WEBVTT - Herod and Mary 0:00:07.970 --> 0:00:11.840 Predictably, we meet them only during the Christmas season. Herod 0:00:11.869 --> 0:00:15.050 the Great and Mary, the mother of Jesus, both play 0:00:15.050 --> 0:00:17.959 an enormous role in that story, but a deeper look 0:00:17.989 --> 0:00:20.780 at their lives and legacies is a journey, I think, 0:00:20.780 --> 0:00:23.870 worth taking. So coming up, we're going to explore facets 0:00:23.870 --> 0:00:27.440 of Herod and Mary that will surprise and amaze. So 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:30.050 join us now for the land and the book. It's 0:00:30.050 --> 0:00:32.390 your weekly visit to the Middle East with travel guide 0:00:32.390 --> 0:00:35.839 Doctor Charlie Dyer. And I'm John Gager. You know, Charlie 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:38.180 is the end of this year approaches. Many world events 0:00:38.180 --> 0:00:40.880 have left us wondering what God's plan is for the future. 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:44.210 And that's, I suppose, especially true when it comes to Israel. 0:00:44.210 --> 0:00:47.420 Despite its small size, people around the world are just 0:00:47.420 --> 0:00:51.589 intensely focused on what takes place there. Our today's headlines 0:00:51.590 --> 0:00:54.650 connected in any way with the prophecies in Scripture. And 0:00:54.650 --> 0:00:57.950 how should followers of Jesus interpret current events as we 0:00:57.950 --> 0:00:59.180 await his second coming? 0:00:59.210 --> 0:01:01.970 Yeah, absolutely. John. And people are thinking that, especially in 0:01:01.970 --> 0:01:04.400 light of events just even this past week. But to 0:01:04.430 --> 0:01:07.400 help answer those important questions, our friends at Life and 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:11.209 Messiah encourage you to check out their book, God, Israel 0:01:11.209 --> 0:01:15.020 and Bible Prophecy with Scripture as its foundation. This book 0:01:15.020 --> 0:01:17.720 will take you on a journey into what God has 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:21.680 in store for the Jewish people and the nations. This 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:24.590 book is for anyone who wants to explore where modern 0:01:24.590 --> 0:01:28.309 day events fit on God's grand timeline. Now, if that's 0:01:28.310 --> 0:01:31.340 you or someone you know, this would be a great 0:01:31.340 --> 0:01:35.990 resource or gift. Visit Life in Messiah org and click 0:01:35.990 --> 0:01:38.360 on the Moody Radio button to find out how you 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:42.770 can receive your copy of God, Israel and Bible Prophecy. 0:01:42.770 --> 0:01:46.160 That's life in messiah.org. 0:01:46.310 --> 0:01:49.040 Much to talk about in the Middle East this past week. 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:52.430 Let's dig into our top stories. A week ago, judges 0:01:52.430 --> 0:01:56.180 at the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli 0:01:56.180 --> 0:02:00.680 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Yahoo and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. 0:02:00.710 --> 0:02:03.950 What's the basis for the charges? How valid are they 0:02:03.950 --> 0:02:05.780 and what could they impact? 0:02:05.810 --> 0:02:08.600 Well, the court issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:13.160 Galant for war crimes. Specifically, they're charged with using starvation 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:16.430 as a method of warfare and with crimes against humanity 0:02:16.460 --> 0:02:20.390 through the use of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts, 0:02:20.389 --> 0:02:25.160 including attacks against civilian populations. But the charges are based 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:29.300 on shaky legal ground. The court has no jurisdiction against 0:02:29.300 --> 0:02:32.630 Israel since Israel, nor the US for that matter, are 0:02:32.630 --> 0:02:35.900 members of the International Criminal Court, and the treaty that 0:02:35.900 --> 0:02:39.710 established the court precludes the court from considering cases against 0:02:39.710 --> 0:02:43.430 any country with a valid judicial system that's willing and 0:02:43.430 --> 0:02:47.179 able to investigate alleged crimes on its own. As a result, 0:02:47.180 --> 0:02:50.510 France said, Netanyahu and Galant should be immune from the 0:02:50.510 --> 0:02:53.660 charges and that they wouldn't arrest them. The Wall Street 0:02:53.660 --> 0:02:56.630 Journal noted that the precedent that's trying to be established 0:02:56.660 --> 0:03:01.110 could actually harm all democracies, not just Israel, by making 0:03:01.110 --> 0:03:05.010 it difficult to defend against terror groups or rogue states. 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:08.579 The laws of warfare by which war crimes are defined 0:03:08.610 --> 0:03:12.389 were written when wars were fought by nations with standing armies. 0:03:12.419 --> 0:03:16.200 The rise in terrorism has upended those rules. This war 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:20.790 began when Hamas invaded Israel, killing 1200 Israeli citizens, taking 0:03:20.820 --> 0:03:25.530 250 Israelis as hostages and committing other atrocities like rape 0:03:25.530 --> 0:03:29.670 and torture, and firing thousands of rockets against Israeli towns 0:03:29.669 --> 0:03:34.230 and cities. They also embedded their soldiers, command centers, rocket 0:03:34.230 --> 0:03:39.870 launchers and weapons in and under hospitals, mosques, schools, homes 0:03:39.870 --> 0:03:44.310 and apartments, using their own citizens as human shields. Yet 0:03:44.310 --> 0:03:48.030 the low ratio of civilians to combatants killed illustrates the 0:03:48.030 --> 0:03:52.260 reality that Israel didn't deliberately target civilians. The Wall Street 0:03:52.260 --> 0:03:55.710 Journal study noted that the IDF may have achieved the 0:03:55.710 --> 0:03:59.630 lowest ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in the history 0:03:59.630 --> 0:04:02.810 of urban warfare, and rather than seeking to starve the 0:04:02.810 --> 0:04:06.290 people of Gaza as the court has charged, Israel facilitated 0:04:06.290 --> 0:04:11.010 the transfer of more than 57,000 aid trucks and 1.1 0:04:11.010 --> 0:04:15.290 million tons of aid into Gaza in its fight against Hamas. 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:19.159 Israel has worked hard to avoid civilian casualties, but what 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:21.680 happens next? It's up to the leaders in the US 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:24.140 and the West. The West needs to stand up and 0:04:24.140 --> 0:04:28.339 declare that Islamic fundamentalism and its fanatical hatred of Israel 0:04:28.339 --> 0:04:31.339 and the Jews is the root cause of this conflict, 0:04:31.339 --> 0:04:34.070 and that the so-called rules of war need to be 0:04:34.070 --> 0:04:38.630 modified to enable countries to fight terrorists without facing legal 0:04:38.630 --> 0:04:40.339 charges for doing so. 0:04:40.370 --> 0:04:43.940 Story number two A cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah 0:04:43.940 --> 0:04:46.850 was all the talk this week, approved by all parties, 0:04:46.850 --> 0:04:49.970 went into effect early Wednesday. What are the details of 0:04:49.970 --> 0:04:51.980 the truce and how likely is it to lead to 0:04:52.010 --> 0:04:53.210 peace in the North? 0:04:53.240 --> 0:04:55.719 Well, again, the US, with help from France and others, 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:59.529 developed a pathway forward that was acceptable to all parties. 0:04:59.529 --> 0:05:02.860 That's based in part on the UN Security Council Resolution 0:05:02.860 --> 0:05:07.029 1701 that really never did take effect. Wednesday was the 0:05:07.029 --> 0:05:09.820 beginning of a 60 day truce during which Israel will 0:05:09.820 --> 0:05:13.599 withdraw from southern Lebanon, allowing the Lebanese Army and UN 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:17.500 forces to deploy there. Hezbollah will be prohibited from returning 0:05:17.500 --> 0:05:21.070 south of the Litani River. A five country mechanism that 0:05:21.070 --> 0:05:25.419 includes the US, France, the UN, Lebanon and Israel will 0:05:25.420 --> 0:05:28.599 monitor the cease fire. The US issued a letter of 0:05:28.600 --> 0:05:32.350 guarantee to Israel while the exact contents weren't made public. 0:05:32.380 --> 0:05:36.880 Apparently it spells out specific situations where Israel can respond 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:40.600 to Hezbollah should they violate the agreement. There was some 0:05:40.630 --> 0:05:43.150 opposition to the deal in Israel, because it doesn't allow 0:05:43.150 --> 0:05:46.540 residents in the North to return immediately to their homes. 0:05:46.540 --> 0:05:50.409 There were also concerns over Hezbollah's past violations of UN 0:05:50.410 --> 0:05:54.040 resolution 1701. The agreement is only good if Hezbollah is 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.740 willing to honor it. The hope is that the Lebanese 0:05:56.740 --> 0:06:00.369 army can now enforce it against a weakened Hezbollah. The 0:06:00.370 --> 0:06:03.250 next 60 days are crucial. That's just about the amount 0:06:03.250 --> 0:06:06.790 of time the Biden administration will remain in power. So 0:06:06.790 --> 0:06:09.310 do they have the will to implement the agreement, or 0:06:09.310 --> 0:06:13.180 will Hezbollah try to reestablish itself in the area before 0:06:13.180 --> 0:06:17.050 the next administration takes office? Only time will tell. And 0:06:17.050 --> 0:06:18.550 now we need to be watching to see if a 0:06:18.550 --> 0:06:22.060 ceasefire can also be brokered in the South with Gaza. 0:06:22.089 --> 0:06:24.489 Charlie, what's your guess as to the likelihood of this 0:06:24.490 --> 0:06:27.429 cease fire truly being a ceasefire and and going all 0:06:27.430 --> 0:06:28.330 60 days? 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:31.150 I think it will last mainly because Hezbollah has been 0:06:31.150 --> 0:06:34.090 hit so hard, and Israel has made it very clear 0:06:34.089 --> 0:06:37.180 that they won't tolerate any violations of the agreement. 0:06:37.180 --> 0:06:39.820 And I noted President Biden's support along those same lines 0:06:39.820 --> 0:06:42.789 in a public statement. Absolutely. Story number three, the world 0:06:42.790 --> 0:06:45.250 has been waiting for over a month for Iran's threatened 0:06:45.250 --> 0:06:48.760 revenge attack against both Israel and the U.S. so what 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:52.300 exactly has been happening or in this case, not happening 0:06:52.300 --> 0:06:53.260 with Iran. 0:06:53.290 --> 0:06:56.500 You know, they continued to make threats. The International Atomic 0:06:56.500 --> 0:07:00.370 Energy Agency adopted a resolution censuring Iran for failure to 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:03.970 cooperate with the agency. In response, Iran announced it would 0:07:03.970 --> 0:07:08.529 immediately bring new, more advanced centrifuges online to enrich uranium. 0:07:08.529 --> 0:07:11.710 But threats of a direct attack on Israel have given 0:07:11.710 --> 0:07:16.060 way more to talk about improving Iran's economy, despite boasts 0:07:16.060 --> 0:07:19.120 that Israel is heading toward the dustbin of history. Iran 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:22.210 is concerned about its own weakness right now. The election 0:07:22.210 --> 0:07:24.970 of President Trump has raised concern that the US could 0:07:24.970 --> 0:07:28.480 allow Israel to respond to any Iranian attack, and the 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:32.230 US might even join in. Apparently, Iran's Assembly of Experts 0:07:32.230 --> 0:07:35.830 convened several months ago to secretly elect a new ayatollah 0:07:35.830 --> 0:07:39.430 to replace Khamenei, and that new ayatollah is his son. 0:07:39.460 --> 0:07:41.710 The decision, though, has been kept secret out of fear 0:07:41.710 --> 0:07:46.240 it might spark national protests. Iran's economy is in shambles, 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:50.380 and Trump is threatening to reimpose drastic economic sanctions lifted 0:07:50.380 --> 0:07:53.590 by the Biden administration in spite of its vast oil 0:07:53.590 --> 0:07:58.060 and gas reserves. Iran is experiencing widespread blackouts. The electric 0:07:58.060 --> 0:08:01.660 grid is unable to meet demand. Iran is also experiencing 0:08:01.660 --> 0:08:05.590 a severe water shortage. Instead of investing in infrastructure, over 0:08:05.590 --> 0:08:08.350 the years, the country has been investing in weapons in 0:08:08.350 --> 0:08:12.010 its nuclear program and in its support for international terror, 0:08:12.040 --> 0:08:14.739 and they are now fearful that Israel might retaliate to 0:08:14.770 --> 0:08:18.490 another attack by eliminating several of their key nuclear facilities, 0:08:18.490 --> 0:08:21.700 or by taking its oil refineries out of commission, plunging 0:08:21.700 --> 0:08:25.480 the nation into absolute chaos. Iran might boast, but watch 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:28.060 carefully to see what the regime does, to try to 0:08:28.060 --> 0:08:30.250 avoid conflict and to stay in power. 0:08:30.280 --> 0:08:32.800 This is the land and the book moving just a 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:37.240 little further afield. Tensions continue to rise in Africa between Egypt, 0:08:37.270 --> 0:08:40.870 Sudan and Ethiopia. What's causing all the tension and why 0:08:40.870 --> 0:08:41.950 is it so important? 0:08:41.980 --> 0:08:44.230 Yeah, you know, it's an area we don't focus on regularly, 0:08:44.230 --> 0:08:47.500 but it does bear watching. The dispute between Egypt and 0:08:47.500 --> 0:08:51.770 Ethiopia is primarily over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The 0:08:51.770 --> 0:08:55.370 dam was completed in 2023 and has been generating electricity 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:58.070 for the past year. Egypt's fear is that the dam 0:08:58.070 --> 0:09:00.319 will reduce the flow of the Nile River, and the 0:09:00.320 --> 0:09:04.730 Nile supplies 98% of Egypt's water. But the dam isn't 0:09:04.730 --> 0:09:08.090 the only area of contention. Ethiopia has reached out to 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:12.800 support Somaliland, a breakaway region in neighboring Somalia, in exchange 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:16.699 for giving Ethiopia access to the Red sea. Somalia is 0:09:16.700 --> 0:09:19.370 upset over the deal, and Egypt and Somalia want to 0:09:19.370 --> 0:09:24.140 form a coalition to block Ethiopia's growing influence. Ethiopia has 0:09:24.140 --> 0:09:27.800 had 10,000 soldiers in Somalia to help fight against the 0:09:27.800 --> 0:09:32.479 al-Shabab militant group. Somalia now wants the Ethiopian soldiers out 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:35.300 when the agreement ends at the end of this year. Meanwhile, 0:09:35.300 --> 0:09:38.210 Egypt has sent a thousand of their own troops into Somalia, 0:09:38.210 --> 0:09:42.020 and another 10,000 are scheduled to arrive in January. Egypt 0:09:42.020 --> 0:09:46.220 has also been sending planeloads of arms and ammunition to Somalia. 0:09:46.250 --> 0:09:50.540 Ethiopia is concerned that Egypt and Somalia could eventually attack them. 0:09:50.540 --> 0:09:53.480 And as if all that's not enough trouble. Yemen and 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:57.290 the Houthis are just across the Red sea. These clients 0:09:57.290 --> 0:10:00.260 of Iran have also had an interest in this region 0:10:00.260 --> 0:10:03.319 in Africa. Now, it might not make our news, but 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:06.590 the region is crucial because it impacts shipping through the 0:10:06.590 --> 0:10:09.080 Red sea and the Suez Canal. 0:10:09.110 --> 0:10:12.740 Charlie, so much swirling around right now and just a 0:10:12.770 --> 0:10:14.959 lot of trouble in the Middle East. I'm going to 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:17.390 invite you to pause and pray, as Scripture says, for 0:10:17.390 --> 0:10:19.880 the peace of Jerusalem and the entire region. 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:23.090 Lord, we do pray right now for that region. Thank 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:26.570 you for this agreement that has just been brokered this week. 0:10:26.780 --> 0:10:28.369 We do pray that it would take hold, that it 0:10:28.370 --> 0:10:31.250 would be effective, that it would help save lives in 0:10:31.250 --> 0:10:34.460 Lebanon and in Israel. And we pray that an agreement 0:10:34.460 --> 0:10:36.590 could also be reached with Hamas that could bring the 0:10:36.590 --> 0:10:39.980 hostages back home. Lord, we know you love peace. We 0:10:40.010 --> 0:10:42.080 know you're the God of peace. And we ask that 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:46.520 you would bring that peace, even temporarily, to the region now. Amen. 0:10:46.540 --> 0:10:50.050 Up next, a visit with Herod and Mary. You'll discover 0:10:50.050 --> 0:11:08.470 things you never saw before on the land and the book. Predictably, 0:11:08.470 --> 0:11:11.440 we meet them only during the Christmas season. Herod the 0:11:11.440 --> 0:11:14.740 Great and Mary the mother of Jesus. And they both 0:11:14.740 --> 0:11:18.070 play an enormous role in that story. But their lives 0:11:18.070 --> 0:11:21.040 and legacies are much bigger than the birth of Christ. Hey, 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:23.830 welcome back to the land and the book segment two. 0:11:23.860 --> 0:11:26.560 I'm John Gager. Coming up, the true story of the 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:30.370 tyrant king and the mother of the Risen Savior. Right now, though, 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.130 let's get fired up about a fresh idea for sharing 0:11:33.130 --> 0:11:36.699 Jesus with a Jewish friend. So maybe you've tried reaching 0:11:36.700 --> 0:11:39.580 out to your Jewish friend by way of thoughts on 0:11:39.580 --> 0:11:42.670 on your own spiritual journey, and you find that they're polite, 0:11:42.670 --> 0:11:45.040 but they don't seem to want to go any deeper 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.610 on the subject. Why are my Jewish friends so polite 0:11:47.610 --> 0:11:50.309 about my faith in Jesus, but don't really want to 0:11:50.309 --> 0:11:54.090 go any further along that conversation? Let's ask Eva Radonich 0:11:54.090 --> 0:11:56.190 with Chosen People Ministries. What's the answer there? 0:11:56.370 --> 0:12:00.120 Well, I think our Jewish friends are encouraged by our faith, 0:12:00.150 --> 0:12:04.829 our spiritual practice. They're very broad in their acceptance of 0:12:04.830 --> 0:12:09.270 any sort of spirituality or religious practice, and they're happy 0:12:09.270 --> 0:12:12.120 that we have a relationship with God that is meaningful 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:17.610 to us. But for them, Christianity, Jesus is a closed door. 0:12:17.790 --> 0:12:20.520 They want to be, oh, this is really good for you, 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.460 but it's not for me. And our challenge is to 0:12:23.490 --> 0:12:26.880 say it's really for everybody. I'm not targeting you because 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:30.510 you're Jewish. I just want everybody to understand the promises 0:12:30.510 --> 0:12:33.990 that God made in the Tanakh, the Old Testament, and 0:12:33.990 --> 0:12:38.880 how they were fulfilled in Jesus, Yeshua. And they're for everybody. 0:12:38.910 --> 0:12:43.140 For me, as a non-Jew and for Jewish people as well, 0:12:43.140 --> 0:12:45.959 they don't want to offend us by saying, oh, don't 0:12:45.990 --> 0:12:50.160 talk to me. They're very open and warm, but they're hesitant. 0:12:50.190 --> 0:12:53.100 Yeah. Two thoughts about this closed door analogy. Number one 0:12:53.100 --> 0:12:55.530 would be it's never polite to bang on a door. 0:12:55.530 --> 0:12:58.710 So there's some sensitivity there for us. And number two, 0:12:58.740 --> 0:13:02.580 Jesus still specializes in opening locked or slammed doors, is 0:13:02.580 --> 0:13:02.849 he not? 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:05.400 Exactly. And I think our best tool is to love 0:13:05.400 --> 0:13:07.080 people until they ask us why. 0:13:07.110 --> 0:13:10.890 Eva Radonich serves with Chosen People Ministries. Thanks for your conversation. 0:13:10.890 --> 0:13:11.760 Thank you John. 0:13:13.020 --> 0:13:16.980 Doctor Brian Litvin grew up in Dallas, Texas, Oxford, England 0:13:16.980 --> 0:13:19.860 and Memphis, Tennessee. It's a shame he doesn't get around. 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:23.280 He earned a degree in print journalism from the University 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:27.449 of Tennessee, a master's degree in historical theology at Dallas Seminary, 0:13:27.450 --> 0:13:30.360 and a Ph.D. in the field of ancient church history 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:34.200 at the University of Virginia. The author of four non-fiction 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:38.040 books and six novels, Doctor Litvin now works as Professor 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:41.520 of Bible and theology at Rawlings School of Divinity at 0:13:41.550 --> 0:13:45.990 Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He recently joined forces with 0:13:45.990 --> 0:13:49.800 Kathie Lee Gifford to create the book Harold and Mary. Hey, 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:51.810 welcome to the land and the book. Brian. 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.000 Great to be here. John, thanks so much for having me. 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:54.780 It's an honor. 0:13:54.780 --> 0:14:00.090 Well, Brian, why these two characters compared and contrasted in 0:14:00.090 --> 0:14:00.839 the book? 0:14:00.870 --> 0:14:04.230 Yeah. Well, you know, um, it's sort of a dark 0:14:04.230 --> 0:14:07.440 versus light in some ways. And Kathie has had a 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:11.309 fascination for a long time with Herod, ever since she's 0:14:11.340 --> 0:14:13.800 kind of traveled in the land and wanted to tell 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:16.829 his story. She calls it the greatest story never told. 0:14:16.830 --> 0:14:19.440 And as we began to think about, you know, how 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:21.420 do you tell the story of a of a tyrant 0:14:21.420 --> 0:14:24.150 or how do you delve into kind of the evil 0:14:24.150 --> 0:14:26.609 mind of someone like this? Is that just going to 0:14:26.610 --> 0:14:29.130 be a big negative story? Well, what we realized is 0:14:29.130 --> 0:14:32.460 that the Lord had arranged a kind of counterpoint in 0:14:32.460 --> 0:14:35.130 the narrative where you've got this figure of Mary. If 0:14:35.130 --> 0:14:37.920 you could tell her backstory as much as it could 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:41.730 be imagined or reconstructed, you'd have this kind of opposite 0:14:41.730 --> 0:14:45.810 where you have this tyrant figure. But behind the scenes, 0:14:45.810 --> 0:14:49.260 the Lord is doing something good with a more insignificant person. 0:14:49.290 --> 0:14:52.140 And so, weaving their story together, we call the story 0:14:52.140 --> 0:14:55.890 of Mary a golden thread that's weaving its way through 0:14:55.890 --> 0:14:58.800 the dark fabric of Herod's life. 0:14:59.040 --> 0:15:02.550 I absolutely love the timeline that you created for us 0:15:02.550 --> 0:15:06.780 up front. A super job of juxtaposing secular history with 0:15:06.780 --> 0:15:09.780 the biblical record. How difficult was that to create? Assigning 0:15:09.810 --> 0:15:12.450 actual dates to so many things? 0:15:12.450 --> 0:15:15.870 Well, it was not as difficult with Herod because we 0:15:15.870 --> 0:15:20.190 have extensive sources, mostly Josephus, about his life, and his 0:15:20.190 --> 0:15:23.400 life is correlating with Roman history. So you can kind 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.460 of anchor a few points with Mary. You don't have 0:15:26.460 --> 0:15:30.300 that except in early Christian traditions about her life, where 0:15:30.300 --> 0:15:32.190 you don't know for sure they're not coming directly from 0:15:32.190 --> 0:15:34.860 the Bible. So of course they're not inspired. But, you know, 0:15:34.890 --> 0:15:37.170 they might have nuggets of truth in them. And so 0:15:37.170 --> 0:15:40.140 that was the more challenging part was to maybe anchor 0:15:40.230 --> 0:15:43.860 some of Mary's backstory and imagine that. But we did 0:15:43.860 --> 0:15:46.020 the best we could and tried to kind of tell 0:15:46.020 --> 0:15:47.280 the story as best we can. 0:15:47.310 --> 0:15:50.610 Herod and Mary, the true story of the tyrant king 0:15:50.610 --> 0:15:52.890 and the mother of the risen Savior. This is the 0:15:52.890 --> 0:15:56.010 land and the book. I'm John Gager, joined today by 0:15:56.010 --> 0:15:58.830 Doctor Brian Litvin. Well, let's get to Herod, the man. 0:15:58.830 --> 0:16:01.470 We know him, of course, for his infamous killing of 0:16:01.470 --> 0:16:05.130 the baby boys in Bethlehem. But killing was really part 0:16:05.130 --> 0:16:08.130 of his DNA. That wasn't the first incident. So who 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:11.010 were some of the more notable people on Herod's hit list? 0:16:11.190 --> 0:16:12.900 There were a whole lot of them. Yeah. 0:16:12.930 --> 0:16:16.050 There were. I mean, he started slow, you might say. 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:17.730 I mean, he didn't start out like that, you know, 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:19.950 like it's in his DNA in one sense. But in 0:16:19.950 --> 0:16:22.950 some ways, it was that creeping decision to be that 0:16:22.980 --> 0:16:25.830 kind of person. And he starts out by killing political 0:16:25.830 --> 0:16:29.640 enemies or executing supposed criminals, but he begins to cross 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:32.820 those lines. And as you mentioned, he crosses the lines 0:16:32.820 --> 0:16:35.580 even to his family. And so, you know, for example, 0:16:35.580 --> 0:16:38.160 his favorite wife, Mariamne, and he has her put to 0:16:38.160 --> 0:16:42.000 death along with her mother, as well as Mariamne's handsome 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:45.090 brother that he was threatened by, and then the two 0:16:45.120 --> 0:16:48.780 sons that they had with them, and Herod's firstborn son 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.350 as well. Antipater. So you know the baby boys that 0:16:52.350 --> 0:16:54.720 you see in the book of Matthew, in the Gospel 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:58.050 of Matthew are just kind of a culmination of, unfortunately, 0:16:58.050 --> 0:16:59.970 a lifetime of killing. And so by the end, yeah, 0:16:59.970 --> 0:17:01.620 he was a killing machine for sure. 0:17:01.650 --> 0:17:04.830 Well, an important bit of family lineage here. Elaborate on 0:17:04.830 --> 0:17:06.690 why this was such a big deal. 0:17:06.720 --> 0:17:09.359 Well, you know, with Herod, I mean, in one sense 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:11.340 it was Jewish and in another sense it wasn't. And 0:17:11.340 --> 0:17:14.460 so he was called a half Jew. So he was idumean, 0:17:14.460 --> 0:17:17.490 which is really in the Old Testament. They were the Edomites. 0:17:17.490 --> 0:17:19.739 And so they were the enemies of Israel, and they 0:17:19.740 --> 0:17:23.520 lived in an adjacent kingdom. But over time that kingdom 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:27.060 had been captured by the Jewish state by the Hasmoneans, 0:17:27.060 --> 0:17:31.050 and so it had been forced to convert. So theoretically, 0:17:31.050 --> 0:17:35.550 now the Idumaeans were Jewish, but they weren't the inheritors of, 0:17:35.580 --> 0:17:39.120 you know, of Judea and of Jerusalem. And so he 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.490 always felt that as trying to be the King of 0:17:41.490 --> 0:17:43.859 the Jews, he was behind the gun, so to speak. 0:17:43.859 --> 0:17:46.200 He didn't fit in. He was a half breed or 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:49.859 something like that. And he wasn't true royalty, true nobility. 0:17:49.859 --> 0:17:53.580 And so it affected his confidence in that way, as 0:17:53.580 --> 0:17:56.460 well as his wife, his wife, Mary. And they despised 0:17:56.460 --> 0:17:58.439 him for not being truly royal. 0:17:58.470 --> 0:18:01.350 Doctor Brian Litvin has teamed up with Kathie Lee Gifford 0:18:01.380 --> 0:18:04.109 to write the book Herod and Mary. It's great to 0:18:04.140 --> 0:18:07.110 have you with us today on the land and the book. Well, 0:18:07.109 --> 0:18:10.140 let's swing the focus of this conversation toward the Christmas 0:18:10.140 --> 0:18:12.900 season that we're in now. Brian, only when we understand 0:18:12.900 --> 0:18:16.439 that Herod was named King of the Jews can we 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:19.440 understand how Herod's world was utterly rocked by the question 0:18:19.440 --> 0:18:22.620 of the Magi who came to him asking, where is 0:18:22.619 --> 0:18:25.919 he who was born King of the Jews? Brian, do 0:18:25.950 --> 0:18:28.619 your best to climb inside Herod's head at that very moment. 0:18:28.619 --> 0:18:32.220 What's he really thinking but would never say out loud? 0:18:32.250 --> 0:18:35.879 Well, I mean, he's clearly paranoid. One of the things 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:39.060 that maybe readers don't know as they encounter the story 0:18:39.060 --> 0:18:41.760 that Matthew puts forward because he doesn't mention it. But 0:18:41.790 --> 0:18:43.800 Herod at that time was at the very end of 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:46.500 his life. He was sick. He was on his deathbed. 0:18:46.500 --> 0:18:49.290 And so, you know, Herod wasn't worried someone's going to 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:53.850 supplant me right now, do an overthrow of my kingdom 0:18:53.850 --> 0:18:56.730 right at this moment, because he knew he was dying. 0:18:56.730 --> 0:18:59.070 What he was worried about at that point was, who 0:18:59.070 --> 0:19:01.800 is going to take over after me? You know who's 0:19:01.800 --> 0:19:04.110 going to be the follower? Am I going to leave 0:19:04.109 --> 0:19:07.800 a legacy? Am I creating a dynasty? Will my sons 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:11.399 rule after me and show that my power continues? Or 0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:13.680 am I kind of a one and done and someone 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:15.180 else is going to come in and be the new 0:19:15.180 --> 0:19:17.070 king of the Jews and someone who might claim to 0:19:17.100 --> 0:19:20.100 be born one, as opposed to a half breed. And 0:19:20.100 --> 0:19:23.699 so he was really paranoid about securing his legacy. And 0:19:23.700 --> 0:19:26.070 that helps to explain why he said, you know, wherever 0:19:26.070 --> 0:19:28.500 this pretender is, I'm not going to let some peasant 0:19:28.500 --> 0:19:32.879 boy in Nazareth come along or Bethlehem come along and 0:19:32.880 --> 0:19:35.540 become the replacement for me. And so he went and 0:19:35.540 --> 0:19:37.460 had his soldiers slaughter those babies. 0:19:37.490 --> 0:19:40.760 You write in the book the struggles within Herod's household, 0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:43.790 as well as God's redemptive work behind the scenes, have 0:19:43.790 --> 0:19:46.670 many parallels today. Give me an example, if you could, 0:19:46.670 --> 0:19:48.139 of a modern parallel. 0:19:48.470 --> 0:19:53.179 So often you see that outer household, or the outer 0:19:53.180 --> 0:19:56.120 people that are visible to the public eye look like 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:59.780 a disaster. But behind the scenes, God hasn't abandoned the 0:19:59.780 --> 0:20:02.060 people that are involved. God is doing a work, and 0:20:02.060 --> 0:20:05.060 so he's up to something good. And I think you 0:20:05.060 --> 0:20:07.040 know that. I would answer that by just saying there's 0:20:07.070 --> 0:20:10.520 kind of a general pattern in which God is doing something, 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:13.250 even when what looks to be terrible is happening on 0:20:13.250 --> 0:20:16.040 the outside, he still has his purposes underneath it. 0:20:16.070 --> 0:20:18.320 Well, let's swing our focus toward Mary for a moment. 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:21.140 Most of us think we know Mary fairly well. Share 0:20:21.140 --> 0:20:24.230 a few life details that might have escaped some of us. 0:20:24.410 --> 0:20:27.500 You know, we have the biblical record. And so that 0:20:27.500 --> 0:20:29.719 is fairly clear. And I think most people know the 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:31.939 story of how she was visited by the angel and 0:20:31.940 --> 0:20:35.390 how she's honored in that way and gives birth to Messiah. 0:20:35.420 --> 0:20:37.430 What we have in the book here is we try 0:20:37.430 --> 0:20:39.619 to use some other sources that we don't claim to 0:20:39.650 --> 0:20:45.050 be 100% accurate, but they are the earliest recollections that 0:20:45.050 --> 0:20:47.930 could be part of an oral tradition about who Mary was. 0:20:47.930 --> 0:20:51.080 For example, that as a young girl she lived at 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:55.220 the Jewish temple and worked there and was perhaps a 0:20:55.220 --> 0:20:57.740 musician or something like that, that she might have had 0:20:57.740 --> 0:21:00.230 a a singing role. Because we do know that in 0:21:00.260 --> 0:21:02.780 the Jewish temple that there were virgins, young virgin girls 0:21:02.780 --> 0:21:06.950 who were part of musical ministries. And so maybe that 0:21:06.950 --> 0:21:09.020 was part of Mary's life. And if you think about 0:21:09.020 --> 0:21:11.660 one of the most prominent things that we find in 0:21:11.660 --> 0:21:14.660 the gospel, in Luke's gospel is that Mary sings a song. 0:21:14.690 --> 0:21:17.060 Where does that song come from? Well, maybe she's been 0:21:17.060 --> 0:21:20.720 trained as a young girl to burst into worshipful songs. 0:21:20.750 --> 0:21:23.929 And so that humility of Mary. And even in the 0:21:23.930 --> 0:21:27.800 book we explore her parents, Anna and Joachim. So how 0:21:27.800 --> 0:21:30.590 did her home life shape who she became? And we 0:21:30.590 --> 0:21:33.470 try to imagine that and see what could be true there. 0:21:33.500 --> 0:21:35.270 Those kind of things are, I think, one of the 0:21:35.270 --> 0:21:37.729 real values of this book, to give the backstory of 0:21:37.730 --> 0:21:40.040 Mary that most Christian readers don't know. 0:21:40.070 --> 0:21:43.430 If Mary were given the stage at a National Women's 0:21:43.430 --> 0:21:46.820 Christian conference today, what do you think she might say 0:21:46.820 --> 0:21:48.350 in her message to other women? 0:21:48.590 --> 0:21:50.810 I have to ask myself if she would even take 0:21:50.810 --> 0:21:55.400 that stage. You know, that's kind of not who she is, right? 0:21:55.430 --> 0:21:59.030 I mean, the purpose of understanding Mary is she's not visible. 0:21:59.030 --> 0:22:02.869 She's not out front. She probably would have been very timid. 0:22:02.869 --> 0:22:05.840 And that's kind of the point, is that, you know, like, 0:22:05.869 --> 0:22:09.199 Herod is the one who builds the glamorous temple that 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:13.400 everybody sees, but who's the real temple of Messiah? This 0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:17.330 peasant girl whose womb is the home of the Shekinah glory, 0:22:17.359 --> 0:22:19.580 whose womb is the home of the presence of God. 0:22:19.609 --> 0:22:24.500 So she's very humble. She's very offstage, like so many 0:22:24.500 --> 0:22:27.080 Christians today, so many women out there that don't get 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:30.080 the notice of the world. But what they do get 0:22:30.080 --> 0:22:33.590 is the notice of the Lord God who says, favored one, 0:22:33.590 --> 0:22:38.000 blessed one, graced one. So I don't know that she 0:22:38.000 --> 0:22:39.889 ever would be a speaker like that. But in the 0:22:39.890 --> 0:22:42.740 spirit of your question, I would say she would point 0:22:42.740 --> 0:22:45.980 everyone to the glory of God and the mercies that 0:22:45.980 --> 0:22:48.530 he has, even on the lowly of spirit. 0:22:48.560 --> 0:22:52.250 Was this a difficult book to write? Why or why not? 0:22:52.580 --> 0:22:55.250 Yes, it was a difficult book because you have to 0:22:55.280 --> 0:22:57.800 delve into someone like Herod, and you have to kind 0:22:57.800 --> 0:23:00.350 of watch his descent into evil because he doesn't start 0:23:00.350 --> 0:23:02.780 that way. He's this really young prince, and he's handsome 0:23:02.780 --> 0:23:06.290 and everyone loves him. And probably if you were around Herod, 0:23:06.320 --> 0:23:09.139 especially in his early life, you'd have said, this guy 0:23:09.140 --> 0:23:11.419 is cool. I love hanging around with him. And that 0:23:11.420 --> 0:23:14.119 is actually how the Roman emperors thought. This guy is 0:23:14.119 --> 0:23:16.850 so cool. I love hanging out. He's so easy to 0:23:16.880 --> 0:23:20.359 be around and kind of a winsome personality, but he 0:23:20.359 --> 0:23:23.180 descends into this darkness and that's part of what makes 0:23:23.180 --> 0:23:25.280 the book hard. But on the other hand, you know what? 0:23:25.280 --> 0:23:27.050 I got to admit, it was a great joy. 0:23:27.080 --> 0:23:30.050 The the book reads far more like a novel than 0:23:30.050 --> 0:23:34.010 a historical biography. Forgive the very trite expression. I really 0:23:34.010 --> 0:23:36.679 was hard pressed to put it down. But what is 0:23:36.680 --> 0:23:39.560 your highest hope for us as readers of this book? 0:23:39.590 --> 0:23:42.290 I mean, it's it's easy and simplistic to say, well, 0:23:42.320 --> 0:23:44.929 be nice like Mary, not mean like Herod. 0:23:45.410 --> 0:23:48.439 Well, my greatest hope is the same that Kathy has, 0:23:48.470 --> 0:23:52.250 and that is that readers would turn their eyes toward Yeshua, 0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:56.120 Yeshua Hamashiach, Jesus the Christ. And so she and I 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:59.929 share that deep passion of pointing our readers to the 0:23:59.930 --> 0:24:03.859 one that Mary wanted to point to. And so if 0:24:03.859 --> 0:24:06.830 the reader comes away with a greater appreciation that Messiah, 0:24:06.859 --> 0:24:10.310 that Jesus the King is not a king after the 0:24:10.310 --> 0:24:13.130 pattern of someone like Herod who had to be out there, 0:24:13.130 --> 0:24:15.440 he had to be dominant. He had to be the 0:24:15.440 --> 0:24:18.230 man who left a legacy, and the man who conquered, 0:24:18.230 --> 0:24:20.600 and the man who was praised, and the man who 0:24:20.600 --> 0:24:23.419 was rich and had all those things that the world offers. 0:24:23.450 --> 0:24:25.640 And so our readers might look and think, well, I'm 0:24:25.670 --> 0:24:28.879 none of those things. I'm insignificant. I'm small. I'm in 0:24:28.880 --> 0:24:32.660 a small town. My home is not magnificent. I guess 0:24:32.660 --> 0:24:35.810 maybe God has passed me by or doesn't really use 0:24:35.810 --> 0:24:38.600 people like me and Kathy and I want our readers 0:24:38.600 --> 0:24:41.419 to say no. That's exactly who God uses. Look at 0:24:41.420 --> 0:24:45.440 how he took the most excluded person a female, a 0:24:45.440 --> 0:24:48.980 young female, a female who had shame on her. And 0:24:48.980 --> 0:24:52.010 he said, I am going to make that my actual 0:24:52.010 --> 0:24:54.500 temple for the presence of the Holy Spirit. Right. Because 0:24:54.500 --> 0:24:56.840 that's what happens. The Holy Spirit comes into the womb 0:24:56.840 --> 0:25:02.629 of Mary, and God Himself lives in that physical space. 0:25:02.660 --> 0:25:05.899 He's not living anymore in the physical space of the 0:25:05.900 --> 0:25:09.109 temple that Herod made. He's living in the physical space 0:25:09.109 --> 0:25:12.950 of the most excluded person of that society, wrongfully shamed 0:25:12.950 --> 0:25:17.150 but shamed, female young person. And so that's the message 0:25:17.150 --> 0:25:20.600 right there. The readers might think I'm invisible and God says, 0:25:20.600 --> 0:25:23.179 not to me. You're not. And just you wait until 0:25:23.180 --> 0:25:27.080 I take your fish and your loaves and multiply that 0:25:27.080 --> 0:25:29.990 into an amazing ministry and praise God for being just 0:25:29.990 --> 0:25:30.920 that sort of God. 0:25:30.950 --> 0:25:33.919 Doctor Brian Litvin, who along with Kathie Lee Gifford, has 0:25:33.920 --> 0:25:35.960 written Herod and Mary, if you would like to come 0:25:35.960 --> 0:25:39.620 to know these characters like you've never known them before, 0:25:39.650 --> 0:25:42.260 this is the book for you. Herod and Mary a 0:25:42.260 --> 0:25:46.070 link at our website. The land and the book. Org. Brian, 0:25:46.070 --> 0:25:47.450 thanks for the conversation. 0:25:47.540 --> 0:25:49.310 Great to be here. Thanks for having me. 0:25:49.340 --> 0:25:51.830 And up next, our friend Charlie is back. You know 0:25:51.830 --> 0:25:54.740 what it is. Questions and answers. Right here on the land. 0:25:54.740 --> 0:26:08.750 And the book. From Moody Radio. This is the land 0:26:08.750 --> 0:26:11.720 and the book. I'm John Geiger. Our host, Charlie Dyer, 0:26:11.750 --> 0:26:13.939 is here. And. Well, for many people, this is a 0:26:13.940 --> 0:26:18.200 fascinating segment, Charlie, because we all have puzzles, questions, things 0:26:18.200 --> 0:26:20.689 that just kind of cause us to wonder as we 0:26:20.690 --> 0:26:23.210 open the pages of Scripture. And this is the place 0:26:23.210 --> 0:26:25.609 where we're able to take our time, take a look 0:26:25.640 --> 0:26:27.890 at these questions and bring some answers that I think 0:26:27.890 --> 0:26:31.040 are very encouraging. So with that said, just a quick 0:26:31.040 --> 0:26:33.290 thought here. At the end of this year, as it approaches, 0:26:33.290 --> 0:26:36.860 many world events have left us wondering what God's plan 0:26:36.859 --> 0:26:39.800 is for the future. And this is especially true when 0:26:39.800 --> 0:26:42.620 it comes to Israel. Boy, talk about questions, Charlie. And 0:26:42.619 --> 0:26:45.830 despite its small size, people around the world are intensely 0:26:45.830 --> 0:26:49.070 focused on what takes place there. So the question is, 0:26:49.070 --> 0:26:52.940 are today's headlines connected in any way with prophecies in 0:26:52.940 --> 0:26:57.109 the Bible? How should followers of Jesus interpret current events 0:26:57.109 --> 0:26:59.090 as we await his second coming? 0:26:59.119 --> 0:27:01.939 Well, to help answer those important questions, our friends at 0:27:01.970 --> 0:27:06.290 Life and Messiah encourage you to check out their book, God, Israel, 0:27:06.290 --> 0:27:10.160 and Bible Prophecy with Scripture as its foundation. This book 0:27:10.160 --> 0:27:12.379 will take you on a journey into what God has 0:27:12.380 --> 0:27:16.010 in store for the Jewish people and the nations. This 0:27:16.010 --> 0:27:18.619 book is for anyone who wants to explore where modern 0:27:18.619 --> 0:27:22.730 day events fit on God's grand timeline. If that's you 0:27:22.730 --> 0:27:25.730 or someone you know, this would be a great resource 0:27:25.730 --> 0:27:29.570 or gift. Visit Life in Messiah org and click on 0:27:29.570 --> 0:27:31.640 the Moody Radio button to find out how you can 0:27:31.640 --> 0:27:36.470 receive your copy of God, Israel and Bible Prophecy. That's 0:27:36.470 --> 0:27:38.990 life in messiah.org. 0:27:39.020 --> 0:27:42.260 All right. Question number one from Jean. Will the marriage 0:27:42.260 --> 0:27:44.840 supper of the lamb be in heaven during the seven 0:27:44.840 --> 0:27:48.350 years or on earth during the millennium? Yeah. 0:27:48.380 --> 0:27:51.500 This is a topic where good and godly people disagree. 0:27:51.500 --> 0:27:54.109 So what I tell people in those cases take what 0:27:54.109 --> 0:27:56.900 I'm about to say with a grain of salt. I 0:27:56.900 --> 0:27:59.359 personally see the marriage supper of the lamb as a 0:27:59.359 --> 0:28:02.780 figure of speech pointing to the Millennial Kingdom. Now, here's 0:28:02.780 --> 0:28:05.510 why I say that. First, Jesus used the imagery of 0:28:05.510 --> 0:28:09.020 the bridegroom's arrival for the wedding banquet in Matthew 25, 0:28:09.050 --> 0:28:11.270 verses 1 to 13. And that's where he tells the 0:28:11.270 --> 0:28:14.180 parable of the wise and foolish virgins. But he's picturing 0:28:14.180 --> 0:28:16.880 his return to earth as king. He ends that parable 0:28:16.910 --> 0:28:19.370 by telling Israel to keep watch because you do not 0:28:19.369 --> 0:28:22.310 know the day or the hour. And second, the phrase 0:28:22.310 --> 0:28:26.110 wedding supper of the lamb only occurs in revelation 19, 0:28:26.140 --> 0:28:30.159 verses 7 to 9. Now, chronologically, those verses occur at 0:28:30.160 --> 0:28:33.369 the end of the seven year tribulation period, following the 0:28:33.369 --> 0:28:36.580 outpouring of the final bowls of judgment in chapter 16 0:28:36.580 --> 0:28:39.670 and the destruction of Babylon in chapter 17 and 18. 0:28:39.670 --> 0:28:43.690 Just after the wedding, supper's announced Jesus returns from heaven 0:28:43.690 --> 0:28:47.110 to earth in chapter 19, verses 11 to 16. So 0:28:47.110 --> 0:28:49.390 it looks to me as if the wedding feast, announced 0:28:49.390 --> 0:28:52.240 in chapter 19, is intended as a picture of the 0:28:52.240 --> 0:28:55.090 blessing and joy that are about to follow in the 0:28:55.090 --> 0:28:57.220 Millennial Kingdom after his return. 0:28:57.250 --> 0:29:01.420 Sadie asks, does the prophecy about Japheth being expanded by 0:29:01.420 --> 0:29:04.240 God have to do with the historical fact that the 0:29:04.240 --> 0:29:08.620 descendants of Japheth, whether they be Seleucids, Ottomans, Romans, British, 0:29:08.620 --> 0:29:11.620 French and so on, have been effectively in control of 0:29:11.620 --> 0:29:12.550 world history. 0:29:12.940 --> 0:29:16.840 Well, I'm wondering if you might be confusing Japheth with Jabez. 0:29:16.930 --> 0:29:20.350 There's nothing in Genesis ten about the descendants of Japheth 0:29:20.380 --> 0:29:23.350 being expanded by God, only that they spread out into 0:29:23.350 --> 0:29:26.170 their territory in verse five that they were occupying by 0:29:26.170 --> 0:29:29.950 the time Moses wrote Genesis. Now, in contrast, Jabez, who 0:29:29.950 --> 0:29:31.900 was from the tribe of Judah, did pray and ask 0:29:31.900 --> 0:29:34.959 God to bless me and enlarge my territory. That's in 0:29:34.960 --> 0:29:37.870 first Chronicles four. Now, in terms of the second part 0:29:37.870 --> 0:29:41.590 of the question, while later history does connect Japheth's descendants 0:29:41.590 --> 0:29:44.770 with powers that dominated much of the world, that's not 0:29:44.770 --> 0:29:48.280 the complete picture of both Assyria and Babylon, which were 0:29:48.280 --> 0:29:51.010 early world powers came from Nimrod, who was from the 0:29:51.010 --> 0:29:54.400 line of Ham through Cush. He's mentioned in Genesis ten, 0:29:54.430 --> 0:29:58.480 verses 8 to 11, and Egypt. Mitzrayim was another early 0:29:58.480 --> 0:30:01.270 world power that was also from the line of ham. 0:30:01.420 --> 0:30:04.570 Sadie wants to know, does the curse of Ham have 0:30:04.570 --> 0:30:08.350 to do with the enslavement of blacks by Arabs, English, etc., 0:30:08.350 --> 0:30:11.650 as well as the fact that Ethiopians and cops going 0:30:11.680 --> 0:30:15.550 into the Monophysite heresy early on in the church? 0:30:15.760 --> 0:30:17.980 I do not see the curse of Ham referring to 0:30:18.010 --> 0:30:22.480 the enslavement of blacks in Genesis nine, verses 24 and 25. 0:30:22.510 --> 0:30:25.630 Noah didn't pronounce the curse on Ham, but on his 0:30:25.630 --> 0:30:29.620 youngest son, Canaan. The descendants of Ham and Genesis ten 0:30:29.650 --> 0:30:32.980 included Cush, which was to the south of Egypt. Mitzrayim, 0:30:32.980 --> 0:30:36.340 which is Egypt, put the area around Libya and North 0:30:36.340 --> 0:30:39.490 Africa to the west of Egypt and Canaan. But the 0:30:39.490 --> 0:30:42.580 text clearly says the curse was placed on the descendants 0:30:42.580 --> 0:30:45.910 of Canaan. We're not told why Canaan was cursed, since 0:30:45.910 --> 0:30:48.400 Ham was the one who had seen his father's nakedness. 0:30:48.490 --> 0:30:51.700 It's possible that something else took place that's not included 0:30:51.700 --> 0:30:53.950 in the text, but it is clear that the curse 0:30:53.950 --> 0:30:56.860 was just on Canaan and not on the other descendants 0:30:56.860 --> 0:31:00.370 of Ham. And the Monophysite heresy, at least early on, 0:31:00.370 --> 0:31:03.370 involved more than just the cops and Ethiopians. So I 0:31:03.370 --> 0:31:05.800 don't believe it developed along racial lines. 0:31:05.800 --> 0:31:08.680 It's the land and the book from Moody Radio. Charlie 0:31:08.680 --> 0:31:11.739 Dyer is answering your questions. I'm John Gager, firing at 0:31:11.770 --> 0:31:14.350 them as fast as I can because they come in 0:31:14.350 --> 0:31:17.110 very fast over email. And you can get yours to 0:31:17.140 --> 0:31:21.820 us at The Land and the At moody.edu ed wonders, 0:31:21.820 --> 0:31:24.070 do you agree with those who say that the two 0:31:24.100 --> 0:31:27.580 state solution would wipe Israel off the map? 0:31:27.610 --> 0:31:30.370 Well, I need to answer two ways. First, I don't 0:31:30.400 --> 0:31:32.680 agree with those who say a two state solution will 0:31:32.680 --> 0:31:35.860 wipe Israel off the map. Rather, I see what's happening. 0:31:35.890 --> 0:31:38.950 Aligning with what Zechariah said would take place in the 0:31:38.950 --> 0:31:41.800 final days. He said, I'm going to make Jerusalem a 0:31:41.800 --> 0:31:45.100 cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will 0:31:45.130 --> 0:31:48.219 be besieged as well as Jerusalem on that day when 0:31:48.250 --> 0:31:50.620 all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, 0:31:50.620 --> 0:31:54.070 I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. 0:31:54.070 --> 0:31:57.460 All who try to move it will injure themselves. Second, 0:31:57.490 --> 0:32:00.160 I do believe a two state solution as envisioned by 0:32:00.160 --> 0:32:03.670 most of the world is simply unworkable and would result 0:32:03.670 --> 0:32:07.630 in greater instability in the region. Israel would again be 0:32:07.630 --> 0:32:12.490 under pressure, similar to what they experienced from 1948 to 1967, 0:32:12.490 --> 0:32:16.000 when they faced attacks by terrorists from these same areas. 0:32:16.030 --> 0:32:18.970 What we've seen happening in Gaza would end up taking 0:32:18.970 --> 0:32:21.370 place in the West Bank, as Israel would be forced 0:32:21.370 --> 0:32:24.130 to go on the offensive against the forces seeking to 0:32:24.130 --> 0:32:28.090 attack her. And once again, Zechariah 12 describes the results. 0:32:28.090 --> 0:32:29.950 He says, on that day, I'll make the leaders of 0:32:29.950 --> 0:32:33.190 Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming 0:32:33.220 --> 0:32:36.370 torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all 0:32:36.370 --> 0:32:40.240 the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her 0:32:40.240 --> 0:32:43.630 place if forced to do so. Israel will defend herself, 0:32:43.630 --> 0:32:45.490 and God will be with her. 0:32:45.520 --> 0:32:48.400 Mark asks, my wife and I have been grappling with 0:32:48.400 --> 0:32:51.730 Ecclesiastes seven, verse 18. It is good that you should 0:32:51.730 --> 0:32:55.030 grasp one and not hold on to the other. We've 0:32:55.030 --> 0:32:57.310 looked at this verse in the NIV and the ESV, 0:32:57.340 --> 0:32:59.470 but just don't get it. Can you help? 0:32:59.500 --> 0:33:02.020 Well, I think the key here is viewing verse 18 0:33:02.020 --> 0:33:05.080 in light of the larger context. Solomon's been talking about 0:33:05.080 --> 0:33:08.890 wisdom versus foolishness and wickedness in verses four and five 0:33:08.920 --> 0:33:11.800 are good examples of the comparison he's making. But then 0:33:11.800 --> 0:33:14.530 Solomon reminds the reader that not everything in life turns 0:33:14.530 --> 0:33:17.830 out as we might expect. Wisdom like that displayed by 0:33:17.830 --> 0:33:21.520 job's friends, says that being righteous always brings God's blessing, 0:33:21.520 --> 0:33:25.570 while being wicked always brings judgment. And while that's generally true, 0:33:25.600 --> 0:33:28.000 we know in job's case it wasn't. And that's the 0:33:28.000 --> 0:33:31.300 point Solomon is making in verses 15 to 18. There 0:33:31.300 --> 0:33:34.000 are some who try to live a perfectly righteous life, 0:33:34.000 --> 0:33:37.090 which of course is humanly impossible, but they do so 0:33:37.090 --> 0:33:40.240 assuming God will have to bless them. Others see people 0:33:40.270 --> 0:33:42.100 who seem to get away with being evil, and then 0:33:42.100 --> 0:33:45.160 assume there aren't consequences to actions in spite of what 0:33:45.190 --> 0:33:48.370 God said. But living with a proper awe or respect 0:33:48.370 --> 0:33:52.270 of God helps us avoid those two extremes. Wisdom is 0:33:52.270 --> 0:33:55.930 realizing that life might present some apparent exceptions, at least 0:33:55.930 --> 0:33:59.980 for a time, but that consequences do eventually follow. So 0:33:59.980 --> 0:34:02.680 verses 18 and 19, then, are the conclusion. It's good 0:34:02.680 --> 0:34:06.640 to remember both realities, depending on our own righteousness, will 0:34:06.640 --> 0:34:10.450 not always guarantee success, and ignoring God's standards of right 0:34:10.450 --> 0:34:13.150 and wrong. To do whatever we want won't always bring 0:34:13.180 --> 0:34:16.989 immediate judgment. The wise person won't forget or let go 0:34:16.989 --> 0:34:20.200 of either reality, in spite of what might appear to 0:34:20.200 --> 0:34:21.640 be true for a time. 0:34:21.670 --> 0:34:24.189 Carl takes us to the book of Joel, chapter three, 0:34:24.219 --> 0:34:28.090 verses nine through 14 describe the battle of Armageddon. Verse 0:34:28.090 --> 0:34:32.110 ten describes the weapons as spears, not missiles. Isaiah 29 0:34:32.140 --> 0:34:35.650 three also speaks of siege works. My question when do 0:34:35.650 --> 0:34:38.410 you think that the earth loses their access to weapons 0:34:38.410 --> 0:34:39.939 of modern warfare? 0:34:40.300 --> 0:34:43.570 The answer is I don't know. I believe it's possible 0:34:43.570 --> 0:34:46.120 to answer two ways, and I'm not sure we know 0:34:46.120 --> 0:34:49.180 which is correct. Now, the first possibility is to take 0:34:49.180 --> 0:34:53.830 those references literally to suggest everything from transportation to warfare 0:34:53.830 --> 0:34:57.400 will become much more primitive during the tribulation period. The 0:34:57.400 --> 0:35:00.310 devastation pictured in the book of revelation, from half the 0:35:00.310 --> 0:35:04.630 world's population being destroyed, to the almost unimaginable devastation of 0:35:04.630 --> 0:35:07.360 the land and the seas, to the total disruption of 0:35:07.360 --> 0:35:11.259 food supplies and even drinking water, could completely undo what 0:35:11.260 --> 0:35:13.990 we think of as our modern way of life. Imagine 0:35:13.989 --> 0:35:15.690 what it would be like if the power grid was 0:35:15.690 --> 0:35:20.219 taken down, along with the banking system, refineries, fuel distribution systems, 0:35:20.219 --> 0:35:23.609 and even basic services like trash collection and fire and 0:35:23.610 --> 0:35:27.750 police protection. A nuclear war or other world wide conflagration 0:35:27.750 --> 0:35:30.960 early in the tribulation could quickly push the world back 0:35:30.960 --> 0:35:33.930 to such primitive means, and then the words of these 0:35:33.930 --> 0:35:36.780 prophets would make perfect sense at that time. At the 0:35:36.780 --> 0:35:39.420 second possible answer, though, is to assume that the writers 0:35:39.420 --> 0:35:42.630 describe events using words and images that made sense to 0:35:42.660 --> 0:35:45.450 their audience in that day, but that might be understood 0:35:45.450 --> 0:35:48.990 in a slightly different way today. For example, in Ezekiel 38, 0:35:49.020 --> 0:35:52.170 he describes a future invasion against Israel by an army 0:35:52.170 --> 0:35:53.910 from the North, and he says all of them are 0:35:53.910 --> 0:35:57.120 riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. While 0:35:57.120 --> 0:36:00.180 in Ezekiel's day most armies were foot soldiers, a vast 0:36:00.180 --> 0:36:03.780 army all on horseback would have seemed as totally unstoppable. 0:36:03.810 --> 0:36:06.270 The description in modern times might be like an army 0:36:06.270 --> 0:36:09.689 that's totally mechanized and armored. Now, I need to say 0:36:09.690 --> 0:36:12.360 that my normal approach to interpretation is to take the 0:36:12.360 --> 0:36:15.060 first option. I believe it's entirely possible to see a 0:36:15.060 --> 0:36:18.060 rapid decline in how the world will function during the 0:36:18.060 --> 0:36:21.240 tribulation period. And that could involve going back to more 0:36:21.239 --> 0:36:24.450 primitive methods of warfare. But in either case, I believe 0:36:24.450 --> 0:36:26.760 those alive at the time will understand exactly what the 0:36:26.760 --> 0:36:29.430 biblical writers met with the words they wrote. 0:36:29.430 --> 0:36:31.170 And that's a look at some of the questions that 0:36:31.170 --> 0:36:33.330 you've shared with us. Thank you for doing that, by 0:36:33.330 --> 0:36:36.270 the way. It keeps the program going, keeps it very interesting. 0:36:36.270 --> 0:36:42.330 Our email address for your question. The land and the book@moody.edu. Well, 0:36:42.330 --> 0:36:45.840 Charlie Dyer's devotional is next. It's always something intriguing. I 0:36:45.840 --> 0:36:48.390 hope you'll stay with us on the land and the book. 0:36:59.219 --> 0:37:04.440 Has a bumper sticker says don't hassle me. I'm easily confused. 0:37:04.440 --> 0:37:07.440 Hi John Gager here at The Land and the book. 0:37:07.469 --> 0:37:10.290 Our host, Doctor Charlie Dyer, has a devotional that has 0:37:10.290 --> 0:37:12.720 everything to do with confusion. Where are we going today? 0:37:13.020 --> 0:37:15.120 We're going to be heading to acts chapter 16 to 0:37:15.150 --> 0:37:17.009 talk about the man from Macedonia. 0:37:17.040 --> 0:37:19.500 I'm looking forward to that. But first, let's pause for 0:37:19.500 --> 0:37:22.320 a testimony from somebody who's been to Israel and wanted 0:37:22.320 --> 0:37:24.030 to share this with you and me. 0:37:27.960 --> 0:37:32.940 I'm Jack from Coral Gables. My Holy Land experience was multifaceted, 0:37:32.940 --> 0:37:36.779 but the one thing that strikes me again today is 0:37:36.780 --> 0:37:42.359 the proximity of Israel's enemies in this very small part 0:37:42.360 --> 0:37:46.440 of the world, that Syria is right on top of Israel. 0:37:46.440 --> 0:37:50.820 And so that underscores the great danger there, and the 0:37:50.820 --> 0:37:55.440 courage of the people of Israel to live there and 0:37:55.440 --> 0:37:58.379 to put up with that danger on an hourly basis. 0:37:58.410 --> 0:38:01.620 Hello, my name is Israel Garcia and my Holy Land experience, 0:38:01.620 --> 0:38:05.160 as there's many experiences that happen in Israel, and seeing 0:38:05.160 --> 0:38:07.200 the Bible come to life was definitely when I was 0:38:07.200 --> 0:38:08.850 at the in the boat trip to the Sea of 0:38:08.850 --> 0:38:11.340 Galilee and just sitting there and as the boat was 0:38:11.340 --> 0:38:14.520 playing actually Christian music and worshiping God. And just to 0:38:14.550 --> 0:38:17.580 think that Jesus walked over those waters and walked into 0:38:17.580 --> 0:38:19.590 the storm and seeing the calmness of it and just 0:38:19.590 --> 0:38:22.830 knowing that Jesus was there and did all these miracles 0:38:22.950 --> 0:38:26.130 and the experience of worship was just overwhelming, that tears 0:38:26.130 --> 0:38:28.110 just came out of my eyes and say, wow, this 0:38:28.110 --> 0:38:30.840 is the place where my Savior walked and he's walking 0:38:30.840 --> 0:38:33.270 with me now. So that was my Holy Land experience. 0:38:35.280 --> 0:38:37.860 All right, Charlie, I'm looking forward to your devotional today. 0:38:37.890 --> 0:38:41.580 Acts 16. The man from Macedonia. Take it away. 0:38:41.880 --> 0:38:44.040 Thank you. John. And I could use that bumper sticker 0:38:44.040 --> 0:38:46.320 you were talking about. I need to briefly start though, 0:38:46.350 --> 0:38:48.420 by sharing two stories and see if you can find 0:38:48.420 --> 0:38:52.020 the common thread linking them together. Story number one. About 0:38:52.020 --> 0:38:55.440 six months after receiving my driver's license, my best friend 0:38:55.440 --> 0:38:59.070 and I drove to southeastern Pennsylvania to visit his girlfriend. 0:38:59.070 --> 0:39:01.680 It was only 90 miles from home, but I'd never 0:39:01.680 --> 0:39:04.500 driven to the area before, and my dad gave strict 0:39:04.500 --> 0:39:08.250 instructions to be home before dark. We had a great visit, 0:39:08.250 --> 0:39:10.890 but we stayed too long. No problem though, because the 0:39:10.890 --> 0:39:14.370 girl's father wrote out directions for a shortcut to get 0:39:14.370 --> 0:39:16.800 us back to the main highway. It was a warm 0:39:16.800 --> 0:39:19.020 day and we had the windows rolled down in the car. 0:39:19.290 --> 0:39:21.360 Traffic was heavy, but it was moving along at a 0:39:21.360 --> 0:39:24.270 pretty good clip, and then a gust of wind sucked 0:39:24.270 --> 0:39:27.420 the directions from the dashboard and right out the passenger 0:39:27.420 --> 0:39:30.780 side window. We had no idea where we were and 0:39:30.780 --> 0:39:33.270 no idea where we should go. And this was back 0:39:33.270 --> 0:39:37.710 in the dark ages. No GPS, no cell phone. A 0:39:37.710 --> 0:39:40.500 story number two. Two years later, I was a freshman 0:39:40.500 --> 0:39:43.770 in college. Harry Balbach from Word of Life was flying 0:39:43.800 --> 0:39:46.320 to our school for meetings, and I was asked to 0:39:46.350 --> 0:39:50.819 drive to National Airport. Now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport 0:39:50.820 --> 0:39:53.790 in D.C. to pick him up. I had never been 0:39:53.790 --> 0:39:56.580 to National Airport, nor had I ever met Harry Balbach, 0:39:56.580 --> 0:39:59.370 but in my naive state, I wondered how hard this 0:39:59.370 --> 0:40:02.070 could be. I mean, after all, in our airport back home, 0:40:02.070 --> 0:40:04.529 we only had a very limited number of planes arrive 0:40:04.560 --> 0:40:06.720 each day. I would just watch for a plane to 0:40:06.750 --> 0:40:09.480 land and look for someone wearing a suit. Right. And 0:40:09.480 --> 0:40:11.939 then I walked into the first major airport I'd ever 0:40:11.940 --> 0:40:16.049 seen and experienced a wave of panic. There were scores 0:40:16.050 --> 0:40:19.109 of flights and gates and hundreds of people in suits. 0:40:19.110 --> 0:40:21.510 I didn't know the airline he was flying on, or 0:40:21.510 --> 0:40:24.540 the arrival time, or the gate number or what Harry 0:40:24.540 --> 0:40:28.259 Balbach even looked like I knew nothing. So what's the 0:40:28.260 --> 0:40:31.080 common element between the two stories? Well, apart from my 0:40:31.080 --> 0:40:34.830 own stupidity, it's that growing sense of uncertainty or unease 0:40:34.830 --> 0:40:38.040 bordering almost on panic when you suddenly realize you have 0:40:38.040 --> 0:40:40.680 no idea what you're doing or what you're supposed to 0:40:40.680 --> 0:40:42.960 be doing. Now, before I go on, let me quickly 0:40:42.960 --> 0:40:46.290 provide the happy ending to both stories. Somehow, my friend 0:40:46.290 --> 0:40:48.180 and I saw a sign telling us the way to 0:40:48.210 --> 0:40:51.390 the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I didn't know where that went, and 0:40:51.390 --> 0:40:53.820 I knew what exit to take to get home. I 0:40:53.820 --> 0:40:55.920 made it home just as the sun was starting to 0:40:55.950 --> 0:40:59.640 set and Harry balbach well, I shot up a desperate 0:40:59.640 --> 0:41:03.239 prayer to heaven. Lord, help me find Harry Balbach. And 0:41:03.239 --> 0:41:05.549 as I turned around, there was a man standing and 0:41:05.550 --> 0:41:09.360 holding a handwritten sign that said I'm Harry Balbach. He 0:41:09.360 --> 0:41:12.060 had the presence of mind to anticipate the lack of 0:41:12.060 --> 0:41:15.870 experience of a typical college freshman. Now, what does all 0:41:15.870 --> 0:41:18.330 this have to do with our journey today into Asia minor? 0:41:18.360 --> 0:41:21.870 The western part of modern Turkey. We're here today traveling 0:41:21.870 --> 0:41:25.230 with a very perplexed Apostle Paul. He's on his second 0:41:25.230 --> 0:41:28.380 missionary journey, and things haven't been going as well as 0:41:28.380 --> 0:41:31.440 he had hoped. The trip hadn't even started before Paul 0:41:31.440 --> 0:41:34.620 and Barnabas got into a heated discussion over whether they 0:41:34.620 --> 0:41:37.140 ought to take a Long John Mark, who had abandoned 0:41:37.170 --> 0:41:41.549 them on their earlier journey. Acts 1539 records the result. 0:41:41.550 --> 0:41:45.300 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. 0:41:45.330 --> 0:41:49.500 Paul chose Silas and headed into Asia minor, but their 0:41:49.500 --> 0:41:52.230 journey was as roundabout as the one my friend and 0:41:52.230 --> 0:41:55.710 I took on those back roads in Pennsylvania. Here's how 0:41:55.739 --> 0:41:59.700 Luke described their itinerary. Paul and his companions traveled throughout 0:41:59.700 --> 0:42:02.549 the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by 0:42:02.550 --> 0:42:05.190 the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province 0:42:05.190 --> 0:42:07.799 of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, 0:42:07.830 --> 0:42:10.680 they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus 0:42:10.680 --> 0:42:13.620 wouldn't allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and 0:42:13.620 --> 0:42:16.470 went down to Troas. Now most of those names are 0:42:16.469 --> 0:42:19.170 unfamiliar to the average person, and that's where a good 0:42:19.200 --> 0:42:22.620 Bible atlas can help. Leaving behind the cities Paul had 0:42:22.620 --> 0:42:26.730 visited on his first missionary journey, the intrepid travelers initially 0:42:26.730 --> 0:42:30.000 planned to head west into the province of Asia. This 0:42:30.000 --> 0:42:33.750 is where the major cities like Ephesus and Pergamum were located, 0:42:33.750 --> 0:42:37.379 but God prohibited them from heading in that direction. The 0:42:37.380 --> 0:42:40.440 two travelers and their entourage then pivoted to the north, 0:42:40.440 --> 0:42:43.770 passing through Phrygia and Galatia. They reached the border of 0:42:43.770 --> 0:42:48.030 Mysia and assumed the most logical destination would then be Bithynia, 0:42:48.060 --> 0:42:51.419 along the southern shore of the Black Sea. But once 0:42:51.420 --> 0:42:54.120 again God set up a spiritual do not enter sign 0:42:54.120 --> 0:42:57.330 to block their way. The one direction that now remained 0:42:57.330 --> 0:43:01.440 open was due west along the border between Mysia and Bithynia, 0:43:01.440 --> 0:43:04.140 but they soon found themselves running into a dead end 0:43:04.190 --> 0:43:07.430 When they reached the port city of Troas, about 15 0:43:07.430 --> 0:43:10.430 miles from the ancient city of Troy. I wonder if 0:43:10.430 --> 0:43:12.739 Paul might have felt similar to how I felt when 0:43:12.739 --> 0:43:16.460 trying to find Harry Balbach. Now what Lord, were you 0:43:16.460 --> 0:43:19.760 trying to send us? And that night, God provided an 0:43:19.760 --> 0:43:22.130 answer even more dramatic than turning to see a man 0:43:22.130 --> 0:43:25.460 holding a sign with his name on it. During the night, 0:43:25.460 --> 0:43:27.980 Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing 0:43:27.980 --> 0:43:31.700 and begging him, come over to Macedonia and help us. 0:43:31.910 --> 0:43:34.490 Now I suppose God could have told Paul his final 0:43:34.489 --> 0:43:37.370 destination at the very beginning. Likely it would have saved 0:43:37.370 --> 0:43:40.730 Paul both time and perhaps some confusion had he known 0:43:40.730 --> 0:43:44.870 to head straight to Macedonia. But God's directions aren't always 0:43:44.870 --> 0:43:48.170 that direct. So why did God use a roundabout way 0:43:48.170 --> 0:43:51.920 to get Paul to Macedonia? We're not told directly, but 0:43:51.920 --> 0:43:54.020 there are some details in the account that do offer 0:43:54.020 --> 0:43:56.480 a few clues. First, if Paul had known from the 0:43:56.480 --> 0:44:00.230 very beginning that Macedonia was to be his final destination, 0:44:00.230 --> 0:44:03.980 he might have traveled there directly by boat from Syrian Antioch. 0:44:03.980 --> 0:44:06.680 But had he done that, he wouldn't have encountered young 0:44:06.710 --> 0:44:09.799 Timothy in Lystra. And Timothy plays a large part in 0:44:09.800 --> 0:44:13.400 Paul's later ministry. And then there's a tiny detail with 0:44:13.400 --> 0:44:17.780 great significance. Once Paul finally arrived in Troas. Listen carefully 0:44:17.780 --> 0:44:21.320 to the change in pronouns in the account. Verse eight. 0:44:21.320 --> 0:44:26.180 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. Paul, Silas, 0:44:26.180 --> 0:44:29.810 and Timothy went to Troas. Now verses 10 to 12, 0:44:29.840 --> 0:44:32.720 after Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at 0:44:32.719 --> 0:44:35.779 once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called 0:44:35.780 --> 0:44:39.320 us to preach the gospel to them. From Troas we 0:44:39.320 --> 0:44:42.290 put out to sea, and sailed straight for Samothrace, and 0:44:42.290 --> 0:44:45.680 the next day on to Neapolis. From there we traveled 0:44:45.680 --> 0:44:49.640 to Philippi. The switch from third person to first person 0:44:49.640 --> 0:44:53.629 marks the entrance of Luke into Paul's life and ministry. 0:44:53.660 --> 0:44:56.930 We're not told the circumstances, but that slight change lets 0:44:56.930 --> 0:44:59.660 us know that Luke was a believer, that he lived 0:44:59.660 --> 0:45:02.450 in Troas, and that this is where he first joins 0:45:02.450 --> 0:45:07.460 Paul on his travels. God orchestrated this divine rendezvous between 0:45:07.460 --> 0:45:11.000 Paul and Luke. Finally, God arranged for Paul to arrive 0:45:11.000 --> 0:45:13.640 in Philippi at just the right time. A few days 0:45:13.640 --> 0:45:16.940 after his arrival, Paul and his entourage went outside the 0:45:16.940 --> 0:45:19.550 city gate to the river, where we expected to find 0:45:19.550 --> 0:45:21.980 a place of prayer. We sat down and began to 0:45:21.980 --> 0:45:24.320 speak with the women who had gathered there. One of 0:45:24.320 --> 0:45:28.040 those listening was a woman named Lydia. The city apparently 0:45:28.040 --> 0:45:30.410 didn't have a synagogue, but it did have some women 0:45:30.410 --> 0:45:32.930 who wanted to know and follow the God of the Bible. 0:45:32.930 --> 0:45:36.529 And one of those women was Lydia. She heard and believed, 0:45:36.530 --> 0:45:39.890 and she provided a place to stay for Paul, Silas, 0:45:39.890 --> 0:45:43.280 and Timothy and Luke. So who was the man from 0:45:43.280 --> 0:45:46.370 Macedonia who begged Paul to come? Some think it was Luke, 0:45:46.370 --> 0:45:49.129 but were never told that that's the case. It was 0:45:49.130 --> 0:45:51.620 a vision, so it might simply have been a supernatural 0:45:51.620 --> 0:45:55.040 dream given by God to Paul. We tend to focus 0:45:55.040 --> 0:45:57.259 on that vision, but I'm amazed at all the other 0:45:57.260 --> 0:46:01.550 details God brought together to connect Paul and Silas with Timothy, 0:46:01.550 --> 0:46:04.550 and then with Luke in Troas, just in time to 0:46:04.580 --> 0:46:07.940 direct them to Philippi, to encounter a very special woman 0:46:07.940 --> 0:46:11.690 who became the first convert to Christianity in Europe. So 0:46:11.690 --> 0:46:14.570 what's the lesson in all this for us? Perhaps this. 0:46:14.600 --> 0:46:19.070 Don't get frustrated when life seemingly becomes messy, cluttered, and 0:46:19.070 --> 0:46:22.219 even a bit disorganized. God could be working behind the 0:46:22.219 --> 0:46:25.250 scenes to direct you to just the right place, and 0:46:25.250 --> 0:46:28.610 just the right person at just the right time. Keep 0:46:28.640 --> 0:46:31.580 trusting God and keep moving forward. 0:46:31.670 --> 0:46:35.000 Well, that's practical and really love those stories. Glad you 0:46:35.030 --> 0:46:37.460 made your way back home and glad you finally did 0:46:37.460 --> 0:46:41.359 discover who Harry Baalbek was. Well, our time is gone, 0:46:41.360 --> 0:46:43.970 but you can hear the entire program again at our website. 0:46:43.969 --> 0:46:48.589 The land and the book.org for Charlie Dyer and Dan Anderson. 0:46:48.620 --> 0:46:51.230 I'm John Geiger, the land and the book is a 0:46:51.230 --> 0:46:55.040 production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.