, and laws were done away with at the cross. Yet Jesus said, Think not that I come to take away the law, but I come to enforce it more. So eating an unclean animal such as a pig is unlawful. A pig was unclean then and is unclean now. We should not change scripture. Would you please explain how you could say this?
SPEAKER 02 :
May I say to you that you have misquoted the words of the Lord Jesus. He didn’t say, think not that I’ve come to destroy the law, but to enforce it more. I’ve come to fulfill it. Now, that’s his exact language that is used in the Sermon on the Mount. I have come to fulfill the law. not to enforce it more. And I don’t know what translation you’re reading from, but that’s one of the objections I have to some of these translations. They make a change like that that’s a radical change and it’s not accurate at all. So your very quotation is totally inaccurate. He came to fulfill the law. You see, there was prophecies written concerning him and there was law. He came and fulfilled the law. He proved that you can keep the Ten Commandments. Man hadn’t been able to do it. He’d proved that. Therefore, man would have to have perfection. And how can man have perfection? Only the righteousness of Christ today can enable us to stand before God. How do you get that righteousness? Because he died on the cross, paid for sins, and he rose again to give us a righteous standing before Almighty God. That’s the thing that he did. Now, you say that the pigs was unclean, still is. I think so, too. I agree with you. But don’t say that it’s against the law today not to eat pork. It was in Israel. It was illegal. It’s not illegal today for a Christian to eat pork if he wants to. Paul says, whether you eat meat or whether you don’t, it makes no difference. Meat will not commend us to God, but for health reasons, I think it is certainly true. I think there are many things that Scripture gives that are good health reasons in the law that would, if you follow them, you’ll be healthier, but it hasn’t anything to do with your relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER 01 :
Now, this listener in West Milton, Ohio, has an interesting question. He says, what happens to a Christian who dies suddenly and still has unconfessed sin, such as adultery?
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, may I say to you that Paul also makes the statement that if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. Therefore, he’s not judged himself. Therefore, he’s going to be judged in the presence of Christ. It is possible for a Christian to take care of the sin question down here. That is, as a Christian, that he’s done something wrong. And if he makes that right, we confess our sins. He’s faithful and just. Forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, that’s for the Christian. That is a message for the child of God. And if the Christian will confess. Now, if he dies suddenly like that, and I’ve been trying to think how committing the sin of adultery, how he could not have time, you know, to confess that. And the only way I could think of is for the husband to walk in and shoot the man in the very act. And that would give him no chance. But if he’s a Christian, he’s going to have trouble, my friend, at the judgment seat of Christ at the Bema. And it’ll be settled there. You can be sure of one thing. And I wondered why you asked that question.
SPEAKER 01 :
A listener in Memphis, Tennessee provides extensive background on the various manuscripts behind the translation and revisions of many versions of the Bible. He’s particularly concerned about Dr. Charles Ryrie’s comments on a few passages from the King James Version. He says, Has the King James suddenly become inaccurate, outdated, and wrong to the extent that we can’t vouch for its validity?
SPEAKER 02 :
I use the King James. Now, I refer to other translations, and I believe that there are places that today scholarship has determined that because of other manuscripts, and I do want to add to what this person has said, something that they did not mention, that some of these later manuscripts that have been found And because there were manuscripts that go back of the ones that the King James used, that they felt like they were more valid than the manuscripts used for translating the King James. Now there are a group of scholars of equal merit of the others that have determined that the manuscripts that the King James scholars use are actually of more value and more dependable than the later ones, that is, the ones that were translated near our time in which we live, and that the older manuscripts are not necessarily the better manuscripts. Well, that, may I say, is something that we need to take into consideration. And I, in my own limited way, have to go along with some of these men that are outstanding conservative scholars today, that there are places. And those of us who today contend for our plenary verbal, our verbal plenary inspiration of the scriptures, we only insist that the autographs were inspired and that we today have a translation in the King James that we can depend upon. That is indeed the Word of God. And the very fact that there happens to be a few and very few places, and none of them involves any of the doctrines that we hold today, that we do have a valid translation. But for goodness sakes, friends, let’s recognize certain other things and not be so stubborn and bigoted that we do not recognize that there are conservative scholars today. And since you mention him, I know Dr. Chuck Ryrie very well. He’s not infallible, but he is a conservative scholar. And I don’t know this brother here that’s written to me from Memphis. He assumes a great deal of scholarship, but I doubt whether he’s in a class with Dr. Ryrie. He may be, but I would much rather accept Dr. Ryrie than what he’s written to me. And let me say, I hope that he’s holding to the King James as well as we are today.
SPEAKER 01 :
1 Corinthians 15.29 speaks about the baptism for the dead. So a listener in Forsyth, Missouri says, would you please explain what baptism for the dead means?
SPEAKER 02 :
1 Corinthians 15 29 reads, Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead? What Paul is talking about here is the fact that here is a person that has accepted Christ as his Savior, trusted his death, and now his resurrection, And he’s told here there is to be a program that God intends to follow from here on, that Christ is the first fruits. Then those that are Christ are going to be raised. And that is another passage of scripture that reveals that the rapture takes place before the tribulation the christ the first roots afterward they that are christ and is coming he’s coming to take his church out of the world you see and that’s called the rapture of the church now he says to them back in verse 20 of this chapter but now is christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that’s left For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, that is, all that are in Christ. But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, and he shall have put down all rule and authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. Last enemy shall be destroyed as dead, for he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is accepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all and in all. else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?” In other words, what Paul is saying here, when you become a child of God, you belong to Him now, and if you live for Him, then these things that are going to take place, you’ll be raised to be with Him. But then he faces the issue here. But if the dead don’t rise, else what shall they do? Which are baptized for the dead, that is, identified as dead. When you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, as he says in Galatians, the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. God forbid, he says, that I should glory, saving the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that you and I are dead to the things of this world. And then why should you be baptized for the dead, identified as a dead person in this world, if the dead do not rise? Why are you then identified as dead people if all this is gibberish and is not actually true? historical fact. That is the thing that Paul is saying here and it hasn’t anything to do with going through a ceremony to be baptized for the dead. Now this is something again that is practiced by one of the cults today, Mormonism. and this is their passage of Scripture. And again, you’ll generally find that practically all the cults take some passage of Scripture and misinterpret it and rest their entire doctrine, their entire program on one little passage of Scripture, and that they misinterpret. That’s true here, and it was true also in the other passage that we looked at today.
SPEAKER 01 :
Are you looking to that day when Christ will come for the church? Do you have hope in the living Christ who will resurrect the dead and call the living to his side? Maybe you’d like to know more about the rapture and what God’s word says about it. Well, if so, we suggest that you get a copy of Dr. McGee’s booklet, The Rapture Comes Next. We have both a printed version and an e-booklet download for your review. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Making a request by mail is also easy. You can write to Questions and Answers in the U.S., Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C, 6B1. Now, be sure to join us on the Through the Bible radio program this week, heard Monday through Friday on this station. We’ll continue Dr. McGee’s five-year study of the whole Word of God. Now, we pray that our God will answer all your questions and solve all your problems.
SPEAKER 03 :
This program has been brought to you by the faithful friends and supporters of Through the Bible Radio Network.
