Hello friends. It's time for the second hour of Open Line with me. Michael, this is Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America, where we're talking about your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life. I'm, uh, my name is Michael. I don't like, as I said, and I'm also the academic dean and professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. And we're live here today sitting around the radio kitchen table taking your questions. So give me
a call. The phone number is (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. If you can't call, you can always go to our website Open Line radio.org. And you can click on the link that says ask Michael a question and post your question there. I hope you have your Bibles open. I hope you have a second cup of coffee, because we're going to talk about the scriptures, and we're going to start by talking with Cheryl in Monticello, Indiana. Listen, we're welcome to Open line, Cheryl. How can I help you today?
Thank you doctor. I recently heard a messianic rabbi teach that the Messiah would have to perform four specific miracles, um, to identify himself as Messiah, and that the religious leaders at the time were looking for that. But when he performed those miracles, they gave the credit to Beelzebub rather than him and the Holy Spirit. I was wondering what your thoughts were on that.
Was it was it the messianic congregation in Indianapolis that you heard that?
Um, no, I heard it online.
Oh, online. Okay.
Well, I'm not sure who he's from.
Uh, a friend of mine leads a messianic congregation in Indy. And you're there in Indianapolis or Indiana, I should say. But anyway, I'll tell you this I've only ever heard it as three messianic miracles. Miracles. The three are the healing of a leper. The second, the casting out of a demon, uh, that causes mute muteness, causes a person to be mute. And the third is healing someone who is born blind.
Okay.
Uh. And that these were the three messianic miracles that the Lord Jesus fulfilled. Now, I'm going to tell you my. I've heard this taught by a lot of people. And if you typed in three messianic miracles into Google, you'd find a ton of stuff. What I haven't been able to find is any rabbinic source that actually says that.
Okay.
Do you what I mean. Like, no one has ever I hear people say this, but what I always look, I say, okay, can you show me the the Mishnah or the Talmudic passage or the something from rabbinic writings that would lead would lead to that? I've never been able to see that. So I've heard many messianic teachers say this, but I'm still looking for the substantiation for it from rabbinic writings.
Okay, okay. All right. Well, thank.
You, doctor. I appreciate your.
Help.
Sure. Thanks for your call. Appreciate it. We're going to talk to Tom in New Lenox, Illinois, listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line, Tom. How can I help you?
Good morning, doctor. How are you?
I'm well. Thank you for asking.
Great. My daughter is a cardiac ward at a hospital, and she came home last night with a great question, and I thought I pretty much answered it, but I wanted to get your take on it. She had mentioned when a patient codes when a basically no heartbeat, no nothing like that does there. So at that moment go to be with God or because sometimes they get them back, you know they'll be able to bring them back, shock
them back. So she had a great question and I was like, my opinion is, you know, once you're once you're dead, you're dead. And that's it. You go to be with the Lord. But she she threw a good one at me last night.
Well, I don't know. I don't know if a person goes to be with the Lord and he sends him back. I don't believe that necessarily. Right. You know, we've have the stories about the white light walking towards the white light, right? You've heard that, haven't you? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. It's such a bizarre, uh, you know, we do. See, uh, this is kind of interesting that people do see frequently when they're on their deathbed, just before they die. They see loved ones and they talk to them. Uh, that's
that's pretty common. Uh, I, you know, I just don't know really what's going on there. Here's what I believe. That when a person is really dead. I'm not talking about coded, but, uh, actually dead, uh, their their destiny is set. Uh, but, uh, I don't know. You know, I'm not going to be the one to say if they got him back. Was that person dead? And when their heart wasn't beating? I don't know, so. Right. I'm just. Here's the thing. I know when someone dies, they need
to be ready to. To deal with God. Uh, because some people say, well, I'll talk to God and he'll. He'll accept me as he is. God has given us all sorts of opportunities now to enter into a relationship with him. And negotiating before the throne is not the time to do it. Now is the time. Today is the day of salvation. So I would always encourage everyone today to be ready, because you never know when we're going to go be with the Lord. So when he's going to take us and so we we just need
to be ready. Uh, trust in Jesus. Put your trust in him. Uh, believe that he died for us and rose again. And our sins are forgiven and we're ready to face God. So that's what I would say. Okay.
Thank you, doctor. I appreciate it.
Yeah. Thanks, Tom. Thanks for accepting that, I don't know. There's things that I just don't know, you know.
Oh, no. No, that's just a hard question.
That's just. Yeah, I don't know.
It's just.
Hard.
Uh, when I go to be with the Lord, I might ask him. I don't know. I don't know if I'll care.
So I'll hopefully I'll be standing next to you and saying, hey, remember that question, doc?
Okay, Tom, you'll remind me.
Thanks.
Thank you. Okay. Bye bye. Uh, we're going to talk to Ronald in Elmwood Park, Illinois, listening on Wmbi. Welcome to Open Line. Ron, how can I help you?
Uh, good morning, sir. How are you?
I'm well, thank you.
Yeah. Glad to hear that. Uh, and I have a dilemma, which I'm going to make your problem now. Okay. Okay. In the Bible in Genesis, Adam and Eve are deceived by the serpent and caused them to sin. And then God came and came into the garden, confronted the serpent and told him, uh, I shall put enmity between the woman's seed. And you. You shall eat dust, dirt the rest of your life, and you shall kick at my heels, or something similar to that, am I close?
And then what's your what's your question? You know. Okay. Just go ahead and go ahead with your question.
Okay. Well, then later on, um, when Moses is leading the Israelites, um, to the Promised Land, they are they're attacked at one point in time by certain serpents that bit a lot of the people, and they died. Moses had a pole and he made a replica somehow of a serpent, put it on a pole and held it up. Now to me, when you hold something up like that, it's to honor or look up to. But that seems to be what the serpent did. Why are they looking up to the serpent?
Let's see if I can. You want to know? Okay. How can the serpent be a mark of healing when it was? Obviously, the serpent is the instrument of temptation and accursed in Genesis three. Yes, sir. Am I? That's. That's the question. That's so.
Yes.
So here's what I would say about Genesis three before we get to Genesis three. You need to know that the animals were created on the sixth day before Genesis three. And it says on the sixth day, when God created all kinds of animals, let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds livestock creatures that crawl, and wildlife of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so.
So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. So intrinsically, serpents are part of God's good creation. Genesis three. The judgment is that he would be more cursed than all the other creation. The whole creation was cursed when Satan used the serpent to talk to Adam and Eve and they sinned. Wasn't
the talking, it was the sinning that did it. The whole creation was cursed. And what I, what I noticed is in Isaiah 65, it talks about how all the animals like, for example, the predatory animals will no longer be predatory in the messianic kingdom, but the serpent will still crawl on its belly. Meaning that there it's more cursed. It will be a perpetual sign of Satan's defeat. Uh, so that's how it's more cursed. But it is not intrinsically, though it was used by Satan, that didn't mean it
was always intrinsically bad. In numbers 21, where you have the story of the fiery snakes, that's what happens. There were fiery snakes and, uh, those fiery snakes, uh, are there in numbers 21 and and what they are saying is the people were complaining, they became impatient because of the journey. And so the Lord sent my version says poisonous, but it literally in Hebrew is fiery snakes among the people. And they said they repented. We've sinned by speaking against
the Lord and against you. Intercede for us. And Moses interceded. And so, because it was through the judgment of fiery snakes that the Lord said, uh, he to build a snake image mounted on a pole. Uh, and anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover. The point of that is, I believe that snakes were were the instrument by God to discipline. But the people would think
that somehow the snakes were intrinsically the cause. And so by giving them an opportunity to look with faith at a snake as God directed, it would help them to see that it's not a snake that was disciplining them. But God was through fiery snakes, and it was not a snake that was healing them, but it was God who was healing them through a look of faith that the snake was just merely an instrument of God. And that's why it was okay to use a snake for that.
So that's my understanding. It's God who is the one who is acting here. But don't think that snakes are just intrinsically evil because Satan used one. Anyway, we're going to come back with more of your questions in just a bit. This is Michael. Nick, you're listening to Moody Radio's Open Line. Stay with us. Many more questions coming up straight ahead. Welcome back to Open Line. So glad that you're listening today. I was just on the break talking to Omar, our engineer, and pointing out our last
caller was asking about the Brass serpent. The Brazen serpent. And we were talking about what became of that serpent, the one that Moses lifted up on a pole. I should probably mention two things about it that I didn't mention before. And I was talking about it with Omar. One is that Israel preserved that snake. And when Hezekiah removed the high places in Second Kings 18, he shattered
the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. And then it says he broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time. And he called it the iron or a bronze thing. And what that's saying is that they took something that was really good and made it into an idol. They were offering incense to the snake. The very point that I said that they were supposed to avoid, that it was God that that was healing them,
and not the snake. They treated like it was a god, the snake, and they offered incense to it. And so it was destroyed because even a good thing that God used could be, could result in something kind of bad. But there was a pattern in the snake, and I think this is really important. Just as that snake was lifted on a pole and people had to have the look of faith. In John three, the Lord Jesus looks at that pattern and he says, just as Moses lifted
up the snake in the wilderness. This is verse 14, So the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. Just as the people look to the serpent to be cured of those fiery snakes snake bites. So when we look to the Messiah who's lifted up for us, when we look up at him and trust in him in his death and his resurrection, then we're forgiven. And that's the great reminder. It became a pattern of how of how
we look to the Messiah. So anyway, uh, more more about snakes and brass serpents than you ever wanted to hear, but that's all in there. And I thought it was kind of interesting. So. Okay. Mark in Moline, Illinois, listening on Wwdm. Welcome to Open Line. Mark, how can I help you today?
Well thank you. Um, I came upon, uh, Harry Ironside's lectures on the revelation. He, uh, was associated with Moody Bible Institute, apparently 90 or so years ago. And he's he was the at the.
He he was the pastor of Moody Church.
I see, not the Bible Institute. Okay.
Right.
Um, and he's looking at the, uh, seven churches in revelation as the church history. Um, and I asked a preacher friend of mine about this, and this. And he said that somehow tied up in dispensational theology and covenant theology. But I can't sort out dispensational and covenant theology. Can you shed any light on that?
Yeah. There. Uh, there are, uh, dispensational, uh, teachers and, uh, who hold to that the seven churches representing seven ages of the church. And there are dispensational teachers who don't hold to that. Uh.
Just saying.
I know, I know, I just wanted to make it clear that just because Ironside held to that, that does not indicate that all dispensational, uh, people hold to that view. For example, I would categorize myself as dispensational, but I think that those are seven churches from the first century that the Lord Jesus was addressing. Obviously applicable to all churches for all ages, but not seven ages of church history. And yet I'm dispensational. Okay, so now what dispensationalism is.
It basically reads the Bible progressively. So you don't read the New Testament without understanding and believing the Old Testament. You read the New Testament through the old. You start with the old and work your way to the new. In terms of interpretation, uh, covenant theology tends to take the new and read it back into the old doesn't have the old. It reads back and its meanings into
the Old Testament. So I would say that's one major difference. Uh. Another difference that I would say is that dispensationalism tends to be much more consistently, uh, literal or normal in its interpretation. I think covenant is also normal or literal, but less consistently so when it comes to prophetic matters, they tend to be much more symbolic and figurative. And that would be another thing that leads this. That approach leads to a difference between what is the church and
what is God's plan for Israel. And, uh, the covenant would unite the Church and Israel as one, whereas a dispensation would see God's plan for Israel and God's plan for the church are distinct. Okay. Does that help, Mark?
Uh, no it doesn't.
Well, what is it? I thought you wanted to know the difference. You want to know the difference? That's the difference, right?
And so the difference is how they look at it. But I don't see how that gives me a difference in understanding God or my position with God or anything like that.
Well, it would change your view of prophecy is what it would do. It would change your view of Israel. Uh, that those are those are the areas where it would be different. Okay.
Okay.
Good. Okay. Thanks, Mark. Appreciate it. Okay. Uh, you know, uh, sometimes you need a road map to go someplace. I remember going on big trips and getting the road map out and, uh, sketching out. My son and I did this big road trip, and we got out our Rand McNally atlas, and we sketched out everywhere we were going. And every day, we knew exactly where we were going to stop and, uh, where what we were going to do. It was a lot of fun. And now we just put on the GPS and it, you know, Google Maps
or something. And and it tells us turn left here or go straight or whatever. But I think knowing in advance where we're going on that map was always a lot of fun. And I think that's what we need to when we come to the New Testament, uh, that, uh, when we read the Bible, it would be really good if we had a good road map to tell us
where we're going. And that's what our current resource is. It's, uh, been a survey of the New Testament, and, uh, that book gives us a comprehensive road map of where the Bible, how the New Testament fits together and where we're going as we read from Matthew to Revelation, how the whole thing fits together about God's plan for us. If you are a regular listener and you've never given a gift to open line before, this is the one you want to start giving with. Because this is a great little book,
I use it all the time. Uh, Paul Benware is a friend and also was a teacher of mine. And, uh, he was, uh, he's the guy that prayed with me my very first day of teaching at Moody, before I taught my very first class. Uh, he's a dear friend, but it's a great little book, and we want to send it to you and to anyone who gives a gift of any size. It's our way of saying thank you for this, for your generosity and for giving to
open line. And so if you'd like to give a gift, all you have to do is call (888) 644-7122 or go to open line radio.org. And uh, we're going to take a call now from Kevin in Mississippi who is on the road. Uh, we're going to have some music in the background there. Omar. No, I guess not. On the road again. There we go. Hey, Kevin, how can I help you today?
Yes. Um, I am Kevin from Macomb, Mississippi, and I'm traveling on the road. But I have a question, um, from a question that I heard in the first segment. It's, uh, it's kind of a response as well as a question, a response to the answer that you gave about the the wedding feast. Um, there was a one that Jesus used in the parable, um, that says that, um, yeah.
Well, just just go ahead. Just don't repeat the whole thing. Just go ahead.
Okay. Well, my question was, um, the response that you gave to the question was that, um, that person chose to enter to be to call himself being invited by his own works or, you know, by his own, um.
His own.
Clothes. Yes, with his own clothes. So that was you symbolize that as him choosing his own way as far as, like, using works to, uh, to be, um, to enter the enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And so in Exodus 2020, um, God commanded that we be holy as he is holy. And a command always stands. So, um, it takes an effort to be holy. You don't just be holy. You have to. It takes works to be holy.
Are you saying, Kevin, that I've got to be good enough to be saved?
Yes. You have to be good enough to be holy. And if you're commanded to be holy, you have to be good enough to be saved.
Okay, well, let me just read to you what the Apostle Paul has to say. Okay. It says in Ephesians two eight. Uh, here's what it says. I'm going to read it. For you are saved by grace. Grace means God's undeserved kindness towards us. You are saved by grace through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is God's gift, not from works so that no one can boast. So it's really clear that there's not enough. I mean, you can go to Romans. See that? Romans three, for example, uh,
where God is both just and justifier of men. In other words, that God is holy and he justifies us. He is the one that declares us righteous. It's not us. Now.
What that doctor may say. So I think that when Paul made that statement, he was making a very concerted effort to move the people from the idea that it was only by works by. And I think he put extra emphasis on faith to move them from the position of works. But he did not exclude the concept of works. See, I think faith.
Wait, wait, Kevin. I'm not Kevin. Kevin, Kevin. We are saved by God's kindness Is that we don't deserve through trust in Jesus. It's Jesus and Jesus alone. There's nothing we can do to earn our way with God. Uh, and now there is a place for works. If you look at Ephesians two, it says, once we know him, we are his creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. The root of our forgiveness is grace
through faith. But the fruit of being forgiven is that God has prepared good works for us to walk in. But I want to be really cautious, Kevin, if you think that we can be in any way, if it's faith plus works, if it's both, uh, then it's all works. Uh, we we cannot trust in any of any of our own works at all. That's that's what I, I would caution you about. And if you're listening and think I can be good enough. No. We can't. All we have to do is trust in the who. The one who
is good, the Lord Jesus. And we need to put our trust in him. We're going to we're going to come back with the mailbag in just a moment. So stay with us. This is open line with Michael Wright. I'll be right back. Welcome back to Open Line. So glad to be with you this Saturday morning talking about your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. My name is Michael Wright. And joining me right now
for the Febc mailbag will be Tricia McMillan. We're so grateful that Far Eastern Broadcasting Company partners with Open Line to bring you the weekly Febc mailbag. It's a wonderful organization, and they really bring the good news that Jesus is our only way by faith in him. And they bring that via media. They bring that message, uh, through personal engagement with people. Check out their podcast, Febc's podcast called Until all I've Heard, Until All I've Heard by going
to Febc. Org you'll find it there. And here comes Tricia, my other partner in crime. I talked last hour about, uh, William Washington being my partner in crime at Moody. But everyone, when they think Open Line, they think Tricia. Tricia, she's the other person here. Yes.
Hopefully not for crime, though.
No, no. When I go out, though, I will tell you this, uh, when I go out, people and I'm speaking someplace, they say we want to meet Tricia or. Or they want to meet Eva when Eva's on, they always talk about that. They could care less about meeting me. It's just you and Eva that everyone wants to meet. I don't want to. I don't want to be ungrateful here. But come on. Why do they want to meet you guys?
I don't know.
Yeah, well, anyway, I appreciate you being, uh, working with me all these many years. And for Tara being here and Omar and Titus. And what a great team we have here. And I'm really grateful for all of you. And I will say this, that there's, uh, other members of the team that we don't ever, uh, see in the studio, but we we see them all the time because they are our kitchen table partners. They're partnering with us to help bring Open Line on the air every week.
And we appreciate them so much. They give monthly so we can be on the air weekly. And when they give, what we try to do to say thanks is besides giving them our our current resource, which is what? It's part of the the things we like to do. But also every other week we send them a Bible study moment. And that Bible study moment is an audio Bible study, about 5 or 10 minutes that they can click on and listen to and be encouraged by. And so thankful
that we have these great kitchen table partners. If you're thinking about becoming a kitchen table partner, if you'd like to become one, all you have to do is call (800) 864-4712 two or go to open line radio.org. And boy do we appreciate it. We'd really like to see that number. Like Doctor Washington says we want to get it to a thousand. That'd be great. Yeah. Okay, Tricia, that's your job.
What's my job? To encourage people. Please support the program.
No, I'm not going to. I'm not. That's my job. Not your job. So. But anyway, I do appreciate you joining me in this all the time. Okay, let's let's let's go to the mailbag.
What have we got? Our first question is from Sharon in Baltimore. Uh, listens to WBZ. Um, she says, I thought that when people followed Jesus that Christians are supposed to go out, preach the gospel, and help one another. Is that in the Bible? And then when is that supposed to happen? Does that pertain to now times, or is that just like a future end times thing when people are supposed to be doing that?
No. We're supposed to be sharing the good news. You know, if, uh, if everywhere we go, we make Christ known. That's that's something that Paul gave as a model for us in the book of Colossians chapter four. Uh, he says, devote yourselves to prayer. Stay alert in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door for us for the message to speak. The mystery of the Messiah for which I am in prison, so that I may reveal it as I am required
to speak. And then he says, act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time. Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person. In other words, Paul said, I'm pray for me. I'm out there. I'm in prison. Wherever I am, I'm sharing the good news. And, uh, you too. You should, uh, your your speech should be gracious, appealing, uh, desire when you when you season with salt, uh, flavorful
is what it's talking about there. Uh, and and seeking to know how to answer each person about the good news. That's really what that's talking about. So, no, we should be doing that. We should be helping each other. We should be kind to each other. Uh, the problem is that we don't always do that, to be frank. We're just still sinful. And first, John talks about how if anyone thinks that they don't sin or don't have a sin nature once they come to know Jesus. Uh, they're
they're making God a liar. We have to keep confessing our sins. Uh, you know, so often I quote first John one nine which says, confess or agree with God about our sins so that it restores so that he can restore fellowship with us. But here's why. It says, uh, if we say we. Verse eight, if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Verse ten, if we say we don't have any sin, we make him a liar and His word is not in us. So the reason people
aren't always doing that now is we. We continue to be sinful and we need to confess it and move on and be transformed and share the good news and help each other as as Sharon says.
Okay. All right. Thank you. Thanks for that question, Sharon. Next question is from Kimberly on Facebook. She says, I was reading Genesis 12. When God gives Abraham the Abrahamic covenant, um, and he says, I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. Was he referring to Abraham specifically, or was he referring to the nation of Israel?
Well, it seems that what happens is he. This idea of blessing for blessing is not just for Abraham. Because when you come to Genesis 2729, uh, speaking to his descendant who receives the promise, do you remember Abraham has two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac receives the promise. And then, uh, Isaac has two sons, Jacob and Esau. And this is what Isaac says to Esau. He says, uh, those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you
will be blessed. Uh, Genesis In 29. And then, uh, in a seeming passage that I think continues on and on, uh, in numbers 24. And, uh, this is speaking to the Messiah as the head of Israel. So I think it really pertains to all of Israel. Uh, it says, uh, let's see if I can find it. Uh, those who bless you, verse 924 nine, those who bless you will be blessed. And those who curse you will be cursed.
And so, uh, I think what we have is a, a promise that goes from Abraham all the way down to Jacob, and then it's passed down to all of Israel and ultimately to the Messiah of Israel. Uh, as the king of Israel, that that is true. Uh, that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel.
Okay. Can I ask a follow up question? Because I, in Galatians 316, um, says that the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say and to seeds as referring to many, but rather to one and to your seed. That is Christ. So how how does that fit into this? That it goes to the the all of the descendants?
Well, the background on Genesis, uh, on, uh, Galatians 316, I believe is from Genesis 22, where, uh, in verses 16 and following it says, uh, because you have done this one thing and not withheld your son. When Abraham offers. Isaac. Mhm. I will indeed bless you and make your seed your offspring. My version says, but it's the word seed as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on
the seashore. Uh, and so they're obviously the word seed refers to the collective people of Israel because of all the, you know, multiple stars and sand. Right.
Right. The the vast number. Yes.
Yeah. And then, uh, verse 17, in the middle, there's a new sentence in the, in the Hebrew it indicates, uh, a clear break with a new thought. Okay. Hebrew grammar does. Yes. And it says your seed will possess the gate gates. And my version says of their enemies. But the Hebrew doesn't say that. It says your seed will possess the gates of his enemies. It's an individual seed.
Okay.
And so it's talking about you're going to have many seed, but you're going to have one, two and he will possess the gates of his enemies. He'll be a leader, he'll be a be a ruler, and all nations of the earth will be blessed by your seed. Because you've obeyed my command. And so who will bless all the nations of the earth, that individual seed, that one. So here's what I'm saying. Uh, that there Abraham has many offspring.
Mhm.
Abraham. Isaac and Jacob.
Yes.
And that's the people of Israel, the Jewish people. And then that there's one in particular that's promised to bless the nations, and that's the Messiah of Israel, an individual who will be the ruler over the gates of his enemies. And then when you come to Galatians chapter three, this is a kind of a what we're that's the background. And Paul now, the word seed is always singular, like sheep. Did you know that?
Okay.
The word's the word seed is always singular. And yet Paul doesn't seem to understand grammar because in Galatians three, What does he say? He says, uh, in verse 16. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. He does not say and to seeds plural, as though referring to many, but referring to one, and to your seed. Who is the Messiah? What is he talking about there? He's talking about Genesis 22. He says, the thing I'm quoting here about, uh, about the seed. The promises were
made to Abraham and his seed. I'm not talking about the collective one that was used in verse 16, in the first half of verse 17. I'm talking about the individual seed, the Messiah there. So it's he's not ruling out the nation, what he's doing. He's saying both and and in this case, I'm only referring to the individual one.
This extra sentence that's thrown in that that was an extra is a is a standalone thought. That's the one that he's referring to. Yeah. Okay.
And and he's not negating the other. He's just saying in this case I'm referring to that.
And so so therefore it is still the nation of Israel that yes, being blessed or cursed and and the reciprocal happening. Yep. That's it. Okay. Thank you. That took us a little deeper.
That's a pretty involved answer.
It was. But I appreciate that because I think that causes extra confusion. So thank you.
Yeah.
Yeah I'm really glad for that. Uh, someday I'm going to write a journal article about that.
It'll be.
Good.
So when we come back, we'll take more of your questions right here on Open Line. That was Tricia McMillan. I'm Michael Melnick. You're listening to Moody Radio. Glad you're with us today. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Open Line. I did want to mention a couple of things. One, uh, I'll be, uh, doing a Bible study on a boat. A Bible conference on a boat, uh, next December, if you can join me in the Caribbean on a tall
ship as we make our way. And I hope you'll consider joining me for this great Bible conference on a cruise. And to find out more about it, just go to Openline radio.org and scroll down to where it has a link to my, uh, web page. Or you can just go to npr.org and click on the ship. Uh, also Chosen People Ministries, uh, is offering a really phenomenal book. There's so many people that would have liked to have seen Israel, but they can't get there right now because
of the war that Hamas started. And they are now chosen people ministries. One of our ministry partners is offering Israel the land and the people. It's a coffee table book with some of the best photos of Israel anywhere. Not only does it show the beauty and history and the culture of the land from the north to the south, from Mount Hermon down to Masada. It shows ancient Jerusalem, modern Tel Aviv. It's really a remarkable book. And it's yours free. All you have to do is go to
Openline radio.org. Scroll down till you see the link that says A Free gift from Chosen People Ministries. When you click on that link, it will take you to a page where you can sign up for your very own copy of the book. The photo book, Israel, the land and the people. And we're going to talk to Kirk right now listening in Indiana on WNBA. Welcome to Open Line, Kirk. How can I help you?
Hi. How are you doing?
I'm well, thank you.
Hey. Good. Thanks for taking my call. I was I had a question on the book of Revelation. Normally, I just read through the Bible once a year, and I come to revelation, and, you know, I know it's a confusing book, but right in the beginning, it starts out right in chapter one, he says, I hold the seven angels in one hand. The seven lampstands in the other hand.
And there's seven spirits before him. And then it says, I write to the angels, the I know the lampstands are supposed to represent the churches, but why would you write to angels? That's the one question. And then who's the seven spirits? And are we supposed to, like, apply all this to ourselves today?
Well, first of all, the seven spirits is just a way of talking about the seven. Uh, it's talking about the Holy Spirit. If you look at Isaiah 11, when it talks about the Messiah, he's endowed by the Holy Spirit. And it has seven different aspects of the Holy Spirit. And I think that's what he's referring to in Isaiah 11, uh, with the seven spirits, uh, the seven endowments of the spirit.
Uh, okay.
As for as for the angels, the word angel we always think of as, uh, heavenly, uh, being. But, uh, the word angel can mean messenger. And there are some people that think that the seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, that the Messiah is sending a messenger with his message to these churches. Some people think it refers that they're the messengers who preach in those
seven churches, like the pastors, so to speak. Uh, so they're either messengers of the churches who are bringing them this message from Jesus, or they're messengers who bring the Word of God on a weekly basis to those churches, but they are not probably heavenly beings. I don't, I don't think.
Okay. Okay.
Can I ask another question?
Sure.
Okay.
Um, when it says in the right, in the beginning of it, it says that an angel appeared to John and gave him this message. But then when it starts talking to the churches, Is, it seems like it's Jesus because it says, you know, he's got the fiery eyes and the sword out of his mouth and the burning feet and all of that. So is it Jesus that's giving John the message, or is it an angel?
Well, at first it's mediated, uh, by an angel that he's got a message or a messenger of some sort. Um, but then what he says is, uh, who was grace to you from? The one who is, who was and who is coming from the seven spirits before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. Uh, so it seems to me what he's doing over there is saying that the message now, uh, is coming directly from the Lord Jesus.
Okay.
Okay. Okay.
Yeah.
Well, thank.
You for taking the question, I appreciate it.
Yeah. Thank you so much, Kirk. Really appreciate it. Uh, we're going to talk to Greg in Minnesota listening on Ktag. Welcome to Open Line, Greg. How can I help you today?
Uh. Good morning. Um, uh, I'm hoping that maybe you can help me. Uh, my wife has, uh, we we were both previously married. Uh, and, uh, she has gotten into a Bible study with the lady out of Florida. And that lady has got her convinced that God does not recognize our marriage, that she is still married to her husband, that she divorced, and I'm still married to the wife that I divorced. And, uh, um, I know it's something to laugh about, but it's really not anything to laugh.
I'm not laughing. I'm wondering, how long have you guys been married?
Uh, almost 20 years. And this just started. She started this Bible study, uh, a little over a year ago.
Okay, so.
It was it was to. So that she could become a better wife when she started this Bible study. But it's not.
Working.
Out that way.
Greg, I only have about a minute, so I'm going to this. Whenever it comes to issues of divorce, I like to take more time. I think you need to talk to a pastor. That's really important that you do go to your church. Talk to your pastor about this. But here's yes, there are some times where there's divorce that's illegitimate. I don't know if you're divorced or your wife's divorce was legitimate or illegitimate. Uh, but even if it was illegitimate, you can't undo the illegitimate divorce by
creating a newer, illegitimate divorce and undoing that. What you have to do is you have to be married to whom you are married. Now. Receive forgiveness from the Lord if you did something wrong in divorcing before. But, uh, what you need to do is you and your wife need to build your marriage as good as you can, as well as you can to make it as good as it can be at this point. Do you understand what I'm saying? Uh, you can't undo the damage of the of the divorces. What you have to do is
make this work. Now, uh, Greg, why don't you call back another time? Uh, we'll talk more. Okay. Uh, but that's the program for this week. Thanks for listening, everyone. Especially thanks for all of you who called or wrote in, uh, for asking your questions. Thanks for today's team. Uh, Tricia. Omar. Uh, Tahira. Also, Titus, thanks for all that you guys do keep in touch with us during the week by going to our web page, Open Line radio.org. That page is everything you need.
Uh.
That you're looking for, including links to our current resource and other things like that. Becoming a kitchen table partner. Also to my personal webpage. Keep reading the Bible. We'll talk about it next week. Open line with Doctor Michael Melnick is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.