Hello, friends. Welcome to Open Line with Doctor Michael Clinic. My name is Michael Ray clinic. I'm the academic dean and professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. Thanks for joining me at the radio kitchen table for our Bible study across America. Normally you'd call to talk with me about the scriptures, but today's program is different. It's recorded, so please don't call. You can learn more about Open Line or even hear past programs.
You can connect to our social media pages and fill out your Bible question for me to answer at our next program by going to our website Openline radio. Org that's openline. Org I hope you'll check that out. But now it's time to get yourself a cup of coffee and grab your Bible for a very special Open Line in 2023. We took Open Line on the road to Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, as part of a Chosen People Ministries conference called Finding Shalom Peace in
a Troubled World. Now our world is still troubled, and that's why it's so important to keep studying the scriptures, to see how the gospel speaks into all areas of our lives. Seeing how the SA Shalom, the Prince of Peace, can bring peace to a hurting and troubled world. What we need to do is keep studying the scriptures, peace for our own souls, peace with God, peace with one another, and around us is centered in Jesus, the Messiah, the
Prince of Peace. At the conference, I answered the questions of the live audience there, and we met a few of the people who were involved in the conference. So before we get to these questions, I want to let you know about our current resource. It's called survey of the New the New Testament by Paul Benware. Sometimes Bible reading can feel like looking at a bunch of puzzle pieces, not quite sure how they fit together. But at Openline we want you to see the whole picture. And that's
where survey of the New Testament comes in. Paul Benoit's clear writing style helps you step, helps you step back and see how all 27 books fit together. You'll discover the themes that unite Scripture and the distinctive contribution of each book that the that the New Testament makes to our faith. You can request a copy of survey of the New Testament with a gift of any size by visiting our website openlibrary.org, or by calling 886447122. Well, now it's time you can join me as we travel back
to 2023. To our first question asked at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
I'm Walt from Bloomington, Minnesota. And what does it mean that Jesus is God's begotten son? He's not created.
Mhm. Yeah. He's definitely not created. He's the eternal Son of God. I believe the concept of begotten ness comes, uh, in Scripture from Psalm two, in Psalm two, a messianic psalm which predicts the coming of the Messiah. It says, uh, that the Lord said to me, uh, you are my son this day I have begotten you. And it sounds like, oh, I've given birth to you, or you began. However, it's
a royal psalm. It's about an enthronement of a king. And, uh, if you look at the ancient Near East in Egypt, in various places, when Pharaoh became king, when they were enthroned. And this is important as we're listening, uh, today is the day that Charles King Charles is being, uh, Crown. Right. Coronet. It's his coronation day. Well, in the ancient Near East, it was declared that a person, when he, uh. When he had his coronation, he was declared the Son of God.
But the word that was used was I've begotten you. He was declared the Son of God and begotten of God. It doesn't really mean I gave birth to you because he was obviously born, but rather declared the Son of God. It's an enthronement term. It indicates coronation. Uh, and particularly deity. So, uh, in that culture to say, uh, you're the begotten of God, it means you are the eternal God. You have just taken your throne. And of course, when you think about
the throne of Jesus, he. When is he going to take his throne? He's taking his throne right now. He's seated at the right hand of the father. He will take his throne on the throne of David in the future. So. And in the past. He's forever the Son of God. This is an eternal situation. He's been on the throne of God forever. So therefore, this is sort of an eternal statement. He's he is eternally enthroned as God, God
the Son. And so that is the concept it has actually has to do with coronation as king and enthronement as the Son of God, rather than giving birth to him. Okay. Of course, that makes him I love at Psalm two at the end. This is really an important concept since he is the son at the end of Psalm two. It says this, uh, kiss or pay homage to the son, lest he become angry. And you will, and you perish in your rebellion. That sounds bad, right? If you're. But
then it says. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him. There's this great offer that we can put our trust in him. Take refuge in him. Find protection in him. And that's how we will bring joy and happiness into our lives. Blessedness into our lives. So it's not enough to know that he's the eternally enthroned Son of God. It's important to know that we need to take refuge in him first, by putting our faith in him, and then by living within his, uh, walking with him
as our King. So that's Psalm two.
Yes, I'm Linda from Ely, Minnesota, and I've been wondering, when did Moses write the Pentateuch? Was he in Sinai, the wilderness? Did he have some of that knowledge when he lived with Jethro? Um, just kind of wondering how he put that all together.
Yeah. Me too. Uh, you know, why did you think he had to get the 70 elders there with him and. And that whole system of tens of. Because he was so busy writing the Bible. You know, I write books, and I know I can't find any time. I can't imagine what it would be like to be writing books in the wilderness, right? Uh, people knock on his door. Moses, we have a question. He says, leave me. It's my writing time. Uh, I think that he probably was writing.
There are different segments when he was writing, when he had direct revelation, and he would write those things down. Also, there were probably other times when, uh, he had resources of some sort, things that he may have remembered from his upbringing, from, uh, Jochebed. Uh, you know, he was raised in a in a nice Jewish home, even though he was adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter. So he must have had some materials that he had from that, I think oral traditions that he had received from, uh, his
family about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And then he wrote these down as they were traveling. I think there was a song by Keith Green that, you know. So you want to go back to Egypt? Do you remember that song? It was a long time ago. But he says what? Moses sitting around writing the Bible. Well, that's exactly right. That's what he was doing. So as he found time, he wrote, I think, different segments. And by the end of his wilderness wanderings, that's when he put it together.
And one of the things that's really important when we read the Pentateuch, this is not just the Daily Journal of Moses. Uh, it's really clear that there is structure in the Torah, in the in the Pentateuch, the Five Books of Moses. It's really one book. And it's kind of interesting because it follows a structural pattern. There's story or narrative followed by a poem, followed by an epilogue. And it follows this structure four times through the Pentateuch.
So you can go Genesis one through 48. That's the story of creation and the patriarchs. And then chapter 49, you've got this poetic piece by Jacob when he blesses the 12, uh, 12 sons. And then chapter 50, The Death of Jacob and Joseph. And that's the epilogue, and that's the structure. And then with Exodus, you start the narrative again. You get the the Exodus narrative, the story of the departure from Egypt. You have the Song of Moses, and then you have traveling to Sinai as an epilogue.
And this continues through the Pentateuch. So you have narrative poem epilogue. And why is this important? It shows that Moses took all these materials that he was writing, and structured them in a very clear way to lead us to the end of the book, which has a double poem by Moses, the two songs of Moses, and then the epilogue, which is the the, the death of Moses at the end, and the reminder to keep looking for the prophet like Moses. So that's that's the structure of the book. Okay.
Thank you.
Um.
Hi, I'm Aaron from Rogers, Minnesota. Question is from Zephaniah three nine. What is the pure language or pure? Pure speech? Could it be Hebrew?
Yeah. It's a language of heaven, don't you think? Yeah. Uh uh, I often wonder what was the original language before the. The Tower of Babylon? Right where they all were broken up. I'm guessing they were all speak in Hebrew, because that's what Adam and Eve were speaking in, in Genesis, right? Actually, we don't know. That's how Moses wrote it. I don't know what the pure speech is. Uh, I have a lot of jokes that Russian Jews used to tell. I won't tell them on the radio about about learning Hebrew
versus speaking Russian. I won't repeat them. But the they were so much oppression in Russia. They were really looking forward to the language of heaven in the land of Israel. And so when they were trying to get out. So, uh, yeah, I, I don't know what the language of heaven is, but, uh, or the original language, the IR language. I would guess it may may have sounded a lot like Hebrew if it wasn't Hebrew. Okay. Yeah. Hey, we're going to take
a break here. And when we come back, we're going to take more of these questions from this wonderful live audience here in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. My name is Michael Redlich. This program is called Open Line, and it's our Bible study across America. So keep listening because there's more questions coming up straight ahead. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Open Line with Michael Riedel. We're pre-recorded today, so
don't call in. We're listening to a program from 2023 when Open Line traveled to Minnesota at a Chosen People Ministries conference called Finding Shalom in a Troubled World, hosted by Wooddale Church. Let's listen in.
I'm David Johnson. I actually know the answer. I wrote this for others. What is a completed Jew? Okay, and there's two of them sitting at the table.
Okay. I am a completed Jew. Uh, that's a term that some people use. It's actually a reactionary term. Uh, because so often Jewish people have been called who come to faith in Jesus. In Yeshua, we are called converted Jews. And the problem with the word converted is for Jewish people. That means that I've converted from being Jewish, and I have now become a Gentile. And that's not true. I will always be Jewish. In fact, my faith is now
complete because Jewish people are looking forward to. I was raised to look forward to the coming of the Messiah, and now I understand the Messiah has come. My faith is complete. I've put my trust in Yeshua. I once heard someone say, I've converted from my sin, not from being Jewish, and it's no sin to be a Jew. So, uh, that that's, uh, one, one approach. And some people call some call Messianic Jews, call ourselves Messianic Jews. Uh, some
call ourselves fulfilled Jews. Some people say we are Jewish followers of Yeshua. There's all sorts of terms that we use, but the term that we stay away from, if we can, is converted Jews, because that is different. It when Jewish people hear it, it's it says something different than when other people hear it. We hear we cease to be Jews and that will never be the case. God made us Jewish and our destiny as Jews. That makes us, uh, complete in our in our faith is faith in the
Jewish Messiah, Jesus. And so that's that's why we use those other terms.
May I put in a plug for Marty.
Yeah. Put Marty gets us here.
I've heard him many times at community Bible study with Tom Berkowitz. Always dragged him in here. And I've got several CDs, and I'll be shocked if he doesn't have CDs to sell out there.
Okay, there we go. They're going to sell CDs for Marty gets. Marty gets is my friend everyone listening on the radio? Marty gets is my friend for, oh, 35, 36 years. And I was just noting that he'd never listened to Open Line before. And now this is my really good friend, is all I'm saying. Okay. So anyway, thank you, Marty, for doing that. And thanks for the plug.
We're going to go away. I'm not getting a commission.
Okay, good. Thank you.
Hi, I'm Nancy from Waukesha, Wisconsin. So I guess this is another language question here. But in John 21 when Peter and Jesus are talking, Jesus asks Peter, do you love me? And the Greek words are agape and phileo, denoting different levels of love. In the original language, you know, maybe Hebrew or Aramaic. What would those words be, do you think for agape?
And let me just say that the only thing we have to interpret are the Greek words. And so I am a firm believer that we ought not to try to go back to the Aramaic words that might have been spoken that happened in the events there. But what what is inspired? What is inspired? Revelation is the written text. You know, it doesn't say that those events were inspired. It says all Scripture is inspired or God breathed. So
we're going to stick to those words. Now, what I will tell you is this in John 21, uh, this is actually one of my favorite passages because it gives hope to all failures like me, because Peter really failed. How many times did he deny the Lord? Three times. Peter always had to do everything in threes. You know, how many times did he have to be told to eat later on when he had that vision of the unclean animals three times. He's just a three time kind of guy. And it took a lot to get into
his head. Well, anyway, he denied the Lord three times. And then three times he's asked, do you love me? And each time he says, yes, Lord, you know I love you, I love you. And a lot of people want to make a big deal that the Lord is using the word agape or agapao, because that means unconditional love. And Peter answers with the word phileo, which means friendship, love. However, that is what those words meant in classical Greek. By the time you get to Koine Greek, the language of
the New Testament. They are absolute synonyms. There is no difference. And so all those sermons you may have heard about agape versus Phileo. They were misinterpreting those words. Wow. Uh, but there is significance because three times the Lord asks Peter, do you love me? And three times he's given an opportunity to affirm his love for the Lord. After his three denials, remember what he does. He's he's seen the risen Lord. He says, I'm going back to where I used to be. Uh, and he he goes back to
being a fisherman. I'm going fishing. It leads the other disciples with him. Remember, he was the one that Lord said to him, I will make you fishers of men. And now he's going back to being a fisher of fish. And the Lord looks at him and says, do you love me more than these? A lot of people mistakenly understand him to be pointing at the other disciples. Do you love me more than them? Does that sound like like the Lord Jesus? I'm going to compare your love
to the other disciples. No, he's pointing at the fishing boat. At the nets. Do you love me more than all these? Accouterments of fishing. And three times Peter gets to say I love you. And then each time he's commissioned. Feed my sheep. Tend my sheep. Shepherd my sheep. What is he doing? He's restoring him to ministry after his great failure. That's. It's a great passage. But it has nothing to do with the words agapao and phileo.
Thank you so much.
I'm Stephanie from Maple Plain, Minnesota. I have a family member who struggles to accept that God designed a system or a reality where we are destined to be born sinful and we must ask to be saved. He likens it to throwing a baby in the pool and expecting them to ask for help. The idea of our free will being essential for a love relationship doesn't satisfy him because he says, God set it up that way, and he gave me my rational mind to question this and
to struggle. I think that he hasn't been overwhelmed by God's good goodness so he can trust God's sovereignty and his plan. And so I pray for him. But do you have an answer for this confusion that he has?
Just clarify again, what's his objection that that.
God set up this system. So I'm born sinful and I have to accept forgiveness or request forgiveness. He agrees. It's a free gift. Salvation is offered to us. But why did God set it up this way?
Did you ever think that God didn't set it up this way?
I don't know.
Well, think about it. He created Adam and Eve, told them. Don't eat from this tree over here. You can eat from every other one. And they opted not to listen. And that's how the system got started. So God's intention was for them to obey him. However, they didn't. And as a result, we all sin in Adam. He. He's our our head. He's our leader. He's the one that
voted for us to be sinful. Now, I'm not saying that God didn't know that would happen, because the scriptures say that Jesus is the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. So before the first brick was laid in this world, the Lord knew what they were going to do and knew he was going to plan a plan a redemption, uh, for us. But, you know, it was not his desired will for Adam and Eve to sin.
And yet they did. And as a consequence, we sin. Um, but, you know, I guess it's all a matter of perspective. If you're going to think. I don't want to believe this. I don't want to trust in this, we'll say, oh, boy, this is a bad plan that God has set up. However, if we think I am desperate and I am drowning, and God has given me a life preserver here, and he has planned this life preserver from eternity past, and
he wants me to grasp Ahold of it. Uh, and he's going to even as and this is what's really amazing is he opens our hearts to believe, just like he did with Lydia in Acts 16. Uh, how is it, uh, that that's how as, uh, there was a movie I saw, Count of Monte Cristo. How was this a bad plan? It seems like a good plan. However, I know the response. Well, if God has to open my opened my heart for me to believe this. He needs to give me the enablement,
divine enablement to believe. Then, just like in Romans nine, well, why does he still find fault with those who don't believe? Who can resist his will? And I don't have the answer for that. When I read that in Romans nine, the very first time, I was like, wow, I'm really going to get the answer I've always wanted. And then then the next verse says, who are you, O man,
to talk back to God? And the answer God has about his sovereign plan for opening hearts and choosing and predestining and all that is, uh, don't talk back to God. That's it.
And so pride comes into play.
Yeah. Yeah. But God opens our hearts and we trust in him. And it's sort of a mystery, I believe how those two factors work together. Our responsibility to believe. But God opening our hearts and enabling us to believe. Uh, but I think, amazingly, you know, maybe I would suggest for your friend, have him read The Lion, the witch the witch and the wardrobe. Uh, I just listened to.
I recently listened to The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe on Audible books, and the reason I did it is because some students told me that they think of my wife and I on campus as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and so I thought I got it, I got to go back and listen to that. But the thing is, when you hear Aslan's willingness to take Edmund's sin and, and go through that humiliation and take the punishment that
he deserved, I don't believe that. You know, the deep magic is that we are owed to Satan, the ransom to Satan. But I just would say to your friend, look at what the Lord Jesus did, and maybe take it out of the Gospels and put it in the Chronicles of Narnia, and maybe he'll get a grasp about God's great love for him for this plan. Okay.
Thank you.
Um.
Hi. My name is Kevin from Austin, Minnesota. I'd like to know how far different are the original boundary lines of the Promised Land from the modern day borders of Israel?
They're really different. I can't give you miles, but I will tell you, uh, the biblical boundaries as found in Genesis 15, as you go north, they encompass, uh, Lebanon, Syria and most of Iraq. So that's how far it goes up to the north. It goes down just about where it is in the south. It encompasses Gaza, which is, uh, no longer governed by Israel, but it goes all the way to the river of Egypt or the Wadi el Arish, down by El Arish, Egypt, in the northern part of
the Sinai Peninsula. And that's by Kadesh Barnea. That that's as you head eastward. So I wish I could show you a map on the radio, but I can't. But, uh, it goes from there, and it encompasses all the way up north. It's much bigger than than what Israel ever has been, even in the times of David and Solomon, which tells me that one of the reasons we have to have confidence that God's going to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant is so that those boundaries can be fulfilled which
have never been fulfilled. So when God, God promised to Abraham a land seed blessing, all those things must come true. When the Lord Jesus returns, he will establish a kingdom with those boundaries for Israel. Okay. Okay, we're going to go. One more question. Let's see if I can answer it.
Good morning, I am Carmen, I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. I'm a Texas midget.
Oh.
And my question is, God has chosen the Jewish people as his special people, the chosen ones. And I was wondering, after hearing the different testimonies that I've heard the last couple of days. How can we pray for the Jewish people from our heart, not just, you know, Lord, bring them to salvation, but to really pray?
I would say Romans ten one is the only example of praying, evangelistic praying in the whole Scripture. And it's for the Jewish people. It says where Paul says, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they might be saved. So we can pray for God to open hearts among Jewish people. We can pray for God to raise up a genuine, godly followers of Yeshua of Jesus, to be near them, that they would have opportunities to talk, that they would take. They would be bold,
yet sensitive when they talk. Those are all specific prayer requests that we can pray for the salvation of the Jewish people today in this time of antisemitism. We can pray for the God's protection and preservation of the Jewish people. Uh, we can also pray for ourselves, that we would meet Jewish people and God would give us opportunity to boldly yet sensitively speak with them, and that God would open their hearts. That's what I would say. Well, we're going
to take a break here. When we come back, we're going to talk a little bit with Mitch Glazer, president of Chosen People Ministries. I might ask him that very same question, but we'll see. Uh, my name is Michael Ray. We're in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, at Wooddale Church at the Chosen People Ministries Finding Shalom conference. Stay with us. More questions coming up straight ahead. We're so glad that Febc partners with Openline, with Doctor Michael Melnick bringing the Febc
mailbag every week. Learn how Far East Broadcasting Company is taking Christ to the world at Febc on their weekly podcast. Until all have heard with Ed Cannon. You'll hear stories of lives changed by Messiah all across the globe. Again, you can hear the podcast when you visit febc. Org. That's Febc. Welcome back to a pre-recorded open line with Michael Redlich. Open line was part of a Chosen People
Ministries conference in Eden Prairie, Minnesota in 2023. Before we get to the questions, I want to talk with our guest, the sponsor of Open Line and this conference, uh, the president of Chosen People Ministries. But before that, I wanted to remind you that Bob from Orlando. This is something you may not have heard. Uh, he became one of
Open Line's kitchen table partners. And I am so grateful for Bob because, uh, and all our kitchen table partners, they are people who commit to give a gift once a month to help keep open line on the air. Once a week, we talk about your questions about the Bible. And as a result of that, the decision to decision to become a kitchen table partner, Bob will start receiving a special digital Bible study, an audio Bible study that
he'll get in his email every other week. It's something I prepare exclusively for kitchen table partners, and they get to have about a 5 to 7 minute Bible study
in their email every other week. It's a real great joy for me to do that, and I'm grateful that we have that special time in the word together, and just wanted you to know that if you're finding open line helpful in your walk with the Lord, if you're growing in your understanding of Scripture and how to live according to the scriptures, uh, then maybe you'd consider becoming a kitchen table partner too. All you have to do
is call, uh, open line number. Here's the number. Uh, 88864471228886447122. Or go to open line radio.org. And you'll see the link there. I hope you'll consider that. And now I'm going to introduce my friend Doctor Mitch Glazer, president of Chosen People Ministries. I'm not going to give you a big introduction. I'm just going to say thank you. 11 years now, you have had an open line underwritten by Chosen People Ministries from the very first week we were on the air. And I want to say thank you.
You're welcome. Michael, it's been more than a privilege.
Thank you. Now, why in the world would you do that? That's the question I have always wondered.
Well, it helps us raise money.
Yeah, I know.
But. The main reason we did it was because you asked. And because I love you. And you've been my friend and co-laborer in ministry for many, many years. But to have a Jewish believer as the voice for answering Bible questions that Christians have, and knowing that biblically and theologically, you would make sure that people understood the important role that Israel and the Jewish people play in God's ongoing plan.
And you would emphasize Jewish evangelism and all the things that we love and have shared together for so many years was just like a little bit of a dream, Michael. I mean, to have you as our voice was just fabulous. And so we praise God for Moody and we praise God for you.
Well, I I'm really grateful. And, you know, I think one of the most amazing things is moody and, you know, this, but maybe our audience doesn't. I am the fifth Jewish studies professor at Moody, so that must be like ten years. But no, I've been there 30 years. But the Jewish Studies program at Moody Bible Institute just this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary, 100 years of Jewish studies. So it wasn't really hard to think about Moody having those themes.
Moody Bible Institute has had a great heart for Jewish people, always concerned theologically. In fact, when it's it's a fairly small major. People don't know that. They think there are hundreds and hundreds of Jewish studies students. But it's a it's a small major. It's had a great impact for Jewish ministry, I believe, as you look at the people.
But when I started counting how many missionaries who have worked with chosen people went to the Moody Jewish Studies program. I stopped counting at 200.
Oh, wow. Wow. Yeah, it's had a great impact. And I'm really grateful to God that I got to play a little part of it. But when I interviewed, the provost said to me that he's the head of education at Moody. He said this would be a good time to shut down the program. Did you ever wonder why we're not? And I'm like, ah, no. I think, why am I here for this interview? And he said, because we have a a biblical, theological and practical commitment to reaching Jewish people.
Absolutely. And it was wonderful to be part of the celebration at the missions conference, to have a whole missions conference at Moody Bible Institute, dedicated and focused on Jewish missions, was one of the great privileges of my life.
Yeah, it was it was great. Loved it. Thank you for being there.
And the food was good.
The food was really good. So now it's the first time at Moody. I think they had Jewish food for things. But anyway.
Bagels for all.
Bagels for all. for all. Exactly. Let's talk about this conference. It's called finding Shalom in a troubled World.
Yes.
Why would you choose this theme?
Because we're living in a very fractured, divided wall world right now. Unfortunately, it's also impacted the church and it's global. We just did a conference like this in the UK because they're having the similar problems and also in Australia. And I think that the answer to our lack of unity, the answer to our being divided within ourselves and within
our families and churches is the Prince of Peace. And so we want to focus on the peace that we can have, not only peace in our own soul, but of course, peace with God, peace with one another, and peace within the greater body of Messiah. Because that unity was supposed to be, according to John 17, was supposed to be a testimony of the very nature of God.
And so it's vitally important that we have peace with ourselves and peace with one another, so that the world can see that God is indeed true and Jesus is the Messiah.
Yeah, I'm really excited. I get to preach tonight on one of my favorite passages at this conference. It's, uh, I'm speaking on Isaiah nine one through seven about finding peace or shalom through the Prince of Peace. So I'm pretty excited about that.
Yes. Well, that was my choice, Michael.
I know, yeah. I didn't have any choice. Uh, we have a question here for us.
Hi. My name is Gaye Rieger, and I'm from Savage, Minnesota, and I am. I would love to hear both of you share how you came to Messiah. How you found him.
Wow. Well, I'm going to just say that I did a whole program. I think. What date was it on? If people want to go back and listen to the podcast, I think it was like April 17th or 15th or something like that. Uh, you can go back to the podcast in mid-April if you go to Moody Radio. Uh, and, and you can find the podcast. And because it was, it was a was a rebroadcast actually from last year. It had, uh, we took over an hour because it was my 50th spiritual birthday last year when I did
that program. So we rebroadcast it and actually, Chris Fabry from Moody Radio came on and interviewed me about how about my whole faith story. And so that was pretty exciting. So I've been a follower of Yeshua for 51 years quickly. My parents were Holocaust survivors. I never dreamed I would believe in Yeshua. And when I was confronted through the Chosen People Ministries Brooklyn director, a woman named Hilda Kozar, we argued the scriptures. I wouldn't say we studied them.
We fought over the scriptures. But through her explanation of messianic prophecy, I became convinced that Yeshua was the Messiah and became a follower of Yeshua. When I was in high school. It was the broadcast, by the way I just heard in my headset was April 8th. There we go. So you can go back and listen to that.
Well, I was raised a good Jewish boy. Became a bad Jewish boy after my bar mitzvah. Went to college. Dropped out of college all before I was 17. Majored in unregistered pharmacy and minored in marketing. And then? And then I went. Then I went, like all good Jewish boys. I went out to San Francisco looking for. For truth. No flowers in my hair. But it was long. My two best friends betrayed me and became believers in Jesus. I tried to talk him out of it and lost.
And so I read a New Testament that I found in a phone booth in the middle of the redwood forest and discovered, unbelievably, that Jesus was Jewish. I thought he was the chief of anti-Semitism. And I fell in love with Jesus and accepted Jesus. And he transformed my life. And like Michael, I'm a 51 year veteran of the of the spiritual warfare.
So, you know, I just, I just, I just. Watched For the second time. Jesus. Revolution. And you know, I was just the first time I saw that movie. I was thinking about, you know, I was on the East Coast, not on the West Coast, but how many.
Were much younger?
I was much younger. Uh, better looking too. Uh, but no, uh, I, I was amazed when I started thinking about how many people in Jewish ministry came to faith in that period, between 1967 and 1973, which was sort of the Jesus Revolution period. And it was you and me and my friend Larry out in California and, uh, our friend Jan Moskowitz and Bruce Goldstein and and there were so many of us, uh, that went to Jewish ministry. So that that movie didn't really hit the revival among Jewish people.
The revolution. But it was there.
Yeah. Uh, you know, my interest in, in church history and Messianic Jewish history, every time there's been an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, people have been drawn to the scriptures. And actually the role of Israel and the Jewish people in God's plan has become prominent. And a lot of Jewish people have become believers in Jesus. So whenever you see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, if there are Jewish people around, Jewish people.
Hit them too.
Jewish people are being touched. It happened between World War One and World War Two in Europe, and it happened incredibly during the early, late 60s and early 70s. And so whenever there is a movement of the Holy Spirit, Jewish people get saved. So pray for a movement of the Holy Spirit. Yeah, and there's a big one coming, according to Romans 11. So we're going to see the best yet.
Yep, yep. Greg Laurie was on a moody radio program and a Jewish believer I know, who also is a product of the Jesus Revolution. She called up and said, how come you didn't mention all the Jewish people that came to faith there at Costa mesa and all that? And he said, forgive me. We were just kind of
focused on what happened there at that time with me. So, uh, but, uh, he then he laughed and he acknowledged that there was even then in California, the back story of that movie was there were many Jewish people who came to faith, even there.
So a lot of the leaders of the modern messianic movement in Israel came to faith outside the country during the Jesus movement. And I remember my first trip to Israel in 1976. There may have been a half a dozen congregations. Today there's probably between 150 and 160. And I mean, this is the ongoing fruit of the Jesus movement.
Yeah. And that's how, you know, it was a real revival because it has ongoing fruit. So let's ask, uh, Jason, why don't you come up and see if you have a question? Great. Jason Rose is. I'm going to give your last name. I think it's okay. Is it not? Yeah. Jason Rose is a former student of mine who graduated from Jewish Studies and serves with Chosen People Ministries.
So my question is, since you lead tours to Israel, what's the most theologically or biblically significant site, in your opinion?
Well.
I would say the Temple Mount, the Western Wall. I don't usually go on the mount because it's a little bit, uh, touchy. But I think the Western Wall that what people used to call the Wailing Wall, it's not the Wailing Wall. The Western wall, the supporting wall of the Temple Mount. I think that's the most significant because, uh, God said, well, that's where on that mount is where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. Uh, it's where when the temple was built. The spirit of God.
The first temple, the Spirit of God was the Shekinah. The the presence, the Shekinah glory was present there. Ezekiel ten describes its departure before the Babylonian conquest. Uh, but Ezekiel also talks about the day when the temple is rebuilt in the Messianic kingdom, when the Spirit of God will be present there again. Uh, and so it is
a remarkable place, the Lord Jesus. A lot of people say, well, you know, now that you believe in Jesus, it wouldn't matter because, uh, you know, we are the temples today, you know, and I think there's a sense of truth. Doesn't matter where you worship. We need to worship God in spirit and in truth. But it says the Lord Jesus had zeal for his father's house. He cared about it. Do you have a quick one minute answer of your favorite place to take people?
You know what I usually say about the Garden Tomb is that if it wasn't there, it was like there. And I'd say taking communion at the Garden Tomb, which is a part of many tours, is still, for me personally, the most meaningful moment of my trips to Israel. I highly recommend you come to Israel. You can go with Michael or you can go with Chosen People Ministries. Take your pick.
I don't care how you go, just go. That's what I think.
And I hope that you get to take communion at the At the Garden Tomb. It's so incredibly powerful.
Yeah, I love that. I think that's a really exceptionally special place. I agree with Mitch. Uh, what's your favorite place?
My favorite place is Capernaum. Actually, because of the significance of the beginning of the Messianic Jewish followers of Jesus. It's the oldest site where you can see, uh, Jewish community of fellowship.
Yeah, that's the hometown of Jesus. And it's also that some go to that synagogue there, and they think that may have been actually a messianic Jewish synagogue, not necessarily a traditional synagogue. So that's that's pretty amazing. We're going to come right back with more questions in just a moment. You're listening to Open Line with Michael, and that was Mitch Glazer on the program with me. If you've always wanted to see Israel but haven't been able to able
to travel there. Or maybe you were there and you'd like to remember better. Chosen People Ministries is offering a book, Israel, the land and the people. It's filled with some of the best photos of Israel anywhere. It's a coffee table sized book and it presents the beauty, history, culture and variety of the land, from snow capped Mount Hermon to Masada, from ancient Jerusalem to modern Tel Aviv, and much more. If you'd like a copy, just go to our website openlibrary.org.
Scroll down and click on the link that says A Free gift from Chosen People Ministries, and you'll receive your copy of Israel, The land and the people. Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael Ray Melnick. No phone calls today because we're listening to a program first aired in 2023 at a Chosen People Ministries conference in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Let's go back to the conference. We're going to have a question here. Who are you, miss?
My name is Tricia. I produce Open Line and you went out to the break. I have a question for you. You went out to the break saying Jesus hometown was Capernaum. And I said, wait, wait, wait what? I thought his hometown was Nazareth.
He was born in Nazareth.
He was born in Bethlehem.
Born in Bethlehem. Raised? Yeah, right. Born in Bethlehem. Raised in Nazareth. So that was his hometown in that sense. But when his public ministry began, he switched over to Capernaum and lived in Capernaum.
Okay.
And so, uh, when you go into Capernaum, there's a sign that says the hometown of Jesus right there. But it really wasn't his hometown so much as his adopted hometown, born in Bethlehem. Right, I remember that. Okay.
Okay.
Raised in Nazareth, but adopted Capernaum as his hometown.
Hi, I'm Lisa from Richfield, Minnesota. With the interfaith dialogue happening in the world, how do we make sure we as Christians are not being deceived, but that we are following the truth of the Lord?
Well, I think interfaith dialogue is great. You know, one of the things that I believe about interfaith dialogue is that we should always express if we're interfaith, we should be able to express what we believe as well. Listen carefully to people. I always think that one of the best things we can do when we're dialoguing about interfaith, instead of telling people, you know, that, you know, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.
That's probably not what I would do in an interfaith dialogue, but I would look for every opportunity to tell my faith story, how it is that I came to faith, what it was that God did in my life, how he worked in my life, how it is that I came to believe in the Lord Jesus the Messiah, and how he forgave my sins. And the reason I would do that is it's interfaith and it's a dialogue. You
want to hear my part, I'll listen to yours. And, uh, hopefully that would as we talk about what God has done in our lives, when we dialogue, people will be challenged and want to hear more, uh, part from the dialogue. So that's what I would do, uh, if I were engaged in interfaith dialogue, it would be to learn what people think. To learn how they feel. But always looking for an opportunity to tell my faith story as well.
Yes. Thank you.
Um.
Okay. Here we go.
Linda from Minneapolis. Uh, we have some acquaintances, friends who are Russian Jews. And English is their fifth language. They're extremely intelligent, sophisticated people. Do you have any advice on how to share with people who are rather intimidating, but very dear.
Oh, boy. Well, uh. they you don't don't be intimidated. They're just people. And, uh, I think they Russian Jews were raised in an atheistic culture, and they would they would like to experience a real God. The thing that I do is, uh, when I talk to anyone, but particularly Jewish people, uh, I do something I call raising the flag. I'll. I'll mention something that God has done in my life. If I'm friends with them, I can talk about what God is doing in my life. They're
talking about their lives. I might say that, you know, someone was ill. I prayed and God was working and provided this doctor and they're better or something that God has done that, uh, that I feel like just raise that flag. Uh, God is, uh, if they're having a problem, say, can I pray for you? Something like that. Raise that flag. And then as time goes by, they'll want to hear more because they are searching for a real experience with God, not religion, not, you know, going to this place or
doing that thing. They can't hardly believe that there's someone who's experiencing God working in their lives. So keep raising those flags. And then as you have opportunity, tell your faith story. And before you know it, they'll want to know more and more. Okay.
Thank you. Yeah.
Uh, well, can't believe it. That's the first hour, but there's a second hour coming up on most of these stations. Remember, if your station doesn't carry open line, you can always listen online or with the podcast during the break. Check out our webpage, online radio.org. It's got all sorts of links that you'll like. How to ask a question or, uh, how to get our current resource or become a kitchen table partner. When we come back, there'll be more questions
from this great audience here in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Uh, we'll be talking about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. Open line with Michael Ray is a production of Moody Radio, the ministry of Moody Bible Institute.