Why Was God Silent for 400 Years Between the Old and New Testament?

Why was God silent for 400 years between the Old and New Testaments? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi, I'm Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. We'd love to hear from you. Here's our phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Feel free to leave a voicemail if you've got our voicemail system. You can also email us anytime with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Let's go to Jeff, who's calling in from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Jeff, what's your question for Adriel? Hey, thank you so much for bringing me on.

I've gained so much wisdom listening to you, so I try not to miss it every day. Pastor, I have a sensitive, but I think maybe a timely subject for myself as a Christian, trying to be strictly biblical. Early in Genesis, it speaks of, obviously, a created man and a created woman. I have some scholars, quote-unquote, that claim that the Bible is invalid because of the relations that you have to have to procreate between a man and a woman means that there had to be an intra-family activities going on multiple times between brothers, sisters, mothers, sons, daughters, and now in modern days that is considered not appropriate and also a sin. So how do I approach explaining the creation and the procreation of humans and when did it all of a sudden begin to be not considered okay to be with someone of like a sister or a mother? And aren't we all, if we're all related to Adam and Eve, having ancestral relationships technically on a grand scale? I have real trouble with that explaining and evangelizing to non-Christians and even fellow Christians.

Yeah. All right, Jeff, appreciate that and especially the sort of apologetic thrust of your question as you're having conversations with people. Well, look, we believe that God created all things that He made Adam and Eve, that they were the first couple, that they began to have children.

And so you do have this very small community. And I've heard some people make the argument, you know, well, this is the most purest bloodstream, if you will. They didn't have the kind of genetic problems that we have today when you marry within the family because it's newly created. I don't know.

I don't know about all that. I do know that when you're looking at the early chapters of Genesis, right? When Genesis chapter four, verse 17 says, Cain knew his wife and she conceived and bore Enoch. It is probably referring to it.

I mean, it is referring to a relative, probably his sister. The very next chapter, chapter five, verse four, the days of Adam, after he fathered to Seth were 800 years and he had other sons and daughters. Thus, all the days that Adam lived were 930 years and he died.

And so it's clear that they're having these large families and there's marriage within the family. It's also clear that this was something that was condemned later on or prohibited later on in Levitical law. And so not something that God continued to permit, if you will. This was something that was taking place in the early days of the creation. So Leviticus chapter 18 in verse nine, for example, says, you shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home.

So there were these prohibitions in places like Leviticus 18 against incestuous relationships because this was not how it was intended to be for all time. And so, and then just more broadly speaking, the question of like, well, what about now? Doesn't that mean that we're all kind of interrelated? Well, as the human race, the answer is yes. I don't know that that's necessarily an argument against the Christian faith or anything that we need to be too concerned about.

But that's what I mean. I think that's what the Bible gives us. And so we have to realize what we're working with or thinking about this God who created all things, all people, the first family, and you have to grow from there. And so it looks like something is not just God like inventing people out of thin air, if you will, apart from making Adam and Eve from the dust of the ground and from nothing, if you will. And so I appreciate your question.

Hopefully that's helpful. I don't know, in terms of the discussions that you're having with others, whether that's going to be fully satisfactory for them. But I think that's the vision that the scripture gives to us. And it's something we don't have to be ashamed of. So God bless.

Interesting question. Thanks, Jeff, for calling in. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Jeff calling in from Arkansas. Jeff, what's your question for Adriel? Yes, Pastor, thank you. I want to thank you for accepting my phone call.

I appreciate this. I was wanting to know about fasting. I'm confused about the whole deal.

I'd like to know what you do about it, the whys, the hows, and the whens. If you could explain this to me, please. Yeah, fasting is a part of Christian piety, a part of prayer. I think we might refer to it as a specific kind of prayer, drawing near to the Lord in this earnest way, saying, I'm going to abstain from food, or maybe from some other thing that typically distracts me and keeps me from drawing near to the Lord.

I'm going to abstain from this and focus on calling upon the name of the Lord. Now, there aren't fast days that you have to observe. Of course, the Pharisees in the days of Jesus, they would fast on particular days. And throughout the history of the church, there have been some who have made a case for these days that you have to have to fast on. And the Reformation was very much not interested in that specifically. We can't bind the consciences of God's people, telling them they have to worship God in this way at this time, because God has not said that. Nevertheless, I think fasting, Jeff, is appropriate in certain instances. I think it's wise for a church, or maybe for a group of Christians, or even for just you as an individual at different points in your life to stop and say, hey, we need to pray about this.

It could be sickness in the family. It could be a significant need that your particular church has, where you stop as a congregation and say, brothers and sisters, let's join together for a day and pray and fast and ask the Lord to meet this need. And so this is something that we see in scripture in both the Old Testament and in the New Testament. And remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6. When you fast, don't look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces and that their fasting may be seen by others.

Truly, I say to you, they've received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your Father who is in secret and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. In other words, Jeff, this is a way for you to draw near to God and to call upon the name of the Lord in this earnest way as you feel led by the Spirit for the needs that you have, needs in your family, needs in your church. And when those needs are big and experienced by a group of people, then at times it's good and wise to come together as the people of God and to pray and to fast.

And I would say don't bite off more than you can chew, right? So if this is something that you've not done ever before as a Christian, don't just do it because you feel like you need to do it. Again, if there's something difficult going on, a challenge that you face, or even just wanting to give thanks to the Lord for something, stopping and saying, hey, I'm going to do this because I feel led to do it.

And maybe that looks like just, you know, instead of the time that I normally suspend making breakfast or lunch and eating, I'm going to spend some time in private worship and prayer and asking the Lord to meet this need that I have on this day or for these days. And I think that's honoring to the Lord and good. So thank you, Jeff.

Good counsel. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We want to invite you to join a special group of people. We've talked about this group of folks before. They are people that believe so strongly in this ministry and listen to this radio program and believe in what we do, that they have made a commitment to support us on a monthly basis, and we call them our inner core. Yes, brothers and sisters, thank you for those of you who are a part of the inner core.

So many of you have joined, and we're just so blessed by your support, blessed by your prayers and by your gifts. And we want to invite those of you who are not a part of the inner core to consider joining. This is a great way to partner together for the kingdom of God, the advancement of His word in the world. And that's what we want to do. We want to see people grow in their relationship with Christ through a sound understanding of what the Bible teaches. And so if you've been blessed by the work that we do, and if you want to help others grow in this as well, would you join the inner core?

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Here's what you do. You go to our website corechristianity.com forward slash inner core. That's corechristianity.com forward slash inner core.

We'd love to have you consider joining this week. Well, we do receive voicemails here at Core Christianity. And here's one that came in from one of our listeners named Arturo. My question is, after Malachi, it seemed like it was just so much a fallout of sin and disregard for God's law. And it almost seemed like God gave humanity a time out. And then along came, for God so loved the world, our Lord and precious Lord and Savior. Could you give me your opinion on that? Thank you for everything you do. You're a blessing.

Hey Arturo, thank you for that question. Yeah, they're sometimes referred to as the silent years, you know, the time between Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, one of the minor prophets, and when we get to the gospels. And of course, there are other things that were going on during that time among the Hebrew people, but we don't believe that we have any inspired revelation that was given during that time.

And then, as you said, out of the blue it seems, right? The Son of God, the eternal Word of the Father, assumes humanity from the womb of the Virgin Mary. And that's precisely what the Bible said would happen. I think of the prophecy in Isaiah chapter 53, a really well-known prophecy when we're thinking about the suffering of Christ, the suffering servant of the Lord who bears our sins. But it begins like this, who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground.

What was the context of Jesus's birth, his coming to the world? It's like a desert, a spiritual desert, a spiritual wasteland. You think of, you know, the state of the temple, which Jesus in his earthly ministry is going to turn upside down, right?

I mean, it's saying something to us. And so what happened is, I don't know that we would call it a spiritual timeout, but there was this trajectory, this downward trajectory, if you will. And so Christ comes preaching the kingdom, calling Israel to repentance, calling people to trust in him because the kingdom is at hand.

It's here. But again, the context in which he came is like a root out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire. And this is one of the reasons why so many people missed him. And so, you know, what we see when we look at redemptive history, the Bible, you know, the Old Testament and the New Testament is the story of God revealing himself to his people and intervening in the affairs of the world to save us. And there were times where God was very active in speaking, delivering his people from Egypt and so on and so forth. And there were other times where it seemed like he wasn't as active, where there was a drought, if you will, of God's word. But nevertheless, the Lord was present.

It's a good reminder for us. You might feel like the Lord is distant or like he's not really working, but he is. He's always working by his spirit, preparing the soil, if you will, for the advancement of his gospel. And so we get to be a part of that through Jesus.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Jared calling in from Missouri. Jared, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, Pastor Adriel. I appreciate you taking the call. I've been stuck on this order of Melchizedek.

Sorry, it's hard to say, of course. And I've been really struggling with the tithing and offering system and whether or not this order of Melchizedek is anything. Do you know what I'm saying there?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Melchizedek, Genesis chapter 14, he's this mysterious figure who shows up on the scene, blesses Abraham after a great battle, and he's called a priest of the Most High God. Abraham gives him a tithe, which again, all of this is sort of strange.

He just comes out of nowhere. And so it sounds to me like the question is, like, does that mean that we should tithe today? Is that right, Jared? Yeah, does that fit into our tithing system? Or basically, how do I get a proper understanding of our tithing system?

So basically, I guess you could say the quick problem I'm having is I just can't seem to get my finances in order. And I mean, I do my tithe, I do my offering, but I'm still wondering what I'm still doing wrong. Yeah, well, so with regard to whether or not that text in Genesis 14 means that, you know, if that's prescriptive for us, like, we need to then give a tithe, we're bound to that. I don't think that that's the focus there. I think giving a tithe is a good thing.

I think it's something that we should do. I wouldn't say that we're bound as new covenant believers to that. I think of what the Apostle Paul says in places like 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, where he talks about giving to the Lord freely. I mean, we want to give to the Lord because he's given to us and trust that the Lord is going to take care of us. Now, sometimes I think that we might have this sense of, if I just give this money, then God is going to give me more money.

I don't know that that's always the case. What we do read is that God is going to take care of us. 2 Corinthians 9 verse 10, he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness, and you will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. And so, look, let me encourage you in this way, Jared. I don't think that we're bound as believers under the new covenant by the tithe.

It was a part of the Levitical law. That's not something that we're under anymore, but we are bound to be generous and we're called to be generous. And so, one, God bless you for wanting to be generous and give to the work of the Lord. I would say, don't stop that. But it sounds to me like you might want to talk with someone in your church who has some wisdom with regard to finances and budgeting and how to start setting some money aside.

Because for many of us, it's just not something that we were taught. And so, I would encourage you maybe to reach out to some older brothers or sisters in the Lord who are good at this, that maybe would be open to talking with you and thinking through how to organize your finances and make sure that in everything that you do, you're being a good steward of the gifts that the Lord has given to you. And so, just practically, that would be my encouragement for you, but just want to encourage you to continue to be generous to the Lord, to others who are in need.

And God will bless you for that, but that doesn't mean that all of our financial difficulties are going to go away, especially if we're having a hard time just with proper budgeting. And so, that's my advice to you, and I'm thankful that you're desirous of giving to the work of the Lord. Jared, thanks so much for your call and for your obedience to God.

We appreciate you. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Adrian who's calling in from St. Louis. Adrian, what's your question for Adriel? Yes, how you doing, Pastor Adrian? I'm doing well. How are you, brother? Oh, good.

One's good. I have a question I'm kind of confused about. Can you tell me what the term means, that when you have someone's blood on your hands? Yeah, I mean, quite simply in the Bible, it just means that you're guilty of being the cause, if you will, of their death. And so, to have blood on your hands, scripturally speaking, I mean, it's sin, it's I'm guilty. And then, of course, that figure of speech is used even today, but in the Bible, when Israel has blood on her hands, it's because she's not caring for those who are in need because the innocent, the weak, the poor are being trampled upon by the wicked.

And so, she's guilty. I mean, Isaiah talks about this in Isaiah chapter one. Ezekiel, the prophet, is told in Ezekiel chapter three that if he doesn't preach the word of God faithfully to people, that their blood will be on his hands. In other words, that he will be guilty because he hadn't spoken the truth to them.

And so, there's other ways of sort of applying this. Paul, in Acts chapter 20, when he is talking to the Ephesian elders, and he's reminding them of the ministry that he had before them for a period of some years, he says to them, I testify to you this day, this is Acts 20 verse 26, that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. And so, there are different ways of looking at this, but it has to do with being guilty. And so, we, I think, by extension, we can say, look, we're called to be truth speakers, ultimately to speak the truth about Christ, his gospel, honest with others, and sharing that.

And Paul feels like as an apostle, as he was going and preaching, he was bound to do that so much so that if he didn't, he would be guilty, like Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter three, he would be guilty of the blood of those to whom he didn't preach. And so, the different ways to apply this, but may God give all of us boldness to care for those who are in need and to speak the truth to them. God bless, Adrian. Adrian, thanks so much for your call. This is Core Christianity. Let's go to Heather, calling in from Albany, New York.

Heather, great to hear from you in New York State. We've got a couple of radio stations there that reach our listeners with Core Christianity. What's your question for Adriel? Hello, Pastor Adriel, and thanks, Bill. I appreciate this whole program, Revelation 20, basically, and verses one through ten, and basically just summarizing it to say, is it true that there might be, well, there's a thousand year reign, which might be coming up relatively soon as a seventh day of rest, a thousand years or as a day, and vice versa? And would that be coming before any, quote, tribulation? Again, this is getting into, it's blank, I'm blanking, but basically, would this be, would it make sense to just go straight into peaceful reign with Jesus coming up soon?

Yeah, Heather, thank you for that question. We were talking about one of the most controversial passages in the New Testament, and there are different ways of understanding the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Many people will say, look, the thousand years is a literal 1,000 years that happens after Jesus comes back to earth. The millennial reign is the premillennial position. Jesus is going to come back and establish his literal kingdom on earth. I think we have to understand that the book of Revelation is often symbolic, and the numbers in Revelation are symbolic, so a thousand years doesn't need to mean a literal thousand years.

It could just be a very long period of time. And other passages in the New Testament make it absolutely clear that Jesus is reigning now. First Corinthians chapter 15, he must reign until he has made all enemies his footstool. And so I think it might be helpful for you to realize that there are different ways of looking at this passage. Satan has been, through the work of Jesus Christ, definitively bound and conquered. The cross did that, and so that's the great hope that we have as believers in Jesus. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at CoreChristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-The-Core. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.