How does Passover relate to the Lord's Supper with Passover, Good Friday, Resurrection Day coming up. Tonight's Passover. It would be good to remember how the Messiah's last Seder is the basis for the Lord's table. 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 Melnick. I'm the academic dean and a professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute.
I'm so grateful to be joining you around the radio kitchen table. And 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 it is ready. It's a good time to call always at the beginning of the hour because the lines aren't filled up yet. So if you have a question, call (877) 548-3675. Let me give you that again. Write it down if you need to. (877) 548-3675. To.
Hera is in the producer's chair today. Omar is our tech guy. Lisa is helping out and Karen is answering the phones. Grateful for the team today and for all they're doing. Again, our phone number is (877) 548-3675. Now go get yourself a cup of coffee. Open your Bible because we're going to study the scriptures together. So what is the significance of the Lord's Supper? Although some people interpret the Lord's Supper as what they call a means of grace.
And what they mean with that is that there's a mystical presence of the Lord Jesus and somehow, by taking the Lord's Supper, participating in the Lord's table, that it grants grace to us. Well, God grants grace to us in many ways, but, uh, I believe the Bible teaches that there isn't a mystical presence, but rather that the Lord's Supper is a memorial. It's a symbolic meal. Let's talk about the memorial and symbolic aspects. First of all,
the memorial aspect. It's essential to recognize that the Lord Jesus inaugurated the Lord's Table at a Passover meal. Scripture says that the Passover was to be a memorial for you, referring to Israel. You must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. That's in Exodus 1214. Similarly, the Lord Jesus would tell his followers that when they celebrated communion, they do so in remembrance, similar to memorial in remembrance
of him. And that's, of course, in Luke 2219. So the Lord's Supper was intended to memorialize our redemption from sin by remembering the body and blood of the Messiah, Jesus. With regard to the symbolic nature of these elements. We need to recall once again that the the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, inaugurated communion at a Passover meal. It's called a Seder. So some people call it the Last Supper.
I call it the Last Seder. By the New Testament era, Jewish people had developed all sorts of symbolic elements to be included in the Passover Seder, such as a bitter root which represented the bitterness of slavery, and a bowl of salt water which represented the tears of slavery. You can see those even mentioned in Exodus 12 eight and numbers 911. So when the Lord Jesus said that the bread and wine were his body and blood. None of the Jewish men present would have understood these words in
a literal sense. Jewish people, the disciples would have been familiar with all the symbolic elements of Passover. Therefore, they would have recognized that the Lord was using a metaphor meaning this bread is a symbol of my body, and this cup is a symbol of my blood. The Lord's Supper, celebrated as a symbolic memorial, still remains a crucial outward
celebration of the New Covenant. Now, if the Lord's Table is only a symbolic memorial, people wonder if specific elements are all that you know, the the specific elements are all that important. Would it be okay to observe communion with, let's say, potato chips and soda pop? I'd say no, because these symbols that the Lord used have specific and important meanings. The Lord chose unleavened bread. He chose the fruit of the vine to institute this ceremony because they
represent his sacrifice. He used the unleavened bread, or what we call matzo. The matzo is eaten at Passover, and there are several reasons. First, matzo was significant because leaven, which is this is unleavened cakes of bread, unleavened bread, yeast in Scripture, that's what leaven is, is frequently used as a symbol for sin. The Lord Jesus, you remember, said, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Beware of the leaven of the Sadducees, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and
the unbelief of the Sadducees. That's in Matthew 16 six. Paul urged that the Corinthians were to clean out the leaven, the yeast of malice and wickedness in first Corinthians five eight. So unleavened bread represents in the. In the case of the Lord using it his sinlessness, he was without spot or blemish. He was perfect without sin. Second, ancient and modern matzah, both in the ancient world and today, was
pierced in straight lines to keep it from rising. This symbolized that the Lord Jesus was pierced through for our transgressions, and by his scourging the stripes, we are healed. Isaiah 53 five. Potato chips and fluffy loaves of bread, or even unleavened communion wafers miss the important symbolism of celebrating the Lord's Supper with matzo. Additionally, the wine used during the Passover meal is a deep bread and represents the blood of the Messiah, Jesus that cleanses us from sin.
So soft drinks, even white wine or white grape juice, are inadequate to represent his blood for the cup to commemorate its symbol. We need to use red fruit of the wine. Whether juice or wine. It doesn't matter, but it has to be red. The symbolic nature of the Lord's Supper doesn't minimize its importance, as the God ordained Passover celebration didn't diminish God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt. We observe it regularly because one, the Lord Jesus commanded,
we observe it. He said, do this in remembrance of me. Luke 2219. Two The Lord's Table is a proclamation of our faith that the Messiah, Jesus, died as our substitute, that he will return. You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. That's first Corinthians 1126 and three. The Lord's Supper is a declaration of the fellowship of all believers, because by it we share our unity in the Messiah, Jesus, he says. Paul says in first Corinthians Chapter ten, verses 16 and 17, is not the cup. A sharing in
the blood of Messiah? Is not the bread a sharing in the body of Messiah. We who are many are one body. That's first Corinthians ten, 16 and 17. So whether it's obeying a command, proclaiming our faith, or expressing our unity, the Lord's Supper remains a crucial celebration. Its value and importance isn't lessened by viewing it as symbolic. So some people call communion a sacrament, a grace giving practice, and others call it an ordinance, an observance commanded by
the Lord. I prefer to call it a new covenant ceremony. Ceremonies were designed to communicate truth by our actions. Every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we're declaring that our Messiah, Jesus, died for us, rose again, and is returning as our King. Observing the Lord's Table is a living declaration of the good news that delivered us from our sin. That opening word was taken from a book that I wrote, although it wasn't exactly the same as sort of adapted into
speaking form. But the book was called is called 50 Most Important Bible Questions, if you're interested in that, and 49 other questions, that's a book that you can find at Moody publishers.com. Well, uh, I was wondering how many of you have ever wondered how we got the Bible that I encourage you and I read all the time. I encourage you to read it. Uh, how how do much do we know about how he got it? How did these ancient books that prophets and apostles wrote become
a book that we should read every day? Well, that's a great question. And Doctor Jay Carlini's book, The Story of the Bible will take you on an informative journey through scriptures development. It really starts at divine inspiration, goes through transmission by copyists and ultimately to modern translations. This is a really helpful book. It shows how God used God's superintended human authors to write God's Word. So it's
God breathed, it's inspired text in our hands. I hope that's something that you would like to get a copy of the story of the Bible, and it's yours. If you give a gift of any size to open line, that's just, uh, something that we would love to do for you. Uh, say thank you. If you give a gift. And, you know, a lot of people have told me, I
listen all the time. Never thought about giving a gift. Well, this would be a great time to give a gift because this book is so helpful, it will really give you confidence in the Bible as God's Word, so don't miss out on the opportunity. And we just really want to say thanks for sending your gift in, and you'll really benefit from this book. If you'd like to give
a gift, call (888) 644-7122. That's (888) 644-7122 or go to Openline radio.org. Well, we've been having some technical glitches and we can't take a phone call right now, so I thought I would deal with a couple of emailed questions that I received. Uh, and that would be a good way of dealing with it. It's not they're not official questions from the mailbag, but people sometimes ask about this. They and this is actually
a question that I just received this week. Um, they say if Jesus didn't go to hell, why is it that Mary was told not to touch him because he has not yet ascended to the father. That's from John chapter 20 and verse 17 and the I'll read that to you. I think it's it's a helpful question because people have taken that to mean that this is proof that Jesus had not been yet purified from going to hell. Here's what it says. Uh. Don't touch me. Jesus told her,
for I have not yet ascended to the father. But go to my brothers and tell them I am ascending to my father. Well, this sounds like Jesus had just risen from hell and was encountering Mary. Well, a couple of things about that verse. I think the King James says, don't touch me. But most versions would reflect a better translation of the Greek that would say, stop clinging to me. In other words, you can imagine Mary so excited about meeting her Lord that she grasped a hold of him.
Can you imagine? She's holding on, and she's not going to let go for dear life. And he says, you can stop. It's not like, don't touch me. I'm impure or defiled by hell. It's stopped clinging to me. Let me go. I can walk, you can let go of me. You don't have to be afraid. I'm not leaving you because I've. I still haven't ascended to the father. He's not talking about that. He. His spirit didn't go to be with the father when he said, father, into your
hands I commit my spirit. He is saying the Ascension hasn't taken place. I'm going to be with you for 40 days, and I'm going to ascend to the father then, so you can let go of me. Uh, I am not ascending to the father permanently just yet. And so that's the first verse that people have asked me about. And the other verse that the, the that I received in an email question has to do with acts 227. Uh, this one says, uh, that the proof of the resurrection
is from Psalm 16. And in 227 it says, it quotes it this way you will not leave my me in Hades or allow your Holy One to see decay. So it says in the King James in the Old Testament it says, you will not abandon me to Sheol. And here the people. But it says in the King James, actually you will not abandon me to hell. And it says here, uh, the same thing. It uses Hades. So people think Jesus went to hell, but actually it's Sheol. That's that's the literal the the abode of the dead.
And the point is, you will not leave me physically dead. My body will not undergo decay, but will be resurrected before undergoing decay. It doesn't mean that he went to hell. It means that you will not leave me in the place in the abode of the dead. But I will be raised first. Well, I hope that answers a couple of questions that, uh, others of you have had, because that's what's being sent to me personally by some people that know me. So I hope those, uh, those answers
help you with those verses. We're going to be right back with more of your calls in just a moment. Stay right there with us. This is open line with Michael Ray Tillman. And we're back. I am, uh, I'm aware that there's some sort of, uh, technical difficulties, but I am back with you now. I'm glad to be with you. Uh, here on Open Line, I'm Michael Ray Dolnick, and we're going to go right to the phones. Now we're going to speak with, uh, Donna. Uh, actually, we're
going to speak with Amy in Chicago listening on WNBA. Uh, welcome to Open Line, Amy. How can I help you today?
Good morning. Technical gremlins are busy. I have two questions. Briefly. First, can I get your opinion on the accuracy of the Jewish calendar that we're. It's like, 5700 years.
Yeah. Well, I probably that's the Jewish calendar counts from the creation of the world. I don't think that that's necessarily accurate. So, um, but it's what we traditionally call the the Jewish year.
So you're right. Okay. And the other question is, at what point during the Passover was Jesus crucified?
At what point during the Passover?
Yes, because it's like a week long, right?
Yeah, but it was on the on the Gospels tell us clearly that it was the first night of Passover that the Lord had the Lord's Supper. The last Seder with his disciples. That would have been Thursday night. And then, uh, he was arrested that night, tried very early in the morning by Pilate, uh, and then, uh, put on the cross at 9 a.m., um, so on on Friday, um, at about noon, it would have been when the Lord gave up his spirit to the father. Into your hands
I commit my spirit. Uh, and that's when it would be. And I'm guessing you're asking about this, Amy, because people get all nervous about the three days and three nights in in the tomb. Is that.
No, no, it's not that. It's just that I wonder, because Passover is based on the cycle of the moon, right? So it doesn't necessarily start on a Friday, right?
It just happened to that day.
Right?
Right. That that year, A.D., uh, March 5th. I'm sorry. April 5th. Uh, AD 33. That was a Friday.
Oh, you think it was April 5th? Okay.
Yeah.
Interesting. Okay.
So. Okay. Thank you very much. God bless.
Okay. Thank you. Amy. Uh, we're going to talk with Donna in Spring Hill, Florida, listening on Moody Radio, Florida. So glad to have you with us, Donna. How can I help you today?
Um, yeah, I myself am a messianic Jew and living amongst New Covenant Christians. And I've always wondered why New Covenant Christianity continues to dismiss recognition of the Passover.
Now, what do you mean by New Covenant Christian?
Well, sometimes it seems to me like there's a God for the New Covenant Christians. And then there's the God that the Jews have.
It's like your that's just your.
Name for them, the new Covenant Christians, right?
Well, I didn't know how else to refer to it.
You mean your basic born.
Again Christian that goes to church? Is that what you're talking about?
Yes. The basic born again. Well, not necessarily even born again. Just just Christians in general that go to either Catholic church or Lutheran church.
Okay. Okay. Okay. Well.
First of all, let me just say that there's been a great movement to people who are not Jewish, understanding and appreciating the Jewish roots of the of communion, and that they understand the Passover, that so much of the Passover points to the Lord Jesus. Whether it's the, you know, the tears for the bitterness of slavery to sin and the symbolic element there, and the lamb, the shankbone of the lamb, which reminds us that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
That was that he was pure and spotless. Uh, the matzo, which is pierced and striped. Uh, just as he was pierced and striped. And he it's without leaven. All these things point to the Messiah, and there's a greater interest than ever before. A few years ago, uh, some Jewish writers wrote in Christianity Today that they wish that Christians would stop having Messianic Jews come to their churches and
explain Messiah in the Passover. They didn't like it. And I think, uh, yeah, I bet they don't, because it shows the really sharp, the very clear connection between the the foreshadowing of the Hebrew Bible with its fulfillment in the Messiah, Jesus. So, yeah, I guess stop, stop doing that. I said, no, I'm not going to stop doing that. I keep talking about that. So, uh. But anyway, the, uh, the the point is, I think there's a growing awareness,
the reason that most Christians aren't really into it. Uh, but I think they're growing. Growing many, many more who are interested.
But I hope so.
Uh, but, you know, in the early Middle Ages, when Jewish people came to faith keeping Passover or anything Jewish was considered, quote, judaizing, unquote.
Mhm.
And and in fact, if you look at some of the, uh, faith statements that Jewish people had to make in the fifth, sixth, seventh century, they had to swear off keeping kosher food, eating kosher food. They had to swear that they wouldn't keep a Passover meal.
Right.
If you can imagine. And I think that was deeply embedded, that anything that we see in the they wanted to kind of sell Squeeze out. Obliterate the Jewish roots of the faith. Uh, that's contrary to the New Testament. But that's what they were doing.
Yeah. So. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. But I am grateful that so many believers today, uh, who are not Jewish, want to learn about this. They want to understand their Jewish roots. And so don't don't presume that everyone isn't interested. There's many, many. I mean, if they weren't interested, I wouldn't be going from church to church from year to year explaining the Jewish roots of the Passover of of the Lord's Supper.
So how often do you come to Spring Hill, Florida?
Uh, not very often, but, uh, I go a lot of places, but there's.
Always someone, uh, you know, one of our partners, Chosen People Ministries, they spread out all over Florida and have their representatives explaining the Jewish roots of of the Lord's Supper, uh, the Passover Messiah and the Passover. So contact that office. You should look look them up online. Chosen people ministries, and they'll direct you. Okay.
Is there time for another question?
No, I got to go to the next call. Call again? Okay. Donna, I really appreciate it. Okay.
Thanks. Bye. Yep. Shalom. Shabbat shalom.
Shabbat shalom. We're going to speak, uh, with Darryl in Crown Point, Indiana. Hey, Darryl. Thanks for listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line. How can I help you?
I was asking the question of where the Apostle's Creed talks about Jesus descending into hell, and where you stand on that, I don't. Yeah.
Well, the earliest, uh, Apostles Creed didn't have that in there. That was added later on. Um, and, uh, but it's it's quite an ancient teaching. I don't think the Bible supports it. It's usually taken from first Peter three, where, uh, there's a mention of him, uh, preaching to the spirits now in prison. Uh, but I think that that's just meaning that the Lord Jesus preached through Noah. If you look at the context, Noah was the one. And he preached to the people of Noah's day through Noah. And
then they died having rejected Noah's message. And therefore they are now spirits in, in prison. Uh, and so he preached through Noah to people who died and became spirits in prison. Uh, I think that's the main verse that is used for the Lord descending to hell to either proclaim his victory or or descending into hell, uh, to proclaim. Some people think a second chance. I don't think anyone
really seriously who believes the Bible says that. But, uh, the main thing there is that he descended to hell to, uh, proclaim victory over the demons. But that's not what that verse is talking about. The context is that he preached to the spirits in prison. That means he preached the good news through Noah, that there was deliverance from the flood. Uh, so he preached through Noah. The people didn't listen to Noah. They died. And now they are spirits in prison, awaiting
future judgment. That's what I think that that's talking about. Uh, so, uh, so I don't think the Lord descended to hell. Here's why the Lord says, father, into your hands I commit my spirit. He said, that's what he says as he dies. And then, uh, secondly, uh, he says, uh, to the thief on the cross today, this day, you'll be together with me in Paradise. So it appears that the Lord Jesus went immediately to the father. That's that's what I think he did.
So, uh. Yes.
Thank you, I definitely agree.
Okay, good, good. Uh, you know, there's a lot of people that that feel like that's some essential to the faith because it's in the Apostles Creed, but it's not. It wasn't in the original Apostles Creed. It's certainly the essential of the faith that Jesus died for us and rose again. Uh, well, we're going to come back in a moment with the mailbag, so stay with us. You're listening to Open Line with Michael Ray Dominic. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Open Line. So glad to
be with you. Uh, my name is Michael Melnick, and I'm so grateful that Far Eastern Broadcasting Company partners with us to bring you the Febc mailbag. Uh, every, Uh, every week. Uh, it's, uh, it's a terrific ministry that brings the gospel through media to people all over the world. And then also with personal follow up, if you'd like to know more about Febc, and I hope you do go to Febc. Uh, that's Febc. And also check out their podcast called Until All Have Heard featuring Ed Cannon.
I think you're going to really like it. Joining me right now in studio is Tara Hanes. She's our producer today. Hey, Tara, how can I help? How are you doing today?
Hi. I'm doing very well. How are you, Michael?
Good, good. I can't see you.
I know we've had technical difficulty difficulties today, but I'm glad you can hear me.
Yeah, I'm glad I can hear you. Great. Uh, well, you know, I wanted to say this. That, uh, we just got got word, uh, about how many kitchen table partners we have, uh, with Open Line. And I was just so pleased and excited. More than 800 people have become part of the team. You know, we always think of we have a pretty great team here with Open Line. We've got, uh, Tricia and you and Lisa and Omar and even Karen sits in sometimes. We're so grateful for
the whole team. But, uh, listeners are part of the team. We wouldn't have a program without our listeners. Appreciate them so much. Uh, they study the Bible. They want to know what it means. But also, there are those kitchen table partners, people who give monthly so we can be on the air weekly. And I appreciate them so much. Uh, we have about 835 right now.
What a blessing.
That's a great thing. And, you know, William Washington, Doctor William Washington, dean of student life and enrollment at Moody Bible Institute, everyone he meets. When he hears they listen to Open Line, he goes over to them and says, are you kitchen table partner? He's determined, uh, more than anyone I know, to to see their tribe increase.
And that's so nice. Thank you, Doctor Washington.
I appreciate that because I appreciate each one so much. It really does keep us on the air. And and that's one of the reasons why we do a Bible study moment every other week. For them, it's a special Bible study, audio Bible study designed exclusively for our kitchen table partners. I just I hope they find encouragement when they click on it in their email. If you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, all you have to do is call 886447122. That's 886447122. Or you can just
go to open line radio.org. Hey we better handle some of these questions people sent in. Don't you think.
Yes, yes. Thank you so much. Our first question is from Mark in Indiana. Listening through Matthew 1240 talks about Jesus going down to the heart of the earth. Where is that?
Where is the heart of the earth? The belly of the earth? Yes. Uh. It's a, uh, it's a euphemism or a figure of speech for burial. That's all it is. It doesn't. It doesn't mean that, you know, he journeyed to the center of the earth like the old TV show. Uh, is. It's just a reference to burial. So, for example, in Matthew 12, I'll read you the whole verse because it's interesting verse. And then I'll even talk about the thing
that really troubles people about it. Mhm. As Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. Three days and three nights. Well, obviously that has to do with being buried in a tomb. So it's just a figure of speech for burial. Now, the other issue has to do with, uh, three days
and three nights. People get so worked up about the three days and three nights they want to recalculate the days of the, the, the, the day of the crucifixion and, uh, and the day of the resurrection that that refers to inclusive time reckoning and what that is, that's another figure of speech, where in the Bible and in Judaism, in the first century and even in the Old Testament, any part of a day counted as a day and a night,
that's what it meant. Uh, so you could say a day and a night like, uh, Esther had the people fast for three days and three nights, it says. But then on the third day is when she went into the king. So she didn't wait for the full night on the third night. Uh, three days and three nights refers to any part of a day leading to three days. Three nights. And that would, uh. That's why it says
three days. Three nights. Because Friday, Saturday, Sunday doesn't technically isn't three days and three nights, but it fits that figure of speech that Jewish people use for any part of a day, counting as a day and a night. So thank.
You. Thank you for that clarification. And that actually leads right to our next question from Sandy. I think that inclusive time reckoning will apply to her question as well. Sandy's from Wisconsin, the Moody Radio, um, Alexa devices where she uses a friend said that she has a King James version of the Bible with a timeline at the end of Zechariah, and she states, it confirms that Jesus died on a Wednesday and rose on Saturday, the Sabbath. And she wanted the clarification as well.
Well, I don't know what King James Bible she has. I don't think the King James Bible has any special insight into the days, and especially at the end of Zechariah. Perhaps it's referring to at the at the end of Zechariah, some sort of timeline that's added. That's not part of the text of the Bible. That wouldn't be any different, but it might be the way some interpreter put it. But I think the traditional time that it was Thursday night,
Last Supper, that was a Seder. Um, and then the going to Gethsemane, uh, arrest on Thursday night and then through the night being held in captivity, uh, tried by the Sanhedrin, then tried before Pilate, Herod Antipas, Pilate again. 6 a.m. is when the crowd shouts, crucify him! So it's obviously a crowd of ringers we call people who are gathered together at 6 a.m. for that very purpose.
It wasn't just the general populace, it was, you know, a crowd that that some people gathered up to intentionally call for his crucifixion. 9 a.m. crucifixion. And then, uh, noon at death, I think. Now, this this book can be a little technical, but I mention it all the time. It's one of the most helpful books to understand. Chronology about the and the chronology of the last week of the Lord is in there. And it's really helpful, really biblical.
It's called, uh, chronological aspects of the life of Christ. Chronological aspects of the Life of Christ by Harold Hoehner. H o e h e r. Anyone listening? That's a book you got to get. It's it's. He was my mentor for my master's thesis, and it was a fairly new book when I read it the first time, but I've been I'm old now, so it's so it's it's a fairly old book, but it's still in print. It's
still a great book. It's one of the most helpful books you'll ever read about the chronology of the last week.
So you give great resources. Thank you for that.
Yeah. So let's do one more question.
Heidi listening in Illinois WNBA, how did the Passover sacrifice go from saving the firstborn male to payment for our sins? Um, what is the correlation or the relationship?
Well, the Passover lamb never took away our sins. The Passover lamb was, uh, a picture that God used, that the judgment would come, judgment would come on every house in Egypt. And the way to escape judgment was to offer a pure and spotless lamb and put his blood on the doorposts of your house. And God said that when I when I, uh, go through Egypt to to exercise judgment, I will pass over you. Your household. When you have the blood on the doorposts of your house,
of that lamb. And so that lamb became a symbol or a pattern for how we can personally escape judgment. And that would be that if we take if God took a pure and spotless, sinless Messiah like a lamb as a lamb, not like he's a lamb, but as a lamb that went to the slaughter if he takes him, uh, and he is. That's why the Lord Jesus said, no one gives my life. No one takes my life, but I give it up freely. It's why in acts four it says that the crucifixion was for ordained by God.
Your hand and your purpose predestined this to occur is what it says in acts 428. Uh, that that's why God did it. And the result was that the Lord Jesus was raised and we can experience forgiveness. So just as there was a pure and spotless lamb, there was a pure and spotless Savior who died as a lamb. And if we apply his blood to the doorposts of our hearts by faith, God will pass over judgment. Uh, when? When we would expect to be judged for our sins. Instead,
he took the judgment, just as that lamb did. So it's just a patterning. It's not necessarily a literal lamb that takes away our sin, but it is. Why, uh, John the Baptist, when he saw the Lord, said, behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. In John one. So it's not a literal he, the Lord, the lamb didn't take away sin. The Lord Jesus, uh, was not a literal lamb. He was a man, a God man. But, uh, do you follow what I'm saying?
I do, I do. Thank you.
I think sometimes we can get a little overly literal. We have to understand the Bible is filled with figures of speech because we speak in figures of speech. That's the normal way we speak. So. Well, uh, thanks for bringing those in. We're going to take a break here.
Thank you. Thank you. Michael.
Uh, when we come back, we're going to take more of your questions right here on Open Line. My name is Michael Ray Melnick. That was to hear Haines. And, uh, we'll be right back with more of your questions right now. Uh, just stay with us here on Open Line. Welcome back to Open Line. I need to mention a couple of things before we go back to the phones. First of all, I was in the midst of, uh, talking about our current resource when we had a a glitch with a
technology glitch. So I do want to remind you that we're we're so committed because we believe the Bible. We love the Bible. And people have questions about how we got the Bible. I really want to encourage people to get a copy of our current resources called The Story
of the Bible by Carl Laney. It's an amazing journey that it takes us on the amazing journey of the inspiration of the original texts of Scripture to transmission by different scribes, ultimately to translations, and how we have the Bible, the inspired Word of God that we read all the time. This is a great book, and it's easy to understand. If you'd like to deepen your confidence in the Bible, we want to send it to you as a thank
you gift for a gift of any size. Uh, we want to send you a copy of The Story of the Bible by Carl Laney. Just go to to Open Line radio.org or call (888) 644-7122. two. And that's I think you're going to really be grateful. Remember to ask when you give your gift of any size for the story of the Bible. And also Passover begins tonight. It's a
festival which is such a meaningful celebration of redemption. And so one of our partners, Chosen People Ministries, is offering a free booklet called Passover A time for redemption, which shows how the Passover foreshadows our redemption through the Messiah Jesus. If you'd like a copy of Passover A time for redemption, just go to our website openline. radio.org. Scroll down. You'll see a link that says A free gift from Chosen
People Ministries. Click on that and you'll be taken to a page where you can sign up for your very own copy of Passover. A time for redemption. One last thing I need to mention. Uh, there. If you go to our web page Openline radio.org, there's a link there that says Michael Radionics homepage. It's my personal homepage. The reason I want to mention that is there's two things coming up. One is next December, I'm going to be doing a Bible conference on a ship tall ship in
the Caribbean. It's going to be great studying the Book of Daniel there. And if you're interested, you can see that linked on my web page, as well as where we're going to plan to go to Israel again. It's become safe. We're not going to go to any war zone, but we're going to go to Israel in September of 2025, just a few months away. Um, and now that it's safe, we're going to go. And just today, we're we're letting people know that it's okay to check out going to
Israel with Messianic Journeys in September. So I think those are some things you might be interested in. We're going to talk to Mike in Chicago listening on. Hi, welcome to Open Line, Mike. How can I help you?
Uh, well, uh, doctor, thanks for taking my call. Um. Are you may I presume that you're familiar with Constantine's Easter decree?
Yes.
Yes. Well, for the benefit of your listeners, that may not. And my question relates to his decree that we should not celebrate Easter according to the Jews, and that we should not have. We the church should not have anything to do with the rabble of the, uh, the detestable mass of Jews, as Eusebius put it. So why does the church insist on celebrating Easter, according to Constantine, instead
of the true date? According to the to the Jewish calendar, it seems highly disrespectful of Jesus and his origins and what you know Easter is all about.
Well, I do know that, uh, Constantine, uh, wanted, you know, we think of the Council of Nicaea as clarifying the deity of Jesus, and that's a very good thing that came out of it. On the other hand, he changed the cycle for when to celebrate resurrection, to fit more with pagan sensibilities rather than Jewish ones. And he had his deeply anti-Jewish attitude, where he says he wanted to separate from the odious company of the Jews. And that's why, uh,
he did that. Uh, so. What happened was this became embedded, at least in the Western Church, not necessarily in the Eastern Church. And so but, you know, the roots are clear if you go to if you speak Italian and you talk about Easter, they don't call it Easter. They don't call it anything. They call it related to that. They call it Pascha, Passover. Uh, that's the the way, uh, Easter or Resurrection Day is called Passover. So, uh, there
are some that that recognize those routes. Here's the point, though. Western civilization has carried this out for so long. I think it would be really hard to turn over all of Western civilization and have them celebrate, uh, the atonement of, you know, Good Friday and the resurrection on, uh, on any other day except for Resurrection Sunday, because it's so embedded in Western culture. But I personally, I celebrate through the Passover week. That's when I celebrate those things. But
that's my personal practice. I don't try to impose that on others, but that's how my family celebrates. Okay, Mike?
Yes, thanks. I understand, but I think a lot of things in Western civilization, civilization might be overturned for the good.
Listen.
I. Yeah, but listen, as long as people are celebrating that Jesus is alive, I'm okay with it. It's okay.
All right. Thanks.
Okay. Yeah. Okay. Uh, we're going to talk to Emily. Listening in Pennsylvania on the Moody Radio app. Hi, Emily. How can I help you today?
Oh, we love your show. We listen every Saturday. Thank you. Uh, so. So, uh, I came to the Lord, uh, at 37 after a very long search. Um, but my background is, um, Catholicism. So one verse that I had always wondered about, um, was it's in Luke. Uh, the kingdom of God is within you. When Jesus said that, what did he mean?
Uh, well. He's he's not saying that there won't be a literal kingdom on Earth. Uh. I think what he's actually saying is that the kingdom of God doesn't start with a political upheaval where the Lord returns and establishes, Is, uh, a, uh, uh, an earthly kingdom. It actually starts when we trust in the Lord and believe in him and follow him and allow him to rule over us. Kingdom of God refers to the rulership of God, and his rulership doesn't start
with a political upheaval. It starts with a personal transformation. And that's when he says, the Kingdom of God is in your midst or within you. Uh, it's it's it's in man's heart. Uh, your women's heart. It's in a person's faith decision. And only that's where it starts. But one day, when the entire nation of Israel makes that faith decision. That's a long time from when the Lord Jesus said it. But it does say that one day
they will. He said, this is what he said. Oh, Jerusalem. Jerusalem. Uh, I would have gathered you as a mother hen gathers her chicks. But you were unwilling. You won't see me until you welcome me back. Until you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, he will return, and the kingdom of God will come to earth, not as something just in our hearts, but actually, uh, his rulership on earth. So I hope that helps a little bit. Emily, we got to take our break here.
Thanks for listening, everyone. That's it for the first hour. Keep listening for the second hour of Open Line, which is coming up during the break. Check out our web page, Open Line Radio. Org's got all the links you're looking for. The Bible study across America will continue in the second hour, so stay with us. Open line with Doctor Michael Melnick is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. Stay with us. We'll be back.