Well. Hello friends. It's time for the second hour of Open Line with Doctor Michael Riedel, Nick Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America, as we call it. We're here taking questions from you about the Bible, about God, about the Christian life, about something you're facing. My name is doctor Mike Fabares. I'm filling in for Doctor Michael Riedel. Nick, we both have the same first name and difficult to pronounce last names, but he's out traveling. I'm here in studio,
and I'm answering your questions. He is in a great educational trip, and he's visiting Turkey and Greece and Rome and all those great places where the apostle Paul was. And it's not just about vacationing, it's about learning, learning the truth of God's Word. And Michael is working hard. So pray for him right now. I know he's on the other side of the world, but pray that he would be a great teacher, that people's light bulbs would
come on in their minds. Just pray for him and for that whole team that's out there studying with him on a vacation slash educational trip for them. But a work trip for Doctor Rydell. And we're so grateful for him. What a great man. And we can't wait for him to be back. And he should be back with us next week. My name Mike Varvaris I am the pastor of Compass Bible Church here in South Orange County, a
place called Aliso Viejo. If you know where that is, you get a gold star so you can give yourself a pat on the back if you know where Aliso Viejo is. And I am the Bible teacher on Focalpoint radio, which I hope you listen to here on Moody Radio. I've got some moody publications that I've written, and I wrote one, I'll just say for another publisher, harvest House. And it is about mistakes people make about heaven, hell
in the afterlife. If you look that up, I know that's going to answer a lot of the questions about what we have been dealing with just before the break. And I'm going to go back to John here in just a second to talk about it. But if you have a question and you're patient, then you give us a call (877) 548-3675. I'll do my best to get through as many of these questions as I can. If you want to write in a question open line radio, or
you can just look for that little button there. Ask Michael a question, fill out that form and we'll put it in the mailbag. Probably get around to it in future broadcasts, but we'd love to get it. We've got so much going on here. Let's get back to John's question in Florida. John, just before the break, you asked about heaven, and I'm going to say this. Let me quote Mark Twain. He was a gifted writer, but a
terrible critic of Christianity. And one day he blasphemously said, hey, you Christians, you can go to heaven if you want. I'd rather stay right here in Bermuda. That was one of his favorites vacation getaway spots. And I'll tell you what, the reason Mark Twain would rather go to Bermuda than Heaven is because he thinks heaven is something other than
what it is. He can go to Bermuda and see people riding bikes and playing golf and shopping and riding horseback on the beach and sitting there and soaking in the sun and on their catamarans and scuba diving and all the rest, eating right there by the water. It's beautiful. I've been there. It's a beautiful place. But I'll tell you what. He didn't want heaven because he thinks it's some cotton ball cloud and see through body. It's not. It is not. Second Peter three says it is a
new earth in which righteousness dwells. Okay, there's some beauty in Bermuda for sure. But I'll tell you what. There's a lot of sin there. Just go to the crime blotter in Bermuda. You can find crooks. You can find you can find larceny. You can find a white collar crimes in their banking industry. It's not. It's not a perfect place. And there's cemeteries there because people die on Bermuda. Guess what? No tears, no suffering, no pain. You have
no locks, no safes. Everyone is going to be righteous there. They're going to be set in their righteousness in a bodily existence. You're going to have fingernails. You're going to have eyelashes. You're going to have a nose. You're going to have lips. You're going to have teeth. You are going to have a bodily existence, a perfect body in a in a perfect place, in a physical environment. Right.
We just need to understand that. Let me just give you a sense here from a real theologian, Jonathan Edwards said years ago, if we spend our lives in the pursuit of a temporal happiness, such as riches or sensual pleasures, right? A credit and esteem from men delight in our children and the prospect of seeing them well brought up and well settled, etc., etc. all these things will be of little significance to us. Death will blow up our hopes
and put an end to all these enjoyments. There's nothing in this world, including Bermuda, that is not going to end. And it's going to end in suffering and pain and sickness and death. And here's the new reality for us. None of that's going to happen. None of it's going to be a reality there. None. No sin, no temptation, no no illness, no pain. Christ himself, who's the giver of all good things, is going to live with us
and dwell among us. According to Isaiah chapter 65, we're not even going to remember the painful realities of our past earlier life. We're going to think about the joys and the happiness of what is to come. So there's some reminders for you. John, are you still on on the on the line with me?
Yes, sir. I sure appreciate you. I just the whole idea of heaven, uh, being there with Jesus and the whole thing is just, uh, how how it's going to roll up like a scroll. There'll be a new heaven and a new earth. It's just so wonderful. It's mind blowing. Really? It really is. The whole thing is wonderful to think about. Of no more pain. And, uh, I've had the joy coming out of me before. Like it was almost like sunlight or love or something. I you can't describe it.
And it's, uh, only Christians that you do. You see the word word of God coming alive in your life and and the whole experience of God, his presence and praying for that and feeling it. And, oh, it's just, uh. And being there is going to be it's going to feel like, almost like you're going to explode with, uh, glory. God's glory is going to be too much. It's going to feel so good. Undescribable. The whole thing just blows my mind. Really. Mike, I thank you for expounding on that.
Well, John, it's a great call. And in God's providence, you came right after a man that was denying any reality of the afterlife. And to hear someone at peace about the joy that's coming. And sadly, our previous caller had that brother that got on the phone with me. About 15% of our nation today believes in no afterlife. And that's that's a pretty significant number, 15% and sadly, right.
That's the biggest mistake of all. I've written a whole book on this called ten Mistakes People Make About Heaven, hell, and the afterlife. If you want to get Ahold of that book, just go anywhere that books are sold and just spend some time thinking about what is to come. And while I've got some rough chapters to read on the judgment for non-Christians. I've got some good chapters to read about the joys of heaven, and maybe you'll enjoy that book. John. Stay on the air. If you get
your address to our screener, we will. I'll make sure we send you a free copy of that book. Thanks so much for the call, John. It was good to be with you on the program today. Let's go to Kevin on line number nine. Kevin, you're on the air with Mike Fabares. How can I help?
Hey. Good morning. Good morning sir. I'm glad you're having an amazing day. And technology is working perfect for you. Yes.
Well, we're going to hope it's going to go better now. Kevin. Yeah. Thank you.
There you go. I have a brother in our men's group who doesn't believe the Old Testament is the same. The God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament who is loving. Oh, no. Yeah, that's there's more wrath of the Old Testament and believes that the rules of the Old Testament were man made to control people. Like you can't eat pork because it's a sin, he says. That's because people didn't wash their hands. They were trying to protect them from themselves as she
comes up with scenarios like that. And you go, what? Right. Yeah.
Well, it's very popular for people to dismiss the Old Testament these days, sadly increasingly popular because the Old Testament clearly reminds us, perhaps with more verbiage than the New Testament, that there is a coming judgment. And some of that judgment is laid out in temporal ways, because we had nations oftentimes recording the fact that God was using one nation to be the judgment of God on another nation.
And certainly there were ceremonial laws, and that's true. But those ceremonial laws were to lead us to the realities of Christ. It's a lot like Kevin, if you and I were invited to be groomsmen in our friend's a mutual friend's wedding, right. We do a lot of things we wouldn't normally do. We'd have to go get fitted for our rental tuxedo and put on shiny shoes. And maybe, I don't know, depending on the fashions, put on all these extra things like a bow tie or a cummerbund
or whatever. And we'd say this is kind of a hassle. Well, it was a hassle to have dietary restrictions and not eating pork and all the rest. But these pictures were pictures of the ceremony regarding Christ coming. Christ came. And then guess what happens? We return the tuxedo. We put all that away. We put on comfortable shoes, and we continue on with the reality of Christ. And that's what this was all about. This was about getting us ready
for Christ. Now the ceremonial ceremonial law was gone. But the moral law continues. And one of the reasons people don't like the moral law of the Old Testament is because it expounds very clearly on things like homosexuality is a sin. You know, all kinds of things that people like to say, well, maybe the New Testament doesn't have as many verses on it. So Old Testament I can dismiss it. And now I can kind of be up
with the times, the cultural mores of today. But I would I would point your friend to First Corinthians chapter nine, if he has any respect for the New Testament. When Paul is telling that church that they should be paying their pastors, he asks the question. In verse eight. He says, do I say these things on human authority? Now this is a New Testament book talking about a New Testament church. Does not the.
Law.
Capital L the Old Testament Mosaic Law say the same thing, for as it is written in the law of Moses, you shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain. Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak this for our sake as it is written? It is written for our sake, because the ploughman should plough in hope, and the thresher should thresh in hope. And it says that if they have sown spiritual things in you, is it too much that
they reap material things from you? So this reality of the Old Testament has no bearing. Paul is quoting an Old Testament passage about not putting a muzzle on an ox, so that he can occasionally put his head down and eat some of the grain that he's treading out. He says that's a principle that we ought to study and read and extract a principle from it and apply it to things like a pastor shouldn't be working all week long trying to serve and counsel and teach a church
and not get a paycheck. That is a binding, authoritative command. And it comes from the Old Testament. And it said so many times, as Jesus is confronted with moral issues, he says, have you not read in the law that God made them male and female. Think about that. Jesus is quoting the issues of our day. Gender fluidity is blown away by Jesus quoting an Old Testament text. So the Old Testament does have bearing Kevin. And I think passages like First Corinthians nine could not make that more clear.
The whole book of Hebrews tells us the ceremonial law is gone, but the rest of the New Testament is going to remind us that so many of the things that are told to us, even if they seem so irrelevant, I don't have an ox. I'm not treading out grain in my field. I don't even have a field. Well, that's true, but there are principles in all the Old Testament texts that are binding. They're authoritative. That's the word he uses. This is divine authority that is binding on
our lives. So, Kevin, I appreciate the call. It may be trendy for people to dismiss the Old Testament, but call back again. And Doctor Rydell, who spent so much of his time in the Old Testament, will be as clear and even more clear than I am, and adamant that the Old Testament is as relevant today as it's ever been. Thank you so much for the call. We've got a break here coming up, so let us do that right now. My name is Mike Fabros. I'm sitting
in today for Doctor Michael Riedel. You're listening on Open Line with Doctor Michael Ray Dolnick Moody's radio Bible study across America. Love for you to call me at (877) 548-3675. The lines right now are pretty full, but you can get in if you want to. We'll hopefully get to your call. We'll see if we can. I'll be back sitting in for Michael Ray Dolnick Mike Flores right after this.
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Well, welcome back to Open Line with Doctor Michael Reidel. Nick I'm doctor Mike Faber is sitting in for doctor Ray Melnick and the number is (877) 548-3675. We're taking your calls. Let's go to Barbara now on line one. Barbara, you're on the air with Mike Fabares. How can I help?
Hi, Mike. Um, I have been following along with, um, Michael Wright in his travels, and I was I don't know why this is just now, after 66 years in the Bible. This is just now a question. But my basic question is what? I always thought that Christ was Jesus's last name, like Jesus Christ. But in acts 17 three it says this Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.
Yes.
So there must be a difference.
Yes, there is a difference. That's good. That's right. It's not Mr. Christ. Right? This isn't.
About that.
This is not his surname. And let me just clarify. Here's a couple of words. I know that you've heard Messiah. You've heard that word, right. Messiah. Messiah is the is the Hebrew version of the word Christos in Greek. We just transliterate that slide into English. In English and we say Christ. So when we say Jesus the Christ or Jesus Christ. What we're saying is that Jesus is the Messiah and Messiah and Christ. Both those words in Greek
and in Hebrew come from the verb Meshach. In Hebrew, and I'm sure Doctor Redlich would say that more authentically than me. And in Greek, Krio, both of those mean to pour, to pour or smear liquid on. Or another way to translate it is the word anoint, which I try not to use that word because people don't quite think of what that literally means. But what it literally means is to pour oil on someone. Now, what's that about? Well, in Exodus 30. You would pour the oil on the priest.
You would set him apart in a ceremony like. Today we have someone on the steps of the Capitol. They put their hand on a Bible, they raised their right hand and they stand in front of the Supreme Court justice. There's a ceremony in the ceremony of making a priest. Right. We poured oil, a special kind of oil that was smelled like a fragrant oil, had cinnamon in it, had some fragrant cane in it, Cassia, all these things. I don't even understand what they might have smelled like, but
it smelled really good. And you couldn't use that for anything else. A perfumer had to make it, and it was poured over the head of the priest. It was also poured over the head of a new king in one Samuel nine. You remember that Saul came. I'm sorry. Samuel came and poured that flask of oil over David's head. Also used in first King nine, first Kings 19 to anoint the prophet Elijah anoints Elisha and says, this is
the next prophet. So to be anointed, right to go from the verb creo to the word Christos or mashiach to to Messiah or Messiah in Hebrew is to say, you are the one that has been anointed, officially put into a position. Now you got three positions to choose from in the Old Testament. You got a position of a priest or a prophet or a king. And I'm saying Jesus comes and according to the New Testament, he fulfills all three. He's the ultimate Son of David, the
ultimate king. He's the ultimate son of Levi, if you will, in the sense that he fulfills Levi's office, even though not genetically connected to the tribe of Levi. He's also the ultimate spokesperson for God. He is the Word of God, the ultimate Elijah, if you will. So all of these are true of Jesus, and therefore he gets the title Christos, the one who's been created, right. He is the Messiah, Messiah, the one who's been Messiah. And if you want to
put it into horrific English. So the idea of this is that he fulfills all of the roles of prophet, priest, and king. And I'm sure you've heard that as well, Barbara. But that's what we mean when we say he is the Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the Anointed One. He's the one on whom the oil has rightly been poured. Not in a ceremony, right? But even at the baptism when the Holy Spirit came down, that was the ceremony
from the father showing that he's been anointed. He's been given the spirit like oil poured on him to say, this is your prophet, priest and king. Hear him. He's the king. He's the spokesperson of heaven, and he represents you humans before me. He's the ultimate priest. Does that help, Barbara?
Yes. Wonderful.
And I followed everything because I've. I've been in all those books.
Yes.
That's wonderful. Thank you for that.
Very good. Barbara, love the question. Let's go to Kathleen now. Line four. Holland, Michigan. You're on the air with Mike Fabares. How can I help?
Good morning.
Good morning.
My question comes from Psalm 37. I have an adult daughter who was a very strong Christian as a teenager, and she was hurt by men in the church, and now she has completely stepped away. I think she's bitter. And Psalm 37 says, pray, and you will be given the desires of your heart. How can you help me with this?
Well, number one, I would like to disconnect hurt from individuals in an institution to the importance of the institution. I may have been hurt by a professor in college once, but I didn't walk away from an education. See, so it's important that we know that many people get hurt in the church by an individual in the church, or maybe a group in the church, but that doesn't mean we walk away from the institution itself. So I would plead with someone to look past the sins. Go ahead.
I have, I have.
Okay, well then.
All I can say.
My focus.
Okay, then here's what.
I would say.
Is Psalm 37. Go ahead.
Okay. Yeah. Psalm 37. I'm assuming it's based on verse four. Delight yourself in the Lord. He'll give you the desires of your heart. Is that what you're speaking of?
Yes. Okay. Yes.
Well, here's what I would say.
Keep praying.
You should. But here's how you pray in Romans chapter nine, verse two, when Paul is praying for the ones that he loves, his fellow Jews that are rejecting Christ. He says, I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. I wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers. Here's the thing he is pleading with the Lord. He is praying for them in John. In Romans chapter ten, the very next chapter, he says, my heart's desire and prayer for
them is that they be saved. So it's going to be a painful prayer, and you're going to pray it with with tears in your eyes. Kathleen. It's going to be hard, but you just keep on praying and you don't stop. You pray that God would work in every opportunity you have. You plead with your daughter and you say, I know you've been hurt. I get that, but we need to trust in the Lord and you call her to repentance. And you you in your own prayers. You realize that it's never a happy prayer to pray for
a loved one who is lost. And Paul, he gives us the example of anguish and pain and tears. So don't expect it to be a happy road. A lot of Christian books, a lot of Christian preachers, unfortunately, make us think that if we're doing things right, it's going to be a happy existence. But you see in these passages, it's not it's going to be painful. This is probably the most painful thing that thoughtful Christians deal with a lost loved one. And I would say, keep going. I
just talked to someone that lost a non-Christian relative. They were very endeared to and loved, and it was so godly of them to say, I trust the Lord. I know they're not saved. God is just I've got to turn my attention now to the living and praise God your daughter is still alive. Keep your attention there. Keep praying. I know a lady that prayed for over 50 years for her lost husband and finally he came to Christ
after 50 years. She never gave up praying for him and I was had the privilege of baptizing him in his old age. And I would say, Kathleen, all I can tell you is it's going to be painful, but don't stop. Keep praying. Kathleen, I know that's hard and you speak for many. I'm sure listening on the program today that know what it is to struggle through the pain of a loved one that's not walking with the Lord. But please continue on. Hang in there. We need to
continue to pray for those that we love. And I know it's never going to be an easy road ever, ever. All right. We're going to take a quick break. My name is Mike Fabares. I'm sitting in here. Oh, I am not taking a break. I am so sorry. Let's go to price on line five. You're on the air from Butler, Georgia, listening on WGN. You're on the air with Mike Fabares. How can I help? All right, let's go to Karen on line two, then. Karen, you're on the air from Ohio, listening on Wtxf love that you're
on with Mike Fabares. Karen, if you're there, how can I help?
Hi. So it's not just one, but many of my contemporaries and I'm older are really doubting the interpretation of the word, especially when it comes to the gay lifestyle. Uh, they they think it was influenced by culture And there's no there's no happy way in this. But how do I respond? What do I say? How do I love them in this?
Right. Well, the.
Church.
For 2000 years has read all these same passages that your friends are reading, that my friends are reading, and no one was confused by them. They were very clear because there was no pressure from the outside. They could look at a passage of Scripture and they could quote it, and they say, it's clear. It's black and white. We understand it and we know what it means. And I think we need to say, I think you need to
really check your motive. If the whole culture, right, was against it and you read these passages, would you really say it's influenced by culture? Right. Just because our last generation, and it's really only been now, at least in the West, where we've been all about it. Yeah, let's let's do it. Let's let's not care about who you love. Let's just celebrate whoever you want to love. Love whoever you want to love. Is, as the Democratic candidate just said on
an interview, right? Just be proud to love whoever you want to love. Well, the Bible says you shouldn't. As a matter of fact, Romans chapter one says there are rules for this, and we have to maintain those rules because God is a good teacher. That's what I like to remind people of. And I like to sometimes just tell them, here's a verse, here's what it says, what's unclear about this, and they can't really say the Bible is unclear when they read it. Right. Even Jesus, he says,
haven't you read right? God made them from the beginning of creation, male and female. Even that statement against all this gender discussion, this gender confusion that's going on when when the psychological world said this is gender dysphoria and it's and it's a, it's a defect. And then all of a sudden they voted and said, no, it's not a defect. As a matter of fact, it's fine. We should all celebrate it, right? It's not a vote of
man that gets to change this view, right? God gets to say what is right and wrong because we're all going to stand before him. Not a psychological board who's publishing journals. We're going to stand before God. And God has made clear in his word. And so every man's conscience is going to have to testify when they read the Bible. Because I do think the Bible is not clear. You say interpretation, you can say interpretation. We're interpreting it
to not matter anymore. But Jesus represents this clearly to us in biology about procreation, reproduction. All of this is what the Bible says. So we cannot in any way doubt the fact that if we read something 2 or 3 times in the text of Scripture, it is clear, it is clear. And, Karen, I know it breaks your heart. It breaks my heart. I got plenty of colleagues that have done the same thing. I got a letter this week from a friend of mine, and he said he's
abandoning biblical orthodoxy. And I thought, how can that be right? He's read the same Bible I have for all these years. But you're right, Karen, they're influenced by the culture. And I think we need to say, how would I read this if the culture had no pressure on me at all? So, Karen, pray for them because there's a big price to pay, unfortunately, when we do not adhere to what the Lord Jesus Christ has said to us and what the Bible has taught,
God is a good teacher. There's no confusion there in the pages of Scripture. Karen, keep praying. Keep standing on the Word of God. It is a firm foundation, there's no doubt about that. Well, we are going to have more of the program right after this. We got the mailbag segment coming up. This is Open Line with Doctor Michael Riddell on Moody Radio. I'm Mike Faber sitting in today. We'll be back with the mailbag right after this.
Sometimes we want to read the Bible but don't know how to get the most out of it. My friend, Moody Professor Doctor Jim Coakley, has written 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible, a book that helps us understand the full riches of Scripture by giving 14 practical principles to bring them to life. Request your copy today with a gift of any amount to open line, call 7122 or visit open line radio.org.
Well, welcome back to Open Line. I'm doctor Mike Faber is filling in for Doctor Michael Riedel. This is the mailbag segment where we take all the questions that you send in to us on Open Line. Org and open Line Radio. Org. And joining me with those questions Tierra, you're here and you've got a mailbag full of questions. How are you.
I am doing well. And yes, I do have many questions. And we'll get started with Margaret from Michigan and she listens via podcast. My husband and I are each doing a revelation Bible study. Both studies emphasize that there are basically four end time views, but they do not focus on one particular view. Does it matter that these studies don't teach a particular view of the revelation?
Well, you know, here is the problem with some of these community Bible studies. They know they're they're trying to serve, you know, different churches with different views on the end times. And so you go to a study and it feels many times unsatisfying because we think, well, what which view
is right. And I don't think that sometimes studies of the end times with various people from various churches can be very satisfying, because we we don't want to start arguments in these groups because there are there's definitely at least four and probably more views of the end times when you look at all the options. And that's why sometimes studying the end times is best in your own church. Oh, just ask your pastor, can we have a class on the End times, or can we do a study on
the end times? Or at least a small group where we're focused on the end times? And your church definitely is going to have a view? Your pastor should be convinced about one of the views, the views that he holds, and in that church should be good for you to study those. Now just remember, it does matter what view you have, because it's going to determine how you read the totality of Scripture. If you start to look at the end times, once you say, well, I think this
is how it works. I think there's a millennium coming, for instance, that's going to fulfill the promises to national Israel. And I do think this time of Jacob's trouble is going to be a time for them and not for us. ET cetera. ET cetera. Then it's going to determine how you read these passages. And if you want to start a fight, right, you can go to a community Bible study, one that's designed for lots of different churches, and just start being emphatic about your view. And you'll get a
lot of people that are going to argue. And we don't want to argue, right? That's not what we want to do. We want to get to what we believe, and we want to settle in on that. And we want to know that good Christians disagree. Doesn't mean you're not a Christian. If you don't agree with my end times view. It just means that we're probably going to have a hard time studying the Book of Daniel, or the Book of Isaiah, or the Book of Jeremiah, or
even Matthew, Matthew 24. We're not going to be able to to sit down and be in agreement on those things, because all of our understanding of end times is going to have its impact. And all of the Scripture. So ask your church to start an end times Bible study, and then ask your pastor to lead it. That would be that'd be great, because then he can be clear about his view, and hopefully all of you can study that and analyze it for yourself.
Great advice. Thank you for that response, Mike, and thank you for that question, Margaret. Thank you. And I also want to mention just that the Moody Bible Institute and Chosen People Ministries present a summit on opposing anti-Semitism. This conference is coming up Saturday, November 9th, 2024 at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. If you would like more information or if you'd like to register, please visit the Open Line Radio website at openline. radio.org and some of
the topics addressed. What does it mean to be anti-Semitic? What are the origins of anti-Semitism? So please register now and check out the information at openline. radio.org. Thank you.
Yeah, this is important to hear. I know that we've got to study this, so I certainly recommend everyone be there on November the 9th if you can. If you're in the area you can drive there. Please take time to do it. It's as relevant as the headlines that you read on the news every day.
I agree, thank you for that. And we'll go back to the mailbag. We have Emily from Wisconsin who listens on wmbi her her pastor preached from Second Thessalonians chapter two, verses 1 to 3, and said that this passage changed his mind about the rapture. He has always believed in pre-tribulation, but after studying this, he's now convinced that the rapture will be post-tribulation. Please share your thoughts on this.
I love.
That. Here's the thing to remember, and I think Doctor Readerlink would agree fully with me on this as I sit in here on his show. Uh, we are pre-tribulation in the sense that we believe that God is going to take his church out of the way when God then deals with 144,000 and he starts this time of Jacob's trouble. The 70th week of Daniel found in Daniel nine.
We believe it's Pre-tribulational. Now, when you read Second Thessalonians two, it talks about you didn't miss the coming of the Lord to gather us together because we haven't seen the man of lawlessness rise to the scene. This man of destruction, this, this Antichrist, as we call him elsewhere. And here's what I'm saying. Remember this number one, the Bible is written not just for us, but for everyone. The Bible is going to be a guide for the people that live
through the tribulation period. So there's a lot of information about the tribulation just read from our perspective. Doctor Rydell and I that revelations, chapter six through 19 are going to give us a roadmap for the tribulation when you're in it, but we don't plan to be there. No mention of the church in that whole section of the Bible. But in this passage here, he's saying, some people think
you missed it. Well, if you missed it, you would see these things happening and you don't see these things happening. So you didn't miss it. I can read Second Thessalonians and be even more assured of my pre-tribulational view because of the logic of the text. Yes, he talks about the man of rebellion. You would have seen this. In other words, if I said we're going to leave the game before halftime, the football game. And you said, oh,
I think we missed halftime. And then I'd say, no, you didn't miss halftime because the marching band comes out, the the football players go in down the tunnel and they go back to the locker room and you got the flag girls out there. You know, we would have seen all that if we missed leaving before halftime. So yes, he's going to explain something about halftime here if you will, or the tribulation. But what he's trying to say is we didn't miss the rapture. We didn't miss getting gathered
together with him. Verse one. Because you didn't see any of that. He's not saying you got to see that. And then we go, he's saying, you would have seen that had you missed it. And that's the false doctrine that was being taught to the Thessalonians that you missed the rapture. So, Emily, if you're listening, that that is, I think, something that doesn't shake me at all reading this text. Matter of fact, it reassures me in my pre-tribulational view of the rapture.
Mike, thank you for that explanation and that analogy, just to help us better understand. Thank you. And we have another question from the book of Revelation. It's from Janet in Florida who listens via wcqs. Her question who are the 24 elders? And is this one of God's mysteries?
Yeah, the 24 elders in the book of of revelation. This is a hard one, and I'll admit that. But even when I get this question, I've got to give a shout out to Wcqs. We had a lot of questions from that station. What a great station, uh, doing doing God's work there in Florida. So praise God for them 24 elders. All I can tell you is that the elders sit in a very important role here in heaven.
There's only 24 and the 24 that seem to matter, as I read throughout all of the book of Revelation, are the 12 apostles whose names are going to be written on the foundation stones in the New Jerusalem, and the 12 leaders of the tribes of Israel that are going to be written on the gates. So we have 24 names forever inscribed around the walls of the New Jerusalem. And I think those 24 names probably represent the 24 elders who are now in heaven in a very special,
exalted place. Jesus said in Matthew 19 that the 12 apostles would sit on the 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel very special, limited role, 12 apostles, 12 leaders of Israel. I think those are the 24 elders. And that's an educated guess, because I can't point you to a Bible verse that says, here are the names of the 24 elders. So I understand Janet's frustration. I
wish we had clarity on that. But the Bible is only so thick, so he's not telling us every little detail we may want to know, but I think that's probably a pretty good educated guess. And so, Janet, listening on keys, look me up a thousand years from now and let's see if I was right. And we'll find out whether the 24 elders are, in fact, the 12 leaders of the tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. And I'm kind of thinking I'm right on that, but
that's just an educated guess. All right, Tierra, thanks for those questions. And I know we want to see them keep coming. There's so many great questions to be asked, and we'd love to give a crack at answering them. If you want more questions answered, tune in. Keep listening. I'm Doctor Mike Farber as you're listening to Open Line with Doctor Michael right here on Moody Radio. And we'll be right back.
We're so glad that Febc partners with Open Line with Doctor Michael Rolnick, bringing the Febc mailbag every week. Learn how far East Broadcasting Company is taking Christ to the world at febc. Org on their weekly podcast. Until all have heard with Ed Cannon, you'll hear stories of lives changed by Messiah all across the globe. Again. You can hear the podcast when you visit febc. Org That's Febc. Org.
Well welcome back to Open Line I'm doctor Mike Faber sitting in today for Doctor Michael Riedel. We're taking your calls. Let's go back to the phones. Line six Scott, you're on the air with Mike Fabares. How can I help?
Hey, Mike, how are you doing?
I'm doing great.
Enjoy listening. Enjoy listening to you today.
Thank you. So.
Um, when we. Modern science has taught us that when we see the light of the moon, it is the sunlight reflecting off the moon. But yet in Genesis, it clearly states that God made two light sources, one for the day and one for the night. And I was just wondering what your thoughts were on that.
Yeah, well, I'll.
Bet the scientist, when he sits on a beach with his girl and the sun is setting, he he might say to her, wasn't that a beautiful sunset? But in reality, he he should say as a scientist. Wasn't that a great rotation of the Earth? You know, outside the optic line of sight of the ball of fusion? I mean, we understand that the Bible is trying to teach us about creation. And there's one thing we know if I'm out there in the nighttime, like we just had a full moon here and I had clear skies where I
live in Orange County, California. And man, I could I could probably read some of the mail in my mailbox from the light of the of the moon. It's not a light source, but it is a source of light for me. And I understand that one of the things I love about Don Deyoung's book, he wrote a book on the moon. He talks about the reflectivity, even of the gray matter, the dust, the moon dust that we have.
It's just a perfect reflector up in the sky. Matter of fact, if you haven't taken that book, Don DeYoung writes a book called Our Created Moon, and I think John Whitcomb is writing the intro, if not co-authoring that book. But look that book up wherever you find your books are created. moon. It's a beautiful reminder of the amazing features of the moon, including its reflectivity of light. Not to mention, there's a lot of moons out there in the planets of our solar system, but there's no moon
like ours. I mean, here's a moon that is 400 times smaller in diameter than the sun, but it just so, quote unquote, happens to be by chance. Wink, wink. 400 times closer than the sun. So that they appear to be the same disk size. If you want to put it that way from the surface of our Earth, that's an amazing feature. It's not an accident. How long would it take you to throw two random sized spheres at two random distances, and come up with exactly the same
proportions 400 times apart? It would take you forever to get that proportionality because it didn't happen by chance. God is a creator. So many things about our moon, I learned in that short little book. I think even created a DVD that is even better with the visuals that he brings in that DVD on looking at all the created features of the moon. So I understand that the Bible is speaking in the language of appearance, and that the light in the sky for us at night is
the moon. I look up and it's light, even though I know it's reflective light. And I realize that in the modern era, without any doubt, that we have the reflection of this ball of fusion on the other side of the world. When I'm looking up at the moon, an amazing orbital feature, even the size of it, impossible to have it fall into our gravitational orbit without it being placed there. It's just scientists have a hard time
even describing they got theories. But how in the world some rotating satellite around our earth made it to be right where it is to be perfectly aligned, not only to give us tides, but life itself in so many ways dependent on the moon, a great vacuum cleaner for asteroids and space dust and dirt and debris and rocks and and all the rest. But an amazing thing. So
study that book if you haven't already. And I'm not troubled at all when I read about a greater light and a lesser light, because to me, that's exactly what they are. Language of appearance. Does that help at all? Scott?
Yeah. I appreciate your time.
Okay.
But let's keep going. If there's some doubt or concern, do you expect the Bible to to be technical science manual or, you know, to be written for astrophysicists? It can't be right. This Bible is for all people and it is a source of light for us, even though it is not a light source. Right? It's not emanating from itself, but it certainly was put in there as
a light, just like I have. I've got a friend in lighting, and so much of the light now that's made is a light reflecting off some kind of dome or canister that is giving reflected light. And we still say, oh, the light's coming from there, but it's really reflecting off of these great new designs for the street lights that we have. So, you know, I get it.
You know, some.
Technical person. Yeah. I hate to interrupt you. The light bulb just went off. Okay. It's really dead, and I thank you. Okay. I yeah.
For.
Terrific, I appreciate it. All right. Thanks, Scott, for the call. Let's go to Anne now in Cleveland, Ohio. Anne, you're on the air with Mike Fabares. How can I help?
Okay, yes, this is in reference to questions that were, uh, asked on the temple. And I'm referencing Second Corinthians chapter 616 to 18, where we are called the temple of the Living God. Uh, as God said, I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore come out from among unbelievers. Separate yourselves from among them. And is this my first question is, is this a case against cremation?
And I wondered about our age in heaven, and also how that, uh, uh, lines up with abortion that's been going on. Okay.
Yeah. And that's a lot of questions. Let me try and deal with them quickly. Uh, the temple discussion like in first Corinthians three and I think in Second Corinthians six is talking about us collectively. And yet, in other words, the church, the people of God, like it is in in Ephesians chapter two, but we also are individually. It says in first Corinthians six verse 19, our bodies, each individual body is housing the Holy Spirit. So we are
the temple of the Holy Spirit. The temple is sacred, of course, and as a living person is alive, of course it's sacred. You can't go and just destroy someone's body. Well, when someone dies, people are in the in the habit of destroying bodies and fire and blenders and cremating their bones. I'm against that because I do think the body is still a sacred vessel. That God, even though it's empty and devoid of the Holy Spirit or that person's spirit,
is going to be Recreated. And just like Jesus being put in a tomb, whatever is left of that by natural decomposition will be recreated by God. So I do think it has a bearing on our decision about what to do with our loved ones bodies when they die. And the pattern of Scripture is burial, and I think that's a good pattern. I've written a chapter in my book which someone was asking about earlier, ten Mistakes People Make About Heaven, hell in the afterlife. The 10th chapter
stands on its own. It's a case for why, I think, by natural extension, of biblical principles, that we should not cremate our loved ones bodies. If you have no big deal, God can certainly recreate that body out of whatever is left in the, you know, the universe. But God is, I think, teaching us by the pattern of Scripture to lay aside bodies as respectfully as we can, awaiting the resurrection. Yes, there are so many things about abortion that we could say,
but we should recognize that life begins at conception. Inception. And I do think every human life is sacred and God has made life. We do not have the authority to take it. And in that sense, just because a person made in the image of God is housed in that body, I think we should certainly be pro-life and be separating ourselves from this culture of death. So you had one more question, an tucked in that give me what it was.
Well, it had it had to do with our age in heaven. That sounds kind of trivial.
But no, no it's not.
Here's the thing. You've got DNA in your body. I've got DNA in my body. The DNA is a is an instruction manual for how your body should be. Now, there's mistakes in your DNA in some way. In mine, two weaknesses in it. God's going to make our DNA our very unique DNA, I think, and make it absolutely robust with no mistakes in it. And we will be made according to that instruction manual. Well, it's not going to be as a child or an infant or a pre-adolescent.
It's not going to be as an elderly person. It's going to be the exact fullness of health and vitality in that DNA code, which I think is going to mean that we're going to be at our all time best without any problems. And I think that's probably going to put us at some ideal age, whatever you might think, that is when we're at our peak. So I do think our age in heaven is going to be fully mature and beautiful, and I think so mature and beautiful that people that knew us as, as elderly people are
going to have a hard time recognizing us. We may have to wear name tags or as young people that have died or infants even. Right. We're going to have to wear name tags for sure to introduce ourselves, because these bodies will be nothing like we've ever seen, because the DNA code, I think, will be reconstructed exactly as it should be without reference to sin. I deal with that also in that book, and I'll just recommend it. It's not a moody publication, but it's a solid Christian
publisher by harvest House. It's called ten Mistakes People Make About Heaven hell in the afterlife. And if you want to stay on the line, give us your address, and I'm happy to send you out a complimentary copy of that book, and we'll get that to you. So, Anne, thanks for the call. We appreciate it so much. The show is all about answering your calls, and we're never going to have calls about the Christian life or the Bible. Like an excellent question unless you're studying it. So keep
studying the Bible. That's really the exhortation that we should all have. Keep your nose in the book and make sure you're studying God's Word. It's the only roadmap. We have the instruction manual from our manufacturer, our king and our judge. So thanks for listening and thanks for calling for all those left online. Call us back next week. Doctor Michael Melnick will be back. We've had a great team here. Tierra has been producing the show. Ryan has
been spinning the dials, making sure it works. We've had Tierra. No, we haven't had Tierra on the phone. We've had, um. Remind me who's been answering it. Jonathan Anthony. That's it. Anthony's been on the phones. Thank Anthony for all your work. For more information about Open Line, go to Open Line radio.org open line with Doctor Michael Riedel. Nick, a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of the Moody Bible Institute. Mike Faber is sitting in. Thank you so much for listening.
We'll see you next time.