Your chance to ask us your Bible question at 888-589-8840

>> Alex McFarland: it's fireaway 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.

>> Jim Stanley: It is ind. I'm Jim Stanley in for brother Bert Harper today. Pardon me. And, Alex, as I understand it, by the way. Joining me is Dr. Alex McFarland. You can find all things about Alex McFarland at Alex McFarland.com. that's Alex McFarland.com. but, Alex, I understand you and Bert were on a fishing trip this week.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, close the Fishbowl retreat now. It would be great to go on a fishing trip. Fishing is something I grew up doing, Jim. But, hey, it's great to be with everybody on this edition of Fire Away Friday on the American Family Radio Network. By the way, we'll take your Bible questions, all questions all the hour. If you want to call in, it's 888-589-8840. Triple 858-98840. And, Jim, let me say it's great to have you with us. We just appreciate you so much.

Jim: Fishbowl 2025 in Tennessee was a resounding success

but before we get into the calls and the questions, I gotta give a big shout out to Bert and Jan and American Family Association. This week at Pickwick Landing in Tennessee was the Fishbowl Retreat. And there were pastors from all over America, their wives. We just had the best time. And, you know, Jim, I was there to speak and, helpful, hopefully encourage pastors, and we talked about biblical worldview. But I want to tell you, it was me that got the blessing. Angie and I, we left yesterday after being there three days. And, man, my heart was just overflowing to hear what God is doing in churches all over America. One pastor, this is just an example, but we interviewed a pastor that, they are helping resurrect struggling churches. And in addition to the own, church they're pastoring, they have, saved seven churches and leading people to Christ. So many stories I could tell you, but Fishbowl 2025 was a resounding success and a blessing to all involved, myself included.

>> Jim Stanley: Amen. Well, I know Bert looks forward to that every year, and I'm glad that you were there this year. I know the folks got a blessing out of that. and so that's, That's a good report. We Appreciate you sharing that. By the way, folks, the number is, 358-98840. Triple 858-9840. And Alex is.

Alex Martin: What type of prayers should Christians avoid praying out loud

As the phone calls are coming in and the questions are getting loaded in there, I have a question from the email, okay, if you don't mind. And this is from Sharon, and it says that recently you and Bert were talking about being careful about what you pray out loud. You know, because the devil hears us, the demons hear us. Obviously he's not, omniscient, so he can't read our minds. But. But what type of prayers should Christians avoid praying out loud?

>> Alex McFarland: That is a great question. That's a great question. Because, you know, in First Peter, Chapter 5, it says that Satan stalks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And let me just say this. Just, just because someone gets saved and is born again, that doesn't mean that the devil is going to leave you alone. You know, I think throughout the life of a Christian, Satan will try to discourage us and harass us as much as he can. But let me say this. Satan, as I understand scripture and spiritual warfare, Satan cannot read our mind. But Satan is a very keen observer. And, I want to use this word carefully, Jim. And you feel free to agree or disagree with, but with our mouth. You know, Romans 10, 9, 10 says with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation, right? If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is the Lord. But people with their mouth can also confess negative and detrimental things. So for instance, I never would want to say out loud, you know, let's say somebody's praying and like, Lord, please be with me as I go minister in the inner city of, you know, Chicago, because I'm very afraid and Lord, I'm going to be down there at 3 o' clock and such and such. And I'm a very dangerous place that I'm going unassisted. I mean, here's the thing. while a Christian is indwelt with the Holy Spirit and is, sealed and protected, Satan has operatives that are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And, I don't think that we need to necessarily say out loud everything that's on our heart or every plan we're going to make. Because, the wicked one, John 10:10 says he comes to steal, kill and destroy. And so, I'm not paranoid and I'm not afraid. But Jim, I do try to be judicious in what I vocalize out lo and what I keep in my own Heart between myself and God.

>> Jim Stanley: Well, and we have to be, you know, you don't want to give the devil your game plan, but you certainly do want to be prayed up when you go in those types of situations. And I have found over the years, one of the prayers that. That I use more often than giving exacts is I give the exacts to, the Lord. But if someone asks me to pray over them or ask me to do this for them, I try to be careful that we pray for what they've asked for, but we also pray that they be in that situation, you know, that we would have the mind of Christ and that we would do the will of God. And when we do that, we don't give Satan a lot of room to work with because he can't overcome God. He can't overcome what God has planned for us.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen. And, folks, be confident you are victorious in Jesus, but at the same time, be mindful of the fact that until we get to heaven, we're in, a fallen world of spiritual warfare.

>> Jim Stanley: That's right. Well, Alex, the phone lines have filled up pretty quickly, so let's talk to Sharon calling from Mississippi. Sharon, good afternoon. Welcome to Exploring the Word.

>> Caroline: Thank you for taking my call. How are y' all today?

>> Alex McFarland: Blessed. Glad to have you.

Sharon: God allows Satan leeway with Job without taking his life

>> Caroline: Yeah. So my question is between kind of, the story of Job and Saul. I know that in the story of Job, God allow Satan, like, so much leeway with Job without taking his life. But then in Saul, when God removed his presence from him, and it says that he, like, took on an evil spirit, not. Not word for word, but. So did God put the evil spirit on him, or just because he removed his presence from it, allowed it?

>> Alex McFarland: That is a great question. That is a great question. And this is, 1st Samuel, chapter 16. It says the spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. And I think one of the keys is, and Jim, you feel free to jump in, from the Lord, and somebody might ask the question, oh, my goodness, does God have evil spirits or demons that work for him? Well, Satan and a third of the angels were cast out of heaven, and the demons, are enemies of God. However, whether they even know it or not, they can only do what God allows. And the fact was, King Saul, this is not Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul. That's in the book of Acts. This is in the Old Testament. Saul had so rejected God and so willfully turned to sin Tried to kill young David, I mean, and consulted with the witch of Endor. I mean, Saul was far afield of God's perfect will. And it says in 1st Samuel 16:14 that the Spirit of God departed from Saul. And it was so many, compounded acts of disobedience and unbelief. The Holy Spirit was gone. And that opened Saul up to the influence of a demon, really now, that evil it wasn't. Demons were not God's will. Satan's rebellion was not God's plan. However, every angel, every element, everything in the universe ultimately bows to the will of God and the sovereign power of God. And Jim, I'm going to say this. I'll throw it to you. Whether it be King, Saul of the Old Testament or modern people today, if you are not indwelt with and following the Holy Spirit, you're going to make yourself vulnerable to unholy spirits. It happened to Saul. It could happen to people today.

>> Jim Stanley: It absolutely can. You know, between here in Memphis, Tennessee, on what's now i22, there's a psychic that you can see from the highway. And, while you were talking about this, it made me think about the difference between a prophet and a psychic. A prophet comes to you with the word of God. A psychic comes to you with confusion because they have to ask all these different questions before they can even tell you what it is they're supposed to know. Because, you know, every time, anytime we pass that place, I never saw that person out on the side of 22 trying to flag me down because they had some word for me.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, exactly.

>> Jim Stanley: And so. And by the way, Tupelo, Mississippi, now has its own psychic office that's open for business. And, you want to talk about praying about something, there's something Tupelo needs to be praying about to pray that out, because we don't need the. There's enough bad spirits going on here. We don't need any extra help. So, man, that's. That was good stuff there. And Sharon, we appreciate your question this afternoon and hope you have a great weekend.

Bryn: I'm calling from New Mexico. Wow. Welcome aboard

Going to talk to Brent now. And Brent, I believe you're calling from New Mexico.

>> Caroline: That is correct.

>> Jim Stanley: Welcome aboard. How can we help?

>> Caroline: Well, you know, I've studied the Bible for years, but I've always had a difficulty on discerning what prophecies were supposedly for the children of Israel during the Old Testament time versus the world events that you see in the New Testament. And I was wondering if there was a easier way to determine how to tell the difference between the two. Well, Brent, there are some.

>> Bert Harper: Okay.

>> Alex McFarland: Sorry.

>> Jim Stanley: No, you're fine. Bryn, you have absolutely called the right place because my friend, Dr. Alex McFarland, that is one of his specialties.

>> Alex McFarland: Wow. well, God bless you. I'm very thankful we have listeners in New Mexico that is one of the most beautiful parts of America. And I've, I've been in a few places in New Mexico to speak and travel and, you're in some beautiful country, my friend.

There are some prophecies that are unique to the nation of Israel

But, Bible prophecy, there are, you know, the Bible writes history in advance because God is the author of the Bible. And there are some prophecies or predictions that are unique to the nation of Israel. In fact, Jim, Byrd and I write about this in this brand new book that we just released called 100 Bible Questions on Prophecy and the End Times. So let's talk about prophecies about Israel, prophecies about the church, and even prophecies about individual believers. For example, individual, believers have things that are very personal in nature. Like if you're a born again Christian, you've trusted the Lord as your savior. Well, he will never leave you or forsake you. he will give you wisdom. James 1, verse 5. He knows what you need even before you ask. Matthew 6, 8. But there are prophecies, like, unique to the nation of Israel. Like, God said that in the last days he would bring them back to their land. He would gather them from the four winds. And also I would say this, that God promised, Israel that there would be a day when ultimately all the living Jews in the world would simultaneously be in their land, plus believing in Messiah. Now, we've got to take a break, so let's.

>> Jim Stanley: Yeah, that's what I was going to say. I wasn't sure if you heard the music or not. Alex, hold on to that and we'll come back and let you break it down a little more for Brent from New Mexico.

American Family Radio supports preborn network clinics to help women choose life

Folks, you're listening to Fire Away Friday with Exploring the Word right here on American Family Radio.

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Everybody's been down. Just take a breath. Hit the bottom, hit the ground. We are overcomers in Jesus Christ. Don't

>> Caroline: Everybody's been down. Hit the bottom, hit the ground. Oh, you're not al. Just take a breath. Don't forget, hang on to his promises. He wants you to know you're an overcomer.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. We are overcomers in Jesus Christ. Blessings to you one and all.

Fire Away Friday resumes with calls from New Mexico and Alabama

This is Fire Away Friday, and we're going to resume with the calls. By the way, the number, if you have a Bible question, it's 888-589-8840. With me in the studio, Jim Stanley, the great Jim Stanley. And, hey, before the break, we had a call from New Mexico. Brent. can we pick up on that again, Jim?

>> Jim Stanley: Yes, sir.

>> Alex McFarland: Hey, Brent, are you still there?

>> Caroline: Yes, I am.

Jim Olin: God makes promises to Israel and to the church

>> Alex McFarland: Wonderful. We were talking, your question was about, promises to Israel versus, like, promises to the church. So what I was saying, and I'll be somewhat brief about this, but, for example, as a Christian, you know, God will never call on you fellow Christians to go fight some Canaanites or some Amorites, because God gave the land of Israel to, the nation of Israel. Now what's very interesting is that God's word, some promises to there's ethnic Israel and there's national Israel. Now if you're a born again Christian, you're a part of spiritual Israel. Galatians 6:16 says, Blessed be the Israel of God. But folks, please listen carefully and we could do a whole show on this. Israel still, ethnic Jews and national Israel still have great promises from God. And I want to say in no uncertain terms, the church, the body of born again believers has not somehow, quote, replaced Israel. Paul addresses this in Romans 3:3 and Romans 11, and many other scriptures as well, that God's covenant to Abraham, that they would become a great nation, that through Abraham, the Messiah would come, that's Jesus. But also that one day Jews would fully occupy their land in a state of belief. God's covenant promise to national Israel is Forever and is unbreakable. And I would encourage people to read Jeremiah 31, 34, 36, Romans 11, 28, 32, because the fact that Jesus died 2,000 years ago and it was my sins, this sinful Gentile, Alex McFarland's sins put him on the cross the whole wide world. And so somehow the crucifixion of Christ, people think that nullified the Abrahamic covenant. I disagree. Now this is amazing. In Isaiah 66, 8, 10, which was written 750 B.C. god says that he would restore the nation of Israel in one day. That happened May 14, 1948. God promised in Isaiah 11 that the Jews would return to Israel from all over the earth. That was a prophecy. They would come from north and south. Now what's. And by the way, it says in Ezekiel 36 that when God restores Israel, it will be more fruitful and more prosperous than at any time in history. And that's true to this present moment. One last thing. I could say so much, folks, you gotta get the brand new book Bert and I wrote on Bible prophecy published by Broad Street. But here's the thing, Jim, this will amaze you. The Bible says that in the last days God would use gentiles to, to bless the nation of Israel. And we have seen that, by the way, three people besides Jews, like Herzog and there was Chaim Weitzman and David Ben Gurion, they were Jewish, but then there was Arthur Balfour, Winston Churchill and Harry Truman. Three gentiles helped Israel be reborn. Right now, today, our president, Donald J. Trump is the greatest, American president in terms of being a friend to Israel. And that's a prophecy that in the last times, this is really in Romans 11, 1127, that God would bless Israel in the last days through the Gentiles. So I wish I could remember the name of Herzog, the Jew. But here's my point, Jim, that God's prophecies always come true. And some are to Israel, some are to the church, and many are to we believers individually. But God's word is trustworthy and we can depend on it.

>> Jim Stanley: Absolutely. It is the one thing that you can depend on every day at any given time. Brent, thanks for calling. Have a great weekend. Going to talk to Olin. Calling now from Texas.

Olin asks two questions about atonement and redemption

Olin, welcome to Exploring the Word.

>> Caroline: Yeah, that got two questions. I read, the difference between atonement, and redemption. I think I know the answer in my other question is in the book of James it says don't hang around a certain kind of people. I, can't remember exact failure, but I hope y' all can give me some insight on that.

>> Jim Stanley: Thank you. All right.

>> Alex McFarland: And what was the first word?

>> Jim Stanley: Atonement.

>> Alex McFarland: Oh, atonement. Oh, okay. Of course. Do you want to start with that, Jim, or you want me to?

>> Jim Stanley: No, brother, you can go ahead.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, you know, atonement means the payment of a debt or the canceling out of a debt. And when Jesus died on the cross, and you remember, the sky became dark and the earthquaked and the rocks rent, and the curtain in the temple, was torn from top to bottom. Well, what happened on Calvary's cross 2000 years ago was the appropriate measure of God's wrath that we deserved was put on Jesus. And he suffered on that cross. And our sin debt was paid. Human sin was atoned for. Now that, forgiveness is appropriated to us when we put our faith in Jesus. Now, just because, Jesus paid our sin debt doesn't mean it's just automatically conferred. We have to accept and believe. And I'll put it this way, Jim. Jesus, death, burial, and resurrection makes salvation possible. Our response to that free gift makes salvation actual. And so, there's Christian birth when we put our faith in Jesus, but then there's Christian growth. You know, we are like newborn, babes. Desire the sincere milk of the word. That's really sanctification, the process of becoming more and more conformed to the image of Christ. But the atonement speaks to the fact that on the cross, Jesus, God incarnate, paid our sin debt.

>> Jim Stanley: Amen. You know, that's exactly what I was going to say. That's why I let you answer that question.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. You know, it's a precious thing, isn't it? And I love music. Oh, my goodness, Jim, if I'm awake, I'm probably thinking of a song. And there's one that says Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.

>> Jim Stanley: Amen. Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: so many of the great songs deal with that precious reality of Christ's atonement.

>> Jim Stanley: Sure does. Well, Olin, thank you for the call. Let's talk to Jeff, now calling from Ohio.

Jeff: I was looking for some easy read books to give to unbelievers

Jeff, good afternoon. Welcome to Exploring the Word.

>> Caroline: Hey, gentlemen.

>> Alex McFarland: I'm a believer, and I have.

>> Caroline: Some friends and family that, are not believers. And I was looking for some, easy read, you know, quick and easy read books that you would recommend that I could give to them.

>> Alex McFarland: God bless you. God bless you let me encourage you, go to the Billy Graham website. Now, there's a lot we could say, but there's two things. For one, Billy Graham has a little booklet called Peace with God Sometimes. The title on it says Steps to Peace with God. Just a very little book. And many, many years ago, I just so wanted to be able to lead people to Christ. And I was so awkward and just very unsure of how to talk to people about Jesus. And I just about memorized the little Billy Graham booklet, Steps to Peace with God. The other thing I would encourage you to do, and you can find this as a free PDF and, and folks, I cannot overstate how good this book is. It's called the Billy Graham Christian Workers Handbook. That's what it's called, the Billy Graham Christian Workers Handbook. Now you ought to buy it. It's a great little book. I found out they've got it as a free downloadable PDF and you could download it and print it out. But Jim, there's so much in there about how to have assurance of your own salvation, how to share the gospel with others and lead people to Christ, but then just, an A to Z of what the Bible says about a lot of issues and in personal evangelism. I just don't think I could recommend anything better than the work of Billy Graham. But Jim, certainly you have some favorites too, I'm sure.

>> Jim Stanley: Well, you know, there are a couple out there that I like. But I think if you go to the Billy Graham website there, it, can answer so many other questions that you might have while you're there. One of the great things about that website and the products that they have, and I certainly could not outdo Billy Graham. Jeff, one thing I would caution you about, and I say this, from life experience, so hear my heart, not just my words. be careful. I want you to witness to your family and I want you to witness to your friends. But when, sometimes when we go about trying to give somebody a book, you know, it's like we have already judged them and found them to be sinners, whether they are or not, whether they've repented or not. so we have to be care, especially with family, we certainly don't want to appear arrogant or something more than we ought not there. So live Jesus every day. You be the witness and then use the book as a backup. But you be Jesus to them day in and day out. And, I think that they would find that a book worth reading as well. And so I would throw that caution out There. So, man, bless you in your journey. And, I believe it's B, E G a dot com, B, E G a dot com or no B, G, E, a Billy Graham evangelistic association, uh,.com or.org. you'll be able to find some of those resources there. And next time I go to quote a website, I'll be sure and have that in front of me, too. All right, let's talk to Tom now calling from Tennessee.

One question is the Bible says Christians are grafted into Israel

Tom, good afternoon. Welcome to Exploring the Word.

>> Caroline: Thanks for taking my call. You've got a great program and, I've got, you take your pick of either one of these questions. One is, can you recommend, a book or two that would explain dispensational, doctrine clearly and also give a fair presentation of the other views to help me make up my mind. And the other question is the Bible says that Christians are grafted into Israel. But then a lot of times I hear people talking about it and it almost sounds like we're grafted in now. But then when the end times event, like maybe the Rapture or whatever, at some point we're going to be ungrafted and Israel is going to kind of be on its own and those promises don't apply to us. So can you help me over whatever. I'm misunderstanding about that.

>> Jim Stanley: Hey, Tom, I would encourage you to listen, to the podcast this evening or sometime and hear some of what Alex said earlier. But Alex, on, on those topics there, you know, what can we do to be clearer about that? How can we as Christians present that to be clearer so that we're not giving the confusion? Because the devil loves confusion.

>> Alex McFarland: He really does. And let me be very clear that all true Christians, regardless of what, denomination or what theological system maybe somebody has kind of gotten on board with. We all believe that Jesus, died on the cross, rose again, the Son of God gave his life, and we are saved through faith in him. So I want to be very clear the points of orthodoxy on which we all agree. The atonement by the blood of Jesus. The tomb is empty. Keep, your eyes on the eastern sky. Christ is coming back. And dispensational, non dispensational, covenant, Calvinist, Arminian, we all agree on these things. And there's far, far, far more that unites us than divides us.

Today is Reformation Day, and everything happening is in response to obedience

Now, that being said, and this is so appropriate, oh, my Goodness, today is October 31st. And let me tell you what day it is, folks. It's Reformation Day. It was on this day, in 1517 and we are riding on the ripple effect of Martin Luther. He nailed a document to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. Salvation is by faith, not works. And the Gospel spread throughout Europe. And here we are, we are really today, everything happening is going on in response to some courageous obedience 500 years ago. Plus now, with that being said, Jim, in the aftermath of the Reformation, really within the next 250 years after, in the Netherlands, you had Minnow Simons starting what would become the Baptist Church. And you've got Lutheranism in Geneva, Switzerland. And in Scotland, you had John Calvin and John Knox, you know, pioneers of what would become the Presbyterian Church. And in England, you had the Wesleys and, Wesleyanism and the Methodist Church. And so you've got these different groups that God used mightily and uses to this day. But here's my point. and this is a little bit why I don't get all upset about, dispensational or non dispensational, although I would unapologetically call myself a dispensationalist because it's the Greek word for economy, oikonomi, that God works in different eras. Let me just say this, Jim. there's the New Covenant and the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant, God told Israel, in faith, look toward the Messiah that would come. Now, in faith, we're under the New Covenant. We look back at the Messiah that did come, and we are born again, made alive through faith in Jesus. So even the most ardent non dispensationalist has to agree that at different periods of history, God worked with people in different ways. Pre Calvary, post Calvary. Now, that being said, well, let's take a brief break. I'm going to come back and I'll button this down, I promise. But, for this point so far, we all agree in Jesus.

>> Jim Stanley: Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: I'll tell you about some differences after the break. How about that, Jim?

>> Jim Stanley: Sounds good, folks.

American Family Association's mission is to strengthen moral foundations of our culture

This is Fire Away Friday here on Exploring the Word. Thank you for listening to American Family Radio. The American Family Association's mission is to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of our culture. We also support the church. Our goal is to be a leading organization in biblical worldview training or cultural transformation. AFA believes that all men and women, whether in private or public, should be.

>> Alex McFarland: Free to exercise their faith without hindrance from the government. Thank you for standing with the American Family Association.

Jim Stanley: Exploring the Word with Alex McFarland this afternoon

>> Jim Stanley: Good afternoon and welcome back to Exploring the Word here on American Family Radio. I'm Jim Stanley, along with Dr. Alex McFarland. And we appreciate you joining, us this afternoon. Brother Burt needed an extra day off. Alex showed up for work, but Brother Burt didn't. We'll, we'll figure that out. No, not really. the, the guys had the fishbowl retreat this week, and there they ministered to pastors and pastors wives from across the country. And I know that's always a special time.

Jim: Alex McFarland is committed to revival in America

Alex, you know, before we get back to the question, and I do want to get back to it, you had mentioned earlier that you wanted to chat about some things that you had coming up. And, I remind folks they can Visit Alex, McFarland.com. that's Alex McFarland.com. and they can see your schedule, they can find information on how to bring you to them, and they can also find some resources that you have available there. And so what are some things you'd like to highlight? Because I know you've always got something, and I mean that in a good way.

>> Alex McFarland: we've had a great year, man. Seven summer youth camps. And we did five conferences this summer, including hosting Charlie Kirk for just a little over two weeks before he, passed away. And God, is so good. Just this past weekend, I was in Somerset, Pennsylvania, Pastor Roy Burkitt and Living Hope Christian Church. And it was just great. But, coming up, Wednesday, I'll be in Rochelle, Georgia. Then next, a week from today, I'll be at Fort Caswell on the North Carolina coast with, I'm told, 900 teenagers. And so please keep that in prayer. But my travel schedule [email protected] I'm always in a church or a city somewhere. And let me just say to everybody listening in your church, I am so committed to revival in America that I've never, never really solicited for speaking engagements because they just come. But Jim, we have got what I call the event preparation manual. 25 years of doing conferences, crusades, and it's just a free book that I wrote on how to get a prayer committee together, how to get multiple churches together. And if you want to do an event in your city in 26 or even 27, Jim, twice this year, once down, near Birmingham, and just this past month near Jackson, Mississippi, we had citywide crusades. But we need a revival in America. And wherever you are, if you want to have a citywide revival, we might can help you do that, whether I'm the evangelist or whomever. But email us and I'll send you our Event preparation manual. How you and the churches of your city can link arms, you can pray, and the power of God will move in your city. And we certainly do need it, don't we, Jim?

>> Jim Stanley: We absolutely do. And folks, I've known Alex goodness a long time. We'll go with that.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Jim Stanley: But, you know, I've never seen him refuse a church because it may be quote, unquote, too small. he encourages you to get a couple of churches together maybe, but it's one of those things that you've heard that and we've said it a lot on here. Alex Burt, myself will preach at a drop of a hat. And sometimes we'll drop the hat. So, you know, when I, when I encourage you to bring Alex to your community, I do that, with a, with a very sincere belief that if he can minister to you, he absolutely will. And if he can find time in his, in his calendar, he will. And like he said, go ahead and get lined up for 26 or 27 should the Lord. Terry, it's never too early to start planning, I can promise you that. And so I encourage you again, Alex mcfarland.com.

Jim: Dispensationalism is based on a biblical view of salvation

alex, let's go, let's go back to the question there that we were talking about just before the break.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. in the aftermath of the Reformation, as the gospel spread throughout Europe and it came across to the colonies in the 1700s, you know, ministers and thinkers began to try to systematize, okay, what do we believe about the return of Christ? And what do we believe about salvation and election? And you've got to understand this is huge. This was prior to May 14, 1948 and the rebirth of the nation of Israel. And there emerged several systems. And we're not going to go all into them, but essentially, the Color Asteroid has some book recommendations. Let me encourage you to Google a couple of books. one is by Charles Ryrie, and it's simply called Dispensationalism. Another is by Clarence Larkin. L A R K I N. This is a great book. It's an older book, but it's imprint Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth. And basically what dispensationalism says is throughout history there's been one plan of salvation. Jesus, who shed his blood on Calvary's cross. But God has worked. And what he's doing from in the Garden of Eden, he promised Adam and Eve that he would send the Messiah. He called forth Abraham, he raised up Israel, he said that Messiah would come and Jesus did. And then Jesus is going to come again and establish his kingdom on earth. Now here's the point that I'm getting at is that whether it be covenant theology, dispensational theology, reformed, replacement, theology, which I disagree with, I do not think the church replaced Israel. I think the, the covenant promises to the seed of Abraham are still in effect, but that doesn't negate the reality of the church. I want to say this, folks, regardless of what camp you land in, let's remember that, first John 5:1 says, whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. We're family. We're family no matter where you are. Theologically, not be cocky about the camp we're in. Let's not be condescending about those in some different camps. Although, Jim, look, I'm a preacher. I got an opinion on everything. But the thing that we need to have a high opinion of is unity in the body of Christ. Am I right?

>> Jim Stanley: Absolutely. That is, that's something that we strive for, that we need to strive for and strive for even more every day. So, man, that's, that's great. Thanks for that answer and thanks for the question. and let's talk to Donna now calling from Oklahoma.

Donna called about her brother in law who had a bad colonoscopy

Donna, welcome to Exploring the Word. Hello.

>> Caroline: Donna called earlier this week about my two brother in laws, Bonnie and Donnie. Donnie is some better, but Fonny is not. They did a CT today. They're going to have to go back in and do more surgery and this will be a month now for messed up colonoscopy. I want you to pray for him. But I have had a question last week and I was the last caller and didn't get to ask. It were Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel Unix.

>> Jim Stanley: All right, Donna, that's a, that's certainly an interesting question. And Alex, that, you know, there's a lot of different information out there about that. you know, some, some say it's because he was a court official and that they may not have been, eunuchs in, in the sense that they were castrated, but that they were in service in the king's court. there's some other things that are out there, but this, this could be one of those quote unquote opinion questions. Yeah, you know, how. What do you think about that? I mean, because I, it caught me off guard, I'll be honest with you. And so I did some quick research on it and found, you know, some scripture there in Daniel, first chapter three through seven, that it talked about they were under the charge of the Chief of Eunuchs. And so, you know, tell us what you think, brother.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, I don't know that it definitively says just because maybe the warden or the overseer of these Hebrew prisoners might have been a eunuch himself. It doesn't necessarily say that all of the, people under his charge were. So I just. I don't know, and I don't know that we can get a definitive word on that from the scripture. I think the big takeaway from Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego was that they were so brave in their stand for their belief in God, they were willing to get thrown in the fiery furnace for it. And, there was a fourth man in the fire. That's right, the son of God who spared their life. But, I just don't know that there's enough in the Bible that we could definitively say.

>> Jim Stanley: Jim, I agree with that. By the way, you were talking about music earlier.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah.

>> Jim Stanley: And that Fourth man in the Fire, that's a. That's an old Southern gospel song, and it still rings true today.

>> Alex McFarland: They, they, they, they didn't bow, they wouldn't bend. Is that the song?

>> Jim Stanley: That's the one, brother.

>> Alex McFarland: You know, I love Southern gospel music, at least a couple times a year, man, that I just get a bug to listen to a lot of Southern gospel. Do you?

>> Jim Stanley: Absolutely. And, you know, there. That's one thing about Amazon Music, Spotify Music, and I, think there are some other music carriers out there as well, that you can pretty much build your own playlist of what you want to hear. And, it will do. You know, it'll play that for you. There's a lot of garbage out there, too, but if you're putting together your own playlist, you can kind of pick out the. The pick of the litter, if you will. Well, let's talk to Cindy calling from Kansas.

More and more people are speaking disparagingly of the Jewish people

Cindy, good afternoon, and welcome to Exploring the Word.

>> Caroline: Well, thank you for taking my call. And I try to listen to you every day, and you help so many people. I hope you can give me a good word here. I have some grandkids. They're young, the old, they're 20, 19 to 25. And there's a podcaster out now. I hope I get his name right. It's. I think it's Nick Fuentes, and he's got an awful lot of followers, and he is telling people that the Jews are no longer the chosen, that the Holocaust really didn't happen, and things like that. And they're not taught in school anymore like we were taught. I'm in my 70s, and. And I'm. I don't. I don't want to. I want to know how to go about all of this in, in trying to school them that this person isn't telling the facts. And that's my question. And, And I'll. I'll hang up and turn the radio back up and listen to you.

>> Jim Stanley: All right, thank you. Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah. I'm hearing his name more and more, and I don't know everything about him. and so I'm saying this with a little bit of, you know, hesitancy because, you know, it's only. I'm going to say in the last couple of weeks that I've just begun to hear his name over and over and over. So I can't, definitively speak, but let me say this. over the last, really, I'm going to say year, I've been hearing more and more of people that are otherwise conservatives and even sometimes Christians that speak disparagingly of the Jewish people and also say that, you know, America, should not support Israel and certainly Christians shouldn't. And I think, although I could stand to be corrected and, you know, anybody can correct me if I'm speaking wrong, it seems like Nick Fuentes is in the camp along with more recently people like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlsen. And listen, years ago, I interviewed Candace Owens many years ago and was, on a Tucker Carlsen show a long, long time ago. But yet I've been hearing more and more people who, are in the conservative and or Christian conservative camps. And they'll. They'll say things that indicate the modern state of Israel means nothing, that the modern Jewish people are not related to the biblical Jews. and all these things I disagree with, whether it be Nick Fuentes or whomever. Now let me just say this, that God told Abraham, I will build with you an everlasting covenant seed, soil and savior. you're going to have more descendants than the stars of the heaven everywhere your foot treads. I'm going to give you that land. Through you, all the families of the earth would be blessed. Now, here's the thing. In Romans 3:3 and Romans 11, Paul says, shall Israel's unbelief make the promises of God to no effect? Heaven forbid. So just because Jesus died on the cross. And I want to say categorically and again, this is so perfect on October 31st, that we're saying this, categorically true, Christians would never say that the Jews were Christ killers. I know Martin Luther. In the end of his life, when he probably had dementia, Luther said some horribly anti Semitic things and people like Adolf Hitler ran with it, sadly. So while we're all indebted to Martin Luther, at the very same time, we don't uncritically agree with everything Luther ever said or did or wrote. And what Luther wrote in the end of his life, being critical of the Jews, I categorically, unequivocally reject and condemn. And so, Jim, let me say this. I was on two or three shows with the Jewish Federation of North America. Folks, listen, every Jew on the planet is related to either Sarah, Rebecca, Raechel or Leah. They are. And when people say to me, well, the land of Israel does not belong to the Israelites, well, for goodness sakes, who does it belong to then? Not us Gentiles, folks. We should support Israel for many reasons, political, moral and spiritual. The modern Jews absolutely are the Jewish people. There is no ethnicity on earth that has been as meticulous and careful documenting their family lineages back thousands of years. And the death of Jesus 2000 years ago in no way nullified the covenant promises God made to the children of Israel. So please, don't be misled. Please. Psalm 122. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and Christians. Americans, citizens, believers, we must and we shall stand with Israel.

>> Jim Stanley: Absolutely. Folks. You're listening to Exploring the Word on American Family Radio. That's Dr. Alex McFarland. I'm Jim Stanley. Alex, we were talking about the fourth man in the fire there a minute ago. And, that is music from the Statler Brothers. And, you know, love the Statler Brothers. They are awesome. So the lyrics were, they wouldn't bend. They held on to the will of God, so we are told. They wouldn't bow. They would not bow their knees to the idol made of gold. They wouldn't burn. They were protected by the fourth man in the fire. They wouldn't bend. They wouldn't bow, they wouldn't burn. That's good stuff for the weekend, isn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen. And you know that fourth man in the fire, like unto the son of God, he is the son of God, Jesus, and he's as close by as a prayer.

>> Jim Stanley: Amen, Folks, thank you for joining us today. And I encourage you to go to afr.net and listen to the podcast for some of the programs you may have missed or that you want to hear again. Alex, you and Bert are back in next week.

>> Alex McFarland: Yes, sir. And folks, be in church on Sunday. Bring somebody into the sound of the gospel, find a good church and be in your place in the house of God on Sunday. Blessings to you all.

>> Caroline: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of.

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

It's Fire Away Friday!

✍️ Episode References

Dr. Alex McFarland
https://www.alexmcfarland.com 

PreBorn Network
https://www.preborn.com 

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
https://www.bgea.org 

American Family Association
https://www.afa.net