Inside the Muslim World

I'm John Gager, checking in with our host, Doctor Charlie Dyer. You all set for Thanksgiving, Charlie?

resource or gift. Visit Life in messiah.org and click on the Moody Radio button there to find out how you can receive your copy of God, Israel and Bible Prophecy. That's life in messiah.org.

of the Litani River and away from Israel's border. They want southern Lebanon demilitarized, except for the Lebanese Army and the UN forces, and they reserve the right to go back in if Hezbollah tries to rearm. In the meantime, Hezbollah is still trying to harm Israel economically and militarily. They fired thousands of rockets, missiles and drones over the

past year, forcing 60,000 Israelis to abandon their homes. Service time for Israeli reservists in the military has now reached an average of 136 days per year, putting a great strain on Israel's economy. It's also increased tensions between secular Israelis and the ultra-Orthodox who refuse to serve in the army. I think right now all sides would like the conflict in the north to end, but each one wants to do it in a way that allows them to claim victory.

of the Jewish people, including Judea and Samaria. And they're not necessarily overly religious, but they do believe in Jewish traditions and culture. A slightly smaller group, represented by Benny Gantz and the National Unity Party, are similar to Likud in their focus on strong national defense, but they're more secular and lean more to the left on social issues. A third group are the secular Israelis. They tend to be younger and are more like the progressive wing of

the Democratic Party here. Up until October 7th, many favored the formation of a Palestinian state. And then there are the ultra-Orthodox Israelis. They're opposed to having their members serve in the army, insisting that their primary task is to study the Talmud and Torah. They see themselves as the keepers of historic religious Judaism. And still another group are the Arab-israelis. Most, though not all, are Muslim. Within this group are various subgroups, some of which strongly oppose the

current government. Now, right now, there are four main issues dividing the country. First, should the ultra-Orthodox Jews be required to serve in the army? Second, do the courts need to be reformed to limit their power? Third, should term limits be imposed on the Prime Minister? And then finally, what kind of state should Israel ultimately be? A liberal secular state, or one with roots in Jewish law and tradition?

Here's just one example should buses run on Saturdays? Those are the kind of things that are dividing the country. And the main fracture lines now pit liberal and secular Jews against conservative, nationalistic Jews. And then add in the ultra-Orthodox and the Arab-israelis, and you have an incredibly fractured country.

forcing Israel to withdraw from Gaza. As that vote approached, Israel didn't know if President Biden would side with them and veto it or allow it to pass, harming them. Now, contrast that with President Trump's first term. He ended the nuclear agreement with Iran, increased the sanctions on Iran, moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, and officially recognized the Golan

Heights as part of Israel. Several of Trump's announced appointees, including Mike Huckabee as ambassador, have suggested Trump will again be following up his words with strong actions when it comes to implementing policy. It's interesting to see how the different countries are responding. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been reaching out to president elect Trump through the Lebanese-American

father in law of Trump's daughter. Abbas wants to have President Trump push for peace between the Palestinians and Israel based on a two state solution. He remembers Trump's funding cuts in response to the Palestinian rejection of a deal during Trump's first term. For its part, Israel is encouraged by statements made by Huckabee and others suggesting Trump might even be open to allowing Israel to annex the West Bank,

the area they would call Judea and Samaria. They're also encouraged by statements suggesting the US will not handcuff Israel to keep them from responding to Iranian attacks. Iran, at least now, is keeping a lower profile, though they've reportedly promised they won't try to assassinate Trump. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out once Trump assumes office in January.

regions representing the then known world. On the reverse side, it describes, in broken and largely unintelligible paragraphs, apparent distances and directions to these regions. It also identifies animals and gods connected to the Babylonian account of creation along with their account of the flood, but the text mentions Urartu, which the authors suggest is a reference to Mount Ararat.

Now Urartu is in the general region of Ararat, but it takes a great leap in logic to assume the text is really referring to the mountain and pointing to the location of the ark. The tablet dates to the late 600 seconds BC, at the time of the Babylonian Empire. The flood happened at least 700 years earlier, now I believe. Noah's Ark did exist, but you won't find it using that so-called map.

the Dead Sea. It's the first major rainfall of the season, and they're hoping it will be followed by much more over the coming months.

the Middle East. It is just laced with trouble and tension. And this last year in particular, we have heard so much about the Middle East. But did you know that the Middle East is also where God is doing many great things, and he's doing a surprising amount of those things among Muslim people. This is the land and the book. Segment two. I'm John Gager. Before we jet off to the Middle East, let's pause for a creative idea on reaching out to the Muslim friends that God has placed

in our path here at home. You and I, when we come to any conversation, including a conversation with our Jewish friends, have a certain perspective. We bring we and they, Josh and Rachelle Norman, are here to help us understand how those perspectives contribute or maybe cause trouble in our dialogue. Josh, one.

for you, who atoned for you. And it is a very Jewish thing.

who have suffered persecution in more than 40 nations. He's been interviewed more than 4000 times, so this will be 4001, I think. Todd has also written the Moody Publishers book when Faith Is Forbidden. Recently, he met with Christians in the Middle East, finding out how God is working in that part of the world. And we want to say, welcome back to the land and the book. Todd, thanks.

We don't have a spot for you in our family anymore. And so that is typically the first line of persecution. Now, that sounds horrible to us here in America. But when you understand the context of the Middle East, all of your opportunities in life come through family connections, your opportunity for education, your opportunity for jobs, your opportunity to get married. All of that is through connections from your family or

your tribal group. And so being cut off from that group is being cut off from all of your future, from all of your opportunities. So it is a very high price that our brothers and sisters in the Middle East are paying speak.

follower of Jesus Christ. There is that that perception. Well, you've betrayed not only your family, you've betrayed your country. You've betrayed your ethnicity. It is seen as a complete turning away from your identity. And so one of the things that happens is the body of Christ becomes your family. They become a part of your identity. And pastors and church leaders in that part of the world, they understand very well. When I lead someone to Christ, I need

to not just be ready to be their pastor. I need to be ready to be their father. I need to be ready for them to sleep on my couch. I, I need to be ready to provide some help for them because their families are likely to cut them off, and the church has to become their family.

pray for them. When you hear, oh, my wife is struggling with sickness or oh, I've just lost my job. The natural response of someone who prays without ceasing is, well, hey, let me pray for you. And when you pray in the name of Jesus and then those prayers are answered, that person has a question in their mind. They want to come back to you and say, whoa, you prayed for me. And then that problem got solved. Tell me

more about this Jesus that you prayed to. And so that is one of the ways the gospel is spreading is just through bold Christians who are willing to say, hey, I see that you have a problem, I hear you, I care about you. Let me pray for you. And then when Jesus answers those prayers, it plants the seed of the gospel in that person's heart.

This is illegal. And so but they are boldly worshiping the Lord. And, you know, it's interesting in, in many of these countries, you have to think that the government knows at least a little bit of what's going on. Yeah, it would be impossible for, you know, 85 or 100 people to gather without somebody noticing what's happening. And yet the governments are in many cases, allowing that to happen. Um, and there's a there's kind of a little dance. Well, one of the things we heard is, well, let's be

careful not to shame the government. We don't want to sort of throw it up in their face what we're doing, because that would embarrass them, that would shame them, and then they would feel the need to respond. They would feel the need to crack down. So let's let's be careful how we talk about this, and they are careful as they gather. They don't do it in a public way. They don't certainly don't put a sign on their church saying, hey, we have worship services this Friday. Come at noon. They

don't do things like that. And there seems to be a little bit of balance that is being achieved, at least in some of the countries where the government says, okay, fine, you have your meetings, just don't embarrass us as you have them.

They're still going to be there, they still are going to live there, and they will still the government certainly has access to them to punish them. And so, yeah, there's a certain amount of danger or worry as we go. But I always am aware that the danger that they face is so much greater than anything that we do.

that typically. And we heard this from multiple Christians. That's not a one time conversation that we might think of in the West. Well, you know, I'm going to I'm going to sit down with my friend. We're going to walk through the Romans Road. And at the end, I'm going to bring them to a point of praying a prayer and choosing to follow Jesus Christ in the Middle East. We heard stories of how that is often a years long process. It's not one conversation, it's hundreds of conversations.

And Christians there don't think about sort of bringing people to a point of decision right now or in the next half hour. They think about planting a seed and then planting another seed, maybe months later, maybe even years later, and then watering the seeds that have been planted, or watering the seeds that someone else has been able to plant and in months or years we hope this person makes a decision to follow Jesus Christ. But it is very rarely and in fact, I would say almost never.

One conversation or one encounter that leads someone to follow Jesus out of a muslim background. In the Middle East, it is typically a years long process of planting and watering those seeds. And as I mentioned, prayer can be a big part of that. We had a conversation with some Muslims there and a Christian friend who was with us. And one of the things that has happened is our Christian friend has prayed for these Muslims. He's prayed for

their business to succeed. And since he's done that, they have noticed that their business has succeeded more than it did before. And they have actually attached those two things in their mind like, hey, after you prayed for us, our business really has taken off. We've really experienced a lot of success. And so they understand like something happened when you prayed for us. And so that certainly was a seed that's been planted. And now our friend is

trying to water that seed. He's trying to follow up and say, is there is there other things that I can pray to Jesus for on your behalf because he wants them to see? Yes. When we pray to Jesus, things happen. Jesus is the one who answers prayer. And so that's an example of that sort of planting a seed, watering a seed, but not thinking in terms of, okay, you know, we're going to sit down over coffee right now and I'm going to nail you down and you're

going to make a decision. It really is a long process in the Middle East.

hoping for a harvest. Let's just pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East that that even today, they get an opportunity to plant a seed. They get an opportunity to make a difference and to say something that would lead someone to ask questions or to to want to know more about Jesus Christ. The other thing that I would encourage people as we're praying, is to remember as as Jesus instructed us to pray for the persecutors.

We want to pray for government leaders in the Middle East to have a radical encounter with Jesus Christ, to have their hearts transformed by him. We want to pray for some of these parents or older brothers who are persecuting new believers. We want to pray for them to have a dream or a vision where they see Jesus. And so let's remember also to pray for the enemies of the gospel as we pray for our brothers and sisters as well.

and puzzlements as you open Scripture for yourself. Doctor Charlie Dyer's Bible is open. And before we get to our first question, though, I just want to think about the fact that as the end of the year approaches, many world events have left us wondering what God's plan is for the future. And this is especially true when it comes to Israel. Despite its small size, people around the world are just intensely focused, Charlie, on what takes place there,

this tiny little country. So our today's headlines connected in any way with prophecies in the Bible. And how should followers of Jesus interpret current events as we await his second coming?

would be a great resource or gift. Visit Life in messiah.org and click on the Moody Radio button to find out how you can receive your copy of God, Israel and Bible Prophecy. That's life in messiah.org.

against an enemy that is oppressing them. My question, she says, do you know if this happens today during these many months of war?

Part of the reason could be that the other uses for the trumpets during feasts, new moon festivals, and all those others, well, they await the rebuilding of a temple and the resumption of animal sacrifices and the priestly system. So I don't believe verse nine is being observed today.

guests would have been in the time of Jesus. Now, some other descriptions did come from church tradition, like the Three Wise Men, but most artists use local models and then over time, the images they produced became the lens

through which many viewed the Bible stories. Now, lest we be too hard on them, we tend to do exactly the same thing as we unconsciously insert biblical characters and events into locations from our own background, or into what we envision the scenes and people to have looked like. I guess that's just because it's human nature, but it's also maybe a good reason why a trip to Israel can be incredibly helpful.

believe God actively predestined others to be condemned. Romans 512 makes it clear that sin entered the world through one man and death through sin. So it was Adam's choice to sin against God, and when he did, it impacted the spiritual DNA of all humanity. Now, God certainly understood this was the case, and it became part of his master plan for the universe. At the same time, his plan for salvation, including the death of his son, was also part of that plan. That's why revelation 13 eight

describes Jesus as slain from the creation of the world. Anyway, my point here is that predestination in Ephesians one four isn't described as God deciding who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. Following Adam's sin, all humanity stands condemned before God, but in his love, God chose some from among humanity to be adopted as his sons.

the tribe of Levi. Through his son Kohath. The problem, of course, is that in first Samuel one one it makes it sound as if Samuel's father Elkanah, was from the tribe of Ephraim, since it says he was from the hill country of Ephraim. But it's very possible there. Elkanah is just a Levite. He's from the tribe of Kohath, and just happened to be living in Ramah of Bethlehem, which may have become part of the territory of Ephraim, and assigned to the Levites following the Benjamite civil war.

In the Book of Judges.

first Corinthians 15. Now here's what he said in part. He said, some might ask, how are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come? The body that is sown is perishable. It's raised imperishable. It's sown with dishonor. It's raised in glory. It's sown in weakness. It's raised in power. It's sown a natural body. It's raised a spiritual body. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man Adam, in our bodies, so we shall bear the likeness of the man from heaven,

that is Jesus. So when we receive our new bodies at the time of the rapture, we'll receive a body like the one Jesus now has. I don't know everything about what that body will be like, but we're assured that it will be like that of Jesus, and that means it's going to be pretty amazing.

But the reality is, we don't know why he was so much older before he and his wife began having children. I do remember a paper I read in seminary that compared the ages when children were born, as well as the total lifespan of those from Adam through the patriarchs. Though not an exact parabolic curve, the numbers show a clear pattern of decline for example, the age at which the first child was born declines until just before the

time of Enoch. It then seems to stabilize until the flood. Now, following the flood, the age at which children were born declines again, dropping into the low 30s. In the same way, the total lifespan of individuals declines slightly, though, staying relatively constant until the flood, but following the flood, the total

lifespan declines rather markedly. As someone suggested, it's possible the fall and the entrance of death began to have an impact on human DNA with the arrival of disease and other cellular mutations, and then the changing conditions on Earth following the flood resulted in another dramatic decline. These shorter lifespans might also account for the desire to have offspring at an earlier age, but again, these are only possible

suggestions based on what we observe in the text. We're never told specifically why this is so.

using the term, I think in Bibles and Bible atlases. Sadly, I think it's unfortunate. It's really an anachronism.

difficult time getting through that muddy mess. I think about my Israel experience every day as I read God's Word. Not just the places, but the people as well. It was amazing to see all the archaeological finds such as the Capernaum ruins, the church of the Nativity, which sits upon the cave of Jesus birth, the Dead Sea Scrolls, just to name a few. And still the majority of

its residents are not believers. I am reminded to pray for the people of that land, that the scales will be removed, and that they would accept the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. What a gift to be a part of God's story, to walk in a land rich with history, and the place where God's final victory over Satan will occur. Thank you Doctor Dyer for the most amazing trip ever. God bless you all and thank you for your service.

parade held in Israel nearly 2800 years earlier. And that Thanksgiving Day parade was not only the first, it was also the longest parade in terms of the distance covered. The parade route extended for nearly 35 miles, and it included marching bands and choirs and the military. But I'm getting ahead of myself, so follow me out to the town of Toccoa for our front row seats, and while we wait for the parade to arrive, I'll explain how it started. Toccoa is a small town, but perched up

on this hill. It provides us with a wonderful view of the roadway below. The road winds its way north and west, skirting by Bethlehem before heading to Jerusalem. That's the direction from which the parade will come. Well, then, the road extends to the right, below us as it drops into the Judean wilderness. Eventually it reaches Enjeti along the shores of the Dead Sea. This is the roadway taken by Ruth and Naomi several hundred years earlier, when

the two returned from Moab to Bethlehem. The origin of today's parade is actually quite recent. In fact, it all began just a few days ago, when some men. I'm not sure if they were travelers or guards or simply shepherds tending their flocks, but they showed up in Jerusalem. It's obvious they had been running for some distance because they were exhausted. They hurried to the palace entrance and

delivered a grim report to King Jehoshaphat. A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the sea. It is already in Hazon. Tamar. That is Enjeti. Were we not sitting here in Toccoa, we might pass over those details without grasping their significance. But they were not lost on the king or his subjects. The other details in the report fill in the who, what, where and when. Who. It's not just one nation coming to attack Judah. It's a coalition of three nations the Moabites,

the ammonites and the Edomites. These three countries straddled the eastern side of the Dead Sea. What? These nations have formed an alliance against Judah and Jerusalem, where they managed to cross the Dead Sea, possibly at the tongue of land that extends partway across. And they've now rendezvoused at Engedi, an oasis at the start of the back door entrance to Jerusalem, when apparently those reporting saw the armies as

they began gathering at Engedi. It might take the three armies several days to get organized and finalize their plan of attack, and then it will take another day or so to climb the steep pathway up into the wilderness, and still another day to cross the wilderness and reach Tekoa. But at that point, they're less than a day from the gates of Jerusalem. Judah has less than a week to get ready for this massive invasion. King Jehoshaphat wasted

no time, and his steps to prepare are instructive. First he resolved to inquire of the Lord. He started by going to God. Then he proclaimed a fast for all Judah, and had the people of Judah come together to seek help from the Lord. People poured into the city from every town in Judah to seek him. The king led the people in prayer as he opened his heart to the Lord. We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what

to do, but our eyes are upon you. God sent a direct message of encouragement and hope through a Levite who stood up and said, listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem, this is what the Lord says to you. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle is not yours, but God's. The next day, Jerusalem's ragtag army of minutemen were to march out to face the attackers, which by now would likely be ready to climb the cliffs toward

the Judean wilderness. And that's what brings us here today for Jehoshaphat's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I see the confused look in your eyes. How is this a Thanksgiving Day parade? Isn't it more like a panicked mob racing to stop what must have looked like an invincible army? The word that would normally come to mind is fear. Not Thanksgiving at a time like this, isn't it? And that's where

this story takes quite a dramatic turn. We would expect to see the army of Judah marching below, desperately trying to reach the overlook before the much larger army was able to climb up the steep cliffs. But instead we're watching a parade, and the army is at the back of the parade, not the front. Here's how the book of Second Chronicles records what happened next. Early in the morning, they left for the desert of Tekoa. That's right below us.

As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem have faith in the Lord your God, and you will be upheld. Have faith in his prophets and you will be successful. After consulting with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying, give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever. And here comes the parade. A large choir with musicians

are leading the procession, with the army following behind. Instead of shouting war cries trying to psych themselves up for battle, they're giving thanks to God. And what happened next? As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. Ammon and Moab turned against the Edomites and attacked them. Then the

Ammonites and Moabites fought each other over the spoil. By the time the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground. No one had escaped. As we pick up our folding chairs and begin to head home, what lessons can we take with us from Jehoshaphat? Thanksgiving day parade. How about this? Usually we thank God after he's done something for us. But Jehoshaphat and the people gave thanks to God before

he had come to their aid. In fact, it was after they began singing praises to God that he intervened. Whatever problem you're facing today, pause first and say a prayer of thanksgiving, praising God for the reality that his loyal love endures forever. However great your problem might seem, stop and remember that God's power and his love for you are infinitely greater. One final detail it's possible the psalm sung by the procession that just passed below us

was Psalm 136. I say that because the theme of the entire psalm is the same as the summary verse recorded by the writer of two Chronicles 20. Psalm 136 begins, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. In fact, every single verse ends with his love endures Forever. The psalmist traces God's goodness from creation through the Exodus and wilderness wanderings and into the conquest. And he ends by reminding the people that the God

of the past is still present and powerful today. He is the one who remembered us in our lowest state, and who freed us from our enemies. And he did all this because he's the God of heaven. Just remember to pause and praise God today, for his love endures forever. And if you have some free time, read Second Chronicles 20 and Psalm 136. If you do. I'm confident you will be encouraged.