Introduction to Fire Away Friday and How to Submit Your Bible Questions to Exploring the Word
It's Fire Away Friday. Fire Away Friday on Exploring the Word. This is your chance to ask us your Bible question at 888-589-8840. That's 888-589-8840. You can also email your [email protected] or visit facebook.com exploringtheword. Exploring the word.
It's fire Away Friday on American Family Radio.
And the word and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Well, that's Jon 1:14, of course, referencing Jesus Christ the Lord. And with that verse, we welcome you to today's edition of Exploring the word. Alex McFarland here. And today is the day of the week. Every day of the week is special on exploring the Word. But Bird and I love Fridays because we take all calls, all the hour, and we would love to hear your Bible questions and we'll do our best to give you a good answer. Here's the number. If you've got a Bible question, triple 858-98840. That's 888-589-8840. And, it's early enough in the show. You will get through and you can get in the queue, and we will just take every single Bible question that comes in. Bert, it's a great day to open the Word.
The Incarnation of Christ and Preparing for Sharathon: Exploring the Word's Call for Listener Engagement
You know, the work week is kind of closing. Sunday's coming. I hope everybody will be in church on Sunday, but what a great thing to reflect. You know, Jon 1:14 that I read, that's about the incarnation, how the second member of the Trinity, God the Son, took on a human body. Bert, let me ask you this. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Why did Christ come down here from heaven to earth?
For one reason, and that is to be the sacrifice, the only acceptable sacrifice for our sin. To die on the cross for us so we could have an eternity with him. Alex, purposeful, you know, that's what he did, you know, you was talking about Sunday. It is Friday, but Sunday is coming, you know.
Amen.
And, when you said that, I couldn't help but think of that. And so what a joy it is to be with you this Friday on Fire Away Friday, where we want your question again, that number, 888-589-8840. And, while we're doing this, we're, we're just getting ready for Sharathon. And, we're excited about what God is going to do in the next two weeks. And we, we just enjoy that. So we get ready for that. We kind of, we do a little Bible study. But on those three days during Sharathan, we concentrate on giving because God so loved the world that he gave his son. So I, I would say start preparing God. Would you have me to be a part of the work that is done at afr? I listen, I pray. do I need to give? And again that's what we're asking you to look forward to and to see. And as we look forward to that. Well, Alex, people are calling in but we still have lines that are open and let me give that number. And if it's alright with you after this we'll go to the first caller but the number is 888-589-8840. We'd love your Bible question today. And first caller of the day from Alabama is Nick.
Why God Sent Jesus: Addressing a Student's Question and the Significance of Billy Sunday's Evangelism
Nick, thank you for calling. You're right ahead.
Hello Dr. McFarland and Pastor Harper. My name is Nick. I'm an eighth grade student at Tuscusa Christian School in Alabama. My Bible class watches a program at school. My question is why did God send Jesus instead of giving a prophet a revelation saying that sinners could be forgiven.
Wow, Nick, God bless you. Amen.
First of all. Hey Nick. First of all, let me say thank you for listening to the program and watching online and for calling in. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the fact that, that you guys would be listening. And you know, I'm going to ask before you hang up in a while if Brent Austin could get your address and I'd like to put a book in the mail. Bird and I've done a couple of books on hundred Bible questions and would that be okay? Nick, may we send you a couple of our books just as a, as a thank you for listening.
It's 2, 096.
I'm gonna let you give that to Brent after we answer the question. But the question, Bert, and it's a fantastic question. Why did God send Jesus rather than just a prophet? I mean there had been prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Bert, I think this relates to that verse we read that Jesus, he, he certainly did proclaim God's truth and God's word that. But he was much more than only a prophet, wasn't he?
He really was. I, I want to tell you some history, Nick. There was an evangelist at the turn of the century. His name was Billy Sunday. Now he had been a baseball Player. And he's, a good baseball player. But God saved him and he started preaching. And in some of his illustrations in the sermon, God was looking for someone in heaven. Now, this is just a story that he used, but it demonstrates it to go to, to earth to help mankind, be saved. So we went to some people like Abraham, and said, abraham, would you go to earth and would you, suffer and die for me? And Abraham said, I would, but I need someone to save me. He went to Moses and Moses said, I need someone to save me. And there was no one there. The only one that could come to earth to be that perfect sacrifice was Jesus Christ. There was no other way. And so, Nick, that's why he came. Because a prophet would not do it. The law receiver or law giver would not do it. A judge would not do it. It only could be the very son of God, Jesus Christ. Alex, had you heard that about Billy Sunday's illustration?
I had not. And I do love Billy Sunday. My Grandmother and Joy McFarland, she's in heaven. She prayed for me to get saved. She saw Billy Sunday in person. And, she actually has a picture of it.
Reflections on Evangelist Billy Sunday and Exploring the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Dead in Christ
And it was a very kind of grainy, blurry photo. He came to, he was in downtown Greensboro. This must have been. I don't know, Bert, would that have been like in the 1920s or something?
Would have been. I'm sure it was, because that's when he was. I mean, it was. He followed D.L. moody. You know, D.L. moody was there, but he died. But Billy Sunday became the, the guy, during that period of time of evangelism.
Do you know what? I don't mean to digress, but, when I think about baseball, because I grew up loving baseball, Billy Sunday, reminded me of Pete Rose or maybe Pete Rose in his athletics. You know, Pete Rose was Charlie Hustle, who could steal bases and everything. And so Billy Sunday was like a really aggressive ball player. But then when he became an evangelist, he, like, flat footed could jump up on the pulpit, at Moody Church in Chicago. And one day, I had the great privilege. Erwin Lutzer showed me around the sanctuary of Moody Church, and there was a baby grand piano that was all scuffed up. And they said Billy Sunday would jump up on top of this piano and stomp the devil. But, Nick, to your question, here's the thing. God took on a human body so he could be nailed to the cross. Perfect. All right, Jesus, so unique. Perfect deity, fully God, but perfect humanity, Fully man, but not fallen man. And so Jesus was able to pay the sin debt of the world, and he was willing. And so when Christ was nailed to the cross, the appropriate measure of punishment for all of all of our sins, every sin ever was put on Jesus. And Berta, it had to be that way. A, fallen sinner could not save fallen sinners.
What Jesus prayed, Nick in the garden. Father, if there be any other way, let this cup, it was called the cup of suffering, pass from me. And. And as I said before, silence has never been so loud. And there was no other way. There was no other alternative. And Jesus Christ was willing to become that sacrifice for us. So, praise the Lord, he was willing also to become flesh. And, that was quite a bit. People were getting closer and closer to Christmas, and they said, don't we make too much of Christmas and not of Easter? Listen, you can't make much of either one of them without the other, can you, Alex?
Oh, come. Oh, come, Emmanuel. And so, Nick, thank you. And, if Brent gets your address, I think Bert and I'll send you a couple of resources in the mail.
Okay, I think we got it. Thank you.
Where to?
Okay, let's go to Kansas and talk to Randy. Randy, what part of Kansas you from?
I'm from, outside of El Dorado.
Okay, man. Well, thank you for calling. Go right ahead, brother.
Yeah, I was going to research this, and I kind of put it off, and then I heard you guys say, hey, it's fire away Friday. So I thought I would, You know, when the Word talks about the dead in Christ arise, first I thought the dead in Christ were already there with Jesus. So can you explain that process?
Okay, let me start it. Alex, if that's all right. Randy, we have a body.
Understanding the Reunion of Soul and Body After Death and the Glorified Body in the Afterlife
We really do, but we also have a soul. And what happens are soul and spirit. You know, only the word of God can kind of separate those. But, when we die, you see that body still there laying in the casket. But the Bible says to be absent from the bodies, to be present with the Lord. Our soul goes to the Lord. So the dead in Christ and him coming back, the dead in Christ rising. It's. I call it a grand reunion of soul and body. Alex, take it away.
Yeah, and this is in First Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17, by the way. So Paul says, and I believe it's God's true promise to every believer that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So those who are believers, they. I think at the moment of death, they are in the presence of Christ. Wonderful. But there is a full, final glorified body. And really when the trumpet sounds, and Bert, let me just say that all orthodox, true Christian, regardless, of the denomination or the theological strain, all true Christians, one of the fundamentals, one of the core foundational beliefs is that Christ is literally going to return. And there will be, like you say, this reunion, of spirit, soul and body, but we will get a perfected glorified body. Now, when I was in seminary, one of my professors said, what is the, the, the state of the body now? And when Christ rose, he definitely physically rose. It's not some vapor or ghost. In fact, in Luke 24, Jesus said, and he was resurrected. He said, touch and see. A spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me have. Now, the body that we're in with Christ immediately, it's very real, it's tangible, it's called corporeal. But there's going to be an even better, even more fully glorified, body at that trumpet sound when Christ returns. And, we don't know all the full details, but we know it's going to be wonderful because of the promises of God.
Amen, Randy. We hope that helps. Before we go to Joe, Joe, you hang on.
Call for Listener Stories and Testimonies to Support American Family Radio's Sharathon Event
We don't have a lot of time in this segment, so I'm just going to talk about what we need from some of you and it's listener stories. I've already mentioned we're going to have share a thon in a couple of weeks and we're looking forward to hearing some of your stories about how God has used afr. It's God that does the work. we guys that hear those behind the, the boards at the phone and everything else are on behind the microphones. God, has blessed us by being a part of this, but God's one that does the change. And if God has blessed your life, changed your life, we would love to hear your story in a minute or two and you can share that and it may be shared on shareathon and get to hear yourself. The number that you can call, not this number that we've been using, but this number's for 8778-7688-9387-7876-88 93. man, we would love to hear what God has done in your life. That just adds fuel to the fire for what God's called us to do. So make that call and let us hear your testimony at 877-87688, 9, 3.
Listener-Supported Content and an In-Depth Discussion on the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment
Hello, I'm Bert Harper. Did you know that this content is listener supported? Without people like you, this podcast would not exist. That's why we need you. A generous monthly gift of any amount will sustain American Family Radio and specifically this podcast. Please consider becoming a monthly financial partner today by visiting afr.netgive that's afr.net give. King is alive. Welcome back to Exploring the Word. Fire Away Friday. And we're gonna go straight, straight to the phone lines because we got people waiting to ask questions. And the first one in this segment is Joe from Tennessee. Joe, thank you for calling. Go right ahead, brother.
There's the Judgment seat of Christ and there's the Great White Throne Judgment. Where do people save during the Tribulation?
Okay, where do they go? Well, I know where they don't go. They don't go to the Great White Throne Judgment for sure. Joe. That is only for those that have already been predetermined. It's really the judgment has already been made and the sentence is carried out. Alex, have you heard it said that way about the Great White Throne Judgment?
I have, yeah. The Great White Throne Judgment is where, sadly, the unsaved of all the ages are going to appear. The Great White throne in Revelation 20:11, 15. and this will really be after the millennium. And this is the final condemnation of the unsaved of all the ages. The judgment seat of Christ is an exciting thing. Revelation, I'm sorry, Romans 14 says we must all give an account of ourselves to God. And, Second Corinthians 5:10 talks about we must all, all believers. But really, Bert, I'm going to say something that is maybe a little bit speculative. All believers of the church age will appear before the Judgment seat of Christ. Now, every believer, all of the growth, the faithfulness, the obedience, everything post salvation, as we grow in, the Lord is going to be, we're going to get rewarded. the judgment seat of Christ is not about salvation or lostness, but it's about rewards for faithfulness on the part of believers. Now, as I understand it, Burton, you feel free to disagree. the Judgment seat of Christ, the Bema seat, seems to take place while the tribulation is going on on planet Earth. now we're not for sure about that. So the question becomes, what about those that get saved during the millennial era? And there will be people that get saved and during the millennium, presumably they get rewarded at some point. is it at a second, rendering of the Bema seat or Is the rewards of the bema seat, just from Pentecost to the Rapture, I don't know, but, everything post salvation, not only we get salvation, I mean that's blessing enough, but even rewards for the way we walk as a believer after we accept Christ.
Amen. Again, let me say one or two things here. we, you know, the best time we can figure out. I agree with you. Is during that period of time we're with him. The other thing that we would say is that when we're talking about the beam of the judgment seat, they are rewards. And you know, when you're rewarded, what we going to do with it? Well, that's when it talks about casting crowns at his feet. And I don't think we're going to wear them around. Oh, I got five. I got two. No, I think, heaven's not a place for that for us. It's a place of glorifying the God on the throne, Jesus Christ as Lord. And so you don't want to go empty handed. Okay. so serve the Lord and do it with gladness. Thank you, Joe. And let's go to Texas. Ah, there. Well, what happened?
The Apocryphal Books and the Book of Enoch in Relation to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Biblical Canon
see if you can get that on for me. mine clicked, but it did not do anything. There it is. Kim from Texas. Go right ahead.
Hello there. Thanks guys for taking my call. My question, yes, I'm, my question is about my son heard on some program that the Book of Enoch was found with the Dead Sea scroll. As I was like, well, I don't, I don't know. So I thought, well, I searched, I couldn't find anything. So I thought, I'm gonna ask Jon.
Okay. Alex, I don't know that. Had you heard that it was mixed in with the Dead Sea Scrolls?
a little bit. Not, the complete Book of Enoch. there is like one chapter that is, partly in Aramaic. Qumran was at one end of the Dead Sea, by the way, Q, U, M, M, R A N. And that's not the same as the Quran, which is very often spelled with a Q. So when you hear Qumran, the caves around the Dead Sea, the, that is not Quran, the false, unholy book of Islam. But anyway, so there is a section, that is sometimes called First Enoch that was part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. But here's the thing. While the Dead Sea Scrolls contain all of the Old Testament except the book of Esther, the Dead Sea Scrolls contained a lot of writings because there was this group called the Essenes, and they were, you know, observant Jews that made copies of not, only scriptures, but really the larger finding there in the 1940s was called the Qumran Library, because there was this ancient Jewish community. And they had, yes, scriptures, but they had many, many other things that weren't scriptures. and there was a thing called the Book of Watchers. There was dreams and visions. There was one called the Astronomical book. Now, here's my point, Bert. The Book of Enoch has gotten a lot of press in recent days, and, it's an interesting historical curiosity, but it was never viewed as scripture. it was not written by any known prophet or apostle. And so, it's a historical curiosity, but, I think that, it sure has gotten a lot of interest here lately. But it's not part of the canon of scripture.
And just as Alex said, what that would amount if it was found with them, it does not elevate it to that point, because we already had the scriptures when the. Those discoveries of the scrolls were made. And again, only word I know verified the Old Testament scriptures. But just because others was found there did not elevate them to be considered scripture. we have what God's given us, Kim. I hope that helps. And thank you for calling. Let's go to Tennessee and talk to Destiny. Destiny, thank you for calling today.
Hey, yes, I got a question. I've been studying the book of Revelation and, Scripture. What was it? 13:16. Revelation. Revelation 13:16. It said that he causes all to be. To get the mark and, you know, bound and free. And I was kind of confused about the all.
Okay, now that scripture. Let me read 15 and 16, and following. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads. Now listen to verse 17. destiny. I think it does qualify this and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark of the name of the beast or the number of his name. In other words, yes, they're pressing it, making it happen, passing laws, enforcing it. But there's those that refuse it, According to verse 17, Alex.
Yeah, exactly. And I think clearly, if we look at the larger context, all would mean all that are alive. during this tribulation period, the church has been raptured out, and all that, you know, acquiesce and receive it. Now, many will, refuse it and will be martyred. And there will be thousands and thousands, probably millions of Martyrs during the Tribulation. But, in the Revelation 13:16, all doesn't mean all throughout history or even alive at that point, but during the Tribulation, in other words, everybody, if you want to do business, you've got to have the mark of the beast. And I think about that now, Bert. I mean, you know, you can't rent a car or get a hotel room without a credit card. you can't get a cell phone without a credit card. I mean, we are fast, it appears, moving to a world where unless you're digitally on the grid, you can barely conduct the business of life. And I could see with technology being what it is, I mean, this Antichrist is. And this false prophet that's going to take control of the world during the Tribulation, I can see how. They would pretty much have the human race on lockdown, wouldn't they?
They really would they tell us what's happened in China, especially around the big cities. They've got cameras everywhere now. We got enough of them here in the States, but they got them everywhere. They can adjust, spy on people without, you know, without any difficulty. And with AI, I don't know all it brings on, but it brings on the real capability of them tracking. That is the key track. And remember that. So, when you have that credit card, when you have this, the tracking, your tracking is, is happening. And so we see it now, possibility, destiny. We hope that helps. Let me share this real quickly. This scripture is great for, to illustrate this. When you look at one verse, always look where it is, where it is located in a book. What kind of literature is it? You know, is it eschatology? Is it future? Is it a history book like Acts and then look at what's in front or back. And when you read verse 16, oh, but then when you get in 17, no one can buy, but that it lets you know there are some that do not. And it puts it in, I think, a, ah, form. So remember that about your Bible study.
Understanding Revelation's Mark of the Beast, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the Significance of Tongues
Those of you who are listening. It's helped me a lot. I hope it helps you. Well, let's go to Texas and talk to Jon. Jon, thank you for calling. Go right ahead.
It's Jon and Garland.
Yeah, in our, Garland, Texas. I know. Yeah, I know where Garland, Texas is. Go right ahead, Jon.
Yes, sir. Thank you. First of all, I'd like to say you guys are the best. So courteous and kind. and my question is on the tongues. I have such difficulty. I have good friends who to me it sounds like gibberish. Could you give me your opinion on that?
Okay. Tongues. Let me just share with you. We do not believe that all the gifts have stopped. you know, Alex. And every time this comes up, Alex, my mind goes to your trip in, South America. And that is the best illustration that you can find of the tongues spoken in the Book of Acts. But it seems like in the book of First Corinthians there was a little bit of difference in those. Do you catch that? Or is that just me trying to, you know, slice something too thin?
you know what? I had a professor in seminary. he has long since gone to be with the Lord. But his name was, Dr. Ken Chapman. And he was, an old independent Baptist preacher. And as conservative, as conservative as it gets. And, many times I heard him tell the story of when he was pastoring in California. This would have probably been in the 50s, and I think it was San Diego. And a woman came in one Sunday, and she was a Chinese lady. And nobody could communicate with. With this lady. And there was, one of his members that began to speak fluent Chinese. And they bowed at the altar, and this man led this Chinese lady to Christ. And he could speak, a type of Chinese, and she accepted Christ. And the thing is, Dr. Chapman told the story that this man had never been to China, did not ordinarily know that language. He had no experience prior. And in a miraculous, miraculous moment, he was able to share the gospel. And of all things, I hadn't thought of this in years, but it was Cantonese, which is a very, specific dialect. Now, and I've seen. And I've got a story. I won't tell it now because it would take too long, but in South America, and I've known many stories of people miraculously being given the ability to speak the gospel in a language they didn't know, and people miraculously being able to hear and understand the gospel.
That's true, too. On the day of Pentecost, it wasn't just tongues. It was hearing the ears as well. You know what I mean?
Exactly. Now, regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit, there is what's called the cessationist view that the miraculous gifts, like tongues, that you read about in the Book of Acts were just for the early church. And they say, well, 1 Corinthians 13. When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part will be done away with. And, the cessationists would say, see, that which is perfect is the Bible. And now that the Bible has come. Some of the gifts of the spirit have ceased. I don't believe that. There is what's called the continuationist view that everything you read about in the book of Acts, God can still do today. And I will say I do believe that Bert and, go into the mission field, you'll believe in miracles. You really will.
Amen.
Now I realize, and let me just say this one time, Jerry Falwell was on with Pat Robertson. This is probably 30 years ago. And, Pat Robertson asked, Dr. Falwell said, what do you think about though a private prayer language. And Dr. Falwell said, well, I don't know. He said, it's. That kind of thing has never happened to me. I pray in English, but clearly some of the most godly people I've ever known. He said, and I would agree, you know, evidence speaking in tongues. This is in First Corinthians 12. So I'm just going to say I think this is one of those areas where all Christians need to show love, grace and space. Because, I know some of the most godly people I know are non Pentecostals. Some of the most godly people I've ever known are very, very much Pentecostals. I think we need to be a Jon 17 Christian and, be all unified as followers of Jesus.
Hallelujah. And, listen, seek the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your might. Seek him. He'll give you what you need at that time. We'll be back with more right after this break. Friend, we're living in a defining moment today. A woman facing an unexpected pregnancy can order the abortion pill online, often before anyone has the chance to tell her she is loved, she's not alone, or that there is hope. That's why you are needed right now. You were made for this moment. At PreBorn Network clinics, mothers are welcomed with compassion, practical support and a free ultrasound. And when she sees her baby and hears that tiny heartbeat for the very first time, fear often gives way to hope. In fact, more than 80% of abortion vulnerable women choose life after seeing their baby on an ultrasound at a PreBorn Network clinic. That one moment can save a baby's life and open a mother's heart to the hope of Jesus Christ. This is our moment to stand. For those who cannot speak for themselves, just $28 provides one life saving ultrasound. $140 helps rescue five babies. Please don't wait. Dial 250. That's dial pound 250 and say the key word baby. That's pound 250 baby or gifts securely. Preborn.comb Harper that's preborn.com Bert Harper. Together we can save lives one heartbeat at a time. Welcome back to Exploring the Word on American Family Radio.
Welcome back to Exploring the Word. Welcome back to Exploring the Word.
Hey.
As we resume questions, I want to give a big shout out to a friend of this show and a great friend of American Family, radio. His name is Dave Dabney and he lives in Mississippi. We call him Birthday Dave because he is really great with remembering people's birthday. But I'm going to ask everybody to pray. Dave is just a wonderful brother in the Lord and a great champion of the gospel. But he has a little dog named Josiah. And Josiah died on the 23rd. And, Dave's wife passed away several years ago. And Bert, we. Dave Dabney and I were talking on the phone last night, and, he's a devout believer, but he could use a little prayer support. And we know how much we love our animals. And his little dog, Josiah, Josiah could sing and birthday Dave would call, like on our birthday or anniversary, and the little dog would sing for us. And so, I know he could use a little encouragement right now.
Appreciate that. Alex and Dave, we do love you and thank God for you. Father. I pray for Dave. God thank you for his love for you, God. He loves you all with every fiber of his being. And I thank you that he supports AFR in such a great way. Bless him, strengthen him, and continue to use him for your glory. In Jesus name. Amen. M. Amen. Well, let's go to. Okay, go ahead and do it. mine is not working.
Addressing Catholic Additions to the Bible and the Formation of the Biblical Canon
I will Rick in Iowa, if we can get to him. Is yours working, Brent? Okay, I don't know what's. Okay, there it is. Rick from Iowa. Go right ahead, Rick.
I have a question. what I ran in some Catholics. What's. How did the Catholics come up with those additional books in their Bible versus our Bible prostrate Bible?
Okay,
came up with that, Rick.
There's the inner biblical period, between 400 years before Christ and then Jesus birth and then Mark, the first gospel. James may have been the first book that was written. We believe it came out of Acts 15, an expanded version of that short version. But, there was some literature that was written during that period of that time. Now they're historical and they're good. And in the Catholic Bible, they have chosen to put some of those, during that period of time. Alex, how else would you explain that.
Well, so this relates in a way to what we were talking about, like the Book of Enoch. There have been several amounts of books that are sometimes called the apocryphal books or deuterocanonical books like D E U T E R, deuterocanonical, which means second canon. And some of these that go way back to Old Testament times would be like Judith, the wisdom of Solomon, Baruch, first and Second Maccabees that were not ever really recognized as part of the Old Testament canon. And some Bibles have, these Old Testament, apocryphal books, and some do not. But during the time of the Reformation. Okay, during the. The 1500s, to. really, I'm just going to say it, you know, try to stand against Luther and the Reformers. And, you know, there were some cardinals, like there was a man named Cardinal Carafa. C A R A F F A. And there were several others. One named Catain, I'm sure I'm mispronouncing it, but anyway. Or catagin. I don't know how to pronounce it. But they, tried to point to some extra biblical sources that they really canonized to try to create doctrines that would mitigate against Luther and the salvation by faith. Faith, alone, which, Which I really do believe. And, and my point is this. You know, when 2nd Timothy 3, 16, 17 says all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, training in righteousness. We know the. The true canon, Genesis through Malachi, recognized by all of the ancient Jews as scripture, Matthew through Revelation, all written by apostles. They had seen Jesus and. Or the risen Jesus. And they, We've talked about the test for canonicity, Bert. whether a Bible includes the apocryphal books for historical interest or whether there was a theological agenda. even. I've talked with even devout Catholics that admit the 66 canonical books really are the traditional historical canon. And, by the way, I want to recommend a really good book. Well, there's so many I could recommend, but, Norman Geisler and William Nix N I X From God to Man. How We Got the Bible. It was published by Moody M Press originally. I'm not sure. It's probably under several imprints by now. Geisler and Nick's From God to How We Got the Bible. That's just one of many books that affirm, the canon as we know it.
Hope that helps Jon appreciate you.
Interpreting 'Asleep in the Lord' and Thomas's Declaration to Die with Christ in the Gospel of John
Let's go to North Carolina and Talk to Nathan. Nathan, thank you for calling. Go right ahead.
Hey, guys, I've been listening to you for a long time. I appreciate everything you've done. You're such a blessing. I just had a question on. back. it says, you know, absent from the body and present with the Lord. but, you know, when Lazarus died, I remember. I seem like I remember that they're asking, or Jesus. Or they're asking Jesus, where is the ladders? And he said, he's asleep. And that's always kind of stung with me. Just like, you know, I'm just wondering, is he asleep in Jesus? And he wakes up, you know, it's been like a thousand years later, and it feels like one day or. What do you guys think on that? how do you feel about that?
Right there, Nathan? Thank you. Yes. Ah, let me share with you the body. There's difference in body sleep. and I'm using that term a little loosely in soul sleep. there's nothing in the Bible that even becomes close to soul sleep. To be absent here is to be present there whichever way you go. But the body, Alex, it's, Was it another way of saying death? You know, about their body sleeping?
a euphemism for death. Because, in the King James, this is Jon 11:11, it says, Lazarus has fallen asleep. But the word there, and I'm not going to try to pronounce it, K, O, I, M, M, A, O, really means, to be dead or. Or dead. You know, dead as in, you know, an adjective. Or dead to. To die as a verb. So, when to say he's sleeping. That. That. That's kind of a euphemism for he's expired. Now, what I don't think we can take from this, especially in light of many, many other scriptures, is that the soul is just in this dormant state till trumpet sounds. No, because, you know, we look at all the scriptures and we realize that, you know, well, and I think right there in Jon 11, Jesus. They're crying and Jesus says, lazarus is dead. I mean, you know, he really was. He had physically expired. But his soul, of course, was in the presence of God.
Amen.
And, verse 14, Christ says to them plainly, lazarus is dead.
So hope that helps. Nathan. Thank you for calling, brother. Let's go to Texas and talk to Stephanie. Stephanie, thank you. Go right ahead.
Hi, thanks for, taking my call. It's. I think this was meant to be. Because my question is regarding that same passage exactly, But I have a different question. So after Jesus had to tell them plainly that Lazarus is dead, and he says, and I'm glad for your sakes that I wasn't there, which I took as he would have never got sick and they wouldn't be able to see the miracle he was about to perform. But then maybe you clarify that. And then the next following verse, Thomas says, let us also go, that we may die with him. So I was just kind of. I got hung up on that. I was wondering if maybe you can explain that one.
Okay. This is one of Thomas greatest moments. Now, I know he gets called Doubting Thomas. I think it's a little bit, too much, to call him that all the time. yeah, I think he wanted proof. There's a lot of us that want proof. And, so. But here, let us go that we may die. He had heard. He got the message Jesus was going to die there. And there. He was ready to go at that time, wasn't he, Alex?
I think so. I mean, there's a couple of ways to look at what Thomas says there in, verse 16 of Jon 11. And I agree with the caller, it is just providential that that was going to be her question. Let us go also, that we may die with him. There's two things. One, we can say, good for you, Thomas, because you believe in the resurrection and Christ's power to give everlasting life. the other thing is, though, there was growing, I mean, clearly, you know, you go back to Jon 7, and, they had gone to the feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and there had been all these miracles. And I think there was growing, opposition from the Pharisees and Sadducees. And maybe the disciples had already begun to discern that they were going to. By following Christ, there was going to be some danger and persecution.
Alex, read 11, 8. Let me read that. And then you continue. The disciples said to Jesus, rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are you going there again, you know, into Judea? Yeah. So I think when you connect that to, I'm ready to go die with you, you know, it seems like they are connected, brother.
Yeah, exactly, exactly. It's like, okay, there's going to be danger, and we might be, you know, persecuted and martyred, but at least I want to be near you, Jesus, when this happens.
Amen. Hope that helps. Stephanie, thank you for calling. Well, let's stay in Texas and go to Rhonda. Rhonda, thank you for calling.
The 144,000 During the Tribulation and the Resurrection of the Dead in Christ
Go Right ahead.
Yes, good afternoon. thank you for taking my call. And I want you to know that I appreciate this program so much. It means a lot to me.
Well, thank you.
my question is, during the rapture, the 142,000 men. I have heard a teaching that these men are. This. The preacher did not say, you know, he found this in the Bible, but he said his believing was that, these 142,000 men could possibly be the. The. After Jesus was born and Herod ordered the, killing of the little boys, that these could possibly be those little boys. How do you feel about that, Rhonda?
Let us go. The hundred and forty four thousand are men that have called. And it kind of explains, from where they come from. The word of God does. Doesn't it, Alex?
Yes. By the way, this is in Revelation 7, verse 4 and following. And Bert and I go into a fair amount of detail in this, in our book on 100 Bible questions on prophecy and the end times, which is available from AFR. But it says that the 144,000. Now, keep in mind, the rapture has happened. This is during the Tribulation, and it names the tribes of the children of Israel. Verse 4. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed. Twelve thousand, Reuben, Gad, and so forth. So, really, Bert, and then nine through 17. Talk about really millions m Saved during the tribulation. The 144,000, I firmly believe, Bert, are Jews from the 12 tribes. They're born again. They're 144,000 Jewish Billy Grahams that are preaching the gospel. They're killed and martyred by the Antichrist, but millions are saved through their testimony. And, in a way, the nation of Israel does what they were supposed to do from the very beginning, which is evangelize the world.
they were not those. No, ah, way connected with the babies that were killed in Bethlehem. I've never heard of that.
Understanding the Resurrection and the Importance of Being Born Again Through Faith in Jesus Christ
with all due respect, I have to say that can't be the right understanding.
There wasn't that many. And Bethlehem, wasn't that big. Hope that helps, Rhonda. Let's go to Colleen in Texas. Colleen, Go right ahead.
Well, my, comment is on a resurrection. There will be a resurrection because the Bible guarantees it of the dead. Not everyone goes to heaven. All of them learned it. The 144,000, which you all are speaking out to this lady.
Okay, Colleen, let me just share with you. we're looking at the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then those who are saints Praise the Lord. the dead in Christ arise first when he comes, and then those that remain will be caught up with the Lord in there. And Alex, there's going to be a huge amount, aren't they?
There are. I think it's very important to read Jon chapter 3, where Christ told Nicodemus, if a man would see the kingdom of heaven, he must be born again, born from above. And the way that happens is by putting our faith in Christ, who paid it all, on Calvary's cross and just everybody listening. If you've never called out to the Lord to be saved, do that today. And you put your faith in Jesus and you know you will go to heaven, but because you've trusted in him.
Amen. Keith, also from Texas, man, Texas was listening today. We're not going to have time to go. but I'll say this. Messianic Jews being called rabbis. rabbi is a teacher, isn't it, Alex? That's what it means in some translations. in place of saying rabbi, it will say teacher, doesn't it?
Yep, yep. Rebbe or rabbi, regardless. But yes, it means teacher. but, Christ is the chief rabbi and really, the Son of God. The word of God first. Jon 2:27. That's our source.
Is he really is. Alex, good to have you today. I know we missed you two days, but good to have you on fire away Friday. And amen.
I appreciate Matt sending me some gear that helped me get back on the radio.
Amen. We are glad of that. Be praying for Alex as he travels. I'll be at Ozark Baptist Church this Sunday and I'd love to see you there. 11 o'. Clock. Tell someone about this program, but more importantly, tell people about Jesus.
M. The views and opinions expressed in
this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those
of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
Introduction to Fire Away Friday and How to Submit Your Bible Questions to Exploring the Word
It's Fire Away Friday. Fire Away Friday on Exploring the Word. This is your chance to ask us your Bible question at 888-589-8840. That's 888-589-8840. You can also email your [email protected] or visit facebook.com exploringtheword. Exploring the word.
It's fire Away Friday on American Family Radio.
And the word and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Well, that's Jon 1:14, of course, referencing Jesus Christ the Lord. And with that verse, we welcome you to today's edition of Exploring the word. Alex McFarland here. And today is the day of the week. Every day of the week is special on exploring the Word. But Bird and I love Fridays because we take all calls, all the hour, and we would love to hear your Bible questions and we'll do our best to give you a good answer. Here's the number. If you've got a Bible question, triple 858-98840. That's 888-589-8840. And, it's early enough in the show. You will get through and you can get in the queue, and we will just take every single Bible question that comes in. Bert, it's a great day to open the Word.
The Incarnation of Christ and Preparing for Sharathon: Exploring the Word's Call for Listener Engagement
You know, the work week is kind of closing. Sunday's coming. I hope everybody will be in church on Sunday, but what a great thing to reflect. You know, Jon 1:14 that I read, that's about the incarnation, how the second member of the Trinity, God the Son, took on a human body. Bert, let me ask you this. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Why did Christ come down here from heaven to earth?
For one reason, and that is to be the sacrifice, the only acceptable sacrifice for our sin. To die on the cross for us so we could have an eternity with him. Alex, purposeful, you know, that's what he did, you know, you was talking about Sunday. It is Friday, but Sunday is coming, you know.
Amen.
And, when you said that, I couldn't help but think of that. And so what a joy it is to be with you this Friday on Fire Away Friday, where we want your question again, that number, 888-589-8840. And, while we're doing this, we're, we're just getting ready for Sharathon. And, we're excited about what God is going to do in the next two weeks. And we, we just enjoy that. So we get ready for that. We kind of, we do a little Bible study. But on those three days during Sharathan, we concentrate on giving because God so loved the world that he gave his son. So I, I would say start preparing God. Would you have me to be a part of the work that is done at afr? I listen, I pray. do I need to give? And again that's what we're asking you to look forward to and to see. And as we look forward to that. Well, Alex, people are calling in but we still have lines that are open and let me give that number. And if it's alright with you after this we'll go to the first caller but the number is 888-589-8840. We'd love your Bible question today. And first caller of the day from Alabama is Nick.
Why God Sent Jesus: Addressing a Student's Question and the Significance of Billy Sunday's Evangelism
Nick, thank you for calling. You're right ahead.
Hello Dr. McFarland and Pastor Harper. My name is Nick. I'm an eighth grade student at Tuscusa Christian School in Alabama. My Bible class watches a program at school. My question is why did God send Jesus instead of giving a prophet a revelation saying that sinners could be forgiven.
Wow, Nick, God bless you. Amen.
First of all. Hey Nick. First of all, let me say thank you for listening to the program and watching online and for calling in. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the fact that, that you guys would be listening. And you know, I'm going to ask before you hang up in a while if Brent Austin could get your address and I'd like to put a book in the mail. Bird and I've done a couple of books on hundred Bible questions and would that be okay? Nick, may we send you a couple of our books just as a, as a thank you for listening.
It's 2, 096.
I'm gonna let you give that to Brent after we answer the question. But the question, Bert, and it's a fantastic question. Why did God send Jesus rather than just a prophet? I mean there had been prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Bert, I think this relates to that verse we read that Jesus, he, he certainly did proclaim God's truth and God's word that. But he was much more than only a prophet, wasn't he?
He really was. I, I want to tell you some history, Nick. There was an evangelist at the turn of the century. His name was Billy Sunday. Now he had been a baseball Player. And he's, a good baseball player. But God saved him and he started preaching. And in some of his illustrations in the sermon, God was looking for someone in heaven. Now, this is just a story that he used, but it demonstrates it to go to, to earth to help mankind, be saved. So we went to some people like Abraham, and said, abraham, would you go to earth and would you, suffer and die for me? And Abraham said, I would, but I need someone to save me. He went to Moses and Moses said, I need someone to save me. And there was no one there. The only one that could come to earth to be that perfect sacrifice was Jesus Christ. There was no other way. And so, Nick, that's why he came. Because a prophet would not do it. The law receiver or law giver would not do it. A judge would not do it. It only could be the very son of God, Jesus Christ. Alex, had you heard that about Billy Sunday's illustration?
I had not. And I do love Billy Sunday. My Grandmother and Joy McFarland, she's in heaven. She prayed for me to get saved. She saw Billy Sunday in person. And, she actually has a picture of it.
Reflections on Evangelist Billy Sunday and Exploring the Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Dead in Christ
And it was a very kind of grainy, blurry photo. He came to, he was in downtown Greensboro. This must have been. I don't know, Bert, would that have been like in the 1920s or something?
Would have been. I'm sure it was, because that's when he was. I mean, it was. He followed D.L. moody. You know, D.L. moody was there, but he died. But Billy Sunday became the, the guy, during that period of time of evangelism.
Do you know what? I don't mean to digress, but, when I think about baseball, because I grew up loving baseball, Billy Sunday, reminded me of Pete Rose or maybe Pete Rose in his athletics. You know, Pete Rose was Charlie Hustle, who could steal bases and everything. And so Billy Sunday was like a really aggressive ball player. But then when he became an evangelist, he, like, flat footed could jump up on the pulpit, at Moody Church in Chicago. And one day, I had the great privilege. Erwin Lutzer showed me around the sanctuary of Moody Church, and there was a baby grand piano that was all scuffed up. And they said Billy Sunday would jump up on top of this piano and stomp the devil. But, Nick, to your question, here's the thing. God took on a human body so he could be nailed to the cross. Perfect. All right, Jesus, so unique. Perfect deity, fully God, but perfect humanity, Fully man, but not fallen man. And so Jesus was able to pay the sin debt of the world, and he was willing. And so when Christ was nailed to the cross, the appropriate measure of punishment for all of all of our sins, every sin ever was put on Jesus. And Berta, it had to be that way. A, fallen sinner could not save fallen sinners.
What Jesus prayed, Nick in the garden. Father, if there be any other way, let this cup, it was called the cup of suffering, pass from me. And. And as I said before, silence has never been so loud. And there was no other way. There was no other alternative. And Jesus Christ was willing to become that sacrifice for us. So, praise the Lord, he was willing also to become flesh. And, that was quite a bit. People were getting closer and closer to Christmas, and they said, don't we make too much of Christmas and not of Easter? Listen, you can't make much of either one of them without the other, can you, Alex?
Oh, come. Oh, come, Emmanuel. And so, Nick, thank you. And, if Brent gets your address, I think Bert and I'll send you a couple of resources in the mail.
Okay, I think we got it. Thank you.
Where to?
Okay, let's go to Kansas and talk to Randy. Randy, what part of Kansas you from?
I'm from, outside of El Dorado.
Okay, man. Well, thank you for calling. Go right ahead, brother.
Yeah, I was going to research this, and I kind of put it off, and then I heard you guys say, hey, it's fire away Friday. So I thought I would, You know, when the Word talks about the dead in Christ arise, first I thought the dead in Christ were already there with Jesus. So can you explain that process?
Okay, let me start it. Alex, if that's all right. Randy, we have a body.
Understanding the Reunion of Soul and Body After Death and the Glorified Body in the Afterlife
We really do, but we also have a soul. And what happens are soul and spirit. You know, only the word of God can kind of separate those. But, when we die, you see that body still there laying in the casket. But the Bible says to be absent from the bodies, to be present with the Lord. Our soul goes to the Lord. So the dead in Christ and him coming back, the dead in Christ rising. It's. I call it a grand reunion of soul and body. Alex, take it away.
Yeah, and this is in First Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17, by the way. So Paul says, and I believe it's God's true promise to every believer that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So those who are believers, they. I think at the moment of death, they are in the presence of Christ. Wonderful. But there is a full, final glorified body. And really when the trumpet sounds, and Bert, let me just say that all orthodox, true Christian, regardless, of the denomination or the theological strain, all true Christians, one of the fundamentals, one of the core foundational beliefs is that Christ is literally going to return. And there will be, like you say, this reunion, of spirit, soul and body, but we will get a perfected glorified body. Now, when I was in seminary, one of my professors said, what is the, the, the state of the body now? And when Christ rose, he definitely physically rose. It's not some vapor or ghost. In fact, in Luke 24, Jesus said, and he was resurrected. He said, touch and see. A spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me have. Now, the body that we're in with Christ immediately, it's very real, it's tangible, it's called corporeal. But there's going to be an even better, even more fully glorified, body at that trumpet sound when Christ returns. And, we don't know all the full details, but we know it's going to be wonderful because of the promises of God.
Amen, Randy. We hope that helps. Before we go to Joe, Joe, you hang on.
Call for Listener Stories and Testimonies to Support American Family Radio's Sharathon Event
We don't have a lot of time in this segment, so I'm just going to talk about what we need from some of you and it's listener stories. I've already mentioned we're going to have share a thon in a couple of weeks and we're looking forward to hearing some of your stories about how God has used afr. It's God that does the work. we guys that hear those behind the, the boards at the phone and everything else are on behind the microphones. God, has blessed us by being a part of this, but God's one that does the change. And if God has blessed your life, changed your life, we would love to hear your story in a minute or two and you can share that and it may be shared on shareathon and get to hear yourself. The number that you can call, not this number that we've been using, but this number's for 8778-7688-9387-7876-88 93. man, we would love to hear what God has done in your life. That just adds fuel to the fire for what God's called us to do. So make that call and let us hear your testimony at 877-87688, 9, 3.
Listener-Supported Content and an In-Depth Discussion on the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment
Hello, I'm Bert Harper. Did you know that this content is listener supported? Without people like you, this podcast would not exist. That's why we need you. A generous monthly gift of any amount will sustain American Family Radio and specifically this podcast. Please consider becoming a monthly financial partner today by visiting afr.netgive that's afr.net give. King is alive. Welcome back to Exploring the Word. Fire Away Friday. And we're gonna go straight, straight to the phone lines because we got people waiting to ask questions. And the first one in this segment is Joe from Tennessee. Joe, thank you for calling. Go right ahead, brother.
There's the Judgment seat of Christ and there's the Great White Throne Judgment. Where do people save during the Tribulation?
Okay, where do they go? Well, I know where they don't go. They don't go to the Great White Throne Judgment for sure. Joe. That is only for those that have already been predetermined. It's really the judgment has already been made and the sentence is carried out. Alex, have you heard it said that way about the Great White Throne Judgment?
I have, yeah. The Great White Throne Judgment is where, sadly, the unsaved of all the ages are going to appear. The Great White throne in Revelation 20:11, 15. and this will really be after the millennium. And this is the final condemnation of the unsaved of all the ages. The judgment seat of Christ is an exciting thing. Revelation, I'm sorry, Romans 14 says we must all give an account of ourselves to God. And, Second Corinthians 5:10 talks about we must all, all believers. But really, Bert, I'm going to say something that is maybe a little bit speculative. All believers of the church age will appear before the Judgment seat of Christ. Now, every believer, all of the growth, the faithfulness, the obedience, everything post salvation, as we grow in, the Lord is going to be, we're going to get rewarded. the judgment seat of Christ is not about salvation or lostness, but it's about rewards for faithfulness on the part of believers. Now, as I understand it, Burton, you feel free to disagree. the Judgment seat of Christ, the Bema seat, seems to take place while the tribulation is going on on planet Earth. now we're not for sure about that. So the question becomes, what about those that get saved during the millennial era? And there will be people that get saved and during the millennium, presumably they get rewarded at some point. is it at a second, rendering of the Bema seat or Is the rewards of the bema seat, just from Pentecost to the Rapture, I don't know, but, everything post salvation, not only we get salvation, I mean that's blessing enough, but even rewards for the way we walk as a believer after we accept Christ.
Amen. Again, let me say one or two things here. we, you know, the best time we can figure out. I agree with you. Is during that period of time we're with him. The other thing that we would say is that when we're talking about the beam of the judgment seat, they are rewards. And you know, when you're rewarded, what we going to do with it? Well, that's when it talks about casting crowns at his feet. And I don't think we're going to wear them around. Oh, I got five. I got two. No, I think, heaven's not a place for that for us. It's a place of glorifying the God on the throne, Jesus Christ as Lord. And so you don't want to go empty handed. Okay. so serve the Lord and do it with gladness. Thank you, Joe. And let's go to Texas. Ah, there. Well, what happened?
The Apocryphal Books and the Book of Enoch in Relation to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Biblical Canon
see if you can get that on for me. mine clicked, but it did not do anything. There it is. Kim from Texas. Go right ahead.
Hello there. Thanks guys for taking my call. My question, yes, I'm, my question is about my son heard on some program that the Book of Enoch was found with the Dead Sea scroll. As I was like, well, I don't, I don't know. So I thought, well, I searched, I couldn't find anything. So I thought, I'm gonna ask Jon.
Okay. Alex, I don't know that. Had you heard that it was mixed in with the Dead Sea Scrolls?
a little bit. Not, the complete Book of Enoch. there is like one chapter that is, partly in Aramaic. Qumran was at one end of the Dead Sea, by the way, Q, U, M, M, R A N. And that's not the same as the Quran, which is very often spelled with a Q. So when you hear Qumran, the caves around the Dead Sea, the, that is not Quran, the false, unholy book of Islam. But anyway, so there is a section, that is sometimes called First Enoch that was part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. But here's the thing. While the Dead Sea Scrolls contain all of the Old Testament except the book of Esther, the Dead Sea Scrolls contained a lot of writings because there was this group called the Essenes, and they were, you know, observant Jews that made copies of not, only scriptures, but really the larger finding there in the 1940s was called the Qumran Library, because there was this ancient Jewish community. And they had, yes, scriptures, but they had many, many other things that weren't scriptures. and there was a thing called the Book of Watchers. There was dreams and visions. There was one called the Astronomical book. Now, here's my point, Bert. The Book of Enoch has gotten a lot of press in recent days, and, it's an interesting historical curiosity, but it was never viewed as scripture. it was not written by any known prophet or apostle. And so, it's a historical curiosity, but, I think that, it sure has gotten a lot of interest here lately. But it's not part of the canon of scripture.
And just as Alex said, what that would amount if it was found with them, it does not elevate it to that point, because we already had the scriptures when the. Those discoveries of the scrolls were made. And again, only word I know verified the Old Testament scriptures. But just because others was found there did not elevate them to be considered scripture. we have what God's given us, Kim. I hope that helps. And thank you for calling. Let's go to Tennessee and talk to Destiny. Destiny, thank you for calling today.
Hey, yes, I got a question. I've been studying the book of Revelation and, Scripture. What was it? 13:16. Revelation. Revelation 13:16. It said that he causes all to be. To get the mark and, you know, bound and free. And I was kind of confused about the all.
Okay, now that scripture. Let me read 15 and 16, and following. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads. Now listen to verse 17. destiny. I think it does qualify this and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark of the name of the beast or the number of his name. In other words, yes, they're pressing it, making it happen, passing laws, enforcing it. But there's those that refuse it, According to verse 17, Alex.
Yeah, exactly. And I think clearly, if we look at the larger context, all would mean all that are alive. during this tribulation period, the church has been raptured out, and all that, you know, acquiesce and receive it. Now, many will, refuse it and will be martyred. And there will be thousands and thousands, probably millions of Martyrs during the Tribulation. But, in the Revelation 13:16, all doesn't mean all throughout history or even alive at that point, but during the Tribulation, in other words, everybody, if you want to do business, you've got to have the mark of the beast. And I think about that now, Bert. I mean, you know, you can't rent a car or get a hotel room without a credit card. you can't get a cell phone without a credit card. I mean, we are fast, it appears, moving to a world where unless you're digitally on the grid, you can barely conduct the business of life. And I could see with technology being what it is, I mean, this Antichrist is. And this false prophet that's going to take control of the world during the Tribulation, I can see how. They would pretty much have the human race on lockdown, wouldn't they?
They really would they tell us what's happened in China, especially around the big cities. They've got cameras everywhere now. We got enough of them here in the States, but they got them everywhere. They can adjust, spy on people without, you know, without any difficulty. And with AI, I don't know all it brings on, but it brings on the real capability of them tracking. That is the key track. And remember that. So, when you have that credit card, when you have this, the tracking, your tracking is, is happening. And so we see it now, possibility, destiny. We hope that helps. Let me share this real quickly. This scripture is great for, to illustrate this. When you look at one verse, always look where it is, where it is located in a book. What kind of literature is it? You know, is it eschatology? Is it future? Is it a history book like Acts and then look at what's in front or back. And when you read verse 16, oh, but then when you get in 17, no one can buy, but that it lets you know there are some that do not. And it puts it in, I think, a, ah, form. So remember that about your Bible study.
Understanding Revelation's Mark of the Beast, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the Significance of Tongues
Those of you who are listening. It's helped me a lot. I hope it helps you. Well, let's go to Texas and talk to Jon. Jon, thank you for calling. Go right ahead.
It's Jon and Garland.
Yeah, in our, Garland, Texas. I know. Yeah, I know where Garland, Texas is. Go right ahead, Jon.
Yes, sir. Thank you. First of all, I'd like to say you guys are the best. So courteous and kind. and my question is on the tongues. I have such difficulty. I have good friends who to me it sounds like gibberish. Could you give me your opinion on that?
Okay. Tongues. Let me just share with you. We do not believe that all the gifts have stopped. you know, Alex. And every time this comes up, Alex, my mind goes to your trip in, South America. And that is the best illustration that you can find of the tongues spoken in the Book of Acts. But it seems like in the book of First Corinthians there was a little bit of difference in those. Do you catch that? Or is that just me trying to, you know, slice something too thin?
you know what? I had a professor in seminary. he has long since gone to be with the Lord. But his name was, Dr. Ken Chapman. And he was, an old independent Baptist preacher. And as conservative, as conservative as it gets. And, many times I heard him tell the story of when he was pastoring in California. This would have probably been in the 50s, and I think it was San Diego. And a woman came in one Sunday, and she was a Chinese lady. And nobody could communicate with. With this lady. And there was, one of his members that began to speak fluent Chinese. And they bowed at the altar, and this man led this Chinese lady to Christ. And he could speak, a type of Chinese, and she accepted Christ. And the thing is, Dr. Chapman told the story that this man had never been to China, did not ordinarily know that language. He had no experience prior. And in a miraculous, miraculous moment, he was able to share the gospel. And of all things, I hadn't thought of this in years, but it was Cantonese, which is a very, specific dialect. Now, and I've seen. And I've got a story. I won't tell it now because it would take too long, but in South America, and I've known many stories of people miraculously being given the ability to speak the gospel in a language they didn't know, and people miraculously being able to hear and understand the gospel.
That's true, too. On the day of Pentecost, it wasn't just tongues. It was hearing the ears as well. You know what I mean?
Exactly. Now, regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit, there is what's called the cessationist view that the miraculous gifts, like tongues, that you read about in the Book of Acts were just for the early church. And they say, well, 1 Corinthians 13. When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part will be done away with. And, the cessationists would say, see, that which is perfect is the Bible. And now that the Bible has come. Some of the gifts of the spirit have ceased. I don't believe that. There is what's called the continuationist view that everything you read about in the book of Acts, God can still do today. And I will say I do believe that Bert and, go into the mission field, you'll believe in miracles. You really will.
Amen.
Now I realize, and let me just say this one time, Jerry Falwell was on with Pat Robertson. This is probably 30 years ago. And, Pat Robertson asked, Dr. Falwell said, what do you think about though a private prayer language. And Dr. Falwell said, well, I don't know. He said, it's. That kind of thing has never happened to me. I pray in English, but clearly some of the most godly people I've ever known. He said, and I would agree, you know, evidence speaking in tongues. This is in First Corinthians 12. So I'm just going to say I think this is one of those areas where all Christians need to show love, grace and space. Because, I know some of the most godly people I know are non Pentecostals. Some of the most godly people I've ever known are very, very much Pentecostals. I think we need to be a Jon 17 Christian and, be all unified as followers of Jesus.
Hallelujah. And, listen, seek the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your might. Seek him. He'll give you what you need at that time. We'll be back with more right after this break. Friend, we're living in a defining moment today. A woman facing an unexpected pregnancy can order the abortion pill online, often before anyone has the chance to tell her she is loved, she's not alone, or that there is hope. That's why you are needed right now. You were made for this moment. At PreBorn Network clinics, mothers are welcomed with compassion, practical support and a free ultrasound. And when she sees her baby and hears that tiny heartbeat for the very first time, fear often gives way to hope. In fact, more than 80% of abortion vulnerable women choose life after seeing their baby on an ultrasound at a PreBorn Network clinic. That one moment can save a baby's life and open a mother's heart to the hope of Jesus Christ. This is our moment to stand. For those who cannot speak for themselves, just $28 provides one life saving ultrasound. $140 helps rescue five babies. Please don't wait. Dial 250. That's dial pound 250 and say the key word baby. That's pound 250 baby or gifts securely. Preborn.comb Harper that's preborn.com Bert Harper. Together we can save lives one heartbeat at a time. Welcome back to Exploring the Word on American Family Radio.
Welcome back to Exploring the Word. Welcome back to Exploring the Word.
Hey.
As we resume questions, I want to give a big shout out to a friend of this show and a great friend of American Family, radio. His name is Dave Dabney and he lives in Mississippi. We call him Birthday Dave because he is really great with remembering people's birthday. But I'm going to ask everybody to pray. Dave is just a wonderful brother in the Lord and a great champion of the gospel. But he has a little dog named Josiah. And Josiah died on the 23rd. And, Dave's wife passed away several years ago. And Bert, we. Dave Dabney and I were talking on the phone last night, and, he's a devout believer, but he could use a little prayer support. And we know how much we love our animals. And his little dog, Josiah, Josiah could sing and birthday Dave would call, like on our birthday or anniversary, and the little dog would sing for us. And so, I know he could use a little encouragement right now.
Appreciate that. Alex and Dave, we do love you and thank God for you. Father. I pray for Dave. God thank you for his love for you, God. He loves you all with every fiber of his being. And I thank you that he supports AFR in such a great way. Bless him, strengthen him, and continue to use him for your glory. In Jesus name. Amen. M. Amen. Well, let's go to. Okay, go ahead and do it. mine is not working.
Addressing Catholic Additions to the Bible and the Formation of the Biblical Canon
I will Rick in Iowa, if we can get to him. Is yours working, Brent? Okay, I don't know what's. Okay, there it is. Rick from Iowa. Go right ahead, Rick.
I have a question. what I ran in some Catholics. What's. How did the Catholics come up with those additional books in their Bible versus our Bible prostrate Bible?
Okay,
came up with that, Rick.
There's the inner biblical period, between 400 years before Christ and then Jesus birth and then Mark, the first gospel. James may have been the first book that was written. We believe it came out of Acts 15, an expanded version of that short version. But, there was some literature that was written during that period of that time. Now they're historical and they're good. And in the Catholic Bible, they have chosen to put some of those, during that period of time. Alex, how else would you explain that.
Well, so this relates in a way to what we were talking about, like the Book of Enoch. There have been several amounts of books that are sometimes called the apocryphal books or deuterocanonical books like D E U T E R, deuterocanonical, which means second canon. And some of these that go way back to Old Testament times would be like Judith, the wisdom of Solomon, Baruch, first and Second Maccabees that were not ever really recognized as part of the Old Testament canon. And some Bibles have, these Old Testament, apocryphal books, and some do not. But during the time of the Reformation. Okay, during the. The 1500s, to. really, I'm just going to say it, you know, try to stand against Luther and the Reformers. And, you know, there were some cardinals, like there was a man named Cardinal Carafa. C A R A F F A. And there were several others. One named Catain, I'm sure I'm mispronouncing it, but anyway. Or catagin. I don't know how to pronounce it. But they, tried to point to some extra biblical sources that they really canonized to try to create doctrines that would mitigate against Luther and the salvation by faith. Faith, alone, which, Which I really do believe. And, and my point is this. You know, when 2nd Timothy 3, 16, 17 says all scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, training in righteousness. We know the. The true canon, Genesis through Malachi, recognized by all of the ancient Jews as scripture, Matthew through Revelation, all written by apostles. They had seen Jesus and. Or the risen Jesus. And they, We've talked about the test for canonicity, Bert. whether a Bible includes the apocryphal books for historical interest or whether there was a theological agenda. even. I've talked with even devout Catholics that admit the 66 canonical books really are the traditional historical canon. And, by the way, I want to recommend a really good book. Well, there's so many I could recommend, but, Norman Geisler and William Nix N I X From God to Man. How We Got the Bible. It was published by Moody M Press originally. I'm not sure. It's probably under several imprints by now. Geisler and Nick's From God to How We Got the Bible. That's just one of many books that affirm, the canon as we know it.
Hope that helps Jon appreciate you.
Interpreting 'Asleep in the Lord' and Thomas's Declaration to Die with Christ in the Gospel of John
Let's go to North Carolina and Talk to Nathan. Nathan, thank you for calling. Go right ahead.
Hey, guys, I've been listening to you for a long time. I appreciate everything you've done. You're such a blessing. I just had a question on. back. it says, you know, absent from the body and present with the Lord. but, you know, when Lazarus died, I remember. I seem like I remember that they're asking, or Jesus. Or they're asking Jesus, where is the ladders? And he said, he's asleep. And that's always kind of stung with me. Just like, you know, I'm just wondering, is he asleep in Jesus? And he wakes up, you know, it's been like a thousand years later, and it feels like one day or. What do you guys think on that? how do you feel about that?
Right there, Nathan? Thank you. Yes. Ah, let me share with you the body. There's difference in body sleep. and I'm using that term a little loosely in soul sleep. there's nothing in the Bible that even becomes close to soul sleep. To be absent here is to be present there whichever way you go. But the body, Alex, it's, Was it another way of saying death? You know, about their body sleeping?
a euphemism for death. Because, in the King James, this is Jon 11:11, it says, Lazarus has fallen asleep. But the word there, and I'm not going to try to pronounce it, K, O, I, M, M, A, O, really means, to be dead or. Or dead. You know, dead as in, you know, an adjective. Or dead to. To die as a verb. So, when to say he's sleeping. That. That. That's kind of a euphemism for he's expired. Now, what I don't think we can take from this, especially in light of many, many other scriptures, is that the soul is just in this dormant state till trumpet sounds. No, because, you know, we look at all the scriptures and we realize that, you know, well, and I think right there in Jon 11, Jesus. They're crying and Jesus says, lazarus is dead. I mean, you know, he really was. He had physically expired. But his soul, of course, was in the presence of God.
Amen.
And, verse 14, Christ says to them plainly, lazarus is dead.
So hope that helps. Nathan. Thank you for calling, brother. Let's go to Texas and talk to Stephanie. Stephanie, thank you. Go right ahead.
Hi, thanks for, taking my call. It's. I think this was meant to be. Because my question is regarding that same passage exactly, But I have a different question. So after Jesus had to tell them plainly that Lazarus is dead, and he says, and I'm glad for your sakes that I wasn't there, which I took as he would have never got sick and they wouldn't be able to see the miracle he was about to perform. But then maybe you clarify that. And then the next following verse, Thomas says, let us also go, that we may die with him. So I was just kind of. I got hung up on that. I was wondering if maybe you can explain that one.
Okay. This is one of Thomas greatest moments. Now, I know he gets called Doubting Thomas. I think it's a little bit, too much, to call him that all the time. yeah, I think he wanted proof. There's a lot of us that want proof. And, so. But here, let us go that we may die. He had heard. He got the message Jesus was going to die there. And there. He was ready to go at that time, wasn't he, Alex?
I think so. I mean, there's a couple of ways to look at what Thomas says there in, verse 16 of Jon 11. And I agree with the caller, it is just providential that that was going to be her question. Let us go also, that we may die with him. There's two things. One, we can say, good for you, Thomas, because you believe in the resurrection and Christ's power to give everlasting life. the other thing is, though, there was growing, I mean, clearly, you know, you go back to Jon 7, and, they had gone to the feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, and there had been all these miracles. And I think there was growing, opposition from the Pharisees and Sadducees. And maybe the disciples had already begun to discern that they were going to. By following Christ, there was going to be some danger and persecution.
Alex, read 11, 8. Let me read that. And then you continue. The disciples said to Jesus, rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are you going there again, you know, into Judea? Yeah. So I think when you connect that to, I'm ready to go die with you, you know, it seems like they are connected, brother.
Yeah, exactly, exactly. It's like, okay, there's going to be danger, and we might be, you know, persecuted and martyred, but at least I want to be near you, Jesus, when this happens.
Amen. Hope that helps. Stephanie, thank you for calling. Well, let's stay in Texas and go to Rhonda. Rhonda, thank you for calling.
The 144,000 During the Tribulation and the Resurrection of the Dead in Christ
Go Right ahead.
Yes, good afternoon. thank you for taking my call. And I want you to know that I appreciate this program so much. It means a lot to me.
Well, thank you.
my question is, during the rapture, the 142,000 men. I have heard a teaching that these men are. This. The preacher did not say, you know, he found this in the Bible, but he said his believing was that, these 142,000 men could possibly be the. The. After Jesus was born and Herod ordered the, killing of the little boys, that these could possibly be those little boys. How do you feel about that, Rhonda?
Let us go. The hundred and forty four thousand are men that have called. And it kind of explains, from where they come from. The word of God does. Doesn't it, Alex?
Yes. By the way, this is in Revelation 7, verse 4 and following. And Bert and I go into a fair amount of detail in this, in our book on 100 Bible questions on prophecy and the end times, which is available from AFR. But it says that the 144,000. Now, keep in mind, the rapture has happened. This is during the Tribulation, and it names the tribes of the children of Israel. Verse 4. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed. Twelve thousand, Reuben, Gad, and so forth. So, really, Bert, and then nine through 17. Talk about really millions m Saved during the tribulation. The 144,000, I firmly believe, Bert, are Jews from the 12 tribes. They're born again. They're 144,000 Jewish Billy Grahams that are preaching the gospel. They're killed and martyred by the Antichrist, but millions are saved through their testimony. And, in a way, the nation of Israel does what they were supposed to do from the very beginning, which is evangelize the world.
they were not those. No, ah, way connected with the babies that were killed in Bethlehem. I've never heard of that.
Understanding the Resurrection and the Importance of Being Born Again Through Faith in Jesus Christ
with all due respect, I have to say that can't be the right understanding.
There wasn't that many. And Bethlehem, wasn't that big. Hope that helps, Rhonda. Let's go to Colleen in Texas. Colleen, Go right ahead.
Well, my, comment is on a resurrection. There will be a resurrection because the Bible guarantees it of the dead. Not everyone goes to heaven. All of them learned it. The 144,000, which you all are speaking out to this lady.
Okay, Colleen, let me just share with you. we're looking at the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then those who are saints Praise the Lord. the dead in Christ arise first when he comes, and then those that remain will be caught up with the Lord in there. And Alex, there's going to be a huge amount, aren't they?
There are. I think it's very important to read Jon chapter 3, where Christ told Nicodemus, if a man would see the kingdom of heaven, he must be born again, born from above. And the way that happens is by putting our faith in Christ, who paid it all, on Calvary's cross and just everybody listening. If you've never called out to the Lord to be saved, do that today. And you put your faith in Jesus and you know you will go to heaven, but because you've trusted in him.
Amen. Keith, also from Texas, man, Texas was listening today. We're not going to have time to go. but I'll say this. Messianic Jews being called rabbis. rabbi is a teacher, isn't it, Alex? That's what it means in some translations. in place of saying rabbi, it will say teacher, doesn't it?
Yep, yep. Rebbe or rabbi, regardless. But yes, it means teacher. but, Christ is the chief rabbi and really, the Son of God. The word of God first. Jon 2:27. That's our source.
Is he really is. Alex, good to have you today. I know we missed you two days, but good to have you on fire away Friday. And amen.
I appreciate Matt sending me some gear that helped me get back on the radio.
Amen. We are glad of that. Be praying for Alex as he travels. I'll be at Ozark Baptist Church this Sunday and I'd love to see you there. 11 o'. Clock. Tell someone about this program, but more importantly, tell people about Jesus.
M. The views and opinions expressed in
this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those
of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
Alex McFarland and Bert Harper take listener calls on why Jesus came, the end-times judgments, and understanding the Resurrection.
Live
Did you know American Family Radio is listener-supported? Your monthly financial support will allow us to continue upholding Godly values through our numerous channels, like American Family Radio, One Million Moms, The Stand magazine, and many more.
Become a Great Commission Partner TODAY to help AFR transform culture by rebuilding the family. When you donate today, you’ll get access to:
