Hour 1: Summer Bible Study

Gather round the radio and grab your Bible as we dive into the Scriptures to study together. Join professor and Bible teacher Dr. Michael Rydelnik on Open Line with your questions this Saturday.

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:08):
Do the genealogies in the Bible really matter, or is
that just the part we skip over? Stay with me.
We'll talk about that in just a moment. Hello, friends.
Welcome to Open Line with Doctor Michael Redlick Moody Radio's
Bible Study Across America. My name is Michael Melnick. I'm
the academic dean and also a professor of Jewish studies

(00:30):
and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. I'm so glad to
be sitting around the radio kitchen table with you, taking
your questions about the Bible, God, and the spiritual life.
If you have a question, now's the time to call.
The phone number is [phone]. That's [phone]. To hear a Haynes,

(00:57):
our producer today. Welcome. First time I think you're doing
this to hear. I'm glad you're here. Amy Rios is
our engineer. Uh, time to go get yourself a cup
of coffee. So grateful that you're listening. But you want
to get your coffee. You want to get your Bible,
open it up, because we're going to talk about the
scriptures together before we, uh, actually go to the questions.

(01:20):
I want to talk about a genealogy that I've been
reading lately. I've been going through the book of Genesis, uh,
and as I came to Genesis chapter five. I looked
at that genealogy and it has the entire line of Seth,
and there were two thoughts that came to mind. Why

(01:42):
do we even read these genealogy genealogies? Sometimes people say, oh,
that's the part you skip over. Well. A couple of
reasons why I think it's really important, particularly with Genesis five.
But any genealogy about why do we read these genealogies?
The first has to do. With something that I heard.

(02:03):
Joanne Shetler, a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators, talk about.
It has to do with the historicity, the truthfulness of
this text. She went. To serve in the Philippines, uh,
with a tribe that had never heard the gospel, never

(02:24):
heard the Bible, never read anything of it. And the
very first time she showed a genealogy to the tribal leaders,
they looked at her and said, you mean these are
real people? This is really true. And that showed her
how important the genealogies were to her people, particularly a

(02:46):
people who had a respect for their, uh, where they
came from and from their ancestors. They said, oh, these
are real people. It's not just a neutral book. It's
not just a book of legends. It's not just a
book of stories that this is a true book with

(03:06):
real people. I think that's crucial for us to remember.
That's why there are genealogies in the Bible to show
that this is real stuff. It's not just made up stories.
You know, the Bible doesn't open with the words once
upon a time. It starts with the words in the beginning,
because it tells us the true story of what God
has done. So that's the first reason why the genealogies

(03:29):
are important. It affirms the historicity, the truthfulness of the Bible.
Second reason why I think it's important, particularly in Genesis five.
If you look at it, it follows a pattern. It
talks about Seth being 105 when he fathered Enoch. He
lived 807 years after the birth of Enoch, and he
fathered two other sons and daughters, and his life lasted

(03:50):
912 years. Then he died and then each other. Person.
It has the same exact structure. Everyone. It talks about
how old they were when they became a father, how
long they lived. He had other sons and daughters. He
lived this many years and he died over and over.
And then one of them is different. I think this

(04:14):
is crucial. Because you come to verse 21, it says
Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. And
after the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300
years and fathered other sons and daughters. So Enoch's life
lasted 365 years. Enoch walked with God. Then he was

(04:38):
not there because God took him. That's verses 21 through 24.
What does that tell us? There's one that is different.
One of these is different. It reminds me of, uh,
a song that my kids used to hear when they
watched Sesame Street many years ago. One of these things
is not like the others. One of these things is
not the same. And there's one verse or one little

(05:02):
paragraph here that stands out. One of the members of
the genealogy. And what does it say? Everyone else died,
but Enoch walked with God, and then he was with God.
He was taken. So what was the key to life?
The key to life is walking with God. The next
thing you see, the next time you see that expression

(05:23):
is in the very next chapter. In chapter six, verse nine,
it says, Noah walked with God. And what do we
see when God destroys the rest of the earth? Noah lives. Now.
He doesn't live forever, but he lives. Uh. The key.
What is the key to life? Walking with God. And

(05:46):
that's the principle that's taught in that one different verse.
The key to life is walking with God. So when
we read genealogies, we know what it's talking about, real people.
But we also know that there might be a literary
device to teach us a spiritual principle. The same principle
applies to us. For a meaningful for a significant life,
a life that has an impact on our families, on

(06:09):
our kids, on our neighbors, on our coworkers to have
a meaningful, significant life. The key to life is walking
with God. And that's the lesson that we learned in
the genealogy of Genesis five. Well, we're going to go
right to the phones. And our first caller is Laura

(06:32):
in Florence, South Carolina, listening in Wfpg. Welcome to Open Line. Laura.
How can I help you today?

S2 (06:40):
Thank you. Doctor Rudnick and Doctor Michaels.

S1 (06:43):
Fine, or even Michael is fine. I like I like
first name basis, so that's fine. Go ahead. Laura.

S2 (06:51):
It's good. Good to hear that you're doing well now.
Thank you. Um, I wanted to ask about Eve. I've
heard all my life. You know, the Bible says. Well,
at least the King James Version says that. That when
Satan tempted Eve as the serpent, that, um, she said
that he said, hath God said, you know. And she said,

(07:13):
he said, we shall not eat of it, neither shall
we touch it, lest we die. I've heard all my
life preachers talk about Eve, um, exaggerating because God didn't
say they couldn't touch it. He said he couldn't eat
of it, didn't say they couldn't touch it. And I
I've my contention with this is well, if. Sin had
not been committed yet if Eve was sinless. Then how

(07:37):
could she have exaggerated? Because I was always taught that
when you exaggerate, you know you're embellishing. You're not telling
the truth. Mhm. You're basically lying. You might some people
might consider it a white lie. But. So what's your
take on that.

S1 (07:53):
Well when God tells Eve that they're not to eat
of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, uh, here's
what it says. For all it says. Look, I have
given you every seed bearing plant on the surface of
the entire earth and every tree whose fruit contains seed. Uh,
this will be food for you for all the. And

(08:15):
it goes on. Uh, and so it tells him that, uh,
and the point of it is that that's what Moses recorded. Uh,
the Lord God caused to grow out of the ground,
every tree. Verse two says, including the tree of life
in the middle of the garden, as well as the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Uh, and

(08:39):
so the point of it is, I guess I would say,
first of all, we don't have a videotape or a
recording of exactly what God said. God may have said
these things without, uh, technically he may. I believe he
said these things that he says to them. Uh, but

(09:02):
he may have said more. And then and then as
a result of it. Uh, this is all Moses put in,
but Eve is remembering specifically what God said. That could
be it. Secondly, it could be that he may have said,
don't eat of it. But in her mind, what she
heard was, then I shouldn't touch it. So she may

(09:24):
have exaggerated in her mind. That wouldn't be a lie.
That would be her understanding of what God was saying,
and it wouldn't be a lie. And I kind of
lean that way. I think God said, don't eat of it.
But she said, well, if I'm not going to eat
of it, I better not touch it. I better not
go near it. And so she exaggerated in her mind
and repeated her own exaggeration. She's not lying here. This

(09:45):
is how she understands what God said. And so I
don't think it's a lie. It's it's an understanding of
what she was saying. That's my understanding of it. So
that's why I think it's not a sin for her,
because she's just stating her understanding of what God had said. Okay.

S2 (10:02):
So okay. So you don't think her understanding at that
time because she was perfect, she'd been created. She was
no sin with no sin that her understanding wouldn't have been,
you know, greater than that. I just feel like God's
must have said it at some time. Just because the
Bible doesn't record every single word exactly said to Adam.

S1 (10:20):
That's what I said first. Yeah, it may have not
recorded everything that God said. That could be it. But
also it could be. That's what she understood. And that
wouldn't be a sin. She when we think of her
as perfect, it's not perfect like God is perfect. She
had untested holiness. Uh, but she was not omniscient. The
way God is omniscient, she is not at all like that.

(10:42):
And so, uh, she it's it's it doesn't mean it's
a sin to, uh, take it further. Maybe she said, well,
if I'm not going to taste it, I shouldn't even
touch it. You see, that's all she was doing, but
could very well be that God gave that particular answer. So.
But no, I don't think there was any sin there,
because sin had not yet entered the world. Uh good discussion. Laura.

(11:06):
Good question to we're going to come back with many
more questions. Uh, you can call [phone], and we'll be
right back with more of those questions right here on
Open Line with Michael Ray Jelinek. Stay with us. Welcome

(11:37):
back to Open Line. My name is Michael Radnich, and
joining me this week again is my friend Steve Sanchez,
colleague at Moody Bible Institute. Good morning. I'm so glad
you're here with me, Steve. Uh, people think I'm going
to get ready to quit because I've been having you
here for the last few weeks. I hope not, I
need all the tutoring. Uh, but I am not planning

(11:58):
on quitting, you know. Of course, who knows what Moody's
got in their mind? Moody radio. But I think I'm okay.
I'm pretty safe here. But, uh, I just always feel
like it's great to work with someone that's confident to
be on the radio and, uh, has great answers. And
for me, this this is like, a few weeks ago,
I got laryngitis. Now, if we had been doing this

(12:18):
a few more weeks, I'd have just said, hey, Steve,
run in and cover the show for me. So for me, that's, uh,
if I started getting messages on Facebook, the Open Line
Facebook page. Are you quitting? Are you? No, no, no,
I just have a friend. I think he's going to
do a great job. And this way, uh, we also
have a wonderful person that usually backs up the program. Uh,

(12:39):
Mike Fabares, who is on the trustee board of of
Moody Bible Institute. He's a pastor in California. And, uh,
I was I'll tell you a funny thing, Steve. The
first time Mike Fabares substituted for me, I thought, I'm
so glad I got, uh, to do Open Line first,
because after they heard Fabares, they'd never let me on
the program. And, uh. So, yeah, I was here first.

(13:02):
But anyway, uh, but, yeah, we've. But it's just a
matter of of I actually, this is something I've done
my whole life. When I was a pastor, I taught
people to preach when, uh. I just think it's part
of what you do is always find find someone that
you can work with. And, uh, and that's why you're here,
and I'm grateful.

S3 (13:20):
It's a lost. It's part of the lost art of leadership. Really? No, seriously.
Like you think of people who don't train their replacements.
Don't train people to come along, don't equip people to
move on, whether it's in church or ministry or even
in the home. Sometimes you wonder that didn't get passed on.
So thank.

S1 (13:34):
You. Yeah, that's that's really what it's about. So no,
I'm not planning on quitting. I do want to talk
about our resource. And this is uh, uh, a, a really, uh,
a crucial thing because, you know, I war in the
Middle East, we hear all this stuff. I've been hearing
crazy things even this week about prophecy and people taking

(13:57):
verses out of context in the Old Testament and saying,
this is the war that we see happening right now
with Hamas, or taking things and misunderstanding. Matthew 24 and
I believe in the literal fulfillment of prophecy, but I
think it can really be abused, and it's why I
so appreciate our current resource. It's called The King is

(14:17):
Coming ten Events That Will Change Our Future Forever. It's
written by. Of course, you'd know that this is going
to be great. Uh, Pastor Erwin Lutzer, uh, Pastor Lutzer
really knows what he's talking about when it comes to
the scriptures. He gives us some really good understanding of
the the facts that that are coming to fruition now
before our eyes. And we see that the Bible will

(14:38):
be fulfilled literally, the Lord Jesus really will return. And there, uh,
ten key events that he talks about. And I think
this is a book that you really want to have
if you're interested in Bible prophecy. So, uh, it's yours.
If you give a gift of any size to open line,
it's our way of saying thank you for your gift.

(14:59):
It's the end of the month. Uh, it's the last
time that we'll be offering this on Open Line. But
not just that. It's the end of the fiscal year
at Moody Bible Institute. So if you've been hanging back
and wondering, uh, should I give, uh, to Open Line,
now's the time to do it. We really appreciate it.
And we want to say thanks. By sending you The

(15:19):
King is coming. Ten events that will change your future.
All you have to do is go to open line
radio org or call [phone]. And uh, again, thanks so
much for your generosity. All this past fiscal year. And
appreciate this. Now, uh, we're going to go right to
the phones. We're going to talk with Steve in Durant, Iowa,

(15:43):
listening on Wwdm. Welcome to Open Line. Steve. How can
we help you today?

S4 (15:49):
Yeah. Michael, I was wondering, uh, about revelation chapter one,
where Christ is depicted in John Falls down, passed out,
or however that is that happens to him. And will
we see him like that in eternity? Or he look
like the Son of Man when we get there?

S1 (16:07):
Well. You mean like in Daniel seven right. Mhm. Okay.
Here's the very first, the one the first thing. Okay.
Let me just say about Daniel seven, it says that
there's the Ancient of Days and he's got the white
bear beard and the white hair and the white garments.

(16:28):
And that's obviously a vision because no one has seen
the father. But that's a vision of the father. And
then he says, I see one another deity figure like
a son of man, which would mean he looks like
a fully human being. Isn't that how you understand it, Steve?

S3 (16:45):
That's right.

S1 (16:45):
Yeah. And and, uh, I was actually Steve in the other. Steve. Yeah.
The other Steve. Hey, Steve. Uh, is that how you
understand Daniel seven? Are you there still, Steve?

S4 (16:58):
Yeah. I don't know what Steve you're talking to.

S1 (17:00):
I'm talking to Steve in Iowa. Uh uh, yeah.

S4 (17:03):
Sure I understand.

S1 (17:04):
Yeah, yeah. So, uh, the the simple answer is when
you look at revelation one, he still looks like a
human being, but now a glorified human being. And and
I think the, the issue that people have in revelation
one is he seems to be depicted much more. Like

(17:31):
the Ancient of Days. Uh uh, the way the Ancient
of Days is depicted in Daniel seven. And that's the
issue that people have, like, wait, wait, did he confuse
the Son of Man with the Ancient of Days in revelation?
I don't think that's the case, but here's what I think.
I think this is the glorified, resurrected son. Uh, in

(17:56):
John 17. It says in verse five, in the in
the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus, he says
in verse five, now, father, glorify me in your presence
with that glory I had with you before the world existed.
And so I think what we see in revelation one

(18:19):
is the Son of Man with the glory of the
father that he always had, and that's why he's depicted
that way, to say, now this is the glorified Son
of Man.

S3 (18:29):
Would you say we get a glimpse of that in
the Transfiguration event?

S1 (18:32):
That's exactly what I.

S3 (18:33):
Think Matthew 17, chapter two. He was transfigured before them,
and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes
became white as light. And look there appeared to them
Moses and Elijah talking with him. I mean, Jesus sort
of pulls back the curtain a little bit, and then
it's snapshot until this is the.

S1 (18:52):
And that's also because he says in the previous chapter
right at the end. That's right. He's he said he's
going to basically show them the kingdom. Yeah. And what
he did is he gives them a kingdom view of
what he will look like in the kingdom. And so
we'll see him as he is. I believe in revelation one. Steve. Okay.
Thanks for your call. Appreciate it.

S4 (19:13):
I'm okay. Okay. Thank you.

S1 (19:16):
Bye bye. Uh, we'll take we'll talk to Kate in Chicago,
listening on wmbi. Hello, Kate. Welcome to Open Line. How
can we help you today?

S5 (19:27):
Hello. Um, you had started the program talking about genealogy,
and I was wondering, um, what purpose there was at
all in mentioning this dude, Uriah the Hittite and.

S1 (19:43):
This dude, I love that that's one drop.

S5 (19:46):
Of DNA to the genealogy of Jesus. And, um, where
a lot of people are familiar with the story of, uh, David,
Bathsheba and the third party Uriah. But, um, why even bother?
Not why? What is the purpose of mentioning him in

(20:08):
this long line of of genealogy?

S3 (20:11):
Well, if we go if we're careful readers here, notice
in verse six of Matthew chapter one, the verse says,
David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.
So in a certain way, this is a way of
actually referencing Bathsheba. I would suggest, rather than a real
reference to Uriah, it reminds us of the Bathsheba incident
without saying the name Bathsheba. But we know that this event,

(20:35):
David's behavior, all of that situation is part of the
line of Jesus. And remember, there are a series of
characters in the line of Jesus that you might think, well,
why are they there? They're there. They're part of who
he is. They're part of that history. They're part of
that genealogy. And that David and Bathsheba incident is referred
to here sort of in a backhanded way.

S1 (20:55):
It's more of a reflection on David. That's correct. Yeah. David,
this fallen man after God's own heart, a man who
committed a gross sin. He's in the genealogy of the
Messiah because of God's faithful promise to David that he
made in the Davidic covenant. That's why it's here, because
it says, and this is the opening verse of, uh. Of.

(21:17):
Of the genealogy. This is the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah,
the Son of David. There he is, the son of David,
the son of Abraham. That goes back to the Davidic Covenant.
God made an unconditional covenant with David and said, I'm
going to give you a descendant who will have an
eternal house, kingdom and throne. That's the Messiah. And so

(21:40):
the idea was, uh, here's the line how it goes
all the way from Abraham and then all the way
to David. And look, there's a fallen figure, David. But
God made a promise, and he kept it. And so
by mentioning dead Uriah's wife, you know.

S3 (21:58):
And and the genealogy of David, uh, the genealogy of
Jesus is littered with these characters. I mean, if you
look at all those other names. Manasseh. Mhm. 50 year reign.
And it was total wickedness. Amon two year reign, wickedness.
And on and on it goes. Rambam wasn't great.

S1 (22:15):
Either. Solomon. Solomon wasn't great. Solomon is the the son
of David. And you know, David didn't have as many
wives and concubines as Solomon, but he he certainly had
an issue and as did all the others. Yeah, that's
what was passed.

S3 (22:28):
And Jesus is the righteous king.

S1 (22:30):
Yeah, the righteous king. He's the one without the sin.
The one that has the the right to the throne,
the house, kingdom and throne of David. So that's why
it's a reminder that God used a fallen line to
bring the Son of David to us. Okay, may.

S5 (22:47):
I put in a plug? Sure. Your wife always says, um,
the best Bible version is the one that you read. Sure.
And when I was a teacher, I was given, um,
a Bible called The Good News for Modern Man.

S1 (23:01):
Yeah. Great Bible.

S5 (23:02):
And it had these little, um, squiggly art, um, drawings
on the inside. I never saw a Bible with drawings,
and in fact, it wasn't even called a Bible. It
was called the Good News. Which. Right. Um, yeah. And
I would recommend it for someone who's like, I was
as a teen, what is this all about? And the

(23:25):
beauty of it for me was that I would see
this little doodle and I'd wonder, what is that a
drawing about? And it would invite me to read the
text around the drawing. And later, when I was more
familiar with the Bible, I was able to spin through
the pages, find the doodle, and read it to a friend.

(23:49):
See this picture? Well, it's about, yeah. You know, so
that's great. It was very good for. Yeah. Um, being evangelized.

S1 (23:57):
You know, it was, it was a, it was, it
was a paperback. Kate. And the good news for Modern Man,
I had it. Yeah, I had it too. I got,
I came to know the Lord during the Jesus movement, 1972.
You know, it was on the wrong coast. I was
on the East Coast in New York. But, I mean,
it was happening all over, and it was so exciting.
And everyone had that good news for Modern Man. It

(24:18):
just said good news on it. And I remember carrying
that around my high school in Brooklyn, New York, and
people saying, you have good news there. And I'm saying, yeah,
let me show it to you in that, in that.
That's funny. Yeah, that was it. And, you know, it
didn't look like what people thought a Bible should look like.
And it sort of opened doors. I don't know. What
year did you come to know the Lord, Steve?

S3 (24:37):
I was a child. I was, uh, about seven years old.
I ran into that version of the Bible at Redeemer
Lutheran School in Queens, Queens.

S1 (24:44):
I know.

S3 (24:45):
That school. It was a Lutheran school, and they used
that as the Bible text. And I remember thinking the
same thing. These drawings are really cool.

S1 (24:51):
Yeah. It's intriguing. And, you know, I think it's wonderful
because it was an easy to read, easy to understand version. Uh,
I actually believe that the it was often offered on
TV in the Billy Graham may be, uh, TV, TV
shows that I used to watch those. I remember the
very first time I watched Billy Graham preach was, uh,

(25:11):
they explo 72, and then I was one year old.
That was May. Yeah, that was in May. I had
become a believer in April of 72. Expo was in
May or June, and then in the summertime in July
or August, they had the, the, the sermons on it.
And I was like, wow, all these young people have
come to know the Lord. I keep praying for another

(25:33):
explosion of faith like that among young people. That was
one of the great revivals, and I don't know if
people really think of it that way. We're going to
come back with more of your questions and the mailbags
coming up, so don't go away. You're listening to Open
Line with Michael Ray Dolnick and my friend Steve Sanchez.

(26:05):
Welcome back to Open Line. So glad that you're with us.
It's time for the Febc mailbag, and I'm so grateful
for Far Eastern Broadcasting Company, uh, because they're partnering with
Moody Radio to help bring you Open Line. And it's
an organization that is bringing the gospel through media to
places where we could never get to. And one of

(26:26):
the things I love about them is it's not just
a media ministry, but there are real live people on
the ground that follow up on those who respond to
their media, uh, presentations and the stuff that they hear
on the radio. So it's not just voices on a radio,
it's actually people to people talking about the good news.

(26:49):
It's just a marvelous ministry. And if you want to
know more about it, check out their website febc. Org
there's a link there to their podcast called Until All
Have Heard. That's febc.org and Trish is out today. So
Teresa Heinz Teresa Teresa Heinz is here. Uh, there was

(27:09):
a singer once named Teresa Heinz. That's why very nice.
It's Tyra. I'm sorry. Uh, anyway, I'm so glad that
you are here with us. And, uh, now, Tricia pulled
the questions together, but you get to pick which ones
you want, right?

S6 (27:25):
That is correct.

S1 (27:26):
Okay. There. There we go. Now I'm nervous. Let's see.
Let's see what in the world you're going to come
up with for us.

S6 (27:33):
Well, our first question is from Beth in Michigan. Wndb
did Jesus raise himself from the dead or was it
the father? Was it the Holy Spirit?

S1 (27:44):
Um, well. Uh, it seems to me, uh, that when
I read the scriptures, I'm trying to pull some verses. Uh,
it it appears that it was the father who raised him.
It was the architect of the plan. But he did
it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Uh, one

(28:05):
verse I'm thinking of is in first Peter. Uh, I
should have. I should have prepped this more. This is
this is like one of those questions people are wondering,
did Jesus pray to himself? No, he did not pray
to himself. He prayed to the father. And God answered
through the power of the Holy Spirit. Um, but there's

(28:28):
a verse, uh, let's see. I'm. Yeah. It says, uh, okay.
Now some people get a different, uh, interpretation, but it
says he was put to death in the flesh. This
is first Peter 318, but made alive. And it says

(28:49):
in the spiritual realm of my version, but I believe
it should be translated. He was put to death in
the flesh, but made alive by the spirit. And so
it was the father raise himself. Yeah. The father's plan
and the spirit, uh, carried it out.

S3 (29:04):
Romans ten nine backs you up. But if you confess
with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in
your heart what that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.

S1 (29:13):
And that's talking about God the Father.

S3 (29:15):
God the father raised Jesus from the dead through.

S1 (29:17):
The power of the Holy Spirit. That's what I would say.

S6 (29:19):
Thank you for those responses. God is just so consistent.
You have the Trinity, God in three persons, but everybody, every,
every piece of the Trinity is just working together. So
thank you so much for that.

S1 (29:29):
Yeah. You know, I think it's so interesting that people
sometimes don't. I look at the whole plan of salvation. Even,
you know, God the Father is the architect and God
the Son is, so to speak, the the builder. And
the Holy Spirit is like the, the hammer in the
hand of the son. And so who is it that

(29:52):
works when God made the world? When God saves a person,
it's always God the Father, God the son, God the
Holy Spirit, the Triune God is involved in all those actions.

S6 (30:01):
Thank you so much for that. Yeah, and thank you, Beth,
for that question. We have another question from Christine in
Illinois listening through Wmbi. The Bible says to give to
those who ask, but how can she decide or discern
how to give and when and to whom?

S7 (30:17):
Huh?

S1 (30:17):
To give to those who ask, you know, you got
to be really careful. What that's saying is that we
need to be generous. It doesn't mean I think. That
you give to every single person that asks you because
there are people who are. Uh, first of all, there
are people who are maybe not so honest, and, you know,

(30:39):
they're going to take advantage of you. Yeah. You know,
Steve and I are from Brooklyn. You know, we we
know what it's like.

S8 (30:46):
It's hot.

S3 (30:46):
Now. When I was growing up there, it was hot
for an entirely different reason.

S9 (30:49):
Right, right. So, uh, yeah.

S3 (30:52):
I would say that the question is it cuts to
the heart of who we are and our generosity. I
know sometimes I'm afraid of giving it. I realized after
we moved to Chicago about eight years ago, the Lord
is in charge of who asks me to. I can
be free to be generous. I see this person. They ask,
and I think to myself, well, what if a hundred
people ask? But you know what 100 people don't ask.

(31:15):
The Lord knows.

S1 (31:16):
Now how do like, there are a lot of ministries
that ask for money and I don't give to every ministry.
How is it that we discern, uh, who to give to?

S3 (31:24):
You know, I think personally, I tend to think, all right,
what are the ministries that have ministered to me, my family?
What are the ministries? I believe in schools. I support,
schools that I went to. Whose ministry and mission I
continue to believe in. I see the Lord working in them.
And I say, Lord, I want to get on board
with what you're doing there. And so that's how I give.

S1 (31:42):
Yeah. You know, so, uh. I agree with that. And
I don't have, like, spiritual transformations. Uh, you know, where
I get direct revelation from God give to this one.
But it's the same thing. You know, I have a
heart for our ministry. I really believe in it. I
think the ministry does a good job. You know, I
always believe if we go to, we should be going

(32:03):
to church. We should be giving to our churches, we
should be supporting that ministry. But there's other ministries that
we can give to. Here's one of the things that
happened to me. I was getting ready to sell a van.
I had a mini van and it was I, you know,
I thought, I got to get this ready. I got
to do a couple of things and I'm going to
sell it. And I was shaving and praying and I

(32:26):
felt like the Lord said, give it to this particular ministry. Uh,
it was a ministry led by a man who had
taught at Moody for many years, was our director of
of practical Christian Ministry, and he had now retired, and
he was working with Native Americans. And I thought, hmm,
how am I going to tell Iva this? And it

(32:48):
was just a burden on my heart to give it.
And so I remember going downstairs and talking to Iva
and saying, you know, I think we should give that. Away,
not sell it, and even looked at me and she said, yes,
and I know just to who the Lord put it
on my heart, we should give it to. And she
named that exact ministry.

S6 (33:08):
That is amazing.

S1 (33:09):
And I said.

S9 (33:11):
Hey.

S1 (33:12):
And then I called up Len Rasher, who was the
director of the Native American Bible Ministry, and I said, uh, hey, Len,
are you guys interested in in a van, a minivan?
And he said, we just had a board meeting and
we prayed that someone would give us. A board meeting.
Now that's I've been a believer now for 52 years.

(33:32):
It's the only time anything like that ever happened. But
I feel like it was a direct word, uh, imprinted
on my heart. I didn't hear any voices. But this
is who you give it to. And, you know, I
was so grateful to God. So how is it you
pray and God leads you? I think, in the way
you should give.

S3 (33:50):
I think we have to remember. God gives. Yeah. He gives. Yeah.
And he uses us to do it. Yeah.

S9 (33:55):
Why would we just the agent. Why?

S3 (33:57):
But why would we think we make this decision in
spite of him or without him or he's leading us.
He brings the opportunities and he gives the heart and
he gives the resources.

S9 (34:06):
Yeah.

S1 (34:06):
And they didn't even ask me, by the way. So.

S6 (34:09):
Amen I love that.

S9 (34:11):
Yeah.

S6 (34:11):
So and when we do things the way God instructs
us to and leads us to, there's so much blessing
for us. But then also for the for the giver
and the receiver. Yeah. So thank you so much for that.
Steve and Mike, another question. This is from Dean in Wisconsin.
WB Scripture states that it is appointed once for a
man to die and then the judgment. Does this mean

(34:35):
Lazarus was judged twice.

S7 (34:39):
Well.

S1 (34:41):
The the judgment that we face doesn't happen the moment
we die. Uh, it there there's a for most of us,
there's a pretty significant lapse of time between, uh, death
and judgment, because the judgment takes place at the Great

(35:02):
White Throne. Uh, for people who don't know the Lord. Uh,
I believe that the, uh, the judgment for believers where
our works, uh, our service for the Lord is judged.
That takes place, uh, after the rapture, when we are
in heaven, uh, with the Lord. Uh, after the resurrection.

(35:24):
So it just means we die. And then comes the judgment.
Not immediately. Uh. Uh. That. Does that.

S9 (35:32):
Make sense? That's right.

S3 (35:33):
So Lazarus dies. He's in the ground for four days,
but he comes back to life now.

S9 (35:37):
He was with the Lord, though.

S3 (35:38):
He was, he was, but it wasn't done. He comes
back to life, and then he dies again later at
the end of his life, a normal life.

S1 (35:45):
Yeah, that's the thing. He, the Lord Jesus, is the
first fruits of the resurrection. So no one who is raised,
whether in the ministry of Elijah or Elisha, or in
the ministry of Jesus or the apostles, uh, no one
was raised, uh, to immortality.

S9 (36:02):
With a.

S3 (36:02):
Glorified body.

S9 (36:03):
Yeah, yeah.

S1 (36:04):
Everyone that was like Lazarus had to die again. So, yeah, that's.

S6 (36:08):
Well, thank you both for that clarification.

S1 (36:10):
Yeah, yeah. And that's the same thing with the people
who came out of the graves at the resurrection of Jesus.
They died. I just always think if I were raised
at that point, I go, what?

S9 (36:18):
What?

S1 (36:20):
I was so happy. You know, my, uh, I once
almost died, uh, many years ago. Uh, I was so surprised.
I had a blood clot, went to my lungs, and,
you know, the doctor said 99 out of 100 people
would have died. This is about 20 years ago. And
I called my friend in California, Larry, and I said, hey, Larry, uh,

(36:41):
I'm so glad to be alive. And he said, I.
You'd be happy you're dead. And that's how I think
of with all those people who died and then were raised.
They're like, oh, I was.

S9 (36:50):
Happy to do this again. Yeah, I.

S1 (36:51):
Got to do it again. So, hey, you know, before
we we break here, I do want to mention something
that I talked about. The book, uh, The King is
Coming by by Pastor Lutzer. But there are people who
often will give, uh, once every couple of months and
get the current resource that we have, and I so
appreciate that. But I was wondering, there might be some

(37:12):
people who think, you know what, it's time for me
to become regular in my plan for this next fiscal
year for Moody Bible Institute. Maybe they would consider becoming
kitchen table partners, and if they did become a kitchen
table partner, they would be able to partner with us
right here at Open Line on a monthly basis and
give every month. And, uh, I just would so appreciate that.

(37:35):
One of the things that we do, if you do
become a kitchen table partner is we, uh, send you, uh,
or email you a Bible study moment every other week.
And that Bible study moment is, uh, a brief Bible study.
Right now, we're going through the covenants. Eva and I, uh,
every couple of weeks, you get it in your mailbox,

(37:55):
you get to listen. It's about eight minutes long. It's
a Bible study moment that helps you understand the scriptures better.
It's a way of our saying thank you for your
commitment to Moody Radio. So if you'd like to become
a kitchen table partner, uh, if you'd consider that, we
really would appreciate it. Uh, and those of you who
have done so, boy, do we appreciate you. We really
are grateful for you. And, uh, to become a kitchen

(38:16):
table partner, go to openline radio org or call [phone].
Thanks to Hira for joining us with the questions.

S6 (38:28):
So thank you so much for having me. Yeah.

S1 (38:30):
And we're going to be right back with more of
your questions right here on Open Line with Michael Redneck,
Steve Sanchez and Tara Haynes. Welcome back to Open Line.

(38:59):
My name is Michael Riedel. Nick, I'm so glad that
you're listening in today. Uh, so many of you call
or write with questions about reaching your Jewish friends, and
I'm so grateful for that. Um, one of the best
ways to tell your Jewish friends about the Lord is
to share with them the messianic passage of the best,
most important, most significant messianic passage in the Hebrew Bible,

(39:23):
which is Isaiah 53. And you think, well, I'm not
sure I understand Isaiah 53. Well Chosen People Ministries wants
to help you. They are offering a really terrific little book.
It's called Isaiah 53 explained. And that book, if you
read it, will help you really understand how to present
Isaiah 53 to your Jewish friend and also help you

(39:44):
understand it for yourself, obviously. But it's a book that's, uh,
the kind of book that's written that you just pass
on to your Jewish friend. If you'd like a copy
of Isaiah 53 explained, just go to our website, Open
Line radio.org, and when you go there, scroll all the
way down. You'll see a link that says A free
gift from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that, and that

(40:06):
will take you to a page where you can get
a copy of Isaiah 53 explained. We're going to talk
with Paul in Plant City, Florida, listening on Wcqs. Welcome
to Open Line. Paul. How can we help you? We're
going to I see I just looked at the screen.
I see you have two questions. I just want you
to go with your first question.

S10 (40:27):
Uh, I guess the first one would be the counselor
Savior on John 14, 16 and 17 from the TPT version.

S1 (40:36):
Okay. Uh. The. Are you asking? Could you state your question?

S10 (40:45):
Just, uh, your commentary on it. Um, I totally disagree
with it being savior in that verse, but it's in
that version, and I just I want to scream it
from the hilltops, but I don't know how to get
it out there. Okay. You would. Okay.

S9 (41:02):
Well, first of all.

S1 (41:02):
I think the, the word just let's talk about the word.
It's it's the word that means either counselor or encourager
or comforter or Heraclitus. That's all it is. One called
alongside to help is what it means. Uh, and so, uh,
it should not be translated savior. Uh, but I have, uh,

(41:28):
some serious problems with the passion translation. And what I'm
going to do is I'm going to pull up a
blog post that I did a couple of years ago, uh,
about the Passion translation. And or a year ago. And, uh,

(41:49):
what I'm. I'll, I'll put that on our Facebook page.
Here's the problem with the passion. The passion. Translation a
lot of people like it because of the way it
makes them feel. Mhm. Uh, but it's not a translation.
It shouldn't be called a translation. It's a paraphrase. Uh,
and it's a paraphrase that takes greater liberties with the
scriptures than other paraphrases do. Uh. And. And I think

(42:15):
that that's a caution. Uh, and also, it's very idiosyncratic.
It's just idiosyncratic. Meaning it's just one man. Uh, I've
worked on Bible translations before. Have you ever worked on a.

S9 (42:28):
I have, I worked on.

S3 (42:29):
The new English translation. Okay.

S1 (42:30):
I worked on the Holman Christian Standard version and everything
I did, I submitted a team, went over, and then
yet another team went over it. Uh, it was it
was checked carefully so that when I finally read the
parts that I had translated it, it seemed like 65%
of my work was there. They changed it, you know it.

(42:52):
They tweaked it, they adjusted it, and I would be
cautioned about that. And then there's, uh, he he says
he uses other manuscripts.

S9 (43:03):
These Aramaic texts.

S1 (43:04):
Of the New Testament. No, no, we don't have Aramaic texts. Uh,
those are working off of translations. And I would be
very cautious about that. Uh, also, uh, he has a
lot of lexical errors. He doesn't really understand the the
Hebrew as I understand it. Uh, what he does is
he bases it on Hebrew homonyms, some sort of strange

(43:27):
way of translation. This is a book that I think
you know, I often say, read the Bible. My wife
says it, and I just mimic her. Read the Bible
that that you'll read. You know that best translation is
the one that you'll read. This would be my warning.
This is not a Bible translation I think anyone should
ever read. I don't think it's a translation. I don't,

(43:48):
and it's it's not even usually when I see a paraphrase,
I say, well, that's just one man's interpretation. So it's
helpful sort of as an interpretation. This has such bad
paraphrase that I would say, no, don't even read that
because it's, it's, it's problematic. So, uh, I hope that
that helps you with the question. Paul, appreciate your call.

(44:10):
We're going to talk with Cynthia listening in Illinois on
W DHM. Uh, welcome to Open Line. Cynthia. How can
we help you?

S11 (44:18):
When we're studying the Bible, we see the words spirit
and soul, and I don't know if they're interchangeable or
they have different definitions. And I'd like to hear your
opinion on that.

S1 (44:31):
I think sometimes soul means life. But sometimes it. Here's
the thing. I don't know that I could tell you
the difference between soul and spirit and mind and heart
and emotion. Or what other words can you think?

S3 (44:50):
Theologians disagree whether we have a spirit and a soul
or it's just one. Yeah, these are hard.

S9 (44:56):
Yeah.

S1 (44:56):
I like I think that there are all these words
that are used for the immaterial part of a person. Uh,
so I see us dichotomously. Uh, we've got a physical body.
And that, by the way, is going to be resurrected
one day. And it's an eternal body, but it'll be immortalized.

(45:19):
And I see us as having an immaterial part of us.
That's the real Steve, the real Michael, who we are. Uh,
it's our mind. It's our heart, which are our emotions,
our our, uh, spirit, our soul, whatever we want to
call it. There. That's all that immaterial part that goes
to be with the Lord when we die. And we'll

(45:39):
be reunited with our bodies when we're resurrected. Uh, that
is the immaterial part. And that's really how I see it.

S3 (45:47):
I like that description.

S9 (45:48):
Yeah.

S3 (45:48):
Pretty simple.

S1 (45:49):
Yeah, it's simple that we have an immaterial part. And
I think when, when we, you know, there's a lot
of Bible teaching you'll get about the spiritual life where
they really try to make a big, big distinction between
soul and spirit and all this. And I think they're
pushing it. I just don't think that's the way to
do it. Does that help, Cynthia I hope so.

S11 (46:09):
Absolutely, yeah. Thank you. Yeah.

S1 (46:12):
Thanks for listening, baby. Uh, people, that's the that is
the the first hour. It's the fastest hour of the week. Uh,
keep listening, because there's a second hour of open line
coming up on most of these stations. If your station
doesn't carry Open Line, check us out on the Moody
Radio app or maybe the podcast or online during the break.

(46:33):
Check out our web page, Open Line Radio org. It's
got all sorts of helpful, uh, links there, including our
current resource and how to become a kitchen table partner.
Keep listening. Second hour is coming up. Open line with
Doctor Michael Ridley is a production of Moody Radio, a
ministry of Moody Bible Institute. We're coming right back, so
don't go away.