S1: We're celebrating Memorial Day weekend. And today here at Openline,
S1: we're celebrating Spindle Day, also known as Empty the Inbox Day.
S1: It's an all mailbag, all the time episode of Openline.
S1: We've got the questions you've sent us about the Bible,
S1: God and the spiritual life, and we're getting ready to
S1: address them. So hang tight. We're going to get to
S1: those in just a moment. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Open
S1: Line with Doctor Michael Ray. Dominic. That's me. This is
S1: Moody Radio's Bible study across America. I'm here today and
S1: every Saturday to do my best to answer your questions
S1: about the scriptures. Normally, the bulk of our program is
S1: taking your phone calls, but not so today. Today it's
S1: all mailbag all the time and the best way to
S1: be in touch with us if you have another question
S1: is via our website openline. Radio.com. It has links to
S1: anything you might need, whether it's email or Twitter or Facebook.
S1: But mainly there's a link that says Ask Michael a question.
S1: You can click on that and post your question right there.
S1: Joining me today is a person I turn to when
S1: I have a question about the scripture. She's my favorite
S1: Bible teacher. Her name is Eva Riedel. She is a
S1: colleague of mine on the faculty of Moody Bible Institute.
S1: She's a contributor to both the Moody Bible Commentary and
S1: the Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy. And she happens to
S1: be my wife for all these many, many years. And
S1: we were married on Memorial Day weekend. Oh, I think
S1: when Lincoln was still president, he was. Yeah, right. We've
S1: been married a long time. I'm so glad you're here
S1: with me today to answer the questions.
S2: Oh, it's so much fun to be here.
S1: It's actually easier to do it this way with you
S1: here at the table with me. Because usually when I'm
S1: in the radio studio, you have to text me the answer.
S1: So this way I can just turn to you and
S1: you can answer for yourself. Also joining me today is
S1: the producer of Open Line, Tricia McMillan. Tricia is here
S1: with me every week. You know her from the mailbag,
S1: the Febc mailbag. And Tricia, I'm so glad you're with me.
S3: I'm glad to be here.
S1: Yeah. You know, a lot of people think Tricia, she's
S1: just like an expert at radio stuff. But she also
S1: has a bachelor and master's degree from Moody Bible Institute.
S1: And so she is the other person I turn to
S1: when I say, where's that verse? She has it instantly.
S1: So thank you so much for being with me today.
S1: We're going to do our best. Thank you for putting
S1: these questions together. You're the one. You are the Malka
S1: of the mailbag, the queen of the mailbag. You are
S1: in charge of it. And so, uh, I'm so glad
S1: about that. Courtney Young, our our engineer, is with us.
S1: She's making us sound good. Thank you so much, Courtney. Well,
S1: go get your Bible, get yourself a cup of coffee
S1: and head over to the radio kitchen table. And we're
S1: going to talk about the scriptures. And so I'm going
S1: to turn it right over to you, Tricia, because you've
S1: got the mailbag, right?
S3: Yes I do. Yeah. All right. Our first question is
S3: from Maria in Illinois. She listens to WNBA. She says
S3: I recently joined as a kitchen table partner.
S1: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
S3: She said, I also want to thank you for your service.
S3: I'm learning so much about the Bible every day by
S3: listening to your past programs. In a recent program, you said, um,
S3: God created us because we like to worship God, and
S3: worshiping him makes us happy. And this was kind of
S3: this was a question actually my daughter had asked about,
S3: Is Jesus selfish to create us for the purpose of
S3: worshiping him? Maria asks, since God knows everything before it
S3: occurs and new we are, we would be stubborn and
S3: would continue to sin till the day of our transformation. Transformation.
S3: And technically, he doesn't really need us. Why would he
S3: make us? And I will even add to that. Why
S3: did he create anything? Like why? I mean, he's self
S3: contained and self-sufficient and he doesn't need.
S1: And that's exactly right. God is a totally self-sufficient being.
S1: He doesn't need us. And if you take it back
S1: the way you're thinking, if I give you a reason
S1: for our relationship to the world that God created, then
S1: we say, well, why did he make the world? And
S1: so the first question is, why did God make the world?
S1: And I'm going to give you the answer right now.
S1: Tell me if I'm right or wrong about this. Eva.
S1: We have no idea in terms of what the scriptures say.
S1: The Bible doesn't say why God made the world. It
S1: just says that he did. But we can. What do you.
S1: What do you think, am I right? Do you have
S1: a verse?
S2: You know, I have a thought from one of my
S2: favorite biblical thinkers, C.S. Lewis, who in his book miracles
S2: says it is the sort of question which God does
S2: not answer.
S1: There we go. Yeah, we have that. We have that
S1: in Deuteronomy 2929, where it says the things revealed belong
S1: to us, but the things that are not revealed belong
S1: to God forever. And so it's not revealed to us.
S1: But I can speculate. How about this? That God is
S1: infinitely creative and therefore sought to make this infinitely wonderful creation.
S1: That's a reflection of who he is because he is
S1: infinitely creative. And, uh, someone might say, why did Michelangelo sculpt?
S1: Why did Leonardo da Vinci paint? They are reflecting the
S1: image of God in them, that they are creative. And
S1: they had to. They were not that God is compelled
S1: to do anything, but they it comes out of them
S1: naturally because of their creativity. Well, God as the infinite Creator,
S1: he created the world and so.
S2: And being the creator, I think is such a key
S2: element of the the thing that God has revealed about himself.
S2: We should not fall into the wrong thinking that only
S2: Genesis one talks about God being the creator. I challenge
S2: anybody to take a green marker and read through their
S2: whole Bible, and every place where it identifies God as
S2: our creator. Give that a highlight and when you flip
S2: those pages, it's just going to be a field of green.
S1: Yeah. Yeah. So that's the first step. And then it
S1: says in Genesis one that God created us in his
S1: image and according to his likeness. That's why he created humanity.
S1: And when we think of a likeness or an image,
S1: it actually takes us to what the pagans did. They
S1: would make little idols, an image, right? Of a God,
S1: and put it in their temple to represent the God
S1: in their temples. Right? So God says, this is my creation,
S1: and I'm not making you into little idols, but I'm
S1: making you my representative on earth. Which is why he
S1: gave Adam and Eve dominion over the creation. And that's
S1: why humanity has dominion over the creation. So God creates
S1: the world out of his. Creativity. And then he gives
S1: us dominion over to represent him, to have dominion over
S1: the world. So that's one of the reasons he made
S1: us to give us dominion over his creation.
S2: This Dominion word, this is kind of a loaded word.
S2: People often think that means that we have the right
S2: just to use and destroy to trash.
S1: And well, actually.
S2: It doesn't mean that at all. It means to care for.
S1: To care for.
S2: And to care for.
S1: We have rulership and stewardship of the world, even with
S1: the fall. And then, of course, uh, I think now
S1: this is highly speculative. God, as a personal being, he
S1: is personal. He has mind, heart, will. That's part of
S1: the image of God in us. We have mind, heart,
S1: will or mind, uh, intellect, emotion and volition. Because of that, Uh.
S1: God made us in his image. That's what we are.
S1: And he he wanted chose to have. I should say,
S1: I don't think he had a need for it, but
S1: he chose to have a relationship because of him being
S1: a personal being. So he wanted to have chose to
S1: have an eternal relationship with humanity. And that's why he
S1: made us.
S3: Okay. Thank you. I hope that helps you. Maria, thank
S3: you for that question. Uh, speaking of creation and possibly speculation,
S3: not sure. Mary Alice in Florida listens to and says
S3: angels were created, but the Bible doesn't talk about which
S3: day when seems to be the most logical day that
S3: God would have created angels. Or were they before creation,
S3: would they have been part of creation in the Bible?
S2: Doesn't say doesn't say, you know, it gives the six
S2: days and things that happen in the seventh day of rest,
S2: and angels aren't included in any of that. So maybe
S2: it was.
S1: Some time afterwards. There's the incident in the garden with
S1: Adam and Eve, and there's a fallen angel controlling that serpent.
S1: That's Satan. And so he must have been created before then.
S3: Right.
S2: And there's there's the good angels that are that are
S2: posted at the gates of the Garden of Eden.
S1: Yeah. And it does say in job, uh, job 38,
S1: I believe it is, unless I get it wrong that, uh,
S1: that that at creation all the sons of God. Shouted
S1: for joy. It says in job 38. Uh, who fixed?
S1: Let's see. Uh, where were you when I established the earth?
S1: Verse four. Tell me if you have understanding who fixed
S1: its dimensions. Certainly you know who stretched a measuring line
S1: across it, what supports its foundations, or who laid its cornerstone,
S1: while the morning stars sang together and all the sons
S1: of God shouted for joy. That's a reference to the angels,
S1: and it's talking about God creating the world. And the
S1: angels are celebrating when he did it. So he must
S1: have created the angels before he created the world. And, uh,
S1: I don't, uh.
S2: I don't know exactly when, but we know it was before.
S1: Yeah, it was before creation of the universe.
S3: Okay.
S1: Yeah. That's right. You know, uh, sometimes. And I really
S1: appreciate that people want to know these things. They think, well,
S1: is there a verse that tells us, and, you know,
S1: we just do our best?
S3: Yeah, yeah. Sometimes there are. And sometimes sometimes it's very clear. Yeah.
S3: And sometimes it's not clear. And sometimes it's not mentioned
S3: at all.
S1: Exactly.
S3: All right.
S1: Well thank you. We're we're going to take a little
S1: break here. And when we come back, we've got a
S1: lot of time for all these mailbag questions that have
S1: been sent in. Thank you so much for doing that.
S1: Remember check out our website Open Line radio.org. And if
S1: you have a question now just click on the Ask
S1: Michael a question link. And Trish will put your question
S1: in the mailbag. We're going to be right back. This
S1: is Michael Melnick, Eva Rae Melnick and Tricia McMillan right
S1: here on Open Line. Biblical literacy is essential for spiritual growth.
S1: Many of us struggle with unfamiliar terms and titles in Scripture.
S1: The Ultimate Bible Dictionary bridges that gap with clear definitions
S1: of hundreds of biblical people, places, and objects. When you
S1: give a gift of any size to open line, we
S1: want to say thanks by sending you the ultimate Bible dictionary.
S1: Call (888) 644-7122 or visit open line radio.org. Welcome back to
S1: Open Line. This is Michael Ray Domenic along with me
S1: around the radio kitchen table today is Eva Ray melnick
S1: and Tricia McMillan. We're doing an all mailbag all the
S1: time program, catching up, clearing the spindle. And I'm so
S1: glad you joined us today as well. Around the kitchen table.
S1: You know, there's just no way in the world, in
S1: my opinion, that open line could be on the air
S1: without all the people that work together to accomplish getting
S1: these questions out, making sure the phone calls come in,
S1: the the engineering to make it sound right. And, you know,
S1: people sometimes think that, oh, Radulovic's got this program. No, no, no, no,
S1: we have a team here that that makes this program happen.
S1: Even today. We've got a team of people here in
S1: the studio. And one of the great things about being
S1: on Moody Radio is we have a team of kitchen
S1: table partners as well. Those are people who give monthly
S1: to open line. And it's it's just I'm so grateful
S1: for them because they help keep us on the air
S1: answering people's questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual
S1: life every week. And they give monthly so we can
S1: answer those questions weekly. And if you are interested in
S1: becoming a kitchen table partner, I've got a special benefit
S1: for you. Kitchen table partners receive every other week an
S1: exclusive Bible study prepared just for our kitchen table partners.
S1: Get an email, click on it and it's about 5
S1: to 7 minute Bible study that you might find helpful
S1: and encouraging. At least I hope you do. And if
S1: you want to become a kitchen table partner, all you
S1: have to do. And here I am. I've lost the
S1: phone number. Oh. What in the world has happened? Here
S1: it is. If you'd like to become a kitchen table partner,
S1: just call 447122. All those numbers in my head and
S1: I can't remember them.
S2: Could you go over that one more time?
S1: (888) 644-7122. Or go to Open Line radio.org and click on
S1: the link that asks about becoming a kitchen table partner.
S1: So appreciate it if you decide to do that. And
S1: we're going to go right back to the mailbag now
S1: with Tricia. And she's laughing at me because I forgot
S1: her phone number.
S3: That's okay. That's okay. You you said it correctly. Which
S3: is more important? Okay, good. Um, our next question is
S3: from Steven in Illinois. Listens to WNBA. Who did God
S3: tell the creation story to? As found in Genesis. And
S3: is there any possibility that parts of it are myth
S3: in the best sense of the word? Still rich with truth.
S1: Well, let me just say myth is a story that's
S1: not true. That teaches a truth. I guess you would say. Uh,
S1: but as I understand biblical narrative, biblical history, it is
S1: written factually, not mythically. The nature of biblical narrative is
S1: to take it at face value. And so it seems
S1: to me that when we look at the creation narrative,
S1: we need to take it at face value. Uh, now,
S1: who did he tell? Obviously, God told Adam and Eve,
S1: you know. And then Adam and Eve must have told, uh, Seth.
S1: At least you know their son who passed it on.
S1: And the story came down. And likely by the time
S1: Noah gets around, he knows it. And then he told it.
S1: He and his sons, they told it to people afterwards.
S1: And the story just gets carried down orally. Uh, maybe
S1: Abraham knew it. He passed it on to Isaac. Isaac
S1: passed it on to Jacob. These oral traditions. And then, uh, finally,
S1: Jochebed told Moses. Moses wrote it. So, that's one possibility,
S1: that it was just an oral tradition that was passed
S1: down from the people of God. Generation by generation. Then
S1: the other possibility is that God told Moses. Moses wrote
S1: that story in Genesis. He wrote the whole primeval history,
S1: Genesis one through 11 based on what God told him.
S1: Those are the only two possibilities that I can think of.
S1: Maybe Eva has another one, but.
S2: We don't have an oral culture like was part of
S2: the of the ancient Jewish culture in the ancient world.
S2: So it's hard for us to imagine stories coming down
S2: and being accurately retained. But that was not an unusual event.
S1: Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was an oral culture because they
S1: at the maybe they weren't even writing in the times of,
S1: of the early days, the earliest days. Right.
S2: And so we do know writing is very, very old,
S2: but yeah. You know.
S1: And it was old enough. Some people say Moses couldn't
S1: have written it because there was no writing in 1400 B.C.
S1: that's been debunked. Oh, yeah. Even earlier, there was writing
S1: with letters. So, uh. Yeah, that's that seems to me
S1: either there and the oral traditions were maintained almost verbatim,
S1: passed on from generation to generation.
S3: And I'll say recently, um, I was amazed, um, did
S3: the math and heard my pastor preach on, um, well,
S3: we're going through Hebrews 11, but then, because you're going
S3: through that, we're going back into Genesis and looking at
S3: the people that.
S1: Hebrews.
S3: 11 is talking about. And if you do the math
S3: on Adam through the generations, if I recall this correctly,
S3: Adam would have still been alive when Enoch was taken,
S3: was taken up. So so this isn't even like my
S3: dad told me. And I told my children because my
S3: dad wasn't around anymore. Adam is still alive, and he
S3: could still be. This is still like he's.
S1: He could have been the oral tale teller. You know,
S1: he could have been the one passing that on.
S3: Right? Like, still to these, you know.
S1: Many generations.
S3: Many generations later, that it's still a first generation story
S3: that's being passed on. Now, that said, that does not negate, um, God, uh,
S3: negate it just being an oral tradition that is not
S3: biblically inspired. Correct?
S1: Yeah. The inspiration is when the scriptures are written, the
S1: Bible is what's inspired, not oral tales, but if it's
S1: an accurate story and then when God leads Moses to
S1: write it, it's written accurately, because Moses is the author
S1: and he was superintended by the Holy Spirit according to
S1: Second Peter 121. God moved him to write what what
S1: it was. And then we have an inspired text or
S1: God breathed text. Okay.
S3: Okay. All right. Thanks for that question. Next question is
S3: from Elizabeth in Tennessee. Listens to WNBA. Uh, I look
S3: forward to your program every Saturday. She says thank you.
S3: What was the battle or war that David killed Goliath in.
S3: Why was there a battle and what were the two
S3: sides fighting over? And then when did it happen? Well, that's.
S3: What year was.
S1: That? It just appears that when the Philistines arrived on
S1: the coast of Israel, that they were encroaching into the
S1: land of Israel, trying to conquer the whole land, but
S1: they actually were mostly coastal. The five cities of the Philistines. Uh, Gath. Ashkelon.
S1: I can't remember them all. Ekron. Gaza. Gaza. Yeah. They
S1: were all there on the coast, the Mediterranean coast. And, uh,
S1: they were encroaching, trying to get into Judea.
S2: And you can when you read the Old Testament, you
S2: can see the Philistines were one of the major, ongoing,
S2: relentless enemies of Israel.
S1: Yeah. And, uh, and so it was really of who's
S1: going to control this land that was called Canaan, or
S1: then was called Israel by the time Saul was king. Uh,
S1: under Joshua, it gets conquered. And uh, and there was
S1: an encroachment trying to conquer it. And so it was
S1: that ongoing battle. It was a persistent problem with the Philistines.
S1: And then, uh, that's why there was a battle there.
S1: This is that's right near, uh, got Goliath of Gath got, uh,
S1: in Hebrew. Uh, so it's right there by it. They
S1: actually here's a cool thing, uh, right there near that
S1: area where he's supposed to be from, they have uncovered, uh,
S1: bully things that that were like.
S2: Little clay seals.
S1: Yeah, that have Goliath's name on it.
S2: And so Goliath might not have been a personal name.
S2: It might have been more of a a title. A
S2: position like Pharaoh wasn't a personal name. It was a position.
S1: It may have been just a common personal name. I
S1: don't think it was. I don't think it was Goliath's. Uh.
S1: We can't. It may have been just a common Philistine
S1: name so that there were others.
S2: Yeah, like Michael's a common American name.
S1: It doesn't mean if you find something with Michael on it,
S1: it means me.
S3: That it's yours. Yeah.
S1: Okay, so. But it does show that there were. There
S1: was Goliath. Goliath's. I guess you could say in Philistia. Um.
S1: And when did it happen? Uh, Eva.
S2: That's that's kind of that's an interesting thing because they're like,
S2: unlike the question we looked at before, like when the
S2: angels were created and we don't have any kind of
S2: date or anything to help us. Um, in Second Kings five,
S2: verse four, where it's talking about David becoming king, it
S2: says David was 30 years old when he became king,
S2: and he reigned for 40 years. Now we're getting into
S2: the deep weeds of math. So how can we determine
S2: if he was 30 when he became king? How does
S2: that help us to know when the Battle of David
S2: and Goliath happened? And what year might that have been?
S2: And I'm just going to give it to our math
S2: major here, Michael. Right.
S1: To, uh, well.
S2: To talk about that for a second.
S1: David became king in 1010 BC, and he was 30
S1: years old. Uh, and so he was not yet of
S1: age to go to war, which is 20. That's why
S1: he was not yet at the battle. Remember, he goes
S1: to the battle when his brothers are there, and the
S1: age of war, according to the Torah, men went to
S1: war when they were 20. And so how old was David?
S1: He must have been between 15 and 20, I would say.
S1: Let's just guess 15, just for the sake of ease.
S1: And so, uh, since he became king when he was 30,
S1: it was 15 years earlier that the battle with Goliath happened.
S1: And so that would make it about 1025 BC, that
S1: the battle between David and Goliath took place.
S3: Okay. And that was second Samuel five four. Okay. For
S3: those who are looking it up. Second Samuel five four. Okay.
S3: Thank you. Um, it is when you do actually do
S3: the math, it is kind of like, oh, you can
S3: figure out some of these things. Yeah. Yeah. All right.
S3: Barbara is in Georgia, listens to Wlp. I love the show.
S3: When I can listen. And I always learn something new
S3: about the Bible. Here's my question. Does anyone know the
S3: tunes or melodies of the Psalms? For example, Psalm 69,
S3: the Bible that states it's sung to the tune of lilies.
S3: Do we have any idea what these tunes are?
S1: Yeah, there are a lot. When you look at the Psalms,
S1: there's a lot of these. Different descriptions of.
S2: What they are. Musical markers? Yeah.
S1: Musical markers. And truth to tell. No one knows what
S1: they are. That there was like for the choir director
S1: and different kinds of things like that. Uh, and and
S1: we don't have that. No one recorded it. Uh, so
S1: we don't know what it is, what we did get
S1: in the Middle Ages and medieval period, like, for example,
S1: Psalm five. I'm looking for the choir director with the flutes.
S1: Psalm four. For the choir. Director with stringed instruments. And
S1: we know that David played the harp. And so maybe he.
S1: The harp, is sort of the guitar of his day.
S1: And so here he is. And playing a stringed instrument.
S1: And so we don't know what it sounded like. And
S1: in the medieval period, to maintain the, uh, the text
S1: of the Bible, Jewish, the Hebrew Bible, Jewish scribes called
S1: the Masoretes took the traditions of the rabbis and incorporated
S1: them by putting vowels in. They also put tropes or
S1: accents on the text, and the accents have or tropes
S1: have a way of being chanted. And so, uh, today,
S1: if you look at a Hebrew Bible. And you and
S1: you know, the tropes you can chant. What, what it
S1: sounds like like, for example, when I had my bar mitzvah,
S1: my text that I had to read from the prophets
S1: was Ezekiel 38, and I didn't just read it verbatim.
S1: I chanted it the biome Hahu Biyombo go galat ma Yisrael.
S1: That's based on the tropes. So that's the earliest we
S1: have of how to chant Hebrew. And it's on the
S1: Hebrew Bible and it's from the medieval period. So then
S1: that's the last time I'll ever sing on Open Line.
S2: Okay.
S1: I just wanted people to hear what the medieval tropes
S1: sounded like. And Trish is now laughing again. I'm glad
S1: I'm keeping her happy. Yeah. So. And now she's coughing. Oh,
S1: it's falling apart. We're going to go to a break.
S1: That's what we're going to do when we come back.
S1: We'll have more of our all mailbag all the time program. Uh,
S1: with Tricia McMillan. She'll have pulled herself together by then.
S1: And I'm here with Tricia and Eva melnick, and I'm
S1: Michael Riedel. We're answering the questions you sent in on
S1: this Memorial Day weekend. Hope you're having a great time.
S1: We're going to be right back with more of your
S1: questions right here on Open Line. Everyone has questions about God,
S1: the Bible, and living out our faith. And that's why
S1: we're here on Open Line. We take your questions and
S1: provide answers straight from Scripture. But we couldn't do this
S1: without you. When you become a kitchen table partner, you're
S1: not only keeping this program on the air. Every weekend,
S1: you'll also receive exclusive benefits like personal audio messages from
S1: me that offer biblical encouragement. Become a kitchen table partner
S1: today by calling 888 644 seven N122 or go to
S1: Open Line Radio. Org. Welcome back to Open Line. My
S1: name is Michael Ray Dominic. I'm so glad to be
S1: with you every week. And joining me this week, uh,
S1: for our all mailbag program is Eva melnick. She's a
S1: professor at Moody. And my wife, uh, and also joining
S1: me is Tricia McMillan, who's the regular producer of Open Line.
S1: And she's the one that's pulled together this all mailbag edition,
S1: and she's asking the questions, and we're going to do
S1: our best to answer. Let's keep on going.
S3: All right. Next question is from Randy in Kentucky. Listens
S3: on the mobile app. I heard a rabbi who said
S3: that there was one survivor from the Egyptians at the
S3: Red sea. Pharaoh. He later became the king of Nineveh.
S3: He said, this is why when Jonah said, repent or
S3: be destroyed, he was so quick to command his city
S3: to follow Jonah's warning. We have never heard this before,
S3: and I was wondering if it was true and if
S3: you knew where to find it.
S2: Ah, well, that's a very it's an interesting idea and
S2: certainly surprising. However, it is not found in the Bible
S2: at all. Okay. Um, it actually is a Jewish tradition,
S2: a very old Jewish tradition that, uh, it can be
S2: found in the Midrash, which is a collection of Jewish writings.
S2: And it's from there. There's a lot of different stories
S2: that are interesting, but really are not scripturally based in
S2: the midrash.
S1: Yeah, it's basically from a legend, I guess you could
S1: call it in Mekhilta. Uh, and uh, there's some other
S1: it's a midrash, and the midrash means it really refers
S1: to Bible commentaries. There's the Midrash Rabbah, there are midrashim
S1: or commentaries on the law, which is what Mekhilta is, uh,
S1: and they have many, many, uh, they're called aggadot stories
S1: and they don't have any kind of chronology. You know,
S1: Abraham and Isaac and Jacob might have a chat with
S1: Moses at some time or, you know, David there, there's
S1: no sense of chronology. And that's why even though Pharaoh
S1: was drowned in 1400 BC, or if he was drowned,
S1: maybe it was just his army. But the Exodus happens
S1: 1400 BC and Jonah is from about the eighth century BC,
S1: maybe ninth, right there, 500 years apart at least. And
S1: so what do we do with the Midrash? The Midrash
S1: is a collection of sermonic illustrations or stories to try
S1: and fill in the gaps of biblical narratives. Why did
S1: Nineveh repent? Well, we're going to fill it in this way.
S1: And they're farfetched, is what I would say. And I
S1: love some of the farfetched stories. They're pretty funny or
S1: pretty interesting. But here's one of the things that was
S1: discovered by a professor. Uh, David, uh, his name's going
S1: to come to me in a moment. But anyway, he
S1: teaches at Cambridge. He wrote a book which showed that
S1: the rabbis whose commentaries are included in. Uh, in the
S1: Midrash from before the destruction of the temple are not
S1: far fetched like that. Their commentaries are actually, you can
S1: see the principle and the application, because Midrash is only
S1: trying to show the contemporary relevance of Scripture. And so
S1: there you can see the principle and the application that
S1: they're making. On the other hand, the rabbis who cite
S1: from Scripture and give things that they're saying from the
S1: periods after the destruction of the temple, they're very far fetched.
S1: So you have to be careful when you look at
S1: the Midrash to determine when those rabbis were, when they
S1: were teaching something, and when they when the and those
S1: that are either before ad70 or after A.D. 70.
S3: Is there a some sort of indication to tell when
S3: those are? They're all kind of mixed together.
S1: They're all mixed together. And sometimes it's just the school
S1: of a particular rabbi might be saying it, so you
S1: don't even know for sure if it was that rabbi.
S1: But there's books like the Encyclopedia of the sages, where
S1: you look up the rabbi who's saying it. You go
S1: in that encyclopedia and that will tell you what era
S1: they were from. Okay, okay, okay.
S3: Well, thanks for that question, Randy. Next question is from
S3: Adrian in Illinois, listens to WNBA. Uh, me and my
S3: mom are big fans of Open Line and the moody commentary,
S3: so thank you. Here's my question. In Daniel eight, the
S3: circumstances surrounding the defeat of Medo-persia by Greece and the
S3: persecution of the Jews are described as using the vision
S3: of the goat Ram and Little horn. My question pertains
S3: to the interpretation of the vision given in Daniel 517.
S3: It says, Son of Man. Understand that the vision pertains
S3: to the time of the end.
S1: I think that she made a mistake at Daniel eight
S1: 1708 17. Okay. Mhm.
S3: What does the phrase time of the end mean in
S3: this context? Why is it not referring to the time
S3: of Jesus return and the end times? And are there
S3: other ways that time of the end is used similarly
S3: in the Old Testament? Thanks so much for huge fans.
S1: Well, I love that they love the moody Bible commentary. Uh,
S1: and I happen to have written the commentary on Daniel,
S1: and one of our goals was when someone reads a
S1: text like this and clearly Daniel eight is talking about Antiochus.
S1: He is the little horn of Daniel eight. And so
S1: how in the. I think when someone reads this, what
S1: question would they have? And I thought the question they
S1: might have is, well, why does it say it pertains
S1: to the time of the end when it's referring clearly
S1: to Antiochus Epiphanes from a period of about 165 BC? Right.
S1: And so, since they love the Moody Bible commentary, how
S1: about we give the answer right from the Moody Bible Commentary, right?
S2: This is right from the Moody Bible Commentary. I encourage
S2: all of our listeners to get a copy of their own,
S2: but there's a great compilation that is of just Daniel
S2: and Revelation that's also available. And here's what it says.
S2: It says Gabriel also indicated that the vision reference to
S2: the time of the end. This might seem unexpected, since
S2: the events predicted all took place between the sixth and
S2: second centuries BC and do not appear to be in
S2: time events. But chapter seven and eight were intentionally placed
S2: next to each other, and both mention a little horn.
S2: In this way, the author established a deliberate Liberate typological relationship.
S2: Daniel seven, referring to the end time Antichrist and Daniel
S2: eight referring to the second century BC Antiochus Epiphanes. While
S2: a different character, Antiochus, is similar and deliberately presented as
S2: a type of the future Antichrist. Readers through the ages
S2: would identify him as the little Horn of Daniel eight,
S2: but also recognize that he would typify the end time Antichrist.
S2: So although Daniel eight directly referred to Antiochus, this vision
S2: pertains to the end times as a type deliberately intended
S2: by the author of Daniel. Gabriel interpreted Daniel's vision of
S2: the beast as explained above, to refer to the Medo-persian
S2: and Greek empires, as well as to the fourfold division
S2: of Alexander's empire. Now, if we only had a a,
S2: a C of radio, I could hold this up and
S2: you could see this very cool chart that's included about this,
S2: that that compares Antiochus as a type of Antichrist. As
S2: you can see through Daniel in Revelation compared to one another.
S2: So I encourage you to don't miss the opportunity to
S2: use the Moody Bible Commentary to answer really good questions.
S2: Like this.
S3: Did you have anything to add?
S1: The guy who wrote that did a terrific job. That's
S1: all I want to say.
S2: It's clear.
S3: Very clear. He did? Yeah. Um, well, thank you for
S3: that question. Uh, Terry wrote us from Minnesota. Listens on
S3: the mobile app. I just read an article written by
S3: a Christian theologian that states that the traditional view of
S3: hell fails the biblical test. The author stated that what
S3: the Bible really teaches is that the unsaved will be resurrected,
S3: judged of their works, condemned to hell, suffer torment in
S3: proportion to their sins, and then be destroyed. In other words,
S3: they will experience a punishment with eternal consequences, but not
S3: eternal punishment. Um. Can you. Is this right or wrong?
S1: What do you think? The reason that this extreme annihilationism
S1: is what it's called? Why Annihilationism has come up is
S1: because people think the idea of eternal separation from God
S1: is too harsh, that a loving God wouldn't do that. Uh,
S1: so therefore they come up with, um, with the idea
S1: that eternal separation means that a person will ultimately be annihilated,
S1: and this way they're eternally separated from God, but they're
S1: not conscious of their separation from God because they've been annihilated. But, uh,
S1: in Scripture, if we take it at face value, for example,
S1: in Isaiah 66, uh, verses 22 through 24, at the
S1: end of it it says, they shall go out and
S1: look on the dead bodies of the men who have
S1: rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their
S1: fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an
S1: abhorrence to all flesh. And that's why it says in
S1: Daniel 12 two that some will be resurrected to everlasting life,
S1: and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And there are
S1: bunches of verses in the New Testament that that seem
S1: to indicate, uh, this same perspective that the Old Testament has.
S1: For example, in Mark chapter nine, verses 42 through 48,
S1: the Lord Jesus talks about hell, which is an unquenchable
S1: fire where their worm does not die and the fire
S1: is not quenched. Quoting from Isaiah. And there are other passages.
S1: The punishment of eternal destruction that doesn't mean destroyed for
S1: destroyed and not existing, but in a perpetual state of separation. Uh,
S1: that's that's in second Thessalonians one five through ten. Uh,
S1: there are. I wrote a bunch of these passages down, uh,
S1: and uh, in revelation chapter 14. It talks about that
S1: the suffering will be forever and ever. They have no
S1: rest day or night and the lake of fire. Also,
S1: is there the same kind of suffering for in revelation
S1: 2010 and verses 14 and 15 it talks about eternal suffering.
S1: Here's here's what I want to say about that. I
S1: would like it if Annihilationism was true. I just can't
S1: read the Bible in a plain sense and accept it.
S1: I would also like it if it weren't so. It
S1: ought to motivate me and anyone else that has ever
S1: heard about what the Bible says, to proclaim the good news,
S1: that we need to be the best ambassadors we can be,
S1: to communicate the the truth that God loves us and
S1: wants us to be with him forever and do our
S1: best to win people. I think that we ought not
S1: to gloat. Or it should. No one should ever think
S1: or talk about this without tears. That's that's what I
S1: think is so crucial because this is very serious and
S1: it's terrible and it's what people choose. We know that
S1: from C.S. Lewis. I think he does a great job
S1: in a book called the The Great Divorce, where people,
S1: even when an opportunity to get a second chance, will
S1: choose to.
S2: Continue on their own way.
S1: Yeah. To continue on their own way. Uh, God. Uh,
S1: Lewis said that God asks us to say thy will
S1: be done in this life. Or if we choose not to,
S1: then he says to us, thy will be done, and
S1: we're separated from him. We need to do our best
S1: if we know the Lord Jesus to communicate the great
S1: truth that, uh, that we can spend eternity with God,
S1: forever fellowshipping with him, serving him forever. Uh, if we
S1: will put our trust in Jesus who died for us
S1: and rose again, that's what we need to communicate. Anyway, uh,
S1: we're going to be back with more questions in just
S1: a moment. So stay with us. You're listening to Open
S1: Line with Michael Reidel, Nick Everett and Tricia McMillan right
S1: here on Moody Radio. So many people have questions about Israel.
S1: That's why Chosen People Ministry is one of our partners,
S1: is offering a free booklet, Why Israel? This book explores
S1: the topic of Israel through the lens of Scripture, bringing
S1: clarity to a controversial topic. Has the church replaced Israel
S1: in the plan of God? Does ethnic Israel still have
S1: a future? What about Israel today? If you'd like answers
S1: to these questions, just go to our website openline. radio.org.
S1: Scroll down to the link that says Free Gift from
S1: Chosen People Ministries. Click on that and you'll be able
S1: to sign up for your own copy of Why Israel?
S1: Welcome back to Open Line. My name is Michael Ray Melnick,
S1: and with me today is Eva Ray Melnick. She's a
S1: professor at Moody and a contributor to the Moody Bible
S1: Commentary and the Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy. Also with us,
S1: our producer of Open Line, Tricia McMillan, who keeps us
S1: on task. And the task at hand is to keep
S1: answering questions, right? Yes.
S3: Yes, indeed. Beverly wrote us from Chicago, listens to WMP.
S3: She is looking at Genesis 38 and in the story
S3: this is the story of Tamar. And Judah, she says,
S3: I knew it was the culture that if your husband died,
S3: then you married his brother to produce an heir. And
S3: the march today in the word devotional, it stated that
S3: the Hittite levirate law stipulated that if her husband's brother died,
S3: she was to marry his father. I had never heard
S3: this or read this. Can you tell me more? Was
S3: this the law?
S1: Well, first of all, I think it's really important that
S1: we recognize that levirate law, the the idea, the idea
S1: that someone is to marry the brother of the deceased
S1: or the family, the relative of the deceased. That's really
S1: what brother would mean. It doesn't have to be necessarily
S1: only the brother. It could be the relative, but you
S1: could see the brother situation going on with Judas sons, right?
S1: And in Genesis 38, that's in the law of Moses.
S1: And this is way before these events took place, before
S1: the law of Moses was given. So Judah was not
S1: practicing the law of Moses. He was practicing prophecy, likely
S1: a cultural expression of what to do when when a
S1: spouse dies.
S2: So it was already part of the culture to.
S1: Yeah, levirate law was incorporated into the Law of Moses,
S1: but it was already part of the culture. And I
S1: don't think that we should. And perhaps it is true,
S1: it makes sense that the Hittite law stipulates that the
S1: husband dies. The wife then marries the father. But I
S1: don't think that's what's going on here in Genesis 38.
S1: It's not that part of the culture. She wanted to
S1: marry his brother. And then the second brother died. And
S1: then then he held back. The third brother, Judah did.
S1: And so what she does is she's concerned with carrying,
S1: carrying on the lineage of Judah. And so she goes
S1: through this elaborate scheme where she pretends to be a
S1: prostitute and then deceives Judah into sleeping with her. She
S1: gets pregnant because she's she is concerned. Then, of course,
S1: when Judah hears that his daughter in law is pregnant,
S1: he wants to have her, uh, experience capital punishment, right?
S1: He wants to have her burned. And then, uh, what
S1: she does is she says, here's the pledge I receive
S1: from whoever. This is, the person who made me pregnant.
S1: So this is this seems like, terrible. And yet, what
S1: does Judah say? You are more righteous than I. And
S1: the reason he says it, not because her deception was right,
S1: or because sleeping with her father in law was right,
S1: but rather her righteousness was that she was concerned with
S1: the lineage of Judah and he was not. Judah was
S1: not concerned with carrying on his family line, which is
S1: what he ought to have been concerned with. And so
S1: in that sense, she is deemed she's declared righteous by him.
S1: And that's what we need to read her, that that
S1: was her great concern. And he was not righteous because
S1: he didn't care about that. And what happens is then
S1: in Genesis 49, you come to the promise. And there
S1: in Genesis 49 there's something very special about Judah.
S2: Which is that that the Messiah would come from the
S2: Lion of Judah. So that, you know, I think it's
S2: so interesting. He says, you are more righteous than I.
S2: And then later on, we find out in Genesis 4910
S2: that it says that the Messiah himself is going to
S2: be coming from the Lion of Judah. And if she
S2: had not done this bold and yet seeming to us
S2: outrageous thing that would have not been possible. Yeah.
S3: And then when you read the lineage of Jesus in
S3: the Gospels, you see Tamar is even in them.
S1: In Matthew.
S2: Right?
S3: Yeah. That she has she is part of that lineage
S3: and mentioned by name.
S1: Mhm. Isn't that amazing?
S3: Yeah. Yeah. It really is.
S1: Yeah.
S3: Um.
S1: Which even shows that even stupid, dumb wrong things people do,
S1: God can actually use to advance his purposes.
S2: Right?
S1: Yeah.
S3: Yeah. That's amazing too. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I'm going to
S3: skip ahead. And, uh, David wrote us from Florida. Listens
S3: on the Moody App. I love the show. And I'm
S3: studying the gospel of Mark with my small group. Looking
S3: at Mark four verses 30 to 32. Uh, it's the
S3: parable of the mustard seed. Um, but it talks about
S3: the birds of the sky. Are these the same birds
S3: that came and devoured the seed in the parable of
S3: the sower earlier in Mark four?
S2: I you know, that's he's interesting that he's finding the
S2: bird reference, but I don't think that every bird is
S2: related to every other bird.
S1: Yeah.
S2: And birds are all over the place in the Bible,
S2: and I can't. We don't have a theme of the
S2: bird in the Bible means this. And so every time
S2: you see bird, it's going to mean.
S1: Parables are sort of standalone stories. And so what does
S1: it mean in this? The, the, uh, mustard seed. Is
S1: that what the. Yeah, that's a very small seed. It's
S1: going to grow and it's referring to the kingdom of God,
S1: the kingdom of God. God's rulership over humanity is going
S1: to grow into a great big tree. And the the
S1: people of God will be able to rest in it.
S1: And I think that's what the birds represent.
S2: Then he gives that, you know, the parallel. It's so big,
S2: it's like the birds of the air can rest in it.
S4: Yeah. Okay.
S2: And so. And the birds that came and devoured the
S2: seeds in the parable of the sower. It's it's still
S2: talking about birds, but it's using a different point.
S1: Yeah. Yeah. Every story is it's a standalone story. We
S1: have to interpret them on their own. Well, that's it.
S1: That's the first hour, you guys. Boy, did that fly by.
S1: But keep listening, because there's a second hour of open
S1: line on most of these stations. If your station doesn't
S1: carry Open line second hour, you can always listen on
S1: the Moody Radio app. You can listen online. We're going
S1: to continue our all mailbag all the time Memorial weekend
S1: edition of Open Line. Uh, when you go to our website,
S1: Open Line radio.org, there's our current Bible study resource available there.
S1: There's also a way to help you become a kitchen
S1: table partner. There's a link to my personal email Michael Ray.
S1: Org and it tells you about Israel trips and things
S1: like that. Second hour of open lines coming up straight ahead.
S1: Open line with Doctor Michael Ray Dolnick is a production
S1: of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.