My ultimate human role model went to be with the Lord just a couple of weeks ago, and he finished his life so well, so faithfully. What does it take to end this life well? Stay with me and we'll talk about that in just a moment. Hello, friends. Welcome to Open Line with Michael Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America. I'm Michael Redneck, I'm the academic dean and professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute, and I
am back from Greece and Turkey and Italy. I'm so glad to be here with you, sitting around the radio kitchen table and I'm taking your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. If you have a question and you'd like to call, the phone number is 3675. That's (877) 548-3675. Here's a little clue. People need to know. They say I try to call. I can't get through. The best time to call is right at the beginning of the program. So you store up your question, get
ready and and then call right now. (877) 548-3675. You're more likely to get through and to get on the air with your questions. So I appreciate you calling. Now, Tricia McMillan is sitting in the producer's chair. Ryan McConaughey is our tech guy. Today. Tiara is answering the phones. Or is it Tahira who's answering the phones today? Tiara I see her I see to here to here is in the in the booth there waving at me right now. So she is not answering phones. It's a little too confusing, Trish,
to have a tiara and a tiara working here. I just want to say. Yeah, and Tricia to boot. That's it. But anyway, we're glad you're here. Uh, again, phone number 83675. Now it's time to go get your cup of coffee. Open your Bible because we're about to study the scriptures together. Doctor George Sweeting passed away a couple of weeks ago. Ever since I was a freshman at Moody, he has been my ultimate role model. I would have thought that
maybe I would grow out of that. But no, he was always the person I admired most, the one I wanted to be like. I often say to people, when I grow up, I want to be Doctor George Sweeting, and I just. I just loved him. Uh, and still do love the legacy he has left. He wrote a book that I read a few years ago, How to Finish the Christian Life. Uh, and that's kind of an interesting book, because he had written a book about how
to begin the Christian life. And now he then he wrote this other book with his son, Don Sweeting, about how to finish the Christian life. I think it's an outstanding book. And, you know, I'm of an age I always wanted to end well, but I'm of an age now where I'm looking at ending a little bit closer than it was when I first started to say, I
want to end well. And I, I think about what does it take to finish well, what does it take to come to the the close of our lives and say, yeah, this is this is what I have done to prepare for this day and to do it well all the way to the end. Well, I think that the answer is found in Second Timothy chapter four, verses six through eight. This is the example of Paul near the time when he was going to end his life. He was in prison. It was the second imprisonment in Rome, the one that
is not described in the book of acts. But he was released. He went off to other ministry. According to tradition, he came back to Rome, was arrested, and he was facing the end of his life. He knew he was going to die soon. And he gives these words, which contain three aspects of what it takes to end well. Here's what he says, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is close. I have fought the good fight. I
have finished the race. I have kept the faith. There is reserved for me in the future the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me. But to all those who have loved his appearing. Well, what does it take to finish well? First of all, we need to consider the present right now. Offer ourselves to God. It says in verse six, I am already present tense, being poured out as a drink offering. The drink offering
was that part of the sacrifice? It was wine that was poured on top of the burnt offering before it was burnt and it was part of the offering. And what Paul is saying is I am already being poured out and in the present time I am offering myself to God right now. And that's kind of interesting because Paul talks about the same kind of idea in Romans 12 one and two where he says, present yourselves as
a living sacrifice, always offering yourself to God. Why do we have to keep offering ourselves to God from the beginning to the end every day? Well, it's because the old saying about the problem with living sacrifices we keep crawling off the altar and that is the problem. So we have to daily offer ourselves as a drink offering, as a burnt offering, whatever it is, we have to present ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord for him to use. I went to the retirement of Doctor George
Sweeting at a church. What? He had finished time as president, Moody and then chancellor and chancellor emeritus. And then what he did is he became the pastor of seniors at a church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago when he retired. I had the privilege of being there that day, and they had a special service for it. And I asked him, he was in his early 90s, I think he was about 93 at the time. Uh, and I asked doc, I said, what are you going to do now that
you're retired? He said, oh, I'm not retiring. I'm just not going to do this anymore. I've got about five books left in me, and I want to write them before I go, because, you know, I'm much closer to to the end and I want to finish that. So there he was, 93, 94 years old, and he said, I want to write five books. I believe he wrote four of them, uh, because of that commitment that he had. And he was able to finish that. And he was
just shy of his hundredth birthday. But what he was doing was, to the very end, presenting himself as a living sacrifice, offering himself as a drink, offering to the Lord. He always offered himself for service from the beginning to the end. That's the example. Consider the present. Present? Am I offering myself as a sacrifice to God? Secondly, review the past and what we will do is hopefully be encouraged by past faithfulness. Look at verse seven of second
Timothy 47I have fought the good fight. Past tense. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. That's all past tense. Paul is looking back and he's seeing that he has stuck to the faith. He hasn't given up anything. Now, I think if we look back at our lives, we're all going to see failures. We're all going to see mistakes. We're going to see errors that we've made. But what he's doing is he's saying, I'm looking back at my calling, and I have kept what
God has called me to do. I have kept the faith. I still believe in Jesus. I have not abandoned the faith. I am sticking to him as close as I can. It's almost as if he's saying, I've looked back. I'm. I've not, uh, abandoned what I began. I know whom I've believed in. And then he said, in essence, he's taking encouragement from that. And I think we should, too,
as we look back at our faith. Not that we were perfect, but that as we approach the end years, we look at it and we say, I've kept what God has wanted me to do, and he has forgiven me for the failures, but I have stuck close to him. And don't blow it now. Don't give up on it now. I'm reminded of John Knox, the great reformer who said
of Scotland, Give me Scotland or I die. Near the end of his life he came to a period of spiritual dryness, and in doing that he he looked at his life and he began to wonder, what would it do? What would it take for him at this point, near the end of his life, uh, to be recharged? And this is what he said, I will keep the ground that God has given me and perhaps in his grace he will ignite me again. But listen to this. But ignite me or not. In his grace, in his power
I will hold the ground. That's what we do. As we look back in our lives. We say, I will hold the ground he's given me. So we consider the present. We review the past. And then thirdly, anticipate the future. Verse eight talks about a crown of righteousness being reserved with the Lord, and not just for the Apostle Paul. Of course he has a crown of righteousness. He's the Apostle Paul. But look what it says. It is not only for him. He says not only to me, but
to all those who have loved his appearing. If we are people who have loved the appearing of the Lord, and we look at our lives, we offer ourselves as a sacrifice. We reviewed our faithfulness, that we've kept, the faith we've stuck to the Lord, and now we look forward to a reward. I honestly don't know that we really should get a reward. I mean, in the parables we learn that we are only unworthy servants. Only doing
that which is required. And I'm not sure I want a crown of righteousness, because I think if I get one, it's only because of what the Lord Jesus did for me. And like in the 24 elders in the book of revelation, we'll just toss those crowns at the feet of the Lord Jesus. But I know what I really want. It's, uh, those words. Well done, good and faithful servant. That's what I'm looking forward to and want to experience the most. And I long for that. That's what I want. It's.
I feel a little bit like my my boxer or my sheltie when I look at them and I say, good dog and they wag their tails, and that's what I want. That's just what I want. Just good and faithful servant. Doctor Sweeting went to be with the Lord and that was his experience, I'm sure. Well done. Good and faithful servant. Shouldn't that be our desire for each and every one of us that we would receive his affirmation, his commendation. You are a good servant. Thank you. And
that's what I would look forward to. Well, how to end? Well, here's what we should know. If we're going to end well, we should plan when we're young to offer ourselves constantly, stay faithful, persistently, and look forward expectantly. It's a great reminder that when we start at a young age, we have to. We do have to start at a young age so that we can end well when we get advanced in years. Uh, we're going to talk to, uh. Thomas in Warrior, Alabama, listening on Wmft. Uh, welcome to
Open Line. Thomas. How can I help you today?
Yes, I'm a pastor in Birmingham and I listen to you every Saturday morning when I'm out making some visits, I'm in and out of my car. I love your show.
Thank you.
Absolutely love it. And, uh, I would like for you. Oh, maybe not all today, over the weeks, trying to explain some of the, uh, the Jewish feasts that are coming up in October and their prophetic fulfillment, if you could. Okay. I know that's a lot.
Yeah. Well, I'll just give you a real quick answer. We'll be talking about that in coming weeks. But to begin with, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is coming up. That's the Feast of Trumpets in the Bible. Uh, it's a time when Israel is called to repentance. And so likely that refers prophetically. If it does prefer to have a prophetic significance, it's likely the rapture where the Trump is blown and it calls Israel to repentance. It's the beginning.
Then what follows is the tribulation, when Israel is going to be brought to the Lord by the end. And then afterwards you have the Day of Atonement. That's when Israel experienced national redemption in the Old Testament with the offering of sacrifice. It says in Zechariah 13 one on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, when Israel looks to him in belief that they experience a fount opened for for forgiveness the whole nation, Paul says all Israel will be saved at that time. Those who believe at
the return of Jesus will be saved. And then the next one is Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths. And that one is the Tabernacle. And it's in Zechariah 14 that is linked to the day of the kingdom, the messianic kingdom, when Jesus is reigning because he is tabernacling with us on earth. And that's what that is about, that even the nations will have to come, the Gentile nations and celebrate the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem during the Messianic Kingdom. I hope that helps and we'll be
talking about those holidays in upcoming weeks. Uh, this is a open line. We're going to come back in just a moment with more of your questions. My name is Michael Riedel. Glad to be back from overseas. A little jet lagged, but still happy to be here. We'll be back in a moment with more of your questions right here on Open Line with Michael Zelnick. Welcome back to Open Line. I should have mentioned with our last caller before the break, Thomas, he was asking about the Jewish
holy days. And when autumn rolls around, people are always interested in the Jewish fall holy days. And that's why Chosen People Ministries, one of our partners, is offering a free booklet. It's called Celebrate Israel's High Holidays, and it explores the fall Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, or and Sukkot, which is the Feast of Booths. So don't miss out. Uh, Thomas and others, if you're interested
in these, get this little booklet free. All you have to do is go to the Open line website. That's open line radio.org open line radio.org. Scroll down, click on the link that says there's a free gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that. It will take you to a page where you can sign up for your own copy of Celebrate Israel's High Holy Days. We're going to speak with Lois now in Georgia listening on WB, WB. Welcome to Open Line. Lois. How can I help you today?
Well welcome back.
Oh.
Thank you. Hey, I have a question. Excuse me. I'm 86. Oh, and I've been.
Congratulations. That's wonderful. Thank you for listening.
Well, you know, I've been a child of God for 50, some 60, some years. Wow. 60 some years. But that doesn't matter. That's that's immaterial. But I came across a verse in Scripture in Romans 11, verse 22. I mean, verse 32, and I'm the, the translations that I have it they're confusing me because it makes it seem that God is caused a sin and caused everybody to be in sin. But God didn't cause a sin. No happened.
No human beings are responsible for sin.
Yes.
It's. It's talking more about God's plan in how he did things, because, you know, you'd expect when you read the book of Romans. Obviously Gentiles are, uh, imprisoned in their sin because they were pagan. They didn't believe in God. That's what Paul was dealing with in the early chapters of Romans, that the Gentiles were imprisoned in their sin. And then, yeah, uh, what he does is he talks about the blindness of Israel. And people would say, well,
why would God allow Israel to remain blind? Why didn't he open their eyes? Because they were his chosen people. But what it does, what he says is that he has allowed, uh, he's hardened all, I guess when you say he shuts up all in disobedience, that's similar to he's hardened everyone after they've sinned, he's hardened them all, uh, so that he may show mercy to all. In other words, he didn't want Gentiles to say, oh, we're much more open to believing in Jesus. He allowed them, he hardened them,
they became pagans. And then he opened their hearts and they believed. And also at the same time, Jewish people couldn't claim we're the chosen people. We were always in. No, he allowed them to be hardened. He hardened them, in fact, because of their disobedience, and imprisoned them in their disobedience, so that when they did believe he could show mercy to them. In essence, what he was saying is everyone
rebelled against God. God hardened everyone who didn't believe, so that when they did believe, he could show mercy to all. No person could say I was better than that other person. My ethnic group is better than that ethnic group. We are all hardened and we all, when we believe, receive mercy. It's to show that God didn't have any favorites, that he didn't show favoritism when it came to forgiveness. That's
what it's talking about. Okay, okay, okay. By the way, aren't you glad that we we who were hardened, I was hardened, you were hardened. And when we trusted Jesus, he showed mercy to you and to me. And just the same way that he does that he's describing here in Romans 1132. Hey, Lois, do you have a moody Bible commentary?
Pardon?
Do you have a moody Bible commentary?
No, no I don't.
Well, you know, my friend Mike Vanlandingham co-edited that with me, but he wrote the commentary in Romans. He did a really nice job of it. And if you hang on, Trisha will get your your address and we'll send you a copy of the Moody Bible Commentary. Okay. And then you could look it up and see what it says about it. Okay.
Uh, thank you so much. Yeah.
And if you're listening, and you think I have verses that kind of confuse me, and I wonder what they're talking about. I think the Moody Bible commentary remains just a really helpful tool, and you can get a copy of it at your local Christian bookstore or your favorite online book distributor. Distributor. It's a really. It was one of my great privileges. I use it all the time. I used it this morning in prep for the program today.
It's just such a helpful tool. 30 faculty of Moody Bible Institute wrote the commentaries, and, uh, Mike and I had the great privilege of being the co-editors and contributors to the book, and I think you'll find it helpful. Uh, and, Lois, you hang on. Trish will get your name and address, and we'll send you one. Uh, we're going to talk with Diane in Indiana. Welcome to Open Line. Diane, how can I help you today?
Okay. I'm wondering about revelation 19. Jesus is coming back with his sight.
Yes.
Okay. Does that include the souls who have died and the people who are raptured? Thank you.
Okay. Well, revelation 19, what you have is I think it's one of the great arguments for a pre-tribulational rapture. And the reason is, uh, the events taking place in heaven in revelation 19 take place during the tribulation period. And what do we see happening in revelation 19? Well, the rapture for people who think, I don't know what that's about, let me just explain that what the Bible teaches that when we die, this is in first Thessalonians four.
When we die, our immaterial bodies go to be with the Lord. And then what will happen one day that Trump will blow? The Lord Jesus will descend with those who's immaterial bodies are with him and the dead. Those people who have who are descending with him, their bodies will be resurrected and they will be reunited with them.
And so the immaterial portion will meet the material, and they will return to Earth, and those of us who are alive and remain will be translated immediately into glorified bodies without having experienced death, much like Elijah or Enoch had happened to them. So we will be translated into glorified bodies. That's what happens at the rapture. And then in revelation 19 it talks about the marriage supper of
the lamb, and there are guests invited. The guests, I think, are the Old Testament saints who have not yet been resurrected. And the marriage supper of the lamb is the bride, the body of the Lord Jesus, the the church. They will be there with him. Uh, and that's when the marriage supper of the lamb. And they are dressed in fine linen. Uh, that's what it says. They're dressed in fine linen. And then the Lord Jesus descends from heaven after the marriage supper of the lamb in heaven. He descends.
And those who come with him are those dressed in pure white linen. That's the church that has been glorified. And now the marriage supper of the lamb has taken place, and they descend with him. So that's what happens. All the church, whether they have died and been resurrected or raptured and been translated into his presence in their glorified bodies, then they descend with him at the end of the
seven year tribulation. And that's when they deliver. Uh, so it's those who are raptured and those who are resurrected together to ascend with him after the marriage supper of the lamb, uh, at the end of the tribulation. Okay. Does that explain it for you?
Yes.
Thank you. Okay, good. I'm glad we got that all clarified. Uh, thanks for your call, Diane. Uh, we're going to talk with Linda in Lakeland, Florida right now listening on Wcqs. Welcome to Open Line. Linda. How can I help you today?
I. First of all, I want to tell you I really look forward to your program.
Oh. Thank you. Saturday. I really enjoy it.
I look forward to it. Also, can you believe that I love coming on Saturdays and and talking with you about the Bible, so thank you.
That's cool.
Yeah. I don't have to be in class to do this. Anyway, um, the author of the Old Testament, you know, they sacrificed, um, you know, like, your day of atonement and all your times where you're trying to the Jewish people sacrificed for their sins, and they don't believe in Jesus. So are they still sacrificing? No.
Absolutely not. Jewish people do not offer sacrifices because they can only sacrifice on the Temple Mount. Uh, and where a temple would be rebuilt someday. But they don't offer sacrifices because there is no temple today, and they can't build a temple. And they would not build a temple as long as there's the the dome of the Rock and the the Al-Aqsa mosque up there. So even though Israel was able to retake the Temple Mount, they didn't rebuild the temple because they want to they want to
respect the rights of the Muslims. Who who built those? Uh, the monument there, the dome of the Rock and the mosque up there. So they're being respectful of that. And so, no, they do not offer sacrifices. What Judaism teaches that God has given alternatives to sacrifice, which are, uh, prayer, repentance and good deeds. And unfortunately, we know from Scripture that prayer, repentance and good deeds are not going to cut it.
We need an atoning sacrifice, uh, because none of us we're all unrighteous, and none of us can do enough good to outweigh the unrighteousness. There's only one perfect one who was our sacrifice. That's the Messiah, Jesus. And that's why I tell Jewish people about their Messiah so they can experience a true knowledge, at true forgiveness and not just longing for it. Did I do enough? Good. Did I do pray enough? Did I repent enough? Did I do enough good deeds? So the point. Keep pointing Jewish
people and all people to Jesus. That's the the lesson of the holidays and the sacrifices. Well, we're going to come right back with the mailbag. Trish is dragging it in right now, so stay with us. This is open line with Michael Radonich. And we're back. I am so glad to be with you. I had a great time, by the way. Just returned from Rome. We were in Turkey and Greece. We saw we were on a Journeys of Paul tour with Moody. Uh, Eve and I went
and the only thing I missed really, while we were away. Uh, well, that's not true. Not the only thing I missed my family. I missed seeing my grandkids. I missed, uh, you know, my dogs. Uh, believe it or not, they're so annoying sometimes that you can miss them when they're not there to annoy you. Oh, come on, take me out. Give me food, whatever it is that they're saying. But I missed having Tricia on the trip with us. Thank you, Tricia, for for coming in now. But do you know why?
The very first night when we did orientation, when everyone arrived, I said, how many of you are Openline listeners? And virtually everyone raised their hand? That's fantastic. And I thought, oh, Tricia should be here. This is the open line family here traveling with me, and you're part of it. So we really missed you.
Then one of the cool things is, um, uh, someone on the trip was posting pictures on our Facebook page for Open Line and several of the comments were people saying, I was here, you know, I'm here with you. I'm loving seeing these pictures and, you know, comments on that. When I said you were going to be back on the air on Saturday, people several people said that they enjoyed being on the trip with you and were looking forward to listening again.
Yeah, yeah, we had a great time. And I'll tell you, the funny part is there were a lot of people who were Open Line listeners who came on this trip. We had 164 people on the trip, and a lot of them were regular open line. 90% at least, were regular open line listeners. And they a lot of people came up and said, I'm a kitchen table partner or I'm a kitchen. And I so appreciated. And whenever William Washington was on the trip, too, he was one of
the bus hosts, uh, our dean of students here. And whenever someone said that they were an open line listener, he just looked them right in the eye and says, are you a kitchen table partner? Are you a kitchen table partner? And they said, well, not yet. He says, well, why not? And I said, shh, stop it, you know, no guilt trips, but. No, but I thought it was really cute because people said, I don't know why I'm not,
and I'm a regular listener. And so it made me really appreciative, as most many of them, of those people who said that were kitchen table partners, I was so appreciative of meeting them because they are such an intrinsic part of this program, because they help keep open line on the air, because they give monthly. And then there were a lot of people who said they were going to become kitchen table partners again. So grateful for that.
And if you're listening and didn't go to Italy and Rome and Athens and Turkey and all that, but you listen regularly and and you would like to become a kitchen table partner. We would so appreciate it. It means so much to us to have your support and to know that we can count on you and, uh, what what I try to do and we've been doing every other week, Tricia helps me produce a Bible study moment. And what we do is we send it out every
other week via email. You click on it and it's a Bible study designed exclusively a brief one designed exclusively for our kitchen table partners.
And that's an audio Bible study that you go through. And the current one we're going through is actually you and your wife, Eva, who is one of our favorites, talking about the covenants. Yes. Um, and if you so if you signed up today, the next one goes out next Thursday. Um, so in just a few days. So if you sign up anytime between now and then, you would get this next one that goes out on Thursday. And there's a place on that email where you can click on the archives. So you could go back and
listen to the full series. I think it goes back two years. So you could actually go back and listen to a lot of the past ones that we.
That's a lot of fun.
Yeah. Isn't that.
Great? I better go back and see what I talked about. Okay, well, if you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, just go to Openline radio.org or and you'll see the link there for it. Or you can call (888) 644-7122. And thanks so much for considering this. And got some Bible questions that people have mailed in.
Okay. Our first question is from Amy in Indiana. Listens to Wagner. I'm reading about Satan bringing angels with him when he fell. So do angels have free will? And was this a one time fall? And then what scripture do you have to either support or support that?
Well, I don't have a ton of scripture. We have Isaiah 14 where the the fall of Lucifer. Right? And and it's actually talking about the king of Babylon. And then it shifts to the power behind the king of Babylon, and that is Satan. And what he says, this is what Isaiah says of him, shining morning star, you how you have fallen from the heavens. Then he says in verse 13, you said to yourself, I will ascend to
the heavens. I will set up my throne. I will sit on the mount of the gods of the assembly. I will ascend to the highest clouds. I will make myself like the most High. So that sounds like an affirmation of his willfulness. And then Ezekiel 28 also describes first talking about the King of tyre, but then it talks about the power behind the king of tyre. It says you were in Eden and then that was you until wickedness was found in you. So obviously angels had
free will. So those are the passages I would point to when they when Satan fell, and he took a third of the angels with him. Revelation 12 talks about a third of the angels falling with him that said, the angels that did not fall cannot fall anymore. The best thing I can describe is that they are confirmed in their decision. They either were confirmed as obedient servants to God and they cannot fall anymore. Much like after we die, we can't, uh, sin anymore. When we see him,
we'll be like him. So apparently that was the time after the fall of Satan. The enemy and those who fell with him were confirmed in their disobedience. The good angels, those who did not fall, remained good servants, and they were confirmed in their obedience. And that's how it will stay. Okay.
All right. Thank you for that question, Amy, and thank you for that answer, Bonnie wrote on Instagram. Yay! Um, what is the fruit of John 15 one through eight? Um, which is familiar more, I think, as the vine and the vine keeper or vine dresser. I'm the true vine and my father is the vineyard keeper. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit, he removes and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. And it goes on. And fruit is
mentioned several times within these eight verses. Um, and Bonnie wants to know if this is the fruit of the spirit from Galatians 522 and 23.
Well, they both use a figure of speech, a metaphor for product.
The fruit being the product. Okay. Yeah.
That's why we call it fruit produce. Right. Mhm. So it's the product. And so the fruit of the spirit is the product of what the spirit produces in our lives. When the Holy Spirit has control of us, when we're walking in the spirit, as the book of Galatians teaches, when we're under the rule of the spirit. Uh, that's what Galatians five is about. Walk in the spirit. It says in Galatians five two through four. Uh, and you will not. So that's what it's talking about. Uh, that
we're to walk in the spirit and I'm sorry. Galatians 516 I say, then walk by the spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. So what is the the product? That's love, joy, peace, and all of those. It's it's what the Holy Spirit produces in John 15. It's talking about fruit in the same way. And there it says, uh, that the Lord Jesus, when we're attached to him, he is, uh, when we're attached to the vine and we're we will produce good deeds
and he will produce good deeds in our life. It's not just talking about the fruit of the spirit there. It's talking about good deeds. That much like in Ephesians two eight, without the metaphor, what it talks about is by grace are you saved through faith? Not of works, lest any man should boast. It's the gift of God.
Do you know that passage? Right. Mhm. Uh, but then it talks about uh, verse ten where it says, for we are his creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. So when in John 15, when it's talking about the fruit there, those are the good works that God created for us, because we are attached to the, the vine. And, uh, and it's not anything that saves us. It's the product of being attached to Jesus, to being
linked to him forever. Okay.
So it's it's not specifically the fruit of the spirit, but it is good in that sense. It's it's the things that God is producing in us that are the outflow of us being connected to him and following the spirit. Exactly. Okay. So in that sense, it is the fruit.
Of the spirit is more specific. This is just general good good works that follow.
Okay. Wonderful. Thank you.
Let's do one.
More. All right. Uh, Patricia in Illinois listens to WNBA. Matthew two three states when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. This is about Jesus being born and the Magi coming. I understand why Herod would be troubled because a new king would prove a threat, a political threat to him. But why was all Jerusalem troubled with him? Weren't the Jewish people long awaiting the king from the Old Testament writings?
Well, they were assured that this was really the king. But they knew who the king was at the time appointed by Rome, known as Herod. Herod the Great. And Herod was callous and wicked. And when he was so paranoid that Caesar Augustus said he would rather be, and he used a play on words in the Greek that he would rather be Herod's swine than Herod's son. And it sounds there are two words that sound similar. Why?
Because he killed several of his sons and his wife that he loved because he thought they were a threat to his his crown, to his kingship. And he was so wicked and so paranoid about people trying to take his crown, that when these wise men appeared saying that there's a born king, all of Jerusalem starts saying, wait a minute, this delegation has come. There's another threat to the throne. Who knows what he'll do? He'll start killing people left and right. Right.
Which is what he did.
It's exactly what he did. And so that's why all Jerusalem, they didn't know what he was going to do, but they knew he would do something bad, right?
So okay. Thank you for that question, Patricia. And thank you for that answer. Yeah.
Hey, thanks for bringing in the questions. And thanks for sending them in. You just go to Open Line radio.org, click on ask Michael a question and Trish will put it in the mailbag. And Trish will be back next hour with more of the mailbag questions. And the bottom of the hour, I'm going to be right back with more of your calls and questions in just a moment. This was Tricia McMillan and Michael. Right click on Open Line. Welcome back I'm Michael Wright Zelnick. We just finished the
last segment was the ABC mailbag. I forgot to mention that you can check out Febc, which is a terrific organization, Far Eastern Broadcasting Company. Uh, they partner with us to bring you the weekly Febc mailbag. And it's a terrific group. They bring the good news to people via media and personal engagement. They they're just I just love this organization. They do so much. So good. So, so much good, so often and so well, uh, check out their podcasts
until all have heard by going to Febc. Org that's Febc dawg. And also our our current resource is a wonderful book by a colleague of mine, a friend of mine, Jim Coakley, while I was away. Jim taught my classes in Daniel here at Moody, and Jim Coakley has written a wonderful book. It's about the Bible being more than just a collection of ancient texts. It's it's a masterpiece. And if you want to read it for all it's worth, claim all it's worth. The resource that he has written
is called 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible. It's an award winning book. It's enlightening. It reveals how the same techniques used by modern authors were employed by biblical writers long ago. Shows you how to see them through the lens of interpretation, and it really will encourage you. You'll get practical strategies to engage in God's Word with in a very, very fresh way. And if this is yours, if you just give a gift of any size, we'd like to send you a copy to say thank you.
So to give your gift, go to Openline radio.org or call (888) 644-7122. And remember. Ask for 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible by Jim Coakley when you give your gift. And one last thing I need to mention, which is that on November 9th, we're having a very special summit opposing anti-Semitism right here at Moody Bible Institute, Tori Gray Auditorium. People are coming from all over the country. I want
you to check that out. Go to our website. Uh openline. radio.org, and you'll see the link there about the upcoming summit opposing anti-Semitism. We're gonna have some great speakers doctor Don Sweeting, doctor Mitch Glazer, doctor Mark Jobe. I will be speaking as well. Others, uh, there'll be workshops and it will help mobilize Christians to stand against this growing anti-Semitism across the United States. And now we're going to talk to
David in Idaho, listening on KMBC. Welcome to Open Line. David. How can I help you today?
Well, thank you so much. I'm glad you're back and had a good, safe visit. And educating other people is always nice. We're going to talk about revelation 17 Babylon and verse 16. It actually talks about the they'll bring her to ruin and leave her naked. So it says there's a lot of discussion on that, whether they will rebuild it or if it's just a figurative speech about the, um, all the wickedness all combined. It just it kind of misleading either way. But I know that I'll just make
one more quick comment and then let you talk here. Um, Saddam Hussein tried to rebuild, um, Babylon also. So there must be something going on. Obviously he was wrong, but, you know, I don't know that all the details. So maybe you can talk about that a little bit more, please. Well.
Uh, I can't talk about Saddam Hussein because I never saw what he was trying to rebuild. Although Charlie Dyer wrote a book called The Rise of Babylon, which talks about that Babylon will be rebuilt. Two views on revelation 17 and 18. Some take Babylon to be symbolic of Rome, and it refers to the revised Roman Empire and religious system that will take place in the tribulation. I think that sometimes we get a little too, because the Book of Revelation has all these symbols and figures. They we
think that. But I personally think when it talks about Babylon, this, uh, woman of Babylon. Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes, and all the vile things of the earth. I believe it's when it says Babylon. You're going to find the shocking. It means Babylon. Uh, and it. I think the city will be rebuilt. Or maybe it's referring to one of the cities in the Babylonian Empire. Uh, which would have
been like something like Baghdad. I don't know, but there's going to be a revival of of of that area. Iraq now sits on the, the, the second most, uh, oil, uh, that's not been developed yet, but the reserves. Second most oil reserves next to Saudi Arabia in the world. They can become very wealthy. I think it's really talking about Babylon. And it will be rebuilt, I think. And uh, in the tribulation period, they will become the model of materialism
and corruption, and they will ultimately be destroyed. That's what it's talking about. That's what I understand it to be. Uh, you know, the temple has not been rebuilt. It will be, uh, in Jerusalem. Babylon will be rebuilt and will be destroyed. Uh, I hope that helps, David. Okay. Thanks for your call. Uh, and, uh, we're going to talk to Cheryl in Birmingham, Alabama, listening on Wmft. Welcome to Open Line, Cheryl. How can I help you today?
Hi. I'm so glad that you're back. I want to go to Israel next time you go.
Oh, good. I want to go to Israel, too. Boy, it's a it's a rough time to be going to Israel these days. Taking groups.
I know, yeah, I know. Yeah. Um, well, I have a friend who is a newer Christian. She's my age, but she's not been a Christian very long. And she had a question in her Bible study, which I did not attend. She asked that if Adam and Eve had never sinned, would the earth still have been populated? Um, which is getting in the weeds to me. But to her it was important to know. And somebody googled it, which Google is spurious to begin with for Bible.
You mean you don't? You don't trust the internet to give you answers? Oh, how could you not trust the internet? Well.
They'll give you answers.
But they might not be right.
Exactly, exactly.
Yes. So somebody found something in Psalms, and she didn't remember exactly the verse in chapter, but it said that there were two creations and I just never heard that.
Okay. Well, I don't know the verse in Psalms either. I don't believe there were two creations or that they were going to be two creations. There's the original creation. There will be the creation of the new heavens and the new earth at the after the Millennial Kingdom. Here's what the question is. What if Adam and Eve had never sinned? I don't like what if questions because we
can't really know. But here's what I do know when I look at Genesis 128, after the creation, God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. That is pre-fall. So yes, God still commanded them to fill the earth even if they had not fallen. So yes, the earth would have been populated, but they did fall and they still filled the earth. And one day the earth will be redeemed completely.
I hope that helps. Cheryl. Thanks for listening everyone. That's the first hour and we're going to come back with a second hour of open line on most of these stations. Remember, if your station doesn't carry an open line, you can always check it out on the Moody Radio app. You can listen online. Uh, you can get the podcast during the break. Check out our web page, open Line radio.org
has all the links you're looking for right there. 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. See you in a bit.