WEBVTT - Hour 1: Memorial Day Weekend Mailbag Answers 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:13.920 We're celebrating Memorial Day weekend. And today here at Openline, 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:18.200 we're celebrating Spindle Day, also known as Empty the Inbox Day. 0:00:18.520 --> 0:00:22.040 It's an all mailbag, all the time episode of Openline. 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:25.079 We've got the questions you've sent us about the Bible, 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:27.960 God and the spiritual life, and we're getting ready to 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.040 address them. So hang tight. We're going to get to 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:34.520 those in just a moment. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Open 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:37.240 Line with Doctor Michael Ray. Dominic. That's me. This is 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:41.320 Moody Radio's Bible study across America. I'm here today and 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.520 every Saturday to do my best to answer your questions 0:00:44.520 --> 0:00:48.599 about the scriptures. Normally, the bulk of our program is 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:52.400 taking your phone calls, but not so today. Today it's 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:55.360 all mailbag all the time and the best way to 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:58.000 be in touch with us if you have another question 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:02.980 is via our website openline. Radio.com. It has links to 0:01:03.020 --> 0:01:06.620 anything you might need, whether it's email or Twitter or Facebook. 0:01:06.620 --> 0:01:11.380 But mainly there's a link that says Ask Michael a question. 0:01:11.380 --> 0:01:14.740 You can click on that and post your question right there. 0:01:15.060 --> 0:01:17.539 Joining me today is a person I turn to when 0:01:17.540 --> 0:01:19.820 I have a question about the scripture. She's my favorite 0:01:19.819 --> 0:01:23.260 Bible teacher. Her name is Eva Riedel. She is a 0:01:23.260 --> 0:01:26.300 colleague of mine on the faculty of Moody Bible Institute. 0:01:26.300 --> 0:01:29.260 She's a contributor to both the Moody Bible Commentary and 0:01:29.260 --> 0:01:32.179 the Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy. And she happens to 0:01:32.180 --> 0:01:35.740 be my wife for all these many, many years. And 0:01:35.740 --> 0:01:38.420 we were married on Memorial Day weekend. Oh, I think 0:01:38.420 --> 0:01:41.060 when Lincoln was still president, he was. Yeah, right. We've 0:01:41.100 --> 0:01:43.180 been married a long time. I'm so glad you're here 0:01:43.180 --> 0:01:44.740 with me today to answer the questions. 0:01:44.780 --> 0:01:46.100 Oh, it's so much fun to be here. 0:01:46.140 --> 0:01:48.860 It's actually easier to do it this way with you 0:01:48.900 --> 0:01:53.340 here at the table with me. Because usually when I'm 0:01:53.340 --> 0:01:55.660 in the radio studio, you have to text me the answer. 0:01:55.700 --> 0:01:58.060 So this way I can just turn to you and 0:01:58.060 --> 0:02:01.250 you can answer for yourself. Also joining me today is 0:02:01.250 --> 0:02:05.450 the producer of Open Line, Tricia McMillan. Tricia is here 0:02:05.450 --> 0:02:07.690 with me every week. You know her from the mailbag, 0:02:07.730 --> 0:02:12.410 the Febc mailbag. And Tricia, I'm so glad you're with me. 0:02:12.810 --> 0:02:13.530 I'm glad to be here. 0:02:13.570 --> 0:02:15.370 Yeah. You know, a lot of people think Tricia, she's 0:02:15.370 --> 0:02:18.290 just like an expert at radio stuff. But she also 0:02:18.290 --> 0:02:21.930 has a bachelor and master's degree from Moody Bible Institute. 0:02:21.930 --> 0:02:23.970 And so she is the other person I turn to 0:02:24.010 --> 0:02:26.930 when I say, where's that verse? She has it instantly. 0:02:26.930 --> 0:02:29.570 So thank you so much for being with me today. 0:02:29.570 --> 0:02:31.090 We're going to do our best. Thank you for putting 0:02:31.090 --> 0:02:34.530 these questions together. You're the one. You are the Malka 0:02:34.530 --> 0:02:36.889 of the mailbag, the queen of the mailbag. You are 0:02:36.889 --> 0:02:40.090 in charge of it. And so, uh, I'm so glad 0:02:40.090 --> 0:02:42.810 about that. Courtney Young, our our engineer, is with us. 0:02:42.810 --> 0:02:46.530 She's making us sound good. Thank you so much, Courtney. Well, 0:02:46.570 --> 0:02:48.810 go get your Bible, get yourself a cup of coffee 0:02:49.010 --> 0:02:51.650 and head over to the radio kitchen table. And we're 0:02:51.650 --> 0:02:54.730 going to talk about the scriptures. And so I'm going 0:02:54.770 --> 0:02:56.730 to turn it right over to you, Tricia, because you've 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:57.760 got the mailbag, right? 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:00.000 Yes I do. Yeah. All right. Our first question is 0:03:00.000 --> 0:03:03.560 from Maria in Illinois. She listens to WNBA. She says 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:06.119 I recently joined as a kitchen table partner. 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:07.239 Thank you, thank you, thank you. 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:10.080 She said, I also want to thank you for your service. 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:12.639 I'm learning so much about the Bible every day by 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:18.080 listening to your past programs. In a recent program, you said, um, 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:21.840 God created us because we like to worship God, and 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:24.960 worshiping him makes us happy. And this was kind of 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:27.760 this was a question actually my daughter had asked about, 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:30.359 Is Jesus selfish to create us for the purpose of 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:34.920 worshiping him? Maria asks, since God knows everything before it 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:37.560 occurs and new we are, we would be stubborn and 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:41.160 would continue to sin till the day of our transformation. Transformation. 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:45.240 And technically, he doesn't really need us. Why would he 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:47.320 make us? And I will even add to that. Why 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:51.720 did he create anything? Like why? I mean, he's self 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:54.360 contained and self-sufficient and he doesn't need. 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:58.340 And that's exactly right. God is a totally self-sufficient being. 0:03:59.820 --> 0:04:04.020 He doesn't need us. And if you take it back 0:04:04.300 --> 0:04:07.540 the way you're thinking, if I give you a reason 0:04:08.060 --> 0:04:11.940 for our relationship to the world that God created, then 0:04:11.940 --> 0:04:13.900 we say, well, why did he make the world? And 0:04:13.900 --> 0:04:16.500 so the first question is, why did God make the world? 0:04:16.540 --> 0:04:19.219 And I'm going to give you the answer right now. 0:04:21.140 --> 0:04:23.979 Tell me if I'm right or wrong about this. Eva. 0:04:24.460 --> 0:04:28.339 We have no idea in terms of what the scriptures say. 0:04:28.380 --> 0:04:31.420 The Bible doesn't say why God made the world. It 0:04:31.420 --> 0:04:34.580 just says that he did. But we can. What do you. 0:04:34.580 --> 0:04:35.860 What do you think, am I right? Do you have 0:04:35.860 --> 0:04:36.339 a verse? 0:04:36.380 --> 0:04:39.940 You know, I have a thought from one of my 0:04:39.940 --> 0:04:44.500 favorite biblical thinkers, C.S. Lewis, who in his book miracles 0:04:44.500 --> 0:04:47.500 says it is the sort of question which God does 0:04:47.500 --> 0:04:48.300 not answer. 0:04:48.820 --> 0:04:51.659 There we go. Yeah, we have that. We have that 0:04:51.660 --> 0:04:56.279 in Deuteronomy 2929, where it says the things revealed belong 0:04:56.320 --> 0:04:58.640 to us, but the things that are not revealed belong 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:01.640 to God forever. And so it's not revealed to us. 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:06.719 But I can speculate. How about this? That God is 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:15.680 infinitely creative and therefore sought to make this infinitely wonderful creation. 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:20.200 That's a reflection of who he is because he is 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:27.840 infinitely creative. And, uh, someone might say, why did Michelangelo sculpt? 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:32.880 Why did Leonardo da Vinci paint? They are reflecting the 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:35.160 image of God in them, that they are creative. And 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:38.760 they had to. They were not that God is compelled 0:05:38.760 --> 0:05:41.120 to do anything, but they it comes out of them 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:46.760 naturally because of their creativity. Well, God as the infinite Creator, 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:48.960 he created the world and so. 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:51.200 And being the creator, I think is such a key 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:55.470 element of the the thing that God has revealed about himself. 0:05:55.750 --> 0:05:58.630 We should not fall into the wrong thinking that only 0:05:58.630 --> 0:06:02.190 Genesis one talks about God being the creator. I challenge 0:06:02.190 --> 0:06:04.510 anybody to take a green marker and read through their 0:06:04.510 --> 0:06:06.830 whole Bible, and every place where it identifies God as 0:06:06.830 --> 0:06:09.470 our creator. Give that a highlight and when you flip 0:06:09.470 --> 0:06:11.750 those pages, it's just going to be a field of green. 0:06:11.790 --> 0:06:15.390 Yeah. Yeah. So that's the first step. And then it 0:06:15.390 --> 0:06:18.909 says in Genesis one that God created us in his 0:06:18.950 --> 0:06:23.630 image and according to his likeness. That's why he created humanity. 0:06:23.950 --> 0:06:26.669 And when we think of a likeness or an image, 0:06:27.350 --> 0:06:31.510 it actually takes us to what the pagans did. They 0:06:31.510 --> 0:06:35.510 would make little idols, an image, right? Of a God, 0:06:35.510 --> 0:06:37.950 and put it in their temple to represent the God 0:06:38.350 --> 0:06:41.589 in their temples. Right? So God says, this is my creation, 0:06:41.589 --> 0:06:43.470 and I'm not making you into little idols, but I'm 0:06:43.510 --> 0:06:46.790 making you my representative on earth. Which is why he 0:06:46.790 --> 0:06:49.630 gave Adam and Eve dominion over the creation. And that's 0:06:49.630 --> 0:06:53.620 why humanity has dominion over the creation. So God creates 0:06:53.620 --> 0:06:59.940 the world out of his. Creativity. And then he gives 0:06:59.940 --> 0:07:03.700 us dominion over to represent him, to have dominion over 0:07:03.700 --> 0:07:05.419 the world. So that's one of the reasons he made 0:07:05.420 --> 0:07:08.620 us to give us dominion over his creation. 0:07:08.660 --> 0:07:10.739 This Dominion word, this is kind of a loaded word. 0:07:10.740 --> 0:07:13.180 People often think that means that we have the right 0:07:13.180 --> 0:07:15.900 just to use and destroy to trash. 0:07:15.900 --> 0:07:17.340 And well, actually. 0:07:17.380 --> 0:07:19.940 It doesn't mean that at all. It means to care for. 0:07:19.980 --> 0:07:20.380 To care for. 0:07:20.420 --> 0:07:21.300 And to care for. 0:07:21.420 --> 0:07:25.180 We have rulership and stewardship of the world, even with 0:07:25.180 --> 0:07:30.220 the fall. And then, of course, uh, I think now 0:07:30.220 --> 0:07:35.420 this is highly speculative. God, as a personal being, he 0:07:35.460 --> 0:07:39.340 is personal. He has mind, heart, will. That's part of 0:07:39.340 --> 0:07:41.900 the image of God in us. We have mind, heart, 0:07:41.900 --> 0:07:49.840 will or mind, uh, intellect, emotion and volition. Because of that, Uh. 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:52.880 God made us in his image. That's what we are. 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:57.760 And he he wanted chose to have. I should say, 0:07:57.760 --> 0:07:59.560 I don't think he had a need for it, but 0:07:59.560 --> 0:08:04.160 he chose to have a relationship because of him being 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:08.240 a personal being. So he wanted to have chose to 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:12.200 have an eternal relationship with humanity. And that's why he 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:12.800 made us. 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:16.400 Okay. Thank you. I hope that helps you. Maria, thank 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:21.800 you for that question. Uh, speaking of creation and possibly speculation, 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:25.320 not sure. Mary Alice in Florida listens to and says 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:28.440 angels were created, but the Bible doesn't talk about which 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:31.600 day when seems to be the most logical day that 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:37.560 God would have created angels. Or were they before creation, 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:41.200 would they have been part of creation in the Bible? 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:44.280 Doesn't say doesn't say, you know, it gives the six 0:08:44.280 --> 0:08:46.640 days and things that happen in the seventh day of rest, 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:49.220 and angels aren't included in any of that. So maybe 0:08:49.260 --> 0:08:49.700 it was. 0:08:49.740 --> 0:08:53.220 Some time afterwards. There's the incident in the garden with 0:08:53.220 --> 0:08:56.699 Adam and Eve, and there's a fallen angel controlling that serpent. 0:08:57.059 --> 0:09:02.140 That's Satan. And so he must have been created before then. 0:09:02.179 --> 0:09:02.500 Right. 0:09:02.540 --> 0:09:04.780 And there's there's the good angels that are that are 0:09:05.100 --> 0:09:07.660 posted at the gates of the Garden of Eden. 0:09:07.700 --> 0:09:16.100 Yeah. And it does say in job, uh, job 38, 0:09:16.140 --> 0:09:20.140 I believe it is, unless I get it wrong that, uh, 0:09:22.100 --> 0:09:27.620 that that at creation all the sons of God. Shouted 0:09:27.620 --> 0:09:32.260 for joy. It says in job 38. Uh, who fixed? 0:09:32.300 --> 0:09:35.300 Let's see. Uh, where were you when I established the earth? 0:09:35.900 --> 0:09:39.179 Verse four. Tell me if you have understanding who fixed 0:09:39.179 --> 0:09:43.100 its dimensions. Certainly you know who stretched a measuring line 0:09:43.100 --> 0:09:48.449 across it, what supports its foundations, or who laid its cornerstone, 0:09:48.450 --> 0:09:51.850 while the morning stars sang together and all the sons 0:09:51.850 --> 0:09:55.329 of God shouted for joy. That's a reference to the angels, 0:09:55.330 --> 0:09:57.929 and it's talking about God creating the world. And the 0:09:57.929 --> 0:10:01.370 angels are celebrating when he did it. So he must 0:10:01.410 --> 0:10:08.690 have created the angels before he created the world. And, uh, 0:10:09.210 --> 0:10:10.330 I don't, uh. 0:10:10.970 --> 0:10:13.610 I don't know exactly when, but we know it was before. 0:10:13.650 --> 0:10:15.770 Yeah, it was before creation of the universe. 0:10:16.130 --> 0:10:16.650 Okay. 0:10:16.809 --> 0:10:21.449 Yeah. That's right. You know, uh, sometimes. And I really 0:10:21.450 --> 0:10:24.329 appreciate that people want to know these things. They think, well, 0:10:24.330 --> 0:10:27.370 is there a verse that tells us, and, you know, 0:10:27.410 --> 0:10:28.650 we just do our best? 0:10:29.010 --> 0:10:32.890 Yeah, yeah. Sometimes there are. And sometimes sometimes it's very clear. Yeah. 0:10:32.929 --> 0:10:35.650 And sometimes it's not clear. And sometimes it's not mentioned 0:10:35.650 --> 0:10:36.090 at all. 0:10:36.130 --> 0:10:36.809 Exactly. 0:10:36.850 --> 0:10:37.250 All right. 0:10:37.250 --> 0:10:39.370 Well thank you. We're we're going to take a little 0:10:39.410 --> 0:10:42.370 break here. And when we come back, we've got a 0:10:42.370 --> 0:10:44.850 lot of time for all these mailbag questions that have 0:10:44.850 --> 0:10:47.560 been sent in. Thank you so much for doing that. 0:10:47.600 --> 0:10:51.160 Remember check out our website Open Line radio.org. And if 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:53.280 you have a question now just click on the Ask 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:56.800 Michael a question link. And Trish will put your question 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:59.160 in the mailbag. We're going to be right back. This 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.320 is Michael Melnick, Eva Rae Melnick and Tricia McMillan right 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:14.120 here on Open Line. Biblical literacy is essential for spiritual growth. 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:17.840 Many of us struggle with unfamiliar terms and titles in Scripture. 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:21.920 The Ultimate Bible Dictionary bridges that gap with clear definitions 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:26.040 of hundreds of biblical people, places, and objects. When you 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.040 give a gift of any size to open line, we 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:31.280 want to say thanks by sending you the ultimate Bible dictionary. 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:46.340 Call (888) 644-7122 or visit open line radio.org. Welcome back to 0:11:46.380 --> 0:11:48.700 Open Line. This is Michael Ray Domenic along with me 0:11:48.700 --> 0:11:52.260 around the radio kitchen table today is Eva Ray melnick 0:11:52.300 --> 0:11:55.980 and Tricia McMillan. We're doing an all mailbag all the 0:11:55.980 --> 0:11:59.340 time program, catching up, clearing the spindle. And I'm so 0:11:59.340 --> 0:12:02.540 glad you joined us today as well. Around the kitchen table. 0:12:02.580 --> 0:12:05.820 You know, there's just no way in the world, in 0:12:05.820 --> 0:12:09.300 my opinion, that open line could be on the air 0:12:09.340 --> 0:12:14.420 without all the people that work together to accomplish getting 0:12:14.420 --> 0:12:17.980 these questions out, making sure the phone calls come in, 0:12:18.780 --> 0:12:23.059 the the engineering to make it sound right. And, you know, 0:12:23.100 --> 0:12:27.140 people sometimes think that, oh, Radulovic's got this program. No, no, no, no, 0:12:27.820 --> 0:12:31.980 we have a team here that that makes this program happen. 0:12:32.020 --> 0:12:34.060 Even today. We've got a team of people here in 0:12:34.059 --> 0:12:36.699 the studio. And one of the great things about being 0:12:36.700 --> 0:12:40.020 on Moody Radio is we have a team of kitchen 0:12:40.020 --> 0:12:43.359 table partners as well. Those are people who give monthly 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:47.320 to open line. And it's it's just I'm so grateful 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:51.000 for them because they help keep us on the air 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:54.959 answering people's questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:58.000 life every week. And they give monthly so we can 0:12:58.000 --> 0:13:01.679 answer those questions weekly. And if you are interested in 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:04.600 becoming a kitchen table partner, I've got a special benefit 0:13:04.600 --> 0:13:09.000 for you. Kitchen table partners receive every other week an 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:12.400 exclusive Bible study prepared just for our kitchen table partners. 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:15.130 Get an email, click on it and it's about 5 0:13:15.130 --> 0:13:18.520 to 7 minute Bible study that you might find helpful 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:21.560 and encouraging. At least I hope you do. And if 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:26.520 you want to become a kitchen table partner, all you 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:30.200 have to do. And here I am. I've lost the 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:36.440 phone number. Oh. What in the world has happened? Here 0:13:36.440 --> 0:13:39.200 it is. If you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, 0:13:39.200 --> 0:13:44.070 just call 447122. All those numbers in my head and 0:13:44.070 --> 0:13:45.030 I can't remember them. 0:13:45.070 --> 0:13:46.230 Could you go over that one more time? 0:13:46.390 --> 0:13:52.950 (888) 644-7122. Or go to Open Line radio.org and click on 0:13:52.990 --> 0:13:55.990 the link that asks about becoming a kitchen table partner. 0:13:56.190 --> 0:13:59.990 So appreciate it if you decide to do that. And 0:13:59.990 --> 0:14:01.790 we're going to go right back to the mailbag now 0:14:01.790 --> 0:14:04.030 with Tricia. And she's laughing at me because I forgot 0:14:04.030 --> 0:14:04.750 her phone number. 0:14:04.790 --> 0:14:08.550 That's okay. That's okay. You you said it correctly. Which 0:14:08.550 --> 0:14:12.790 is more important? Okay, good. Um, our next question is 0:14:12.790 --> 0:14:17.150 from Steven in Illinois. Listens to WNBA. Who did God 0:14:17.190 --> 0:14:20.870 tell the creation story to? As found in Genesis. And 0:14:20.910 --> 0:14:24.950 is there any possibility that parts of it are myth 0:14:24.950 --> 0:14:28.190 in the best sense of the word? Still rich with truth. 0:14:30.070 --> 0:14:35.630 Well, let me just say myth is a story that's 0:14:35.630 --> 0:14:39.870 not true. That teaches a truth. I guess you would say. Uh, 0:14:40.060 --> 0:14:47.020 but as I understand biblical narrative, biblical history, it is 0:14:47.020 --> 0:14:53.300 written factually, not mythically. The nature of biblical narrative is 0:14:53.300 --> 0:14:56.060 to take it at face value. And so it seems 0:14:56.060 --> 0:14:58.460 to me that when we look at the creation narrative, 0:14:58.460 --> 0:15:03.060 we need to take it at face value. Uh, now, 0:15:03.940 --> 0:15:06.460 who did he tell? Obviously, God told Adam and Eve, 0:15:07.060 --> 0:15:10.820 you know. And then Adam and Eve must have told, uh, Seth. 0:15:11.420 --> 0:15:14.060 At least you know their son who passed it on. 0:15:14.060 --> 0:15:16.820 And the story came down. And likely by the time 0:15:16.820 --> 0:15:19.180 Noah gets around, he knows it. And then he told it. 0:15:19.220 --> 0:15:21.860 He and his sons, they told it to people afterwards. 0:15:21.860 --> 0:15:26.940 And the story just gets carried down orally. Uh, maybe 0:15:26.980 --> 0:15:29.380 Abraham knew it. He passed it on to Isaac. Isaac 0:15:29.380 --> 0:15:35.580 passed it on to Jacob. These oral traditions. And then, uh, finally, 0:15:35.580 --> 0:15:40.760 Jochebed told Moses. Moses wrote it. So, that's one possibility, 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:42.960 that it was just an oral tradition that was passed 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:46.280 down from the people of God. Generation by generation. Then 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:50.120 the other possibility is that God told Moses. Moses wrote 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.200 that story in Genesis. He wrote the whole primeval history, 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:56.520 Genesis one through 11 based on what God told him. 0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:00.480 Those are the only two possibilities that I can think of. 0:16:00.520 --> 0:16:01.600 Maybe Eva has another one, but. 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:05.600 We don't have an oral culture like was part of 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:08.600 the of the ancient Jewish culture in the ancient world. 0:16:08.600 --> 0:16:11.080 So it's hard for us to imagine stories coming down 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:15.480 and being accurately retained. But that was not an unusual event. 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:18.360 Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was an oral culture because they 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:23.320 at the maybe they weren't even writing in the times of, 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:26.520 of the early days, the earliest days. Right. 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:28.800 And so we do know writing is very, very old, 0:16:28.800 --> 0:16:29.600 but yeah. You know. 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:31.680 And it was old enough. Some people say Moses couldn't 0:16:31.720 --> 0:16:34.760 have written it because there was no writing in 1400 B.C. 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:38.180 that's been debunked. Oh, yeah. Even earlier, there was writing 0:16:38.460 --> 0:16:43.420 with letters. So, uh. Yeah, that's that seems to me 0:16:43.700 --> 0:16:47.820 either there and the oral traditions were maintained almost verbatim, 0:16:47.860 --> 0:16:49.940 passed on from generation to generation. 0:16:49.980 --> 0:16:54.300 And I'll say recently, um, I was amazed, um, did 0:16:54.300 --> 0:16:59.260 the math and heard my pastor preach on, um, well, 0:16:59.460 --> 0:17:03.260 we're going through Hebrews 11, but then, because you're going 0:17:03.260 --> 0:17:05.700 through that, we're going back into Genesis and looking at 0:17:05.740 --> 0:17:06.300 the people that. 0:17:06.300 --> 0:17:06.659 Hebrews. 0:17:06.660 --> 0:17:09.620 11 is talking about. And if you do the math 0:17:09.660 --> 0:17:15.500 on Adam through the generations, if I recall this correctly, 0:17:15.540 --> 0:17:19.540 Adam would have still been alive when Enoch was taken, 0:17:19.820 --> 0:17:23.100 was taken up. So so this isn't even like my 0:17:23.100 --> 0:17:25.420 dad told me. And I told my children because my 0:17:25.420 --> 0:17:29.260 dad wasn't around anymore. Adam is still alive, and he 0:17:29.260 --> 0:17:31.659 could still be. This is still like he's. 0:17:31.700 --> 0:17:33.740 He could have been the oral tale teller. You know, 0:17:34.060 --> 0:17:35.660 he could have been the one passing that on. 0:17:35.660 --> 0:17:37.490 Right? Like, still to these, you know. 0:17:37.770 --> 0:17:38.570 Many generations. 0:17:38.570 --> 0:17:43.209 Many generations later, that it's still a first generation story 0:17:43.210 --> 0:17:50.730 that's being passed on. Now, that said, that does not negate, um, God, uh, 0:17:50.730 --> 0:17:54.690 negate it just being an oral tradition that is not 0:17:54.690 --> 0:17:56.850 biblically inspired. Correct? 0:17:56.890 --> 0:17:59.369 Yeah. The inspiration is when the scriptures are written, the 0:17:59.369 --> 0:18:03.050 Bible is what's inspired, not oral tales, but if it's 0:18:03.050 --> 0:18:05.409 an accurate story and then when God leads Moses to 0:18:05.490 --> 0:18:08.609 write it, it's written accurately, because Moses is the author 0:18:08.609 --> 0:18:11.290 and he was superintended by the Holy Spirit according to 0:18:11.330 --> 0:18:15.010 Second Peter 121. God moved him to write what what 0:18:15.010 --> 0:18:19.130 it was. And then we have an inspired text or 0:18:19.170 --> 0:18:21.650 God breathed text. Okay. 0:18:21.930 --> 0:18:24.970 Okay. All right. Thanks for that question. Next question is 0:18:24.970 --> 0:18:29.010 from Elizabeth in Tennessee. Listens to WNBA. Uh, I look 0:18:29.010 --> 0:18:31.970 forward to your program every Saturday. She says thank you. 0:18:32.290 --> 0:18:36.320 What was the battle or war that David killed Goliath in. 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:38.800 Why was there a battle and what were the two 0:18:38.840 --> 0:18:42.840 sides fighting over? And then when did it happen? Well, that's. 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:43.480 What year was. 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:46.600 That? It just appears that when the Philistines arrived on 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:51.320 the coast of Israel, that they were encroaching into the 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:54.360 land of Israel, trying to conquer the whole land, but 0:18:54.359 --> 0:19:00.040 they actually were mostly coastal. The five cities of the Philistines. Uh, Gath. Ashkelon. 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:04.399 I can't remember them all. Ekron. Gaza. Gaza. Yeah. They 0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:08.040 were all there on the coast, the Mediterranean coast. And, uh, 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:12.040 they were encroaching, trying to get into Judea. 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:14.600 And you can when you read the Old Testament, you 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:18.280 can see the Philistines were one of the major, ongoing, 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:19.960 relentless enemies of Israel. 0:19:20.000 --> 0:19:23.520 Yeah. And, uh, and so it was really of who's 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:26.960 going to control this land that was called Canaan, or 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:31.000 then was called Israel by the time Saul was king. Uh, 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:35.220 under Joshua, it gets conquered. And uh, and there was 0:19:35.260 --> 0:19:37.700 an encroachment trying to conquer it. And so it was 0:19:37.700 --> 0:19:41.300 that ongoing battle. It was a persistent problem with the Philistines. 0:19:41.540 --> 0:19:45.419 And then, uh, that's why there was a battle there. 0:19:45.740 --> 0:19:51.740 This is that's right near, uh, got Goliath of Gath got, uh, 0:19:51.740 --> 0:19:54.380 in Hebrew. Uh, so it's right there by it. They 0:19:54.380 --> 0:19:58.060 actually here's a cool thing, uh, right there near that 0:19:58.060 --> 0:20:01.820 area where he's supposed to be from, they have uncovered, uh, 0:20:03.060 --> 0:20:05.460 bully things that that were like. 0:20:05.700 --> 0:20:06.780 Little clay seals. 0:20:06.820 --> 0:20:09.180 Yeah, that have Goliath's name on it. 0:20:09.460 --> 0:20:11.500 And so Goliath might not have been a personal name. 0:20:11.500 --> 0:20:13.820 It might have been more of a a title. A 0:20:13.820 --> 0:20:17.500 position like Pharaoh wasn't a personal name. It was a position. 0:20:17.540 --> 0:20:20.060 It may have been just a common personal name. I 0:20:20.060 --> 0:20:23.659 don't think it was. I don't think it was Goliath's. Uh. 0:20:24.140 --> 0:20:27.419 We can't. It may have been just a common Philistine 0:20:27.420 --> 0:20:28.740 name so that there were others. 0:20:28.780 --> 0:20:31.340 Yeah, like Michael's a common American name. 0:20:31.340 --> 0:20:33.199 It doesn't mean if you find something with Michael on it, 0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:33.800 it means me. 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:34.600 That it's yours. Yeah. 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:37.280 Okay, so. But it does show that there were. There 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:42.800 was Goliath. Goliath's. I guess you could say in Philistia. Um. 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:47.040 And when did it happen? Uh, Eva. 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:50.119 That's that's kind of that's an interesting thing because they're like, 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:52.479 unlike the question we looked at before, like when the 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:54.440 angels were created and we don't have any kind of 0:20:54.720 --> 0:20:59.000 date or anything to help us. Um, in Second Kings five, 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:03.400 verse four, where it's talking about David becoming king, it 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:07.119 says David was 30 years old when he became king, 0:21:07.119 --> 0:21:09.640 and he reigned for 40 years. Now we're getting into 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:13.000 the deep weeds of math. So how can we determine 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:15.120 if he was 30 when he became king? How does 0:21:15.119 --> 0:21:18.840 that help us to know when the Battle of David 0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:21.400 and Goliath happened? And what year might that have been? 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:22.720 And I'm just going to give it to our math 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:24.040 major here, Michael. Right. 0:21:24.520 --> 0:21:25.560 To, uh, well. 0:21:25.600 --> 0:21:26.600 To talk about that for a second. 0:21:26.640 --> 0:21:29.160 David became king in 1010 BC, and he was 30 0:21:29.160 --> 0:21:33.830 years old. Uh, and so he was not yet of 0:21:33.830 --> 0:21:37.670 age to go to war, which is 20. That's why 0:21:37.670 --> 0:21:40.190 he was not yet at the battle. Remember, he goes 0:21:40.190 --> 0:21:43.310 to the battle when his brothers are there, and the 0:21:43.310 --> 0:21:46.989 age of war, according to the Torah, men went to 0:21:47.030 --> 0:21:51.430 war when they were 20. And so how old was David? 0:21:51.630 --> 0:21:56.270 He must have been between 15 and 20, I would say. 0:21:56.830 --> 0:21:59.590 Let's just guess 15, just for the sake of ease. 0:21:59.830 --> 0:22:04.390 And so, uh, since he became king when he was 30, 0:22:04.630 --> 0:22:08.790 it was 15 years earlier that the battle with Goliath happened. 0:22:08.790 --> 0:22:12.470 And so that would make it about 1025 BC, that 0:22:12.470 --> 0:22:14.710 the battle between David and Goliath took place. 0:22:14.750 --> 0:22:20.430 Okay. And that was second Samuel five four. Okay. For 0:22:20.430 --> 0:22:23.629 those who are looking it up. Second Samuel five four. Okay. 0:22:23.630 --> 0:22:27.030 Thank you. Um, it is when you do actually do 0:22:27.030 --> 0:22:28.670 the math, it is kind of like, oh, you can 0:22:28.670 --> 0:22:31.580 figure out some of these things. Yeah. Yeah. All right. 0:22:31.580 --> 0:22:35.220 Barbara is in Georgia, listens to Wlp. I love the show. 0:22:35.220 --> 0:22:37.500 When I can listen. And I always learn something new 0:22:37.500 --> 0:22:41.300 about the Bible. Here's my question. Does anyone know the 0:22:41.300 --> 0:22:45.180 tunes or melodies of the Psalms? For example, Psalm 69, 0:22:45.700 --> 0:22:48.500 the Bible that states it's sung to the tune of lilies. 0:22:48.900 --> 0:22:52.139 Do we have any idea what these tunes are? 0:22:52.180 --> 0:22:54.220 Yeah, there are a lot. When you look at the Psalms, 0:22:54.220 --> 0:22:59.900 there's a lot of these. Different descriptions of. 0:22:59.940 --> 0:23:01.460 What they are. Musical markers? Yeah. 0:23:01.500 --> 0:23:05.860 Musical markers. And truth to tell. No one knows what 0:23:05.859 --> 0:23:10.220 they are. That there was like for the choir director 0:23:10.340 --> 0:23:16.700 and different kinds of things like that. Uh, and and 0:23:16.740 --> 0:23:19.780 we don't have that. No one recorded it. Uh, so 0:23:19.780 --> 0:23:21.940 we don't know what it is, what we did get 0:23:21.940 --> 0:23:26.020 in the Middle Ages and medieval period, like, for example, 0:23:26.020 --> 0:23:29.760 Psalm five. I'm looking for the choir director with the flutes. 0:23:30.880 --> 0:23:35.520 Psalm four. For the choir. Director with stringed instruments. And 0:23:35.520 --> 0:23:38.080 we know that David played the harp. And so maybe he. 0:23:38.359 --> 0:23:40.120 The harp, is sort of the guitar of his day. 0:23:40.160 --> 0:23:44.200 And so here he is. And playing a stringed instrument. 0:23:44.200 --> 0:23:49.240 And so we don't know what it sounded like. And 0:23:49.480 --> 0:23:56.280 in the medieval period, to maintain the, uh, the text 0:23:56.280 --> 0:24:02.000 of the Bible, Jewish, the Hebrew Bible, Jewish scribes called 0:24:02.280 --> 0:24:07.520 the Masoretes took the traditions of the rabbis and incorporated 0:24:07.520 --> 0:24:11.080 them by putting vowels in. They also put tropes or 0:24:11.119 --> 0:24:17.240 accents on the text, and the accents have or tropes 0:24:17.480 --> 0:24:24.120 have a way of being chanted. And so, uh, today, 0:24:24.400 --> 0:24:27.420 if you look at a Hebrew Bible. And you and 0:24:27.420 --> 0:24:31.540 you know, the tropes you can chant. What, what it 0:24:31.540 --> 0:24:34.939 sounds like like, for example, when I had my bar mitzvah, 0:24:35.540 --> 0:24:38.859 my text that I had to read from the prophets 0:24:39.660 --> 0:24:46.380 was Ezekiel 38, and I didn't just read it verbatim. 0:24:48.340 --> 0:24:58.300 I chanted it the biome Hahu Biyombo go galat ma Yisrael. 0:24:58.340 --> 0:25:01.980 That's based on the tropes. So that's the earliest we 0:25:01.980 --> 0:25:04.619 have of how to chant Hebrew. And it's on the 0:25:04.820 --> 0:25:09.940 Hebrew Bible and it's from the medieval period. So then 0:25:09.980 --> 0:25:12.780 that's the last time I'll ever sing on Open Line. 0:25:12.820 --> 0:25:13.179 Okay. 0:25:13.540 --> 0:25:16.380 I just wanted people to hear what the medieval tropes 0:25:16.420 --> 0:25:20.780 sounded like. And Trish is now laughing again. I'm glad 0:25:20.780 --> 0:25:29.130 I'm keeping her happy. Yeah. So. And now she's coughing. Oh, 0:25:29.170 --> 0:25:31.050 it's falling apart. We're going to go to a break. 0:25:31.090 --> 0:25:32.610 That's what we're going to do when we come back. 0:25:32.609 --> 0:25:37.010 We'll have more of our all mailbag all the time program. Uh, 0:25:37.010 --> 0:25:40.090 with Tricia McMillan. She'll have pulled herself together by then. 0:25:40.250 --> 0:25:43.490 And I'm here with Tricia and Eva melnick, and I'm 0:25:43.490 --> 0:25:46.450 Michael Riedel. We're answering the questions you sent in on 0:25:46.450 --> 0:25:49.050 this Memorial Day weekend. Hope you're having a great time. 0:25:49.050 --> 0:25:50.530 We're going to be right back with more of your 0:25:50.530 --> 0:26:00.930 questions right here on Open Line. Everyone has questions about God, 0:26:00.930 --> 0:26:03.489 the Bible, and living out our faith. And that's why 0:26:03.490 --> 0:26:06.050 we're here on Open Line. We take your questions and 0:26:06.050 --> 0:26:09.290 provide answers straight from Scripture. But we couldn't do this 0:26:09.290 --> 0:26:12.450 without you. When you become a kitchen table partner, you're 0:26:12.450 --> 0:26:15.210 not only keeping this program on the air. Every weekend, 0:26:15.250 --> 0:26:19.450 you'll also receive exclusive benefits like personal audio messages from 0:26:19.450 --> 0:26:23.090 me that offer biblical encouragement. Become a kitchen table partner 0:26:23.090 --> 0:26:27.399 today by calling 888 644 seven N122 or go to 0:26:27.440 --> 0:26:39.080 Open Line Radio. Org. Welcome back to Open Line. My 0:26:39.080 --> 0:26:41.000 name is Michael Ray Dominic. I'm so glad to be 0:26:41.000 --> 0:26:44.000 with you every week. And joining me this week, uh, 0:26:44.000 --> 0:26:47.399 for our all mailbag program is Eva melnick. She's a 0:26:47.400 --> 0:26:50.639 professor at Moody. And my wife, uh, and also joining 0:26:50.640 --> 0:26:53.359 me is Tricia McMillan, who's the regular producer of Open Line. 0:26:53.359 --> 0:26:56.439 And she's the one that's pulled together this all mailbag edition, 0:26:56.440 --> 0:26:58.359 and she's asking the questions, and we're going to do 0:26:58.359 --> 0:27:01.080 our best to answer. Let's keep on going. 0:27:01.600 --> 0:27:05.000 All right. Next question is from Randy in Kentucky. Listens 0:27:05.000 --> 0:27:07.200 on the mobile app. I heard a rabbi who said 0:27:07.200 --> 0:27:09.520 that there was one survivor from the Egyptians at the 0:27:09.520 --> 0:27:13.480 Red sea. Pharaoh. He later became the king of Nineveh. 0:27:13.840 --> 0:27:16.560 He said, this is why when Jonah said, repent or 0:27:16.600 --> 0:27:19.000 be destroyed, he was so quick to command his city 0:27:19.000 --> 0:27:21.960 to follow Jonah's warning. We have never heard this before, 0:27:22.000 --> 0:27:23.699 and I was wondering if it was true and if 0:27:23.700 --> 0:27:24.859 you knew where to find it. 0:27:25.980 --> 0:27:29.260 Ah, well, that's a very it's an interesting idea and 0:27:29.300 --> 0:27:33.100 certainly surprising. However, it is not found in the Bible 0:27:33.100 --> 0:27:36.660 at all. Okay. Um, it actually is a Jewish tradition, 0:27:36.700 --> 0:27:40.180 a very old Jewish tradition that, uh, it can be 0:27:40.180 --> 0:27:43.980 found in the Midrash, which is a collection of Jewish writings. 0:27:44.100 --> 0:27:46.380 And it's from there. There's a lot of different stories 0:27:46.859 --> 0:27:49.979 that are interesting, but really are not scripturally based in 0:27:49.980 --> 0:27:50.659 the midrash. 0:27:50.700 --> 0:27:54.860 Yeah, it's basically from a legend, I guess you could 0:27:54.859 --> 0:28:00.100 call it in Mekhilta. Uh, and uh, there's some other 0:28:00.140 --> 0:28:04.340 it's a midrash, and the midrash means it really refers 0:28:04.340 --> 0:28:08.540 to Bible commentaries. There's the Midrash Rabbah, there are midrashim 0:28:08.540 --> 0:28:13.340 or commentaries on the law, which is what Mekhilta is, uh, 0:28:13.500 --> 0:28:21.020 and they have many, many, uh, they're called aggadot stories 0:28:21.880 --> 0:28:28.200 and they don't have any kind of chronology. You know, 0:28:28.240 --> 0:28:32.240 Abraham and Isaac and Jacob might have a chat with 0:28:32.280 --> 0:28:36.800 Moses at some time or, you know, David there, there's 0:28:36.800 --> 0:28:41.000 no sense of chronology. And that's why even though Pharaoh 0:28:41.920 --> 0:28:45.440 was drowned in 1400 BC, or if he was drowned, 0:28:45.720 --> 0:28:48.360 maybe it was just his army. But the Exodus happens 0:28:48.360 --> 0:28:54.880 1400 BC and Jonah is from about the eighth century BC, 0:28:54.920 --> 0:29:00.720 maybe ninth, right there, 500 years apart at least. And 0:29:00.720 --> 0:29:03.000 so what do we do with the Midrash? The Midrash 0:29:03.000 --> 0:29:07.440 is a collection of sermonic illustrations or stories to try 0:29:07.440 --> 0:29:09.960 and fill in the gaps of biblical narratives. Why did 0:29:09.960 --> 0:29:12.120 Nineveh repent? Well, we're going to fill it in this way. 0:29:13.280 --> 0:29:19.040 And they're farfetched, is what I would say. And I 0:29:19.080 --> 0:29:22.470 love some of the farfetched stories. They're pretty funny or 0:29:22.510 --> 0:29:26.390 pretty interesting. But here's one of the things that was 0:29:26.390 --> 0:29:35.150 discovered by a professor. Uh, David, uh, his name's going 0:29:35.150 --> 0:29:36.670 to come to me in a moment. But anyway, he 0:29:36.670 --> 0:29:39.790 teaches at Cambridge. He wrote a book which showed that 0:29:40.270 --> 0:29:49.110 the rabbis whose commentaries are included in. Uh, in the 0:29:49.110 --> 0:29:52.870 Midrash from before the destruction of the temple are not 0:29:52.870 --> 0:29:56.710 far fetched like that. Their commentaries are actually, you can 0:29:56.710 --> 0:29:59.270 see the principle and the application, because Midrash is only 0:29:59.270 --> 0:30:02.390 trying to show the contemporary relevance of Scripture. And so 0:30:02.950 --> 0:30:05.229 there you can see the principle and the application that 0:30:05.230 --> 0:30:10.110 they're making. On the other hand, the rabbis who cite 0:30:10.270 --> 0:30:13.709 from Scripture and give things that they're saying from the 0:30:13.710 --> 0:30:16.790 periods after the destruction of the temple, they're very far fetched. 0:30:17.030 --> 0:30:18.660 So you have to be careful when you look at 0:30:18.660 --> 0:30:21.620 the Midrash to determine when those rabbis were, when they 0:30:21.620 --> 0:30:26.740 were teaching something, and when they when the and those 0:30:26.740 --> 0:30:29.820 that are either before ad70 or after A.D. 70. 0:30:29.980 --> 0:30:32.940 Is there a some sort of indication to tell when 0:30:32.940 --> 0:30:34.580 those are? They're all kind of mixed together. 0:30:34.620 --> 0:30:38.060 They're all mixed together. And sometimes it's just the school 0:30:38.060 --> 0:30:39.900 of a particular rabbi might be saying it, so you 0:30:39.900 --> 0:30:42.300 don't even know for sure if it was that rabbi. 0:30:42.420 --> 0:30:45.620 But there's books like the Encyclopedia of the sages, where 0:30:45.620 --> 0:30:47.500 you look up the rabbi who's saying it. You go 0:30:47.500 --> 0:30:50.500 in that encyclopedia and that will tell you what era 0:30:50.540 --> 0:30:52.980 they were from. Okay, okay, okay. 0:30:53.020 --> 0:30:56.420 Well, thanks for that question, Randy. Next question is from 0:30:56.420 --> 0:31:01.540 Adrian in Illinois, listens to WNBA. Uh, me and my 0:31:01.540 --> 0:31:04.260 mom are big fans of Open Line and the moody commentary, 0:31:04.260 --> 0:31:07.900 so thank you. Here's my question. In Daniel eight, the 0:31:07.900 --> 0:31:11.860 circumstances surrounding the defeat of Medo-persia by Greece and the 0:31:11.860 --> 0:31:15.740 persecution of the Jews are described as using the vision 0:31:15.740 --> 0:31:19.440 of the goat Ram and Little horn. My question pertains 0:31:19.440 --> 0:31:23.320 to the interpretation of the vision given in Daniel 517. 0:31:23.600 --> 0:31:26.240 It says, Son of Man. Understand that the vision pertains 0:31:26.240 --> 0:31:28.040 to the time of the end. 0:31:28.080 --> 0:31:30.080 I think that she made a mistake at Daniel eight 0:31:30.120 --> 0:31:32.320 1708 17. Okay. Mhm. 0:31:33.640 --> 0:31:36.720 What does the phrase time of the end mean in 0:31:36.720 --> 0:31:39.520 this context? Why is it not referring to the time 0:31:39.520 --> 0:31:41.760 of Jesus return and the end times? And are there 0:31:41.760 --> 0:31:44.760 other ways that time of the end is used similarly 0:31:44.760 --> 0:31:47.440 in the Old Testament? Thanks so much for huge fans. 0:31:47.480 --> 0:31:53.360 Well, I love that they love the moody Bible commentary. Uh, 0:31:53.360 --> 0:31:57.120 and I happen to have written the commentary on Daniel, 0:31:57.920 --> 0:32:01.239 and one of our goals was when someone reads a 0:32:01.240 --> 0:32:04.880 text like this and clearly Daniel eight is talking about Antiochus. 0:32:04.880 --> 0:32:08.800 He is the little horn of Daniel eight. And so 0:32:08.800 --> 0:32:11.120 how in the. I think when someone reads this, what 0:32:11.120 --> 0:32:14.280 question would they have? And I thought the question they 0:32:14.280 --> 0:32:17.300 might have is, well, why does it say it pertains 0:32:17.300 --> 0:32:20.020 to the time of the end when it's referring clearly 0:32:20.340 --> 0:32:27.300 to Antiochus Epiphanes from a period of about 165 BC? Right. 0:32:27.700 --> 0:32:30.340 And so, since they love the Moody Bible commentary, how 0:32:30.340 --> 0:32:33.180 about we give the answer right from the Moody Bible Commentary, right? 0:32:33.220 --> 0:32:36.300 This is right from the Moody Bible Commentary. I encourage 0:32:36.300 --> 0:32:38.820 all of our listeners to get a copy of their own, 0:32:38.820 --> 0:32:43.860 but there's a great compilation that is of just Daniel 0:32:43.860 --> 0:32:46.980 and Revelation that's also available. And here's what it says. 0:32:47.340 --> 0:32:51.540 It says Gabriel also indicated that the vision reference to 0:32:51.580 --> 0:32:55.220 the time of the end. This might seem unexpected, since 0:32:55.220 --> 0:32:59.020 the events predicted all took place between the sixth and 0:32:59.020 --> 0:33:03.060 second centuries BC and do not appear to be in 0:33:03.060 --> 0:33:06.740 time events. But chapter seven and eight were intentionally placed 0:33:06.740 --> 0:33:10.020 next to each other, and both mention a little horn. 0:33:10.380 --> 0:33:15.970 In this way, the author established a deliberate Liberate typological relationship. 0:33:16.290 --> 0:33:21.010 Daniel seven, referring to the end time Antichrist and Daniel 0:33:21.050 --> 0:33:26.530 eight referring to the second century BC Antiochus Epiphanes. While 0:33:26.530 --> 0:33:30.930 a different character, Antiochus, is similar and deliberately presented as 0:33:30.970 --> 0:33:34.730 a type of the future Antichrist. Readers through the ages 0:33:34.730 --> 0:33:38.130 would identify him as the little Horn of Daniel eight, 0:33:38.330 --> 0:33:43.250 but also recognize that he would typify the end time Antichrist. 0:33:43.490 --> 0:33:48.090 So although Daniel eight directly referred to Antiochus, this vision 0:33:48.090 --> 0:33:52.490 pertains to the end times as a type deliberately intended 0:33:52.490 --> 0:33:57.730 by the author of Daniel. Gabriel interpreted Daniel's vision of 0:33:57.730 --> 0:34:01.690 the beast as explained above, to refer to the Medo-persian 0:34:01.690 --> 0:34:06.250 and Greek empires, as well as to the fourfold division 0:34:06.250 --> 0:34:11.290 of Alexander's empire. Now, if we only had a a, 0:34:11.290 --> 0:34:13.719 a C of radio, I could hold this up and 0:34:13.719 --> 0:34:16.720 you could see this very cool chart that's included about this, 0:34:16.719 --> 0:34:21.239 that that compares Antiochus as a type of Antichrist. As 0:34:21.239 --> 0:34:24.840 you can see through Daniel in Revelation compared to one another. 0:34:24.840 --> 0:34:28.400 So I encourage you to don't miss the opportunity to 0:34:28.440 --> 0:34:31.040 use the Moody Bible Commentary to answer really good questions. 0:34:31.040 --> 0:34:31.760 Like this. 0:34:33.560 --> 0:34:34.720 Did you have anything to add? 0:34:34.880 --> 0:34:36.839 The guy who wrote that did a terrific job. That's 0:34:36.840 --> 0:34:37.760 all I want to say. 0:34:38.160 --> 0:34:38.520 It's clear. 0:34:38.560 --> 0:34:42.279 Very clear. He did? Yeah. Um, well, thank you for 0:34:42.280 --> 0:34:45.759 that question. Uh, Terry wrote us from Minnesota. Listens on 0:34:45.760 --> 0:34:49.839 the mobile app. I just read an article written by 0:34:49.840 --> 0:34:52.840 a Christian theologian that states that the traditional view of 0:34:52.840 --> 0:34:56.440 hell fails the biblical test. The author stated that what 0:34:56.440 --> 0:34:59.480 the Bible really teaches is that the unsaved will be resurrected, 0:34:59.480 --> 0:35:03.239 judged of their works, condemned to hell, suffer torment in 0:35:03.239 --> 0:35:06.839 proportion to their sins, and then be destroyed. In other words, 0:35:06.840 --> 0:35:10.120 they will experience a punishment with eternal consequences, but not 0:35:10.160 --> 0:35:15.340 eternal punishment. Um. Can you. Is this right or wrong? 0:35:15.660 --> 0:35:19.220 What do you think? The reason that this extreme annihilationism 0:35:19.219 --> 0:35:22.620 is what it's called? Why Annihilationism has come up is 0:35:22.620 --> 0:35:25.980 because people think the idea of eternal separation from God 0:35:26.860 --> 0:35:31.780 is too harsh, that a loving God wouldn't do that. Uh, 0:35:31.780 --> 0:35:37.700 so therefore they come up with, um, with the idea 0:35:37.700 --> 0:35:42.739 that eternal separation means that a person will ultimately be annihilated, 0:35:42.739 --> 0:35:44.939 and this way they're eternally separated from God, but they're 0:35:44.940 --> 0:35:50.060 not conscious of their separation from God because they've been annihilated. But, uh, 0:35:50.060 --> 0:35:53.300 in Scripture, if we take it at face value, for example, 0:35:53.300 --> 0:35:58.299 in Isaiah 66, uh, verses 22 through 24, at the 0:35:58.300 --> 0:36:00.219 end of it it says, they shall go out and 0:36:00.219 --> 0:36:01.900 look on the dead bodies of the men who have 0:36:01.900 --> 0:36:05.140 rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their 0:36:05.140 --> 0:36:08.100 fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an 0:36:08.140 --> 0:36:11.880 abhorrence to all flesh. And that's why it says in 0:36:11.880 --> 0:36:15.760 Daniel 12 two that some will be resurrected to everlasting life, 0:36:15.760 --> 0:36:21.439 and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And there are 0:36:21.440 --> 0:36:25.359 bunches of verses in the New Testament that that seem 0:36:25.360 --> 0:36:30.400 to indicate, uh, this same perspective that the Old Testament has. 0:36:30.440 --> 0:36:35.840 For example, in Mark chapter nine, verses 42 through 48, 0:36:36.239 --> 0:36:39.680 the Lord Jesus talks about hell, which is an unquenchable 0:36:39.680 --> 0:36:43.640 fire where their worm does not die and the fire 0:36:43.640 --> 0:36:48.160 is not quenched. Quoting from Isaiah. And there are other passages. 0:36:48.160 --> 0:36:52.200 The punishment of eternal destruction that doesn't mean destroyed for 0:36:52.239 --> 0:36:57.520 destroyed and not existing, but in a perpetual state of separation. Uh, 0:36:57.520 --> 0:37:01.440 that's that's in second Thessalonians one five through ten. Uh, 0:37:01.520 --> 0:37:05.120 there are. I wrote a bunch of these passages down, uh, 0:37:05.600 --> 0:37:12.030 and uh, in revelation chapter 14. It talks about that 0:37:12.070 --> 0:37:14.310 the suffering will be forever and ever. They have no 0:37:14.310 --> 0:37:19.230 rest day or night and the lake of fire. Also, 0:37:19.230 --> 0:37:22.350 is there the same kind of suffering for in revelation 0:37:22.350 --> 0:37:27.190 2010 and verses 14 and 15 it talks about eternal suffering. 0:37:27.190 --> 0:37:30.950 Here's here's what I want to say about that. I 0:37:30.950 --> 0:37:33.870 would like it if Annihilationism was true. I just can't 0:37:33.950 --> 0:37:36.350 read the Bible in a plain sense and accept it. 0:37:36.870 --> 0:37:39.350 I would also like it if it weren't so. It 0:37:39.350 --> 0:37:42.350 ought to motivate me and anyone else that has ever 0:37:42.350 --> 0:37:45.430 heard about what the Bible says, to proclaim the good news, 0:37:45.670 --> 0:37:48.670 that we need to be the best ambassadors we can be, 0:37:48.870 --> 0:37:53.430 to communicate the the truth that God loves us and 0:37:53.430 --> 0:37:57.109 wants us to be with him forever and do our 0:37:57.110 --> 0:38:01.830 best to win people. I think that we ought not 0:38:01.830 --> 0:38:06.070 to gloat. Or it should. No one should ever think 0:38:06.110 --> 0:38:10.819 or talk about this without tears. That's that's what I 0:38:10.820 --> 0:38:14.980 think is so crucial because this is very serious and 0:38:14.980 --> 0:38:18.580 it's terrible and it's what people choose. We know that 0:38:18.580 --> 0:38:21.260 from C.S. Lewis. I think he does a great job 0:38:21.300 --> 0:38:25.620 in a book called the The Great Divorce, where people, 0:38:25.660 --> 0:38:27.700 even when an opportunity to get a second chance, will 0:38:27.700 --> 0:38:29.020 choose to. 0:38:29.300 --> 0:38:30.580 Continue on their own way. 0:38:30.620 --> 0:38:34.460 Yeah. To continue on their own way. Uh, God. Uh, 0:38:34.460 --> 0:38:36.620 Lewis said that God asks us to say thy will 0:38:36.620 --> 0:38:40.180 be done in this life. Or if we choose not to, 0:38:40.219 --> 0:38:42.299 then he says to us, thy will be done, and 0:38:42.340 --> 0:38:45.620 we're separated from him. We need to do our best 0:38:45.620 --> 0:38:48.140 if we know the Lord Jesus to communicate the great 0:38:48.180 --> 0:38:53.300 truth that, uh, that we can spend eternity with God, 0:38:54.020 --> 0:38:58.580 forever fellowshipping with him, serving him forever. Uh, if we 0:38:58.580 --> 0:39:00.700 will put our trust in Jesus who died for us 0:39:00.700 --> 0:39:04.180 and rose again, that's what we need to communicate. Anyway, uh, 0:39:04.180 --> 0:39:05.940 we're going to be back with more questions in just 0:39:06.040 --> 0:39:07.960 a moment. So stay with us. You're listening to Open 0:39:07.960 --> 0:39:11.319 Line with Michael Reidel, Nick Everett and Tricia McMillan right 0:39:11.320 --> 0:39:21.600 here on Moody Radio. So many people have questions about Israel. 0:39:22.040 --> 0:39:24.799 That's why Chosen People Ministry is one of our partners, 0:39:25.160 --> 0:39:29.560 is offering a free booklet, Why Israel? This book explores 0:39:29.560 --> 0:39:31.960 the topic of Israel through the lens of Scripture, bringing 0:39:31.960 --> 0:39:35.840 clarity to a controversial topic. Has the church replaced Israel 0:39:35.840 --> 0:39:38.799 in the plan of God? Does ethnic Israel still have 0:39:38.800 --> 0:39:42.440 a future? What about Israel today? If you'd like answers 0:39:42.440 --> 0:39:45.960 to these questions, just go to our website openline. radio.org. 0:39:46.120 --> 0:39:48.319 Scroll down to the link that says Free Gift from 0:39:48.320 --> 0:39:51.600 Chosen People Ministries. Click on that and you'll be able 0:39:51.600 --> 0:39:54.600 to sign up for your own copy of Why Israel? 0:40:03.480 --> 0:40:06.180 Welcome back to Open Line. My name is Michael Ray Melnick, 0:40:06.180 --> 0:40:08.580 and with me today is Eva Ray Melnick. She's a 0:40:08.580 --> 0:40:11.540 professor at Moody and a contributor to the Moody Bible 0:40:11.540 --> 0:40:14.980 Commentary and the Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy. Also with us, 0:40:15.020 --> 0:40:18.620 our producer of Open Line, Tricia McMillan, who keeps us 0:40:18.660 --> 0:40:22.180 on task. And the task at hand is to keep 0:40:22.180 --> 0:40:23.900 answering questions, right? Yes. 0:40:24.180 --> 0:40:27.859 Yes, indeed. Beverly wrote us from Chicago, listens to WMP. 0:40:28.460 --> 0:40:32.100 She is looking at Genesis 38 and in the story 0:40:32.100 --> 0:40:36.779 this is the story of Tamar. And Judah, she says, 0:40:36.780 --> 0:40:39.700 I knew it was the culture that if your husband died, 0:40:39.700 --> 0:40:42.859 then you married his brother to produce an heir. And 0:40:42.860 --> 0:40:45.700 the march today in the word devotional, it stated that 0:40:45.700 --> 0:40:49.500 the Hittite levirate law stipulated that if her husband's brother died, 0:40:49.500 --> 0:40:52.259 she was to marry his father. I had never heard 0:40:52.260 --> 0:40:54.620 this or read this. Can you tell me more? Was 0:40:54.620 --> 0:40:55.460 this the law? 0:40:56.580 --> 0:40:58.460 Well, first of all, I think it's really important that 0:40:58.460 --> 0:41:02.460 we recognize that levirate law, the the idea, the idea 0:41:02.460 --> 0:41:04.930 that someone is to marry the brother of the deceased 0:41:04.930 --> 0:41:08.010 or the family, the relative of the deceased. That's really 0:41:08.010 --> 0:41:11.130 what brother would mean. It doesn't have to be necessarily 0:41:11.130 --> 0:41:14.049 only the brother. It could be the relative, but you 0:41:14.050 --> 0:41:19.330 could see the brother situation going on with Judas sons, right? 0:41:19.370 --> 0:41:22.770 And in Genesis 38, that's in the law of Moses. 0:41:22.770 --> 0:41:25.530 And this is way before these events took place, before 0:41:25.530 --> 0:41:29.610 the law of Moses was given. So Judah was not 0:41:29.610 --> 0:41:34.690 practicing the law of Moses. He was practicing prophecy, likely 0:41:34.690 --> 0:41:40.009 a cultural expression of what to do when when a 0:41:40.010 --> 0:41:40.850 spouse dies. 0:41:41.370 --> 0:41:42.969 So it was already part of the culture to. 0:41:43.050 --> 0:41:45.770 Yeah, levirate law was incorporated into the Law of Moses, 0:41:45.770 --> 0:41:48.410 but it was already part of the culture. And I 0:41:48.410 --> 0:41:51.610 don't think that we should. And perhaps it is true, 0:41:51.810 --> 0:41:55.810 it makes sense that the Hittite law stipulates that the 0:41:55.810 --> 0:42:00.050 husband dies. The wife then marries the father. But I 0:42:00.050 --> 0:42:02.320 don't think that's what's going on here in Genesis 38. 0:42:02.360 --> 0:42:04.759 It's not that part of the culture. She wanted to 0:42:04.800 --> 0:42:08.040 marry his brother. And then the second brother died. And 0:42:08.040 --> 0:42:13.160 then then he held back. The third brother, Judah did. 0:42:13.200 --> 0:42:17.279 And so what she does is she's concerned with carrying, 0:42:17.320 --> 0:42:22.640 carrying on the lineage of Judah. And so she goes 0:42:22.640 --> 0:42:25.279 through this elaborate scheme where she pretends to be a 0:42:25.280 --> 0:42:31.439 prostitute and then deceives Judah into sleeping with her. She 0:42:31.440 --> 0:42:34.960 gets pregnant because she's she is concerned. Then, of course, 0:42:34.960 --> 0:42:37.560 when Judah hears that his daughter in law is pregnant, 0:42:37.600 --> 0:42:42.759 he wants to have her, uh, experience capital punishment, right? 0:42:42.760 --> 0:42:47.120 He wants to have her burned. And then, uh, what 0:42:47.120 --> 0:42:49.400 she does is she says, here's the pledge I receive 0:42:49.400 --> 0:42:51.720 from whoever. This is, the person who made me pregnant. 0:42:51.719 --> 0:42:55.160 So this is this seems like, terrible. And yet, what 0:42:55.160 --> 0:42:59.520 does Judah say? You are more righteous than I. And 0:42:59.520 --> 0:43:02.620 the reason he says it, not because her deception was right, 0:43:02.620 --> 0:43:05.620 or because sleeping with her father in law was right, 0:43:05.620 --> 0:43:09.500 but rather her righteousness was that she was concerned with 0:43:09.500 --> 0:43:13.259 the lineage of Judah and he was not. Judah was 0:43:13.260 --> 0:43:16.980 not concerned with carrying on his family line, which is 0:43:16.980 --> 0:43:19.860 what he ought to have been concerned with. And so 0:43:20.060 --> 0:43:23.940 in that sense, she is deemed she's declared righteous by him. 0:43:24.540 --> 0:43:26.460 And that's what we need to read her, that that 0:43:26.460 --> 0:43:29.540 was her great concern. And he was not righteous because 0:43:29.540 --> 0:43:32.540 he didn't care about that. And what happens is then 0:43:32.540 --> 0:43:36.980 in Genesis 49, you come to the promise. And there 0:43:37.300 --> 0:43:41.339 in Genesis 49 there's something very special about Judah. 0:43:42.100 --> 0:43:45.140 Which is that that the Messiah would come from the 0:43:45.140 --> 0:43:48.100 Lion of Judah. So that, you know, I think it's 0:43:48.100 --> 0:43:49.980 so interesting. He says, you are more righteous than I. 0:43:50.020 --> 0:43:52.820 And then later on, we find out in Genesis 4910 0:43:52.860 --> 0:43:55.779 that it says that the Messiah himself is going to 0:43:55.780 --> 0:43:58.100 be coming from the Lion of Judah. And if she 0:43:58.100 --> 0:44:01.319 had not done this bold and yet seeming to us 0:44:01.360 --> 0:44:04.680 outrageous thing that would have not been possible. Yeah. 0:44:05.120 --> 0:44:09.320 And then when you read the lineage of Jesus in 0:44:09.880 --> 0:44:13.200 the Gospels, you see Tamar is even in them. 0:44:13.239 --> 0:44:13.920 In Matthew. 0:44:14.040 --> 0:44:14.480 Right? 0:44:14.520 --> 0:44:17.680 Yeah. That she has she is part of that lineage 0:44:17.680 --> 0:44:19.080 and mentioned by name. 0:44:19.160 --> 0:44:20.560 Mhm. Isn't that amazing? 0:44:20.600 --> 0:44:22.160 Yeah. Yeah. It really is. 0:44:22.440 --> 0:44:22.840 Yeah. 0:44:23.760 --> 0:44:24.120 Um. 0:44:25.040 --> 0:44:28.840 Which even shows that even stupid, dumb wrong things people do, 0:44:29.760 --> 0:44:33.520 God can actually use to advance his purposes. 0:44:33.560 --> 0:44:33.960 Right? 0:44:34.600 --> 0:44:35.040 Yeah. 0:44:35.239 --> 0:44:40.720 Yeah. That's amazing too. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I'm going to 0:44:40.920 --> 0:44:45.600 skip ahead. And, uh, David wrote us from Florida. Listens 0:44:45.600 --> 0:44:47.839 on the Moody App. I love the show. And I'm 0:44:47.840 --> 0:44:51.560 studying the gospel of Mark with my small group. Looking 0:44:51.560 --> 0:44:55.360 at Mark four verses 30 to 32. Uh, it's the 0:44:55.360 --> 0:45:00.030 parable of the mustard seed. Um, but it talks about 0:45:00.030 --> 0:45:02.630 the birds of the sky. Are these the same birds 0:45:02.630 --> 0:45:05.069 that came and devoured the seed in the parable of 0:45:05.070 --> 0:45:07.350 the sower earlier in Mark four? 0:45:08.790 --> 0:45:12.150 I you know, that's he's interesting that he's finding the 0:45:12.150 --> 0:45:14.430 bird reference, but I don't think that every bird is 0:45:14.430 --> 0:45:15.989 related to every other bird. 0:45:16.270 --> 0:45:16.670 Yeah. 0:45:16.870 --> 0:45:19.549 And birds are all over the place in the Bible, 0:45:19.590 --> 0:45:21.710 and I can't. We don't have a theme of the 0:45:21.710 --> 0:45:24.230 bird in the Bible means this. And so every time 0:45:24.230 --> 0:45:25.589 you see bird, it's going to mean. 0:45:25.710 --> 0:45:28.350 Parables are sort of standalone stories. And so what does 0:45:28.350 --> 0:45:32.910 it mean in this? The, the, uh, mustard seed. Is 0:45:32.910 --> 0:45:36.870 that what the. Yeah, that's a very small seed. It's 0:45:36.870 --> 0:45:39.950 going to grow and it's referring to the kingdom of God, 0:45:39.950 --> 0:45:43.149 the kingdom of God. God's rulership over humanity is going 0:45:43.150 --> 0:45:47.190 to grow into a great big tree. And the the 0:45:47.270 --> 0:45:50.149 people of God will be able to rest in it. 0:45:50.150 --> 0:45:51.790 And I think that's what the birds represent. 0:45:51.870 --> 0:45:53.670 Then he gives that, you know, the parallel. It's so big, 0:45:53.670 --> 0:45:55.670 it's like the birds of the air can rest in it. 0:45:55.710 --> 0:45:56.350 Yeah. Okay. 0:45:56.460 --> 0:45:58.940 And so. And the birds that came and devoured the 0:45:58.940 --> 0:46:01.259 seeds in the parable of the sower. It's it's still 0:46:01.260 --> 0:46:03.380 talking about birds, but it's using a different point. 0:46:03.420 --> 0:46:07.219 Yeah. Yeah. Every story is it's a standalone story. We 0:46:07.219 --> 0:46:10.140 have to interpret them on their own. Well, that's it. 0:46:10.140 --> 0:46:12.580 That's the first hour, you guys. Boy, did that fly by. 0:46:12.739 --> 0:46:15.700 But keep listening, because there's a second hour of open 0:46:15.700 --> 0:46:18.900 line on most of these stations. If your station doesn't 0:46:18.900 --> 0:46:21.299 carry Open line second hour, you can always listen on 0:46:21.300 --> 0:46:23.219 the Moody Radio app. You can listen online. We're going 0:46:23.260 --> 0:46:27.380 to continue our all mailbag all the time Memorial weekend 0:46:27.620 --> 0:46:30.860 edition of Open Line. Uh, when you go to our website, 0:46:30.860 --> 0:46:35.700 Open Line radio.org, there's our current Bible study resource available there. 0:46:35.739 --> 0:46:38.060 There's also a way to help you become a kitchen 0:46:38.060 --> 0:46:41.299 table partner. There's a link to my personal email Michael Ray. 0:46:42.020 --> 0:46:44.219 Org and it tells you about Israel trips and things 0:46:44.219 --> 0:46:47.259 like that. Second hour of open lines coming up straight ahead. 0:46:47.380 --> 0:46:49.740 Open line with Doctor Michael Ray Dolnick is a production 0:46:49.739 --> 0:46:53.380 of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.