WEBVTT - Hour 1: The Biblical Journey 0:00:08.690 --> 0:00:11.900 My ultimate human role model went to be with the 0:00:11.900 --> 0:00:14.420 Lord just a couple of weeks ago, and he finished 0:00:14.420 --> 0:00:18.529 his life so well, so faithfully. What does it take 0:00:18.530 --> 0:00:22.610 to end this life well? Stay with me and we'll 0:00:22.610 --> 0:00:27.020 talk about that in just a moment. Hello, friends. Welcome 0:00:27.020 --> 0:00:32.450 to Open Line with Michael Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America. 0:00:32.479 --> 0:00:35.930 I'm Michael Redneck, I'm the academic dean and professor of 0:00:35.930 --> 0:00:39.350 Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute, and I 0:00:39.380 --> 0:00:42.650 am back from Greece and Turkey and Italy. I'm so 0:00:42.650 --> 0:00:45.260 glad to be here with you, sitting around the radio 0:00:45.260 --> 0:00:48.860 kitchen table and I'm taking your questions about the Bible, 0:00:48.890 --> 0:00:53.360 God and the spiritual life. If you have a question 0:00:53.360 --> 0:01:00.270 and you'd like to call, the phone number is 3675. 0:01:00.300 --> 0:01:08.280 That's (877) 548-3675. Here's a little clue. People need to know. 0:01:08.310 --> 0:01:10.080 They say I try to call. I can't get through. 0:01:10.080 --> 0:01:12.060 The best time to call is right at the beginning 0:01:12.060 --> 0:01:15.179 of the program. So you store up your question, get 0:01:15.180 --> 0:01:20.790 ready and and then call right now. (877) 548-3675. You're more 0:01:20.790 --> 0:01:23.429 likely to get through and to get on the air 0:01:23.430 --> 0:01:27.000 with your questions. So I appreciate you calling. Now, Tricia 0:01:27.000 --> 0:01:30.300 McMillan is sitting in the producer's chair. Ryan McConaughey is 0:01:30.300 --> 0:01:34.410 our tech guy. Today. Tiara is answering the phones. Or 0:01:34.410 --> 0:01:38.610 is it Tahira who's answering the phones today? Tiara I 0:01:38.610 --> 0:01:41.190 see her I see to here to here is in 0:01:41.220 --> 0:01:43.649 the in the booth there waving at me right now. 0:01:43.650 --> 0:01:47.130 So she is not answering phones. It's a little too confusing, Trish, 0:01:47.130 --> 0:01:49.290 to have a tiara and a tiara working here. I 0:01:49.290 --> 0:01:52.470 just want to say. Yeah, and Tricia to boot. That's it. 0:01:52.470 --> 0:01:59.590 But anyway, we're glad you're here. Uh, again, phone number 83675. 0:01:59.620 --> 0:02:01.720 Now it's time to go get your cup of coffee. 0:02:01.750 --> 0:02:06.400 Open your Bible because we're about to study the scriptures together. 0:02:06.580 --> 0:02:09.579 Doctor George Sweeting passed away a couple of weeks ago. 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:14.380 Ever since I was a freshman at Moody, he has 0:02:14.380 --> 0:02:16.930 been my ultimate role model. I would have thought that 0:02:16.930 --> 0:02:19.840 maybe I would grow out of that. But no, he 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:22.300 was always the person I admired most, the one I 0:02:22.300 --> 0:02:24.580 wanted to be like. I often say to people, when 0:02:24.580 --> 0:02:26.799 I grow up, I want to be Doctor George Sweeting, 0:02:26.800 --> 0:02:32.410 and I just. I just loved him. Uh, and still 0:02:32.410 --> 0:02:35.740 do love the legacy he has left. He wrote a 0:02:35.740 --> 0:02:38.140 book that I read a few years ago, How to 0:02:38.169 --> 0:02:42.190 Finish the Christian Life. Uh, and that's kind of an 0:02:42.190 --> 0:02:44.050 interesting book, because he had written a book about how 0:02:44.050 --> 0:02:46.930 to begin the Christian life. And now he then he 0:02:46.930 --> 0:02:49.120 wrote this other book with his son, Don Sweeting, about 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.100 how to finish the Christian life. I think it's an 0:02:51.100 --> 0:02:54.910 outstanding book. And, you know, I'm of an age I 0:02:54.910 --> 0:02:57.280 always wanted to end well, but I'm of an age 0:02:57.280 --> 0:02:59.829 now where I'm looking at ending a little bit closer 0:02:59.830 --> 0:03:02.890 than it was when I first started to say, I 0:03:02.889 --> 0:03:09.880 want to end well. And I, I think about what 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:13.149 does it take to finish well, what does it take 0:03:13.150 --> 0:03:17.740 to come to the the close of our lives and say, yeah, 0:03:17.740 --> 0:03:20.320 this is this is what I have done to prepare 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:23.470 for this day and to do it well all the 0:03:23.470 --> 0:03:26.380 way to the end. Well, I think that the answer 0:03:26.380 --> 0:03:31.840 is found in Second Timothy chapter four, verses six through eight. 0:03:32.080 --> 0:03:36.040 This is the example of Paul near the time when 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:39.400 he was going to end his life. He was in prison. 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:41.860 It was the second imprisonment in Rome, the one that 0:03:41.860 --> 0:03:45.070 is not described in the book of acts. But he 0:03:45.070 --> 0:03:48.190 was released. He went off to other ministry. According to tradition, 0:03:48.190 --> 0:03:50.950 he came back to Rome, was arrested, and he was 0:03:50.950 --> 0:03:53.050 facing the end of his life. He knew he was 0:03:53.050 --> 0:03:57.350 going to die soon. And he gives these words, which 0:03:57.350 --> 0:04:01.520 contain three aspects of what it takes to end well. 0:04:02.030 --> 0:04:04.550 Here's what he says, for I am already being poured 0:04:04.550 --> 0:04:07.640 out as a drink offering, and the time of my 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.850 departure is close. I have fought the good fight. I 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:14.600 have finished the race. I have kept the faith. There 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.630 is reserved for me in the future the crown of 0:04:17.630 --> 0:04:20.960 righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me 0:04:20.990 --> 0:04:25.159 on that day, and not only to me. But to 0:04:25.190 --> 0:04:30.650 all those who have loved his appearing. Well, what does 0:04:30.650 --> 0:04:34.339 it take to finish well? First of all, we need 0:04:34.339 --> 0:04:40.100 to consider the present right now. Offer ourselves to God. 0:04:40.670 --> 0:04:46.580 It says in verse six, I am already present tense, 0:04:46.580 --> 0:04:49.400 being poured out as a drink offering. The drink offering 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:52.460 was that part of the sacrifice? It was wine that 0:04:52.460 --> 0:04:55.710 was poured on top of the burnt offering before it 0:04:55.710 --> 0:04:59.280 was burnt and it was part of the offering. And 0:04:59.279 --> 0:05:02.310 what Paul is saying is I am already being poured 0:05:02.310 --> 0:05:06.120 out and in the present time I am offering myself 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:09.150 to God right now. And that's kind of interesting because 0:05:09.150 --> 0:05:12.960 Paul talks about the same kind of idea in Romans 0:05:12.960 --> 0:05:15.839 12 one and two where he says, present yourselves as 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:21.179 a living sacrifice, always offering yourself to God. Why do 0:05:21.180 --> 0:05:23.549 we have to keep offering ourselves to God from the 0:05:23.550 --> 0:05:27.510 beginning to the end every day? Well, it's because the 0:05:27.510 --> 0:05:30.060 old saying about the problem with living sacrifices we keep 0:05:30.060 --> 0:05:34.530 crawling off the altar and that is the problem. So 0:05:34.529 --> 0:05:37.320 we have to daily offer ourselves as a drink offering, 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:39.239 as a burnt offering, whatever it is, we have to 0:05:39.270 --> 0:05:42.930 present ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord for him 0:05:42.930 --> 0:05:48.360 to use. I went to the retirement of Doctor George 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:52.530 Sweeting at a church. What? He had finished time as president, 0:05:52.570 --> 0:05:56.169 Moody and then chancellor and chancellor emeritus. And then what 0:05:56.170 --> 0:05:59.050 he did is he became the pastor of seniors at 0:05:59.050 --> 0:06:03.130 a church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago when he retired. 0:06:03.130 --> 0:06:06.280 I had the privilege of being there that day, and 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:10.420 they had a special service for it. And I asked him, 0:06:10.420 --> 0:06:12.340 he was in his early 90s, I think he was 0:06:12.339 --> 0:06:16.750 about 93 at the time. Uh, and I asked doc, 0:06:16.779 --> 0:06:18.040 I said, what are you going to do now that 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:19.900 you're retired? He said, oh, I'm not retiring. I'm just 0:06:19.900 --> 0:06:22.840 not going to do this anymore. I've got about five 0:06:22.870 --> 0:06:25.180 books left in me, and I want to write them 0:06:25.180 --> 0:06:27.700 before I go, because, you know, I'm much closer to 0:06:27.730 --> 0:06:30.219 to the end and I want to finish that. So 0:06:30.250 --> 0:06:34.029 there he was, 93, 94 years old, and he said, 0:06:34.029 --> 0:06:36.100 I want to write five books. I believe he wrote 0:06:36.100 --> 0:06:40.150 four of them, uh, because of that commitment that he had. 0:06:40.150 --> 0:06:41.890 And he was able to finish that. And he was 0:06:41.890 --> 0:06:44.109 just shy of his hundredth birthday. But what he was 0:06:44.110 --> 0:06:47.589 doing was, to the very end, presenting himself as a 0:06:47.589 --> 0:06:51.640 living sacrifice, offering himself as a drink, offering to the Lord. 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:55.750 He always offered himself for service from the beginning to 0:06:55.779 --> 0:06:59.289 the end. That's the example. Consider the present. Present? Am 0:06:59.290 --> 0:07:04.510 I offering myself as a sacrifice to God? Secondly, review 0:07:04.510 --> 0:07:07.599 the past and what we will do is hopefully be 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:12.340 encouraged by past faithfulness. Look at verse seven of second 0:07:12.340 --> 0:07:16.840 Timothy 47I have fought the good fight. Past tense. I 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:20.020 have finished the race. I have kept the faith. That's 0:07:20.020 --> 0:07:22.660 all past tense. Paul is looking back and he's seeing 0:07:22.660 --> 0:07:26.170 that he has stuck to the faith. He hasn't given 0:07:26.170 --> 0:07:28.360 up anything. Now, I think if we look back at 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:30.100 our lives, we're all going to see failures. We're all 0:07:30.130 --> 0:07:32.260 going to see mistakes. We're going to see errors that 0:07:32.260 --> 0:07:35.020 we've made. But what he's doing is he's saying, I'm 0:07:35.020 --> 0:07:38.110 looking back at my calling, and I have kept what 0:07:38.140 --> 0:07:41.380 God has called me to do. I have kept the faith. 0:07:41.380 --> 0:07:44.320 I still believe in Jesus. I have not abandoned the faith. 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:46.810 I am sticking to him as close as I can. 0:07:46.810 --> 0:07:50.840 It's almost as if he's saying, I've looked back. I'm. 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:54.740 I've not, uh, abandoned what I began. I know whom 0:07:54.740 --> 0:07:58.760 I've believed in. And then he said, in essence, he's 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:01.100 taking encouragement from that. And I think we should, too, 0:08:01.130 --> 0:08:02.690 as we look back at our faith. Not that we 0:08:02.690 --> 0:08:06.200 were perfect, but that as we approach the end years, 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.270 we look at it and we say, I've kept what 0:08:08.300 --> 0:08:11.000 God has wanted me to do, and he has forgiven 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:13.520 me for the failures, but I have stuck close to him. 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:17.810 And don't blow it now. Don't give up on it now. 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:21.500 I'm reminded of John Knox, the great reformer who said 0:08:21.530 --> 0:08:24.560 of Scotland, Give me Scotland or I die. Near the 0:08:24.560 --> 0:08:26.660 end of his life he came to a period of 0:08:26.660 --> 0:08:33.950 spiritual dryness, and in doing that he he looked at 0:08:33.950 --> 0:08:38.720 his life and he began to wonder, what would it do? 0:08:38.750 --> 0:08:40.970 What would it take for him at this point, near 0:08:40.970 --> 0:08:44.480 the end of his life, uh, to be recharged? And 0:08:44.480 --> 0:08:47.090 this is what he said, I will keep the ground 0:08:47.090 --> 0:08:50.170 that God has given me and perhaps in his grace 0:08:50.170 --> 0:08:53.380 he will ignite me again. But listen to this. But 0:08:53.410 --> 0:08:56.740 ignite me or not. In his grace, in his power 0:08:56.770 --> 0:09:00.040 I will hold the ground. That's what we do. As 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:01.810 we look back in our lives. We say, I will 0:09:01.809 --> 0:09:06.430 hold the ground he's given me. So we consider the present. 0:09:06.460 --> 0:09:09.429 We review the past. And then thirdly, anticipate the future. 0:09:09.460 --> 0:09:14.200 Verse eight talks about a crown of righteousness being reserved 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:16.570 with the Lord, and not just for the Apostle Paul. 0:09:16.570 --> 0:09:18.670 Of course he has a crown of righteousness. He's the 0:09:18.670 --> 0:09:22.600 Apostle Paul. But look what it says. It is not 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:24.819 only for him. He says not only to me, but 0:09:24.820 --> 0:09:27.819 to all those who have loved his appearing. If we 0:09:27.820 --> 0:09:29.830 are people who have loved the appearing of the Lord, 0:09:29.830 --> 0:09:32.260 and we look at our lives, we offer ourselves as 0:09:32.260 --> 0:09:35.590 a sacrifice. We reviewed our faithfulness, that we've kept, the 0:09:35.590 --> 0:09:39.220 faith we've stuck to the Lord, and now we look 0:09:39.220 --> 0:09:46.209 forward to a reward. I honestly don't know that we 0:09:46.210 --> 0:09:49.070 really should get a reward. I mean, in the parables 0:09:49.070 --> 0:09:52.490 we learn that we are only unworthy servants. Only doing 0:09:52.490 --> 0:09:55.969 that which is required. And I'm not sure I want 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:58.760 a crown of righteousness, because I think if I get one, 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:01.790 it's only because of what the Lord Jesus did for me. 0:10:01.790 --> 0:10:05.030 And like in the 24 elders in the book of revelation, 0:10:05.030 --> 0:10:06.800 we'll just toss those crowns at the feet of the 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:10.760 Lord Jesus. But I know what I really want. It's, uh, 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:15.620 those words. Well done, good and faithful servant. That's what 0:10:15.620 --> 0:10:19.069 I'm looking forward to and want to experience the most. 0:10:19.100 --> 0:10:21.530 And I long for that. That's what I want. It's. 0:10:21.530 --> 0:10:24.470 I feel a little bit like my my boxer or 0:10:24.470 --> 0:10:27.050 my sheltie when I look at them and I say, 0:10:27.230 --> 0:10:32.990 good dog and they wag their tails, and that's what 0:10:32.990 --> 0:10:35.870 I want. That's just what I want. Just good and 0:10:35.870 --> 0:10:39.140 faithful servant. Doctor Sweeting went to be with the Lord 0:10:39.140 --> 0:10:42.770 and that was his experience, I'm sure. Well done. Good 0:10:42.770 --> 0:10:45.650 and faithful servant. Shouldn't that be our desire for each 0:10:45.650 --> 0:10:49.510 and every one of us that we would receive his affirmation, 0:10:49.510 --> 0:10:54.040 his commendation. You are a good servant. Thank you. And 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.340 that's what I would look forward to. Well, how to end? Well, 0:10:57.370 --> 0:11:01.540 here's what we should know. If we're going to end well, 0:11:01.540 --> 0:11:06.010 we should plan when we're young to offer ourselves constantly, 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:19.479 stay faithful, persistently, and look forward expectantly. It's a great 0:11:19.510 --> 0:11:24.010 reminder that when we start at a young age, we 0:11:24.010 --> 0:11:26.530 have to. We do have to start at a young 0:11:26.530 --> 0:11:28.870 age so that we can end well when we get 0:11:28.870 --> 0:11:33.939 advanced in years. Uh, we're going to talk to, uh. 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:41.410 Thomas in Warrior, Alabama, listening on Wmft. Uh, welcome to 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:43.570 Open Line. Thomas. How can I help you today? 0:11:44.780 --> 0:11:49.280 Yes, I'm a pastor in Birmingham and I listen to 0:11:49.309 --> 0:11:52.189 you every Saturday morning when I'm out making some visits, 0:11:52.190 --> 0:11:54.770 I'm in and out of my car. I love your show. 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:55.430 Thank you. 0:11:55.460 --> 0:12:00.620 Absolutely love it. And, uh, I would like for you. Oh, 0:12:00.650 --> 0:12:04.790 maybe not all today, over the weeks, trying to explain 0:12:04.790 --> 0:12:08.030 some of the, uh, the Jewish feasts that are coming 0:12:08.030 --> 0:12:11.630 up in October and their prophetic fulfillment, if you could. Okay. 0:12:11.660 --> 0:12:12.800 I know that's a lot. 0:12:12.830 --> 0:12:14.959 Yeah. Well, I'll just give you a real quick answer. 0:12:14.990 --> 0:12:17.780 We'll be talking about that in coming weeks. But to 0:12:17.809 --> 0:12:20.900 begin with, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is coming up. 0:12:20.900 --> 0:12:23.750 That's the Feast of Trumpets in the Bible. Uh, it's 0:12:23.750 --> 0:12:27.949 a time when Israel is called to repentance. And so 0:12:27.950 --> 0:12:32.360 likely that refers prophetically. If it does prefer to have 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:38.870 a prophetic significance, it's likely the rapture where the Trump 0:12:38.870 --> 0:12:44.790 is blown and it calls Israel to repentance. It's the beginning. 0:12:44.820 --> 0:12:47.430 Then what follows is the tribulation, when Israel is going 0:12:47.429 --> 0:12:50.880 to be brought to the Lord by the end. And 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:55.200 then afterwards you have the Day of Atonement. That's when 0:12:55.230 --> 0:12:59.520 Israel experienced national redemption in the Old Testament with the 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:03.120 offering of sacrifice. It says in Zechariah 13 one on 0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:05.640 the day when the Lord Jesus returns, when Israel looks 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:10.170 to him in belief that they experience a fount opened 0:13:10.170 --> 0:13:13.829 for for forgiveness the whole nation, Paul says all Israel 0:13:13.830 --> 0:13:16.439 will be saved at that time. Those who believe at 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:20.430 the return of Jesus will be saved. And then the 0:13:20.429 --> 0:13:23.189 next one is Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths. And 0:13:23.190 --> 0:13:26.670 that one is the Tabernacle. And it's in Zechariah 14 0:13:26.700 --> 0:13:30.000 that is linked to the day of the kingdom, the 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:34.500 messianic kingdom, when Jesus is reigning because he is tabernacling 0:13:34.500 --> 0:13:38.340 with us on earth. And that's what that is about, 0:13:38.340 --> 0:13:41.310 that even the nations will have to come, the Gentile 0:13:41.309 --> 0:13:44.680 nations and celebrate the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem during 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:49.630 the Messianic Kingdom. I hope that helps and we'll be 0:13:49.630 --> 0:13:54.490 talking about those holidays in upcoming weeks. Uh, this is 0:13:54.490 --> 0:13:56.920 a open line. We're going to come back in just 0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:58.810 a moment with more of your questions. My name is 0:13:58.809 --> 0:14:02.560 Michael Riedel. Glad to be back from overseas. A little 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:05.170 jet lagged, but still happy to be here. We'll be 0:14:05.170 --> 0:14:07.150 back in a moment with more of your questions right 0:14:07.150 --> 0:14:23.800 here on Open Line with Michael Zelnick. Welcome back to 0:14:23.830 --> 0:14:26.860 Open Line. I should have mentioned with our last caller 0:14:26.860 --> 0:14:29.410 before the break, Thomas, he was asking about the Jewish 0:14:29.410 --> 0:14:32.440 holy days. And when autumn rolls around, people are always 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:35.860 interested in the Jewish fall holy days. And that's why 0:14:35.890 --> 0:14:39.430 Chosen People Ministries, one of our partners, is offering a 0:14:39.430 --> 0:14:44.240 free booklet. It's called Celebrate Israel's High Holidays, and it 0:14:44.270 --> 0:14:48.440 explores the fall Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah, or 0:14:48.440 --> 0:14:50.930 the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, 0:14:50.930 --> 0:14:55.130 or and Sukkot, which is the Feast of Booths. So 0:14:55.130 --> 0:14:58.790 don't miss out. Uh, Thomas and others, if you're interested 0:14:58.790 --> 0:15:02.000 in these, get this little booklet free. All you have 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:04.400 to do is go to the Open line website. That's 0:15:04.430 --> 0:15:09.500 open line radio.org open line radio.org. Scroll down, click on 0:15:09.500 --> 0:15:11.750 the link that says there's a free gift from Chosen 0:15:11.750 --> 0:15:14.960 People Ministries. Click on that. It will take you to 0:15:14.990 --> 0:15:16.670 a page where you can sign up for your own 0:15:16.670 --> 0:15:21.380 copy of Celebrate Israel's High Holy Days. We're going to 0:15:21.410 --> 0:15:25.820 speak with Lois now in Georgia listening on WB, WB. 0:15:26.000 --> 0:15:28.700 Welcome to Open Line. Lois. How can I help you today? 0:15:29.420 --> 0:15:31.190 Well welcome back. 0:15:31.220 --> 0:15:31.400 Oh. 0:15:31.430 --> 0:15:38.660 Thank you. Hey, I have a question. Excuse me. I'm 86. Oh, 0:15:38.690 --> 0:15:39.260 and I've been. 0:15:39.290 --> 0:15:42.920 Congratulations. That's wonderful. Thank you for listening. 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:50.510 Well, you know, I've been a child of God for 50, 0:15:50.540 --> 0:15:54.500 some 60, some years. Wow. 60 some years. But that 0:15:54.500 --> 0:16:00.560 doesn't matter. That's that's immaterial. But I came across a 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:07.310 verse in Scripture in Romans 11, verse 22. I mean, 0:16:07.310 --> 0:16:13.970 verse 32, and I'm the, the translations that I have 0:16:14.420 --> 0:16:19.730 it they're confusing me because it makes it seem that 0:16:19.850 --> 0:16:25.190 God is caused a sin and caused everybody to be 0:16:25.190 --> 0:16:31.130 in sin. But God didn't cause a sin. No happened. 0:16:31.430 --> 0:16:34.550 No human beings are responsible for sin. 0:16:35.330 --> 0:16:36.140 Yes. 0:16:36.170 --> 0:16:41.130 It's. It's talking more about God's plan in how he 0:16:41.130 --> 0:16:43.980 did things, because, you know, you'd expect when you read 0:16:43.980 --> 0:16:49.980 the book of Romans. Obviously Gentiles are, uh, imprisoned in 0:16:50.010 --> 0:16:52.620 their sin because they were pagan. They didn't believe in God. 0:16:52.620 --> 0:16:55.440 That's what Paul was dealing with in the early chapters 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:59.070 of Romans, that the Gentiles were imprisoned in their sin. 0:16:59.190 --> 0:17:03.090 And then, yeah, uh, what he does is he talks 0:17:03.090 --> 0:17:05.700 about the blindness of Israel. And people would say, well, 0:17:05.700 --> 0:17:08.970 why would God allow Israel to remain blind? Why didn't 0:17:08.970 --> 0:17:11.460 he open their eyes? Because they were his chosen people. 0:17:11.460 --> 0:17:15.420 But what it does, what he says is that he 0:17:15.420 --> 0:17:21.090 has allowed, uh, he's hardened all, I guess when you 0:17:21.090 --> 0:17:25.380 say he shuts up all in disobedience, that's similar to 0:17:25.410 --> 0:17:31.050 he's hardened everyone after they've sinned, he's hardened them all, uh, 0:17:31.050 --> 0:17:35.070 so that he may show mercy to all. In other words, 0:17:35.070 --> 0:17:38.480 he didn't want Gentiles to say, oh, we're much more 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:41.000 open to believing in Jesus. He allowed them, he hardened them, 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:43.580 they became pagans. And then he opened their hearts and 0:17:43.580 --> 0:17:47.810 they believed. And also at the same time, Jewish people 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:50.930 couldn't claim we're the chosen people. We were always in. No, 0:17:50.930 --> 0:17:54.380 he allowed them to be hardened. He hardened them, in fact, 0:17:54.380 --> 0:17:58.490 because of their disobedience, and imprisoned them in their disobedience, 0:17:58.490 --> 0:18:00.859 so that when they did believe he could show mercy 0:18:00.859 --> 0:18:03.530 to them. In essence, what he was saying is everyone 0:18:03.530 --> 0:18:07.790 rebelled against God. God hardened everyone who didn't believe, so 0:18:07.790 --> 0:18:10.850 that when they did believe, he could show mercy to all. 0:18:10.850 --> 0:18:14.030 No person could say I was better than that other person. 0:18:14.450 --> 0:18:17.420 My ethnic group is better than that ethnic group. We 0:18:17.450 --> 0:18:22.340 are all hardened and we all, when we believe, receive mercy. 0:18:22.369 --> 0:18:25.760 It's to show that God didn't have any favorites, that 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:29.570 he didn't show favoritism when it came to forgiveness. That's 0:18:29.570 --> 0:18:33.260 what it's talking about. Okay, okay, okay. By the way, 0:18:33.290 --> 0:18:36.139 aren't you glad that we we who were hardened, I 0:18:36.140 --> 0:18:39.619 was hardened, you were hardened. And when we trusted Jesus, 0:18:39.619 --> 0:18:43.609 he showed mercy to you and to me. And just 0:18:43.609 --> 0:18:46.910 the same way that he does that he's describing here 0:18:46.910 --> 0:18:50.420 in Romans 1132. Hey, Lois, do you have a moody 0:18:50.420 --> 0:18:51.770 Bible commentary? 0:18:53.240 --> 0:18:53.720 Pardon? 0:18:53.750 --> 0:18:56.060 Do you have a moody Bible commentary? 0:18:57.680 --> 0:18:59.090 No, no I don't. 0:18:59.119 --> 0:19:02.719 Well, you know, my friend Mike Vanlandingham co-edited that with me, 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:04.760 but he wrote the commentary in Romans. He did a 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:07.430 really nice job of it. And if you hang on, 0:19:07.430 --> 0:19:10.400 Trisha will get your your address and we'll send you 0:19:10.400 --> 0:19:12.889 a copy of the Moody Bible Commentary. Okay. And then 0:19:12.890 --> 0:19:15.230 you could look it up and see what it says 0:19:15.230 --> 0:19:16.880 about it. Okay. 0:19:16.970 --> 0:19:18.979 Uh, thank you so much. Yeah. 0:19:18.980 --> 0:19:22.430 And if you're listening, and you think I have verses 0:19:22.430 --> 0:19:24.380 that kind of confuse me, and I wonder what they're 0:19:24.380 --> 0:19:28.100 talking about. I think the Moody Bible commentary remains just 0:19:28.100 --> 0:19:30.350 a really helpful tool, and you can get a copy 0:19:30.350 --> 0:19:33.139 of it at your local Christian bookstore or your favorite 0:19:33.170 --> 0:19:37.130 online book distributor. Distributor. It's a really. It was one 0:19:37.130 --> 0:19:39.170 of my great privileges. I use it all the time. 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:41.840 I used it this morning in prep for the program today. 0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:46.010 It's just such a helpful tool. 30 faculty of Moody 0:19:46.010 --> 0:19:51.110 Bible Institute wrote the commentaries, and, uh, Mike and I 0:19:51.140 --> 0:19:53.840 had the great privilege of being the co-editors and contributors 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:57.859 to the book, and I think you'll find it helpful. Uh, and, Lois, 0:19:57.890 --> 0:20:00.889 you hang on. Trish will get your name and address, 0:20:00.890 --> 0:20:02.990 and we'll send you one. Uh, we're going to talk 0:20:02.990 --> 0:20:06.470 with Diane in Indiana. Welcome to Open Line. Diane, how 0:20:06.470 --> 0:20:07.640 can I help you today? 0:20:10.850 --> 0:20:18.200 Okay. I'm wondering about revelation 19. Jesus is coming back 0:20:18.200 --> 0:20:19.250 with his sight. 0:20:21.109 --> 0:20:22.010 Yes. 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:28.879 Okay. Does that include the souls who have died and 0:20:28.970 --> 0:20:32.000 the people who are raptured? Thank you. 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:37.380 Okay. Well, revelation 19, what you have is I think 0:20:37.380 --> 0:20:43.230 it's one of the great arguments for a pre-tribulational rapture. 0:20:43.980 --> 0:20:48.479 And the reason is, uh, the events taking place in 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:54.150 heaven in revelation 19 take place during the tribulation period. 0:20:54.150 --> 0:20:58.620 And what do we see happening in revelation 19? Well, 0:20:58.650 --> 0:21:00.689 the rapture for people who think, I don't know what 0:21:00.690 --> 0:21:03.000 that's about, let me just explain that what the Bible 0:21:03.030 --> 0:21:06.150 teaches that when we die, this is in first Thessalonians four. 0:21:06.150 --> 0:21:11.010 When we die, our immaterial bodies go to be with 0:21:11.010 --> 0:21:14.220 the Lord. And then what will happen one day that 0:21:14.220 --> 0:21:17.189 Trump will blow? The Lord Jesus will descend with those 0:21:17.190 --> 0:21:21.210 who's immaterial bodies are with him and the dead. Those 0:21:21.210 --> 0:21:23.760 people who have who are descending with him, their bodies 0:21:23.760 --> 0:21:26.850 will be resurrected and they will be reunited with them. 0:21:26.850 --> 0:21:29.910 And so the immaterial portion will meet the material, and 0:21:29.910 --> 0:21:31.879 they will return to Earth, and those of us who 0:21:31.880 --> 0:21:35.900 are alive and remain will be translated immediately into glorified 0:21:35.900 --> 0:21:40.190 bodies without having experienced death, much like Elijah or Enoch 0:21:40.190 --> 0:21:45.020 had happened to them. So we will be translated into 0:21:45.050 --> 0:21:48.379 glorified bodies. That's what happens at the rapture. And then 0:21:48.380 --> 0:21:53.630 in revelation 19 it talks about the marriage supper of 0:21:53.630 --> 0:21:57.020 the lamb, and there are guests invited. The guests, I think, 0:21:57.020 --> 0:21:59.990 are the Old Testament saints who have not yet been resurrected. 0:21:59.990 --> 0:22:03.920 And the marriage supper of the lamb is the bride, 0:22:03.950 --> 0:22:09.230 the body of the Lord Jesus, the the church. They 0:22:09.230 --> 0:22:13.070 will be there with him. Uh, and that's when the 0:22:13.070 --> 0:22:16.100 marriage supper of the lamb. And they are dressed in 0:22:16.100 --> 0:22:19.939 fine linen. Uh, that's what it says. They're dressed in 0:22:19.940 --> 0:22:24.050 fine linen. And then the Lord Jesus descends from heaven 0:22:24.050 --> 0:22:27.439 after the marriage supper of the lamb in heaven. He descends. 0:22:27.440 --> 0:22:31.190 And those who come with him are those dressed in 0:22:31.190 --> 0:22:35.420 pure white linen. That's the church that has been glorified. 0:22:35.420 --> 0:22:37.760 And now the marriage supper of the lamb has taken place, 0:22:37.760 --> 0:22:42.770 and they descend with him. So that's what happens. All 0:22:42.770 --> 0:22:47.840 the church, whether they have died and been resurrected or 0:22:48.230 --> 0:22:52.399 raptured and been translated into his presence in their glorified bodies, 0:22:52.400 --> 0:22:54.379 then they descend with him at the end of the 0:22:54.380 --> 0:22:58.970 seven year tribulation. And that's when they deliver. Uh, so 0:22:58.970 --> 0:23:01.189 it's those who are raptured and those who are resurrected 0:23:01.190 --> 0:23:03.949 together to ascend with him after the marriage supper of 0:23:03.950 --> 0:23:07.310 the lamb, uh, at the end of the tribulation. Okay. 0:23:07.340 --> 0:23:08.960 Does that explain it for you? 0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:10.879 Yes. 0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:15.020 Thank you. Okay, good. I'm glad we got that all clarified. Uh, 0:23:15.020 --> 0:23:19.250 thanks for your call, Diane. Uh, we're going to talk 0:23:19.250 --> 0:23:23.960 with Linda in Lakeland, Florida right now listening on Wcqs. 0:23:23.990 --> 0:23:26.870 Welcome to Open Line. Linda. How can I help you today? 0:23:28.500 --> 0:23:29.939 I. First of all, I want to tell you I 0:23:29.940 --> 0:23:31.500 really look forward to your program. 0:23:31.530 --> 0:23:34.680 Oh. Thank you. Saturday. I really enjoy it. 0:23:34.710 --> 0:23:37.470 I look forward to it. Also, can you believe that 0:23:37.470 --> 0:23:40.260 I love coming on Saturdays and and talking with you 0:23:40.260 --> 0:23:42.030 about the Bible, so thank you. 0:23:42.300 --> 0:23:43.080 That's cool. 0:23:43.109 --> 0:23:47.159 Yeah. I don't have to be in class to do this. Anyway, um, 0:23:47.160 --> 0:23:51.780 the author of the Old Testament, you know, they sacrificed, um, 0:23:52.050 --> 0:23:53.940 you know, like, your day of atonement and all your 0:23:53.940 --> 0:23:57.180 times where you're trying to the Jewish people sacrificed for 0:23:57.180 --> 0:24:01.770 their sins, and they don't believe in Jesus. So are 0:24:01.770 --> 0:24:03.660 they still sacrificing? No. 0:24:03.660 --> 0:24:08.100 Absolutely not. Jewish people do not offer sacrifices because they 0:24:08.100 --> 0:24:12.270 can only sacrifice on the Temple Mount. Uh, and where 0:24:12.270 --> 0:24:15.210 a temple would be rebuilt someday. But they don't offer 0:24:15.210 --> 0:24:19.050 sacrifices because there is no temple today, and they can't 0:24:19.050 --> 0:24:21.480 build a temple. And they would not build a temple 0:24:21.480 --> 0:24:24.300 as long as there's the the dome of the Rock 0:24:24.300 --> 0:24:27.900 and the the Al-Aqsa mosque up there. So even though 0:24:27.930 --> 0:24:30.419 Israel was able to retake the Temple Mount, they didn't 0:24:30.420 --> 0:24:34.739 rebuild the temple because they want to they want to 0:24:34.740 --> 0:24:41.430 respect the rights of the Muslims. Who who built those? Uh, 0:24:41.580 --> 0:24:44.369 the monument there, the dome of the Rock and the 0:24:44.369 --> 0:24:48.000 mosque up there. So they're being respectful of that. And so, no, 0:24:48.000 --> 0:24:50.820 they do not offer sacrifices. What Judaism teaches that God 0:24:50.820 --> 0:24:56.730 has given alternatives to sacrifice, which are, uh, prayer, repentance 0:24:56.730 --> 0:25:01.770 and good deeds. And unfortunately, we know from Scripture that prayer, 0:25:01.770 --> 0:25:04.679 repentance and good deeds are not going to cut it. 0:25:04.710 --> 0:25:09.780 We need an atoning sacrifice, uh, because none of us 0:25:09.780 --> 0:25:12.419 we're all unrighteous, and none of us can do enough 0:25:12.420 --> 0:25:17.010 good to outweigh the unrighteousness. There's only one perfect one 0:25:17.010 --> 0:25:19.860 who was our sacrifice. That's the Messiah, Jesus. And that's 0:25:19.859 --> 0:25:22.709 why I tell Jewish people about their Messiah so they 0:25:22.710 --> 0:25:27.790 can experience a true knowledge, at true forgiveness and not 0:25:27.790 --> 0:25:30.909 just longing for it. Did I do enough? Good. Did 0:25:30.910 --> 0:25:33.729 I do pray enough? Did I repent enough? Did I 0:25:33.730 --> 0:25:37.330 do enough good deeds? So the point. Keep pointing Jewish 0:25:37.330 --> 0:25:40.990 people and all people to Jesus. That's the the lesson 0:25:40.990 --> 0:25:44.350 of the holidays and the sacrifices. Well, we're going to 0:25:44.350 --> 0:25:46.810 come right back with the mailbag. Trish is dragging it 0:25:46.810 --> 0:25:49.180 in right now, so stay with us. This is open 0:25:49.180 --> 0:26:08.650 line with Michael Radonich. And we're back. I am so 0:26:08.650 --> 0:26:10.780 glad to be with you. I had a great time, 0:26:10.780 --> 0:26:15.250 by the way. Just returned from Rome. We were in 0:26:15.250 --> 0:26:18.280 Turkey and Greece. We saw we were on a Journeys 0:26:18.280 --> 0:26:21.399 of Paul tour with Moody. Uh, Eve and I went 0:26:21.400 --> 0:26:27.199 and the only thing I missed really, while we were away. Uh, well, 0:26:27.200 --> 0:26:31.850 that's not true. Not the only thing I missed my family. 0:26:31.880 --> 0:26:37.489 I missed seeing my grandkids. I missed, uh, you know, 0:26:37.520 --> 0:26:41.630 my dogs. Uh, believe it or not, they're so annoying 0:26:41.630 --> 0:26:43.610 sometimes that you can miss them when they're not there 0:26:43.609 --> 0:26:45.860 to annoy you. Oh, come on, take me out. Give 0:26:45.859 --> 0:26:49.070 me food, whatever it is that they're saying. But I 0:26:49.070 --> 0:26:53.990 missed having Tricia on the trip with us. Thank you, Tricia, 0:26:53.990 --> 0:26:56.600 for for coming in now. But do you know why? 0:26:56.630 --> 0:27:00.050 The very first night when we did orientation, when everyone arrived, 0:27:00.050 --> 0:27:03.409 I said, how many of you are Openline listeners? And 0:27:03.410 --> 0:27:07.010 virtually everyone raised their hand? That's fantastic. And I thought, oh, 0:27:07.040 --> 0:27:10.310 Tricia should be here. This is the open line family 0:27:10.310 --> 0:27:12.919 here traveling with me, and you're part of it. So 0:27:12.920 --> 0:27:13.790 we really missed you. 0:27:13.790 --> 0:27:18.140 Then one of the cool things is, um, uh, someone 0:27:18.170 --> 0:27:20.750 on the trip was posting pictures on our Facebook page 0:27:20.750 --> 0:27:24.750 for Open Line and several of the comments were people saying, 0:27:24.750 --> 0:27:27.240 I was here, you know, I'm here with you. I'm 0:27:27.240 --> 0:27:30.270 loving seeing these pictures and, you know, comments on that. 0:27:30.270 --> 0:27:31.500 When I said you were going to be back on 0:27:31.500 --> 0:27:34.800 the air on Saturday, people several people said that they 0:27:34.800 --> 0:27:36.869 enjoyed being on the trip with you and were looking 0:27:36.869 --> 0:27:37.770 forward to listening again. 0:27:37.800 --> 0:27:39.780 Yeah, yeah, we had a great time. And I'll tell you, 0:27:39.780 --> 0:27:41.490 the funny part is there were a lot of people 0:27:41.490 --> 0:27:44.490 who were Open Line listeners who came on this trip. 0:27:44.910 --> 0:27:49.050 We had 164 people on the trip, and a lot 0:27:49.080 --> 0:27:52.200 of them were regular open line. 90% at least, were 0:27:52.200 --> 0:27:57.630 regular open line listeners. And they a lot of people 0:27:57.630 --> 0:27:59.940 came up and said, I'm a kitchen table partner or 0:27:59.970 --> 0:28:03.600 I'm a kitchen. And I so appreciated. And whenever William 0:28:03.600 --> 0:28:05.310 Washington was on the trip, too, he was one of 0:28:05.310 --> 0:28:09.210 the bus hosts, uh, our dean of students here. And 0:28:09.240 --> 0:28:12.060 whenever someone said that they were an open line listener, 0:28:12.060 --> 0:28:13.350 he just looked them right in the eye and says, 0:28:13.380 --> 0:28:15.570 are you a kitchen table partner? Are you a kitchen 0:28:15.570 --> 0:28:18.000 table partner? And they said, well, not yet. He says, well, 0:28:18.000 --> 0:28:21.630 why not? And I said, shh, stop it, you know, 0:28:21.660 --> 0:28:25.110 no guilt trips, but. No, but I thought it was 0:28:25.109 --> 0:28:27.300 really cute because people said, I don't know why I'm not, 0:28:27.300 --> 0:28:30.149 and I'm a regular listener. And so it made me 0:28:30.150 --> 0:28:33.570 really appreciative, as most many of them, of those people 0:28:33.600 --> 0:28:36.270 who said that were kitchen table partners, I was so 0:28:36.270 --> 0:28:39.900 appreciative of meeting them because they are such an intrinsic 0:28:39.900 --> 0:28:43.020 part of this program, because they help keep open line 0:28:43.020 --> 0:28:45.479 on the air, because they give monthly. And then there 0:28:45.480 --> 0:28:46.860 were a lot of people who said they were going 0:28:46.860 --> 0:28:51.690 to become kitchen table partners again. So grateful for that. 0:28:51.690 --> 0:28:54.450 And if you're listening and didn't go to Italy and 0:28:54.450 --> 0:28:58.590 Rome and Athens and Turkey and all that, but you 0:28:58.590 --> 0:29:00.750 listen regularly and and you would like to become a 0:29:00.750 --> 0:29:03.090 kitchen table partner. We would so appreciate it. It means 0:29:03.090 --> 0:29:05.459 so much to us to have your support and to 0:29:05.490 --> 0:29:08.040 know that we can count on you and, uh, what 0:29:08.040 --> 0:29:11.310 what I try to do and we've been doing every 0:29:11.310 --> 0:29:17.010 other week, Tricia helps me produce a Bible study moment. 0:29:17.010 --> 0:29:19.350 And what we do is we send it out every 0:29:19.350 --> 0:29:23.290 other week via email. You click on it and it's 0:29:23.320 --> 0:29:27.130 a Bible study designed exclusively a brief one designed exclusively 0:29:27.130 --> 0:29:29.050 for our kitchen table partners. 0:29:29.050 --> 0:29:31.720 And that's an audio Bible study that you go through. 0:29:31.720 --> 0:29:34.060 And the current one we're going through is actually you 0:29:34.060 --> 0:29:36.910 and your wife, Eva, who is one of our favorites, 0:29:36.910 --> 0:29:40.390 talking about the covenants. Yes. Um, and if you so 0:29:40.390 --> 0:29:42.550 if you signed up today, the next one goes out 0:29:42.580 --> 0:29:45.340 next Thursday. Um, so in just a few days. So 0:29:45.340 --> 0:29:47.620 if you sign up anytime between now and then, you 0:29:47.620 --> 0:29:49.930 would get this next one that goes out on Thursday. 0:29:49.930 --> 0:29:53.110 And there's a place on that email where you can 0:29:53.110 --> 0:29:55.150 click on the archives. So you could go back and 0:29:55.150 --> 0:29:57.190 listen to the full series. I think it goes back 0:29:57.190 --> 0:29:59.590 two years. So you could actually go back and listen 0:29:59.590 --> 0:30:00.730 to a lot of the past ones that we. 0:30:00.760 --> 0:30:01.390 That's a lot of fun. 0:30:01.420 --> 0:30:02.110 Yeah. Isn't that. 0:30:02.110 --> 0:30:05.320 Great? I better go back and see what I talked about. Okay, well, 0:30:05.320 --> 0:30:07.870 if you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, just 0:30:07.870 --> 0:30:10.960 go to Openline radio.org or and you'll see the link 0:30:10.960 --> 0:30:15.880 there for it. Or you can call (888) 644-7122. And thanks 0:30:15.880 --> 0:30:20.600 so much for considering this. And got some Bible questions 0:30:20.630 --> 0:30:21.650 that people have mailed in. 0:30:21.680 --> 0:30:24.800 Okay. Our first question is from Amy in Indiana. Listens 0:30:24.800 --> 0:30:28.340 to Wagner. I'm reading about Satan bringing angels with him 0:30:28.340 --> 0:30:31.850 when he fell. So do angels have free will? And 0:30:31.850 --> 0:30:35.630 was this a one time fall? And then what scripture 0:30:35.660 --> 0:30:40.460 do you have to either support or support that? 0:30:40.490 --> 0:30:43.280 Well, I don't have a ton of scripture. We have 0:30:43.280 --> 0:30:50.930 Isaiah 14 where the the fall of Lucifer. Right? And 0:30:50.960 --> 0:30:53.810 and it's actually talking about the king of Babylon. And 0:30:53.810 --> 0:30:57.740 then it shifts to the power behind the king of Babylon, 0:30:59.210 --> 0:31:05.150 and that is Satan. And what he says, this is 0:31:05.150 --> 0:31:08.300 what Isaiah says of him, shining morning star, you how 0:31:08.300 --> 0:31:10.940 you have fallen from the heavens. Then he says in 0:31:10.940 --> 0:31:15.380 verse 13, you said to yourself, I will ascend to 0:31:15.410 --> 0:31:18.990 the heavens. I will set up my throne. I will 0:31:18.990 --> 0:31:21.990 sit on the mount of the gods of the assembly. 0:31:21.990 --> 0:31:25.920 I will ascend to the highest clouds. I will make 0:31:25.920 --> 0:31:29.700 myself like the most High. So that sounds like an 0:31:29.700 --> 0:31:35.250 affirmation of his willfulness. And then Ezekiel 28 also describes 0:31:35.250 --> 0:31:37.620 first talking about the King of tyre, but then it 0:31:37.620 --> 0:31:40.260 talks about the power behind the king of tyre. It 0:31:40.260 --> 0:31:43.020 says you were in Eden and then that was you 0:31:43.020 --> 0:31:46.950 until wickedness was found in you. So obviously angels had 0:31:46.950 --> 0:31:50.670 free will. So those are the passages I would point 0:31:50.670 --> 0:31:53.370 to when they when Satan fell, and he took a 0:31:53.370 --> 0:31:56.459 third of the angels with him. Revelation 12 talks about 0:31:56.460 --> 0:32:00.600 a third of the angels falling with him that said, 0:32:01.800 --> 0:32:04.860 the angels that did not fall cannot fall anymore. The 0:32:04.860 --> 0:32:08.940 best thing I can describe is that they are confirmed 0:32:08.940 --> 0:32:12.720 in their decision. They either were confirmed as obedient servants 0:32:12.720 --> 0:32:16.080 to God and they cannot fall anymore. Much like after 0:32:16.080 --> 0:32:21.240 we die, we can't, uh, sin anymore. When we see him, 0:32:21.240 --> 0:32:24.720 we'll be like him. So apparently that was the time 0:32:24.720 --> 0:32:28.170 after the fall of Satan. The enemy and those who 0:32:28.170 --> 0:32:32.280 fell with him were confirmed in their disobedience. The good angels, 0:32:32.280 --> 0:32:34.739 those who did not fall, remained good servants, and they 0:32:34.770 --> 0:32:38.700 were confirmed in their obedience. And that's how it will stay. Okay. 0:32:38.730 --> 0:32:41.310 All right. Thank you for that question, Amy, and thank 0:32:41.340 --> 0:32:46.110 you for that answer, Bonnie wrote on Instagram. Yay! Um, 0:32:46.620 --> 0:32:51.600 what is the fruit of John 15 one through eight? Um, 0:32:51.600 --> 0:32:55.260 which is familiar more, I think, as the vine and 0:32:55.260 --> 0:32:58.860 the vine keeper or vine dresser. I'm the true vine 0:32:58.860 --> 0:33:01.470 and my father is the vineyard keeper. Every branch in 0:33:01.500 --> 0:33:04.560 me that does not produce fruit, he removes and he 0:33:04.560 --> 0:33:07.200 prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will 0:33:07.200 --> 0:33:10.560 produce more fruit. And it goes on. And fruit is 0:33:10.560 --> 0:33:13.980 mentioned several times within these eight verses. Um, and Bonnie 0:33:14.010 --> 0:33:15.220 wants to know if this is the fruit of the 0:33:15.220 --> 0:33:18.520 spirit from Galatians 522 and 23. 0:33:18.790 --> 0:33:25.930 Well, they both use a figure of speech, a metaphor 0:33:25.930 --> 0:33:27.430 for product. 0:33:28.300 --> 0:33:30.490 The fruit being the product. Okay. Yeah. 0:33:30.520 --> 0:33:34.180 That's why we call it fruit produce. Right. Mhm. So 0:33:34.180 --> 0:33:37.330 it's the product. And so the fruit of the spirit 0:33:37.330 --> 0:33:43.060 is the product of what the spirit produces in our lives. 0:33:43.150 --> 0:33:45.370 When the Holy Spirit has control of us, when we're 0:33:45.400 --> 0:33:48.910 walking in the spirit, as the book of Galatians teaches, 0:33:49.120 --> 0:33:55.540 when we're under the rule of the spirit. Uh, that's 0:33:55.540 --> 0:33:59.500 what Galatians five is about. Walk in the spirit. It 0:33:59.500 --> 0:34:04.300 says in Galatians five two through four. Uh, and you 0:34:04.300 --> 0:34:09.070 will not. So that's what it's talking about. Uh, that 0:34:09.100 --> 0:34:12.340 we're to walk in the spirit and I'm sorry. Galatians 0:34:12.340 --> 0:34:14.750 516 I say, then walk by the spirit, and you 0:34:14.750 --> 0:34:17.720 will not carry out the desire of the flesh. So 0:34:17.719 --> 0:34:22.009 what is the the product? That's love, joy, peace, and 0:34:22.010 --> 0:34:24.469 all of those. It's it's what the Holy Spirit produces 0:34:24.469 --> 0:34:28.820 in John 15. It's talking about fruit in the same way. 0:34:28.820 --> 0:34:34.580 And there it says, uh, that the Lord Jesus, when 0:34:34.580 --> 0:34:39.410 we're attached to him, he is, uh, when we're attached 0:34:39.410 --> 0:34:44.090 to the vine and we're we will produce good deeds 0:34:44.120 --> 0:34:47.450 and he will produce good deeds in our life. It's 0:34:47.450 --> 0:34:49.160 not just talking about the fruit of the spirit there. 0:34:49.160 --> 0:34:53.960 It's talking about good deeds. That much like in Ephesians 0:34:53.960 --> 0:34:58.220 two eight, without the metaphor, what it talks about is 0:34:58.219 --> 0:35:00.530 by grace are you saved through faith? Not of works, 0:35:00.530 --> 0:35:02.509 lest any man should boast. It's the gift of God. 0:35:02.510 --> 0:35:05.990 Do you know that passage? Right. Mhm. Uh, but then 0:35:06.320 --> 0:35:13.230 it talks about uh, verse ten where it says, for 0:35:13.230 --> 0:35:18.390 we are his creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, 0:35:19.440 --> 0:35:21.690 which God prepared ahead of time so that we should 0:35:21.690 --> 0:35:25.080 walk in them. So when in John 15, when it's 0:35:25.080 --> 0:35:27.299 talking about the fruit there, those are the good works 0:35:27.300 --> 0:35:30.210 that God created for us, because we are attached to the, 0:35:30.210 --> 0:35:35.219 the vine. And, uh, and it's not anything that saves us. 0:35:35.219 --> 0:35:38.100 It's the product of being attached to Jesus, to being 0:35:38.219 --> 0:35:40.410 linked to him forever. Okay. 0:35:40.650 --> 0:35:43.710 So it's it's not specifically the fruit of the spirit, 0:35:43.710 --> 0:35:46.950 but it is good in that sense. It's it's the 0:35:46.950 --> 0:35:50.160 things that God is producing in us that are the 0:35:50.160 --> 0:35:54.540 outflow of us being connected to him and following the spirit. Exactly. Okay. 0:35:54.570 --> 0:35:56.700 So in that sense, it is the fruit. 0:35:56.700 --> 0:35:59.009 Of the spirit is more specific. This is just general 0:35:59.040 --> 0:36:00.960 good good works that follow. 0:36:00.989 --> 0:36:02.670 Okay. Wonderful. Thank you. 0:36:02.700 --> 0:36:03.359 Let's do one. 0:36:03.360 --> 0:36:07.680 More. All right. Uh, Patricia in Illinois listens to WNBA. 0:36:07.710 --> 0:36:12.040 Matthew two three states when Herod the king heard this, 0:36:12.040 --> 0:36:14.890 he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. This is 0:36:14.890 --> 0:36:18.400 about Jesus being born and the Magi coming. I understand 0:36:18.400 --> 0:36:20.620 why Herod would be troubled because a new king would 0:36:20.620 --> 0:36:23.319 prove a threat, a political threat to him. But why 0:36:23.320 --> 0:36:26.860 was all Jerusalem troubled with him? Weren't the Jewish people 0:36:26.860 --> 0:36:29.830 long awaiting the king from the Old Testament writings? 0:36:29.860 --> 0:36:32.739 Well, they were assured that this was really the king. 0:36:33.100 --> 0:36:37.779 But they knew who the king was at the time 0:36:37.780 --> 0:36:41.919 appointed by Rome, known as Herod. Herod the Great. And 0:36:41.920 --> 0:36:50.170 Herod was callous and wicked. And when he was so 0:36:50.170 --> 0:36:54.190 paranoid that Caesar Augustus said he would rather be, and 0:36:54.190 --> 0:36:57.430 he used a play on words in the Greek that 0:36:57.430 --> 0:37:04.240 he would rather be Herod's swine than Herod's son. And 0:37:04.239 --> 0:37:07.030 it sounds there are two words that sound similar. Why? 0:37:07.060 --> 0:37:10.750 Because he killed several of his sons and his wife 0:37:10.750 --> 0:37:12.850 that he loved because he thought they were a threat 0:37:12.850 --> 0:37:17.049 to his his crown, to his kingship. And he was 0:37:17.050 --> 0:37:19.779 so wicked and so paranoid about people trying to take 0:37:19.780 --> 0:37:25.239 his crown, that when these wise men appeared saying that 0:37:25.239 --> 0:37:29.410 there's a born king, all of Jerusalem starts saying, wait 0:37:29.410 --> 0:37:32.259 a minute, this delegation has come. There's another threat to 0:37:32.290 --> 0:37:34.900 the throne. Who knows what he'll do? He'll start killing 0:37:34.900 --> 0:37:36.370 people left and right. Right. 0:37:36.370 --> 0:37:37.600 Which is what he did. 0:37:37.630 --> 0:37:40.899 It's exactly what he did. And so that's why all Jerusalem, 0:37:40.900 --> 0:37:42.250 they didn't know what he was going to do, but 0:37:42.250 --> 0:37:44.080 they knew he would do something bad, right? 0:37:44.110 --> 0:37:46.509 So okay. Thank you for that question, Patricia. And thank 0:37:46.540 --> 0:37:47.650 you for that answer. Yeah. 0:37:47.680 --> 0:37:50.440 Hey, thanks for bringing in the questions. And thanks for 0:37:50.440 --> 0:37:52.930 sending them in. You just go to Open Line radio.org, 0:37:52.930 --> 0:37:55.180 click on ask Michael a question and Trish will put 0:37:55.180 --> 0:37:58.120 it in the mailbag. And Trish will be back next 0:37:58.150 --> 0:38:01.120 hour with more of the mailbag questions. And the bottom 0:38:01.120 --> 0:38:03.279 of the hour, I'm going to be right back with 0:38:03.280 --> 0:38:05.320 more of your calls and questions in just a moment. 0:38:05.320 --> 0:38:08.750 This was Tricia McMillan and Michael. Right click on Open Line. 0:38:19.160 --> 0:38:23.060 Welcome back I'm Michael Wright Zelnick. We just finished the 0:38:23.060 --> 0:38:27.020 last segment was the ABC mailbag. I forgot to mention 0:38:27.020 --> 0:38:31.160 that you can check out Febc, which is a terrific organization, 0:38:31.190 --> 0:38:35.660 Far Eastern Broadcasting Company. Uh, they partner with us to 0:38:35.690 --> 0:38:39.830 bring you the weekly Febc mailbag. And it's a terrific group. 0:38:39.830 --> 0:38:42.859 They bring the good news to people via media and 0:38:42.860 --> 0:38:47.810 personal engagement. They they're just I just love this organization. 0:38:47.810 --> 0:38:51.470 They do so much. So good. So, so much good, 0:38:51.500 --> 0:38:55.550 so often and so well, uh, check out their podcasts 0:38:55.550 --> 0:38:59.780 until all have heard by going to Febc. Org that's 0:38:59.870 --> 0:39:06.870 Febc dawg. And also our our current resource is a 0:39:06.870 --> 0:39:09.419 wonderful book by a colleague of mine, a friend of mine, 0:39:09.420 --> 0:39:11.880 Jim Coakley, while I was away. Jim taught my classes 0:39:11.880 --> 0:39:17.850 in Daniel here at Moody, and Jim Coakley has written 0:39:17.850 --> 0:39:20.730 a wonderful book. It's about the Bible being more than 0:39:20.730 --> 0:39:24.570 just a collection of ancient texts. It's it's a masterpiece. 0:39:24.600 --> 0:39:27.690 And if you want to read it for all it's worth, 0:39:27.690 --> 0:39:31.080 claim all it's worth. The resource that he has written 0:39:31.080 --> 0:39:34.319 is called 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible. It's 0:39:34.320 --> 0:39:38.430 an award winning book. It's enlightening. It reveals how the 0:39:38.460 --> 0:39:42.689 same techniques used by modern authors were employed by biblical 0:39:42.690 --> 0:39:46.050 writers long ago. Shows you how to see them through 0:39:46.050 --> 0:39:50.130 the lens of interpretation, and it really will encourage you. 0:39:50.160 --> 0:39:54.510 You'll get practical strategies to engage in God's Word with 0:39:54.960 --> 0:39:59.430 in a very, very fresh way. And if this is yours, 0:39:59.460 --> 0:40:01.290 if you just give a gift of any size, we'd 0:40:01.290 --> 0:40:03.450 like to send you a copy to say thank you. 0:40:03.600 --> 0:40:07.690 So to give your gift, go to Openline radio.org or 0:40:07.690 --> 0:40:14.109 call (888) 644-7122. And remember. Ask for 14 Fresh Ways to 0:40:14.140 --> 0:40:17.710 Enjoy the Bible by Jim Coakley when you give your gift. 0:40:17.710 --> 0:40:21.070 And one last thing I need to mention, which is 0:40:21.070 --> 0:40:23.830 that on November 9th, we're having a very special summit 0:40:23.860 --> 0:40:28.870 opposing anti-Semitism right here at Moody Bible Institute, Tori Gray Auditorium. 0:40:29.020 --> 0:40:31.180 People are coming from all over the country. I want 0:40:31.180 --> 0:40:36.160 you to check that out. Go to our website. Uh openline. radio.org, 0:40:36.160 --> 0:40:39.910 and you'll see the link there about the upcoming summit 0:40:39.910 --> 0:40:43.719 opposing anti-Semitism. We're gonna have some great speakers doctor Don Sweeting, 0:40:43.719 --> 0:40:46.930 doctor Mitch Glazer, doctor Mark Jobe. I will be speaking 0:40:46.930 --> 0:40:50.680 as well. Others, uh, there'll be workshops and it will 0:40:50.680 --> 0:40:56.440 help mobilize Christians to stand against this growing anti-Semitism across 0:40:56.440 --> 0:40:59.319 the United States. And now we're going to talk to 0:40:59.350 --> 0:41:03.820 David in Idaho, listening on KMBC. Welcome to Open Line. David. 0:41:03.820 --> 0:41:05.230 How can I help you today? 0:41:06.460 --> 0:41:08.650 Well, thank you so much. I'm glad you're back and 0:41:08.680 --> 0:41:11.890 had a good, safe visit. And educating other people is 0:41:11.890 --> 0:41:16.780 always nice. We're going to talk about revelation 17 Babylon 0:41:17.230 --> 0:41:22.660 and verse 16. It actually talks about the they'll bring 0:41:22.660 --> 0:41:26.259 her to ruin and leave her naked. So it says 0:41:26.350 --> 0:41:28.960 there's a lot of discussion on that, whether they will 0:41:28.960 --> 0:41:35.440 rebuild it or if it's just a figurative speech about the, um, 0:41:35.710 --> 0:41:39.190 all the wickedness all combined. It just it kind of 0:41:39.219 --> 0:41:42.190 misleading either way. But I know that I'll just make 0:41:42.219 --> 0:41:45.280 one more quick comment and then let you talk here. Um, 0:41:46.750 --> 0:41:52.630 Saddam Hussein tried to rebuild, um, Babylon also. So there 0:41:52.630 --> 0:41:55.420 must be something going on. Obviously he was wrong, but, 0:41:55.450 --> 0:41:57.610 you know, I don't know that all the details. So 0:41:57.610 --> 0:42:00.460 maybe you can talk about that a little bit more, please. Well. 0:42:00.760 --> 0:42:04.969 Uh, I can't talk about Saddam Hussein because I never 0:42:04.969 --> 0:42:07.759 saw what he was trying to rebuild. Although Charlie Dyer 0:42:07.790 --> 0:42:10.190 wrote a book called The Rise of Babylon, which talks 0:42:10.190 --> 0:42:13.759 about that Babylon will be rebuilt. Two views on revelation 0:42:13.760 --> 0:42:18.740 17 and 18. Some take Babylon to be symbolic of Rome, 0:42:18.739 --> 0:42:22.430 and it refers to the revised Roman Empire and religious 0:42:22.430 --> 0:42:27.200 system that will take place in the tribulation. I think 0:42:27.200 --> 0:42:30.680 that sometimes we get a little too, because the Book 0:42:30.680 --> 0:42:34.549 of Revelation has all these symbols and figures. They we 0:42:34.550 --> 0:42:38.810 think that. But I personally think when it talks about Babylon, this, uh, 0:42:38.810 --> 0:42:42.980 woman of Babylon. Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes, 0:42:42.980 --> 0:42:45.770 and all the vile things of the earth. I believe 0:42:45.770 --> 0:42:48.440 it's when it says Babylon. You're going to find the shocking. 0:42:48.440 --> 0:42:52.280 It means Babylon. Uh, and it. I think the city 0:42:52.280 --> 0:42:55.910 will be rebuilt. Or maybe it's referring to one of 0:42:55.910 --> 0:42:59.030 the cities in the Babylonian Empire. Uh, which would have 0:42:59.030 --> 0:43:02.320 been like something like Baghdad. I don't know, but there's 0:43:02.320 --> 0:43:06.850 going to be a revival of of of that area. 0:43:07.090 --> 0:43:13.540 Iraq now sits on the, the, the second most, uh, oil, uh, 0:43:13.540 --> 0:43:17.650 that's not been developed yet, but the reserves. Second most 0:43:17.650 --> 0:43:20.680 oil reserves next to Saudi Arabia in the world. They 0:43:20.680 --> 0:43:24.670 can become very wealthy. I think it's really talking about Babylon. 0:43:24.670 --> 0:43:29.020 And it will be rebuilt, I think. And uh, in 0:43:29.020 --> 0:43:32.980 the tribulation period, they will become the model of materialism 0:43:32.980 --> 0:43:38.080 and corruption, and they will ultimately be destroyed. That's what 0:43:38.080 --> 0:43:41.169 it's talking about. That's what I understand it to be. Uh, 0:43:41.200 --> 0:43:44.200 you know, the temple has not been rebuilt. It will be, uh, 0:43:44.200 --> 0:43:48.640 in Jerusalem. Babylon will be rebuilt and will be destroyed. Uh, 0:43:48.640 --> 0:43:54.730 I hope that helps, David. Okay. Thanks for your call. Uh, and, uh, 0:43:54.730 --> 0:43:58.900 we're going to talk to Cheryl in Birmingham, Alabama, listening 0:43:58.900 --> 0:44:02.680 on Wmft. Welcome to Open Line, Cheryl. How can I 0:44:02.710 --> 0:44:03.580 help you today? 0:44:04.540 --> 0:44:07.270 Hi. I'm so glad that you're back. I want to 0:44:07.270 --> 0:44:09.069 go to Israel next time you go. 0:44:09.100 --> 0:44:10.930 Oh, good. I want to go to Israel, too. Boy, 0:44:10.930 --> 0:44:13.029 it's a it's a rough time to be going to 0:44:13.060 --> 0:44:15.190 Israel these days. Taking groups. 0:44:15.219 --> 0:44:19.390 I know, yeah, I know. Yeah. Um, well, I have 0:44:19.390 --> 0:44:22.570 a friend who is a newer Christian. She's my age, 0:44:22.570 --> 0:44:26.770 but she's not been a Christian very long. And she 0:44:26.770 --> 0:44:29.049 had a question in her Bible study, which I did 0:44:29.050 --> 0:44:33.250 not attend. She asked that if Adam and Eve had 0:44:33.250 --> 0:44:39.340 never sinned, would the earth still have been populated? Um, 0:44:39.340 --> 0:44:42.219 which is getting in the weeds to me. But to 0:44:42.250 --> 0:44:46.870 her it was important to know. And somebody googled it, 0:44:46.870 --> 0:44:50.770 which Google is spurious to begin with for Bible. 0:44:50.890 --> 0:44:52.900 You mean you don't? You don't trust the internet to 0:44:52.930 --> 0:44:56.980 give you answers? Oh, how could you not trust the internet? Well. 0:44:57.430 --> 0:44:58.690 They'll give you answers. 0:44:58.690 --> 0:45:00.280 But they might not be right. 0:45:00.310 --> 0:45:01.509 Exactly, exactly. 0:45:02.140 --> 0:45:06.730 Yes. So somebody found something in Psalms, and she didn't 0:45:06.760 --> 0:45:10.989 remember exactly the verse in chapter, but it said that 0:45:10.989 --> 0:45:17.020 there were two creations and I just never heard that. 0:45:17.050 --> 0:45:19.150 Okay. Well, I don't know the verse in Psalms either. 0:45:19.180 --> 0:45:21.400 I don't believe there were two creations or that they 0:45:21.400 --> 0:45:24.580 were going to be two creations. There's the original creation. 0:45:24.580 --> 0:45:26.530 There will be the creation of the new heavens and 0:45:26.530 --> 0:45:31.000 the new earth at the after the Millennial Kingdom. Here's 0:45:31.000 --> 0:45:33.850 what the question is. What if Adam and Eve had 0:45:33.850 --> 0:45:37.390 never sinned? I don't like what if questions because we 0:45:37.390 --> 0:45:40.900 can't really know. But here's what I do know when 0:45:40.900 --> 0:45:46.960 I look at Genesis 128, after the creation, God blessed 0:45:46.960 --> 0:45:52.360 them and God said to them, be fruitful, multiply, fill 0:45:52.360 --> 0:45:57.770 the earth, and subdue it. That is pre-fall. So yes, 0:45:58.280 --> 0:46:04.489 God still commanded them to fill the earth even if 0:46:04.489 --> 0:46:07.279 they had not fallen. So yes, the earth would have 0:46:07.280 --> 0:46:10.940 been populated, but they did fall and they still filled 0:46:10.940 --> 0:46:15.350 the earth. And one day the earth will be redeemed completely. 0:46:16.100 --> 0:46:18.800 I hope that helps. Cheryl. Thanks for listening everyone. That's 0:46:18.800 --> 0:46:20.810 the first hour and we're going to come back with 0:46:20.810 --> 0:46:23.810 a second hour of open line on most of these stations. Remember, 0:46:23.810 --> 0:46:26.239 if your station doesn't carry an open line, you can 0:46:26.239 --> 0:46:28.460 always check it out on the Moody Radio app. You 0:46:28.460 --> 0:46:32.150 can listen online. Uh, you can get the podcast during 0:46:32.150 --> 0:46:34.700 the break. Check out our web page, open Line radio.org 0:46:34.700 --> 0:46:37.340 has all the links you're looking for right there. The 0:46:37.340 --> 0:46:40.399 Bible study across America will continue in the second hour, 0:46:40.400 --> 0:46:43.640 so stay with us. Open line with Doctor Michael Melnick 0:46:43.670 --> 0:46:47.660 is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody 0:46:47.660 --> 0:46:49.580 Bible Institute. See you in a bit.