Living in Iran. They knew they were putting their lives on the line every time they shared their faith. Undaunted, in three years they'd started two house churches and secretly given away more than 20,000 New Testaments. That's when the police finally caught up with them. Captive in Iran is the amazing story of their arrest and ordeal in Iran's most notorious prison. You'll hear it all today on the land and the book. Welcome. Our host is Doctor Charlie Dyer,
noted Old Testament scholar, Middle East expert. And I'm John Jaeger. You know, Passover will soon be upon us. And one of the traditional Passover questions is what makes this night different from all others? Well, Passover really is an important biblical holiday that has great meaning for both Jewish people and believers in Jesus. I think sometimes we miss out on that. So I think these are great questions to
be asking. Right, Charlie? They are John. And if people want to learn more about what makes Passover.
So special, well, our friends at Life in Messiah are offering to mail them a free copy of their Messianic Passover Haggadah. The booklet will lead you through the celebration of Passover to see the rich connections to Jesus, our Messiah, and the Last Supper. You'll also receive a link for an interactive Passover Seder video with the Haggadah and video. You can celebrate Passover this year with your family and friends.
Now to get this free offer, just go to life in Messiah Coorg and click on the Moody Radio button to find out more and request your copy. That's life in messiah.org.
If you're new to the program, we've got four segments here. Current events is segment one. We take a look at stories out of the Middle East. Segment two brings us an interview with somebody impacting the Middle East for the Kingdom. And segment three is questions and answers. Charlie, what are you doing with that?
Oh, I love it John. People ask any question on the Bible, on theological topics, whatever's on their mind. I try and provide an answer for them and well, hopefully it's my fun part as a teacher, I love answering questions. And then there's.
A fourth segment. Tell us about that. Yeah.
And the fourth segment, we take people to a place or some event in Israel. In fact, on today's program, I'm looking at the end of the series I'm doing called objects on My Shelf. And so we're going to look at a lamp and a widow's mite and then go to Israel to find out how they fit into what the Bible says.
All right. That's a sneak preview of the layout of our program every week. But for today, current events wise, we've got some stories. Charlie, you and I have been home from Israel for a week now. With our body clocks finally getting back in sync. What are your impressions from the trip? I mean, what stands out the most to you from our time there?
You know, John, I really came back with like, three thoughts just etched on my mind. And the first, I now realize I really hadn't fully understood the impact of October 7th and the impact that it had on the psyche of most Israelis. I assumed it was similar to the impact 911 had on us here in the US, but October 7th was different in a number of key ways. First, it impacted nearly every single family. Everyone, it seems, had a relative or friend, a neighbor, a co-worker who was
wounded or killed or captured. You know, that wasn't true for most Americans on nine over 11. And then the magnitude of the attack, relatives of the population was so much greater. There were about 3000 deaths on nine over 11. That's out of a population at the time of about 285 million. On October 7th, Israel experienced over 1200 deaths out of a population of 9 million. Had we lost that same percentage of our population on nine over 11,
we would have had 54,000 deaths instead of 3000. And the third part of that was the geography was so different. You know, most Americans were nowhere near the events I was there on, on the Moody campus, 700 miles away in Chicago, when nine over 11 happened. But most Israelis live within 70 miles of the attack. When the rockets began falling, you know, they had just a few seconds
to get to safety. And so all that to say, the impact of the event was so much more dramatic than I'd been able to grasp after coming back, a friend sent me an article by Barry Weiss that captured what I felt after visiting the area around Gaza. She wrote. There's a difference between knowing something intellectually and standing in a killing field. And she's right. You know, being there in bury was an emotional gut punch that helped us
understand October 7th from Israel's perspective. Now, that was just all the first key. The second key takeaway for me was seeing the national resolve, the national unity that rose up in Israel almost overnight. They went from being fractured politically and religiously to being a nation United. People reached out to help their neighbors. We saw yellow ribbons on trees and railings and car doors. Our friend in Ashkelon told us about people there gathering on their balconies in
the evening to sing Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem. There was almost instantaneous national resolve to eliminate the threat of Hamas and to secure the release of the hostages. No, no matter what a person's political or religious affiliation, they share
that passion. My final takeaway, John, for me, was that the spiritual openness that Israel is currently experiencing, you know, in our time with the Messianic Jewish leaders, in the Arab pastors, they all kept saying they've never seen such openness to the gospel as what they're seeing right now, believing soldiers told us about sharing their faith with religious
Jews fighting in Gaza. Jewish and Arab pastors had people asking them why they were so willing to reach out and help, you know, a boldness on the part of believers, coupled with a spiritual hunger on the part of those shaken by the events of October 7th, have opened a door of opportunity to share the gospel anyway. Those are the three key realities that impressed me. But let me turn the microphone around, John, and ask you the same question.
What were the most dramatic takeaways for you from our time there?
This was certainly a very sobering trip to stand there in homes that were lit on fire. Homes where Hamas had come in, searched those safe rooms, homes where you could look out in the backyard and and hear stories about neighbors whose home was burned, whose children and family and parents were shot. It's a different thing to be there than to read about it. I had a hard time going to bed at night, Charlie. Two of those nights. And then I think of the meetings that we had
with hostage families to sit down with them. I felt almost like I was a criminal for shoving a microphone into the face of a mother whose 19 year old daughter has taken hostage. There's just no way to ask those questions in a gentle way. But again, to hear all of that is so different when you're there in person.
The other thing I thought was really neat was the input that Christians are having both inside Israel, the churches that are rising up, the churches that are offering tangible physical support, whether it's food, cooking, clothing, supplies for the soldiers, whatever it is they need, they're making a huge difference. But also the input and response from organizations in the
United States. Tom Doyle, whom we interview regularly on the program, his organization has stepped up providing an ambulance, I think, of Franklin Graham's organization. They replaced 11 of the ambulances that were burned up, broken the drivers murdered in that initial attack, on and on and on the way that Christians are showing up is such a huge encouragement. And you touched on the third reaction I have, and that
is the openness of the people in Israel. Israeli believers are now saying there is an atmosphere here that has never been. And as one pastor told us, this darkest hour might be our brightest hour. So those are some of the takeaways that I have. This is the land of the book from Moody Radio. And you know, Charlie, a third story we need to look at is Israel's
facing this combination of threats right now? It continues. We've talked about Hamas, Hezbollah and Ramadan in the past, but today the United States seems to be making Israelis just as nervous. Why are they concerned about the US?
Well, I think they're concerned over what they see as a definite change in the US's attitude toward the war against Hamas. You know, after the Hamas attack on October 7th, we quickly came to Israel's aid. We provided military support. We defended Israel in the UN. But with our approaching elections and with the growing anti-Israel sentiment among progressives in our country, the administration appears to be pulling back in
its support of Israel while upping its criticism. Israelis view this as almost an existential threat, especially with the possibility of the war expanding to include Hezbollah in the North. They've watched us pull back in our aid for Ukraine, and they're concerned we could also choke off the supply of weapons and ammunition to them, leaving them with few
military options. I think they're also troubled by what they see as well, for lack of a better word, U.S. interference in their handling of the war and and their internal politics. When our president called an Israeli attack on Rafah a red line that they can't cross. Israel saw that as a lifeline to Hamas. And that's where the remaining Hamas forces and Hamas leadership and the remaining hostages
are located. Put another way, we get upset over the idea of foreign interference in our elections and our government and Israelis feel the same way. As believers, we need to be praying for our leadership. We also need to remember God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12 three, which is still operative. God said, I'll bless those who bless you and the one who curses you, I'll curse. It's in our national interest to make sure we remain a blessing to Israel in technology world.
Texoma in Israeli imaging startup is pioneering a new technique that might just be a game changer for anyone diagnosed with liver cancer. Tell us about this new procedure from Amazing Israel.
Yeah, thermal ablation has been around for some time, but it hasn't really been used to treat liver cancer, at least up until now, because of its one major drawback when thermal ablation is used on the liver, the view of the tumor is obscured by a fog of tiny gas bubbles thrown up as heat supply to the tissue, and that makes it difficult to know if the tumor
is being targeted and if they're not harming surrounding healthy tissue. Well, the leaders at Texas Med were convinced artificial intelligence could help, and they develop software that offers real time visualization of the ablation zone. And. Place the bubble activity into a clear picture of what's happening. This new software called Bio Trace IO, has already been granted de novo clearance by the FDA. It's expected to go live in US hospitals
in the coming months. Combining ablation therapy with artificial intelligence to make liver cancer surgery a minor procedure. Well, that's definitely a game changing innovation coming our way from amazing Israel.
And that's a look at current events. Up next on the program Captive in Iran. The first person account of someone who spent time in Iran's most notorious prison had lived to tell about it. That's all ahead on the land and the book. They knew they were putting their lives on the line every time they shared their faith living in Iran. They knew exactly what could happen. Undaunted, in three years, they'd started two house churches and secretly
given away more than 20,000 New Testaments. That's when the police finally caught up with them. And that's where our story picks up from Moody Radio. This is the land and the book. I'm John Jaeger. Before we hear the story of two young women held captive in Iran. Let's hear this thought on how you and I can share Christ with the Muslims who live in our neighborhood. So you're standing in line at the bank, and the teller is a muslim woman. May you talk to her or
should you not? Let's ask Stephanie. Affair with call of Hope.
But you are not embarrassing her. If you talk to her, no problem. In business life, that's okay. And even in many Muslims countries, that's totally normal. When you enter into Dubai or Qatar, there will be a woman issuing your visa, so that's fine. But that does not mean that you should go into a conversation for sure. Not about your faith with a muslim woman. This is something you should leave to your wife, to your sister, to your friend
at church. Let them talk to this Muslim woman. But in business life, and when they talk to you and when they wish you a good day. Oh, of course you reply, but don't shake hands.
And any other engagement with a muslim woman should, in a social setting, should definitely be woman to woman.
Absolutely. Or you take your wife with you. You know, that's also possible. You can be there as a couple.
Okay. Stephon affairs with call of Hope U.S. Practical insights for sharing Jesus with your Muslim friends. Marzia Zaidi is an Iranian American with a story to tell. She's a published author, public speaker, and activist for religious freedom. For more than a decade, she has shared her inspiring story throughout the United States and around the world to bring awareness about the ongoing human rights violations and persecution of women and religious minorities in Iran. We are really honored
to be able to share her story today. So welcome to the land in the book. Marzia!
Thank you so much.
You and your friend Mariam were both on fire for Jesus witnessing and sharing New Testaments in Iran. How did the two of you team up?
Yeah, it was after my faith. I left the country because I was thirsty to know more about Christianity, and it was in Turkey that I attended some leadership theology classes, and I met my best friend Mariam, and we both had a different experience with Jesus. But we had the same passion for sharing our faith with our people.
So what was the typical scenario in which you would have given a muslim a copy of the New Testament? Was it always one on one? I mean, you don't just walk up to somebody and say, hey, how would you like a New Testament?
No, actually, when we returned to Iran, we had no idea how we can approach people, especially. I described to you the situation in Iran, especially for women, is much more difficult because they have many limitations. But we prayed and we asked God to give us a vision. And then through reading the Bible, God showed me that Iran is like a big desert. There is no state, and we need to plan on those seeds. And he will grow all those seeds by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And we got that idea by distributing Bibles at night as well, which you mentioned. We distributed 20,000 Bibles. And for talking to people one and one every day, whenever we wanted to do our tours, going to restaurants, we prayed. And we ask God to show us the right person to speak and God. And there are tons of stories. We shared some of them in our book Captive in Iran. And we just, you know, God showed us a right
person and we just talked to them. And as soon as we talked to them, they shared, you know, they had dreams, visions about Jesus. They were searching to find the truth. And we could see that the Holy Spirit would guide us to the right people to speak well.
Marzia is a public speaker, an activist for religious freedom. Her book Captive in Iran recounts her capture and imprisonment. We'll get there in today's conversation. I'm John Jaeger, glad you joined us to hear her story. Well, you and Mariam both had to have known the risks you were taking, but you passed out those Bibles. You shared your testimonies anyway. What drove you to do that?
I shared a little bit about my testimony. I experienced the love of God, and then I was in love with him. And that love and my personal relationship was very strong with him. And for Mariam also is a different story. So I believe when you experience the love of God, you find the truth. Then nothing is matter to you, even your life. What is matter is to have that love relationship with not to lose that love relationship.
And also another thing I knew that my responsibility is that to tell my people who were fed with lies in Islam, to tell them the truth about Jesus.
Well, eventually you and Mariam were both arrested, charged with apostasy, blasphemy, promoting Christianity and anti-government activity. What is the penalty for these supposed crimes that you were accused of?
The major charge was apostasy, which is under Sharia law is punishable by death. And we had many courts, many interrogations that they kept threatening us and they threatened the life of our family members. They kept putting pressure on us to deny our faith in Jesus. And in the last month that we were in prison, they told us if we just write one sentence denouncing our faith, then they would release us. But I remember my conversation with my interrogator. I told him, I'm not going to renounce
my faith in Jesus. Even if you cut each part of my body, you're not able to separate Jesus with me. And I took that opportunity to share my testimony with them. That's how I met Jesus. And I told them it was on that one day I woke up and I decided to be a Christian and change a religion. It's just a personal relationship with Jesus. I met him and many visions and many experiences that I had with him that, um, that's why you can't separate him from it.
Okay. We we have, uh, kind of glossed over this story, which is quite dramatic. You're arrested, you're in this prison, you and Mariam. And not just any prison, but Evin prison. In the book, you offer this snapshot, quote, Evin prison is the heart and brute manifestation of the power of the ayatollahs and a symbol of their dominance and strength over Iran. It is infamous for the torture, rape, and execution of many innocent people. End quote. So you knew
this as you walked into that prison. What were your thoughts at that moment as you're walking in.
As you mentioned, I knew before going to prison because that famous that's a prison is very famous among Iranians. And even by hearing its name, they have fear. But yeah, it was shocking that I got allowed me to witness all those injustices and execution of my friends and, uh, tortures of women. I heard horrible stories from other prisoners, and I was witnessed firsthand about all these brutal behaviors
in that prison. It's the longest story that I shared, you know, about what happened to us and other prisoners. But praise God that God gave me that opportunity to be a witness to all those injustices.
Marzia Amira Zaid is immigrating to the US. She's been here after being imprisoned in Iran for sharing her Christianity, and joins us today on the land and the book. In your book, you feature a photo of a woman named Shirin. Tell us about her.
Shirin was my best friend from the first day we entered Evin Prison, and we built a friendship for nine months. And I. When I heard her story, it was shocking because she was in prison for years, and they tortured her brutally for months. And she described it how they beaten her up in the solitary cells and that the skin would peel off at the bottom of her feet, and they hit her head to the walls many times. As a result of that, she had severe headaches non-stop.
And finally they hanged her. She was against this regime, fighting against this regime. She was a Kurdish girl. And um, as I mentioned, they brutally tortured her and finally they hanged her and even didn't give her body back to her family. And they usually do this to all political prisoners.
Now, did her hanging give you a second round of terror in your own soul, thinking they did it to her? Maybe I'm next.
Uh, at the time that they hung her, we were outside the prison. They released us for a couple of months, but still we had one more court that they told us that, uh, you need to come to that court for the final decision. But hearing that was so shocking. And I remember my brain was freeze, and I could not believe that I lost my best friend. But when I was in prison, I was witness to other execution
of my cellmate, which was shocking to me. Once they put me in a cell and after they sent me to the world of murderers, they kept me in a cell. And after a few weeks, after I built a friendship, they took one of my cellmate and executed her, which was very shocking to me. And they wanted to show me what will be the cost of our resistance, because they were telling and they charge us. Later, they sentenced to death by hanging. They wanted to show us that
this is going to be our destiny. If we wanted to insist on our faith in Jesus.
And yet you had not one, but many conversations in these interrogations in which you boldly stood up and said, sorry, we're not going to fold. Jesus is the way. It's Islam that's wrong. Where do you think you got that courage?
You know, it's in the Bible that Jesus tells us when you got arrested. Um, don't worry about what to say beforehand, because it's the Holy Spirit will give us the word. And I really experienced that in prison. Honestly, I had so much fear in my body I could feel it, but the words coming out of my mouth were so powerful when I was answering their questions during my interrogation. And sometimes I myself hearing my words, I was shocked. And I was telling myself, Martha, you're in
a big trouble. Why you talk to them like that? But it was the Holy Spirit that gave me that power because he didn't want me and my friend who looked weak in front of them. And I believe it was all the time the Holy Spirit that guided us during our interrogations in court. You know that they were threatening our lives in prison everywhere.
You know. What were the authorities hoping to get out of you with all these hours of interrogation? They didn't go on for a few minutes. There weren't just one or 2 or 3 that went on and on and on. Why all that interrogation? What did they hope would happen?
As I mentioned, they in all the course they threatened us. And finally they sentence us to death by hanging. I had a dream before going to prison a few years before going to prison, that God told me, one day you will pass through prison experience. I knew that this is going to happen, but I didn't know what will be my destiny. But even though I had that dream that God told me about that. But honestly, there were times that I doubted and I felt maybe would get executed.
Imagine every time during all those interrogations, keep threatening your life. Keep telling you that we will hang you if you are going to insist on your fate. So I'm a human being and still you know, I had there were moments that I had doubts that I may end up getting killed here.
So what was the hardest part about being in Evin Prison? Was it those interrogations? Was it, uh, observing the loss of a cellmate? Was it the conditions? How would you describe the hardest part about being there?
So from the beginning, they insulted us because of our faith. They call the 30 questions. And it's very difficult when people around you, those guards and even there were some Muslims, prejudice Muslims. They call the stereotype Christians. It's difficult to, uh,
love those people. But I remember God would remind me the verses in Bible, and I always prayed and ask God to give me, uh, the power of the Holy Spirit to show his love to those people, because in Bible it tells us that love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. But when you are in actual place, it's very difficult. And all those things were very difficult. Hearing and the stories of other prisoners, that
how they were tortured, brutally tortured was so difficult. But the most difficult thing that I experienced, uh, was the execution of my cellmates, that it was very shocking to me. And I couldn't believe that they can easily take a life of a person. And most of them, honestly, they were innocent people. They charged them with political charges and they hang them. Huh.
Well, ultimately, you endured nine months of mental and physical hardships, intense interrogation there in Evin prison, one of the most brutal prisons in the world. But the story isn't over. There's more to come, and we'll look forward to sharing that in our next visit with our guest, Marzia Zaidi. Her book, by the way, Captive in Iran, is featured in a link at our website, the land and the book.org. You can hear today's program again. By the way, any
broadcast again at the land and the book. Org and if you're curious about what others are wondering as they study scripture, that's our focus on the next segment of the broadcast. It's just ahead here on the land and the book. It never ceases to amaze me how much the Bible ceases to amaze me, and how quickly I have questions when I'm reading a passage. What about you? I'm John Jaeger, this is the land and the book.
Thanks for your company. Our host, Doctor Charlie Dyer, has his Bible open, as he always does at this time in the broadcast where we welcome your questions and we'll share with you our email contact so you can get your question to Charlie for a future broadcast. First, though, I'm thinking, Charlie, that Passover will soon be upon us, and one of the traditional Passover questions is what makes
this night different from all others? And Passover is an important biblical holiday that has great meaning for both Jewish people and believers in Jesus. So I guess that's a really good question to ask. What makes it different from all others? Yeah, it.
Is a great question, John. And in fact, if our listeners want to learn more about what makes Passover so special, well, our friends at Life and Messiah are offering to mail you a free copy of their Messianic Passover Haggadah. The booklet will lead you through the celebration of Passover to see the rich connections to Jesus, our Messiah, and the Last Supper. You'll also receive a link for an interactive Passover Seder video with the Haggadah and video. You can
celebrate Passover this year with your family and friends. To get this free offer, just go to Life in Messiah org and click on the Moody Radio button to find out more and request your copy. That's life in messiah.org.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's question number one from Todd. He says, I heard this week on a podcast that the separation of church and state idea derives from the Bible. Specifically, the individual I heard stated that kings were not allowed to be priests nor priests Kings. Is it true that separation of church and state derives from the Bible? And if so, what evidence would you give?
Well, I need to answer two ways. First, there was a separation of authority in the Old Testament. The king was the civil authority, and the priest was the mediator between God and man. In representing man to God through the sacrifices and representing God, demand through the teaching of the word. And the prophet occupied the third role. The prophet's task was to share God's direct message to kings
and priests and the people. Now, you can't push this separation too far, because Melchizedek, you know, in Genesis 14 and mentioned again in Psalm 110, in Hebrews seven, well, he said to be both a king and a priest, and Jesus actually fulfills all three roles prophet, priest, and king now. But second, I think there is a problem when people try to read the US Constitution into the Bible. Our separation between church and state, as it's sometimes described,
isn't really what our Constitution or the Bible says. You know, the Constitution says Congress will make no law respecting an establishment of religion that is making one religion or denomination the preferred, favored or official state religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. You know, the first part was to guard against having that official state church. The second part was to make sure the government didn't interfere in the
rights of religious groups to practice according to conscience. Sadly, some today try to use this to argue for freedom from religion, suggesting all religious practices are to be kept out of the public square and only can be done privately inside the church. And that's not what the Bible suggested or promoted in that type of separation. Nor does our Constitution.
John asks when we do kind acts of service for unsaved friends with the clear idea that we want to win them to Christ. Is that like planting seeds for the gospel, or does it really only count as a gospel seed if we're sharing actual biblical truth?
I believe that doing good works for unsaved friends and neighbors, especially when done in a way that helps prepare them to hear the gospel message, is a good way to prepare the soil to help them respond. It's not the equivalent to sharing the gospel unless the good deed is accompanied by that presentation, but that doesn't mean it's not helpful.
I think. Matthew 516. You know, that's where Jesus said, let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven fits that example. Another one is Paul's words in Galatians six verses nine and ten. He said, let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time will reap a harvest if
we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who are among the family of believers, you know, continually demonstrating acts of kindness and then praying for an opportunity to share why we respond as we do. I think that's a good thing.
Jennifer says. I was speaking to a friend and said that I believe in the emergency of the rapture and that they said, this is not a biblical concept. They took me to Second Thessalonians two verse four, saying that the Bible teaches that the Antichrist must be revealed before the rapture. I'm wondering what verses teach the imminent or the rapture. Yeah, and I think.
Your friend is mistaken. The rapture and the day of the Lord. You know, the rapture is described in first Thessalonians chapter four, verses 13 to 18 there. And in verse 17, Paul includes himself with the ones he says, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together, indicating he expected the rapture in his lifetime while he was. Still alive. You know, it didn't happen. Hasn't happened for 2000 years, but it could have happened at any time from Paul's day to ours, which is why we say
it is imminent. Then in first Thessalonians five, Paul begins a new topic. He uses the Greek phrase Perry death, which can be translated now concerning. And that's in verse one. There, every time Paul uses that phrase in his writings, he does so to introduce a new topic. And the new topic he introduces in chapter five is the day of the Lord. Then in second Thessalonians two, Paul wrote to correct the mistake that the day of the Lord had
somehow already arrived. Paul makes it clear to them that the trouble they were experiencing wasn't the day of the Lord, because the apostasy hadn't arrived, nor had the Antichrist been revealed. In verse five, he makes it clear that he'd shared all this with him when he had been with them before. Now, having answered their concern, Paul in second Thessalonians two by reminding them they were destined for salvation or deliverance by
the spirit and faith. And he connects this with the traditions you were taught, whether by mouth or by letter from us. In essence, he ends by taking them back to what he taught them in Thessalonica and what he'd written to them in first Thessalonians. In other words, the rapture could happen at any time, and it's different than the day of the Lord, which follows.
Questions about the Bible, prophecy, Israel. They're always welcome here at the land in the book. And you can get your question to us at the land and the book at Moody's Edu. Peggy says, I saw an article that said the word abracadabra comes from Moses words in numbers 12, verse 13, and is a Hebrew incantation that means I will create as I speak. They also said the numerical value of the word, which adds up to 26, is the same numerical value as Yahweh, the name of God. Is this true?
Well, two thoughts come to mind. First, when Moses speaks in numbers 1213, he didn't say abracadabra. Rather, he spoke exactly what it says in our Bibles, though in Hebrew. And second, using a numerical value of words. That's a later practice that really I don't think was intended by either God or the human author. It's an attempt to read something mysterious and deep into the text, rather than
letting the text mean exactly what it says. In the New Testament, we don't see any suggestion that such a healing formula was used by Jesus or the apostles. In Luke 854, we have the exact words spoken by Jesus when he raised Jairus daughter, and it doesn't include anything related to abracadabra. Could that expression have been developed in later Judaism from their spiritualized reading of the verse? Yeah,
I think that's exactly what happened. But is it what God intended when he had Moses record the words in numbers 12? I don't think so. So the word likely did come from Jewish mysticism, but it didn't come from the Bible.
Uh, Lois wants to know, do you know if there is a good book about whether our loved ones will know us in heaven? I read Randy Elkins book years ago, but wondered if you knew of another book I could read.
Yeah, a specific book doesn't come to mind, but a good passage of Scripture does. Luke 16. You know, that's where Jesus gave the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Now it's a parable. It's a story, but Jesus is the one telling it. And I don't think he was sharing something that wasn't factually true. So anyway, in that parable, after the two men die, they're in opposite places in the afterlife. The rich man was in Hades and Lazarus
ended up in Paradise. Or they're called by Jesus Abraham's bosom. But the points that I think are interesting are this first, each recognized and knew the other. And second, they also both recognized Abraham, whom they had never met in life. Now that suggests to me that we'll know both those who are with us here on Earth, as well as other saints who lived before our time. Apparently, we'll also
have some remembrance of those who were left behind. The rich man asked about his brothers, suggesting he remembered what they were like and was concerned about their eternal destiny, even though he couldn't do anything to alter it after his death. Now, based on the parable, I believe you will know your loved ones and other Christian friends in heaven, and you'll also meet a host of other new friends like Paul and Jeremiah. And of course, most of all Jesus.
From Isabelle. This thought every week I listened to the land in the book podcast and always learn something. Now I know that the land of Israel was given by God to the Jewish people as an inheritance forever. Could you please outline the boundaries of the land given by God?
Yeah, and I start this way. God gave a general outline of the land to Abram in Genesis 15. He said, it extends from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. But he then defines the land as the land of the Canaanites, Canaanites, Cadman Heights, all those ites that are listed there. Those were the tribes living within Canaan. So as a result, I think God was saying the land he promised Abram was the land between the two great civilizations of the day, Egypt to the south and
west and Mesopotamia to the north and east. And then he identifies it further by connecting it to the groups currently living there. Now, second, there are two times when God provides very specific boundaries for the land. The first is numbers 34, just before the nation of Israel entered the Promised Land. And there the boundaries are very specific. They include most of modern day Israel, and they extend from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. And actually
parts of Lebanon and Syria are included. Now, later in Ezekiel 47, God identifies those same boundaries as the ones that will be in effect at the time of Israel's final return to the land. Now, I don't see any discrepancy between those boundaries. The first is general, but the second two are very specific and they list the actual boundaries once Israel is there in the land.
Well, if you enjoyed these questions today, imagine how much more you'd enjoy it if it was one of your questions getting answered. You can get your question to us when you write The Land and the book at Moody's Edu. Charlie's devotional is next. I suppose. Like a lot of people, before traveling to Israel, I had so many, many wrong assumptions about everything I still do after multiple trips, but I'm trying to learn. Hey John Geiger with you here.
Our host, Doctor Charlie Dyer, is about to share about objects on the shelf. This is his continuing devotional series among those objects. Lamp and might. Now, Charlie, to follow up this thought on my misconceptions, I used to think that these lamps were like these genie lamps that you saw, you know, maybe six, eight inches long, but but when you go to Israel, you mostly see lamps that are much smaller, right?
That's right. And they're not bronze or brass. They're made out of clay.
But we'll get to all of that as you present your devotional after this Holy Land experience testimony, which we'll hear right now.
Our guide is Sarah and was about 30 years old and her enthusiasm for the word was so contagious it was unbelievable. Everything that we saw and our Bible leader would talk with us about. It, was as if she could hardly wait to talk about it and to tell us from her perspective. And I found myself just feeling
this contagion overtaking me also. And what I purposed through that was to make sure that when I go home, that I can be just as contagious for Christ as she, a messianic Jew, right here in his land and really our land, because of the Abrahamic covenant in our being grafted in that I can be just as contagious as she is here.
All right. We're headed for Luke chapter 21 and Matthew chapter 25. Charlie, I'll turn things over to you for your devotional today.
Uh, thanks, John. And I tell everybody listening. Welcome back to my crowded and cluttered office. Now, I always enjoy visitors, though you can tell from the folding chair that you need to use space in here is definitely at a premium. The photos and other knickknacks that I have around the whole office have a story to tell. For example, you see that small wooden branch there on my bookshelf that looks like a miniature tree. Take a look at it and you'll see a 22 caliber bullet hanging from one
of its branches by a red ribbon. That was a gift from an elderly lady in our church who's now in glory. She gave it to me as a Christmas present several years ago. Seeing the puzzled look on my face, she laughed and said, don't you get it? It's a cartridge in a bear tree. I still smile every time I look at it, but that's not the object I want to share today. Instead, look at the shelves on the opposite wall, along with the block of Dead Sea.
Salt and pieces of flint are several ancient lamps and pots. How ancient? Well, the oldest is from around the time of Abraham. But the pieces I want to show you today are not nearly that old. They're only 2000 years old. From the time of Jesus. These are the very first antiquities I purchased on my original trip to Israel over 40 years ago. Mounted on a small plexiglass base are an oil lamp from the Herodian period and a single lepton, a small copper coin often referred to as a widow's mite.
The round oil lamp is just under 2.5in in diameter. Uh, the spout along the edge sticks out about an extra inch, and it has about a three quarter inch round hole in the very center where the olive oil could be poured in, and the entire lamp's only an inch high. Although these lamps can vary in size, a typical one like mine would hold just over an ounce of oil and could burn for about four hours. The light cast by the flame would be comparable to that of a
small candle. The copper coin is about the size of a dime in circumference, but much thinner. It's about the thickness of a penny placed on a railroad track after a train rumbled by. It's stamped with the image of an anchor on top and an eight pointed star on the reverse side. The workmen who stamped these coins weren't overly concerned about quality. The anchor is centered, but the star on the other side is not. And remember, the widow had two small coins. And since I remembered that,
I also bought a second one. Now these are interesting artifacts, but that's not why I wanted to show them to you. To explain why, let me put them in our pocket and climb in our time machine to take them back to Jerusalem. At the time of Jesus, we find ourselves first in Herod's magnificent temple inside the court of the women around the colonnades that lined the outside walls of the court were 13 wooden boxes with trumpet shaped bronze
funnels on top. As the coins were placed in the funnels, they would clank as they bounced and rolled down into the wooden boxes with Jesus looking on, we watch a number of individuals come by to deposit their offerings into the boxes. The larger, heavier silver coins make a distinctive sound, and the sound seems to amplify and reverberate when the individuals empty large purses of coins, shaking them to get
the coins to bounce and clatter even more. Then an older woman in tattered clothes quietly walks toward one of the boxes. She waits until these more prominent individuals are finished, before dropping her two small coins into the box. They barely make any sound as they roll down the bronze funnel. Then, unnoticed by most, she starts to slip away. But that's when Jesus draws our attention to her. I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than
all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she had to live on. I once had to deliver a message on key biblical principles of fundraising. My first principle was based on these verses. All gifts, regardless of the amount, are important in God's sight. We're never to judge the importance of a gift to God by its size. And to emphasize that point, I then tossed my two, lept my two widow's mites onto the
table in front of me. As I told them. Jesus said that was the most significant gift given to God on that day. And here are two good principles for you from that story. First, don't judge a person's importance based on the size of the gift they make. And second, remember, God not only sees what you give, but how much you keep for yourself. But Jesus is now heading out of the temple with his disciples toward the Mount of Olives, so we need to hustle to catch up with him. Thankfully,
he's stopping. As the disciples point back to the temple buildings, we arrive just as Jesus shares what we've come to know as the Olivet Discourse, his main teaching on events that lead up to his return to Earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His focus on the future is fast. But his application catches our attention. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. And to illustrate his point, Jesus begins telling a parable about ten virgins who took their
lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. The lamps. We get it now. They're each carrying one of these small Herodian oil lamps. No doubt each is carefully holding it in the palm of her hand to keep the oil from spilling out. It's getting dark, and they know the bridegroom should arrive soon, but they don't know the exact time. Five are only carrying their lamps, but five are also carrying a small jug that carries just enough
oil to refill the lamp a second time. Both of their hands are filled while the others have a hand free. Should they need to open a door, push aside a branch, or retrieve something from the ground. The five who went out not carrying the additional jar would seem to have the advantage should the bridegroom arrive soon. But in reality, they didn't know the exact time of his arrival. And as the hour slipped by, all ten began nodding off. Then at midnight, someone shouted in the darkness, here comes
the bridegroom! Come out to meet him. The ten virgins rose quickly, and notice the flames in their lamps were starting to sputter out. Five quickly poured their additional oil into the reservoir. Watch the flame spring to life as the oil was drawn up the wick. But as they were pouring the oil into the lamps, the five without additional oil began crying out to them. Give us some of your oil. Our lamps are going out. Well, we know what happens. Those with the extra oil still didn't
know exactly when the groom would arrive. They might need all their oil. The five foolish virgins had to rush off to buy more oil. But while they were gone, the groom arrived and they were shut out of the wedding banquet. And Jesus's point? He repeats it again. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Well, it's time to head back to my office. And as we arrive, look again at that small oil lamp.
Had you been alive in the time of Jesus, you would know from experience that you were likely to get about four hours of light from the oil in that lamp before it was all gone. Since you didn't know when the groom would arrive, wisdom said you should be prepared. And that's the other lesson we can learn from these objects on my shelf. A small coin and a small lamp.
Reminders to us that it's not the size of the gift, but the level of commitment on the part of the giver that matters to God, and that we don't know when Jesus will return. But we do know he expects us to be ready when he does.
Very, very practical. Thank you, Charlie, for bringing both of those stories to light. And I'm intrigued with a four hour lamp expectancy. That's cool. Hey, there's more insights for you, and our website has lots of great resources if you'll check it out at The Land and the Book, Dawg, we welcome you there. The land and the book. Org. Our time is gone, but we've got a great program lined up for next week. Hope you'll join us then.
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