0:09

Hello friends. It's time for the second

0:11

hour of Open Line doctor

0:13

Michael Ray Dolan. Moody radio is

0:15

a Bible study across America

0:18

where we're talking about your questions

0:20

about the Bible, God, and

0:22

the spiritual life. My name is Michael Redlich.

0:24

I'm academic dean and professor

0:27

of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute,

0:29

and we're live today sitting

0:31

around the radio kitchen table taking your

0:33

questions. Now's the time to give me a call.

0:35

The phone number (877) 548-3675.

0:41

That's (877) 548-3675.

0:45

If you can't call or you

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can't get through, just go to our website, Open

0:49

line radio org click

0:51

on Ask Michael a question. You can leave your

0:53

question there. I hope

0:55

you have your Bibles open. I hope you have a second

0:57

cup of coffee, because I always need a second

0:59

one, because we're ready to

1:02

talk about the scriptures

1:04

and we're going to talk to

1:06

Maria in Lakeland, Florida,

1:09

listening on WLKY's.

1:11

Welcome to Open Line. Maria. How can I

1:13

help you today?

1:15

Well I have a question about

1:17

David and Saul. When

1:19

David had the evil spirit

1:21

of the Lord come upon him and he had the headaches

1:24

he had, I'm sorry. When Saul had

1:26

um, he had David come and play his harp

1:29

for him, and he knew him well.

1:31

But yet when David

1:33

slew Goliath, Saul didn't

1:35

recognize him, and he

1:37

had known him well. And David was still

1:39

a young man. So

1:41

I just don't know how he didn't recognize

1:43

him.

1:44

Well, you know, you

1:46

know how kings are. They're just so

1:49

self-absorbed. They don't know anybody.

1:51

You know, they can't remember. I don't

1:53

I'm just teasing. I'm pulling your leg. Uh,

1:56

I believe what the answer is.

1:58

And there are lots. That's one

2:00

of the issues that people find is to be critical

2:03

of the Bible. The presumption

2:05

that people have is that everything written

2:07

in the historical books was written

2:09

in chronological order.

2:12

But I don't believe they were. They

2:14

were things like that other passage

2:16

where David is playing the harp. That's

2:19

after David had already. Uh,

2:23

slain Goliath. But the

2:25

author of, uh,

2:27

first Samuel, in my opinion,

2:30

put that in to introduce us to David

2:32

and his gifting. But then,

2:34

uh, what happens is in chapter 15,

2:37

you've got the rejection of Saul.

2:40

Uh, chapter 16.

2:42

Uh, you have the anointing of

2:44

David, and then chapter

2:46

17. You've got,

2:49

you know, Saul

2:51

is rejected in chapter 15 because

2:53

he doesn't have God's heart, right? He doesn't

2:55

care.

2:55

Right?

2:56

And then chapter 16, David,

2:59

he's the last one. He's out in the field. All

3:01

the brothers are bigger and taller and handsomer.

3:03

But no, uh, he's

3:05

the one because he's the one after God's own heart.

3:08

And and so people want to say, well,

3:11

when you're reading it, you say, well, what makes David

3:13

so special? Then you get chapter 17.

3:15

He cared more about

3:17

honoring God. Then

3:20

he cared about his own safety or security.

3:23

That's. And so that shows us

3:25

that in the context there, it shows

3:27

this is the person who has God's heart.

3:30

That's the one. That's why he was chosen. Not

3:32

because he was the oldest, the biggest. You

3:34

know, it's because of his heart. Because

3:36

man looks at the outward appearance. Uh,

3:38

chapter 16 says God looks at

3:40

the heart. Uh. It's okay.

3:43

And so that's the sequence there. But I don't

3:45

believe that it's always put

3:47

in chronological order. It's

3:49

the way the Bible is written in historical

3:51

books. It follows a basic chronology,

3:54

but it's more thematic than

3:56

it is, uh, chronological.

3:59

Okay. Okay. Well, that answers

4:01

that.

4:02

Yeah. Good. I'm glad. By the way, don't you think that's,

4:04

you know, so often when we study David

4:06

and Goliath, you know how people

4:09

teach it. They'll say, oh, how do we overcome the

4:11

the. The

4:14

Giants in our life, right? And

4:18

it seems to me a better lesson

4:20

from that is who

4:23

asks the question who does God choose

4:26

to use? And

4:28

the answer is God chose David

4:30

because he had God's heart.

4:33

He had a heart. For God put

4:35

God first. He you know, he

4:37

said, who is it that he taunts the armies of the

4:39

living God? He was concerned

4:41

that that Goliath and

4:43

the Philistines didn't honor God,

4:45

and David was willing to put his own life on the line,

4:48

to put God first and honor him

4:50

with everything. I think when people say,

4:52

well, how do I know God will use me?

4:54

Let's be like David. Put God

4:56

first, put him, put his

4:58

honor as our utmost

5:01

concern, honoring God above

5:03

all. Don't you think that's a yes?

5:05

That's a better way.

5:06

Agree 100%. Yes.

5:07

Yeah. So yeah, I

5:09

love that passage. One of my favorite passages.

5:12

I love going to Israel and standing

5:14

in the Valley of Elah and teaching. First Samuel

5:16

17. I just love it. So

5:19

anyway, thanks so much for your call.

5:21

Uh, Maria would, uh, call again any

5:24

time. Okay, thanks. Thank you. Uh,

5:26

we're going to speak next with Norm

5:29

in Zeeland, Michigan. WGN b

5:31

welcome to Open Line, Norm.

5:34

Thank you. Um, I just had a

5:36

quick question about when I pray with

5:38

other people, quite often I hear them say,

5:40

we bind Satan. And I'm like, where

5:42

do they get that in Scripture that

5:44

we can bind Satan?

5:48

Uh, well. There's,

5:52

uh, in Matthew.

5:56

Let's see. Uh,

5:59

wait a second. Matthew 12, I

6:01

think.

6:03

Okay.

6:04

I'm trying to. You guys. I'm

6:06

trying to pull up the passage. I think it's a parable

6:09

that people base it on. And,

6:12

uh, by the way, I never

6:14

do that. I don't bind.

6:17

Satan. I trust God to

6:19

me. Yeah. Me

6:22

too. Uh. This

6:24

is in Matthew 12. If you if I drive

6:27

out demons by the Spirit of God, then

6:29

the kingdom of God has come to you. How

6:33

can someone enter a strong man's house

6:35

and steal his possessions? Unless

6:37

he first ties up the strong man,

6:40

then he can rob his house. Anyone who is

6:42

not with me is against me. So,

6:44

uh. What what that's about

6:47

is, uh, people

6:49

take that to mean that we

6:52

have to bind Satan

6:54

first. Uh, bind the

6:56

strongman before we can

6:58

have God answer our prayers. And

7:01

I just don't think that that's what that's

7:03

saying. He's using an illustration about

7:06

the rejection,

7:08

uh, that he had there. Uh,

7:11

so I don't think he's calling on

7:13

us to bind

7:16

Satan. Uh, that's

7:18

that's just, uh, it's sort

7:20

of an illustration. Uh, here's

7:23

here's what someone once said, uh.

7:27

By driving out demons. He was proving he

7:29

was greater than Satan. He was able to go

7:31

into Satan's realm, the strong man's

7:33

house, and, uh,

7:35

come away with victory. Uh,

7:39

in that way, institute the kingdom of God.

7:41

So, uh, basically

7:43

what he is saying is

7:46

I'm not casting out demons

7:48

by Satan's power. I'm casting

7:50

out demons on my own power.

7:52

And I have bound

7:55

Satan, the strongman,

7:57

so I could do whatever I wish. That's

7:59

what he's talking about. The one who binds

8:02

the enemy, not us. Not through our

8:04

prayers, but the Lord Jesus.

8:06

He's the one that does that.

8:09

Okay. Thank you.

8:10

Okay, great. Uh, by the way,

8:12

I don't think it's wrong because the Lord Jesus is the one

8:14

that binds. But nevertheless, I don't

8:16

think that's something that's essential. So,

8:19

uh, thanks for your question, Norm. We're going to talk

8:21

with Kristen in Dayton,

8:23

Ohio, listening on Wfg.

8:25

Welcome to Open Line. Kristen, how can

8:27

I help you?

8:28

Thank you. Hi.

8:30

Um, I was wondering, I had a question

8:32

about the Millennial Kingdom. I

8:35

just, um, wanted to understand, how

8:37

are we going to coexist

8:39

with. So we're in our glorified bodies,

8:41

from what I understand. And Jesus is there

8:43

and he's holy. How are we going to coexist

8:46

with the people who are still in their sinful

8:48

nature state, um, when Satan

8:50

comes to deceive them?

8:54

How? Well,

8:57

uh, let me just put it this way. The Lord

8:59

Jesus came to earth

9:01

after the resurrection, right?

9:03

And he was in his glorified body. And yet

9:06

he was able to interact with people who are

9:08

not yet glorified. Right.

9:10

So I don't think. I don't think

9:12

that'll be all. It's not that an

9:15

impossibility? Uh, there

9:17

will be people entering the kingdom

9:20

who are not yet glorified. Think

9:22

about this. At

9:25

the return of the Lord Jesus. He comes and

9:27

delivers Israel when they have

9:29

believed in him, so they are

9:31

believers. And

9:33

he delivers Israel and they

9:35

enter the kingdom. But they have

9:37

not yet been resurrected or translated

9:40

or made glory glorified. Right?

9:42

So they're going to be believers who enter

9:44

the kingdom from the people of Israel,

9:47

right? At the Second Coming. They

9:49

enter the Kingdom. They are not yet

9:52

glorified. Also

9:55

after the judgment of the sheep and the goats,

9:57

the judgment of the Gentile nations.

9:59

That's what that is at the Second Coming,

10:01

when the Lord Jesus returns, he's going

10:04

to judge the nations, and

10:06

the sheep will enter

10:08

the kingdom. The those who are believers

10:10

will will enter the kingdom, and

10:13

they will not yet have been glorified. So

10:15

for the thousand year reign, there's

10:18

will be there. Obviously, those of us who have

10:20

been, uh, you know, either

10:22

translated or resurrected will be there,

10:24

but also there'll be believers who have

10:26

not yet been glorified. They will marry,

10:28

they will have children. And when

10:30

they marry and have children, their children will have to

10:32

trust the Lord to. They will have

10:34

to become believers in the Messianic kingdom,

10:37

and some of them will, and some of them won't.

10:39

And they are the ones that will have the rebellion

10:42

at the end of days, at the end of

10:44

the millennium that's spoken

10:46

of in revelation 20, when Satan

10:48

is released and he deceives the nations once more,

10:50

and there's one last rebellion, and then the

10:52

new heavens and the new earth, so

10:54

I hope, does that explain it for you? Is

10:57

that what.

10:57

You.

10:58

It's probably. Yes. Thank

11:00

you.

11:01

Yeah. Uh, it's hard for us

11:03

to grasp that. Yeah, it's

11:06

hard for us to. I'll tell you what's hard for me

11:08

to believe. That there will be people

11:10

born in the millennium who

11:12

will live under the rulership,

11:14

the just wonderful

11:16

rulership of the Lord Jesus

11:19

and still not put their trust in him. Isn't

11:22

that amazing? It's

11:24

the heart.

11:24

Of. Yeah.

11:25

Yeah, the heart of man is amazing.

11:27

Uh. And, uh. Yeah,

11:30

it's it's it's it's

11:32

heartbreaking when I think about that. So,

11:35

anyway, uh, thanks for your question,

11:37

Kristen. Uh, we're going to take a break here.

11:39

Come back with more of your

11:41

questions. You can always call

11:44

(877) 548-3675.

11:49

We're going to come back with, uh, questions

11:52

about the Bible, God and the

11:54

spiritual life. Stay with us. This

11:56

is Michael Ray Jelinek on Open Line.

12:14

Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael

12:16

Ray Dolnick. I'm so glad that you're listening

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But I especially appreciate even more

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Uh, we're really looking, uh,

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He's the one who said, you gotta

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It's our listeners that can do that. And he said, well, remind

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Uh, I did want to say to, you know, we're coming

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out Moody Bible Institute. We're going

15:36

to talk to Jim in

15:38

Oakbrook, Illinois, listening on Wbai,

15:41

our flagship station. Welcome to Open

15:43

Line. Jim. How can I help you?

15:45

Good morning, Michael. I'm

15:48

so happy to be on your show here to

15:50

have you to ask this perplexing

15:52

question. It's, well,

15:54

perplexing, a little strange. How about just a

15:56

curious question in Exodus

15:58

2515 and Exodus

16:01

37 five, God

16:03

gave very specific instructions to Moses

16:05

that the carrying poles for the Ark

16:07

of the covenant should always

16:09

remain in place. When God

16:12

says always, we understand

16:14

that he means what he says. And we're

16:17

reminded repeatedly in Scripture the importance

16:19

of being of obeying God's instructions.

16:22

Precisely. I don't ever

16:24

recall reading that God said, you may remove

16:26

the poles when the ark is finally

16:28

in place inside the Holy of Holies.

16:31

I took this divine instruction

16:33

to be similar to his instructions.

16:36

Um uh, when

16:39

he said that bread is to be baked

16:41

without yeast, so that,

16:43

like the ark, it be ready to go

16:46

and it's time to quickly leave. And

16:48

that he also added the added benefit of the poles

16:50

of preventing anyone from ever touching

16:53

the ark directly. Yet.

16:56

Um, I read in just

16:58

this morning, as a matter of fact, to remind

17:00

me of this question that I've had before

17:02

in numbers chapter four and

17:04

verse six, the heights

17:07

which we read were in Scripture,

17:10

where the vision of the tribe of Levi, in

17:12

charge of the logistical packing up

17:14

and moving of the tabernacle when

17:16

the camp moves, are instructed

17:18

to put the carrying poles of the ark

17:20

in place in preparation

17:23

to move the ark. Now,

17:25

per God's original standing instruction

17:27

in Exodus, shouldn't those polls

17:29

have already been inserted

17:31

through the golden rings and have been

17:33

in place to begin with?

17:36

Well, I think, uh, when

17:38

you read Exodus 25, where it says,

17:41

uh, the poles are to remain in the rings of the

17:43

Ark, they must not be removed from it.

17:45

I think that's talking about when they move

17:47

it in the context that's talking about moving

17:49

the ark.

17:51

Uh, okay.

17:52

And so always when you move it,

17:54

keep the poles in the

17:57

ark, it doesn't mean when it comes standing

17:59

that the poles can't be taken out.

18:01

So the Ark of the covenant is

18:05

always to have, uh,

18:07

the poles when it's moved. And

18:09

then when you're going to move it, it's the coincides

18:11

who put them in, because it's always supposed

18:13

to have poles when

18:16

you move the ark, that's what it's referring

18:18

to. Okay, okay.

18:20

And then that that kind of brings to mind, uh, just

18:22

a follow up to that, uh, in

18:24

chapter, uh, in

18:26

second Samuel, in chapter six, when

18:29

we when we hear about,

18:31

uh, the unfortunate passing

18:33

of us, who was the,

18:36

um, who was apparently

18:38

on the team to move the ark

18:40

on its procession back to Jerusalem,

18:43

that he, uh, there was a

18:46

misstep by the oxen and the

18:48

cart became unsteady or something, and he

18:50

quickly reached to, uh, touch

18:52

the, uh, um, the

18:54

ark and, uh, the God struck

18:57

it was a dead on the spot for touching it directly

19:00

that, uh, I'm thinking, had the poles

19:02

been in place, he could have grabbed those poles.

19:04

Well, here's the thing. They were looking

19:07

for ease. They put it on a cart instead

19:09

of carrying it on a pole on poles.

19:11

And, uh, I think

19:14

Uzzah had the right. He didn't want

19:16

the ark to fall, but they were treating it, uh,

19:18

like a talisman or or something.

19:20

That was, uh, a

19:23

good luck charm. That's

19:25

how they were treating it. And

19:27

they needed to treat it as holy and

19:29

follow God's rules about that.

19:31

And I think this was a very clear way

19:33

that God was saying, uh,

19:36

do not take lightly the directions I've

19:38

given you about how to move the ark. So

19:40

don't look for your ease. Look for your obedience.

19:43

Okay? Hey, thanks for your call. Really

19:46

appreciate it. We're going to talk with,

19:48

uh. Acting

19:52

in Greenville, South Carolina, listening on

19:55

FCM or on the app.

19:57

Welcome to Open Line. How can I help you?

20:00

Yes, doctor Robinette, thank you

20:02

so much for taking my call. I love your show

20:04

and thank you to you and your team

20:06

for all you do. Thank you.

20:09

Um, I, I have a I have

20:11

a question, um, about

20:13

Luke 1711 through 19

20:16

when Lord Jesus healed

20:18

the ten lepers. Um,

20:21

he the text said that he looked at

20:23

them and told them to go show themselves

20:25

to the priest. So

20:28

they went on their way, and while on their way

20:30

they were healed. So that

20:32

act of going was that

20:35

faith or was that obedience,

20:38

or was it both? Um, I'm

20:40

just a little I just want to try

20:42

to understand that part a little bit better.

20:44

The Lord Jesus said, go,

20:48

uh, and show yourself and they

20:50

they could see it themselves that they were not yet

20:52

healed. So they went, believing

20:55

that he would heal them. But they they

20:57

started to obey him. Even

21:00

though he had not healed them, and only once

21:02

they started. It's sort of like when Moses

21:04

steps into the water. Uh,

21:07

that's when the Red sea parts. Uh,

21:09

so that's what happened. I believe that

21:11

would be that's what we would call in Scripture

21:14

the obedience of faith.

21:17

Okay. Okay. It's just like. It's like,

21:19

uh, Abraham said to the men who were with him

21:22

when he took Ishmael. Ishmael.

21:24

I'm sorry I got that wrong. Uh, Isaac

21:26

to be bound. He

21:29

said, uh. Uh,

21:33

the boy and I will return to you. Well,

21:36

that meant that he was going to obey God

21:38

about sacrificing his son, but he believed

21:40

God would raise him from the dead. So,

21:44

uh, so he was doing the

21:46

obedience of faith, and

21:49

and that's what was happening here with the ten

21:51

lepers. The amazing thing is,

21:53

only one came back to say thank you.

21:56

I know.

21:57

And he was a Samaritan. Uh. That's

22:00

the. An outcast one that

22:02

was hateful and hated.

22:04

You know, the Samaritans hated the Jewish

22:06

people. Uh, there had been a long

22:08

history of tension between Samaritans

22:11

and Jewish people. And so

22:13

that that'd be like, uh,

22:15

the outcast person, the dangerous

22:17

person coming back and and

22:19

saying, thank you. So that's

22:22

that's pretty amazing story. It's true.

22:25

It was amazing.

22:26

Yes. Really amazing. Yes.

22:29

Yeah. Okay. Thank you so much.

22:31

Thanks for playing that for me. Thank you

22:33

so much. God bless you.

22:34

Thanks for calling. Okay. We're going

22:36

to talk with Carol

22:38

in Cleveland listening on WKF.

22:40

Welcome to Open Line. Carol, how can I help

22:42

you? Thank you.

22:44

So much. Um, I

22:46

have a question regarding Isaiah

22:48

45 three

22:50

where it says, I will give you the treasures

22:52

of darkness and the hidden

22:54

riches of secret places, that you

22:56

may know that I, the Lord,

22:59

who call you by name, and the God of

23:01

Israel. Um, what

23:03

is meant by the secrets

23:06

of darkness? I mean the secrets

23:08

of the quiet places and the riches of darkness.

23:12

Oh, my. Uh.

23:15

I don't believe it's anything

23:17

evil. If that's what

23:19

you're asking. Uh.

23:22

No. I'm just. I'm. I've

23:24

been thinking about this, and I couldn't find it

23:26

in a commentary.

23:28

Um, it refers to other verses

23:30

that mention darkness and secrets,

23:32

but it doesn't really specifically

23:35

say what this refers to.

23:38

Mhm. Now, does that mean, you

23:40

know, if you're walking in sin and

23:43

the Lord reveals something

23:45

to you, is that the treasures of darkness,

23:48

that the light shines brightest in the darkest

23:50

places? Or

23:52

I'm just questioning.

23:55

No.

23:56

Well, here's, uh, I

23:58

will give you hidden

24:00

treasures, riches

24:02

stashed away in secret places.

24:05

So that's just talking about,

24:08

uh. That

24:10

God's going to give the faithful

24:12

remnant. Uh, secret

24:15

treasures. Treasures that no one else knows about.

24:17

That's all. It's. It's sort of a metaphor

24:20

for God's going to give you things that that

24:22

no one, uh, knows

24:24

about. I'll give you wonderful treasures

24:27

that are hidden in dark places. Riches

24:29

that no one knows about. Uh, and it's

24:31

talking about that God's really going to bless them with

24:33

things that they're not even aware of.

24:35

That's what I think that's talking about.

24:38

Bye to Gentiles. Pardon

24:41

me. Can this be applied

24:43

to Gentiles as well, or is

24:45

this strictly applied to Jewish believers?

24:48

Well, I think that well, this then it was talking

24:50

about the remnant of Israel. That's the direct meaning.

24:52

But I do believe that God gives special

24:55

blessing to anyone that has, uh,

24:57

turned to him. And there's

24:59

treasures that no one knows about that we get

25:02

the benefit of that are hidden and

25:04

secret and spiritual blessings that,

25:06

uh, it says in Ephesians one that believers get

25:09

every spiritual blessing, right.

25:12

Uh, the in the heavenlies. And

25:14

so those are things that I think that's

25:17

the kind of thing it's talking about there. Okay.

25:20

All right. Thanks for clarifying that.

25:22

Yeah. So yeah. By the way, isn't that

25:24

amazing? We have every spiritual

25:26

blessing in the heavenlies, secret

25:29

places, things that people don't know about.

25:31

Uh, sometimes I think we're not even aware of it.

25:34

Maybe we better read Ephesians a lot more

25:36

and and see all the great gifts that

25:38

God gives us that are hidden from others.

25:40

Hey, thanks for your call, Carol.

25:43

We're going to come back with the mailbag in just

25:45

a bit. The FBC mailbag. Tricia

25:47

McMillan is chomping at the bit to get in here,

25:49

so we'll let her in. This

25:51

is open line with Michael Ray. Don't like. We're

26:09

back. It's time for the

26:11

f e b c mailbag. I'm

26:13

so grateful for for Far Eastern

26:15

Broadcasting Company, which partners

26:17

with Open Line. They bring us the they they

26:20

support and partner with us,

26:22

uh, so that we can bring you the fab C

26:25

mailbag and you can write to us. You

26:27

just go to our website, Open Line Radio org,

26:29

click on the link that says Ask Michael

26:32

a question and Trish puts them together.

26:34

And we'll take those questions and answer

26:36

them on the air every week. Grateful

26:38

for fab C and all they're doing to reach

26:40

people in unreached places with the Far East Broadcasting

26:43

Company, check out fab Korg.

26:46

They've got a terrific, uh,

26:48

podcast called Until All Have Heard

26:50

that features editor Canon Wayne Shepherd.

26:53

You'll love it. So check it out. Go to fab BC

26:56

dawg. And,

26:58

uh, Trish is here

27:00

with the mailbag. Okay. Okay.

27:03

Uh, I'm all set. Ready to go?

27:05

Yes.

27:05

Okay, okay. Our first question is from Mary

27:07

in Georgia. Listens to Wlp

27:10

and says if you if she wants

27:12

to begin taking biblical courses with a

27:14

goal eventually towards a degree

27:17

which is unknown right now, what

27:19

basic courses would be

27:21

would you suggest to start? And she's been listening

27:23

for 15 years. Oh great

27:26

program. Yeah.

27:26

Well well, well not

27:28

to this program for 15 years, but

27:31

something like this. Yeah. Yeah.

27:33

Because we've been on almost 13, right?

27:35

No.

27:36

Uh, 12, 12, 12 years isn't

27:38

it.

27:38

Yeah. It'll be 12 in April.

27:40

Yeah. 12 in April. Okay. Uh, and

27:43

you've been with Open Line.

27:45

Not quite that long. No. Like

27:47

ten years.

27:48

About something like that.

27:50

No, eight. Amazing. Eight.

27:52

Eight years.

27:52

Eight years. Yeah.

27:53

And you look exactly the same. I got

27:55

to tell you.

27:56

You were kind to say so.

27:59

It's true. It's true. So anyway,

28:01

uh, here's what I would say. First

28:04

of all, start studying the Bible now. Don't

28:06

have to go to school. Uh, I think

28:08

that's a great thing to

28:10

do. Also, we've got terrific moody online

28:12

courses that a person could take.

28:16

Uh, and I'll mention a couple

28:18

of good ones that to start with,

28:20

depending on a person doing a graduate or undergraduate

28:23

degree, they're both available for both,

28:25

uh, graduate or undergraduate, and they

28:27

can apply to a later degree that you decide

28:29

to take. Uh, but I want to

28:31

encourage this, that get our Bible study

28:34

resource for this

28:36

month. That's a great place to start before

28:38

you even take a course, you can.

28:40

Uh, our current resource was

28:43

based on a course I took in seminary.

28:46

Uh, Prof. Howard Hendricks taught

28:49

every Dallas seminary student Bible study

28:51

methods. He was a master teacher.

28:53

He opened our minds. He showed us how

28:55

not only how great

28:58

and fun it was

29:00

to study the Bible, but also

29:02

he made it a lot of fun. But it

29:05

also gave us a really good instruction on

29:07

how to get more out of the scriptures.

29:09

And so I would say, uh,

29:11

start with getting a copy of living by

29:13

the Book by Howard Hendricks. That's a wonderful

29:16

book. He committed that course Bible

29:18

Study Methods to Writing. It's called living

29:20

by the book. And by the way, we'd

29:22

love to send, uh,

29:24

people copies of a

29:26

copy of living by the book. The way to do that

29:29

is give a gift of any amount,

29:31

and we'll send you

29:33

living by the book just to say thank

29:36

you. Uh, give a gift of any size.

29:38

And that's what we'll send you. If you'd like

29:40

to do that, go to Open Line Radio org

29:42

or call (888) 644-7122.

29:48

Now I'm going to see if you agree with me

29:50

about what courses you should start with.

29:52

Okay.

29:53

Because you, you went to Moody

29:55

Bible Institute and Moody Graduate school.

29:57

Right I did yes.

30:00

I think everyone should take Old Testament survey, New Testament

30:02

survey to get an overview of

30:04

the Bible. Um, that's where I

30:06

would start. Secondly, I would take

30:08

a course in interpreting the Bible.

30:11

Hermeneutics. Uh,

30:13

so that you can get some skill to

30:15

know a metaphor from a,

30:18

uh, uh,

30:21

from a literal direct statement.

30:24

Okay. And learn how to interpret things

30:27

so that and then I would say

30:29

take, uh, a

30:31

basic doctrine course. Uh,

30:33

in the undergraduate school, we offer a course

30:35

called The Church and Its doctrines, which

30:37

covers the doctrines of the Bible. So

30:40

those are five courses or

30:42

four courses. I would start with number one,

30:44

Old Testament survey number two, New Testament survey

30:47

number three hermeneutics and number

30:49

four doctrine. Okay.

30:53

Yeah.

30:54

Those are. Those are good. Um,

30:56

would you suggest any theology

30:59

classes? Uh, well, once

31:01

you.

31:01

Take the doctrine course. Okay. You

31:03

know. Yeah. Uh, the

31:05

way we teach it in the undergraduate school at Moody

31:07

is every freshman takes the church in its doctrines.

31:10

Okay? And then juniors and seniors take theology

31:12

one and two.

31:13

Okay. Which is very different

31:15

from how it was way back in

31:17

my day. Yeah. We had four

31:20

theology classes and you took one each

31:22

year. So there was a theology 100 to

31:24

200 to 300 and a 400.

31:26

Yeah. Um, that all kind of stood alone

31:29

other than having to just get the. They

31:31

kind of just gave you the basics of each

31:33

of the main doctrines.

31:35

Well, we still do the same thing. You know, at the

31:37

time, theology 100 was

31:40

spiritual life. Mhm. Back when you went

31:42

we still have a course in spiritual life. And you can't

31:44

take theology one and two until you take spiritual

31:46

life. Okay, okay. So uh,

31:49

so yes.

31:50

But so different names and different orders,

31:52

but still the same core classes,

31:55

I think. I think those are all good. The other one,

31:57

I remember being.

31:59

Good, by the way, that's a great course to take to

32:01

spiritual life and community. It's called. And

32:04

it's a great undergraduate

32:06

course in spiritual life. Yeah.

32:07

Yeah. Um, was

32:10

and I'm trying to. Was it Bible intro?

32:13

Oh, yeah. With the Name of Love kind of gave you the history

32:15

of this is where the Bible came from and why

32:18

we can trust it. Yes, that

32:20

that was my Bible introduction.

32:22

One of my favorite courses when I first

32:24

got to Moody at that was a Bible department

32:26

course I wanted to teach. And they've

32:29

never let 30 years I've never been allowed to teach

32:31

it. Now, if they asked me, I was going to say, it's

32:33

too late. I'm not trusting that course.

32:35

But, uh, I always wanted to. That's

32:37

a great, great course.

32:39

And, you know, here's the thing that you notice what we're

32:42

saying. This is. These

32:44

are such great courses. How about this

32:46

in the curriculum? How about this? And the curriculum. Right.

32:48

Which was five.

32:49

That would be like one full time semester, right.

32:52

Yeah.

32:52

So what you want to do is really come to Moody Bible Institute.

32:55

That's the best way to get a great foundation.

32:57

Check out Moody Edu, send your kids,

32:59

send your grandkids or you come yourself.

33:01

It's a great way to study. Or you can study online

33:04

through Moody Online. Check that out.

33:06

Yeah. And some of these I remember, um,

33:08

especially like the Old Testament New Testament survey

33:11

there are there were um, before

33:13

we had the online option. They were the correspondence

33:15

courses, like a lot of these

33:18

where you could, um, do

33:20

those, you know, writing down

33:22

and then you would mail them in and, and those kinds

33:24

of things. So I'm really.

33:26

Glad we've, we've courses, we've

33:28

come into the modern era. We're doing it online.

33:30

We have.

33:31

We have, but there's a lot of good classes

33:33

and they've been around for a long time and have

33:35

been, um, the

33:38

basic building blocks

33:40

of getting the

33:42

degree, whatever you want it to be. I think

33:44

even these classes,

33:47

those five, the Old Testament survey,

33:49

New Testament survey, the hermeneutics, which

33:51

is the Bible interpretation, the church

33:53

and its doctrines, and Bible introduction.

33:57

Even if you're not getting a degree. Those

33:59

are all helpful for your own spiritual

34:01

life to understand. You know, if you're a Bible,

34:03

a Sunday school teacher or small group leader,

34:05

or even just teaching your

34:07

own kids or grandkids, um,

34:10

they're all or just for your own personal life.

34:12

Those are all helpful classes to help you understand

34:14

the Bible better and how, uh,

34:16

how we've gotten to where we are in Christianity

34:19

and.

34:19

Also get living by the book. Yep.

34:21

Yes. Howard Hendricks and and I'll tell

34:23

you another thing. Get a moody Bible commentary. That

34:25

would be a great thing to help you, uh,

34:28

with your foundation for life. So

34:30

there we go. Uh, let's go to the next

34:32

question.

34:33

Right. All right. The next

34:35

question is

34:37

from. Um.

34:42

From my in Florida.

34:44

Listen to WLKY's. And

34:47

she said recently a friend mentioned that they

34:49

don't believe in the Trinity, but believe

34:52

all three are separate and

34:55

gave her five different scriptures.

34:58

Um, talking about God

35:00

alone is God and,

35:03

um, the the

35:05

son and the father being separate.

35:08

Um, that there's only one true

35:10

God. Um,

35:12

these types, the Lord our God, the Lord

35:15

is one. So how do you,

35:18

um, how do you. How

35:20

does someone respond to someone who does not

35:22

see the Trinity? Um,

35:24

but but says there's only they're

35:27

all three separate things because that's how the Bible talks

35:29

about them.

35:30

First of all, there's only one God.

35:33

Where you know hero Israel, the Lord our God,

35:35

the Lord is one. Deuteronomy six four.

35:37

There's only one God, and that's

35:39

taught both Old and New Testament. Uh,

35:43

the Bible teaches that the Father is God,

35:45

our God and Father, right? It talks

35:47

about, uh, the son being

35:50

God. Uh, in,

35:52

uh. Number of passes.

35:54

Well, I can't say how many passages

35:56

talk about the son. Of

35:59

God being God himself.

36:01

I was just reading. Romans

36:04

nine five. Uh,

36:07

where it talks about the Lord Jesus being physically

36:10

Jewish. Right? Uh,

36:13

and it says. About

36:17

the Jewish people. To him belong the

36:19

ancestors of theirs, and from them

36:21

by physical descent came the Messiah,

36:24

who is God overall. So.

36:27

So there's the Lord Jesus

36:29

in Romans nine five called,

36:32

referring to his physical descent from

36:34

the Jewish people, so human

36:36

and at the same time, who

36:39

is God overall? So the Son of

36:41

God is God. And then

36:43

you've got the Holy Spirit is God.

36:46

He's got the attributes of deity, uh,

36:49

and, uh, that he's called

36:51

God. Uh,

36:53

well, here's the point. The

36:55

Bible teaches that there's one God,

36:58

and then there's father, son, and Holy Spirit,

37:01

and they're God. Well, how could that

37:03

be? Well. It's

37:05

what I would call the Trinity. It's what

37:07

the Bible teaches. It

37:09

never explains how that can be. Someone

37:12

wrote in the 50 questions one of the

37:14

questions I answered. Can you give a simple

37:16

explanation of the Trinity? My answer was,

37:18

I wish I could, but a

37:21

lot of the early church fathers spent a lot

37:23

of time trying to figure out how could

37:25

the three be one and one, one

37:27

God and three persons. And of course

37:29

they came up with this one essence, which is

37:31

God. And

37:34

the three persons of the Trinity share

37:36

that one essence of deity.

37:38

And and that's how it is.

37:40

If if I think I could explain

37:42

that or understand it now, people always come

37:45

up with illustrations. You know, egg

37:47

has got eggshell, it's got egg white, it's

37:49

got egg yolk. They're all equally egg.

37:52

Uh, you know, if that illustration

37:54

helps you find. But every illustration breaks

37:56

down, it's just what we affirm

37:59

because the Bible teaches it. Theologians

38:02

have tried to explain it, but I think

38:04

the key is that we have to believe it. So,

38:07

um. Okay. Okay. Well, anyway,

38:10

thanks. Thanks for the question.

38:12

Yeah. You're welcome.

38:12

Thanks. My.

38:14

Yeah, we're going to come back with more

38:16

questions in just a moment. Uh,

38:18

when, uh, Tricia is,

38:21

uh, going back and checking out other

38:23

questions you've sent in to Open Line Radio

38:25

org by going to ask Michael

38:27

a question. Thank you so much for doing that, Trisha.

38:30

And, uh, we're going to come right back with your

38:32

more phone in questions. That

38:34

was Trisha McMillan I'm Michael Ray Zelnick. This is

38:36

open line. We'll be right back. Welcome

38:52

back to Open Line. I'm Michael Zelnick

38:54

and I want to. Mention

38:58

this. It's important because Israel is

39:00

at war. It's a war that

39:02

the nation didn't start, didn't want,

39:04

didn't anticipate. And it came

39:06

as a result of the horrific October

39:09

7th assault by Hamas when

39:11

they murdered more Jewish people in any

39:13

one day since the Holocaust.

39:16

What does the future hold now? Chosen

39:18

people Ministries. Which one of our

39:20

ministry partners. They

39:24

want to offer or they are offering

39:27

a special book. It's called Israel's

39:29

Glorious Future. The book details

39:31

God's faithfulness to his covenant promises

39:33

to Israel in the past

39:36

that he he made them, and he's keeping

39:38

them, and the biblical prophecies

39:40

that are yet to be fulfilled in the future.

39:43

The Bible. God's word plainly

39:46

says that Israel has a

39:48

glorious future. If you'd like a copy

39:50

of their book, Israel's Glorious Future, just

39:52

go to Open Line Radio. Org. Scroll

39:54

down. You'll see a link that says A free gift

39:56

from Chosen People Ministries. Click

39:59

on that. You'll be taken to a page where you can sign up

40:01

for your own copy of Israel's

40:03

Glorious Future. We're

40:05

going to speak now with Susan

40:08

in Northbrook, Illinois, listening on Wbai.

40:10

Welcome to Open Line. Susan, how

40:12

can I help you today?

40:14

Thank you for taking my call. I'm wondering

40:17

about the history of Lent

40:19

in church history. When

40:22

did they start,

40:24

um, practicing a Lenten

40:26

season? And,

40:29

you know, what did they do? And

40:31

when did it end? For some denominations.

40:36

It seems to have started

40:38

in the third century.

40:41

People started practicing some sort

40:43

of self-denial, uh, as

40:45

they approached. The week's coming up to

40:47

Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday.

40:50

Uh, but the calendar, really where

40:52

it was made official was

40:54

that the Council of Nicaea? Mhm.

40:57

Uh, where they were and that was in 325.

41:01

And, uh. That.

41:04

That's, I think, where it came from. Uh,

41:07

you know, it was never a great season

41:10

for Jewish people.

41:11

Okay.

41:13

Uh, the reason is when Jewish people lived

41:15

among Christians, it was when lent began

41:17

that the Christians began to, uh,

41:20

emphasize assaulting, beating, killing

41:22

Jewish people.

41:23

Wow.

41:24

Um, so, uh,

41:26

sadly, along with self-denial,

41:28

there was also a lot of destruction. Uh,

41:32

a lot of blaming Jewish people for

41:35

falsely not the Bible doesn't do this, but

41:37

falsely blaming Jewish people for

41:39

the death of Jesus. And as they prepared

41:41

to observe Good Friday, uh, it

41:43

led to a lot of assaults on Jewish people.

41:46

It was the worst season of the year, Lenten

41:49

season for Jewish people, culminating

41:51

in Resurrection Sunday being

41:53

the worst for the Jewish community. So

41:56

it's it's kind of heartbreaking for me as

41:58

I look back on it. Uh, the

42:01

church moved away from

42:04

Lenten when it became

42:06

less formalistic, less liturgical.

42:08

And after the now, of course,

42:11

there was, uh, Lutheranism with

42:13

the Reformation. Uh.

42:16

Became, uh, maintain

42:18

a lot of liturgy and things like lent. Uh,

42:21

but as the church

42:24

became more informal with Anabaptist

42:26

traditions and things like that coming in,

42:28

then there was a sort of a rejection,

42:31

as the Reformation church did, that,

42:34

uh, there was a rejection of

42:36

formalism, of liturgy. And

42:38

so as a result, uh, Lenten

42:40

went by the wayside. That's

42:42

that's what I would say.

42:43

Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Yeah.

42:46

Okay.

42:47

Uh, appreciate appreciate the call.

42:49

Uh, we're going to speak with Tim in

42:52

the Twin Cities, in Minnesota, listening

42:55

on the Moody App. How can I help you today, Tim?

42:58

Okay, I'm a Cptpp kitchen

43:00

table partner and right. Thank

43:02

you, thank you. Question I have

43:04

and I get opinions left

43:06

and right but never a true answer.

43:09

Sabbath Saturday or Sunday.

43:12

Um, do you have some insight to that

43:14

and what it's

43:16

based on? Some people celebrating

43:19

it, of course, on Sundays and Saturdays.

43:21

Yeah.

43:23

Just so you know, I'm going to give you about a one minute answer.

43:25

And I once wrote a whole,

43:28

uh, paper, uh, for

43:30

a theology conference about it. So

43:32

there's, I could read you the paper. That

43:34

would take an hour. So but here's the

43:36

simple answer. That Sabbath is always

43:38

Saturday never changes. Uh,

43:42

with the, uh.

43:45

With the New Testament. What happened

43:47

was, uh, not that Sabbath

43:49

is no longer Saturday, but

43:52

Paul writes in Romans 14, one

43:54

manners, one man honors one day

43:56

above another. Another views them all like

43:58

let all be convinced in his own mind,

44:00

which means that the day of worship.

44:04

For believers. Doesn't have

44:06

to be on Sabbath, doesn't have to be on Sunday.

44:08

It has to be when God

44:10

leads you and leads your congregation.

44:13

So there's a great deal of freedom, according

44:15

to the Bible, about when to worship the early

44:17

Jewish believers they went to.

44:19

You could see it in the book of acts. They went to the the

44:22

temple on Saturdays.

44:24

On Sabbath they went, they

44:26

gathered. As believers. You could see that

44:28

in acts 20 they gathered

44:31

as believers on Saturday night. Uh,

44:33

so that's when

44:35

they did that. Uh, the early church

44:38

said Sunday would be an appropriate

44:40

day because of the resurrection. So

44:42

a lot of the Gentile churches began to do that.

44:44

That seemed fine as well,

44:47

uh, to gather on the first day of the week.

44:50

Uh, and the reason is, Paul says, is because

44:52

there was a great deal of freedom.

44:54

Okay, okay. So get rid

44:56

of the guilt and stuff people

44:58

have sometime. And you're

45:01

awesome, Mike.

45:02

Well thank you. You know, what day

45:04

does your church meet?

45:06

Uh, Sunday, of course. But

45:09

my daughter goes on Saturday, so of course,

45:11

that's where the debate started. And then you

45:13

talk to people and they don't have

45:15

good answers, but they, um.

45:19

You know, boy, that clears it up. And I wrote

45:21

a lot down here, so.

45:23

Well, we we were, uh, in

45:25

a church. We're

45:27

going to church a lot in Michigan now

45:29

because we go on the weekends to Michigan

45:32

and, uh, the church we go to

45:34

meets Saturday night and

45:36

Sunday morning, and we go out Saturday night.

45:38

And that's because Romans 14

45:41

says there's a good deal of freedom. I think

45:43

what's really commanded, and this is

45:45

so important that believers, believers

45:47

gather for worship that says, don't

45:49

forsake the assembling of yourselves together.

45:52

And so, I mean, if I had no choice,

45:55

I'd go on Sundays, but I prefer Saturday

45:57

night. So, uh, and

45:59

a lot of reasons, one being that often

46:01

I preach on Sundays, and if I

46:03

preach, it's hard for me to go to a regular congregation.

46:06

So Saturday night's preferable.

46:08

So, anyway, uh,

46:10

thanks for your call. Can you believe it? The program's

46:13

over, but we'll be back next week

46:15

with more of your questions about

46:18

the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. My

46:20

name is Michael Redneck. Join me next week. Uh,

46:23

during the break. Uh, during the break. Uh,

46:25

check out our webpage afterwards.

46:27

Open Line radio org has all sorts of links.

46:29

Current resource how how to become a

46:32

kitchen table partner. We'll

46:34

be back again next week. Keep reading the Bible.

46:36

We'll talk about it next week. Open

46:38

line with Doctor Michael Redlich is a production

46:41

of Moody Radio, the ministry

46:44

of Moody Bible Institute. See

46:46

you next week.