S1: When life gets tough, it's hard to receive any encouragement.
S1: How can how can we keep hearing from God even
S1: in tough times? Stay with me. We'll talk about that
S1: in just a moment. Hello, friends. Welcome to Open Line,
S1: Moody Radio's Bible study across America. My name is Michael Wright.
S1: I'm the academic dean and professor of Jewish studies and
S1: Bible at Moody Bible Institute. I'm so grateful to be
S1: joining you around the radio kitchen table. And we're talking
S1: about your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life.
S1: If you have a question and you'd like to call
S1: the phone number, here is (877) 548-3675. Let me give you
S1: that number once again. You can write it down 83675. Also,
S1: I'd encourage you if you've had a question and you
S1: wanted to get through but weren't able to. This is
S1: the best time to call right here at the beginning
S1: of the hour. Call (877) 548-3675. Best time to get through.
S1: Of course. Our senior producer is Tricia McMillan. Ably assisted
S1: today by Lisa and Tahira. Omar Mendoza is our tech guy.
S1: Today Rihanna is answering the phones. Thanks for all that
S1: this team does to make Open Line an effective program.
S1: Thank you so much for all that. Again the phone
S1: number (877) 548-3675. Time to get yourself a cup of coffee.
S1: I've got mine right here. Open your Bible. We're about
S1: to study the scriptures together. I have a friend who
S1: recently lost a job. It was sudden. It was unexpected.
S1: And there is a great deal of anger and bitterness
S1: and hurt that came about as a result. And it
S1: wasn't just anger at his former employer, but angry at God.
S1: How could God allow this to happen? And as a result?
S1: There is. It almost became a bitterness in his heart
S1: against the Lord. Sometimes God wants to give us encouragement.
S1: He wants us to be lifted up. Even in tough times.
S1: It doesn't matter if it's loss of a job. It
S1: doesn't matter if it's maybe even a difficulty with a
S1: relationship or an illness or whatever it is that you
S1: feel or I feel might be oppressing us. How do
S1: we get encouragement from God? I was thinking about this
S1: the other day. I've been reading through the book of Exodus,
S1: and I came to Exodus chapter six, and it's where
S1: God promises because he heard the outcry of of the
S1: Israelite slaves in Egypt, and he promises that he's going
S1: to send Moses, and he wants Moses to encourage the
S1: people because they were slaves and they were oppressed, and
S1: they were facing such difficulties. And God said through Moses,
S1: tell the Israelites, I am the Lord, and I will
S1: deliver you from the forced labor labor of the Egyptians.
S1: This is Exodus six six and following and free you
S1: from slavery to them I will redeem you with an
S1: outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. I will take
S1: you as my people, and I will be your God.
S1: You will know that I am the Lord your God,
S1: who delivered you from the forced labor of the Egyptians.
S1: I will bring you into the land that I swore
S1: to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will
S1: give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.
S1: God gave a great encouraging message to a hard pressed
S1: people facing a tough time. And I want to focus
S1: on verse nine. This is what struck me. Moses told
S1: this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to
S1: him because of their broken spirit and hard labor. That
S1: just shook me. God had the most encouraging, uplifting, most
S1: positive message for them, and they couldn't listen because of
S1: their broken spirit, because of their suffering, because of how
S1: tough times were. I was really struck by how true
S1: that is in our lives. How do we make ourselves
S1: open to God Even when we feel broken down in situation,
S1: how do we stay open to the encouragement of the
S1: Lord when we're broken? How do we avoid the mistake
S1: that the Israelites made when they couldn't hear the encouraging
S1: message from Moses? Well, I thought about that a good bit,
S1: and I thought back to a time in my life
S1: it was about 25 or 30 years ago. I went
S1: through the toughest time in ministry that I'd ever faced,
S1: and I was so unbelievably discouraged. And I wanted to
S1: hear from the Lord, and I didn't feel like I
S1: was receiving any encouragement. And so I thought back, how
S1: did I keep it together in that tough time when
S1: I wanted to throw it all out? How did I
S1: stay open even when I felt broken? And as I
S1: contemplated that experience from all those years ago, I came
S1: up with three principles I think we should all live
S1: by when we're going through tough times. And here they are.
S1: First of all, focus on the Word of God that
S1: we can't stop being in the word. When life gets tough,
S1: we have to stay in the Word of God. It's
S1: essential that we read the word. Study the word, hear
S1: the word. Uh, we need to receive the Word of
S1: God because it reveals God's character, what he's really like.
S1: It reminds us of the truths of of God's Word
S1: and the that God is going to work all things
S1: together for good. We need to be in the word
S1: when we're going through tough times. Instead of saying, I
S1: am so fed up with what God has to say,
S1: I'm going to. Throw this out. And so, uh, John 1717,
S1: the Lord Jesus said, sanctify them in the truth of
S1: his disciples, of his followers. Your word is truth. Whenever
S1: life is going hard, tough or struggling, we have to
S1: be reminded constantly of what is actually true. So we
S1: have to stay in the Word of God. Secondly, we
S1: have to stay faithful no matter what. Sometimes we use
S1: hard times as an excuse to say, oh, I've been
S1: trying to be so faithful and obedient to the Lord,
S1: but you know, I'm being persecuted. I'm facing tough times. What?
S1: He's abandoned me. I'll just abandon him. No. It's better
S1: for us to be obedient in tough times rather than
S1: use it as an excuse for disobedience. I was taken
S1: by the concept in the book of First Peter. In
S1: First Peter it says that what credit is there if
S1: you sin and are punished and you endure it if
S1: you deserve it. That's he says, if you deserve it,
S1: what good is it if you do? If you do that,
S1: it is better, according to first Peter, to be obedient
S1: to God. Uh, it's better to suffer for doing good
S1: if that should be God's will than for doing evil.
S1: First Peter 317. It's so important that we stay faithful
S1: and obedient even when life is hard. Instead of saying, yeah, well,
S1: life is hard and that's that's natural for when we're
S1: being disobedient to God. No, we are going to stay
S1: faithful that that is what brings honor to God, that
S1: we're going to stay faithful no matter how hard life gets.
S1: And so first, if we want to be open when
S1: life is going tough, well, first of all, we need
S1: to stay in the word. Secondly, we have to stay obedient, obedience.
S1: Stay faithful. And the third lesson I learned was we
S1: need to receive the encouragement of God's faithful people. In
S1: Hebrews 1025, it tells us not to forsake the assembling
S1: of ourselves together, as is the habit of some. Because
S1: they were facing persecution, they were facing tough times, and
S1: they were abandoning their community. He says. It's important that
S1: we not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is
S1: the habit of some, that we might receive encouragement and encouragement.
S1: That's the point of Hebrews 1025. It's when we're really
S1: broken down and struggling. We need to be in community
S1: because it is God's people that will bring us hope
S1: and encouragement and strengthening. We need to be in our community.
S1: I look back at that tough time in my life
S1: and it was my congregation, my community of of faithful
S1: followers of Jesus who knew the tough time I was
S1: going through and kept bringing me encouragement. It was my pastor.
S1: It was my friends. It was what I needed to
S1: hear because they were the ones that God was using
S1: to bring me encouragement. So how do we stay open
S1: when we're broken? Most important, we have to be in
S1: the word. Stay faithful and stay in our community. Be
S1: faithful in our community. And that's what God will bring
S1: us through the tough time and finally lift us up.
S1: I hope that's an encouragement to you. If you're going
S1: through a tough time. We're going to go to the
S1: phones right now. We're going to talk to Dan in Tipton, Indiana,
S1: listening on WGN. Welcome to Open Line, Dan. How can
S1: I help you today?
S2: Hi. Good morning Michael. We're doing a summer series on
S2: the canonical structure of the Psalter, using your team's The
S2: Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy, which we just love. And
S2: speaking of one two Samuel, chapter 23, verse one and two.
S2: David's favorite thing was to write about Messiah. We are
S2: told in the book. And yet there was a little
S2: change to a word that went, rendered the word concerning it,
S2: rendered it on high. And that's just a fascinating thing.
S2: And I don't know if you want to talk about that,
S2: but what I'm curious about is, is there a way
S2: for me to find the original Septuagint version or whatnot
S2: that shows it as concerning, as opposed because everything that
S2: I read shows it as on high?
S1: Everything you read in the Septuagint?
S2: No. Every every translation of scripture that I seem to get,
S2: whether it's on the internet. Okay. My Bibles at home.
S1: Okay, let me explain. For those of you playing at home,
S1: let's let's see if I can explain this in second
S1: Samuel 23. Uh, it does indeed read in the Hebrew
S1: Bible as, uh, on high, and I'll read you the verse.
S1: It says the oracle of David, son of Jesse, the
S1: oracle of the man raised up on high. There's what
S1: it says. Uh, the one anointed by the God of Jacob.
S1: And my version says the favorite singer of Israel. But
S1: it should be the delightful, the delight of the songs
S1: of Israel. That's a literal translation. And now the problem is,
S1: is that the word in Hebrew that's translated on high
S1: is the word al. And in English we would say,
S1: but in Hebrew There's a vowel that tells us it
S1: means on high. Now, in Hebrew, the vowels weren't added
S1: into the Hebrew Bible until somewhere by the 10th century A.D..
S1: Most people don't realize that that the vowels, the little
S1: lines and dots and stuff that are vowels in Hebrew,
S1: they weren't in the original Hebrew text of the Bible.
S1: They were put in by rabbinic experts at texting at
S1: the text of Scripture. They were called the masoretes. They
S1: put them in between the eighth and 10th century A.D.
S1: that's how old they were. And the Septuagint actually reads
S1: it not on high, but rather with the. They translated
S1: the word epi. All they, they read it with a
S1: different vowel, not a different letter. They understood a different
S1: vowel to be under it. And they translated it with
S1: the Greek word epi, which means concerning. So the earliest
S1: version we have of that, that passage sees it as concerning.
S1: And if we read it this way, it says the
S1: oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the declaration or
S1: oracle of the man raised up concerning the Anointed one,
S1: or the Messiah of the God of Jacob, the delightful,
S1: one of the songs of Israel. David says that he
S1: is writing about his favorite subject, the delightful one of
S1: the songs of Israel, who concerning the Messiah, the anointed
S1: one of the God of Jacob. Now, that may seem
S1: a little complicated, but that's, uh, in the Moody Handbook
S1: of Messianic Prophecy. And if you read it, Dan, you
S1: can see the explanation for it. And the best way
S1: to see it is just read a Greek Septuagint Greek
S1: translation from the second century BC, and you'll see that
S1: the word there is epi concerning. Perfect. Okay.
S2: That's awesome. Thank you so much for your teaching, Michael.
S2: We love you.
S1: Yeah. Thank you, I appreciate it. Thanks for calling, Dan. Well, we, uh,
S1: we're going to take a break. But before we do,
S1: I want to mention our current resource. Uh, it is
S1: a terrific tool. I'm so grateful. And it's the very
S1: last week that we're offering it. So it's important for
S1: you if you're interested in this. Our resource is the
S1: Ultimate Bible Dictionary by Holman. Holman publishers produced the BNA,
S1: produced the my favorite Bible translation. Uh, the Holman CSB.
S1: And they have produced this one little Bible dictionary. So
S1: if you don't know what a place is or, uh,
S1: an event that's mentioned in the Bible or a person,
S1: you can look it up in this little bitty book
S1: and it'll give you a real quick explanation of what
S1: that is, and you'll find that really helpful. So don't
S1: miss out. All you need to do is call 447122
S1: or go to Open Line Radio and make sure when
S1: you give a gift of any size, you ask for
S1: the ultimate Bible dictionary. We'll be right back with more
S1: right here on Open Line with Michael Ray Dolnick. And
S1: we're back. My name is Michael Ray. This program is
S1: called Open Line. You can call with your questions about
S1: the Bible. (877) 548-3675. If you have a question about the
S1: spiritual life, a question about some truth about God, I'll
S1: do my best to answer it. We're going to talk
S1: with Michael in North Carolina right now listening on 104.3.
S1: Welcome to Open Line. Michael. How can I help you today?
S2: Uh.
S3: Yes. Michael, can you hear me? Okay.
S1: Yeah. You sound great.
S3: Okay, good. You do too. Um, I have a question. Um,
S3: I was studying Psalms 132, and, uh, I was looking
S3: at the promise that God made David that his descendants
S3: would always sit on the throne. Um, and, uh, I
S3: was wondering. And it pointed. Also, I was looking at
S3: theological theme of that, that particular chapter. And, um, I
S3: see that God's covenant with David, um, I think is
S3: pretty sure even through the millennial reign. I was just
S3: wondering when Christ sits on the throne during the millennial
S3: reign and David's helped Co-ruling will he have a throne
S3: to sit on also? Or am I? I don't think
S3: the Bible say, what do.
S1: You think? Bible doesn't say. But here's what I would say.
S1: You're thinking of verses like in Ezekiel and, uh, places
S1: like that where it speaks Hosea. Here's a verse that
S1: I'm thinking of. Uh, it says that Israel is Hosea
S1: three four. The Israelites must live many days without king
S1: or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod
S1: or household idols. And that's pretty much the period of
S1: time now that we're in. For many days, Israel hasn't
S1: had a king. Uh, no sacrificial system, no temple, no
S1: priesthood operating, uh, and no idolatry. But then it says afterward.
S1: And that will be, I think, at the end of
S1: the tribulation period, the people of Israel will return and
S1: seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and
S1: they will come with or to the Lord and to
S1: his goodness in the last days. And so that's the
S1: verse you're thinking of, where it says, David, I don't
S1: believe it means literal. David. I don't think David will
S1: be co-regent in the Millennial Kingdom. I think that this
S1: is saying David, their king, meaning the Son of David,
S1: the greater David, the one that was promised to have
S1: an eternal house, kingdom and throne. The descendant of David,
S1: and is just using David as the name of the father.
S1: The the starter of that household, that dynasty. But it's
S1: not referring to David. It's talking about the Lord Jesus,
S1: the Son of David.
S3: And they did refer Jesus being the Son of David, right?
S3: That's right. So that's that sort of makes sense. But
S3: that was just I hope it wasn't a stupid question.
S3: It just.
S1: No, no, it's a great question. Because why does it
S1: say David. Well, that's they're using David as the, the king.
S1: And by the way, every time I think this is
S1: a cool thing, I was just talking with a couple
S1: of dear friends, uh, in Israel and recently two Jewish people,
S1: instead of waiting for the end of days, sought David,
S1: their king, and the Lord their God. And they came
S1: with all to the Lord just recently. You don't. Only
S1: the nation will do that at the end of days,
S1: but individually, Jewish people do that all the time. So.
S1: But when in saying seeking David their king, it's talking
S1: about the Son of David, the greater son of David. Okay.
S3: Yeah. And one of the things I found was this
S3: is while David is expected to have a prominent role,
S3: the Scripture doesn't explicitly state that he will share a
S3: throne with Jesus. So that makes very much sense, doesn't it?
S1: Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, I don't know what kind
S1: of role he'll have. Uh, the reason people think he'll
S1: have a prominent role are those verses where it talks
S1: about David ruling over the people, but it's not. Again,
S1: in every one of those passages, I believe it's not
S1: talking about literal, David. It's talking about the literal Son
S1: of David, the Messiah. So okay.
S3: Thank you. Thanks, Michael. Appreciate it. I've just heard you
S3: a couple times on the radio, and I love the program.
S3: Thank you very much.
S1: Thank you so much, I appreciate it. Uh, we're going
S1: to talk with Tony, uh, in Ketchikan, Alaska, on Abc-Tv.
S1: I guess in Alaska, they have five letters in their stations.
S1: Welcome to open line, Tony. How can I help you today?
S4: Yes. Good morning doctor. I have a question and a comment,
S4: if you please. And I just to say that I
S4: finally became a kitchen table coffee partner, and I.
S1: Oh. Thank you.
S4: Oh, no. Thank you sir. And they enjoy the the
S4: gift that they send me. It's a beautiful cup of coffee. Uh.
S1: Coffee cup. Great. I'm glad. You know, we drink a
S1: lot of coffee or tea. I love for tea. Also, uh,
S1: here on Open Line. Hey, uh, how can I help you?
S1: What's your question?
S4: I the question is regarding revelation 13 one three, verse
S4: 16 and the 14th verse 11, and the best way
S4: I can describe it to you, my comment or my
S4: question is that I imagine the Cowboys, when they round
S4: up the cows and to brand them so the cows
S4: trying to run away, and the cowboys, they circle the
S4: cow and then they rope and and they put them
S4: on the ground by force and then they brand it.
S4: So when at the day of judgment, how God is
S4: going to judge me or anyone with a mark of
S4: the beast because we got the mark by sheer force.
S4: Are we going to be God to send us into hell?
S4: Or how is it going to judge us?
S1: Well, first of all, let me just say I don't
S1: believe that you or I will be there. I think
S1: the the rapture, the Lord will descend with a shout
S1: and snatch us away. The body of the Messiah. Away
S1: before this ever happens. And so I don't think it's
S1: possible for you to receive the mark of the beast
S1: that's right up front. But even though there will be
S1: and there will be believers in the tribulation period, if
S1: you read revelation 1316, it says that he requires everyone,
S1: small and great, rich and poor, free and slave to
S1: be given a mark on his right hand or on
S1: his forehead so that no one can buy or sell
S1: unless he has the mark, the beast's name, or the
S1: number of his name. So it's something that he requires
S1: for economic participation. It's not something that they will round
S1: people up and do to them. There will always be
S1: an element of choice. Uh, sort of. I yeah, I
S1: hate to say this, but there are some governments that
S1: made the, uh, Covid vaccine required. Uh, and it's not
S1: like they rounded people up and gave it to them
S1: against their will, but they were basically said, you can't
S1: enter this arena. You can't, uh, go to this country,
S1: you can't do anything unless you are vaccinated. So it
S1: was a requirement and people could choose, say, well, I'm
S1: not going to do that. I'm not going to do that.
S1: That's how it turned out. Uh, so I think that, uh, I,
S1: I wouldn't, uh, be concerned about it because it's always
S1: going to be a matter of choice. And also it's
S1: not going to be an issue for you because you
S1: and I will be taken away First. Okay, Tony.
S4: I have a comment for you and I believe you
S4: will ask this. You will like this one. What it
S4: would be. Because with so many questions in the Bible,
S4: what it would be for the open line to be
S4: available 27 7/24 every day available.
S1: I don't know. We'd have to get a lot more
S1: people to answer the questions, because I'm not up to that,
S1: but it's available all the time via podcast. You can
S1: go back and listen. You can listen on Moody. The
S1: Moody Radio app, it's available there. In fact, you can
S1: you can go online. I think it's about a year
S1: and a half of program so you can catch up
S1: right there. Tony. Appreciate the interest and I really appreciate
S1: you being a kitchen table partner. Uh, in fact, let
S1: me take a minute, folks, and tell you about what
S1: it means that Tony said he's become a kitchen table partner.
S1: Kitchen table partner is someone who is has committed to
S1: give monthly. So Open line can be on the air weekly.
S1: And just as I mentioned in the previous segment, that
S1: we have a a opportunity for people to give a
S1: gift of any size. And it's, you know, it's a
S1: great time to do that because it's the end of
S1: the fiscal year, and it really helps us out at
S1: this time to to meet our budget. If that's something
S1: you'd like to do, we'll send you that book, the
S1: Ultimate Bible Dictionary. But other people sign up to give
S1: monthly and they become kitchen table partners. And what I
S1: do for them is I provide a digital Bible study
S1: every other week. Trish and I produce it, and right
S1: now we're going through the book of Ephesians, and we
S1: go through and we study something about 5 or 10
S1: minutes that you can click on in your email. And
S1: of course get a nice mug apparently is what Tony
S1: was telling us. But appreciate all of you who decide
S1: to become Kitchen Table partners. If you'd like to become
S1: a kitchen table partner, all you have to do is
S1: call 447122 or go to open line radio.org. Well, some
S1: of you mail in questions. The way you do that
S1: is go to Open Line radio.org and click on the
S1: link that says Ask Michael a question. If you do that, well, uh,
S1: you'll get a place where you can put your question
S1: and it gets put in the mailbag. Trish is going
S1: to be in here in a minute. And we're going
S1: to talk about the questions you've mailed in. It's time
S1: for the Febc mailbag. So stay with us. We'll be
S1: right back here online. Welcome back to Open Line. I'm
S1: Michael Rey Dominik. And so glad that Tricia McMillan is
S1: joining me right now with the Far Eastern Broadcasting Company mailbag.
S1: Grateful for Far Eastern Broadcasting Company for partnering with us
S1: and bringing you the mailbag every week. Febc does wonderful
S1: ministry among people using media and personal outreach. It's a
S1: really terrific organization. I hope you'll check out their website. Org.
S1: It also has a link there to their podcast called
S1: Until All Have Heard featuring Ed Cannon. Check that out.
S1: I think you'll really like it. Hey, Tricia, how are
S1: you doing?
S5: I'm doing well, thanks.
S1: Yeah. I'm so glad to see you. It's really fun.
S1: And I see the mailbags kind of growing. And so
S1: I think we should try to answer as many as
S1: we can.
S5: Hopefully we we try every week. Yeah. Well, our first
S5: question is actually a combo. We had Amy in Minnesota
S5: who listens to KFC and Bradley in Pennsylvania, who are
S5: both asking about how to respond to people being killed
S5: in Gaza. Um, okay. So I'm going to read.
S1: Amy ask.
S5: Amy asked how do we respond to the innocent victims
S5: in Gaza?
S1: Okay.
S5: Bradley's include some numbers. And so I'm going to read
S5: these numbers.
S1: Um, start with this whole question.
S5: Okay. I will read this whole question. How is it
S5: not a genocide in Gaza when 54,000 Palestinians have been
S5: killed and counting 70%? Some say 90% of all buildings
S5: in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged. £140 million of
S5: bombs have been dropped on Gaza, which is more than London,
S5: Hamburg and Dresden combined during World War two, and 2
S5: million people are facing famine. It seems that every day
S5: reports of IDF forces opening fire on unarmed civilians come.
S5: How is this not genocide? And why should we support
S5: the secular state of Israel and assume that they have
S5: good intentions?
S1: Wow. Well, that's not just wanting to know how to respond,
S1: that is, that deserves some response directly to it. I've
S1: been very open about saying this is not a genocide.
S1: That's mostly propaganda that you hear. But let's start with
S1: Amy's question. How do we respond to the innocent victims
S1: of Gaza? I think we should respond with great concern
S1: and great care. I think that that's imperative. I think
S1: Israel has done their best with the innocent victims, the
S1: civilians in Gaza. Here are some of the things that
S1: they have done. They've created pathways for civilians to go
S1: to safe areas. They've sent leaflets directing people with maps
S1: about where to go. They've sent text messages, phone calls,
S1: directing people. Every time Israel has gone into a given area,
S1: they have moved people into safe zones. Now, what I
S1: think is a tragedy here is that typically in war situations,
S1: the neighboring countries will open up the border and allow
S1: refugees to go there temporarily while the war is going on.
S1: Egypt has absolutely refused to do that. So that would
S1: be the most natural thing to set up refugee places,
S1: refugee camps in the Sinai, just south of Gaza. And
S1: there all the aid workers could go. It wouldn't be
S1: an issue. Sadly, Egypt absolutely refuses to do that. They
S1: don't trust bringing any Gazan civilians into Egyptian sovereignty, but
S1: that would be the normal way. That's what happened in
S1: the civil war in Syria. That's what happened in every
S1: kind of war situation. The civilians are allowed to leave,
S1: but the the Egyptians won't allow that. But Israel has
S1: done their best to try to get Gazans out of
S1: the line of fire. I would say when there are
S1: civilian casualties, I wouldn't blame Israel. I would blame Hamas.
S1: That deliberately embeds among civilians and does everything they can
S1: to keep civilians from leaving, to go to safe zones,
S1: sometimes even firing upon them if they try to leave,
S1: to go to the safe zones. So that's what I
S1: would say about the civilian population of Gaza. Let's take
S1: Brad's question. How is it not a genocide when 54,000
S1: Palestinians have been killed and counting? Well, that's the first question.
S1: 54,000 is the figure that we have received from the
S1: Gaza Health Health Organization. Now, what's crazy about that is
S1: that's Hamas. So the figure 54,000 is coming from Hamas.
S1: And you can't trust the numbers of a terrorist organization.
S1: But let's presume they're accurate. Israel has admitted to us
S1: That they have killed 24,000 Hamas combatants. That's the result
S1: of this war. So 24,000 are actual not civilians, not
S1: women and children, but actual combatants. So that reduces the
S1: number from 54,000 to 30,000. A recent study came out
S1: and found that 8000 natural people who died of natural
S1: causes also were included in that 54,000 number figure. So
S1: that reduces it from 54 to 20 24,000 leaves 30,
S1: then take 8000. That's actually 22,000 that are civilian casualties
S1: if that. The other thing, studies have been done showing
S1: that the ratio there of 22,000 civilian casualties is probably unlikely,
S1: but it is. Let's just say what it is. That's
S1: what it is 22,000. So there's about a 1 to
S1: 1 ratio of collateral damage. I hate that expression because
S1: those are people. But a 1 to 1 ratio of
S1: civilian death to, uh, to combatant deaths in close quarters
S1: urban combat. That is the lowest ratio in any urban
S1: setting in history. Imagine that the lowest ratio of of
S1: civilian collateral damage in a close quarter urban combat setting.
S1: And the reason for it is because Hamas embeds among civilians.
S1: They do. They consider every civilian casualty a victory for
S1: Hamas because it hurts Israel's reputation. And so that's why
S1: they want to have civilian casualties. They celebrate, they glorify
S1: civilian casualties, and that's why they don't want people to
S1: leave those areas where Hamas embeds, which is in mosques, schools, hospitals,
S1: places like that. John Spencer, who teaches at West Point
S1: in the area of close quarters urban Combat, has said
S1: that this is the lowest combatant civilian to combatant ratio
S1: in any war in history. In the United States, when
S1: we fought in Fallujah and places like that are in Afghanistan,
S1: in in Iraq, are civilian when we fought ISIS are
S1: civilian to combatant ratio was six civilians to every one
S1: combatant in the United States. So that's quite a different number.
S1: But mostly I would say Hamas responsible. Hamas started the war.
S1: They murdered 1200 Israelis and also foreigners. They took 251
S1: people hostage. They broke a ceasefire that was existing. They
S1: embed among the civilian population. They tunnel under homes, hospitals, schools.
S1: They consider every civilian death a success that helps them.
S1: So let's recognize that Hamas is responsible. Now, it's not
S1: a it's not. Anyone looking at those numbers objectively would
S1: know this is not a genocide. If Israel intended to
S1: have a genocide, then think about it. There would be
S1: no one left in Gaza. They Israel certainly has the
S1: firepower to carpet bomb, which they haven't done. Now, Bradley
S1: has looked at these numbers here. £140 million of bombs
S1: have been dropped on Gaza more than London, Hamburg, Dresden.
S1: I don't think those numbers are accurate, according to John Spencer.
S1: And so I would say they're not accurate. However, that
S1: I would say this the difference between Dresden, Hamburg and
S1: London Is there were no tunnel system underground to. Protect
S1: the terrorists. Hamas has built what they call the subway.
S1: It's miles and miles of of underground tunnels, not used
S1: to protect the people, but to protect the terrorists and
S1: to hide the hostages. And that is why there needs
S1: to be heavy bombardment to take care of those tunnels.
S1: Although Israel does quite a bit in going through the
S1: tunnels with dogs, with soldiers to try to avoid civilian
S1: deaths and destruction. Now it says here in this question,
S1: I'm looking at it carefully. Uh, 2 million people are
S1: facing famine. They are absolutely not facing famine. That's untrue.
S1: Israel has allowed much of the foods to come into Gaza,
S1: much more than Hamas even wanted. Hamas steals it and
S1: then puts it into their warehouses, where they charge exorbitant
S1: prices to civilians and then use that to fund their terrorism. So, no,
S1: it's interesting when when the United States and Israel formed
S1: this group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the CHF, and they
S1: started giving food away to people. Well, tragically, uh, Hamas
S1: began to fire upon civilians who were trying to get
S1: food for bad people to get food from there. And
S1: then they began to open their warehouses and start giving
S1: food because they were holding food back from the Gaza
S1: civilian population. Uh, so there isn't a famine. It's just
S1: not true. Uh, it's it's again propaganda. Um, and so
S1: when I look at this, it says they're facing famine.
S1: No they're not. And then it says they opened fire
S1: on unarmed civilians. That's a report that Hamas gave that
S1: Israel was doing it, when in fact Hamas is firing
S1: on civilians trying to get aid. And the newspapers that
S1: printed those stories about Israel firing on civilians, unarmed civilians
S1: going for food, had to retract those stories because they
S1: just weren't true. Here's my point. We, as followers of Jesus,
S1: need to remember that no lie is of the truth.
S1: And there are a lot of lies being presented here, uh,
S1: to people. And I'm not saying, Bradley, you're making the
S1: lies up, but we have to be discerning. We have
S1: to understand what the truth is. The truth is available
S1: out there, and we should check it. Uh, I don't
S1: think that there's any question that the truth is out there.
S1: That's why people like John Spencer, who is a professor
S1: at West Point and President Biden before. And even now,
S1: our government says there is no genocide happening in Gaza.
S1: We need to know that the truth is available. Don't
S1: make yourself gullible and believe every lie that's being promoted,
S1: every bit of propaganda by Hamas. That's what I would say.
S5: Where how do we know that the the the source
S5: is true? Or what are the true sources that we
S5: could check to find the accurate info?
S1: Well, I would say that we have to be really careful.
S1: I think there like there's an organization called Camera Org
S1: and that checks the media constantly for the lies. Here's
S1: what happens Hamas presents lies. The New York Times, The
S1: Washington Post, various newspapers or news organizations will then print it,
S1: and then camera will correct them, and then they will, uh,
S1: do it. So camera org. Honestreporting. Com uh, also the
S1: Times of Israel. Com. Those would be helpful things. I
S1: hope this helped a little bit. Tricia. Uh, we'll be
S1: back with more questions on the phone in just a moment.
S1: Stay with us. That was Tricia McMillan. I'm Michael Radnich.
S1: Welcome back to Open Line. So glad to be with you. Uh, and, uh,
S1: I did want to mention, you know, we're talking about
S1: the situation in, in Israel and the, the war with Gaza.
S1: The nation is really struggling, even though there was a
S1: successful campaign in taking out the nuclear weapons, the nuclear,
S1: the nuclear program of Iran. It seems like it's a
S1: tough time in Israel and as a result. People wonder
S1: is what does the future hold for Israel? Well Chosen
S1: People Ministries, one of our ministry partners, is offering a
S1: free booklet. It's called Israel's Glorious Future. It's a reminder
S1: of God's faithfulness about his covenant promises that he's made
S1: to the Jewish people, and how he will fulfill them.
S1: It's a great book that helps you understand Israel's glorious future.
S1: If you'd like a free copy. Just go to our website.
S1: That's Openline Radio.com. Click on the link that says Free
S1: Gift from Chosen People Ministries, and that will take you
S1: to a page where you can sign up for your
S1: very own copy of Israel's Glorious Future. Also, I did
S1: want to mention something that today is the last. Well,
S1: this is the last week I am going to be
S1: on a winter cruise in December on a tall ship
S1: in the Caribbean, and I'm going to be teaching the
S1: Bible every day. Uh, we're going to study the Book
S1: of Daniel for this week long cruise. If you're thinking, wow,
S1: in the winter time, I'd like to get out of town,
S1: study the word worship, uh, and and also enjoy the
S1: the warm weather on this cruise. Uh, it's something that
S1: I think you'll really enjoy being in the Caribbean if, uh,
S1: if you'd like to join us for that, today is
S1: the last day. To sign up, just go to Openline
S1: radio.org and scroll down to where you see the link
S1: to my personal website, to my personal website, and you
S1: click on that, and then you'll be able to find
S1: out more about the Bible Conference on a cruise, uh,
S1: coming up in December, uh, we're going to talk to
S1: James in Auburndale, Florida, listening to, uh, welcome to Open Line. James,
S1: how can I help you today?
S6: Yes. Just a quick question. If you could be able
S6: to answer it for me, I would appreciate it. Um,
S6: if you love someone on this earth all these years
S6: and I'm talking about a husband and wife relationship, and
S6: they loved each other at the end of their love,
S6: the relationship more than they did when at the beginning
S6: of their marriage. And you know that both of them
S6: were saved. And then when you get to heaven, I
S6: always thought that the Lord would say, if you loved
S6: each other this way you can be able to stay
S6: with each other for all eternity. Well, something just saddened
S6: me because I just opened up the Bible last night
S6: and I was reading Isaiah chapter 65, verse 17, where
S6: it says, for behold, I create new heavens and a
S6: new earth, and the former shall not be remembered or
S6: come to mind. I am saddened. Can you be able
S6: to please tell me, is there anywhere in Scripture where
S6: it says what I was just talking about, where you
S6: would be able to stay together for all eternity with
S6: each other, and I'll hang up and listen to your response.
S1: No, no, don't hang up. Don't hang up. Can you
S1: hear me? Okay.
S6: I'm still here.
S1: Okay, good. Don't hang up. Well, I just want to
S1: be really clear that it talks about that every tear
S1: will be wiped away. Uh, and I believe when it
S1: says that past events will not be remembered or come
S1: to mind, it's sort of a figure of speech saying
S1: that the pain of the past will no longer be remembered.
S6: That when it reads exactly like I'm saying, I'm reading
S6: verbatim where it says it will not even come to mind.
S6: That kind of hurt.
S7: Uh, well.
S1: Uh, listen to what I'm saying, James. Okay. Uh, it's
S1: not saying that you won't remember anything, because then you
S1: won't remember. Jesus. Okay, uh, what it's saying is it's
S1: referring to the painful events of our past, and I
S1: don't even. I'm not even sure that, uh, it means
S1: that we won't know the bad things that happened. It
S1: just means that the pain of the past will not
S1: be remembered. The the. There'll be a loss of the pain.
S1: And now what I'm saying to you is this is
S1: a figure of speech for explaining how it is that
S1: we will no longer have tears or sorrow in the
S1: new creation. That's what it's talking about. It's not saying
S1: you won't remember your spouse. Okay.
S6: The reason why I'm saying is I'm still single, never
S6: been married, no children floating around out there. I'm one
S6: of those rare breeds. I always felt that.
S7: Okay. James. James.
S6: I'm trying to say is, when I'm reading this in scripture,
S6: I saw my parents how they loved each other and
S6: things like that.
S7: James. James, I.
S1: I heard what you're saying. Uh, do you hear what
S1: I'm saying?
S6: Yes, sir. And also, I was wanting to say this.
S6: When we do get to heaven, our love for God
S6: is going to be more than our wives or even ourselves.
S6: Because that's what we're supposed to do. Our love is
S6: going to be so greater. Yes. We supposed.
S7: Okay. Okay. James.
S1: James, are you looking forward to having the pain of
S1: this life comforted and removed?
S6: Yes.
S7: Well, that's what.
S1: That verse is promising. Okay, uh, don't make it say
S1: more than it's meant to say. Um, there there are many,
S1: many things that we will remember. Uh, we'll remember that
S1: Jesus died for us and rose again. And that he's
S1: our Redeemer and that we will follow him forever. We'll
S1: remember that. We'll remember the pain, the the, the redemption
S1: from the past, from that pain will remember all those
S1: ones that he gave us and we loved. And and
S1: so you don't have to stress out about not remembering things.
S1: It's not like God has a neuralyzer and we forget
S1: our past. Uh, okay. Uh, Uh, that he'll wave in
S1: front of our heads and life will just begin at
S1: the new heavens and new earth. It'll. It'll will last forever.
S1: With great memories of the great things that God has done.
S1: Thanks for your call. Really appreciate it. Well, that's the
S1: first hour of Open Line. I can't believe how quickly
S1: that went. Uh, keep listening to the second hour on
S1: most of these stations. And if you can't catch the
S1: second hour, you can always go to our website. You
S1: can go to the Moody Radio app, or you can
S1: go get the podcast, check out our website during the break. Uh,
S1: it'll keep you up to date on everything you're looking for.
S1: You can see the things that, uh, that are there
S1: about being a kitchen table partner or, uh, or getting
S1: our current resource. The Bible study across America will continue
S1: in the second hour, so stay with us. Open line
S1: with Doctor Michael Ray Dolnick is a production of Moody Radio,
S1: a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. Be right back.