Hello, friends. It's time for the second hour of Open Line with Doctor Michael Ray Moody Radio's Bible Study Across America. We're talking about your questions about the Bible, God and the spiritual life. My name is Michael Ray. I'm the academic dean. I'm the a professor of Jewish studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. We're live today. We're sitting around the radio kitchen table taking your questions. Time to
give me a call right now. (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. Remember, if you can't call, you can always post your question. What you do is go to open Line radio.org. Click on the link that says Ask Michael a question. And when you click on that a page will come up where you can fill out the form and put your question there. Trish will add it to the mailbag for a coming week, and you can listen in and hear me answer your question later on. I hope you have
a second cup of coffee. I'm waiting for mine. I'm going to get one in a minute. I hope you do, because along with your Bibles open, we're ready to talk about the scriptures and we're going to talk with, you know, before we talk to Galen, I do want to mention this, uh, you know, this is a time when people are kind of making their final decisions for where their kids are going to go to college in the fall, where their
grandkids are going. Kids are checking out places. Uh, I'd like to encourage you to tell them to check out Moody Bible Institute. We've got two experienced, Moody Fridays coming up where you can come in and experience all that Moody has to offer. Uh, it's April 25th and May 2nd. I did want to mention that, uh, I am so grateful to God I went to Moody. Uh, it gave me a great foundation for life. Uh, it gave me a great foundation for ministry. But a lot of people think, oh,
but I'm not going into vocational ministry. Let me tell you, we're all going into ministry. If we love Jesus, we have to serve him, and we're all going to serve him for life. And Moody gives you a great foundation, whether you're doing it as part of your vocation or whether you're serving him in your local congregation or as a volunteer in a different ministry. We're all going to serve him. And so, uh, Moody gives you a great foundation.
I have friends who have been really committed servants of the Lord who serve not only the Lord, but work as attorneys, as bank presidents, as, uh, they are bankers. They've worked as teachers in secular schools. They've done all these things, and they all say that the foundation they got at Moody Bible Institute changed their life for the better. So check out, Moody. Go to Moody and you can sign up for experience Moody. Encourage your kids or grandkids
to check it out. So and if you're listening and you're, uh, considering it, you check it out, too. Uh, we're going to talk to Galen in Ohio, listening on CRF. Welcome to Openline, Galen. How can I help you today? Or did he just hang up? I think he just went away. Just missed out. He couldn't. Wait another minute. There we go. Uh, we're going to talk to Paul in big water, Utah. What a great name. Listening on KP. Uh, welcome to Open Line. Paul. How can I help you?
Well, thank you, David, for taking my call. Appreciate it.
Well, David, who are we talking to?
I'm sorry. Michael. Thank you, thank you.
Okay, Fred. There we go. No. Paul. Paul.
Paul. Okay. My question. Um, did any of the people that came dwelt with after he killed Abel descend to any of the 12 tribes of Israel? And where are those people today?
Well, everyone died in the flood. You remember that, right? There was a universal flood. So the way we ultimately got the tribes of Israel is, if you look at the genealogy, genealogy, however you say it of, uh, of Seth in chapter five, uh, you see the genealogy of Seth, and it comes down to verse, uh, 32. Noah was 500 years old, and he fathered Shem, Ham, and Japheth. So everyone that lived after the flood descended from either Shem, Ham and Japheth, and, uh. And none of them, none
of those three actually descended from Cain. They all came from the line of Seth, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And then if you keep reading that, you'll find that when you see the further genealogy, the the genealogy of Shem, uh, leads to it says in chapter ten, verse 21. And Shem, Japheth's older brother, also had son. Shem was the father of all the sons of Eber. Shem sons were Elam, Asher, Arpachshad, Lud,
and Aram. And then it starts talking about them. And uh, ultimately when you go through all these, uh, in verse 25, it says, uh, Eber, that's one of the sons of Shem had two sons. One was named Peleg, for during his days the earth was divided. His brother was named Joktan. And it is from, uh, that line, uh, that we get, uh, shem's sons. And of course, out of Shem's sons comes Terah, which leads to Abraham, which leads to the 12 tribes. That's what you've got. So, uh, so that's. And you
can see that in chapter. 11, verse 16. Eber lived 34 years, fathered Peleg, and it gives his line all the way down to Abraham. Okay. So none of the the sons of Cain are not part of the people of Israel or anyone around them.
Okay.
Okay. Um, that's probably more detailed. I probably should have put a chart up with all the genealogies in the Book of Genesis, but it's there in the Bible. We should know it. Okay.
Well, thank you very much. Have a great day.
Yep. Uh, we're going to talk with Dave, uh, in Holland, Michigan, listening on WGN. Welcome to Open Line, Dave. How can I help you?
Thank you very much, sir. I appreciate you taking my call. Sure. My question is, I have a friend of mine who's recently become convinced that we should be following all the food laws, all the feast laws of the Mosaic Law, and if not actually out of obligation, that at the very least, it is going to be one of the things, whether we follow or do not follow will be used to consider what our level of reward would be in heaven.
I'm just curious about the whole relationship with the original law, and obviously you're in a specific position to know all about that.
Well, let me let me just say about, uh, that we're we're under a law. We're not without law. But the New Testament calls it the law of Messiah. It doesn't call it the Law of Moses any longer. It calls it the law of Messiah. If you go back to Judaism, Judaism even said when the Messiah came, he would establish a new law, not like the Mosaic law. I think that's important for us to remember that the
idea would would come about like that. Uh, in fact, what the Hebrew Bible says in Jeremiah 31, I will give you a new covenant, not like the covenant I made when I brought you out of Egypt, the covenant I gave through the mosaic covenant. Not like the covenant I gave you when you came out of Egypt. Uh, but a new covenant. I'll place my law in your inward parts as well. So. It's pretty clear to me that we're under the New Covenant, not the Old covenant
in the New Testament. Now, obviously the whole Bible is our authority, but we have to look at the the laws of the Torah as wisdom. Now, another thing is pretty clear from acts 15 and from earlier parts, that Jewish believers who want to can keep Torah. That's you know, you know, you see Paul in the book of acts, you know, I've done nothing against the customs of our fathers, he says. Uh, he he always identifies. First Corinthians nine. He says to the Jews, I became as a Jew, uh,
to as those to those under the law. As when under the law. Right. So, so, um, you know, I think that would be true for anyone that out of liberty, out of significance, out of meaning, they can keep Torah, they can keep holidays, they can do all that, but they can't impose that on someone else. Uh, that's what it seems like to me. We have freedom, not mandate
a mandate. It's significant, but it's not required. And I would say to anyone that tells you this, uh, to read, uh, Colossians 216, therefore, don't let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival, or a new moon or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of what was to come. The substance is the Messiah. So, uh, I would say that's that's the guideline I would give you. Okay, Dave.
And would someone would someone be giving anything up in heaven as far as level of reward by not following the Torah?
Well. As I said, if you're following the New covenant now, there are many things from the Torah that are in the New Covenant. You know, if you go to the the Torah, it says, don't commit adultery. So does the New covenant. Right, right. Yeah.
I get it.
But, uh, what we're we're we're our standard is the new covenant. So if you're not keeping kosher, I wouldn't worry, especially if you're not Jewish. I mean, really? So. Yeah. Okay.
All right.
Uh. Colossians two. Okay. Go there. Okay.
Yep. Yep.
Thanks for your call, Dave. Appreciate it. Uh, well, uh, I do want to tell you about our current resources called The Story of the Bible. Now, a lot of people wonder, how do we get our Bible? How did we get the scriptures? Uh, how did it go from the inspired text to being copied, transmitted and ultimately translated
into the Bibles we're holding and reading. Well, our current resource is called The story of the Bible, and it it tells that amazing story of how it goes from, uh, inspired text to the Bible that we're holding in our hands, as written by Carl Laney, a great Bible scholar. But he wrote it in a language that everyone can understand, and it's yours. If you give a gift of any size, you want to say thank you. And I value this
book so much. I wanted to say, hey, read this book. Uh, it's going to really help you out and give you greater confidence in the scriptures. And we want to say thank you by sending you a copy for a gift of any size. And, uh, now I know a lot of people listen and never, ever thought about giving a gift. Uh, or maybe thought about it and never acted on it.
But this is the time to act, because this is a great resource, and I don't want you to miss out on the opportunity to get a copy of it, just go to our website openline Radio.com or call (888) 644-7122 again (888) 644-7122. And you can make sure to ask for the story of the Bible when you give your gift. And we're going to come back in just a moment with more of your questions right here on Open Line with Michael Wright. Stay with us. We're coming back with
more questions straight ahead. And we're back. So glad that you're listening on this Saturday morning. My name is Michael Radonich, and I'm so glad to be with you every week to talk about the scriptures. This is our Bible study across America. If you have a question about the Bible, God, or the spiritual life. Just call (877) 548-3675. We're going to. Go right back to the phones and talk with Larry in North Augusta, South Carolina listening on. Welcome to Open Line, Larry. How can I help you?
Thank you. I like your show a lot. I listen to it some a good many Saturdays. Uh, my question is, uh. Thank you. My question is, uh, King David's people that would be alive today. Do they do they know they were kin to him? And or is there a way that they could tell?
Well, there there we can tell.
We can tell who is Jewish through DNA studies. Uh, But, you know, one of the things that there are two categories of Jewish people. There's the Mizrahim or Sephardim, they are the Jews that are from the East, from the Arab world. And they also they originated actually from Spain. Uh, what happened is they they went to there were some that were like in Babylon from ancient days, but then there were some Jews that went to Spain. Spain is sepharad. And, uh,
they are known as Sephardim. So. And they're very they're their DNA is really, really similar to the Jews in the Arab world that went there because of the exile, particularly to Babylon. Uh, in the exile. Uh, and then, uh, there's also Jewish people who are called Ashkenazim. The word Ashkenaz comes from the word for Germany, and they are the ones that were in Western, central and Eastern Europe, not southern Europe, but like by Spain, but other places.
Today they've scattered through Eastern Europe, uh, Poland and Germany, and then of course Poland, Germany, Poland, Russia. Many perished in the Holocaust. Uh, that was predominantly, uh, the Jews that perished. And, uh, other interesting studies have shown with DNA that there's a common source for the Mizrahi or Sephardic Jews. Those Jewish people, along with the they have a common source. All of them have a common source.
So all these things where people are saying, oh, the Jewish people aren't really the Jewish people of the Bible, they're all mistaken. They, they the DNA studies have confirmed that Jewish people are indeed the same people descended from the people who were in the land of Israel now? Do they know if they're from the tribe of Judah and related to David? That I don't think we've gotten down to that because we don't have, uh, David's DNA
to compare it to that. But, uh, but we do know that we can trace the Jewish people back to biblical days with DNA. Okay.
All right. Thank you. That's been on my mind. I appreciate you. I appreciate.
It. Sure.
Sure. I appreciate.
The call.
Uh, we're going to talk to Kathy in Georgia, listening on a smart speaker. Boy, it's really smart if it knows how to listen to this. That's great. Kathy, how can I help you today?
Good morning, sir. You've taught us to pray in the name of the father, through the blood of Jesus and in the power of the spirit. Sometimes I need to just shoot up a prayer in the middle of Something going on. And I wondered if I could just say, Dear Jesus and just make it kind of a quick prayer. But do I need to say all that or just once a day say those things?
Well, I think when we're having our time of prayer, I think we should pray in the name of to the. We pray to God the Father in the name of the son, by the power of the spirit. There's no question that that's what the Bible teaches us. But I think you're asking more about, uh, a Nehemiah prayer. I call them, uh, in in Nehemiah it says, uh.
That, uh.
That he, he was before the king. And, uh, the king said, This is Nehemiah two. The king asked him, why are you sad? and I was overwhelmed with fear and replied to the king because you should never be sad in front of the king. So he tells him why he's sad and the king asks me, what is your request? And then verse four in the middle it says, so I pray to the God of heaven and answered the king, so that prayer must have been just a momentary prayer. Don't you think.
He prayed.
To the God of heaven and answered, and I think that's what you're asking about. How do I do a Nehemiah prayer? Well, truth to tell, uh, I don't I think this is important for you to get a grasp of this. God isn't a legalist. He's not going to ignore you if you say, Lord Jesus and and and send up one of these Nehemiah prayers, he's not going to say, ah, that didn't follow the form that I taught in the Bible. So I'm not listening. He's not a legalist like that. He will listen, uh, when we
cry out to him, that's the first thing. And then, uh, secondly, we have an example of someone who had one of those momentary prayers and prayed to the Lord Jesus. And that's Steven when he was dying in acts seven, uh, after his sermon, he said, Lord Jesus, until you, you know, into your hands I commit my spirit. So he prayed to the Lord Jesus as he died. That was one of those emergency prayers, don't you think?
And and yes.
The Lord received it and heard him and welcomed him home. So, uh, don't don't think I'm saying that God's a legalist and that this is it. But in the normal circumstances of life, when we sit down to pray, I really do believe we should pray to the father in the name of the son. We. That's why. That's why in Jesus name is not a just a rote saying that we say at the end of a prayer, uh, meaning. And now we're done. No, we pray in the name of Jesus
because he's our representative. We don't deserve anything before the father, but he can represent us. He's our advocate. Uh, it says in first John two one and two. And so that's why we pray in Jesus name. He told us to ask anything in his name. And then when I say, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts and allow us to consider what should we pray about? What is the Holy Spirit putting on our hearts to pray? And it
doesn't have to be a big emotional thing. I think, Lord, let the spirit guide my prayer list and and he shows me what I should be praying. And that's what I mean by praying in the power of the spirit. Okay.
Yes, sir. Thank you so much.
Yeah. Thank you so much for your call. Appreciate it. Uh, we're going to talk. We're going to talk to Davis in South Carolina. Welcome to Open Line. Davis, how can I help you today?
Bless you. Doctor. Thank you so much. Yeah. I just wanted to, um, to expound just a minute or two on what Amy, um, question was concerning the Passover. And that was good. That was good. I just want to say that, um, Jesus had to come off the cross on that Friday because according to God's word, from sun up to sundown is a new day. Mhm. From sun up to sundown is a new day. Friday was already in. If the sun had went down on Jesus on that Friday,
it would have entered into Sabbath. So they were very. So the people were very concerned that we got to get him off the cross. We can't leave him up here or we're going to have problems in this city. So they took him down because. Because the Sabbath was coming in. And of course, we know the Bible says the Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Uh, so that's the reason why they took Jesus off the cross? Because the Sabbath was coming in?
Yes. And and and the question was what day? It was clearly Friday, because it was the Sabbath coming. Right. That's what your point is, right?
Yes. Yes yes, yes. Yeah. That that was my point. And I just wanted an amen. And others, you know, to, to at least, uh, understand that as well. You know, I, uh, I, I've taught Jewish study, uh, for quite some time and, uh, and I keep the Sabbath. I'm a Sabbath keeper. Okay. And, uh, so. Yes. But.
Well, thank you for your call, Davis. I appreciate the input, I really do. Thank you. Okay. You have a great day. Bye bye. Uh, we're going to talk with Lewis in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Listening to welcome to Open Line. Lewis. How can I help you today?
Hey, how are you? Doctor. How are you, man?
I am well, thank you.
This is my question. Um, I was reading that, um, the, um, uh, Mary's parents immaculate conception, that Mary's parents were without sin in order, in order to Christ to come through the. Through Mary. Uh, is that true?
The. Was Mary without sin? No. The only the only Mary.
Mary's parents that were born.
Well, no, Mary wasn't without sin. That's what they're saying. That's what the Immaculate Conception is, that Mary was conceived and did not have sin in her. It's not talking about her parents when it talks about the Immaculate Conception, it's people, uh, believe that there are people who believe that that Mary was sinless. Now, according to scripture, the
only one who never sinned was her son, the Lord Jesus. Absolutely. And, uh, not only that, in her Magnificat, her her prayer, uh, that that she offered when she heard about the that she was going to bear a son, uh, in the Magnificat, she calls God her Redeemer, her Savior. And and so it says, my spirit. In Luke chapter one, verse 47, my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, because he looked with favor on his, on the humble condition of his slave. Now how does she call God her Savior?
If she was sinless, she wouldn't need a Savior. So for that reason, I think it's pretty clear that Mary was a wonderful, godly woman. Clearly wonderful, godly woman. Very much living according to the scriptures and faithful. But she was not sinless. Well, we're going to come back with the Febc mailbag in just a moment, so stay with us. This is Open Line with Michael Melnick. Thanks for listening. We're going to be right back. So stay right there.
Welcome back to Open Line. So grateful to be with you. It's time for the Febc mailbag. You know, I am so grateful for Far Eastern Broadcasting Company for that great ministry that brings the good news to people through media, through personal, encounters with people as well. Febc is doing such a great job. And so I'd like you to
check out their website. Febc. Org. Thank them. I thank them for sponsoring the Febc mailbag every week, and also check out their podcast Until All Have Heard featuring Ed Cannon, my good friend. And you're going to really be encouraged by this excellent ministry. And joining me right now to hear Haynes, part of the team here at Openline. Thank you to Hira for sitting in today for Trish.
I am happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me.
You know where Trish is right now.
Where is Tricia?
She's with her kids, uh, at an Easter egg hunt. Because it's spring break, and that's why she's not here today.
How fun.
Yeah. Yep. Easter egg hunt. You know where the the. I think this is interesting. People think that the egg Came to Easter. This is kind of bizarro. Uh, they they when they kind of merged back in the fourth century, they adapted a date by Constantine at the Council of Nicaea to make it part of when the pagan festivals were in the spring. And of course, some people said they were fertility rites. And so the egg became prominent. And that's where it came from. Sort of a syncretism.
Could be. I don't know. But, uh, part of the Seder, the Passover meal, was the egg that you eat in saltwater. And the reason the rabbi said we didn't egg in saltwater is that the egg represents the daily sacrifice, because every day the hen would lay an egg. And so every day there was a sacrifice. And then, uh, it was eaten in salt water because the temple was destroyed
and because the temple was destroyed. We were sad. So we eat, we dip it or eat it with salt water to show our tears at the destruction of the temple. I eat an egg in salt water at my Seder, because I am sad that my people don't know that there is. There is a remaining sacrifice for them, a sacrifice for their sins, the Messiah. But here's the thing. It was Judaism that took the egg first, and it had nothing to do with paganism. And and I think that's where the church got the egg thing.
Thank you for that.
That that's kind of a different take on that. But anyway, uh, uh, I don't think they realized where it comes from. Nevertheless, uh, we've got the mailbag there. Thanks. Oh, I did want to say thanks for being part of the team, too. And I need to remind everyone that if you are listening to Open Line, you're part of the team, too, along with Tricia and Tahira and Omar. Uh, we appreciate you listening. And some of you have given, even occasionally, if you are thinking, I really want to be part
of the team. I'd encourage you to become a kitchen table partner. Kitchen table partners give every month so we can be on the air every week. Kitchen table partners really pray for us. I really appreciate that. Encourage us. And if you're interested in becoming a kitchen table partner, let me tell you we will send you a Bible study moment, an audio Bible study prepared exclusively for our kitchen table partners every other week. Click on it. Listen to it on your your computer or your iPhone or
whatever you're listening to. And when you become a kitchen table partner, it helps us so much. And even if you've given it occasionally or never given, if you'd like to become a kitchen table partner, we would really appreciate it. All you have to do is call (888) 644-7122. That's (888) 644-7122. Or go to open line radio.org. Okay. Let's talk about these questions.
Yes. The first one is from Sue in North Carolina. Listening through. My pastor says, if you believe in Christ, you are saved. If a person says they believe in God and Christ His son, and they believe that he died for our sins, but they don't go to church or read the Bible or talk about God. And, um, it's not by works. Are they truly saved?
Well, the gospel is that a person has to believe that Jesus died for their sins and rose again, and that proves he's God. That's what it is. Now, there are people out there that seem to have no fruit in their lives. And we think, well, uh, they probably don't know the Lord, but they never deny their faith. They just say it's not affecting my life. They don't have Jesus in their life. They have Jesus in their future life. They say, now, this is a weird thing.
What I would say is, I don't know their hearts. I don't know if there's a little bit of fruit that God can see that I can't. So I try never to judge a person depending on their profession. If they profess faith, I, I want to can agree with that. Now, I think it's interesting that in first Corinthians five when Paul is addressing, uh, a member of the body of in Corinth who is in sexual sin. Paul doesn't deny that he's a believer, even though that there's very little
fruit in his life. But instead he says this so-called brother, that's how he describes him.
Okay.
So he says, well, he's claiming to be a brother. We're going to deal with him as such. But he's so called because I have my doubts about him. So, uh, but even then, Paul doesn't deny that he's a brother. He just calls him a so-called brother. So that's what I would say. I would encourage anyone that professes faith if you love me, you'll obey my commandments. Jesus said, anyone I talk to who loves Jesus and isn't in my sense walking with them, I would just encourage them, hey,
you know your life will flourish. Your life will be better if you if we obey him. So that's that's where I would go.
Thank you for that answer, Michael. And that question, Sue. Our next question is from Mary in Illinois with WNBA. She said my niece is professor at a university, is saying that Israel should be held accountable for genocide. And what are your thoughts about that?
Well, it sounds like it's a professor saying such things as our college campuses have been inundated with falsehoods about Israel. Uh, and, you know, it's it's part of, uh, Hamas's plan to do this. Let me just say straight out that, first of all, that this didn't start with the current Gaza war. It actually began years ago, like about 2005 is when all of a sudden, hey, let's call this genocide. I call that Holocaust inversion. The anti-Semites today don't want to, uh,
say that Jewish people were subject to genocide. They were the objects of genocide. In fact, a Jewish person named Lemkin is the one that came up with the term for genocide to describe the Holocaust. And so, uh, I think it was Rudolph or Raphael, Raphael Lemkin that that came up with that name, that term, uh, and anti-Semites today want to absolve their own sense of guilt for what happened to the Jewish people by accusing the Jewish people of being guilty of genocide. And that's why they
accused Israel of genocide. It is a lie on the face of it. In this current war, people are shouting genocide. Genocide! 50,000 dead. claiming 70% of the dead are women and children. Well, just a few weeks ago, even Hamas took those names of women and children off their lists. They decided, oh, this isn't going to work. So even they backed off of that charge. They don't ever describe how many of the people who died in Gaza are, uh, are combatants, uh,
with the the majority of them are combatants. And another thing that comes about, yes, there are tragic civilian, uh, collateral deaths. And it's tragic. It's horrible. Uh, Israel doesn't want to have collateral deaths. In fact, Israel is so careful, they announce where they're going. They they try to get civilians out of areas of fire so that they won't have, uh, civilian collateral death. And John Spencer from from West Point.
The foremost expert on urban warfare says Israel has the lowest collateral civilian death of any war that has ever been fought in an urban area because Israel is so careful. Let me just put it this way. One last thing about this. There are about 500 to maybe 700,000 Palestinian refugees in 1948, people who fled what was then called Palestine as the state was partitioned and it was going to be a Jewish and Arab state, the Arab states rejected it. Many Palestinians fled, uh, and as a result,
there were about 5 to 700,000. The numbers vary, but no more than 700,000. At the same time, there were 750,000 Jewish refugees from the Arab world, and they just got incorporated into Israel. But what happened to the Palestinian refugees? Today there are 14 million plus.
Okay.
That's. That doesn't sound like a genocide to me. Uh, also in Israel itself or the West Bank, Gaza, uh, areas like that, uh, there are about five and a half to 6 million Palestinians, descendants of those refugees. Listen, my parents were Holocaust survivors. We lost all our family. Uh, I, I have hardly any family members. When you think about it, there were 9 million Jewish people in, uh, in Europe.
6 million were murdered. And it's only recently that the world Jewish population came up to what it was at the at the eve of World War two. Uh, this, uh, this is a wrong, anti-Semitic driven, spurious Lie against Israel, that they are somehow carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people. And if you want to know, I'll tell you what I really think. That's what I think. Okay.
Thank you. Michael, it is certainly a time for prayers, but thank you for that response. Do we have time for one more?
Uh, yeah.
Okay. We'll do Joe in Delaware. How is it that the yeast referred to in Matthew 1333 is often taught to be the gospel as a symbol of growth, when yeast is always a symbol of sin throughout the scriptures.
It's that the answer is it's not always a symbol of sin. It's sometimes a symbol of sin. That's how it is with figures of speech. They're not always consistently used in the same way. The reason it's frequently used as a symbol of sin is because the way yeast grows and spreads. But it really is a symbol of growth And the kingdom of God is going to grow. That that's why it uses yeast of it for it. Uh, but because it grows, it's also considered a symbol of sin,
the leaven of malice. In First Corinthians five, uh, and places where like. Beware, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the leaven of the Pharisees being hypocrisy, the leaven of the Sadducees being unbelief. Those sins grow and spread. That's that's why it's used as leaven. But it's not 100% always something sinful. So. Okay.
Thank you.
Yeah. We're going to take a break here. And, uh, when we come back, we'll take more of your questions right here on Open Line. My name is Michael Ray Jelinek. That was Tara Haynes. Keep on listening. We're going to be back with more calls straight ahead, right here on Moody Radio's Open Line. Welcome back to Open Line. I am so glad to be with you today. A couple
of things I need to mention. Uh, first of all, uh, I'd like you to check out, uh, Open Line radio.org and scroll down to where it says check out Michael's personal web page. It's got a couple of things coming up, uh, that are very exciting for me next fall. Uh, hope it'll be exciting for you, too. We're going back to Israel for the first time in a couple of years, and it's safe there now. And, uh, people are really
wanting to show their solidarity. A lot of people have been asking me to take them to Israel, so check that out there. And also we're going to have a wonderful Bible conference in the Caribbean next winter, so don't miss that one. Uh, it'll actually be on a tall ship, so check those out. Also, uh, Chosen People Ministries. Uh, one of our partners in bringing Open Line. They offer something very special. Tonight's Passover. And it's a festival with
such a meaningful celebration of redemption. So Chosen People Ministries is offering a free booklet called Passover A time for redemption. And the most important part of this book, it shows how Passover establishes the the the pattern of how the Lord Jesus are pure and spotless. Lamb died for us as our Passover lamb. And if you'd like a copy of it, just go to our website again. Open Line radio.org. Scroll down till you come to the free gift from
Chosen People Ministries. Click on that and you can get up. Uh, sign up for your own copy of Passover A time for redemption. And we're going to talk with Sue in Florida Keys. Welcome to Open Line, Sue. How can I help you?
Hi. Thank you for what you do here with this radio program. It's always very helpful. Um, my question was, I have been praying for my daughter's salvation for 40 years. And every day that's in my prayer journal. And I was wondering if when I get to heaven, if I would be able to intercede at the throne of grace for her salvation. Is there prayer in heaven for those on earth? I guess is my question.
Well, some people think, uh, for example, in revelation 12, where it talks about the incense being the prayer of the saints. But I think it's the prayers of the saints on earth, not not the saints in saints being believers. Um, uh, I don't know, the Bible doesn't say you won't be able to talk to the Lord about it, but I think the really important person is the person. You've been
praying in his name all throughout this time. He will continue that there's only one mediator between God and humanity, and that is the Messiah, Jesus. So first Timothy two five should be a comfort, whether you can pray or not, I don't know. I know you can't watch on a lot of people think, oh, we're we're somehow granted omniscience. So we know what's going on on earth while we're in heaven. I don't believe that's true when it says in Romans, in Hebrews 12 that we have so great
a cloud of witnesses. It's only referring to those in first Corinthians, in in Hebrews 11, where they exercise faith, all these Old Testament people and people in the Intertestamental period, They live by faith. And then Paul's whoever wrote Hebrews says, since we have so great a cloud of testifiers, people who testify to the value of faith, it's talking about the people in Hebrews 11. It's not talking about people in heaven watching us, but rather the people who are
mentioned in Hebrews 11. They testify to the faithfulness of God, the value of faith themselves. And so I don't think we become omniscient. We won't be watching our our loved ones on earth. Uh, but God does. He knows. And the Lord Jesus is the mediator who will bring those prayers continually to the father. Okay.
Okay. Thanks so much. God bless you.
And by the way, I don't know that you can't pray when you're with the Lord. Uh, maybe you can. Uh, I don't there's nothing in Scripture that says yes or no. Okay.
Right, right. Thanks so much. God bless.
Sure. Okay. Bye bye. Uh, we're going to speak next with, uh, Dave in Chicago listening on WNBA. Welcome to Open Line, Dave. How can I help you?
Thank you. My question is about John 2023. It appears Jesus is giving the disciples authority to forgive sins. It just seems rather odd to me. I thought only he could forgive sins.
Uh, I think it's really not talking about them. By the way, I can forgive sins if you sinned against me, Dave, or I sin against you. We can forgive each other, can we not?
Uh. That's true. Maybe I misunderstood the verse.
No, no, no, you didn't. But, I mean, don't take away, uh, the expectation that we're supposed to forgive, uh, you know, but in verse 23, what it's saying, receive the Holy Spirit. It says in verse 22, that's a temporary infilling to get them from, uh, the resurrection here all the way to to Pentecost. And then it says, if you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. That actually has to do with the proclamation of the apostles. The
apostles are going to say. Uh, clearly an example would be Paul. Believe on the Lord Jesus and your sins will be forgiven. Right. Acts 16. Uh, that's what it's saying, is if I'm giving you the authority to proclaim forgiveness. And if someone says to you, but I believe in Jesus, you can say your sins are forgiven. If someone says, I refuse to believe in Jesus, you can say your
sins are not forgiven. That's what it's saying. It's giving them the authority to proclaim, uh, the forgiveness of sins of people based on whether or not they believe in Jesus or not. I think this is crucial. In John 824, the Lord Jesus says, unless you believe that I am he? Literally I am. You're still in your sins. We must believe. We must proclaim that truth. But what good news we can proclaim? Your sins are forgiven because you've trusted in Jesus.
I think that's what it's talking about there in John. Okay, Dave.
Thank you.
Yeah. Hey, thanks for listening, everyone. I can't believe the program is over for this week. We'll see you next week. Thanks for the Open Line team to hear. Omar. Lisa. Karen, thanks for all that you do. Remember, keep in touch with us by going to our website, Open Line radio.org. All the helpful links are current resource, how to become a kitchen table partner. Even a link to my personal
web page. They're all there. Check that out. Keep reading the Bible and you can talk about it next week in a very special program that we're going to have. Open line with Doctor Michael Melnick is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. See you next week.