American Family Radio takes your Bible questions next hour

>> Bert Harper: The Bible.

>> Alex McFarland: It's the word of God.

>> Bert Harper: Sharper than any two edged sword.

>> Alex McFarland: This sacred book is living and active and contains all that's needed for life and godliness.

>> Bert Harper: Stay with American Family Radio for the.

>> Alex McFarland: Next hour as we study God's word and take your Bible questions.

Bert Harper and Dr. Alex McFarland host Exploring the Word

>> Bert Harper: Welcome to Exploring the Word. You may have heard this question is your word, your bond? Well, when you read the scriptures and you find out what God says about vows and oath, I want to just tell you God puts a premium on truth. So today we want to look at that on Exploring the Word. This is Bert Harper along with Dr. Alex McFarland. And for me, it's good to be back. Appreciate Jeff shambly sitting in the last two days, but it's good to be back. And Alex, you guys stayed in Numbers, didn't you?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, we did, we did. And Jeff, did a great job and we appreciate his helping out and we're going to continue in Numbers and we're going to be in numbers, chapter 31 today and of course later on. Take your calls, Bert.

Yesterday we had quite a number of prayer requests as well. And again, as we look at God's word in numbers

Yesterday we had quite a number of prayer requests as well. And so I've got a few of those. Then when we get to the call time, I might reiterate a couple of those. But we had people praying for physical needs yesterday and also for some loved ones that need to come back to the Lord. And isn't it good that the God that the ancient Israelites were led by in the wilderness, the God that, gave Jesus resurrection from the dead and birthed the church, that's still our Lord, Savior and God today. And that's good news.

>> Bert Harper: Same yesterday, today and forever. Praise the Lord for that, Alex. And again, as we look at God's word in numbers, I heard people talk about, man, you going to go through numbers. There's a lot of names, a lot of places. What's it about? But again, as I, as I've gone through it this time, I've noticed they'll be okay. This is the word of God. And again, I see it. It's valuable, it's helpful, but you know, what, what's in it? But then all of a sudden something will take place or an event to take place or a teaching, and it just rises up before you. And that's the way the book of numbers is. And so Alex, where did, where did you and Jeff finish off yesterday?

The book of Numbers advocates for the rights of women, Bert says

>> Alex McFarland: Well, we were talking about in numbers, chapter 30, about when people take a vow, but even when a woman takes a vow. And we noted the fact that, the book of Numbers, advocates for the rights of women. Even when we get to numbers 36 and we finish up the book of numbers, there are even some laws about inheritance for females. But there was something interesting and in numbers 30, I think it's pictorial of the church, that if a, man made a vow, he was to keep his word to the Lord. If a woman who lived in her father's house, if a woman made a vow to God, the father could stay silent or the father could advocate for her and rescind the vow and a husband could do the same. And I was really equating it to the church, that the church is the bride of Christ. Jesus is the bridegroom, the head of the church, and he's our advocate for us. And Bert, let me just say this. I realize more of our modern, maybe if somebody's listening in their feminist minded or feminism influenced the idea that a woman had to be shielded and protected by a man, they might not like that. But in a way, as you don't hear this term anymore, the weaker sex really was to be protected, daughters by fathers, wives by husbands. And that doesn't demean women at all. But it shows really that God cares about the welfare, and the protection of women.

>> Bert Harper: It really does. And we find that in the New Testament in Paul's writing when he would talk about them. And again, the idea of like fine china, I don't know if you've ever done this or not, Alex. I did it in the pulpit. You take a plate of fine china and you turn it upside down, you can stand on it and it doesn't break. In other words, it's strong that I didn't know. Yeah, I've done it before. Matter of fact, I had a friend and he, I got him up there and he was 6, about 65 and quite heavy. And he stood on it and he bounced on. It didn't break. But then I had it ready. I threw it down on the floor and it shattered. In other words, mistreatment. What, what God really is, mistreating people, especially the females. Mistreating him is so, you know, so horrible because God talks about when he made woman, it was very good. And the Bible talks about New Testament men, treat your wives the way they need to be treated, lest your prayers be hindered. And so, when you read that, I think you do see that the value, not the harshness, but the value of God's creation is so important and how important it is to keep your word.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen.

God commanded Israel to go to war against Midianites in chapter 31

Well, in chapter 31, we'll continue on. And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites, and afterward thou shalt be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake unto the people, saying, arm some of yourselves unto war, and let them go against the Midianites. And avenge the Lord of Midian. Of every tribe a thousand throughout all the tribes of Israel shall you send to the war. So when people were killed, they were, ah, avenged and the Midians were to be opposed. You know, we, live in a time when, the idea of national defense and self defense is kind of something a lot of people aren't very comfortable about. But, God was telling Israel to go to war and protect the land. Bert, I even had a question earlier today. I'm at the COVID and somebody asked about the killing and the violence in the Old Testament. And let's remember that Israel was coming into their land and that Israel would be raised up to be a great nation through which would come Jesus. So God had a morally sufficient reason for sending Israel to war, because for one thing, history is the story of the human race and planet earth in a spiritual battle. But God was raising up Israel, through whom to send our Savior. And so defending the people, taking the land, establishing the nation, that was God's plan. And it was certainly justified.

>> Bert Harper: It was. And these people had enough information concerning creation and conscience, and they could also look at the history of how God had blessed this nation and how the Egyptians, what happened to them, since we know Rahab heard about it now this is going forward. When Rahab understood who God was and who the children of Israel listen, she and her family were set aside. So these opportunities for these people to be right with God had presented themselves, but they had not responded to what God had given them. And now it was time, as you said, the land and the promise. Alex, that had to happen. And so they come in and again they take them by the sword. 12,000 men and they do this. And they're armed and not a single one of them die. They'll find that out later. Phineas, again, show himself strong as one of the great leaders. Joshua is assumed to be probably the commander in chief of this. And notice who all is slain there. When you read about the kings in verse eight that were slain, they were, because they were the people. They took the spoils. You can read across that and notice what it was. And this is so important, and I referred to this earlier, projecting forward verse 12. They were across from Jericho. Now, again referring back to Rahab, this is what the people of, ah, Jericho and others had seen. And they could see how powerful these people were in the hand of God. So the evidence. Let me just say that, Alex, I believe the evidence had been given to these Midianites and others about how great God is, how strong he could, and how he could, come in and he could change their lives. They refused with all my heart. And God's foreknowledge knew they would not, no matter how much life they received. Therefore, God's promise to them concerning the land, concerning Messiah. It was very important, a moral, sufficient reason to do so. Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. You know, I'm glad you mentioned this as we're in numbers, chapter 31. in fact, one of the things that, a lot of skeptics bring up, and let me read through some of this, like verse seven says they warred against the Midianites as the Lord commanded Moses. And they slew all the males, and they slew the kings of Midian beside the rest of them that were slain, namely Evi Rekam Zur. These are kings of Midian. Balaam, also the son of Beor, they slew with the sword and the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, flocks and goods, and burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles with fire took spoils, men and of beasts, and they brought the captives and the prey and the spoil unto Moses and Eliezer the priest. And Eleazar, wasn't that the father of Phinehas?

>> Bert Harper: That's him. That's him.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, that's right. And unto the congregation of Israel, which are by the Jordan, near Jericho. Now as we go on, it's. It's brutal. I realize that. But again, let me just say this. And, a number of great apologists like William Laine Craig, who's a great defender of the faith, they talk about the fact that over four centuries Israel was moving into their land. And repeatedly the Midianites, different ones, fought against them. And you know, not to be callous, because the death. The Bible says God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But if these people weren't going to repent over the course of four centuries and believe in the God of Israel, chances are they weren't, going to repent. And what's worse, asked a number of a Christian apologist who, for a few thousand pagans to Die or for the human race not to have a savior. And obviously for the human race not to have a savior would have been far worse. But Moses and Elias are the priests, and all the princes of the congregation went forth to meet them. and verse 14, Moses was angry. In fact, the word is wroth, very angry with the officers of the host, with the captains, over thousands, hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, have you saved all the women alive? Behold. These caused the children of Israel, through the council of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor. And there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Bert. the Bible also says a little leaven. Leavens the whole lump.

>> Bert Harper: yeah.

>> Alex McFarland: Moses was deeply concerned about the pure, the spiritual, theological, moral purity of the people, wasn't he?

>> Bert Harper: He was. And now, therefore, all the males, yes, they're to die. And all the females, they were the ones that had Balaam through that plan. Satan, ultimately to lead the children of Israel men astray who had died from the plague. And they were to kill everyone except young girls or virgins. And they were to take them in and they were to serve, and they would be servants. And. And so again, redemption, yes, Hope, yes. Out of that group. And so God's punishment on Israel was real to the plagues that had died. A whole generation had died out, Alex. So this promise that God had made concerning the land and Messiah was valuable, important. It was the main thing for the redemption of God's creation and the redemption of man. So, yes, it is morally sufficient after this happens.

All men who had participated in this battle had to be purified themselves

And we just got about a minute left, but in verses 19 through 24, all these men who had participated in this battle, they had to be purified themselves. Seven days outside, they had come to death. So here it is. God, says, I want you to know this is my plan for you. This is what I want you to do. But still, I want you to be set aside that you are of God, you're, God's, person, you're God's people, and we make it right. So, Alex, the whole thing, the silver, the spoil, the men, it all had to be purified before it could be used of the Lord. We need to keep ourselves pure. We need to follow God all the way that God can use us all the way through our lives. We'll be back with more of Numbers 31 when we come back.

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>> Alex McFarland: I know the only reason I can stand here. It's not because I'm worthy.

>> Bert Harper: It's all because of mercy. There's no way that I could earn it.

>> Caroline: Praise God, my debt, debt is paid.

>> Bert Harper: It's not because I'm worthy.

>> Alex McFarland: It's all because of mercy.

Alex: Biblical purity is important in any ministry or any church

Welcome back to Exploring the Word, Alex and Bert. We're in numbers, chapter 31, and we're going to get to a lot of interesting content, but an interesting word. And, we're going to pick it up, about verse, 21, they had compromised. And let me just say, Bert, without, forcing it too far, I think the, the connection is absolutely apropos theological. purity is important in any ministry or any church. And I know nowadays that, you know, one of the hot issues of our time, one of the volatile issues is homosexuality. And, you know, I have done a lot of counseling with a lot of churches, and, in fact, I'm even helping a couple. Couple of churches now that are trying to get a restart. And it's amazing to me. I was doing a Q and A with the church last fall about kind of a restart. And during this Q and A, one of the very first things that came up, they said, m. don't you think we should get a minister that would never preach about moral and sexual and gender issues? And I said, well, why would you say that? Because the Bible has much to say about moral and sexual and gender issues. And our culture is very far afield and in the. In the wrong about this. So I said, I would think one of the things you would want is a man that would teach the whole counsel of God. Now, my point is this, if you compromise a little bit, just like a parasite on a host, a cancer in the body, sin among God's people, sin is never satisfied. And part of the reason that Moses was so angry and so adamant that the people, obey what God says, do a little bit of idolatry is going to be really detrimental down the road. A little bit of disobedience is going to yield much, much problem down the road. And that's why the people had to go out and be purified. And there was regrettably, execution of some of the Midianites. Because Bert, John Piper said it, I've quoted it many times. We are not to be in the business of sin management, but repentance.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. Amen. We did not die, you know, to sin, we are to die. To sin, we're to die. We're not to die. So we can. We're saved so that we can turn away from sin. We'll never get to that completeness. But listen, the struggle goes on. And when you give up the struggle and say, oh, it doesn't matter. It does matter with God. And here in chapter again, 31, 1924, you see not only the individuals, but also the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin. Everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire. It shall be cleaned. That's the whole idea. Purified. With the water of purification to bring it in. You shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean afterward. You may come into the camp after. Again, we look at God and you're talking about purity and everything. The whole idea is truth. Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. So when the word of God speaks, listen, we, listen, we're to obey. And so here it is. I think it demonstrates that. That, okay, we won the battle, man. We can take this stuff and do with it what we want. No, God tells them what to do with the spoils of the, battle.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes.

>> Bert Harper: He also tells these soldiers what they are to do after the battle. And, Alex, again, we're in the battle. We're not on a luxury ship. We're in a battleship here. The old ship Zion, you know. And so we need to obey the Lord. Truth, it does endure forever.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. Amen.

Alex Malachi: I learned a new word in my Bible today

there's an interesting word. I've got the. The King James here. And, I looked it up. You might know it right off the bat. Like verse 28. And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out into the battle. One soul of 500, both of the persons and of the beaves. B E E V E S. And of the donkeys and of the sheep. Okay, in 28, in 30, and in 33, you see this word talking about the loot or the spoils or, you know, really in verse 32, the booty. In other words, the, the spoils, of war. And I had to smile because I looked it up and I thought, B E E V E S. What does that mean, Bert? What does your translation say?

>> Bert Harper: Okay, I don't know exactly where that is. It says, a levy, a tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to battle. One of the every 500 of the persons. The cattle, the donkeys and the sheep. Is that in there?

>> Alex McFarland: Cattle.

>> Bert Harper: Cattle.

>> Alex McFarland: Okay, and what it is, I looked it up. beaves, B E E V E S is an Old English plural of beef. For example, over at verse 33, three score and 12,000 beeves. So that's really 72,000 cows. a score usually means, you know, 20. so three score and 1,000, donkeys. But I had to smile. You know, I've got this King James Bible that I actually bought in Tupelo. And, I'm not against modern translations. I'm really not. This is just the one I happen to have with me today. But if you see that, it's cattle plural. The plural of beef is the Old English word beeves. I learned a new word in my Bible today, Bert.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. So they were to levy or tax, a tribute. They were to put it on each one according to what it was and whether it was the, you know, the, I would say the living cattle or the war of the, the 10 and everything that was part of it. Notice the specifics here in verse 33. 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys. Don't you love their bookkeeping? I, I, I just, I'm being amazed at each time they counted how many people there were, how much information. Everybody wants to know, like, how many fish was it they caught in the nets? And they were full. a lot of it. Just show you the accuracy of the word of God, Alex. And I'm not trying to not spiritualize on stuff because I know numbers are important, but is there, there's nothing magical about 72,000 cattle. That's just how many they took. And it shows you the number. And it is important because it shows you the Accuracy in the details of. By which God operates.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. You know, I was in a seminar this morning with J. Warner Wallace, a former California detective, and he was talking about the unbelievably accurate, accurate, data in the Bible. Yes, that, that especially in the New Testament. He was talking about, he did an hour long lecture on the imp. Impeccable record keeping of Luke in the book of Acts and in the Gospel of Luke that, I mean, there's just no other work that comes close. And of course we know, I believe and I accept that part of the miraculous accuracy of the Bible is because it is God's word. And folks, not only is it accurate about the history of Israel, it's accurate about the work of the Savior, whom you may know by putting your faith in Jesus. We hope you've done that, or if you haven't, that you will. But, there are spoils of war. And you know, you'll see a phrase a few times in verse in chapter 31 about the Lord's spoil. In other words, they were to make an offering too, that yes, the people benefited from what they had, worked and earned and fought for. But first and foremost, just as Malachi and elsewhere it says the tithe is the Lord's first of all, the first fruits of all thine increase. Off the top comes the tithe, doesn't it?

>> Bert Harper: It does. Now what made me was the accountability of each individual. They first divided the, the, the spoils among themselves. That, that was according to what the leadership had said. And then each individual was to take that and offer it to. It shows individuality, ownership. And then the responsibility of each individual to follow through and obey the Lord. So you had that, I would call it corporate, responsibility of dividing it up accurately. And then you had the individual who was to pay as unto the Lord. Alex. So, God knows how to manage things. If we could only learn from, these events how to manage our wealth, manage what God has given to us, we'd be a lot better off.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen.

Alex: God sees to it that people are recompensed what they are due

Well, and life is management or stewardship. verse 41. And Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord's heave offering unto Eleazar the priests, as the Lord commanded Moses and of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that ward. Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was 300,000 and 30,000 and 7,000 and 500 sheep and 30 and 6,000 cattle, 30,000 donkeys and 516,000 persons. Again, meticulous record keeping. And the children of Israel, Moses took one portion of 50. So it's divvied out not only fairly, but even abundantly. And there's not only livestock. if you go down to, to verse 50, there. There are jewels and gold and bracelets. And they are, divvied out among the people, the captains, the leaders. Let me just say this. There's something about, that, you know, the Bible talks about that those that live of the God that, ah, preach the gospel, should live of the gospel. so there is throughout the word of God, whether it be the Levites of old or the New Testament ministers, there's provision made, the people, work, gets, renumeration or payment. and you see all this, and you might say, what is all this about? Well, for one thing, if nothing else, take this lesson or this takeaway that God is a just and a fair God. More than that, he's a gracious God. But, God sees to it that people are recompensed what they are due.

>> Bert Harper: In verse 53 and 54, the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself. And Moses and Eliezer the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting as a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord. Again, they had divided it up. But then when they divided it up among the men who had received it, those men responded as well. Alex. So it wasn't just one time, it was twice. In a way that they were just so thankful. They were overjoyed. The greed of keeping it all. No, they would bring it as a memorial. So we don't need to let greed operate in our lives. We don't need to. Oh, boy, man. I've got this. This great, great opportunity. Well, listen, when you get these opportunities, yes, it's an investment in you, but it's also an opportunity to invest in the work of the Lord as well, Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen.

Alex: When Moses makes important decisions, he needs multiple eyewitnesses

Well, when we get into chapter 32, the children of Reuben and Gad had a very great multitude of cattle. And they see some land and. And, it was a good place for cattle. Behold, the place was a place for cattle. I've seen pastures that I don't farm right now, although we did for m. Many years. But there's something about it. If you've got livestock and you see a really good field, it speaks to you. And we kind of see that in verse one of chapter 32, the children of Gad and Reuben came to Moses and Eleazar. And by the way, Bert, let me just say this. If you notice, whenever Moses is adjudicating an important decision and people have come to him for a decision, virtually always Eleazar or somebody is there with him. There's just some wisdom in multiple sets of eyes and ears, hearing what the leader, is doing, deciding on, isn't it?

>> Bert Harper: It is, and it's true in the family as well. That's why God desires father and mother, because. And they're different. Here is Moses, who is coming from the prophetic point, Eliezer, he the priest. And so you have this. I, I would say God's provision. But yet two human beings that might look at it a little different perspective. And it helps, Alex. It really does. So I think you get that. I think that was a good point you made.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. and look, if you're, no matter who you are, businessman or just neighbor, in the neighborhood, or certainly a pastor, if you've got an important decision to make, I would advise you, first of all, if you're a man in leadership, don't meet alone with a woman, have accountability. And there's just something about eyewitnesses, and multiple, you know, people present. So it doesn't digress to a, you know, he said, she said thing. but they're talking about this country which the Lord smoked before the congregation of Israel is a land I love. Verse four. so these people come from Reuben and Gad, and they say, even the country which the Lord smoked before the congregation of Israel is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle.

>> Caroline: Hey, yeah.

>> Alex McFarland: And, Moses, if we found grace in your sight, may we, have it for a possession? and, anyway, you know, for one thing, Moses has a little bit of, helps, him understand the hard position he's in. But this, they're. They're making a good sales pitch. Hey, that's a good land for cattle. And by the way, cattle is what we've got.

>> Bert Harper: It is. But they, man, they misstate. Because the latter part of verse 5, and do not take us over the Jordan. Now, I want to just tell you, I think because of that statement, Moses didn't hear the first statement. And, in other words, you mean you're not going over the Jordan to fight with us? No way. Now they're going to straighten it out. Looking ahead and when looking ahead that tomorrow. But be careful how you state things. Sometimes make a request, you might want to practice first and then not bring it in. You're not going over the Jordan. Hey, we want to, your phone call 880-858-98840.

>> Alex McFarland: I'll do some stand up comedy. Abe will do some preaching, and I'm really excited about it. The weekend with AFA is a chance for our supporters to get better acquainted with the people and ministry you're supporting. It's a weekend with AFA Thursday, October.

>> Bert Harper: 2 through Saturday, October 4, in Tupelo, Mississippi.

>> Alex McFarland: Speakers will include Abraham Hamilton III, Jenna.

>> Bert Harper: Ellis, Tim Barton, Tim Wildmon, and more.

>> Alex McFarland: [email protected] that's AFA.netweekend.

>> Caroline: I'Ve witnessed your faithfulness.

>> Bert Harper: I've seen you breathe life when it. So I pour out my praise again.

>> Alex McFarland: You're worthy, God.

>> Caroline: You're worthy of all your faith.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. He is worthy. I hope you know that. You've experienced the grace of God in your life and he's worthy of our praise. Well, we're going to take phone calls. We got some people that have taking their time to call. You can do that right now by calling Triple 858-98840.

Grant: We've got some prayer requests coming from Facebook

And, but before we do that, I know yesterday is prayer today, and I understand we got some prayer requests coming. Well, go ahead, Grant. And then I know Alex has got some as well. You guys take it away.

>> Alex McFarland: Right?

>> Bert Harper: these all came from Facebook. Thank you so much for contacting us there. Paulette is asking for prayers for her son who is in need of a job. Martha, is asking for prayers for her marriage and her husband's heart and her clarity. Becky is asking for prayers for her adult son and daughter who have cut all contact with their family. Oh, man. M m. That hurts. Okay, Alex, go ahead.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, yesterday we had, Jeff Shambley's daughter, Devin, who was going to get some cancer treatment. And I would ask people to pray for that. And then we had, Ah, ah, the Rosie. That is a little girl that's in ICU who reacted to some, some medicine. Well, an oral surgery and is in great, great pain. And Brent, did they say that little girl Rosie is seven. Do you remember?

>> Bert Harper: I don't exactly, but that sounds right. Alex, I can go back and check on that.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes. And then we had a couple. I'm not going to name all the names. three different adults who have said to us that they're. They're young adult children who once walked with the Lord have turned away from the Lord because of various issues and will not even communicate with mom and dad and Bert. I just would like that we pray for the parents of the prodigals. Because that is so hard. I mean, you care passionately about the soul of your children and whether it be about moral issues or whatever. And I've got to say this, that of all these children that become prodigals and rebels in their 20s, it's usually over issues that the Bible really is clear about. And so I just want to pray for the, the, the grieving parents who have children that have turned away from Christ.

>> Bert Harper: Alex Zard, if I pray?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, Lead us.

>> Bert Harper: Father, we are praying for these parents. Their hearts are hurting beyond measure. And you know what it is, you're our parent and you know what it is for your children to turn away. And I pray, Father, your Holy Spirit would work in the parents lives. Let them be consistent. Let them do their best to know what to do to maintain at least the contact with them, even though they may, the children may not want it. Help them to dwell in truth. And Father, I pray you would strengthen them. And I pray for those children as the prodigal was away and had all these things that he once had taken away and then he saw where he was. This is the whole idea. When he saw where he was. Father, I pray they would understand where they are away from you, away from family. I pray they would turn and come to you. I'm, praying, Father, for Paulette and her son, her job, Martha and her marriage with her husband, that they would be, as best they can to trust you and follow you. We're praying for Becky and those relationships that she has that's been cut off from her family like the ones we've been talking about and praying for Devin, Jeff's daughter, the treatment that she's receiving in Rosie, that little child. Father, we're asking you to do a work in their hearts and in their lives. We trust you. That's the bottom line. Father, help us. In Jesus name. Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Well said.

>> Bert Harper: well, let's go to the phone lines and first we go to Mississippi Heywood. Thank you for calling.

>> Caroline: Well, love your show. God bless you.

Is Enoch really considered one of the books that was removed by Catholic Church

Okay, I have a pastor friend and so the several other Christian friends, and we're discussing the Book of Enoch. and we're, we're not all in agreement about it. Is Enoch really considered one of the books that was removed by the Catholic Church back in the 500s, or is Enoch a relevant book for believers? And I'll listen to you.

>> Bert Harper: Let me ask this, Alex. Was it ever part of the New Testament canon at Any point in time, far as you know?

>> Alex McFarland: no, it was never part of the canon. we have a number of list of books that were recognized by, you know, really within about 50 years after the completion of the New Testament canon. Now the only, the group there was, there was a group of Ethiopian Jews that thought it was canonical. But some of the tests for canonicity was, you know, was it written by an apostle, somebody who was actually with Jesus? Was it recognized by the early church? Was it christological in its content? Did it point to Jesus? Did it exhibit divine authority? So the Book of Enoch is this ancient Jewish text and it's attributed to the great grandfather of Noah, although it's highly unlikely that's who wrote it, deals a lot with fallen angels. but it really was never part of the Old Testament Jewish canon. It was never part of the New Testament 27 books canon. And it's a, it's a historical curiosity. It's never been viewed as holy writ. one thing about the world in which we live, Burke, people will ignore what is known scripture to go speculate about something. Let me say it was never part of the Bible and then forcibly removed. Here's the thing. Why go, about something that is very speculative, promises nothing, demands nothing. when you've got in front of you the whole Bible that can tell you the way of salvation, the will of God and how to grow in your Christlikeness. time is a precious commodity. I would advise people not to waste it on these speculative things from the ancient world that were never quoted by Jesus, never recognized by the early church, never part of the canonical scripture.

>> Bert Harper: Let me give one real quick thought. If we can trust God to give it, and he did. Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. We can trust God to collect it, and he did. We can trust God to keep it, and he has. And so we got what we need in the Bible that we have today. thank you Heywood, so much. And go to Texas. Bill. Go right ahead.

>> Caroline: Hey Bert and Alex, thank you for taking my call. You two have made a profound difference in my life and I thank you.

Is Isaiah talking about Jesus coming, or is he talking about second coming

I have a question. I was looking at the book of Isaiah last night and I was reading where Isaiah was saying that, after the Assyrians and the Babylonians get through punishing Israel, as God was allowing to happen, that the Prince of Peace was going to be coming. And my question was, and, is Isaiah, ah, talking about Jesus coming, His first coming, or is he talking about the second coming, or am I wrong on both?

>> Bert Harper: Okay, Alex, you know where he's at?

>> Alex McFarland: It might be Isaiah 63. what do you think about that? that in, in Isaiah 60, 63, it does talk about what some people believe is the sec. Or it might be in Isaiah, Chapter two. here's my point. There's a lot about Isaiah that is, as Warren Wiersbe would say, the now and the not yet.

>> Bert Harper: Yes.

>> Alex McFarland: You know, and there, There can be the victory in a battle. And that sort of pre. Pre, figures the ultimate victory of Christ ruling and reigning all over the earth. You know, in Isaiah 2, it talks about that the loftiness of man will be brought down and that, you know, the glory of the Lord will shake the earth. and that will happen. You know, I definitely believe. But while Isaiah definitely alludes to the second coming of Christ, it's not happened already. There have been periodic victories and times when, you know, evil people were vanquished. But the ultimate, you know, when Christ comes ultimately to rule and reign over the whole wide world, there'll be no question, no ambiguity about it.

>> Bert Harper: Yeah. One of the greatest things. And I try to get this. And sometimes it's difficult. Like Psalm. Now, this is different. Psalm 22, when the Psalmist was writing, My God, my God, why have youe forsaken me? That was his feeling. Now, was that prophetic? Yes, it was. Did he know it was prophetic at that point in time? Well, when you read later on in parts of chapter 22, you say, okay, man, this is clear. So a lot of times, as you said, what has taken place, what will take place? And Alex, Isaiah has that in some prophecies. The Psalms have it in some of those. and, you know, it's. Let me put it this way. And we'll go to the next scholar. It's like Jesus with the two on the road to Emmaus. He took them aside and showed Him Himself out of all the Old Testament scriptures. I can just imagine those two people saying, oh, wow, why didn't I see that before? You know, you catch what I'm saying? and one of these days when I believe, when we'll get into that, we'll see. We're going to see some even things we haven't seen yet about how great God's word really is. And so, Bill, thank you. pray that God would bless you and keep it up the good work, brother.

Let's go to. Well, we're staying in Texas and go to Cassie. She's probably there

Let's go to. Well, we're staying in Texas and go to Cassie. Cassie go right Ahead. Cassie, are you there? Let me try one more time. She's probably there. Hate to take her off. Cassie, are you there? Well, I can't get her. Can you put her on hold there and we'll try to go back to her brand.

Okay, let's go to Deborah in North Carolina with a question

Okay, let's go to Deborah in North Carolina. Deborah, thank you for calling.

>> Caroline: yes, I need to ask a question. well with, with Enoch, was he. Is that with Jude?

>> Bert Harper: Did you refer to that? Yes, he did. That's in. That's where it comes a lot from. Yes, but G, things were referred to, which does not elevate it to you know, having it, you know, a, book in the Bible. So that's where it is there.

>> Caroline: Yeah.

Many colleges now allow you to cite Wikipedia in a course

Okay, let me ask you, what's going on with. I'm in seminary right now, but what's going on with a lot of these instructors? they won't use different commentaries like a minister commentaries. They, they, they're selective in the different commentaries that they use. Like I had to write a report and I used, this is twice I use a certain person commentaries that I like their commentaries. And two different teachers were saying, oh, we don't use those commentaries.

>> Alex McFarland: Do you mind me asking who it was, the commentary that was not approved?

>> Caroline: Yeah, it was Jimmy Swagger and he's a 90 year old man. I think he knows more than probably a lot of these people with the, with the new modern day.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, he just passed away a couple of weeks ago. you know, let me just say this. Different professors have different favorites they like or maybe don't like or gravitate toward for a lot of reasons. And you know, that's just one of the things about being in school that really. A lot of what school and certainly graduate education, seminary, like you're doing, it teaches you how to do research. And I guess all I would say is, if you're in a class and for example, for years and years and years, many, many colleges would not allow you to cite Wikipedia in a course. And believe it or not, it wasn't always this way. Wikipedia, which is the online encyclopedia, has come to be known as an incredibly trustworthy source. Very accurate. and now certain publishers and certain schools are allowing like let's say 10% of your footnotes to come from Wikipedia. I guess I would say don't don't worry too much about it. Every professor is going to have his personal things he allows or doesn't allow and just play within the sandbox as they say. do what you got to do to follow, the professor's guidelines. But one thing about Schoolbird, I think it's training us to do research. And then when you're out and maybe doing other writing and research, you can do all the research you want. One last thing sometimes, because I had my favorites too, and there were classes I took where I had to go by. The professor said, oh, we want you to go beyond your favorite, your short list of your favorites. And along the journey, it stretched me and I came across some new commentators I didn't know about yet, but ended up it. It grew me. You see what I'm saying?

>> Bert Harper: It did. It really does. And, you know, you also learn how to discern. Okay, look at that. You know, and, if you got a high regard for scripture that the word of God is God breathed and you know, it. It gets you in that high regard. So those that would diminish that proof, it lets you look at it and see, you hear it. But you say, okay, I see the fallacy of where he is. Deborah, thank you. Okay. I want to try. Cassie? Cassie, are you there? Cassie, are you there?

>> Caroline: Yes, sir.

>> Bert Harper: Go right ahead. Yeah, go. I can now.

>> Caroline: Okay. I'm so sorry. Yeah, I was actually just calling. I just got back from visiting my brother Clay in St. Louis, who is actually dying of cancer and he is not saved. And I'm just ask. I was just calling in a prayer request to that I have. I'm going to write him a letter. I. I didn't have the Holy Spirit. My heart is for evangelism, and missions, but I didn't have. While I was there. I just didn't feel the Holy Spirit this to share with him at that time. And so I just want to write him a letter and send him some tracts and just.

>> Bert Harper: Okay, well, we gonna. Those of you that are listening, right, Cassie down and pray for her. Her wisdom on knowing what to say, what to send. And pray for her brother that's dying with cancer, that he would be saved. That's our prayer request, Father, that you would work in his life, help Cassidy to know what to say. That would encourage him, challenge him. And I pray you'd send others to his side, Father, to help him to realize his need for a savior. Well, Alex, it's been good to be with you, brother.

>> Alex McFarland: Good to be with you. Cassie, check out the Billy Graham website. There's a tab about peace with God. And that might help you in writing that letter or even referring him to that website.

>> Bert Harper: Thank you for being with us here on Exploring the Word. And we'll be back tomorrow with more of numbers as we dive into God's Word to see what it has to say for us in 2025.

>> Alex McFarland: The views and opinions expressed in this.

>> Bert Harper: Broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of.

>> Alex McFarland: The American Family association or American Family Radio.

Numbers 31:1-32:5: Moses' Last Battle