You know all about celebrating Christmas. But what about searching for Christmas? You say, hey, why would I need to do that? Well, because as a culture, we've lost some significant parts of the advent story. It's true. In a few minutes, we're going to sit down with J.D. Greer for compelling insights, and you won't want to miss Charlie
Dyer's devotional or our look at your latest Bible questions. Hey, welcome to the land and the book with our host, Doctor Charlie Dyer, a middle East expert with many books on this subject. I'm John Gager, and you know, as the end of this 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, boy, people around the world are
intensely focused on what takes place there. And we wonder, are today's headlines somehow connected in any way with prophecies in the Bible? And how should followers of Jesus interpret current events as we await his second coming. Yeah.
And to help answer those absolutely vital questions, our friends at Life and Messiah urge you to check out their book, God, Israel and Bible Prophecy with Scripture as its foundation. The book will take you on a journey into what God has in store for the Jewish people and the nations. This book is for anyone who wants to explore where modern day events fit on God's grand timeline. If that's you or someone you know, this would be a great
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.
And now let's swing our focus toward current events from the Middle East region. Events in Syria continue to unfold at a rapid pace. Charlie, what's the latest that we know from inside the country and how might it shape the future of the Middle East?
Well, the jihadist coalition that toppled Assad is continuing to consolidate power. The initial wave of joy over the fall of Assad's brutal regime is giving way to a concern about the country's future direction. This is the second time jihadists have forcefully overthrown a regime. The first was Afghanistan, back in 2021, when the U.S. trained Afghan army simply collapsed before the Taliban. Now, at that time, the Taliban promised to continue allowing women to study and work promises
that they've since broken. In a similar way, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the HTS, has promised to maintain the rights of women and religious minorities. But HTS grew out of al Qaeda, whose previous goal was the establishment of an Islamic state governed by Sharia law. This has minority groups in Syria, like the Christians and the Kurds, and the Druze and the Alawites very concerned. It also has Israel concerned. They've launched hundreds of airstrikes that have
taken out most of the Assad regime's military assets. This includes the destruction of Syria's navy, its air force, its weapons storage depots, anti-aircraft systems and chemical weapons facilities. Doing so kept these weapons out of the hands of both the Syrian rebels and Hezbollah. It also opens the way for Israel to launch future attacks against Iran. Israel sent its forces into the demilitarized zone between the two countries
to keep the jihadists from moving in. The events now underway in Syria could shape the future of that region in at least three ways. First, it definitely marks a setback for Iran. These Sunni rebel groups oppose Iran's influence in Syria. They oppose the Shiite religion, and they see it as a religious war with Iran as the dominant Shiite nation being the main enemy. Second, the takeover could pose a danger for those not in favor with an
Islamic Sharia state. This would eventually include Israel. But before they focus on Israel, it's likely they'll try to go after the other groups within Syria itself. As I mentioned before, the Christians, the Kurds, the Alawites and the Druze, and finally, the one country in the region that could potentially benefit from this is Turkey. Turkey has supported these different jihadist groups,
and they share a common religious connection through the Muslim Brotherhood. Still, it's unclear if the jihadists will allow themselves to become too closely aligned with Turkey or dominated by Turkey. Having eliminated the Persian influence, they may not want to substitute it with Turkish control, even though the Turks are fellow Sunni Muslims.
Well, negotiations continue for the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas. How close might the two sides be to a final deal? We keep hearing stories, Charlie. Yeah.
And it all depends on whom you listen to. A senior Hamas official said there is an excellent opportunity to declare an agreement with Israel and a cease fire arrangement for the Gaza Strip. Apparently, the groups are at the point where they're discussing which Palestinian prisoners would be released for the hostages. It's thought right now that 96 of the original 251 31 hostages still remain in Gaza. Israel believes at least 34 of those are dead, which would
leave 62 hostages still alive. The plan under discussion would be to release the hostages in three phases. The first phase, which would last six weeks, would provide a cease fire that would include the exchange of the female, elderly and wounded hostages still alive, four Palestinian prisoners with three prisoners
for every one hostage during that six weeks. The sides would also negotiate terms for the second and third phases with the remaining living hostages, and then the bodies of the rest to be released.
Charlie, I wonder what leverage could Hamas still possibly hold that would allow them to dictate any of the terms in this conversation?
The leverage are the people, the hostages themselves. Israel is so concerned to get them back. That's just part of the the ethos, the nature of Israel itself, that no one's going to be left behind. And as a result, the entire nation is being held hostage because of those hostages. Israel wants the hostages home. At the same time. And this is the trouble with it all, the government doesn't want to allow Hamas to remain there and remain in
control of Gaza to continue their fight against Israel. So the bottom line, and this is where I think we need to go. We need to be praying for the hostages. But don't expect a lasting peace between Israel and Hamas anytime soon to come out of these negotiations from the.
Land and the book this is Moody Radio Hour host Doctor Charlie Dyer. I'm John Gallagher with this week's look at current events as if Israel needed any more distractions. The trial of Prime Minister Netanyahu has resumed, with Netanyahu now being required to testify three days a week, six hours each day for several weeks. Remind us again of the charges against him. And why has this taking place, even as Israel is fighting a war?
Yeah, Netanyahu is having to testify because the Supreme Court refused to grant an extension, even in the middle of all the fighting for the past four and a half years, the prosecution has been presenting its case against Netanyahu. Now he's being given an opportunity to present his side of the story. Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of public trust, covering three separate cases. I'll try and
cover these briefly in case 1000. He's accused of receiving gifts from wealthy tycoons in exchange for help with business and personal matters. While Netanyahu claims the gifts were gifts from friends, and his assistance was the kind government officials ought to provide for citizens, he's claiming there's no linkage. So the gifts weren't bribes, they were just gifts. In case 2000, Netanyahu is accused of helping a newspaper gain a greater competitive advantage over another in exchange for more
positive news coverage. However, he says no deal ever took place, nor did he ever intend for one to happen, and the negative news coverage continued unabated. And finally, in case 4000, which is considered the most serious one, Netanyahu is accused of pushing government policies that favored one specific media owner
in exchange for more positive news coverage. He's claiming the news organization continued doing negative stories about him during the time in question, which shows he never made a deal and that any changes in policies that might have taken place were made by others. Netanyahu is using his time on the stand to present his perspective on the charges, and to make his own case that this is a
mixture of overzealous prosecution bordering on political persecution. It seems like the more appropriate thing for the prosecution to do during wartime would be to temporarily suspend the trial until after the conflict is over. Sadly, that didn't take place.
Charlie, I wonder if there's any way to gauge a sense of popular thought on all of this. Does the average Israeli citizen say, look, this is, you know, political witch hunt? Or do they say, no? You know, we're we're pretty sure that wrong has been committed here. Is there any kind of a public opinion idea?
Well, there are there are opinion polls being released all the time, and this has changed nothing. Right now, probably a majority would not like Netanyahu or have some concerns about him. However, if elections were held right now, his party would still be the largest party and would very likely be able to form a coalition. So where they were just after the last election is about where the people are right now. You either like him or don't like him, but nothing has really changed.
Story number four. Israeli researchers have developed a breakthrough Covid 19 vaccine that is, get this needle free, inexpensive to produce, and requires no refrigeration. Tell us about this new development out of amazing Israel.
You know, John, it was exactly four years ago this month when the first vaccines for the Covid virus became available. You know, that was you think back about it. That was a scary time. And I don't want to get into the debate that still swirls around the virus and all those vaccines. But we do know the vaccines developed back then needed to be refrigerated before being administered by medical personnel, and those limitations made the vaccine unsuitable for
use in many developing nations. Now, scientists from Israel and Portugal have developed an inexpensive and effective nano vaccine against Covid 19 that can be stored at room temperature and administered as a nasal spray. It has the same efficacy as existing vaccines. The new vaccines don't rely on the full protein expression using mRNA like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Instead, the scientists use tools to identify two short and simple
amino acid sequences in the virus's protein. They synthesize them and encapsulated them in nanoparticles. Final studies of the vaccine are continuing, but are very promising, and hopefully this new approach for Covid 19 will also be able to be used on future diseases and will soon be available thanks to the dedicated researchers of Amazing Israel, along with their colleagues in Portugal.
And that's a look at current events from the region with our host, doctor Charlie Dyer. You know all about celebrating Christmas, but what about searching for Christmas? You say, why would I need to do that again? Because as a culture, I think we have lost some significant parts of that advent story. We're going to talk about what those missing items are how we find them and more with our special guest, JD Greer. Coming up, searching for
Christmas right here. The. Question what if instead of just enjoying the Christmas holidays, we seized them, went out of our way to be intentional with unsaved friends, coworkers, and neighbors by sharing Jesus in fresh, new ways? What if we steered conversations toward thoughts about Jesus and and what Christmas is ultimately all about? And what if there was a simple tool to help you do just that? Wouldn't you want to know about it? Hey, welcome to the
land and the book segment two. I'm John Gager, and before we welcome today's guest, let's welcome this thought about being more strategic in loving our Jewish friends and neighbors for Christ. So you're engaged in a conversation with your Jewish friend, and it's turning toward spiritual things. The question is, what kind of Jewish questions should you ask of your Jewish friend Greg Savitt? What do you think?
Well, I think you should use the Socratic method. That's the way that I've learned where there is questions and that leads to teaching. I like to ask Jewish people, do they believe in God? Do they believe in the Messiah? How are their sins forgiven? What do they think of repentance and ask them those questions?
So what if they respond, though, in ways that are clearly not consistent with biblical truth? You don't want to get into an argument. No, you.
Don't want to get in an argument, but you want to share from Scripture the Scripture in Exodus 32 when Moses says, his name will be blotted out of the book of life. So if there's a book of life, there's also a book of death, so there's heaven and hell there. Also, King David talks about a book of life, and there's a book of life. There's a book of Death. Yeah. If there's just a book of life, that means Hitler, Mussolini and Pol Pot are all going to be in in heaven.
Greg Savage serves with Rock of Israel and joins us with insights here on the land and the book. Judy Greer is pastor of the Summit Church in Raleigh, Durham, North Carolina, the author of several books, and the founder of Judy Greer Ministries. He's also the pastor of Summit Life, a daily broadcast and weekly TV program, and Ask the Pastor podcast. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Chick fil A, serves as a council member for the Gospel Coalition, and recently served as the
63rd president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Pastor JD and his wife, Veronica are raising four awesome kids, and we're super glad to connect with him today on the land and the book. Welcome, JD.
Thank you so much for having me, John.
So you have traveled to Israel before. I have to ask, how does your familiarity with the land shape your understanding of the Christmas story?
Yeah, well, you know, some of it is, to be totally honest, it can be a little underwhelming just because the land is the land and you kind of go with this idea that it's some kind of special place, but it's not. And that's actually part of the, you know, to me, the magic of it, because you realize that it sort of reinforces Jesus was an actual person living with real people, with real problems, you know, ministering in
these places. It's pretty overwhelming when you're, you know, standing in places thinking about him, teaching and thinking about, you know, where the nativity took place. Unfortunately, you know, there are certain kind of Christian traditions that love to sort of kind of think of it as junking it up with all kinds of tinsel and sparkly things when when really it's just the simplicity of Jesus entering into the lives
of broken people. So yeah, it's almost like, you know, there's what shows in is out that that gives you a visual. Being there does even more than that. Just being, you know, on location. Yeah.
One other quick question about Israel, your favorite place. Everybody's got one. Having been there, what comes to your mind? I mean.
It's hard not to say the garden Tomb. You know, there's some question as to where he actually where the tomb was, but I don't know. Just just thinking about that, about, you know, 2000 years ago, death just being shattered as this thing rolled back and Jesus walked out. That had to be among the favourites.
Well, if his voice sounds familiar, you might just be a fan of Summit life as I am the daily broadcast with pastor JD Greer. He's our guest today on the land and the book. You know, there are a whole lot of us who get sweaty palms just thinking about sharing Jesus with our unsaved friends. But Christmas, seems to me, is the one time of the year when folks are just a little more open. How does that square with your experience, JD?
Yeah, I mean, statistically it's verifiable. I mean, it's certainly my experience, but I always tell our people, you get two free times a year that the number of people in our country who say that they would accept an invitation to go to church. It's something like think, you know, 35% and it goes to 75%. And so it's an opportunity just to say, come along with me. And and people go in. And usually if you go to a gospel preaching church, the pastor is trying to make the gospel
the simplest and clearest. So yeah, it's an opportunity. I would hope people wouldn't squander it.
Now you have created a powerful tool in a small book searching for Christmas. At what point did you say, hey, I think this could be really useful.
Actually, I have to confess, it wasn't my idea that my friends at the Good Book Company came and they said, you know, you guys put so much energy into your Christmas Eve services, and it's where we'll have it's probably, you know, we almost double our attendance during that time. And he said, with this kind of spiritual appetite, have you given people a very simple tool just to share
Christ with their neighbors? Our favorite kind of reaching out is not when, you know, I'm doing it just from the pulpit, but when people are doing it with their
neighbors and with their friends. And a lot of times they can do that better over, you know, coffee through a book like this that's just short and accessible presents some of the most pressing questions that Christmas answers, and shows how really, this yearning that we experience at Christmas is something that God has written deep in our hearts. That these questions were precisely the questions that Jesus came to answer when he came 2000 years ago.
I noticed you opened with a hilarious personal story about gift giving. What other precautions did you take in writing this? To make sure the message of the book comes across as winsome and friendly, rather than stuffy or judgy?
Yeah. You know, if you're a dad of four kids like I am, then any ideas of stuffy or pretentiousness, especially around Christmas, is that's just out the window. You know, kids have a way of totally shattering all your kind of idyllic visions of how it should be. You know, I always tell people, if you get the image of me as a pastor, like with my kids dutifully sitting around the table, you know, saying, feed us the word, daddy, you know, or teach us, that's that's not what happens.
I mean, it's a lot of throwing stuff and food fights and all kinds of stuff, but you know, into that. Again, not to press this point too much, but, you know, the shepherds, we think of them as really kind of quaint little idyllic scenes sitting there in our mangers. But, I mean, the shepherds were considered at the time, the lowest of the low. They were the ones who were I mean, their testimony wasn't even regarded as reliable in court. They were considered thieves and liars and just people that
had been, for the most part, rejected by society. And here, that's the ones that the angels chose to announce his birth to, because that's the one whom the good news is the best news for.
Is this book only appropriate for someone who has already indicated they're somewhat curious spiritually? Or could I share it with a friend at work? Or maybe a neighbor that I've had not much of a previous conversation with about my faith?
Yeah, no, I actually that's a great question, because the intention of the book is to mirror the message of Christmas itself. You know, there's not a lot of indication that these shepherds were spiritual seekers. They were just people trying to make a living. But they were people that, you know, had deep questions. That's what I found about people in our society, is that we all have the same set of questions, and we choose different ways of
answering them. Some people choose religious ways, some people choose irreligious ways. But we're all trying to find happiness and peace and security, identity. And all those questions are deep existential, personal questions. And whether your neighbor is choosing a religious way or an irreligious way, they're still seeking after some
of these same kind of ideas. And so that's one of the advantages of Christmas, especially, is because even secular society recognizes the yearning for identity, security and happiness is something that that we all have. And and it's a good opportunity for us to say, hey, here's one of the ways that Jesus engages.
That it's great to connect with J.D. Greer and you on today's edition of The Land and the book. I'm John Gager. In the book, you go into detail about some of the names of Christ as presented in Isaiah nine six. Let me ask, how do you explain Jesus as the wonderful counselor in our day?
Well, wonderful implies divine Counselor. You know, I actually think our modern day understanding of the word counselor is a good starting place. Obviously, they didn't have a, you know, an entire psychology profession back then like we do today.
But the idea of a counselor who takes the time to understand your brokenness and your pain, who will enter into that pain, that's one of the things that counselor implies, is that not only is he understanding and able to apply, you know, a balm to your soul, he's actually going to walk with you through it. You know, I was just thinking about this recently. In my own life, sometimes what we need is not explanation of what God is doing. What we need is somebody just to bear the pain
with us. And what the New Testament tells us is that the Spirit of God actually searches our heart and explores our pain. He feels it with us, and he expresses our pain and groanings that cannot be uttered. You know, which means that whatever tears you're, you're weeping now. Jesus, he feels those tears with you and he is actually praying on your behalf from inside you, back to God. So yeah. Wonderful, counselor.
Some of our listeners right now are from urban areas, and they they don't need any convincing that we live in a, you know, a dark time. There's darkness around them, whether it's decrepit buildings and present crime or whatever. Then there are others who live in comfortable suburban settings. Maybe. How do you go about helping these people see just how good the good news is? I mean, in my neighborhood, they're all doing pretty well. JD I mean, they're driving
nice cars. They live in nice homes, and they often seem like they don't need a thing. But that's not necessarily true.
Yeah, it's ironic that it's usually the people that are in the neighborhood, like the one you just described that you lived in. Those are the ones that are the hardest. And Jesus said, it's the poor in spirit who end up receiving the kingdom of God. I've spent all my life trying to become anything but poor in the spirit. I wanted to be rich in spirit. I want to have all my needs met, or at least middle class
in spirit. You know where I feel like I've got the ability to to work, you know, and obtain those things. But just like, you know, to go back to the shepherds or to go to Mary and Joseph themselves, you know, a poor couple that is now you ever wonder, you know, why God and the way he set up the birth of Jesus is, you know, he actually created a scandal.
You know, I mean, here's Mary. You know, they're they're living in a chaste way, but now they're accused of what was considered, in those days, just a shameful, you know, really, really shameful misdeed. And God creates that. But part of the reason for that is because he's communicating to people that if you're like a shepherd and you're at the bottom of the pile or you're you're like Mary and Joseph, and even if you're misunderstood and, and been cast to
the side, you are who I'm coming for. Yeah. I'm coming to show you a love that will make your life complete. Even if your situation of poverty or or being cast out. Even if that doesn't change in the next 2 or 3 months. He came for you. And his love is the thing that your soul most needs.
Maybe you're just connecting with us. Welcome. This is the land and the book. I'm John Geiger. Our guest is JD Greer, who has written searching for Christmas. All right. Speak to somebody directly right now who is honest enough to admit they really don't know Christ as their forgiver. Maybe they're living in that urban setting, or maybe they're living in that very comfortable suburban setting or a rural setting. Wherever they are, they need Jesus, and they're just now
getting a hint of that. What's their next step?
The first step is actually the most important. So the first step is realizing that the source of our brokenness, whether that's relational brokenness or whether we struggle with addictions or whether it's just a depression or a low self-esteem, the source, ultimately of everything goes back to a broken relationship with God. And what the gospel tells us is that try as hard as we may to fix that broken part of us. We never can fix it, because
the missing piece is God Himself. And what separates us from God is our sin. Sin being the choices that we made to do things our way instead of God's way. The good news of the gospel is that God came himself to overcome our sin problem, and he did that by living the life we were supposed to live, a life of truth and beauty and justice, and then dying to death, that we had been condemned to die in our place. And he offers it to us as a gift,
a gift that we just receive. That's certainly what the book that I wrote, searching for Christmas, is all about, is the simplicity of that gift, how to receive it, how to start that relationship with Jesus and be transformed. So that could be a step. Another step is if you got a Christian friend that is active in church, you know, ask them and say, you know what? How can I know for sure that I belong to God
and that that I have eternal life? And if they don't give you a good answer, then just open the Bible and read the book that God wrote and has been People's Guide to salvation for 2000 years. So any one of those three steps is what I would recommend.
For somebody who says, I want to deal with this now, would you lead them in a in a brief prayer that would be appropriate for them?
Yeah. Right now, literally right now, the Bible says Romans 1013 says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. So right now, right now, you could just say, Lord Jesus, I confess that you are the Lord. I confess that you're the one that's in charge. You are
the Son of God. And then you tell him, say, I believe that you died on the cross and rose from the dead as the substitute payment for my sin. And I receive that offer of salvation. And then say thank you for saving me. Thank you for saving me. And, father, we pray for those right now that are listening that weren't expecting this when they dialed into this podcast or when they were listening on the radio. We know that
you've heard them. We know that you've met them where they are, and we know that you have an incredible life ahead for them. And so we thank you for this moment in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.
Well, it's gone too quickly, our time with pastor JD Greer. But we thank you for that investment. We thank you for the book searching for Christmas and we hope you have a wonderful Christmas season. Thank you JD. Appreciate your time.
No problem. Thank you so.
Much. Up next on the land in the book, it's a look at your Bible questions. Stick around for more. Welcome to segment three of The Land and the book. Hope your day is going well. I'm John Gager back with our host, Charlie Dyer. It's always fun to find out what you are curious about as you as you search through the scriptures. We're going to get to question
one after this thought. As the end of this year approaches, many world events have left us wondering what God's plan is for the future, and that's particularly true when it comes to Israel, despite its small size. People all around the world are intensely focused on what takes place there, and our today's headlines connected in any way with prophecies in the Bible. How should followers of Jesus interpret current events? As we await his second coming? Lots of questions.
That's right. And to help answer these crucial questions, our friends at Life and Messiah urge you to check out their book, God, Israel, and Bible Prophecy with Scripture as its foundation. This book will take you on a journey into what God has in store for the Jewish people and the nations. This book is for anyone who wants to explore where modern day events fit on God's grand timeline. If that's you or someone you know, this 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.
And here we are at question one for today's Q&;A segment, this one from Mark. He says, I don't feel that I understand the concept of a father's blessing in Genesis 27 and then chapter 49. It seems to involve prophetic future telling what the father declares in the blessings will happen. Were these fathers prophets? I mean, Isaac and Jacob seem to know the rules about blessing sons, and if they did, how did they know?
Yeah, and unfortunately, we don't have much information in the Bible to help provide a solid answer. By my reckoning, those are the only two examples of fathers offering such a blessing, and I don't see anything similar even for Abraham. Now, here might be some reasons that we do see this. These blessings occur before any of the Bible had been revealed by God in written form. So it was a time in history when God communicated directly to and through
the patriarchs. Later we have written revelation like Psalm one that helped describe the blessing for the righteous. Now there are instances when God revealed future events to the patriarchs, and those include God's revelation to Abraham concerning Israel's 400 year sojourn in Egypt, or God's revelation to Jacob that he would return to the land he was fleeing from his brother. So in that sense, they did receive direct
revelation from God and did function as prophets. Isaacs intended blessing for Esau is actually interesting in light of the full narrative. Remember, Rebekah was having a difficult pregnancy, and God revealed to her that she was going to have
twins and that the older would serve the younger. Now, assuming she shared that with her husband, Isaac should have known which child was selected by God, but the rightful owner of the birthright becomes even clearer when Esau sells the birthright to Jacob for a bowl of red stew. So when it came time for Isaac to bless. It appears that he was trying to bless the wrong son. And when he wanted to bestow the blessing on Esau. Now much of the blessing he gives is connected to
God's earlier promise to Rebekah. So I would say God intervened to make sure a father's personal preference didn't override God's sovereign revealed plan in that case.
Marcia says, I'm wondering about the scripture in Joel two verse 28 where it says, and afterward I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. Is this referring to the last days? Thanks for your thoughts on this passage.
Yeah. And, Marcia, your thoughts are right on target. You know, as you comment about an earlier answer I had given there, I was referring to the gift of prophecy coming to an end during the church age. But Joel two does say the gift of prophecy will again reappear during the end times, after the church has been raptured and the tribulation begins. God will apparently raise up prophets in Israel to provide new revelation to those facing the terrible times.
In fact, in addition to Joel two, revelation chapter 11, verse three mentions two specific prophets God will raise up during that time who will minister in Jerusalem. So there will be additional prophecies and revelations during the tribulation period.
Joanne says, I was wondering when Noah and the family came out of the ark. What did they find? A beautiful new earth ready for habitation or total devastation like we've seen recently in the South. Or perhaps something in between?
Yeah. And as we think about the pictures that artists have painted, you know, I think they kind of get it a little bit wrong. You know, we're not told in great detail, but I do see some hints in Genesis seven and eight that tell us it probably looked more like what we were seeing after those recent floods. We know the water receded for a number of days and and sent out the birds to look for them. So when I put it all together, I think what Noah saw when he came out of the ark, he
didn't find beautiful, newly refurbished earth, you know, and everything blossoming. Instead, he came out to find a landscape that was starting to recover. Several months after the worldwide flood, trees and plants were beginning to sprout. The ground had generally dried up, but the effects of the flood had totally changed the landscape. The ark was near the top of Mount Ararat, and as the land gradually dried out, Noah's descendants moved to the south and east and ended up in what is
today southern Iraq. I suspect the climate had changed so drastically from the Pre-flood era that they went in search of a warmer, drier region, and that's why they eventually ended up on the plain of Shinar, near Babylon.
This is the land in the book from Moody Radio, doctor Charlie Dyer, our host, working his way through some of the latest questions that have come in to us via email. I'll share our email address later on if you've got a question. Todd wants to know do you think Paul had been married at one point? I seem to remember being told that as a Pharisee he would have been, but I'm not sure if that's correct.
Yeah, I think those who tried to say Paul was married do base it on him being a Pharisee. And I think they're reading too much into the cultural background. You know, theologically, Jesus was aligned more with Pharisees than with the other religious groups in Israel at that time. And he wasn't married. When the Essenes are described in the first century, Josephus says some, though not all, chose to remain celibate. My point here is that being unmarried
as a man wasn't unknown. The only passages that we have in the Bible that speak directly to the matter are in first Corinthians. First Corinthians seven seven Paul writes, talking about being married versus being single. He said, and I wish all men were as I am. And in the context he's saying he was unmarried and he tells why he feels that way in the present crisis that the church was facing. Paul then adds, if someone chooses
to get married, you have not sinned. So he's not promoting celibacy as a choice for all times, but as a wise course of action in that present difficult time. And then later in first Corinthians. In chapter nine, Paul talks about the rights he had as an apostle, which he chose not to exercise, and one he says was the right to be married. He says, don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us?
But I've not used these rights, he says. And I think what he's stating there is that he could have been married, but he chose not to. And as a result, I just think he wasn't married. It seems that's what he's clearly saying in those passages.
Renee asks his God, who is omnipresent, also in hell. In Psalm 139, verse eight, David wrote, if I lie down in Sheol, you are there. And revelation 1410 says, the unsaved will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the lamb.
Yeah, I need to balance those two passages with two other passages. The first comes from Jesus's words in Matthew 25, near the end of the Olivet Discourse. He's focusing on the time of his second coming, and when he separates the sheep, the believers from the goats were the unbelievers at the time of his return. He says to the unbelievers, depart from me, you who are cursed into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Those being judged are commanded to depart to the lake of fire, and says they'll go away into eternal punishment. So it suggests the punishment, and a judgment involves expulsion from the presence of Christ and into the lake of fire. The other passage is Second Thessalonians one and verses eight and nine. Paul describes what will happen to the unsaved at the return of Christ. He says he will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel
of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. The Greek says they will be away from the face, literally the presence of the Lord. So one aspect of eternal judgment is eternal separation from God's presence. Now let me harmonize that with those other verses. The word Sheol in Psalm 139
refers to the place of the departed dead. And certainly as a believer, David knew that if he were to die, he would go to the grave or the underworld, and God would still be there. So I can't push that verse too far. It's also not clear in revelation 1410 whether the lake of fire is being described in connection to God because of his omnipresence, or because it's geographically nearby. That is is the passage saying God's omnipresent even in the lake of fire, or that the lake of fire
is visible to God and perhaps to others. And I think about the parable Jesus gave in Luke 16, where We're Lazarus, and the rich man died. And the rich man, it says, could see he was in torment. But he saw Abraham far away with Lazarus. So is part of the eternal judgment being eternally separated from God. It seems like there is a gulf fixed, but it's one where they can see from one side to the other. And those few details are all we have, and so it's hard to go beyond that.
Brian takes us to the story of Achan in the book of Joshua, pointing out Achan took something that was not from the Battle of Jericho. My new American Standard Bible says that Achan was stoned along with his sons and daughters. Some Bible students might say Achan's family helped cover up the theft, although the text doesn't seem to say that. Did the sons and daughters have to be stoned?
Well, I apply it this way. Clearly, Achan was the one who deliberately disobeyed God and who took these items from Jericho. But in his confession, he admits he stole these items and hid them in the ground inside my tent with the silver underneath, he says. So I believe it's reasonable to assume that when Achan Aiken returned from battle and dug that pit in his tent and buried the stolen items, it was obvious to the family what he was doing. The tent was a common area where
the entire family lived, worked, ate, and slept. They hadn't stolen the items, but they understood and they knew what the command had been before the battle. So otherwise, I believe Aiken's family were judged, as we might say now, for knowingly aiding and abetting his actions. In this case, God was judging them for their own sin in the matter.
Hey, if you've got a question you'd like to run by us, send it to the land and the book@moody.edu the land and the book@moody.edu. Don't go away. Charlie Dyer's devotional is next here on the land and the book. When you think about it, the Christmas season is a time of mystery, Delving into that ancient story of God taking on flesh in the form of Jesus, His son. Wow. Absolutely amazing. But we've got a mystery for you yet
today to discover in Charlie Dyer's devotional coming up. Charlie, you've titled This Time Today What.
A Christmas Triptych.
And a lot of us are wondering what a triptych is. We'll let you get to that after this testimony from someone who's traveled to the Holy Land and shares this with you and me.
Hello. I've been listening to a little bit of the program today, and I wanted to say that as a high school teacher, it is refreshing to hear a program on a Christian station to using only the scriptures as sources. It was refreshing to hear a level headed scholarship sound educational judgment in the discussion of the nature and origins of the Jewish race. I have been in complete agreement with what I've heard, and I find that my students
in high school honors students. Students who are supposed to be well-educated have many, many prejudices and misconceptions, some of which are based on religion from all quarters, both Christian and other religions, and also which are based simply on the information they're getting through all kinds of web pages television, perhaps even from their own families. It is refreshing once again to hear a discussion which has an evenness about the sources and what I consider to be authentic educational
authority or scholarship. Thank you for the discussion.
All right. A triptych. I'm guessing there's three of something in this, but I'll let you take it away. Charlie.
Thanks, John. Yeah. Back in the dark ages of auto travel, before the era of GPS and satellite navigation, a long road trip was something of an adventure. It usually required two people, one to drive while watching out for potholes, and a second to fold and refold the map while keeping watch for upcoming turns and intersections. And then the American Automobile Association revolutionized the entire process by introducing the triptych, a slim, spiral bound grouping of pages focused on the
best route to take. It was one of the real pluses of being a member of triple A. Years later, while serving in seminary administration, I was asked to work with an interior designer helping decorate a new building on campus. One day, the designer asked me to go with their group to the downtown Marquette Convention Center to look at accessories,
including triptychs for the walls. Now, I had trouble trying to imagine triple A triptychs hanging on office walls, but not wanting to appear stupid, I simply agreed to go. And I'm glad I remained silent because I learned a new homonym, a word that's pronounced the same way but is spelled differently, and that has a totally different meaning. The triptychs we were going to see were large paintings hung in three sections side by side, and that thought came to mind as I focused on the message I
want to explore today. So button up your jacket and come with me as we pay a visit to the studio of Isaiah to view his triptych of the Messiah he prepared just for the nation of Israel. Each of the three panels tells its own unique story, but aligned side by side. They blend into a magnificent portrait of Israel's coming king. 700 years before his birth, the first panel is found in Isaiah seven and eight. The panel itself is in two parts, with one side mirroring the other.
On the far left is a dark portrait of an unfaithful king named Ahaz. He refused to trust in the Lord or ask for a sign from the Lord, so God himself provided a sign to show that Ahaz would not remain, but another will eventually rise to replace him. And what's the sign? The Virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel. The child will be born in a time of trouble for Judah. And before he reaches the age
of accountability, the nations feared by Ahaz would be laid waste. Sadly, because of Ahaz disobedience, Judah would also experience a time of trouble. On the right side of the first panel is what looks at first like a mirror image a woman giving birth to a son. But on closer inspection, several contrasts can be seen. The woman is actually Isaiah's wife, and in this portrait, the judgment of Judah's nearby enemies will take place within a few years before his son
can even say daddy or mommy. This is a near prophecy whose fulfillment points to the certainty of the previous prophecies. Later fulfillment. The fall of these two kingdoms within two years was a certain sign that a young woman, a virgin, at some point in the future, would give birth to a son who would be named Emmanuel, God with us. The center picture in Isaiah's triptych is perhaps the most striking of all. Isaiah does a masterful job of interposing
brilliant light over a very dark background. The background focuses on Galilee, but now it's Galilee of the Gentiles. The nations have come to oppress Israel. Isaiah uses dark verbal shades to paint this background distress, gloom, darkness, living in the shadow of death. But into this dark image blazes a great brightness. The people see a great light that suddenly dawns on them, replacing gloom with gladness. And what's the central focus of this second picture? What turns despair
into joy? The answer leaps out from the very center of the painting. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that
time on and forever. There's the child again. But now we learn this child, Emmanuel, God with us, is born to reign as the divine King sitting on David's throne. The brush strokes in this second picture are bold and dramatic. No mere baby, this one to be born will have titles that present him as being God with us. Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. It's hard to take our eyes off this dramatic portrait, but we must.
There remains one final picture in this triptych, so we turn our gaze to that last divine painting in chapters ten and 11. The initial colors are dark but more muted. On the left are hints of both judgment and restoration, judgment on the Assyrians coming to devastate the land because of King Ahaz disobedience. This ties the third picture back to the first one. But then there is God's promised
restoration and deliverance for his remnant. He will restore his people and lift the yoke of oppression from off their necks. Our gaze is once again drawn to the right side of the painting, the progression taking us still again to the birth of a child. The details in this part of the painting force us to slow down and examine it with great care. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse. From his roots a branch will bear fruit. The spirit of the Lord will rest on him.
The spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of power, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord. And he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears, but with righteousness he will judge the needy, and with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth. With the breath of
his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. We step back to take a more panoramic view of the entire triptych. It's a portrait of a child being born, but it's far more than the mere birth of a child. This child is God with us. This child will be the Prince of Peace sitting on David's throne. This child will vanquish evil and wickedness. This child will usher in a time of universal peace and harmony. This child is Jesus.
The triptych painted 700 years before his birth this week. As you get ready to celebrate Christmas, focus on more than just a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Focus on more than just the wise men showing up to offer gifts to this child. That child was and is God incarnate. And that child will someday, perhaps very soon, return to sit on David's throne to rule over all. And with that thought in mind, have a blessed Christmas.
You know, before we let you go, I have to ask, have you made this child who became a man who is now our Savior, Jesus, at the right hand of the father? Have you made him your Savior? Have you asked him to forgive you for your wrongdoing? Put him in charge of your life. You can do that today. A friend will pray with you right now at eight, eight, eight. Need him. Explain answers to your questions and there's no hassle. There's no cost because there's nothing to buy. So call 888.
Need him right now. Well, thank you, Charlie, for that devotional. Thank you for listening to the broadcast. And as Charlie says, we do hope you have a very wonderful Merry Christmas. I'm John Gager The Land and the book is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.