Hour 1: The Importance of Bible Study

​Each week on Open Line with Dr. Michael Rydelnik, you're invited to join our Bible study around the radio kitchen table. We study the verses you have questions about and along the way, we learn Bible study tips. Join us this weekend with your Bible questions.

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:09):
Over 90% of Jesus followers have never shared their faith.
Many say they just don't know how. Is there some?
Are there some lessons we can learn from the Apostle Paul?
Stay with me. We'll talk about that in just a moment. Hello, friends.
Welcome to Open Line, Moody Radio's Bible study across America.

(00:32):
My name is Michael Ray, and I'm so grateful to
be joining you right here around the radio kitchen table.
We're talking about your questions about the Bible, God and
the spiritual life. If you have a question and you'd
like to call the phone number, here is [phone]. I

(00:54):
think it's good to write that down. So let me
give that to you again. Write it down. [phone]. And
I'll give you the little secret that I've been trying
to tell people the last few weeks that people say
they can't get through. The best way to get through
is to call at the at the top of the hour,

(01:16):
because we've got a whole bunch of lines open right now,
so you can fill them up. Uh, and get your
question in sitting in the producer's chair today, we've got
two chairs, Tricia McMillan and and Lisa. He's helping her out. Uh,
Omar is our tech guy, as always. Rihanna's answering the phones.
Appreciate the whole team working here. Uh, to make this

(01:39):
program available to you. Again, the phone number [phone]. Time
to get yourself a cup of coffee. Open your Bibles.
We're going to study the scriptures together. People are terrified
of public speaking. Jerry Seinfeld often talks about that 90%

(02:03):
of all people are terrified of public speaking. And so,
he says, they actually fear public speaking more than they
fear death. And so he says at a funeral, the
person giving the eulogy is probably more scared than the
person in the casket. But people are fearful of sharing

(02:24):
their faith because they don't know how. And as a result,
I think it'd be really good for us to get
a little clue from the Apostle Paul. I've been reading
in the book of acts, and there are some lessons
to be learned about how we can share our faith.
From the Apostle Paul. And I want to talk today

(02:46):
about three keys to effective faith sharing. And I've been
I've been taking a look at the defenses that the
Apostle Paul made when he was on trial. And I
think that there are three key lessons that we can learn.
So let me give them to you. First of all,
when we share our faith, we need to tell our

(03:09):
faith story. We just need to tell our story. If
you read Paul's defenses, you'll see that when he was
before the crowd in acts 22, he tells his faith
story how he came to know the Lord when he's
before the Sanhedrin. In acts 23, he tells his faith
story how he came to know the Lord in acts 26.

(03:31):
When he's before Agrippa, he tells his faith story the
way he came to know the Lord. It's it's really
a great model for us. Why is it so important
to learn how to share our faith story, how to
tell how we came to know the Lord? Well, people
can dispute all sorts of facts and figures. They can
dispute interpretations of the Bible. They can argue about the

(03:54):
existence of God. Whether Jesus is the Redeemer, they can
argue all sorts of facts. What they can't argue with
is our experience. So what we do is we tell
our faith story so we can share our own personal experiences.
I think that's why it's so important. So we need
to learn how to tell our story in a factual,

(04:16):
compelling way that points people to the Lord Jesus. So
we need to tell our story. Here's a second lesson.
We need to communicate according to culture. Why is this
so important? Well, we see it in the Apostle Paul
when he is before Jewish people. He whenever he's giving

(04:37):
his defense, he emphasizes what they need to hear, which
is that he's a Pharisee, that he is faithful to
the pharisaic teaching of the resurrection. He talks about in
these defenses the messianic hope. He's always talking about the Messiah.
In fact, what he says is I stand. This is
what he says to Agrippa I in acts 26, verses

(05:02):
23 and 24. Uh, uh, I'll start with verse 22
to this very day of I have obtained help that
comes from God, and I stand and testify to both
small and great, saying nothing else than what the prophets
and Moses said would take place. Verse 23, that the
Messiah would suffer, and that at first he would rise
from the dead. He would proclaim light to our people

(05:25):
and to the Gentiles. He is summarizing the message of
the messianic hope from the Hebrew Bible. He's talking about
messianic prophecy. So when he talks to Jews, he talks
about what Jewish people need to hear. But when he
talks to Romans like Felix and Festus and others, he
always emphasizes what they need to hear, which is that

(05:47):
he's law abiding, and he frequently mentions the resurrection for hope,
so he is giving a message to them. So for example,
in acts 25 eight, when he is before a Roman official,
he says this. Uh, neither against the Jewish law, nor
against the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned at all.

(06:11):
He's trying to emphasize that he is law abiding, because
what did the Romans care about? Keeping the law. Having
everything in order? No problems. So here's the point. Paul
never changed his message. It was always about Jesus that
he died and rose again. But he adapted how he
communicated that message to the culture. Uh, now, why is

(06:38):
that so crucial? Because we are living in a time
when people really need to understand the culture. We need
to communicate to people in a way that they need
to hear the gospel. We never change the message, but
we become students of culture and then we communicate that message.
We adapt the communication of the message to our cultural framework.

(07:00):
So we need to tell our story. We need to
communicate according to our culture. And then thirdly, and I
think this is crucial, we need to keep the main thing,
the main thing. That's one of my favorite expressions that
Doctor George Sweeting, former president of Moody, now with the Lord.
He used to always say, keep the main thing, the
main thing. Paul always included the essentials, like the verse

(07:24):
I just mentioned in acts 2623. What is the most
essential message? The essential message is this that Messiah must suffer. That, uh.
And that as the first to rise from the dead,
he would proclaim light to the to our people and
to the Gentiles. What is he talking about? Messiah, suffering
and death. Jesus died for our sins, and that he

(07:46):
was the first to rise from the dead. He was.
He was raised from the dead. He was resurrected. What
is the good news? That Jesus died for our sins
and was raised for our vindication? That is the message
of the gospel. Paul always kept the main thing, the
main thing. This is really crucial since we're learning how
to tell our story. When we tell our faith story,

(08:08):
sometimes it becomes about us. But really, when we tell
our faith story, what we have to talk about is
what Jesus did for us. It's about him, not about us.
Keep the main thing, the main thing. You know, sometimes
we'll have an opportunity to talk about our faith with
a cab driver or a, uh, a driver for one

(08:30):
of the services, uh, that, uh, that you can get
to pick you up from the car with the car. Right? Uh,
you can Uber it. And when you're in an Uber,
you can talk about your faith. It's a one time thing. Uh,
maybe with a store clerk or something like that. Other
times we have long term friendships and, you know, we

(08:52):
build up to the opportunity where we raise the flag
from time to time, talk about what God's doing in
our life. And then people, we love people until they
ask us why. But all the time, no matter what,
we need to be able to do these things, tell
our story. We need to communicate in a way that
they can understand it according to their culture. And we

(09:13):
need to keep the main thing, the main thing. I
had a great opportunity, a friend I've made about 15 years,
and I've raised the flag from time to time in
these 15 years. And just about a month ago, he
and his wife were visiting our home. And he said,
you know, I never understood why it is that you.
This is a Jewish man, an Israeli. He says, why

(09:36):
you believe that Jesus is the Messiah. How did you
come to this? I'm like, oh, it's glad you asked.
And we spent a good hour talking all about that,
and I was able to communicate with him, my faith story,
communicate the good news that Jesus died for our sins
and was raised from the dead. And we talked all

(09:58):
about it from the messianic hope in the Hebrew Bible,
because that's the cultural background that he needed. I felt
like this is an opportunity right from the Lord that
I had been praying for. God's going to give us
all those opportunities. We just need to seize them no
matter what. We need to tell our story in a
culturally sensitive way, always keeping the good news at the center.

(10:32):
I hope that will encourage all of us to keep
talking about our Lord. Uh, our Messiah to others. And also,
we'll be talking about some other principles of how to
communicate in weeks to come. Now, I do want to
tell you about our current resource. It is a terrific book.
It is something that that I really appreciate because it

(10:56):
was written by, uh, my former professor, Doctor Howard Hendricks,
one of the greatest teachers ever. And it's called Teaching
to Change Lives. He was a master teacher. Uh, Prof. Hendricks,
he's now with the Lord, and he was my teacher
in seminary. And what he does in this book is
he relates seven practical laws, laws that will transform our

(11:18):
approach to teaching. Why is this so important? We're all teachers.
We all teach someone, maybe a home group, maybe a
Sunday school class. It may be just talking with with
a friend. Uh, but we all are teaching our children.
We all teach. And so we need to know how
to teach to change lives. And if you'd like a
copy of Teaching to Change Lives, the way to to

(11:40):
get a copy is one way is to give a
gift of any size to open line and we will
say thank you. And we so appreciate those gifts by
sending you a copy of Teaching to Change Lives by
master Teacher Howard Hendricks. If you'd like to give, call
[phone] or go to open Line radio.org. Um. We're going

(12:09):
to talk to Barbara in Ohio. Uh, and, uh, I
don't know what station she's listening on, but welcome to
the program, Barbara. How can how can I help you today?

S2 (12:21):
Oh. Good morning. I have a question. I recently changed,
changed churches, and I found this church that I really love.
They're so warm and welcoming. And I love the church. Well,
they had an altar call, which my church does not,
and I go I go to a very straight laced
typical Christian Church before. And I went to this church

(12:44):
and they were so loving and so warm and everything. Well,
they had an altar call, which my church does not have,
and I went up to pray. And as I was kneeling, praying, uh,
two ladies came and prayed behind me and I could
understand what they were saying. And then another lady came

(13:05):
behind me and she prayed in tongues. And that just
scared me. So I've never heard that. And I'm 75
or 76 years old and I've never heard that before,
and I didn't. I don't know what to do. So
what do I. Is that not? That's when I look
it up. It tells me it's demonic and then it

(13:27):
tells me, oh, it's okay if somebody interprets it. I,
I didn't know that anybody was interpreting it. I didn't
I didn't know anything. I just got completely upset. So
what can you tell me about that?

S1 (13:42):
Well, first of all, I don't think it's demonic. So
take a breath. Everything's okay. Uh, I I, I know
that there are many people who say that, but I,
I don't believe that at all. Uh, I don't think
it's really according to the Bible, as I understand it,
if you read acts two, when we see tongues described, uh,

(14:03):
we see we see that tongues are real languages, not, uh,
ecstatic utterances like that. So, uh, I don't think they
were really praying in tongues. They were. It was just
sort of, uh, ecstatic utterances. And there's lots of different explanations,
explanations for that. But I don't think it was demonic. Uh,

(14:24):
here's the only thing. The advice I would give you
is what Paul says in First Corinthians. He says, how
can someone say Amen if they don't know what you're praying?
And so if someone came up to me and wanted
to pray in tongues for me, I would say, you know,
I can't understand what you're praying. I can't say amen

(14:45):
to that. So please don't do that. And that's the
simple explanation for what I would do. Thanks for wanting
to pray for me. Please pray in a language I
can understand and and I would leave it at that.

S2 (14:57):
You're saying I should tell this person, don't pray for
me in tongues, in a language.

S1 (15:05):
I would just say pray for me in English language.
God hears that too. And and I understand that. That's
what I would say.

S2 (15:12):
Why? Why and how do people do that?

S1 (15:16):
Well, that's a that's more than I can do right now. Barbara,
you hang on. We'll come back and talk about that
when we come back. Okay. We're going to take a
break here. And when we come back, we'll talk about
why do people do that? Uh, why do people pray
in tongues and what are they doing when they do that? Uh,
when we come back, we'll talk about that. You're listening
to Open Line with Michael Ray Melnick And this is, uh,

(15:39):
time for you to call [phone] to get your question in.
We'll be right back. So stay with us. Welcome back

(16:01):
to Open Line. So glad you're listening today. I really
appreciate it. Uh, well, we were just talking. Did we
lose our our caller, Omar? Oh, there we go. Uh,
Barbara listening in Ohio. Hey, Barbara. Welcome back. Uh, you
were asking. Let's see if I understand your question. We

(16:22):
talked about you wanted to know if when someone prayed
over you. Surprisingly, when they prayed in tongues. Was that demonic? Yes. Uh,
and I said no. And then you want to know? Well,
why would she do it? Let me again reiterate. I
think the best thing to do is just as I'm
trying to find the verse in first Corinthians where Paul

(16:44):
says that we can't say Amen if we don't understand
what a person is saying. And I know I was
having trouble finding it because I was looking in the
book of Romans, even though I was really supposed to
be looking in Corinthians. Uh uh. It says, uh, that

(17:06):
it's not expected that we understand it. Uh, that, uh,
the person who prophesies is greater than the person who
speaks in tongues or languages, unless he interprets so that
the church may be built up. Uh, uh, it says, uh,
it keeps emphasizing the need for understanding, uh, unless you

(17:28):
use your tongue for intelligible speech. How? Well, what is
spoken be known. Um. and, uh, I think that's, uh, important.
It says, uh, that the person who speaks in another
language should pray that he can interpret. For if I
pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my understanding

(17:51):
is unfruitful, then first Corinthians 1416. Otherwise, if you prays
with the spirit, how will the uninformed person or the
person who doesn't understand say Amen at your giving of thanks,
since he since he doesn't know what you're saying? Uh,
I think that's a key for this. So that's why
based on that, since there was no interpretation, I don't

(18:15):
think there could be interpretation. Uh, the best thing to
do when someone prays, if someone came up and wanted
to pray for me in tongues. This is a true story.
I was walking in the aisles many years ago in
a grocery store, and I ran into a person that
turned out they were believers and they said, can I
pray in tongues for you. I said, no, uh, you

(18:35):
can pray in English for me. I'm happy for that. Uh,
or pray in other language. You know, I said, if
you know Yiddish, I understand that pray in Yiddish, but, uh,
pray in Hebrew. But don't pray in a language I
don't understand. Well, they couldn't pray in any of those languages,
so they prayed in English. I would say that's the
best thing. If someone started praying in tongues, uh, that, uh,

(19:01):
I would just ask them to pray in a language
I understand. What is this? Why are they doing this?
That's what you wanted to know, right? Barbara? Uh, tongues
in in the Bible are real languages. They're not just
mere ecstatic utterances. Now, one of the things that I
have seen, and this is proven in a variety of ways, uh,

(19:24):
is that when we disconnect our thoughts from our speech, Beach.
It comes out and it sounds exactly like tongues and
it's interesting. Back in the day, when people were praying
for me to receive the gift of tongues, they kept
telling me not to think anything, to empty my mind
and just let the sounds that are in my mouth
come out. And I think that can happen. I don't

(19:47):
think it's wicked. I don't think it's demonic. It's just
sort of an ecstatic utterance separating thought from speech. And
that's how it comes out. Doesn't show any sign of
true language, according to linguists. Now, the only danger I
can see there is a woman in my very first

(20:07):
congregation who prayed in this ecstatic utterance so much she
couldn't pray in her own language, English. She couldn't pray.
She just couldn't do it. And the only way that
she could be helped be helped was to write out
her prayers. And that's how she disciplined herself to learn

(20:28):
how to pray. prayer. Pray so I wouldn't be afraid
of it. I would just ask someone not to pray
over me in tongues. Uh, now I'm going to say
one last thing, Barbara. There may be people here just
falling off their chairs because they get so upset because
they are really committed to tongues, I understand that. I
just want to say this is my opinion as I
understand it from the scriptures. And, uh, I love these

(20:51):
people who might disagree with me about this. I know
you do too. We just, uh. I'm just trying to
say this is my opinion. This is the advice I'm
giving you. And if you if a person out there
is disagreeing with me, well, that's that's fine. We can
disagree without being disagreeable. Okay?

S3 (21:09):
I was just scared of it.

S2 (21:10):
I didn't understand it, and I still am scared of it.
I've never heard it before.

S1 (21:15):
Well, there's no need to be scared. There's just. Just
give your get your your, uh, holy chutzpah up your
your your boldness and say, oh, I appreciate you praying
for me, but please pray in a language I understand
so I can understand it and say Amen. Okay.

S2 (21:31):
One just really quick question. Does the language come from
the Holy Spirit inside this person?

S1 (21:37):
No, I think it's not the Holy Spirit. I think
it's from the person themself.

S2 (21:42):
Okay. All right.

S1 (21:43):
Now people, people who pray in tongues think it is
from the Holy Spirit, but I don't. Okay. I think
it's just from themselves. Okay.

S3 (21:52):
All right.

S2 (21:52):
Thank you very much. You have a wonderful day.

S1 (21:54):
Sure. You too. We're going to speak with Brooke in Indianapolis, Indiana,
listening on WGN. Welcome to Open Line, Brooke. How can
I help you?

S4 (22:03):
Hello. I was having a discussion with my son this week.
He's eight. He wanted to know when the curtain tore
at the temple. When Jesus died. Was there any piece
of it left? And then I had a follow up question.
When did the Jewish people know to stop sacrificing? Or

(22:23):
do they know immediately from the curtain tearing to stop
sacrificing animals? Or did it take a while?

S1 (22:29):
The answer to the first question is no documented discussion
in rabbinic literature or Josephus about the temple curtain being torn. Uh,
there's no discussion about it, so I can't answer that question.
I presume they fixed it, you know, but I, I don't,
I don't know. There's nothing about it that I can

(22:53):
speak about it. Uh, and when did they stop sacrificing? Uh,
you can even see in the book of acts there
are still sacrifices in the temple. In the book of Hebrews.
It talks about Hebrews, I believe was written to people
in Jerusalem, Jewish people in Jerusalem in the early 60s,
and it talks in the book of Hebrews about sacrifices

(23:15):
still being offered.

S4 (23:16):
Okay.

S1 (23:17):
So when did sacrifice stop? Uh, in AD 70, when
the temple was destroyed by the Romans. That's when the
sacrifices stopped. Okay.

S3 (23:29):
Okay.

S4 (23:30):
Yeah. Thank you.

S1 (23:31):
Yeah. Uh, tell tell your son. You know, there's some
things we just don't know the answer to. And, uh,
you know, it's it's really not that important for us.
We know that Jesus sacrifice paid our debts, and. Yeah.
Whether other people saw that with a torn curtain, we
don't know. Okay.

S4 (23:50):
Okay. Yeah.

S5 (23:51):
Thank you. Okay.

S1 (23:52):
Great. Thanks for your call. Uh, Steven in Sarasota, Florida,
listening on. Welcome to Open Line. How can I help
you today?

S6 (24:01):
Hi, doctor. Thanks so much for having me. Um, okay.
I wonder if you had any tips for witnessing to
a Jewish friend. Um, and I'm Jewish. I mean, Jewish, national,
not Jewish. By who? Um, expresses to me that she
has no, um, no interest or sense of desire Or

(24:24):
in any way, shape or form for God. And never
has she felt no inclination toward God. She was raised
in a sort of a communal situation, as she's just
she describes it. She's a brilliant artist with a lot
of kind of Facebook followers and things. And we're both artists,
so we share that. And that's how I know her. Um,
but she has become increasingly expressive and passionate about Jewish affairs,

(24:44):
especially with regard to this kind of, um, overwhelming anti-Semitism
worldwide and nationally. Um, so that's that's I guess that's
how I describe the challenges or I don't I'm at
a loss because I don't know what it's like not
to have spiritual desire.

S1 (25:02):
Okay, here's here's the thing. I would say, first of all,
we never want to beat someone over the head that's
not spiritually interested. What we have to do is create
a desire for it. That's why our language should be
like seasoned with salt. Make someone thirsty for what we
have to say. Also, Romans 1111 says, salvation has come
to the Gentiles to make Jewish people jealous. So what

(25:23):
that means is we need to live our life in
such a way, to be so loving, to be an
example of a Gentile that doesn't hate Jewish people. That
your friend's going to say, Steven, why are you so different?
And then you can talk about your faith. Uh, live
your life in such a way that it creates her.
It gives you an opportunity because she will ask you

(25:44):
the questions. Okay. We'll be back in just a moment,
so stay with us. This is open line with Michael Radonich.
And we're back. This is open line with Michael Ray.

(26:07):
And joining me right now for the Febc mailbag is
Tricia McMillan. We're so grateful that Far Eastern Broadcasting Company
is part of the Open Line team. Uh, they they
partner with us to bring you the weekly Febc mailbag.
Febc is a wonderful organization that brings the good news
to people via media and personal engagement. I think that's crucial.

(26:31):
They have people, not just radio waves going out there
with message, but people who follow up. I think that's
a wonderful group. Uh, check out Febc by going to Febc.
Org and you can also check out their uh, podcast
called Until All Have Heard by going to your favorite, uh, local, uh,

(26:54):
wherever you get your favorite podcasts or go to their website. Uh. Now,
joining me as I said, is Tricia McMillan. She's the, uh,
the queen of the questions here. Uh, I'm so grateful, Tricia,
that you're still part of our team.

S7 (27:12):
Yes. Me too.

S1 (27:13):
Uh, yeah. And, uh, we we do. I think this
is kind of interesting. People think that we're just on
the air together on Saturdays, but we do a lot
of stuff together. You know, we we sometimes do pre-records
during the week. Uh, I get to be on Chris
Fabry once a month, and you're always in charge of that,

(27:34):
making sure that happens.

S7 (27:36):
That's a different program that we have on Moody Radio. Yes. Chris.
Debris live.

S1 (27:40):
Um, yeah. Uh, and, uh, I think that's kind of
kind of wonderful. I appreciate the whole team. And, uh,
I think it's it's fun time to be part of
the team. And people often, I think it's interesting, a
lot of people who write to me on Open Line
say they appreciate the whole team, and they even include
Eva in the team who's on occasionally. So I appreciate

(28:03):
that because she's the one texting me the answers anyway.
That's right. So, uh, anyway, uh, I appreciate all the
members of the team, all the listeners and also the
people who are part of the team by being our
kitchen table partners. And what they do is they give
monthly so we can be on the air weekly. And
one of the things we do for our kitchen table

(28:26):
partners is we give them a we send them a
Bible study moment every other week. And that Bible study
moment is a little brief Bible study about eight minutes long,
7 or 8 minutes, sometimes ten minutes. We've been doing something.
Have you did have you been listening to these Bible
study moments lately?

S7 (28:44):
I have been.

S1 (28:46):
I think.

S7 (28:47):
They're kind of encouraging.

S1 (28:49):
Uh, it's Eva and me. We've been going through the
book of Ephesians and, uh, uh, we we we just
started we recorded a whole bunch that will be coming
up in weeks ahead on Ephesians three. So that's been
a lot of fun for us going through the book
of Ephesians. Uh, eight minutes at a time, you know? Yeah, yeah. Well,

(29:09):
if people are interested in becoming a, uh, kitchen table partner,
all you have to do is call 44. 7122. Or
you can just go to open line radio.org. And by
the way, we really, really do appreciate it. It really
is very, very meaningful to us and we're grateful.

S7 (29:28):
I do want to say we've had a couple, um,
we revamped our email system and that we do. And
so I know a few people have emailed and said, hey,
I haven't gotten them in a couple months. If that's you,
sometimes you don't notice because it is just every other week,
but please email us and just say, hey, I haven't
seen these. Check your spam folder first. But but if

(29:48):
you don't see them, um, send us an email at
openline at or through the contact form on our website,
which is Openline radio, and just let me know and
I will forward that to who needs to see that to,
to make sure that if you are already a kitchen
table partner, that you are getting those because we want
you to.

S1 (30:08):
And of course, I think one of the cool things
is if you've missed a couple and then we send
you the link again, uh, you can get in there
and listen to past.

S7 (30:17):
Yeah.

S1 (30:17):
Uh, past.

S7 (30:18):
You can listen to the past. Several. Yeah.

S1 (30:20):
Yep. Yep. That's that's kind of fun. So. Well, listen,
let's let's take some of these questions people sent in.

S7 (30:26):
All right? Our first question is from Judith in Illinois.
She listens to WNBA and wants to know is first
Thessalonians four verses 13 to 18 the only reference to
the rapture in the Bible?

S1 (30:39):
No, uh, there's, uh, first Corinthians 15, which says that
we'll all be changed in the twinkling of an eye.
And that's a reference to the rapture. It's it's they're
talking about in the section about the resurrection. Uh, and
then it says, we shall all be changed. It's not

(30:59):
talking about the nursery at church that we shall all
be changed. It's it's we're going to be transformed. We're
either going to be resurrected or will be raised up.
And that's in first Corinthians 15. I'm trying to find
the exact verse, Uh, but, uh, that's where it is.
And it's, it's crucial to know that that's what it's

(31:19):
talking about. I also believe in Matthew 24. Now, a
lot of people who believe in the pre-tribulational rapture, as
I do, don't agree with me about this, but I
think we're in Matthew 24 where it talks about two people,
two men in a field, one is taken or um, uh,
that that's a reference to the rapture as well. So.

S7 (31:40):
Uh, the First Corinthians was uh, 1551 and 52 talks
about we'll all be changed in the twinkling of an eye.

S1 (31:48):
That's the rapture. Exactly. And then, uh, I was going
to have to read the whole chapter to get to
verse 51.

S7 (31:54):
Yes. You would.

S1 (31:55):
Uh, and then, uh, Matthew 24, where it talks about
the rapture. No one knows the day or hour. And
it says, uh, that there will be, uh, two men
will be in the field. One will be taken, one left. That's, uh, acts. Uh,
Matthew 2440. And then, uh, verse 41, two women will

(32:18):
be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and
one left. Therefore, be alert since you don't know what
day your Lord is coming. I think that is a
reference to the rapture.

S7 (32:28):
Okay. So and again, that first Thessalonians 413 to 18
is a is a big one that people will reference.

S1 (32:36):
But and people will say, well, the word rapture doesn't
appear in the Bible, and I agree it doesn't. But
then again, it does because in first Thessalonians four, uh,
which I like to call the great snatch, uh, where
it says in verse, I'm turning my pages once again. Uh,

(33:01):
there it talks about that we'll be snatched. And the
Greek word is the word that we get rapture from,
not the Greek word, the Latin word that was translated into.
And that was something like wrapped. And then what happened
was when they wrote about the rapture, they took it
from the Latin, Latin translation. But actually it's the word

(33:24):
harpazo in first Thessalonians 417, we who are still alive
will be caught up or snatched together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And
so we'll always be with the Lord. And so that
word snatch, uh, or caught up, that is the word that's, uh,

(33:44):
becomes the rapture.

S7 (33:46):
Okay. Okay. Thank you. Next question is from Ed, who
listens online in Florida, says we're told that the rapture
could happen at any time. He is looking at revelation
five nine, which. Hold on, I did look this up
ahead of time so that I could.

S1 (34:01):
I know revelation five nine.

S7 (34:02):
You know it from memory.

S1 (34:03):
Yes.

S7 (34:04):
Okay.

S1 (34:05):
It's that's about every tribe and tongue.

S7 (34:06):
Every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Um, so
he wants to know, can you clarify what who this
verse is referring to? Because mission agencies, um, who were
doing mission work to share the gospel around the world,
state that there are thousands of people, groups or tribes
who have not yet heard, who've never heard the gospel

(34:27):
message and still need to be reached. So would will
all of those people here before the rapture comes, or
do we know that?

S1 (34:37):
No, I don't think there's any condition that everyone needs
to hear before the rapture. Revelation five nine is not
talking about the rapture, uh, in any way, shape or form.
What is happening here in revelation five is you have, uh,
the verse that describes what it's like in heaven worshiping

(34:58):
the lamb. And, uh, they saying he is worthy because
he redeemed people for God by by your blood from
every tribe, nation, tribe and language and people and nation.
You made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they will reign on the earth. All that's saying
is that the Lord Jesus redeemed people and they're celebrating this.

(35:22):
They're worshipping him for this, because what they're saying is
he redeemed the people from the whole world. And that's
true already true. It doesn't mean he's redeemed every person
from every tribe and every tongue and nation. It's just
saying that he has redeemed some from every tribe and
tongue and nation all around the world. And, uh, every

(35:45):
doesn't mean every last one any more than it means
that everyone was going out to to hear John preach.
It says that in John one, I believe everyone was
going out to hear John the Baptist preach. Well, not everyone.
It meant a lot. Most, uh, and so when it
says every tribe and tongue and nation. It's only saying

(36:08):
that the whole world there are going to be people saved.
It doesn't mean that if there isn't someone from some
tribe in the Amazon that never heard the gospel, that
that that's not true.

S7 (36:19):
So okay, so will everyone. The questions are spinning in
my head. So. So will everyone have a chance to believe.

S1 (36:34):
Everyone has a chance because of general revelation? Romans one
says that God created the world in such a way
that if anyone ever responds to the general revelation, the
the creation revelation, that God is the creator, if they
respond to that, I believe he'll send more. If you

(36:56):
look at Romans one, it says that people are without
an excuse because they, uh, they have general revelation. Here's
what Romans 120 says. For his invisible attributes, that is,
his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen

(37:17):
since the creation of the world, being understood through what
he has made. And as a result, people are without excuse.
So everyone has general revelation that is sufficient to cause
people to wonder why. If they respond to that, that's
when God sends the missionaries.

S7 (37:38):
So okay.

S1 (37:39):
That's.

S7 (37:40):
Yeah, okay.

S1 (37:41):
Everyone has a chance in that sense.

S7 (37:43):
Yeah. Thank you.

S1 (37:43):
Well, are we going to take a break here or
are we going to do more?

S7 (37:45):
Let's take a break. Go back to.

S1 (37:47):
Calls. Okay. We'll talk to you in a moment. You
give us a call. [phone]. That was Tricia McMillan, the
queen of the questions. Putting those together that you sent
in to open line radio.org. And you posted them at
ask Michael a question. Uh, I'm Michael. I'll be right
back with more of your calls and questions in just

(38:08):
a moment. So stay with us. Welcome back to Open Line.
So glad to be with you today. Uh, you know,

(38:29):
Chosen People Ministries, uh, is one of our partners that
helped bring Open Line to you. And, uh, they want
to encourage you to share the good news of the
Messiah with your Jewish friends. And one of the most
important ways to to do that is to understand and

(38:50):
explain Isaiah 53 to people. Isaiah 53. It's actually 5213
through 5312. And that passage is the most crucial aspect
of talking about the Messiah in the Old Testament, because
it not only reveals that Jesus is the Messiah, the
suffering servant, but that he died for us as a

(39:10):
substitution and was raised again. That's all in that wonderful passage,
but people have a hard time understanding it, and so
they are offering a free book. It's called interpreting or
explaining Isaiah 53. And that passage is so crucial for us.
And what they what that does in this little booklet

(39:31):
is it goes through it verse by verse and explains
what it means. It's one that you can read for yourself,
so you can know better how to tell your Jewish
friend about Isaiah 53. Or, uh, it's one that you
can just pass on to your Jewish friend. It's written
in a very sensitive, loving way, and that's helpful too.
So if you'd like a copy of explaining Isaiah 53, uh,

(39:53):
the best way to do that is just go to
our website, openline radio.org. Scroll down until you see the
link that says A free gift from Chosen People Ministries.
Click on that and you'll be taken to a page
where you can sign up for your own copy of
this wonderful book about Isaiah 53. Uh, now we're going

(40:14):
to talk to Mary Lynn in Seville, Ohio, listening on
the app. Welcome to Open Line. Mary Lynn. How can
I help you today?

S8 (40:23):
Thank you. Uh, by the way, I am a kitchen
table partner, and I'm really looking forward to your current
resource as a teacher, so I'm excited about that.

S1 (40:37):
That's so excellent. And I am so grateful, uh, that
your kitchen table partner. It means so much to me.
Thank you. So.

S8 (40:46):
Uh, I was just wondering if you could explain why
the Israelites offered so many animals for single sacrifices. Uh,
for example, when King Solomon offered all those animals for
the dedication of the temple. It was 22,000 head of

(41:09):
cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. And there's different times
in Scripture that they offer several animals for sacrifice.

S5 (41:21):
Well.

S1 (41:22):
Uh, part of the sacrifice, part of the worship experience
was the worship meal where the animal sacrifice was eaten.
And I would suspect that not only were they giving
generously to God, that's what sacrifices are, but also they
had to feed a lot of people because all the
people present at the dedication. So that's that's part of it.

(41:45):
So okay.

S8 (41:47):
So did they burn the animals then or how did they.

S1 (41:52):
They burned the they they burned the, uh, the unclean
portions like the, uh, the, the waste system and all
that in animals. Those were brought outside the temple and
and burned up. But the the animals themselves were sacrificed
on the altar.

S8 (42:15):
Okay. And then when they were sacrificed on the altar,
then they ate them.

S5 (42:20):
Mhm.

S1 (42:21):
Yeah.

S8 (42:22):
Okay. Oh that explains it. So it was used for
food then.

S5 (42:27):
Yes. Okay. Okay. All right.

S8 (42:30):
I just pictured them burning that just that on the
altar and that was it.

S1 (42:36):
No, no, just the unclean portions were taken out and burned. Okay.

S8 (42:41):
Okay. Thank you.

S5 (42:42):
Yeah. Good.

S1 (42:43):
Thanks for your call, Marilyn. Uh, we're going to talk to, uh,
Craig in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Uh, listening. Also listening online. Appreciate that. Uh,
how can I help you today, Craig?

S9 (42:56):
Thank you very much, Doctor Riddell. And I'd like to
thank you also for. I started giving to chosen people,
but I have learned through this all millennialism to appreciate
the remnant in Israel so much more. I have two
daughters that have fallen into this belief of the all millennialism,

(43:19):
and I have been trying to, when I have talked
to the one, um, tried to go from the Old Testament, uh,
just because the promises so that it's not a metaphor
in revelation or whatever else or whatever else they want
to make it. But Zechariah 823, where ten men will
grab Ahold of the cloak of a Jew. It distinguishes

(43:42):
the Jew from the Gentile in the Millennial Kingdom. Zechariah
1210 tribulation pour out on David and all in Jerusalem,
distinguishing between Israel And the Gentiles. And instead of having
a replacement theology, uh, and millennial, uh, Isaiah 6520, where

(44:06):
it's into the millennial kingdom for longer life, but there's
still a curse of death. And those that don't make
it to 100 are cursed. I'm trying to find out
am I going the wrong direction? And am I misinterpreting
these verses?

S1 (44:21):
Well, uh, let me just say, first of all, I'm
glad your daughters are believers. And I wouldn't allow this
to become a a big block between you and your daughters.
You know, just this is not something to argue about. Uh,
be grateful that they know the Lord, and and that's
that's good news. If they ever want to discuss it, uh,

(44:44):
you know, that's fine. Uh, but just do it in
a loving way. And secondly, you asked the very right question.
The reason, the difference, I think, between people who are
millennial and those of us who believe in an actual,
literal earthly kingdom with Israel at the center. Uh, well,

(45:06):
that has to do with how we read the Bible.
I believe that we should read progressively. So we start
in the Old Testament, and we allow the Old Testament
to inform our understanding of the New Testament. People who
are a millennial. What they do is they take the
New Testament and they read it back into the old.

(45:26):
So they see the church in the New Testament, and
then they see Israel in the old and say, the
church is Israel. Uh, so, uh, it's the direction that
they're reading. What you're doing is you're reading the Old Testament,
taking it at face value as it was understood by
those who wrote it, uh, and those who heard it originally.
And now when you come to the New Testament, that

(45:48):
informs your reading and it explains what different passages mean
in the New Testament. So I think that's the right
direction to read it. You're doing fine, Craig. Just make
sure that you keep loving those girls, okay? Don't, uh,
don't give up on them. Uh, be grateful they know
the Lord. And, wow, that's the first hour. It's gone

(46:09):
so fast. So glad that you are, uh, here, but
stick around for the second hour. Uh, it's on most
of these stations. If your station doesn't carry it, you
can always listen online. Or you can check out the
Moody Radio app or even catch the podcast afterwards during
the break. Check out our website, openlibrary.org. It's got all
the links you're looking for, whether it's how to become

(46:29):
a kitchen table partner, how to give a gift so
you can get our current resource, or the Chosen People resource.
The Bible study across America will continue in the second hour,
so stay with us. Open line with Doctor Michael Melnick
is a production of Moody Radio ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
We'll be right back.