When we read our Bibles, can we be sure that we're really actually reading the truth? Stay with me. We'll talk about that in just a moment. Hello, friends. Welcome to Open Line, Moody Radio's Bible study across America. My name is Michael Radonich. I'm the academic dean and a professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. I'm so grateful that you're joining me around the radio kitchen table this morning. We're talking about your questions about
the Bible, God and the spiritual life. If you have a question and you'd like to call, the phone number here is (877) 548-3675. Let me give that to you again. It's (877) 548-3675. Tricia McMillan is in the producer's chair. Omar Mendoza is our tech guy. Lisa jumped is here helping as well? Uh, again, the phone number (877) 548-3675. Go get yourself a cup of coffee. I've got mine right here. And open your Bible. We're going to study the scriptures together.
Since the whole Bible is inspired, it's completely true or inerrant. And when I was with you last week, I discussed the inspiration of Scripture that God's Word is God breathed. An implication of that is a teaching called inerrancy, or that the Bible is without any error. This idea is understood from the scriptures themselves in the in the Torah, also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses. Moses wrote, God is not a man who lies or a son of man who changes his mind. Does he
speak and not act or promise and not fulfill? That's in numbers 2319. That's why the psalmist declared, the sum of your word is truth. Psalm 119 160. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus, God incarnate, said of himself, I am the way, the truth, and the life. John 14 six. The the high priestly prayer that the Lord Jesus said, he calls himself the truth. He's the divine author of Scripture. And then he offers this high priestly prayer. Uh, since God is true and he breathed out the scriptures,
he said in John 1717, Your Word is truth. Furthermore, the apostle Paul also affirmed God's truthfulness in Romans three four. He said, God must be true even if everyone is a liar. And in Titus one two he reiterated that God cannot lie. When you take all these verses together, these statements from Scripture leads us to the teaching that the Bible is without error, that it is inerrant. The point is that the Bible is as true as God Himself,
and it's completely trustworthy. Now, to help us better understand the concept of inerrancy, here are some specific points to remember. First, the inerrancy of Scripture is limited to the original autographs. This means that the original scroll that Isaiah wrote, or the actual letter Paul wrote to the Romans, these are the documents that are inherent. It doesn't mean that every copy we have today will be a perfect replica of
that original. The good news is that textual criticism, the study of comparing the surviving ancient manuscripts with one another is highly accurate. That's why we we can be confident that what we have today reflects more than 99% of the original documents. And for those parts that remain in question, none of them affect biblical doctrine or prescribed behavior. And that's why I can hold my Bible with unwavering certainty
and say that it is inerrant. I know it's based on texts copied years after the original manuscripts, and then they were translated into English. But I can still affirm, I can still claim it's completely true. Secondly, inerrancy only refers to what the Bible affirms. Some statements in the scriptures are accurately recorded, but they are not actually what the Bible teaches. You say, what do you mean? Well, for example, when the serpent tempted Eve, he misquoted God.
And he claimed that God prohibited Adam and Eve from eating from any tree. Genesis three one. Well, we know that's not true. The Bible records what the pie, what the serpent truly said. But the serpent's words remain untrue. Only what the Bible affirms is what we say is without error. Here's the third principle to remember. Inerrancy assumes that the Bible uses ordinary, normal language. Here's what I mean.
The Bible mentions that there are four corners of the earth in Isaiah 1112, or it talks about the sunrise in Psalm 113 three. That doesn't mean that the Bible teaches the earth is a square or flat, or that God's Word denies a heliocentric view of the universe. The scriptures aren't using scientific precision. They're just talking the way people talk. Any more than a meteorologist on local news
is talking with scientific precision. He doesn't do that when he tells us what the times are for sunrise and sundown. They're just talking like normal people, just like the Bible does. Well, when my kids were little, we loved playing this game with them called Jenga. We'd build a tower, adding wood piece upon piece until it would fall down. The last
piece would make it fall down. But my younger boy was a little mischievous, and sometimes he would deliberately pull out the bottom piece in order to make the whole tower collapse. This reminds me of the inspiration of Scripture. It's foundational to every other teaching of the Bible. If we pull one teaching out that one about inspiration, then all the others will fall apart. It's why our affirmation of the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, of God's Word
is so vital. If we take it away, it puts our entire faith in jeopardy. Well, that is, I think, one of the most important teachings of the Bible that we must affirm the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. I hope that's something that you find helpful. And one of the questions that people have is, how do I know how I got the Bible all the way from divine inspiration to canonization to modern translations, all the copies,
all that stuff. How did it come about? Well, if you've wondered about that, that's what our current resource is about. Doctor Carl Laney has written the book called The Story of the Bible, and it takes you on the journey through the scriptures development. From divine inspiration to transmission to modern translations, Doctor Laney reveals how God worked through human authors, scribes, translators to give us his written word. This book will
deepen our confidence in the Bible's reliability. It will answer the questions you've always had about where our scriptures came from. And how do you get this? Well. We'd like to say thank you for a gift of any size. If you give a gift of any size, this is our current resource. We want to say thanks for giving and send you a copy of this. And, uh, it's the kind of gift that if you've never given to open line.
I think if you've had any wonders about the Bible, I think this would be a great time to give a gift, because you're going to love this resource. Just go to our website. Or call (888) 644-7122. And uh, when you when you call and talk with them and give your gift. Make sure to ask for a copy of Carlini's The Story of the Bible. We're going to talk to Lois now. Listening in Georgia. Hello, Lois. How can I help you today? Is Lois with us? Oh, there you are.
Lois. Yeah.
Yeah. Hi, Lois. How can I help you?
I've got another question for you.
Okay.
Okay. In Proverbs, wisdom is always referred to in the feminine pronoun. Except in chapter eight, starting at verse 12, it reverts to first person pronoun.
Mhm.
In first Corinthians, uh, wisdom is equated with Jesus. Jesus is wisdom.
Mhm. Okay.
Okay. So you I.
Think I understand what you're asking. Why is wisdom presented as female in the book of Proverbs in chapter eight? If Jesus is the, uh. Epitome, the incarnation of wisdom. Is that. Is that what you're asking?
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Okay. Well, first of all, there's some dispute as to whether wisdom is just being spoken of intrinsically as wisdom. Uh, which existed as long as God existed. Uh, I happen to believe that in Proverbs eight. This is a messianic passage. It's talking about wisdom. Uh, and and the Messiah embodies that wisdom.
I agree with that.
Yeah.
And, uh, the second thing about this, I would say, is that Uh, wisdom is just being presented in a figurative way, uh, and not necessarily a literal way. What I mean by that is, in Genesis 49 and revelation five, the Lord Jesus is presented as the lion of the tribe of Judah. I don't think he's a lion.
No.
Okay. Uh, and, uh, there are other places, uh, where the Lord Jesus is described as the chief cornerstone. I don't think he's made of stone. Uh, my my point is that there are many figures I believe in Proverbs eight. The figure here is that of Lady Wisdom embodied, which who would ultimately be embodied by the Messiah. And it's to contrast her with, uh, lady wisdom, with, uh, the adulterous woman that's found in Proverbs seven. So, uh, Wisdom,
which is God's wisdom. Uh, the embodiment of wisdom is the Messiah. But, uh, that's why it says a lot of versions say the Lord made me. Verse 22 about wisdom, but that that would be better, I think translated begot me or possessed me at the beginning of his creation. And so I think that would affirm that this is an eternal. If wisdom is eternal, then it must be deity. And because only deity is eternal, and therefore the Lord Jesus,
I think, embodies it, just as Colossians tells us. But it's being he's being presented here as Lady Wisdom, uh, not because of any kind of expectation that he would be female, but rather just like he's not expected to be a lion. These are figures of speech. Uh, and just as he's not expected to be a cornerstone, uh, those are figures that teach us things. So that's what I would say about that. Uh, and, uh, I hope that helps, Lois. Uh, that's, uh, that's the best I
can help you with. There's a really good article, by the way, about Proverbs eight in the Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy, a book I had the privilege of editing. It was written by Seth Postel. A really great article about that. Uh, we're going to come right back with more of your questions in just a moment. You're listening to Open Line with Michael Zelnick. We'll be right back.
Welcome back to Open Line. I'm so glad to be with you this Saturday morning as we're talking about the scriptures, this is our Bible study across America. My name is Michael Melnick, and I'm so grateful for the privilege of studying the word with you every Saturday morning we're going to go right to the phones. But before we do anything else, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate those of you who listen regularly. You're really part
of the family. Whenever I get to meet listeners in person, it's just such a privilege and such an encouragement to meet people who listen regularly. They say, you're my Saturday morning Bible study, and I'm grateful for that. I'm also grateful for people that say they believe in the program so much that they will give an occasional gift and get our current resource, which is the story of the Bible. And then there are some of you who I get to meet, about 800 plus of you who have become
kitchen table partners, people who give monthly. So Open Line can be on the air weekly. We so appreciate that. It means so much. Uh, I guess I was just wondering if there's some people who give occasionally who would say, you know what, I believe in this program so much, and it's helped enough people that I'd like to give monthly and become a kitchen table partner. I'm hoping you'll consider doing that. Uh, we really appreciate your generosity so
much in every way. I appreciate you just listening, but, uh, giving is way, way beyond. And we so appreciate that. If you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, one of the things that I like to do is I send a Bible study moment out every other week. Tricia McMillan and I produce it. Uh, and we send that Bible study moment out. It's a brief Bible study you get in your email. It's a it's designed exclusively for
our kitchen table partners. And, uh, another great benefit of being a kitchen table partner is if you commit to $30 a month or more, the result is that you can go to the Moody Publishers catalog and get everything in that catalog for 50% off. So I hope you'll consider that if you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, go to our website, openlibrary.org and you can become a kitchen table partner there. Or you can call. 888447122. Thanks a lot for doing that. Really appreciate it. We're going
to talk to Carol in Vermont. Uh, listening on some station there. I don't know which one it is, but I'm glad you're listening. Thanks for listening. How can I help you today, Carol?
Um, yes.
Thank you, doctor, for taking my call. I am a church secretary, and I had someone text into the church with a list of Bible verses that are potentially contradictory. And so I have one specifically that I wanted to ask you about. And I was wondering also if you could recommend a good resource resource for researching passages that sound contradictory? Um, so the verses are Exodus 3311 and John 118.
Team. Mhm.
Okay. Uh, Exodus 3311 says the Lord spoke with Moses. It says face to face, literally. It actually says mouth to mouth. That's that's what I'm going to pull up the, the Hebrew right now just to confirm that my memory is correct. But, uh, I think it's mouth to mouth is what it says. And, uh.
Okay.
I'm pulling up the Hebrew here. Uh. And, uh, here's what it says. Uh, that's important, I think. Uh, yeah. No, it says face to face. Uh. But that's actually a figure of speech for which is also, there's another one, mouth to mouth. Uh, that's used for the same idea of speaking directly, uh, without intermediaries. The way I'd compare it is it's described this way in numbers, chapter 12, verses six through eight. Now in numbers 12. This is when Aaron and Miriam got all huffy and they said, well,
we're prophets too, right? What's the big deal about Moses? Why don't people make a big deal about us? And the Lord called him out and he says, listen, this is what the Lord says to them. Listen to what I say. If there's a prophet among you from the Lord, I might. I make myself known to him in a vision. I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. I speak with him directly. And this is where it says mouth to mouth, openly and not in riddles. That's
where it's, uh, mouth to mouth. So what does it mean? That God speaks to Moses? face to face or mouth to mouth. It means that he speaks directly with Moses, that there's no vision, there's no dream, there's no intermediary. It's not that God sees us. Moses sees God's face. He doesn't. And the reason I say that is just the very point of of John one. Where it says in verse 18, uh, this is the question no one
has ever seen God. Well, Moses hasn't seen God. And there are other places as well, uh, where Moses, uh, for example, uh, it says in Exodus 3320, the very same passage, Exodus 3311, you mentioned, uh, in Exodus 3320, that very same passage that Moses wrote. It says, no one can see me and live. That's what God says, right? So would Moses contradict himself in the very same passage? I don't think so. And then in Exodus 24, verses ten and 11, it's when Moses and the elders see God, right? Uh,
it says that in Exodus 2410 and 11. I'll, I'll pull that same book. You know, just so you know, I'm I'm not I'm not trying to hide things from you, but, uh, it says, uh, Moses went up. This is verse nine with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of Israel's elders, and they saw the God of Israel. Huh? Beneath his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire stone and clear, as clear as the sky itself. God did not harm the Israelite nobles. They saw him, and they
ate and drank. And people say what? Well, clearly it was something like a vision, because it describes the pavement being like sapphire stone and and as clear as the sky itself. But then, if you take the word that's used twice, saw, it's the, the Hebrew word hasa. And that means to see in a vision. It's used that way clearly in numbers 24, verses four and 24. 16 it means to see in a vision. And so I think all it means is that Moses went up the mountain and they saw a vision of God. They didn't
literally look at God. They saw God in a vision. So now someone who sent you this, this is what I'm more interested in. Carol. Why did they send you that? Were they troubled or were they trying to trouble you?
Um, I think they're searching, and I want to give them good answers. But I have a feeling they did a Google search because they had a lot of these.
Yeah.
You know, what it is, is there's a lot of, uh, websites that are kind of atheistic and they try to point out alleged Contradictions in the Bible. There are bunches of books written about alleged contradictions, like this one that we just talked about, I wrote about in the 50 Most Important Bible Questions.
Okay.
But there's a really good book, I think probably the place to start if you're going to get one book that deals with it. Doctor Gleason Archer. Who was a professor for many years at Trinity. Uh, one of the great privileges I ever had was once teaching a Sunday School class. And Doctor Archer in retirement, was in the class. And I'm like, oh, I probably shouldn't.
Oh, wow.
I remember standing, uh, up in front of the people and say, is it true that Doctor Gleason Archer is in this class? And he raised his hand and said, Doctor Archer, would you please leave? I feel terribly intimidated, but he didn't. He was he was a lovely man. But anyway, he wrote a book called The Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties.
Okay, That sounds excellent.
And it's a it's a big fat book and it deals with, I think, every alleged contradiction that you'll ever find and shows how they can be harmonized and helped. So that's the one I would recommend. The encyclopedia, it's been revised now and it's the Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties. I find it very helpful. Okay.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate.
That. Yeah.
Thanks so much for calling, Carol. And you know what? I pray that you'll have good answers for this person. Uh, so as they're seeking, they'll find the Lord. Okay.
Agreed.
Thank you. Yeah.
Uh, we're going to talk to Galen in Ohio, listening on CRF. Welcome to Open Line. Galen. How can I help you?
Yes. Um, I want to know about 170 weeks of Daniel. What happened? The first 49 years, that'd be seven weeks. I counted up to 62 weeks. Was 434 years. I knew there was 400 years of silence.
And okay, you know, we don't want to confuse everybody. Let me just try and answer about those seven weeks, okay? For I've got a couple of things to say about that, Galen. First of all, uh, I'll be speaking on, believe it or not, the 70 weeks of Daniel Palm Sunday in prophecy tomorrow, uh, at the Discovery Church in Orlando, Florida. So if anyone's in the area of Orlando, uh, three services tomorrow morning. Uh, it's it's a wonderful church, um,
a number of campuses. So you could check that out online. Uh, tomorrow morning, uh, Discovery Church, Palm Sunday and Prophecy. I'll be speaking down there second, uh, in Daniel nine, it talks about seven weeks plus 62 weeks. And the question is obviously weeks. There refers to seven years. And it says from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah. There's seven weeks and 62 weeks, and that comes to 49. The first part of it,
it's a total of 69 weeks, 483. Years. The the word week referring to seven years here in this context. Well, why does he break it up? It's because the the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem is where the starting point is. And for that issuing of the decree until the completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, it took 49 biblical years. And so that's why he breaks it up seven weeks plus 62 weeks, making a total of 69 weeks or 483 biblical years. That's why it does it
that way. Some people get a little confused because it says after the the the seven weeks and the 62 weeks after the 62 weeks. But that's because it covers already the seven weeks now, the 62 weeks makes it 483 weeks in total. I hope that explained it for you a little bit. Galen, thanks a lot for your call. We're going to be right back with the mailbag. Trish is coming in with the Febc mailbag in just a moment, so stay with us. This is open line with Michael Riedel. Nick.
Welcome back to Open Line. My name is Michael Riedel. Nick, joining me right now for the Febc mailbag is Tricia McMillan. Far Eastern Broadcasting Company partners with Open Line to bring this program to you every week. And they, uh, partner with us to bring you the mailbag. And we're so appreciative of this ministry that brings the gospel to people all across the world, through media and also through personal touch.
I find that just so terrific. If you'd like to know more about how they are reaching the world through media and individuals ministering to people face to face, just go to their website. There's a link there to their podcast. It's called Until All Have Heard. I think you'll really enjoy listening to that. Um, Trish is joining me right now. Hey, Tricia. There's something I wanted to ask you about.
Yeah.
So we have, uh, this great conference every year for women right here on our campus. It's this year. It's April 12th, which is the first. That night is Passover. So I guess they're getting ready for Passover. They're going to gather. No.
I'm sure that's. I'm sure that's how they how they planned it. Yeah.
But, uh, it's called ready called because women are called of God to serve him, and I think it is an outstanding program. We've got some great speakers this year. Uh, Sandra Glenn, who is a professor at my alma mater, Dallas Seminary, and also Elizabeth Woodson, who is actually she also went to to DTS. It's a DTS conference, apparently.
It does sound like it.
Yeah, it doesn't it, but it's a moody conference. Yes. And we've got there's great workshops. Have you ever done, uh, one of these conferences?
I have not, because they're on Saturdays and I'm usually at open line for those. However, my sister has done the last several, and she has really enjoyed them. Um, they, they the breakout sessions and the discussions. And last year she was telling me that there were these breakout groups. Um, there were these groups that they that you could voluntarily be a part of that were, um, that kind of went throughout the year and they would kind of check in periodically with each other. Um, and so it was
a it went beyond just this one day conference. And I think, are you able to attend it online as well as in person?
I think so. Yeah, it's online and in person options. It's a really terrific, uh, program. I think, you know, if I were a woman, I wouldn't want to miss this. Yeah, I think that I try to sneak in sometimes Saturdays afterwards, but they won't let me in the back. I'm sorry. I tried a wig one year. They. They saw. Right? No, I didn't really know.
There's great Bible teachers. It's a great time to connect with other women, worship with other women who are ministering in their churches, in their homes, um, in their communities, and be able to connect with other women who are like minded and also want to grow in their knowledge of Christ.
Yeah. And their their service. Yeah. And their ability to serve him. Well, I think it's a great program. And if you want to know more about it, uh, whether you want to join us here on the campus in Chicago, which I think is always better, uh, or online, just go to Moody conferences. Dot com. Moody conferences.com. And there'll be a link there for the called conference and it's led by Doctor Pam McRae, who's uh, she and her husband Bob are dear friends of mine and.
Professors at Moody.
They're professors of Moody. We've taught here just about the same amount of time. Uh, she's an outstanding teacher. She's going to be one of the plenary speakers as well. So don't miss.
It. And I will add a link to our website. It's not there yet and I'm on the air, so I can't do it right this second. But I will add a link to our website as well if you can't remember the website.
Great Moody conferences.com. Okay, uh, we've got the mailbag here.
All right. We do have the mailbag. And our first question is from Deborah in Ohio, listens to CRF. Are the two loaves of leavened bread used in the wave offering in the Feast of Weeks in Leviticus, foreshadowing of or representative of the Jews and Gentiles both being part of the church later. I've read differing views on this.
Yeah, there's a lot of people who want to say that, uh, you know, the two made into one? Uh, honestly, you wouldn't read that in the book of Leviticus. In Leviticus 23. And see that. And the reason is in Ephesians three where it talks about, uh, the, the church.
Mhm.
Uh, this is what this is something I think that's important to remember that the Old Testament does indeed talk about Gentiles getting saved. There's no question about it. But when it talks about the mystery of the Messiah, the mystery of the church, that Jew and Gentile are co-heirs, members of the same body, partners as verse six says, verse five says this. This was not made known to people in other generations, as it is now revealed by
his holy apostles and prophets. So I don't think there were even types, pictures, patterns of what the church would be in the Old Testament. Uh, that that was a new a secret that was revealed and given to us through the apostles. And so I don't think it really points to that, although it's a nice illustration, so to speak.
It is. It is a nice picture. Um, and I think so as a Gentile, so much emphasis. Emphasis seems to be put on unleavened bread that I don't think of there being leavened bread. Yeah, very often, because anytime it's mentioned it's like unleavened bread. But there would have been.
There's two loaves.
Leavened bread.
Yeah.
That's what makes unleavened bread. Unleavened bread is you know, it's mentioned because of the speed that they had to leave Egypt. They wouldn't have time to let the bread rise. They just needed to cook it. And so that's why unleavened cakes were used.
That was not the normal.
Know people ate regular bread. Yeah.
Okay. They would normally live in bread. Okay. Yeah. All right. Um, Jeff in Washington listens to KMP. Book of numbers. Gives a lot of detail on sacrificing animals in numbers 29, the Festival of Booths lays out various offerings to the Lord. And there seems. And he added up how many? So there's a lot of animal sacrificed. Were these animals burned? Um, burned to ash? Or were they shared among the Levites? Among the people? Like what? What happened to the meat
itself when it was after it was sacrificed? I think my my thought is always when we talk about this with Jephthah's daughter, it's like not to bring up that, but but I hear sacrifice, I think almost like burned and decimated, like there's nothing left. However, I don't know if that's the case, and that's just my assumption because that happens in one particular case.
Well, that's because the whole burnt offering.
Yeah.
But they're not all whole burnt offerings.
Okay.
Um. And so now I didn't add them up recently, but when I added them up, they were 70. Uh, and the rabbis have always recognized 70 bowls. Yeah. 70 sacrifices. Yeah.
Okay.
And, uh, the idea was that the 70 sacrifices, because they go on and on, like on on the first day, 13 young bulls, two rams, 14 lambs a year old and so forth. Uh, and then on the second day, 12 young bulls and so forth. I really need to recount them.
But but it's a lot of animals.
But it's not just a lot. But the rabbis say they they're linked to the 70 nations of the earth that are mentioned in Genesis and that there's 70 sacrifices. And at this point to the Feast of Booths being the day when the whole world, all the nations, will know the Lord. And that's what happens in Zechariah 14 when you have, uh, the messianic kingdom, when Jesus is reigning.
And it says that the one holiday that all the nations will have to celebrate is the Feast of Booths, because they'll all have to come to Israel to celebrate the Feast of Booths. I think that's that's kind of interesting, don't you think? But, uh, as for I think that these sacrifices would have been, uh, eaten by the Offerers and the priests.
Okay.
Yeah, but that is not true of the burnt offering.
The whole burnt.
Offering and Leviticus. Uh. That's different. That's that was a complete offering.
Okay, but for the ones that were just sacrificed, the meat didn't go to waste.
No, it was the.
Let me rephrase. An offering to the Lord does not go to waste. No, but.
But there. There was a meal offering.
There was a meal. Okay. Yeah. Okay.
That's it.
And then they would have the bones.
I think they would take the unclean parts out to the. There was a place outside the camp where the unclean parts that could not be eaten, the intestines, things like that would be burned up.
Okay. And then you would have the bones left over. Just make a pile of bones.
Uh, yeah. I guess, you know, I'm. I wasn't there.
But.
That's what I'm guessing.
But they have found at some archaeological digs, they have found piles of bones.
Right. When you when you go to the site of the tabernacle in Shiloh or Shiloh, as you would say. Mhm. Um, they've actually found sacrificial bones and it was, that's where the, the Tabernacle stood for about 400 years. And they actually have located the spot. That's the exact dimensions of where the tabernacle would have stood. Wow.
So that's amazing.
Yeah. Okay, let's do another question.
All right. Um, next question is from Douglas.
No. Let's do.
Chris.
Let's do.
Chris. Chris.
Okay, because I can answer it fast.
Okay. Chris in Michigan listens to Wgme. My father, who does claim to be a believer, is sick from cancer and is dying. But he's also fascinated with UFO shows and aliens and their existence and spends much of his time watching these shows. It concerns me because I feel like it's a stumbling block. What would you say to someone so consumed with this? I don't want him believing something that's incorrect.
Well, it's not an essential doctrine to believe in UFOs or not. You know, maybe God created other worlds. People think I don't, but, uh, you know, C.S. Lewis wrote science fiction trilogy, and, uh, there were people on, uh, Venus that were like Adam and Eve on that.
In his stories.
In his story. Yeah. So, you know, I think if you're dying of cancer, your dad's dying of cancer. And this is something that he enjoys, you know, don't worry, as long as he knows the Lord and believes that Jesus died for his sins and rose again and is trusting in him. I would say, don't be perturbed about this. That's what I would, I would, I would just let it go.
If you if you are um, if you are not.
Dying of.
Cancer, you're not. Yeah. Like, if you're just going about your business and this becomes, I guess, at what point, you know, does it become that becomes all consuming?
Well, I would.
Say know that you're you're focusing everything on that and it almost becomes an idol, as it were.
I would say that the best thing to do is to focus on the scriptures and and what the what the Bible tells us is plain. And so that that's just a good thing. We shouldn't become obsessed with anything that takes us away from that. Okay. But, uh, you know, I wouldn't worry about his dad if I were you.
All right. Thank you.
Thanks for bringing those in. We're going to be right back with more of your calls right here on Open Line. That was Tricia McMillan. I'm Michael Ray Melnick. Stay with us. And we're back. My name is Michael Ray Melnick. So glad to be with you this Saturday morning talking about the scriptures. Your questions. Really appreciate it. If you can't call, you know, what you could always do is you can
go to our website, openline radio. Org and you can post a question there where it says Ask Michael a question. There are other things you can see there as well. One of the things you can do is you can scroll down to the scroll on that page, and you'll see a link that says, uh, there's a link to my personal web page. I think that's kind of cool
that you can go there. One of the things you'll see if you go to my personal web page is that we're going to be doing a cruise in the Caribbean in December of next year of 2020 5th December. Getting out of the cold weather, going to the warm weather and studying the Bible together. Morning and evening. Worshiping together morning and evening. I think you'll like it. So check that out when you go to, uh, to my personal web page, uh, which is linked there at Openline radio.org. Also, uh,
this is important. Many people ask me if Jewish people still need to hear the good news of Jesus, even though they are God's chosen people. Well, of course, all people, Jew or Gentile, need to put their trust in Jesus. And Doctor Al Mohler has written a booklet that says, yes, Jewish people need to hear the gospel. Chosen People Ministries is offering this book. It's called To the Jew First in the 21st century. And in it, Doctor Al Mohler,
who's the president of Southern Baptist Seminary. He argues that bringing the gospel to the Jewish people is the best example of our faithfulness to the truth. If you'd like a free copy of this really helpful book, go to openlibrary.org. Again, that's our website, Openline radio.org. Scroll down and you'll see a link that says A Free gift from Chosen People Ministries, and you'll be able to get your copy of To
the Jew First in the 21st century. Okay, we're going to go to the phones and talk to Dan, uh, in Tampa, Florida, listening on keys. Welcome to Open Line, Dan. How can I help you?
Yes. Uh uh uh, doctor, I, uh, have been studying Romans nine for a while now, and as I study it, I couldn't really grasp everything that's there. Of course. What can you completely grasp of God? Uh, nothing. Anyway, I got the concordance out and, uh, started reading Romans nine, verse by verse with the concordance, and and what I, I finally discovered is this is this word, uh, the chosen based on noble and ignoble vessels. Um, as as it's described, the chosen, they go all the way back
to before time began. So as I as I looked at this and studied it through the concordance, I actually found.
Well, you know what? I don't know what you're talking about when you say you studied it with the concordance. What do you mean by that?
Well, um, the concordance, if if you go to Romans chapter nine, in the concordance.
Uh, I know, I know what a concordance is. What are you doing? Are you looking up all the usages of every word? Is that what you're doing?
Well, no, I probably have it wrong, then. It's not the concordance. It's, um. Um. I can't think of the word.
Commentary.
But. Yeah. Commentary. I'm sorry. And so, uh, the commentary actually sends you all over the Bible on every verse. You can just go through it. Okay.
Okay. You know what? I think the best thing to do is, instead of telling me about your study, can you tell me what your question is? Is that okay?
Yes. Yes, sir. Uh, my question is this based on, uh, the chosen being done at the foundation of time with God where he actually says that he knew.
Okay. And your question is.
Yeah. And my question is this. Uh, that being the truth, um, Christ died for the sins of the world. But the problem that it's not a problem, but the thing that I'm seeing here is, even though he died for all the sins of the world, he actually didn't really die for every person because there is a chosen people that he died actually for. And as I find out in the commentary, even the chosen, it says, cannot come to Christ unless they hear the gospel first. And so so I'm I'm not in.
Okay. I think I think I think what you're asking is, um, that did Christ only die for the elect? And, uh, that. Does everyone get to hear the gospel?
No.
Uh uh, no. no, not that specifically. Uh, but but the real absolute root question that I'm asking here is, is everyone born from from Adam and Eve till the end of time? Are all those people going to be able to be saved based on, uh, noble vessels and the chosen of God from the foundation?
So are you asking if there's universalism that all are saved?
No.
Okay.
You know what? Let me just do my best to explain what I understand about election. Okay. Uh, I think it's really important. Uh, now, now, Dan, the Bible says that we are chosen before the foundation of the world. We're predestined to be trophies of his grace. That's all from Ephesians one. It says this similar things in Romans nine. Uh, I really believe that. And yet, one of the things that I see in Scripture in, uh, in, uh, Romans chapter one, is that no one who doesn't believe is
without excuse. Um, and what what that means is in, in Romans 120, it says for his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. Romans 119 and 20 or 120 as I guess, good, good enough 120. Here's my point that the the the
Word of God has gone out. The revelation have gone out either through general revelation, which, if people respond to God, will give them more special, direct revelation in the sense of a person coming and proclaiming the gospel or, uh, they will, uh, hear the gospel from others or from other media. That's that's what I would say happens. But no, everyone doesn't, uh, hear the gospel exactly the same way, but there's a general call for salvation. Well, thanks for listening, everyone.
That's the first hour. Keep listening. There's a second hour coming up on most of these stations during the break. Check out our web page, open Line radio.org has all the links you're looking for, including how to become a kitchen table partner or get our current resource. The Bible study across America will continue in just a moment, so stay with us. Open line with Doctor Michael Melnick is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. We'll be right back.