0:09

Well, the eclipse has come and gone

0:11

and the world is still

0:13

intact. The day

0:16

of the Lord has not arrived. Every time

0:18

some unusual event happens

0:20

in the earth, sky or sea. The prophets

0:22

of doom take over. What

0:24

in the world is wrong with this? Stay with me.

0:26

We'll talk about that in just

0:28

a moment. Hello, friends.

0:30

Welcome to Open Line with Doctor Michael

0:32

Redlich, Moody Radio's Bible

0:34

study across America. My

0:37

name is Michael Ray. Downlink. I'm the academic dean

0:39

and professor of Jewish studies and Bible at

0:41

Moody Bible Institute. I'm so glad

0:43

to be sitting around the radio kitchen

0:45

table with you, taking your questions

0:48

about the Bible, God, and

0:50

the spiritual life. If you

0:52

have a question and you'd like to call,

0:54

here's the phone number 87754836751

1:01

more time (877) 548-3675.

1:09

Tricia McMillan is our producer and handling

1:11

all things technical. Bob Morrow.

1:14

Now go get yourself a cup of coffee.

1:17

Open your Bible. We're about to study

1:19

the scriptures together. Before

1:21

we get to your questions, though, let's talk about

1:23

all these doomsday delusions.

1:26

According to a few beguiling

1:29

preachers and teachers, every time there's

1:31

a blood moon or a red heifer,

1:33

an earthquake or a typhoon,

1:36

a middle East war, or a worldwide

1:39

pandemic. They

1:41

declare that doomsday has

1:43

arrived. They warned that the tribulation

1:45

is upon us, that Armageddon is approaching.

1:47

The end is near. These

1:50

false speculations are often so

1:52

ridiculous. I'm constantly flabbergasted

1:55

that people are taken in by them. But

1:58

worse than being ridiculous, these

2:01

doomsday delusions oppose the clear

2:03

teaching of the Bible God's word.

2:05

Here's why. First,

2:08

doomsday speculation contradicts

2:10

the words of the Lord Jesus Himself.

2:13

He said of the rapture. Now,

2:15

concerning that day and hour,

2:17

no one knows, neither the

2:19

angels in heaven or the son, except

2:22

the father. Only. Matthew 2436

2:25

he told his disciples, when they began

2:27

to inquire about the time of the end.

2:29

It's not for you to know times or

2:31

periods that the father is set by his own

2:34

authority. That's in acts one seven.

2:36

How strange and brash

2:38

that any sensational preacher

2:40

would claim to know what the Lord Jesus

2:43

has said. Only our father

2:45

in heaven knows. Second.

2:48

Doomsday speculation misinterprets

2:51

the Bible so often the speculation

2:53

has to do with the alignment of the stars

2:55

and its alleged relationship to

2:58

revelation 12 one, where

3:00

it says A great sign appeared in the heaven

3:02

a woman clothed with the sun, with

3:04

the moon under her feet, and a crown of 12

3:07

stars on her head. But the problem

3:09

with this allegation is

3:11

that revelation 12 isn't

3:13

about the alignment of the stars at all.

3:16

The woman in the passage is symbolic,

3:18

and to help the reader identify

3:20

the symbol, it includes an

3:22

allusion to Joseph's dream back

3:24

in Genesis 37, where

3:26

he saw his father Jacob and his mother

3:29

and his brothers as the sun, moon, and

3:31

stars. The woman in revelation

3:33

12 is Israel and refers to events that

3:35

will take place in the tribulation, in the

3:37

tribulation, yet in the future, it's

3:40

decidedly not

3:42

about the constellation Virgo being

3:44

clothed in sunlight, or a position

3:47

that is over the moon and under nine stars

3:49

and three planets. Third,

3:53

doomsday speculation erodes biblical

3:55

authority when preachers proclaim

3:58

the end. The secular

4:00

press takes notice. Newspapers

4:02

run stories about the apocalypse and

4:05

claim that these preachers, what these

4:07

preachers predict, is

4:09

prophesied in the Book of Revelation,

4:11

when in fact that's not so.

4:13

These prophetic speculations lead people

4:16

to dismiss as nonsense

4:18

what the Bible actually says

4:20

about the return of the Lord. In

4:22

the words of Peter, people will scoff,

4:24

saying, where is the promise of his coming?

4:29

Where it is, whether it

4:31

is that book that came out a

4:33

long time ago, 88 Reasons Jesus

4:35

Will Return in 1988. Whether

4:38

it's about blood moons or the eclipse,

4:41

secular people actually think

4:43

the Bible teaches these foolish

4:45

harbingers of the end.

4:48

Then they dismiss and doubt what

4:50

the scripture the scriptures actually

4:53

foretell. That

4:56

Jesus will indeed return.

4:59

Fourth, doomsday speculation

5:01

undermines genuine faith. People

5:03

get caught up in the sensational speculations

5:06

of the false prophets. They begin to

5:08

rely on sensationalism rather than

5:10

the sound teaching of God's Word. Paul

5:12

warned his disciple Timothy of

5:14

this danger. He described the product

5:16

of the sensational preachers of their day this

5:18

way. These teachers

5:21

promote empty speculations rather

5:23

than God's plan, which operates

5:25

by faith. First Timothy one four.

5:28

Well. We

5:30

should have faith in the good news

5:32

because of the trustworthiness of the scriptures,

5:35

not because of sensational

5:37

speculations. Finally, doomsday

5:39

speculation minimizes the imminent

5:42

return of the Lord Jesus. The Bible

5:44

teaches Jesus return would be sudden

5:46

and surprising, like a thief in

5:48

the night. First Thessalonians five two

5:51

using the analogy of the thief in the night

5:53

in Matthew 2443 and 44,

5:55

the Lord Jesus said, this is why you

5:57

must be ready, because the Son of

5:59

Man is coming at an hour you do not

6:02

expect. If you could know when

6:04

the rapture would happen. We wouldn't

6:06

need to get ready for it every day. I

6:11

love the story about the little girl

6:13

who asked her mom if Jesus could return

6:16

soon, and her mom said yes, he could.

6:18

So the little girl said, today,

6:21

this morning before breakfast.

6:23

Yes, said her mom, to which the girl

6:25

replied, mommy, can you brush my hair?

6:28

She wanted to be ready for

6:31

the Lord Jesus return, and so should we,

6:33

any day, any moment. Not

6:35

just when there's a doomsday scenario

6:37

coming up. One

6:40

of the best prophetic teachers I know. Andy Woods

6:42

posted a meme this past week. It said

6:44

Mark, safe from believing the eclipse

6:46

is anything other than the moon passing in

6:48

front of the sun. I

6:51

love that. Although the Bible says there will be

6:53

signs in the heavens and that earthquakes

6:56

and wars will increase before the end.

6:58

These events won't happen until the

7:00

tribulation, a seven year period before

7:02

the last battle, and the tribulation

7:05

will be preceded by the church being snatched

7:07

away to be with the Lord Jesus. Furthermore,

7:10

the tribulation will only begin when Israel

7:12

signs a covenant with the future false Messiah.

7:14

None of that has happened yet. Be

7:17

careful. We should never

7:19

follow the silly speculations

7:21

and fabricated falsehoods

7:23

of the sensational prophets

7:26

of doom. Well,

7:34

I think it's time that we take a phone call

7:36

and we're going to speak

7:38

with Laurie in Chicago

7:41

listening on Wbai. Welcome

7:43

to Open Line. Lori. How can I help you today?

7:46

Hi. Good morning. How are you? Thank

7:48

you. Um, so I have a question.

7:51

Where is it

7:53

specifically recorded that

7:56

the disciples had performed

7:58

miracles. Specifically

8:01

on whom? Prior to Pentecost.

8:04

Well, it talks about,

8:07

uh. In

8:10

the in the book of acts. I'm sorry.

8:12

In the. In the book of Luke. When

8:14

the Lord Jesus sends

8:17

out the apostles,

8:20

they came back rejoicing that even the

8:22

demons uh.

8:25

Uh uh uh,

8:27

listen to us. They even respond to us.

8:30

Uh, it says in,

8:33

uh, the 70 returned

8:35

with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons

8:37

submit to us in your name. That's

8:40

Luke 1017. Uh,

8:43

and, uh, in

8:45

Matthew ten, I'm

8:47

flipping around in my Bible. Uh,

8:50

when the Lord sends the disciples

8:52

out. Uh,

8:54

it says. Uh.

8:59

That that he gave them authority.

9:01

Let's see. Uh,

9:04

it turns out these 12 disciples don't

9:06

take the road. Uh, he

9:08

says in verse eight.

9:12

The, uh, as you go announce

9:14

this, this verse seven. The kingdom of heaven

9:16

has come near. Heal the sick. Raise the

9:18

dead. Cleanse those with skin diseases.

9:21

Drive out demons you have

9:23

received free of charge. Give free

9:25

of charge. So there was a, uh,

9:28

an an exhortation,

9:30

a charge to perform miracles

9:32

in the name of Jesus. And then, of course, what

9:35

you see in the book of acts is

9:37

that very thing. It keeps saying in the book

9:39

of acts that these miracles happened

9:42

at the hands of

9:44

the disciples. Uh, so,

9:46

for example. In

9:49

the book of acts. Oh,

9:52

about verse uh

9:54

42. They devoted themselves

9:56

to the apostles teaching that passage.

9:58

And then it says in verse 43,

10:01

then fair fear came

10:03

over everyone, and many wonders

10:05

and signs were being performed

10:08

through the apostles. And of course,

10:10

you see Peter doing miracles, and you see,

10:13

you know, he heals the lame man. And, uh,

10:15

Paul does miracles. And it's

10:17

over and over in the book of acts,

10:19

signs and wonders. This is acts 512

10:21

were being done among the people through

10:24

the hands of the apostles. And

10:26

one last thing. Second Corinthians 1212

10:28

when Paul talks about what the

10:31

signs of an apostle are, this

10:33

is what he says. Second Corinthians

10:35

1212. The signs of an apostle

10:37

were performed with great endurance among

10:39

you not only signs, but also wonders

10:42

and miracles. Second Corinthians

10:44

1212 so it does appear that

10:47

Lord Jesus commissioned them to perform

10:49

miracles. They actually

10:51

did perform miracles,

10:53

the book of acts. And then,

10:55

uh, in Second Corinthians 1212, that was

10:58

the sign of being a genuine apostle.

11:00

Okay.

11:02

Yes. Thank you. Okay.

11:03

I'm so glad you called. I hope that helps. Sometimes

11:05

you'll hear people say they're apostles. Today,

11:07

an apostle has to have seen the risen Lord

11:10

and has to perform. Not fake,

11:12

but real signs

11:14

and wonders. Uh.

11:18

Well. Uh,

11:21

you know what I want to tell you about the

11:23

terrific offer that Open Line has of

11:25

of a resource. Uh, the Bible

11:27

is this huge book, and people 66

11:30

books and all people sometimes get confused.

11:32

I like to think that before I

11:34

take a road trip, I love to look at the road

11:37

map and see where I'm going. Well,

11:39

the offer we have is a book called The Bible Book

11:41

by Book by G. Coleman Luck. Uh,

11:43

it will help us understand the big picture

11:45

of God's Word gives us the road map. We

11:47

take a look at it. It's got the author,

11:50

the audience that the date,

11:52

the key words, the theme, the outline,

11:54

all this stuff. So that when we read a book of the Bible,

11:57

we've got the background that we need to

11:59

understand it. It's a user friendly guide

12:01

to the Bible, and it'll

12:03

help us all in our personal Bible study.

12:06

And if you give a gift of any size to open

12:08

line, I want to send you a copy of

12:10

the Bible book by book to

12:12

say thank you. So if you'd

12:14

like to give a gift, call (888) 644-7122

12:19

or go to Open Line radio.org.

12:23

And remember when you give ask

12:25

for the Bible book by

12:27

book, we're going to come right back with more

12:29

of your questions in just a moment.

12:32

You're listening to Open Line with Michael Redlich,

12:34

our number (877) 548-3675.

12:37

Stay right there. More questions

12:39

coming up. Straight ahead. Welcome

12:57

back to Open Line. My name is

12:59

Michael Redlich, and

13:01

this is the program where you call with your questions about

13:03

the Bible, God or the

13:05

spiritual life. I love talking

13:07

about these things, and I'm so grateful

13:09

for all of you who are calling. I'm

13:12

grateful for the family. I

13:14

meet people when I go out. I was in Chattanooga

13:16

recently. I was in Florida in January,

13:18

and, uh, the whole team

13:20

went down there and we meet everyone

13:23

that listens in those areas. I come to the

13:25

the event, and it's just so much

13:27

fun to see the whole family gathered. And

13:29

then also, uh, there's some

13:31

people that come up to me and they say,

13:33

we're kitchen table partners,

13:35

and I'm so grateful

13:37

for that. They are special members

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of the family. They are the ones that commit to

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giving monthly to open line.

13:44

They're part of the team that helps keep

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Open Line on the air every

13:49

week by giving their gift

13:51

every month. And so. I

13:54

want to say a special thank you to those of you not

13:56

just who are listening, but those of you who are

13:58

kitchen table partners. And, uh,

14:00

if you're interested in becoming a kitchen table

14:02

partner. It's it's

14:04

really quite simple. But, uh, one of the things

14:06

I would do, I want you to know is I

14:08

send you a Bible study moment every

14:11

other week. It's a special audio

14:13

Bible study designed exclusively for our

14:15

kitchen table partners. Comes in your email,

14:18

and you click on it and listen to it. And I hope

14:20

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14:22

and if you'd like to become a kitchen table

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partner, call (888) 644-7122

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or just go to Open Line radio.org.

14:34

And we're going to speak with

14:37

uh Aspin in

14:39

Greenville, South Carolina listening on Wfsu.

14:41

I am on the Moody Radio app,

14:44

which I'm so grateful we have.

14:46

Hey, okay. How can I help you?

14:49

Good morning. Michael. Um,

14:51

I love your program. Thank you so much

14:53

for all you do. And,

14:56

uh, first Peter 115 to

14:59

16. Uh, God instructs

15:01

us to be holy, for he

15:03

is holy. It was also repeated

15:06

in other parts in the book of Leviticus.

15:08

So my question is, how

15:10

do we pursue holiness without

15:13

being legalistic about

15:15

it? Yeah.

15:16

We don't want to wear hair shirts or sleep

15:18

on, you know, the stone

15:21

or things like that. That doesn't make us holy.

15:24

Uh, although that's what they thought in the

15:26

Middle Ages. Uh,

15:29

you know, I think this is a great.

15:31

Passage for not just that

15:34

verse about commanding us to be holy, which

15:36

comes from the book of Leviticus, but

15:39

it's that quotation. But

15:41

read the whole paragraph. The very first

15:43

thing it says, therefore, with your minds

15:46

ready for action, be serious

15:48

and set your hope completely on the grace

15:50

being brought to you at the revelation

15:52

of Jesus the Messiah. One

15:55

of the first things it actually

15:57

says gird your minds for actions

15:59

literally in the original where

16:02

it says be ready for action. It's gird your minds the idea

16:04

of girding up your your,

16:06

uh, clothing in the ancient world, you know,

16:08

you had these flowing garb and you'd gird them up and

16:10

belt them up so it's get ready,

16:12

be ready for action. And there's an active

16:15

involvement that we have in holiness

16:18

that so often we think we're just going to let

16:20

go and let God. I don't

16:22

think we just let go and let God. We have to be ready

16:24

to take action. Uh,

16:27

it's sort of like we have to practice

16:29

spiritual disciplines. So

16:32

that when the time comes and we are ready to

16:34

face an issue where you have to be

16:36

obedient to God, we've practiced

16:39

enough with spiritual disciplines

16:41

so that we're ready to obey. And

16:43

then secondly. As

16:46

obedient children. Uh,

16:49

it says don't be conformed to the desires of your

16:51

former ignorance. And

16:54

so we have to be think of

16:56

our obedience to the Lord like children obeying

16:58

their parents. We have to. You know, I was a

17:00

kid. I was pretty disobedient

17:02

at times. And then there were times when I decided,

17:05

you know what? I'm going to obey my parents. And

17:07

here it is. I think that's a decision

17:09

we have to make to obey God's

17:11

Word because we want to obey our father.

17:14

And then, uh,

17:16

thirdly, it says, conduct

17:18

yourselves in fear in verse 17,

17:21

life. That does mean shriveling,

17:24

gathering up. You know, perfect love casts out

17:26

fear, but it means an awesome

17:28

respect for who God is. We have

17:30

to live, uh, knowing

17:32

that that we need to fear God. That's

17:34

the beginning of wisdom. Uh, my son once

17:36

said to me, well, why should we fear God? Because,

17:39

uh, you know, God loves us. And I

17:41

was a little boy at the time. And I said,

17:44

well, do you fear me? He said, no, you love

17:46

me. And I said, what if you lied?

17:48

He said, oh, dad, you'd really give it to me.

17:50

And I thought, so you do fear

17:52

me. Uh, and that's it.

17:54

We have to remember that God is holy, and

17:57

therefore we should fear him, that

17:59

he won't let us wander off. He's going to

18:01

hold us accountable. So we should, uh,

18:03

practice the awesome reverence

18:06

for God. And then lastly, we

18:08

need to be appreciative. Remember what

18:10

the Lord has done for us. He redeemed us

18:12

from our empty way of life,

18:14

inherited from our fathers, with

18:17

the precious blood of the Messiah, Jesus,

18:19

like a lamb without defect

18:21

or blemish. So I think we have to have

18:23

an appreciation constantly

18:26

remember what God did for us to redeem us. So

18:28

I would say, uh, take action,

18:31

uh, obey his children. Thirdly,

18:35

fear God. And fourthly,

18:38

uh, appreciate what God

18:40

has done for us. That's that's how

18:42

I think we can pursue holiness.

18:44

Okay.

18:46

Yeah. Yes. Thank you. That makes a lot

18:48

of sense. Thank you very much.

18:49

The whole paragraphs really helpful. I think

18:51

ahead, by the way, one thing I would suggest as a

18:53

spiritual discipline to memorize

18:56

first Peter 113

19:00

through 21. And

19:03

meditate on it. That's a great spiritual discipline

19:05

to remember. Okay. Okay,

19:07

okay. Thanks for your call. Acting.

19:09

Yeah. Thank you.

19:10

My pleasure. Uh, we're

19:13

going to speak with Linda

19:15

in Downers Grove, Illinois, listening

19:17

on Wbai. Welcome to Open Line.

19:19

Linda. How can I help you?

19:22

Hi, doctor. I'm

19:24

calling regarding the bride and the

19:26

bridegroom. Can you tell

19:28

me how they relate to Jesus and the

19:30

church? I've

19:32

never. I've heard it mentioned

19:35

and I just don't understand

19:37

the reference.

19:38

Okay, well, first of all, just

19:41

remember this. That the bride and bridegroom

19:43

is just one

19:45

of several metaphors for the relationship

19:48

of the body of Christ

19:51

to Christ, of the body

19:53

of the Messiah, as I say it to the

19:55

Messiah himself. Okay.

19:57

So, for example, I'm using

20:00

a metaphor now when I said that because

20:02

in first Corinthians 12 where his

20:04

body. And he's

20:06

the head. In

20:09

other passages of Scripture.

20:12

Uh, it talks about, uh,

20:14

us being, uh, different.

20:17

Different metaphor metaphors. I

20:19

think I'm going to pull up a passage

20:21

that has a number. Of

20:24

metaphors of the

20:26

of our relationship to him.

20:29

Uh. So

20:31

for example, in Second

20:33

Timothy chapter two. First,

20:36

Paul says, my son, be strong in the

20:38

grace that is in the Messiah, Jesus. And

20:40

in verse three. Chapter two, verse

20:42

three, suffer as a good soldier. So

20:45

we're soldiers in the Lord's army, and he's

20:47

our our king. Uh,

20:50

and then in this other place,

20:52

uh, as you keep going through this,

20:55

uh, one of the theme verses

20:57

of Moody Bible Institute, the theme verse,

20:59

second Timothy 215, where it

21:02

says study to show yourself approved unto God

21:04

as a workman that need not be ashamed.

21:06

Where? Workman. That's

21:08

that's another metaphor that we have in relation.

21:11

We serve God where his workmen,

21:13

uh, we're also called his workmanship

21:15

in Ephesians two. Uh,

21:18

and also,

21:20

uh, we're considered vessels

21:22

in second Timothy 220.

21:25

Uh, here's the point that a lot of metaphors,

21:27

but one of the most basic metaphors is bride

21:30

and bridegroom. And what

21:32

that means is we

21:34

are. Today

21:36

we're betrothed to

21:38

the Lord. Uh, we

21:40

anticipate him coming for

21:43

us, just as the bridegroom

21:45

would come for his bride

21:47

in the first century in the Jewish world.

21:50

Uh, the bride would be waiting. They

21:52

they'd be betrothed, and then, uh,

21:55

she would be waiting for him to return

21:57

and take her and marry

21:59

her. And so we are waiting for

22:02

his return to take

22:04

us. That's the rapture. And then

22:06

during the tribulation on earth,

22:09

it says in revelation 19, there's going

22:11

to be a great wedding supper, a

22:13

great marriage between the bridegroom

22:16

and the bride. So it's just a picture of our

22:18

loyalty to our groom.

22:20

And the reason I mentioned the other metaphors,

22:22

just, you know, is often I, I

22:24

had this wonderful pastor who would often use

22:26

the metaphor of the bridegroom and bride, and he would

22:28

always talk about it, you know, the bride

22:31

and white waiting for her,

22:33

her, you know, husband and how

22:35

much she loved him. And and it was

22:37

he always used these wedding analogies

22:39

from the bride's perspective, and I can't

22:41

relate to that. So even though I believe

22:44

it and I try to relate to it, um,

22:46

you know, it's just not me. So I,

22:48

I think there are other metaphors too, but

22:50

I think it is a great metaphor. We are waiting for

22:53

our bridegroom and then one day

22:55

we will be wed. Does

22:57

does that help?

22:59

It does, it does. But I think

23:01

I'll have to go with another metaphor because,

23:04

like you, I just don't quite

23:07

get it. But that's okay.

23:09

Well, I, I go with

23:11

this metaphor. Don't get me wrong, I believe it

23:13

and I go with it. But,

23:15

uh, there are other metaphors, too. Sometimes

23:18

people want to think of themselves as a literal

23:20

bride. And, you know,

23:22

it's that we have a very large bride, the whole

23:24

body, the whole universal

23:26

church. Right? That's a pretty big bride. So.

23:29

Right. So. Mhm. Okay. Well

23:31

thank you for your call Linda I really

23:33

appreciate that.

23:34

Yep, yep. Take care. Okay.

23:36

Bye bye. Uh. And,

23:40

uh. That we're going

23:42

to talk to Theresa.

23:45

Uh, in Grove City, Pennsylvania,

23:47

listening on WKF. Hi, Teresa.

23:50

Welcome to Open Line. How can I help you today?

23:52

Hi, doctor. I thank you

23:54

for all you do. Long

23:57

time listener.

23:57

Thank you.

23:58

Um, I, I was reading

24:01

through the Easter story,

24:03

and it hit me with Nicodemus

24:06

and Joseph of Arimathea and

24:08

John, and I was wondering, because

24:10

they were leaders in

24:12

the, in the Jewish community,

24:15

how did that affect them celebrating

24:17

Passover?

24:18

Well, because they would have had the.

24:20

Body of.

24:21

Jesus, they would have already they

24:23

had Passover on Thursday night, the

24:25

Passover meal. Uh,

24:28

on Thursday evening.

24:32

Uh, at the same time as

24:34

same time as the Last Supper.

24:37

So they they offered their

24:39

sacrifice already. They they

24:41

would have already eaten the Passover. And

24:43

then they took the body down

24:46

and laid it in a grave,

24:48

uh, that, uh,

24:51

they still could have didn't matter. They

24:53

still could have followed the Feast of Unleavened

24:55

Bread. It would not have, uh,

24:58

because they didn't have to go into the temple anymore at

25:00

that point. So, uh,

25:02

no, it did not make them disqualify

25:05

them from taking the Passover because they already had

25:07

it the night before. Okay.

25:11

Then.

25:12

Pardon me. I couldn't hear you.

25:13

What about the Shabbat? On

25:17

their Shabbat? What

25:20

their Friday? Would that have affected

25:23

them because of touching a dead

25:25

body?

25:27

No. No. Okay.

25:29

No, it wouldn't this wouldn't have

25:31

done anything. You may have read something that

25:33

someone thought, oh, this is a really big

25:35

deal. But no, it wouldn't have been a big

25:38

deal. So you have to take care of the dead body.

25:40

So anyway, thanks for your call, Teresa. Really

25:42

appreciate it. We're going to come back with the mailbag in

25:44

just a moment. Trish is dragging it in.

25:47

So don't go away. You're listening to Open

25:49

Line with Michael Redlich. Stay

25:51

right there. Welcome

26:06

back to Open Line. I'm Michael Redlich

26:09

and we're going to

26:11

have the Feb C mailbag

26:13

coming up. We're so. Grateful

26:16

to the Far Eastern Broadcasting Company

26:18

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26:20

bring you Open Line. You get

26:22

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26:24

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26:31

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You can learn about it through that podcast

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the podcast. Until all I've heard, all the details

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for this and much more

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extensive outreach can be found

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at Fab Seaborg.

26:59

That's f e b

27:01

c dawg. And

27:03

joining me right now is

27:05

the queen of the questions here, the girl that

27:08

you send all your your

27:10

questions to uh.

27:12

And she puts them all in the big fab

27:15

C mailbag and drags it in here into the studio.

27:17

Hey, Tricia. Hello. That's Tricia McMillan.

27:20

In case you're wondering what her last name is. Tricia

27:22

McMillan, uh, the producer of Open

27:24

Line. Hey, Trish. Hi. So

27:26

there are tons of questions or.

27:28

No.

27:29

Yes. Always, always, always

27:31

have no limit of

27:33

questions.

27:34

But let me just. I want to remind people how to get those

27:36

questions in. If you can't get through

27:38

with your phone call, you don't want to talk. You want to send in

27:40

a question. Uh, probably

27:42

the best thing to do is to go to our website,

27:45

Open Line Radio org. There's

27:47

a spot there that a link that you click

27:49

on says Ask Michael a question, click

27:51

on that. You get your question posted

27:53

and then Trish toss it in the mailbag.

27:56

Yep yep that's how it works.

27:57

That's what I do. Yeah. Our first

27:59

question is from David in Florida.

28:02

Listens on the Moody Radio app. And

28:04

we're going to Genesis 32 when

28:06

Jacob wrestles

28:09

with. Um.

28:12

A man, it says in Genesis 3224

28:16

says Jacob was left alone in a man wrestled

28:18

with him until daybreak. When

28:20

the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck

28:23

Jacob's hip socket as they wrestled

28:25

and dislocated his hip. Then he

28:27

said to Jacob, let me go,

28:29

for it is daybreak. But Jacob said, I

28:31

will not let you go unless you bless me. What

28:33

is your name? The man asked Jacob. He replied,

28:36

your name will no longer be Jacob, he said.

28:38

It will be Israel, because you have struggled with

28:40

God and with men, and have prevailed.

28:42

Then Jacob asked him, please tell me your name.

28:44

But he answered, why do you ask my name? And

28:46

he blessed him there. Jacob.

28:49

Then bless Jacob the name

28:52

the place Peniel. For

28:54

I have seen God face to face, he said, and I have

28:56

been delivered. The sun shone on him

28:58

as he passed. Pinwheel.

29:01

Yeah. Pinwheel.

29:02

Limping because of his hip. That's why to this

29:04

day, the Israelites don't eat the thigh muscle that

29:06

is at the hip socket because he struck Jacob's hip

29:08

socket at the thigh muscle. There's a lot

29:10

in here. But David wants to know.

29:14

Um. How

29:17

could God not defeat Jacob?

29:19

Okay, so that's what he is assuming. And

29:21

he rightly so. Yeah. Is that

29:23

that's a pre incarnate appearance incarnate.

29:26

Yes. Pre incarnate Messiah appearance

29:28

because no one can see God. Yeah. Um

29:30

how could God not defeat Jacob? It seemed

29:33

like God had to cheat to win.

29:35

How could God lose?

29:36

Oh, cheat to win.

29:38

Oh, good to enter him. Oh, I.

29:41

So so what?

29:42

No. What's happening? Oops. What's happening

29:44

in this? Um. In this story.

29:47

Well, I think that that,

29:50

you know, one of the things I mentioned is the Lord Jesus

29:52

said, no one knows but the father about the day of

29:54

is coming. So we ask ourselves, how could

29:56

the omniscient Son of God not

29:58

know the day of his return?

30:01

And we would say he self limits

30:03

his knowledge.

30:04

Yes.

30:06

Uh, I think in this, uh.

30:10

I think he could have easily just touched

30:12

Jacob. Jacob could have

30:15

fallen dead. I mean, really?

30:17

Yeah. So he self limits

30:19

his power to teach us a lesson

30:21

about, uh, striving

30:23

with God, pursuing God, seeking

30:26

God's blessing. You know, a lot

30:28

of us think, oh, you shouldn't be that selfish. We

30:30

shouldn't pursue. And this is a good lesson

30:32

for us. Jacob wanted to be blessed by God,

30:35

and he pursued it and wouldn't let

30:37

go. Uh, there are things that I've been

30:39

praying about, special blessings for

30:41

years, and I even

30:44

I, we get together every day and we pray about

30:46

it and we plead with God

30:48

for that. And I think this is a good lesson.

30:51

Uh, the patriarchs give us good lessons. You remember

30:54

Abraham. He's negotiating with God. He's

30:56

saying, what if 20 people 15, 20,

30:58

ten, you know, so. Uh,

31:02

so good.

31:02

Lesson to ask God.

31:04

Yeah. Ask God things and pursue

31:06

it and not let go. Uh, I

31:08

don't think God cheated. I think that that,

31:11

uh, there there was a sense

31:13

where he could have killed Jacob

31:15

to just make him let go. Uh,

31:18

because he wasn't using all his power, but then he just

31:21

touched him to show his power.

31:23

That that all your

31:25

striving isn't going to.

31:28

You can't manipulate me. You

31:30

know, I'm still stronger than you.

31:32

So would this not be good? Um,

31:35

it wouldn't be that. That Jacob

31:37

could have won as much as. Like when

31:39

a father arm wrestles his young

31:41

son and kind of let him,

31:44

like, doesn't pretend that he's

31:47

winning, but he he limits himself in that

31:49

arm wrestling.

31:50

Mhm.

31:51

Until he just pops in because

31:53

he is stronger, he's just intentionally

31:55

not exerting all of his power

31:58

during that arm wrestling match kind of

32:00

idea.

32:00

That's it. That's the self-limiting. And

32:02

then uh, I think there's

32:04

a great lesson the in

32:06

this the, the moody

32:08

commentary says the people of Israel entering the

32:10

promised land and we too should learn

32:12

this, would learn that their victory was

32:15

not to come through striving

32:17

with others, but through God's blessing.

32:21

Huh? And, uh, that's

32:23

that's a very important lesson. They needed to learn

32:25

that it was the power of God that was going

32:27

to bring it. They could pursue it. They could plead

32:29

for it. They could. But really, in the

32:31

end, they can't manipulate

32:33

God. God himself is the one that has

32:35

to bless them and and provide for

32:38

them.

32:38

Okay. Yeah. Um, let me back up

32:40

and say, how do we know that this

32:42

was a pre incarnate Christ?

32:45

Um, yeah.

32:46

Well, he saw God. He

32:49

says that the face of God. That's what

32:51

he named the place Peniel. Okay,

32:54

Peniel, as you might say, but it's Peniel,

32:56

an English. Uh. And

32:59

so how can he say he saw the face of God?

33:01

It's just like in Genesis 18,

33:04

when the angel of the Lord appears

33:06

with these two other

33:08

angels, and the angel of the Lord is the angel

33:10

of of Yahweh is the one that's there.

33:12

And Abraham has seen God. It's like an

33:14

Exodus one. Uh,

33:17

or is it two where Moses goes to see the burning

33:19

bush and. Yeah, two

33:21

and the burning bush. Uh,

33:23

he sees God right in the burning bush.

33:25

Well, you can't see God. It's really clear

33:28

no man has ever seen God. God is invisible.

33:30

So what does that mean? How could that? How do we resolve

33:33

that? Well, it seems

33:35

that that God the Father, the Ancient

33:37

of Days, is, uh, without

33:39

a body and therefore not seen.

33:42

The Son of God is incarnate, God

33:44

the Son. And so we can see him.

33:46

We will see him forever when we're with him for

33:48

eternity. But in the Old Testament,

33:51

when he would appear, he would take on the form

33:53

of a messenger of God, an angel.

33:55

Okay, so.

33:56

And then one last question about this. Why,

33:58

on in verses this is Genesis 32,

34:01

30 and 31. Jacob

34:03

names it Peniel, Peniel,

34:06

and then on him as he passed. Pinwheel.

34:09

Pinwheel. Why

34:12

the difference? Or is that.

34:14

It's just a different form?

34:15

It's the same place.

34:16

What verse was that? Beneil is verse 30

34:18

and 31. Uh, and pinwheel

34:21

is, uh, a

34:23

variant spelling

34:25

of the word evil.

34:26

All right. These are the random

34:28

questions that I see when I read these. So I thank you

34:30

all listeners for sending the vid. And

34:33

we can dive as.

34:34

They send in a question. And then you pile about

34:36

four others on top.

34:37

I do kind of, but there are things I want

34:39

to know. And so I guess what?

34:41

That's what everyone else is asking.

34:42

Similar things like for a minute, when I look at

34:44

these words, those are not the same word.

34:46

Yeah. So thank you. We got some application

34:48

out of that. We got some, um,

34:51

Israel lessons that they were

34:53

supposed to learn and also learned more

34:55

about the actual situation. So thank you, David.

34:57

And that is I think part of what we're learning

35:00

here each week. Is.

35:02

This is how to read the text, you know. It's the observation.

35:05

It's figuring out what's happening in the context.

35:08

And then how does that apply to us?

35:09

You know, observation leads to

35:11

interpretation which leads to application.

35:14

But the thing is about observation. There's

35:16

a bridge from observation to interpretation.

35:18

Observe what's in the text

35:21

and then ask questions

35:23

of it. I call it the interrogative

35:25

bridge. And the answers to

35:27

those questions are

35:30

is the interpretation okay.

35:31

So okay, so asking good questions

35:34

is the start of asking

35:36

questions about what we're reading. So

35:38

thank you for doing that each week with the mailbag

35:40

questions and the calls too. Yeah. But

35:43

I get to see firsthand what's happening with

35:45

the mailbag ones. Um, next

35:47

question is from

35:50

Betty in Indiana. Since

35:52

the curtain was torn in the temple when

35:54

Jesus died to open access

35:56

to God the Father, will there be a curtain in the next

35:58

temple? Since we have access to the father

36:00

through the death and resurrection of Jesus?

36:03

You mean in the. I guess they mean the millennial.

36:05

Yeah, yeah, in.

36:06

The Third Temple.

36:07

I don't you know, I'm kind of

36:09

trying to think through Ezekiel 40

36:11

through 48, which has a pretty clear description.

36:14

I don't think it mentions, uh,

36:16

mentions it, but that would be an argument from

36:18

silence.

36:19

Okay.

36:19

Doesn't necessarily mean that there won't

36:22

be a veil.

36:22

So okay, so.

36:23

I'm going to just plead ignorance.

36:25

Not mentioned that you know, of.

36:28

And so we don't know, which is

36:30

also an okay answer when we're reading

36:32

these and trying to understand scripture.

36:34

One of my favorite verses, Deuteronomy 2929,

36:36

the secret things belong to the Lord, and the things

36:38

revealed to us belong to us. And

36:41

so, uh, there's things that

36:43

we just can't know.

36:45

Yeah.

36:45

Not revealed. Yeah. So got

36:47

another quick one like that.

36:49

Um. Haha. Yes.

36:51

Okay. Becky in Indiana listens to where

36:54

I hear people say during prayer.

36:57

I give you referring to God, I give

36:59

you permission to or I

37:01

claim this. Um, and

37:03

she has a hard time. She said that sounds wrong,

37:05

like the person is claiming power over God.

37:08

Am I understanding that type of

37:10

prayer wrongly? Is that how we should be

37:12

praying?

37:13

I think that I don't.

37:15

There's a song, actually a Hebrew worship song

37:17

that I like a lot, but it says I give you authority

37:19

over my life. And it. I

37:21

just said, uh, to Eva,

37:23

we don't give God authority over our life. He

37:26

has. We were in the car listening to it.

37:28

I said. Uh, I

37:30

like this song. Uh,

37:32

and it's in Hebrew. So you wouldn't

37:34

know it.

37:35

If you wouldn't know it at all. Yeah, yeah.

37:37

But it's in Hebrew. And I was listening to the song

37:39

and it says, I give you authority,

37:42

and I, I said, we submit

37:44

to his authority. I said, we should change

37:47

that verse. Of course,

37:49

I'm not a musician. I'm not going to change it. But I

37:51

submit to your authority is really what we

37:53

do. And so I, we don't give

37:55

God permission in our lives. Uh,

37:58

he, we, we accept

38:00

his intervention in our lives.

38:02

We we submit to it. And so

38:05

I agree with that in terms of claiming promises,

38:08

uh, I think it's appropriate to claim

38:10

a promise if there's a promise in Scripture,

38:13

uh, we need to know it, uh,

38:15

and we claim it. God, all things

38:17

work together for good who love

38:19

you and are called according to your purpose.

38:21

I'm called Lord, I love you.

38:24

Some bad things are happening now. Can you work

38:26

this together for good? I'm claiming this promise.

38:28

That's totally fine.

38:29

Okay. Almost where you're praying scripture

38:31

back. Lord, you say in your word that.

38:35

You.

38:35

You love me and are always with me. Would

38:37

you? Yeah. And then kind of.

38:39

Make it make.

38:40

Me sense. Your presence. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

38:42

It's claiming the presence. Claiming the promise.

38:45

That's what it would be.

38:45

Okay.

38:46

All right. Thank you for that question, Becky.

38:48

Yeah.

38:49

So, uh, you know, just go

38:51

to open Line radio org, click on

38:53

ask Michael a question. You can send your question

38:55

and then Trisha will see it. And

38:57

of course it's always better to have Trisha look at your question.

39:00

So we're going to come right back

39:02

with more of your questions right here

39:04

on Open Line with Mike. That was Trisha

39:06

McMillan. Stay right there. There are many

39:09

more questions coming up straight ahead.

39:23

Welcome back to Open Line. I

39:26

don't know if you know this, but this year

39:28

Easter and Passover are

39:30

a little. Usually they're the same week. This

39:33

year they're separated because

39:36

it's a leap year on the Jewish calendar.

39:38

And April 22nd

39:40

is the first night of Passover. It's going to

39:42

last for eight days. As always, it's

39:44

such a meaningful celebration of redemption.

39:47

To help us appreciate the significance

39:50

of this terrific celebration,

39:52

chosen People Ministries is offering a

39:54

free book. It's called The Gospel

39:56

in the Passover. It reveals

39:58

how the Exodus from Egypt

40:00

foreshadows our own redemption

40:03

from the death of our own

40:05

redemption from sin through the death and resurrection

40:08

of Jesus the Messiah. He is

40:10

our Passover lamb. For

40:12

your free copy of the book The Gospel

40:14

in the Passover, just go to Open Line Radio

40:17

org. That's our website. Click on the link

40:19

that says A free gift from Chosen People

40:21

Ministries and you can

40:23

sign up for your very own copy of the gospel

40:26

in the Passover. Don't miss out! This is a really

40:28

great little book, and

40:30

we're going to talk now with Preston

40:33

in Springfield, Illinois. Uh,

40:35

listening in, W.J.,

40:37

welcome to Open Night. Preston. How can I help you?

40:41

Thank you. Um, I had,

40:43

uh, two questions for you. The

40:45

first question I had was

40:48

whenever my uncle passed away

40:50

not too long ago. Um,

40:53

I was watching the funeral over on the flash

40:56

drive. It was a recording of it,

40:58

and the pastor said, to get

41:00

to the kingdom of heaven, you

41:02

have to, you know, have your your

41:05

sins washed away and

41:07

everything and be like a brand

41:09

new person, basically. And I'm

41:11

wondering how I can do

41:13

that.

41:14

Well, to get to, uh,

41:17

to stand before God, it's

41:19

not by anything we do.

41:22

Uh, it says in Ephesians chapter two,

41:25

verses eight and nine,

41:27

I'm going to read it to you. Uh.

41:32

It says, for you are

41:34

saved by grace.

41:36

Grace means God's

41:38

undeserved kindness towards us.

41:42

So we don't deserve it. But he shows us kindness.

41:44

We are saved by God's kindness.

41:48

Through faith, through trusting

41:50

in what Jesus has done for us. That's

41:52

what faith means to trust that Jesus died for

41:54

our sins and rose again.

41:57

This is not from yourselves. That's

41:59

that salvation. It is God's

42:01

gift, not from works,

42:04

so that no one can boast. So

42:06

the Bible is really clear that we don't

42:08

earn our way. What we do is we

42:10

receive a gift by faith.

42:12

We trust in Jesus. Have

42:14

you ever done that, Preston?

42:17

Yes. I, um yeah, I've.

42:20

I believe in God and everything,

42:22

but I've sinned tremendously in

42:24

my life.

42:25

But I didn't ask if you believe in God. I

42:27

want to be really clear.

42:29

What I asked was.

42:30

Have you ever put your trust

42:32

in the truth that

42:35

Jesus died for our sins?

42:37

He took the he was our sin substitute.

42:39

He took the punishment that we

42:41

deserved. And then

42:43

he rose again. That proves he's God

42:46

and he has the power to transform our lives

42:48

and forgive us. And,

42:51

uh, have you ever put your trust in him? Is there

42:53

a time where you say, yeah, I know I put my

42:55

trust in Jesus? Yes.

42:58

Good. Okay. Uh, that's

43:00

that's so crucial. If you're listening, anyone and

43:02

you're wondering, how can I know I can enter into

43:05

a a forever

43:07

forgiven relationship with God?

43:09

I just want to make it really clear. It's

43:11

it's not something you're going to do. It's something

43:14

you're going to receive. And,

43:17

uh, I'd like to encourage any listener

43:19

to take that step to say,

43:21

I know that Jesus took the punishment. Tell

43:23

God I know Jesus took my punishment.

43:26

The he died for the for

43:28

my wrongdoing. And then

43:30

he was raised again. And I'm accepting

43:33

his free gift of

43:35

salvation. That's that's

43:37

what you have to do. Uh,

43:40

there's nothing something you do. It's something you receive.

43:42

Okay. Okay. Uh, let's

43:44

move on from there. Preston. Uh,

43:46

what's your second question?

43:49

My second question is I've been

43:51

locked up for roughly about

43:53

five, six years, um,

43:56

between jail and, uh, mental

43:58

health hospitals. Mhm. Um,

44:00

and I'm just wondering why God

44:02

put me in this position to be locked

44:04

up for this long and

44:07

be away from my family and

44:09

have two family members pass away

44:12

during that time.

44:14

Okay. I'm assuming if

44:16

you've been locked up, there is something that you

44:18

did.

44:20

Yes. Okay.

44:22

Um. I was in the right state of mind.

44:24

Okay, well.

44:26

We are responsible for

44:29

our actions. Every one of us.

44:31

And the amazing thing to me is

44:33

that we don't always.

44:36

Reap the consequences. But sometimes

44:39

we must. I'm. And

44:41

I think it's really important that we not recognize

44:44

that. We recognize that God's not at fault

44:47

for us reaping the consequences.

44:49

It's not that God. Now, God allowed

44:52

you into that position as a consequence of your

44:54

own decisions. But

44:56

I want to be really clear about

44:59

this.

45:01

Uh.

45:02

What what God has allowed you

45:04

to do is to be

45:07

confined and deal with

45:09

the issues. And maybe being in a mental health facility

45:11

is designed to get you the medical

45:13

help that you need. Uh,

45:16

so God is doing good things for you.

45:19

Uh, he's teaching you,

45:21

uh, by by keeping

45:23

you, uh, locked up. He is

45:26

helping you by keeping you

45:28

in a mental health facility. He is

45:30

seeking to

45:32

build into your life. He's

45:35

not trying to hurt you. He's

45:37

trying to help you. So even

45:39

in the consequences of your behavior,

45:41

God is going to use that. To

45:45

strengthen. First of all, strengthen your walk

45:47

with him and to find the

45:49

help that you need and maybe even protect

45:51

you from doing anything else that would bring worse

45:54

consequences. So

45:56

those are I know it's a hard thing to

45:58

do, but sometimes that's the best

46:00

way that God teaches us

46:02

through the hard consequences

46:05

of the decisions that we ourselves

46:08

make. I hope that helps

46:10

a little bit. Uh,

46:12

you know, Preston, I think our listeners will be praying

46:14

for you, uh, to to find

46:17

strength in this really difficult journey.

46:20

Thanks for listening, everyone. That's the first hour.

46:22

Keep listening. Second hour of Open

46:24

Line is coming up straight ahead. Check

46:26

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46:28

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