You've Got Questions, We've Got Answers

Well, let's do it. I'm ready. You've got questions. We've got answers. It's time for the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr.

Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and president of Fire School of Ministry. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. That's 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr.

Michael Brown.

Well, it is a joy to be with you today on the Line of Fire broadcast. You've got questions, we've got answers. Michael Brown, delighted to be with you. The number to call 866-34Truth, 866-348-7884. Any question of any kind that I can help you with?

Any comment that you want to raise and discuss with me? Let's do it. You've got differences? Let's think them through. You're struggling with a biblical passage, with theology, with something going on in your church, let's...

Talk about it together, 866-348-7. Before we answer your emails or go to your calls, I want to explain something to you in terms of how the world of scholarship intersects with, say, the the Bible translation you're reading. Or how it intersects with your pastor preaching a sermon from the pulpit. As I lived in the world of scholarship for years, as I was doing my PhD work, I was still preaching and teaching on a practical level and things like that, but I was immersed in detailed, difficult scholarly work, translating ancient tablets and inscriptions, trying to wrestle through different languages and things like that. And it's very selective, it's very narrow.

I've written some things like that. I'll attend scholarly conferences and deliver papers, and you have other scholars sitting there. And if you walk into something that is, say, outside of your field, You'll sit there, you won't understand a word of it. One of the grads from our ministry school, from Fire School of Ministry, recently wrote to me and said, Hey, I'm working on a paper. I'm doing a master's program at the School of Theology, and I'm working on a research paper that's going to focus on the Hebrew concept of healing and the Hebrew word for healing.

And I said, Great, well, that was my doctoral dissertation. That's what I focused on. I've written scholarly articles on that. Let me send them to you. And when I was just looking to see what I could send them, I realized, oh boy.

The beginning of this one article will be completely unintelligible to him. It's linguistic detail, it's just exciting things in abbreviated forms. And I was looking at a medical proposal from a new company. They wanted me to pass it on to other medical people. I went to look at it.

I couldn't understand any of it, literally. Every sentence I couldn't understand. It's the same thing with the world of biblical scholarship or scholarship in ancient Hebrew or Greek or esoteric theology or sifting through manuscript evidence and things like that.

So scholars will sit and do that. They'll work on those texts. They will work on those ancient inscriptions. They'll compare that to something in the Hebrew Bible or the Greek New Testament. Say, okay, this is how it compares.

Here's how we can sharpen the translation. And then. It'll just sharpen the translation of the Bible that you're reading. You won't know everything that was going on behind the scenes. It's like the cook in the kitchen is preparing all the food, and then someone comes out and brings it to you.

There you have it. The same way, your pastor may now go to a commentary, and that commentary has taken some of this really difficult, esoteric information and made it a little more simple.

Now, your pastor works through it, that helps him understand the passage. And now he comes up with a real simple application on Mother's Day or something. You go, That was amazing. And yeah, so it kind of makes its way through to you. In fact, in fact, I've done this very thing with the seven secrets of the real Messiah.

It's yours for free. I'm not trying to sell it to you. It's yours for free. It's a free e-book that you can get. And what I did is, I took years of research into Jesus being the Messiah of Israel, the Jewish Messiah.

Looked not just at the Hebrew scriptures, but at Jewish tradition as well. And I found in many of these traditions a bridge to the Jewish world to help open their eyes as to who the real Messiah was.

So it is yours for free. Seven secrets of the real Messiah, written simply and clearly, going from the world of scholarship right into your world. Here's how you get it. Go to my website, askdrbrown.org. A-S-K-D-R-Brown.org.

And when you sign up to get our emails, you'll get the e-book free. We'll bring the best of scholarship to you. Present it at a beautiful plate that you can eat and enjoy. We'll be right back. Give us strict to always do what's right.

It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Thanks so much for being part of our broadcast today. The number to call with your questions: 866-352-365-865-8. 348-7884, Michael Brown, delighted to be with you on the line of fire broadcast. And hey. With a website like Ask Dr.

Brown, a Facebook page like Ask Dr. Brown, a YouTube channel like Ask Dr. Brown. I start my classes asking students if you have any questions.

So I love to answer questions. My joy to take your calls and get to some of your email questions as well. 866-348-7884. Let's see. Before I go to the phones.

Here's an anonymous question. Dear Dr. Brown. What's the difference between the way God treats Christians and non-Christians in this life, in terms of God's discipline for Christians, and God's wrath? for non-Christians.

God disciplines his children. He doesn't discipline those who don't know him. God tests the righteous. God tests His people. He tries us to help us grow and become more and more like His Son and experience the grace of God more fully in this world and experience it more fully forever.

So He disciplines us. in a constructive way. But he doesn't discipline the lost because they're not his kids. You ever had a neighbor? and and the friends were pretty raunchy, and you really wanted to do something about that neighbor's kids, but you couldn't 'cause they're not your kids.

Hebrews 12 says that God did not Disciplines his children. That's what a good Father does.

So for the world, The world is under judgment. Those who don't know the Lord right now are under a sentence of condemnation and under death. Judgment and they are not being disciplined.

Now, things may happen in their lives where God is at work to get their attention, where God is at work to turn their hearts to the gospel. He's constantly working and moving in a redemptive way. That's for sure. That's not debated. But The world outside of Jesus is under divine judgment and thereby could be subject to judgment and wrath in a way that we as believers would not be.

We are not appointed to wrath. That means that as God's people, we will not ultimately suffer the wrath of God. But let's just say the wrath of God was being poured out in judgment. Let's say it's the end of the age, and the wrath of God is being poured out on the world. We, God's people, could expect some kind of protection from that wrath as it's being poured out, but it would be poured out on a sinning, lost, rebellious world.

Another question in the same email: Is God inconsistent? in how he disciplines Christians in this life. If not, Why does it seem that sometimes Christians who sin more and in no more serious ways than other Christians don't get disciplined as much by God. Ah. God is perfectly consistent in everything He does.

God is perfectly righteous in everything he does. God is perfectly fair. in everything he does. He does not show favoritism. The whole thing has to do with appearance.

Our older daughter always used to say that we treated her more strictly than her younger sister.

Well, no, she happened to disobey more and rebel more and had to be disciplined more. We showed equal love to them and carried it out equally. And she might get really upset, you hate me, you know, like a little kid because, well, no, we love you. That's why we're disciplining you. And if you didn't disobey, you wouldn't be disciplined.

You say, well, that's the whole point, though. It seems that some Christians are really sitting more and nothing's happening to them, and others are sitting less. And, oh, well, maybe. Maybe someone is not Willing to hear the voice of God in discipline, and they're pushing their own way, and God's saying, Well, go ahead, you're going to reap what you sow then. This is going to be your wake-up call.

Maybe the one that's closer, the one that's nearer to God's heart, and that is walking in closer obedience, will receive more loving discipline. Where the Lord's saying, you know, that's a mistake. You don't want to do that because you're really going to get hurt later. And he brings that to our attention. Maybe, for example, we were being trusted with insider information in our company and we're going to get a promotion.

And we decide, hey, I'm going to start sharing. You know, I'm a big guy. I'm going to start sharing that insider information. And the boss hears and he says, We're not promoting you. In fact, you're getting a demotion.

That could have been the loving discipline of the Lord in that saying, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut. where some other believer is just spouting off all kinds of junk, nothing's happened to them. Maybe you were in a more tender, humble place to receive and someone else was not, and they're going to hit a wall before they wake up. I hope that's helpful. 866-348-7884.

All right, let us go to the phones in Phoenix, Arizona. Danny, you're on the line of fire. Hey, Doctor Brun, how are you? doing well, thank you. Good, good.

I just wanted to ask you a quick question, if you don't mind. Yeah.

Okay.

Okay, so my question I actually have two questions, but I'll just do one for now and then if you want to. Here's the second one. Let me know. But the second one. The second one is The Torah is clear.

that none of it may be removed to or added or removed or added to. as clearly laid out in Deuteronomy chapter four, verse two specifically, that is, it may not be changed. This is reflected over and over again throughout Tanakh. Psalm nineteen says The Torah of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul, making the simple wise. When Jesus gives His Sermon on the Mount, he says you have heard that it was said You shall not commit adultery.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Yeah.

Jesus is self-admittedly changing what the Torah teaches. How do you accept this?

Well, he's not changing anything. Did he say it's okay to commit adultery? He's saying Of he says It's okay to commit adultery. Uh no.

Alright, so we didn't change anything. That's reinforced 100%. He's simply taking a requirement deeper. Where does it say? Where does it say?

And by the way, Jewish discussion of that day, Talmudic discussion, some of it talks about that as well. That it's also you commit adultery when you lust in your heart.

So this was part of Jewish discussion. in that day as well.

So, what it's saying is, you cannot now forbid, you cannot now say, okay, it's okay to commit adultery. That would be changing. That would be taking away a commandment. Or you could add a commandment saying you're not even allowed to have sexual relations with your own wife. But by saying, hey, you haven't taken the adultery commandment far enough.

For example, Lotignov, do not steal. What do many of the rabbis say? That that means don't kidnap. That's actually what stealing means, stealing a person. Don't kidnap.

Well, are they adding? or are they defining? Jesus is saying you need to take this even deeper. He's not adding and he's not taking away.

Okay, doctor Brown. But the problem is Who in this world can possibly not ever have a thought. Allah Well, doesn't the ten commitment Yeah, yeah. Yeah, sure, but but don't the Ten Commandments require don't the Ten Commandments require that? No, it's an Act.

It says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. What's the last of the Ten Commandments, Danny? It says you cannot covet. Don't covet. Is without a thought?

Don't covet your neighbor's wife.

So when you think a lustful thought about your neighbor's wife, aren't you saying, well, I wish I could be with her? I wish I could sleep with her. I mean, isn't that a thought? Isn't that a thought? No, this is.

Jesus is saying. No, no, no, Danny, Danny, Danny, hang on. Danny, hang on. I'm trying to help you.

Okay.

All right, is coveting a thought. Is coveting a thought. Yeah, don't covet your neighbor's house. Don't covet your neighbor's wife.

Is coveting a thought. a thought, a desire. Don't want Don't covet what your neighbor has. Don't covet your neighbor's wife, okay?

So your wife just had her second Well, when you covet your neighbor's wife, what are you coveting? Boy, I really wish that she could cook pancakes for me in the morning. What if I'm not married and my neighbor is married? Oh, okay, and you you think, Boy, I wish I had a wife like that That's a thought. No.

I wish I had my neighbor's wife. Danny.

Okay, go ahead. Go ahead. The rabbis freely acknowledge Jewish tradition freely acknowledge it. Danny, Danny. Here's what the source says.

If you keep interrupting here, tell you what. Tell you what, buddy. Tell you what. Your problem is you're not listening. You know, the book of Proverbs tells us over and over that a wise man will listen.

And when you come with a preconceived argument that you're going to raise, completely ignorant of Jewish discussions surrounding it. And trying to score a Jewish point on the radio show, all you do is say, Dr. Brown, I'm not willing to listen, I'm not willing to hear, I don't wanna grow in wisdom.

So tell you what. Get a minute to think about it. If you're willing to hear, I'm here to help. Fair enough. But the fact that is universally recognized is that the command not to covet has to do with the desire of the heart.

Can we at least be honest there? God of light, hear our cry, send the fire. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr.

Michael Brown.

Welcome back to the Line of Fire broadcast. You've got questions. We've got answers. 866-348-7884 is the number to call. I want to go back to Danny in Phoenix.

So a simple question, sir. Are you willing to acknowledge that the commandment not to covet has to do with desires of the heart? Yes, I acknowledge that, yeah.

Okay, right, so how is that possible? to never desire. And allow yourself to desire something that your neighbor has. And if, for example, it's the the idea of desiring your neighbor's wife. Maybe your wife just had a couple of kids and she's a little bit overweight and she's not as affectionate as she used to be.

And your neighbor's got this beautiful young gal and she likes to parade outside in her bathing suit and things like that. Don't covet. It's the same thing. Don't look at her and think, wow, look at the way she looks, or I'd like to have sex with her. Or what if I was married to her?

Boy, I'd like that. That's coveting. Yeah, in the natural, it's not possible to do this. We need God's help. And that's part of the purpose of the Torah is to reveal our need for God, to reveal our need for Savior.

That's why we have an atonement system in the Om Kippur Day of Atonement, because we need forgiveness.

So it's built in to the Torah is the fact we're going to fall short and we need forgiveness and cleansing. Does that make sense to you? I don't see how that answers the question, Dr. Brown. I really don't.

Because. We're talking about two separate commandments. Why would God give us two different commandments that mean the same exact thing? They don't mean the same exact thing. He could have left out He could have left out that you shall not commit adultery.

He could have left that out, and it would have Meant the same thing.

So, oh, no, no, no, hang on, hang on.

Okay, not at all. It's one thing to have sex with your neighbor's wife. It's another thing to covet your neighbor's wife. And the fact is, if you steal, okay, how about stealing? Why not just leave that out?

Because that would be included in covenant. No, there's the act. Involved. I mean, you're trying to be pedantic to prove a point, but number one, Yeshua does not add or take away. The rabbis do.

all the time. Oh, sure. Uh e easy. Very easy. Do you do you light Sabbath candles?

Of course. All right, what do you pray? What does your wife pray? Or the woman of the house what does she pray when she lights them? I see you.

Pray. She does a blessing over the candles. What do they s what does the blessing say? Yeah.

I started Sanio Romoto's film. Where did God command you to light Sabbath candles? This is a rabbinic command. But but but but that's adding to the Torah. It's not changing the Torah.

No, it's they they're they don't say that this is a change of the Torah. They say this is a rabbinic command. Oh oh oh hang on hang on.

So they can give commands, but that's not adding to the Torah?

So, you don't have to do it. In other words, if you choose not to do it, if you choose. If you're Abbanon versus Midra Araita.

Now, some actually include the Seven Rabbinic Commandments in the 613. I'm sure you know that.

Some actually include them in the 613 commandments of the Torah.

So that's a whole separate debate.

So you have no problem in not doing it because it's not in the Torah. In other words, it's not binding on you because it's not in the Torah. No, absolutely not. And any rabbi would say the same thing. It is fine.

So you're saying, okay, you don't have to do it. You're saying you don't have, it's not the same as observe the Sabbath or honor your father and mother. This is different, and you don't have to do it. You actually believe that. You're actually saying that.

That's true. We do it because we believe in the oral Torah, of course. All right, well, that's a whole thing that's adding. Oh, okay.

So don't add, don't take away. Why did The rabbis abolish the death penalty at a certain point. Because there are so many cases of adultery, murder, and things that you can do it.

Well, who gave them the right to abolish it? No one gave him the right to abolish that. Or the the fringe the fringe is that I mean, you don't think it's gonna be reinstated?

Well, forget the future. I'm talking about the past. I'm talking about the past. No, but you're saying it abolished means forever. No, no, no.

They stopped it. Who gave them the right to stop it for a period of time because there were so many murders and so many adulteries? Who gave them the power and the authority to stop it? Where? The Torah in the same chapter, chapter four, it says, Safeguard my commandments.

If they're not being applied correctly, You as people, as the sages, have the right to make changes to what is needed as long as they're acknowledging. That's not what the Hebrew says.

So here's what's mind-boggling to me. Here's one of my big gripes with counter-missionaries and with religious Jews. They violate the commandment against equal weights and measures. That you will give your traditions a million miles of latitude. I mean, an extraordinary amount of latitude and justify virtually any kind of interpretation.

And then, when Yeshua says, and in harmony with rabbinic teaching of the day or rabbinic teaching that subsequently developed, that you commit adultery also in your heart, you're going to say he's adding to the commandments. I mean, it's a mind-boggling example of double standards. Question for you. Yeah.

The rabbis do not give any Commandments, they don't change any commandments that actually cannot be Completed. This is a this is something Jesus says that cannot possibly Three.

Okay, that's where you're missing the point. Don't covet. That is having to do with the thought. Read what Ibn Ezra. I'm talking about adultery also.

Don't covet. Danny, again, once again. You are failing to think honestly. And I want to challenge you. I want to challenge you when we're off the air, in all seriousness, before God, because I believe you're a God-fearing person.

Think honestly and ask: Am I trying to justify something? Use some kind of Talmudic argument to prove a point when it's not really the point at all. How did, why did God call you and command you not to covet? How do you have the ability to carry that out? Because included in that is love.

Forget what Jesus taught about it. All right, let's say that doesn't exist. We're just going back to Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, the Ten Commandments. God told you, you cannot covet your neighbor's wife. That would include adulterous thoughts about another woman.

Why did God command that if you can't possibly do it? Yeah.

You're saying it doesn't? You're saying it does. I'm not saying it doesn't, but it doesn't say that. Of course, it includes it.

Well, then, what does it mean to covet your neighbor's wife? If I'm not married. and my neighbor's married, maybe I want to be married. No, no, no, not, not, not, no. Proverbs tells us: whoever finds a wife finds a good thing, but not your neighbor's wife.

I wish I was married to her. That's coveting your neighbor's wife.

Okay, you've broken the commandment. All right, you've brought can you? Are you married? No. No, okay.

Your father was obviously married.

Okay? God commanded your father not to covet his neighbor's wife.

So the entire time of marriage, he was not allowed to look at another woman and think, boy, I'd like to have that woman, boy, I'd like to be with that woman. Boy, all right? Was he able to keep it or not? I don't know. I don't know his thought.

Well, if he could keep that, why couldn't he keep the commandment not to commit adultery in his thought? See, all you're doing is playing games to make a point. I would have far more respect for your position. if you were consistent. In all honesty and all sincerity, I would have far more respect for your permission, your position, if you were consistent.

Hey, I'm out of time. I've got to go. But by all means. Let's talk again and tell you what. Read Ibn Ezra.

Read Ibn Ezra's commentary. On Exodus 20, the command not to covet. All right, see what he has to say. It's the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian Dr. Michael Brown.

Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34 TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Well, I have been looking forward to this moment. Live with you, you've got questions, we've got answers. Michael Brown, glad to be here. And serve as your voice of moral sanity and spiritual clarity in the midst of a society in chaos and a church all too often in compromise. Here's the number to call with your questions: 866.

34 Truth 866-34878. That's the number to call. Anything that is appropriate for Christian radio or TV, anything that you can ask in that context, if you want to take an issue with me over something or probe a position I have. My joy to take your questions, biblical, theological, whatever they are. If I can help you, Give me a call, 866-348-7.

Eight eight four. I've been asked not to use the name. This father has asked a very poignant, moving, painful question. Dear Dr. Brown, one of my daughters recently, 11 months ago, lost an infant 18 weeks into her pregnancy.

This has badly shaken her faith, since she prayed daily for her baby. She has also been unable to conceive since and doesn't understand why the Lord sees fit to bless others with multiple children and not her. But she does have one. five-year-old daughter. At a church revival, I recently heard about blessings fathers can give their adult children for healing, etc.

Do you know anything about blessings for children? If so, could you send me some examples of blessing practice? prayers. First, I'm a man, and as much as I love my children and grandchildren, I can't relate. to what a woman goes through.

conceiving a child, carrying a child, giving birth to a child, or losing a child.

So it's a unique pain that a mom experiences and the feeling of something's wrong with me or why did God let this happen to me. It's got to be acute for many.

So Obviously, you keep praying for grace on your daughter. Let me address a larger subject and then give you some scriptures that could minister to her as well. And it's not like a magical formula. It's just we want to pray according to the word and join our hearts with the word in faith.

So, number one, I'd encourage her to praise God that He's good, even in the midst of the storm. And just say, Father, I trust you. You're a loving Father. You're good. I don't understand everything that happens, but I praise you because you're good.

That's one. And then, two, Let her give thanks to God for her friends that have kids. Let her give thanks to God for others that have kids. Rather than look, you know, she's walking down the street and there's a woman like in her ninth month of pregnancy and she's pushing a stroller with a two-year-old in it. And boy, that's got to be heartbreaking at that moment to see it.

That could have been me. That should have been me. Instead, encourage her. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God, for giving children to these others.

It will help release some things in her. And then. I would Pray Psalm 113 over her. That God sets the barren woman at home with the mother of children. And I would say, hey, take that verse for yourself, Psalm 11.

113. I'd also pray Psalm 127 and Psalm 128 over her and encourage her and her husband to read those Psalms. Psalm 113, Psalm 127, Psalm 128. They all have in common the blessing that comes to children. We know she's been able to conceive, to have a child before, and now to have a child and miscarry.

So we want to thank God for blessing the fruit of her womb, blessing her husband. And we want to thank God and believe that children are a good thing and they are a heritage from the Lord. And I believe in the days ahead that she will have the joy of bringing children into this world, that God will even give her peace through the storm, that if there's some medical cause for the miscarriage, that either by God's healing or with the help of doctors, they'll be able to identify those things and help her. in the future. Psalm 113, Psalm 127, Psalm 128.

I believe they will really be of help. Lord, bless this young woman. Make her the mother of children in Jesus' name. Angel World O God of burning, cleansing flame. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr.

Michael Brown.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

You know, a lot of questions that are emailed to us are very personal. Struggles that folks are going through in their own lives, and they're trying to sort things out. And where was God when this happened? Feel free to call with those kinds of questions as well. They don't just have to be theological or abstract.

You can call with those kinds of questions if they're spiritually related. Glad to help. This is Michael Brown. This is the line of fire. You've got questions.

We've got answers. 866-34TRUTH-866-3422. That is the number to call. All right, let's go to the phones. We go next to Kaylee, Texas.

Josiah, welcome to the line of fire. Hey, doctor Brown. I was curious. I was talking to a lot of people like Chris State who believe in the doctrine of annihilation, and I was curious as to what your opinion on that doctrine was, and did the early Jews believe it?

Okay, so annihilation meaning that there is a final destruction of the wicked as opposed to an eternal hell for the wicked. Let's say that there are three different options, three basic options. Kind of the atheistic view, somebody dies and that's it. That's the end of it. They fall asleep, they die, they have no soul, they have no spirit, that's it.

Well, obviously, as believers in scripture, we don't look at human beings like that.

So what happens to the human being after that, when we are resurrected, either to damnation or to life? What happens? Or our soul or spirit, what happens after death?

So the two main views are one, the most commonly held in the church through the centuries, that those who do not love the Lord, those who reject him, will suffer eternal punishment. Matthew 25, 46, eternal punishment, or Revelation 14 and 20, which speaks of the smoke of torment going up forever and ever, or some being tormented, for example, Satan being tormented forever and ever.

So there is. Eternal constant. Conscious punishment. And others would say: no, it's not that, it's annihilation. that the final punishment is fiery judgment.

Matthew 10, 28, fear him who can destroy both body and soul. And hell, John 3, 16, those who believe in the Son will not perish, but have everlasting life. As for what ancient Jews believed, there was not one harmonious doctrine that they held to. But there is a passage in the Talmud in the Tractate called Rosh Hashanah. That speaks about those who are perfectly righteous.

die and and they just go straight up. They go to heaven. Your average person They go down for a while. They suffer some type of punishment, kind of, like a purgatory, to pay for sins, and then they go up. But those who are perfectly wicked, they go down and they never come up.

So ancient Judaism did have a concept of eternal hell fire. It was not the only concept, but it was a concept. And some ancient documents do depict the coming fiery judgment or the eternal fiery judgment in very graphic terms. The bigger question is, what does the Bible say? And here's where we have to recognize that as passionate as we are about this doctrine, we cannot divide over it as brothers and sisters, by which I mean...

Even though a cult, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, holds to annihilation, that doesn't mean that if you hold to it, you are also part of a cult. In other words, as major as this doctrine is, We recognize, say, Christian leaders of the prominence of John Stott. who before he died in the last years of his ministry. Openly advocated for annihilation. Or a great New Testament scholar of the last generation, F.F.

Bruce. Could endorse a book like Edward Fudge's book, The Fire That Consumes, saying that fire ultimately burns things up.

So you have fine biblical scholars, even evangelical scholars and teachers who believe in annihilation, although that has, and it has certainly been taught. through church history, but it is without question the minority view. I think It it was a view to help before Eternal Torment. Yeah, well I I would differ with that. I I would differ with that.

And some of the sources are harder to date. You know what I'm saying? You have a tradition recorded in the Talmud.

Well, the Talmud is finally composed several hundred years after the time of Jesus. But that position may have gone back to prior to the time of Jesus. Or pictures of destruction in the book of Enoch. Those presumably well predate the teaching of the New Testament. But either way, either way, the question is, what does the Bible say?

That's the real question. All right. And what I'm saying is that we do not divide as being brothers and sisters. In other words, if Chris is a strong proponent of annihilationism and you're a strong proponent of eternal conscious punishment, you don't separate as brothers over that. You don't say, well, you're a heretic.

You're going to hell. You're not a true believer. If someone denies the bodily resurrection of Jesus, if someone denies that Jesus died for our sins, if someone denies that Jesus is the only way to the Father, if someone denies that there's only one God, I mean, those are issues of... Of heresy, those are issues of, you divide over that, you mark that person. Here's what's clear to me, though, all right?

There are some, Josiah, who say I can't I can't believe in a God. that would torment people forever and ever and ever and ever. I had an alcoholic say to me in New York City, oh, when I was 18 years old and was sharing the gospel with them one day, he said, even your worst enemy, you let him out after a while. And there's some people it's just it's it's it's in they cannot see. How what Hitler did is so terrible, what Stalin did was so terrible, what all these mass murderers did is so terrible, but God's going to torment people forever and ever and ever, and that's okay.

Others say you have no idea of the holiness of God. And you have no idea of the sinfulness of man. and people are sinning against an eternal, holy God. And and i in doing so they deserve an eternal punishment. And the human spirit is going to live on forever and ever, and it's going to keep sinning against God, and therefore keep being punished.

I understand the debates on these things.

So here's what I say. Here's my official position. I say we declare loudly and clearly what is indisputable in the Bible. and we quote verses. I have no problem quoting Matthew 25 that speaks of eternal punishment.

Yes, it's in contrast with eternal life, but life is not just existing. Life is a relationship with God.

So I have no problem saying that if you reject Jesus, the punishment is eternal punishment. It's painful. It's heartbreaking to say that. But I have no problem saying that's what Scripture says. And I have no problem saying 2 Thessalonians 1.

That Jesus will come back in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those that don't know God, and that they will be punished with everlasting destruction. Destruction would seem to speak of a point in time where something ends. And eternal punishment is that punishing. I'll let the word speak for itself.

So what I've done for many, many years now, Josiah. is I just quote scripture. I quote Scripture and I come to these three conclusions. I know people who say I can't serve God. I can't love a God that would punish people forever.

And I've heard people, they've called my radio show and said, I share the gospel much more freely now that I don't believe in eternal punishing. I tell them there's terrible punishment, but I don't believe in eternal punishing anymore, and it makes it easier for me to share the gospel. I know others that say, well, it's finally going to be destroyed. There's an end to it. What's so urgent?

Why lay down my life for someone in another part of the world that doesn't know Jesus? I've seen both of those reactions. Here's what I say plainly. Number one. the consequences of rejecting Jesus are dreadful.

Do not downplay annihilation so that it is not dreadful. I'm not saying, Chris, that you quote it does that at all, but let us preach it with the fear of God. If you believe that annihilation is the final punishment for the wicked, and obviously there's the question: okay, does Hitler get annihilated the same way that someone else does? And are there grades of puni and and that's a that's another question that has to be worked out. And how is someone punished?

And then there's final annihilation. These are all sub-questions to ask. But the marvel, what should you believe? It's dreadful. Jesus warned about it, weeping and gnashing of teeth, out of darkness.

Ason of a portion with the hypocrites. I mean, this is the most dreadful fate. It is. Dreadful. That whatever is coming on the wicked is dreadful.

That's number one. Number two, it's irreversible. You won't be able to say, Can I? I get another chance here. Call a mulligan.

Just call a mulligan on my life. I didn't know what was really going to happen. Can I do that? Can I call a lawyer, make it appeal? No, no, irreversible.

If we die in sin rejecting Jesus, it is irreversible.

So it is dreadful, it is irreversible, and it is of eternal consequence. If the eternal consequence is someone is annihilated, And will never be with God, and will never experience eternal life, and will face His fiery judgment, and that's the end. If it is eternal conscious punishment, either way, it is of eternal consequence. And my bet is. that Chris would agree with those three points as well as an annihilationist.

And I bet that all of my friends that hold to eternal punishing would also agree. The fate of the wicked is dreadful. is irreversible and is of eternal consequence. Hey, we will be right back with more of your questions right here. Angel world It's fire we want for fire we want.

It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34 Truth. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

I just want to take a moment. and explain what I mean when I say we don't divide over certain things. There are doctrines we divide over because they're the difference between heaven and hell. In other words, fundamental errors in the faith, which if someone holds, will damn their souls. Fundamental truths they reject that will damn their souls.

their souls. That's one thing. We will say to that person, you are not in the Lord. You are a heretic. You are a false teacher.

On the other hand, There are things that we can disagree on. Can we expect God to heal the sick to day in answer to prayer or not? is speaking in tongues for today or not. Is Jesus coming before the tribulation or after, or will there be a seven-year tribulation? There are things that are weightier, like the fate of the wicked.

Will there be eternal conscious punishment as we understand? Or will there be annihilation? Is that a valid understanding? This is a weighty issue, but we can differ on that and still be brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Now, you may not be able to work closely with someone that has a difference, but you don't excommunicate someone from the body over those things. That's the point I was making. Welcome back to the line of fire. Michael Brown, delighted to be with you. Let's go to Monterey, California.

Mark, welcome to the line of fire.

Well, what an honor it is to talk to you, doctor Brown. It's because of you and one for Israel and chosen peoples ministries that I've even had in this conversation. Unbelievable. Yes, thank you. Go ahead, sir.

I don't know where to start. I became a Christian in 197. But things never Stuck. I was pulled away very, very quickly and never really understood why Until uh I moved to Monterey, California and found out I was Had very bad ADHD, OCA, or OCD or whatever, all those. Crazy things is basically at the age of 34, I found out I had a fourth grade reading skill.

And my comprehension of anything was was pretty much nothing. It really was. Life went on. I was a musician. I was on the road.

I played music. Uh Things weren't really too bad. I became an alcoholic in 2006. two thousand seven medical marijuana I've been a porn addict since 12. There is some really, really dark stuff in there that we can't talk about on the phone that I would gladly like to share to you.

Alright. On the side, and I think I might be able to help with some of your arguments. I mean, really help. But anyway, so then November, God comes knocking on my door almost in person.

So you're saying November 2016? Yes.

Okay, wow. All right, go ahead. I I I had pretty much fallen away, and he came knocking on my door almost in person and just. Just scared me to no end. And I have now come back to the Lord.

But there is I don't know that I I'm very tearful most of the time, I'm just scared to death because I have been away so long. Yeah.

and never understood his words. And now that I am understanding his words, I don't know how someone like Yeah. Excuse me. Oh, let's see if I can get some together. I don't know how someone like me Can receive salvation after.

After hearing it in 1977, I've been away so long, and I'll be back now. Yeah, here's what I want you to do, Mark. All right. I want you to read Luke chapter 15. Just jot it down.

Luke. Chapter 15. Over and over. and over until it settles in. God is looking Yeah, yeah, Luke chapter 15.

All right. Read it. Over? and over and over. Once a day, twice a day, three times a day, until it becomes absolutely real to you.

Listen, Mark. Jesus in the in the sense of the The parable there, the The threefold parable in Luke 15, the parable of the lost sheep. the parable of the lost coin. the Parable of the Lost Son. He has been looking for you.

I don't mean that he couldn't find you and just found you. I mean his heart has been longing for you. I mean, he has been looking forward to this reunion. Ask yourself this question. If you were separated from your own child, Your own child walked away.

All right, for whatever reason, misunderstanding.

some traumatic incident, whatever happened. They walked away from you. and they were away from you for three months, and then reunited. How sweet would that reunion be? What if they were away from you for thirty years, and you didn't even know if they were alive or dead, and every day you prayed for them, And then after thirty years.

You get a knock at your door and it's your long-lost child. Could you imagine how sweet that reunion would be? Could you imagine how you just said, whatever you did, I forgive you. I forgive you. I've been probably waiting for this day.

In Luke 15. the Father who represents God in the parable. When he sees his his wayward son a long ways off. He runs after him. Yeah, he runs, he sees him and he goes running and he embraces him.

Morrick. God wants to put His arms around you in that respect. He just wants to shower you with love. He wants you to know the past is past. The past is forgiven.

Who did Jesus die for? if not for people like you and like me. Who did Jesus die for, if not for sinners? I didn't come for the righteous. But for the sinners.

So, in that respect, in that respect, the picture of Luke 15. Is he says, okay, you guys are all right. You're following me, you're serving me, you're loving me. You're all right. I got to go find that, I got to go find Mark.

He's been lost. He lost his way a long time ago. No, you don't deserve it. You do not deserve it. any any more than I deserved his salvation and mercy as a sixteen year old heroine shooting rebel.

But that's the goodness of God, that's grace. That's the meaning of the cross. That's the whole reason he came. Jesus took what we deserve.

Now you get what he deserves. Friendship with God. being a son of God. having eternal life, having your sins forgiven, having your guilt removed. Getting a healthy fellowship with others who love Jesus.

recognize along the way that you may Think a wrong thought one day, or lose your temper one day. It doesn't mean God stopped loving you, it means you're a work in progress. Keep moving towards him. and let Luke 15 get hold of you. When it does, I mean, you'll probably cry like a baby for a while, but that's the cry of someone that's safely in the Father's arms.

I'd say he's going to take good care of you in the days. to come. Hey, let's pray for Mark to discover the fullness of the love of God. And for everyone watching, listening, may you too come to know the fullness of the love of God.

Well, let's do it. I'm ready. You've got questions. We've got answers. It's time for the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian, Dr.

Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and president of Fire School of Ministry. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH. That's 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr.

Michael Brown.

Thank you. Thank you for joining us on the line of fire. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. You've got questions. We've got answers.

Any question of any kind whatsoever that you want to ask me in any area of expertise I have, my joy to answer.

Now, you might say, I am trying to understand the difference between this kind of flower and that kind of flower. No, sorry, can't help you with that. You might say, you know, my car is not starting properly.

Sorry, can't help you with that, but there are a lot of ways we can help.

So give me a call, 866-348-7884. I've also got some great email questions I want to get to. In fact, let me get to a quick email question and then I want to take your calls. This is an anonymous question. I was a pulpit pastor for 25 years.

I'm not doing anything as far as ministry. I'm worried that if I died I'd go to heaven. What should I be doing right now? Ah. You know what it must be Kind of like a retirement crisis.

People go through a midlife crisis. They go through, you had such an identity and doing a particular thing.

Now you're not doing it. And plus, you're supposed to be working for God, working for God.

So what should you do now? Number one, recognize that your salvation was paid for at the cross. Start there. Recognize that Jesus paid for your sins. He bought you with a price.

You now belong to him, and you're saved by his grace.

Now, truly saved people will do good works. Truly saved people will live differently. We prove our repentance by our deeds, but our deeds do not save us. Our works do not save us. Every so often, folks will attack me.

Michael Brown, Dr. Brown doesn't believe in the gospel, he believes in salvation by works. Yeah.

I mean, I feel bad for folks misunderstanding me so severely. No, no. Works are the proof of our faith. Works are the demonstration of our faith. Our deeds prove the reality of our repentance, but we're not saved by our works, we're not saved by our deeds.

We were saved by the blood of Jesus.

So, sir. You're not saved because you were pulpit minister. You're not more saved while you were pulpit minister than not. You're not more saved because you were preaching behind the pulpit and active and preparing sermons and things like that, and now you're not really saved because you're not working. No, you were never saved by your efforts.

You were never saved by your good preaching. You were never saved by any of that. You're saved by God's grace. Your preaching, your ministry, that was a reflection of your love for God and love for others.

So, first thing you should be doing is settle in your heart that you're saved because of what the Son of God did for you. That's the first thing. Second thing. is every day Make yourself available to God and look for opportunities to serve. If you say, I don't have a lot of opportunities around me, give yourself to the ministry of prayer.

Ooh. What better ministry than the ministry of prayer? and every day spend quality time praying for loved ones. praying for the church. praying for the nation.

Praying for Israel, praying for world missions. Pray as the Lord leads you. There is no higher ministry than ministry at the throne of God. There is no higher calling, in my view, than the calling to pray. Also, you're online.

You emailed me.

So there are all kinds of things you can do online. Get involved in social media and start posting things of interest, or get involved where busy websites or chat rooms where people are asking questions, or someone is mocking the gospel, or someone's challenging it. Use the wisdom you have and say, Hey, have you ever considered this? Or, hey, here's what the word actually says. I've studied this.

And then, if there are folks you can connect with, you're part of a local church, just say, Hey, what can I? I'm here to help. What can I do to help? I'm here to serve. And God will keep you busy.

Every day say, Lord, here I am, send me use me. Share the gospel with your neighbors. There are a million and one things to do. God will lead you and you'll be fruitful for his kingdom. All right, we'll be right back with your calls.

Oh God of burning, cleansing flame, send the fire. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Hey, don't forget to get my free e-book, Seven Secrets of the Real Messiah. It is a real eye opener. It will bless you. Here's how you get it. Go to my website, ask Dr.

Brown, A-S-K-D-RBrown.org. When you sign up for the emails, you'll get the free e-book plus. Every week, you'll know, here are my latest articles, here are my latest videos. On our broadcast, our Q ⁇ A broadcast, you've got questions, we've got answers as we're doing today. We don't get into a lot of political issues and cultural issues unless questions come in from callers like that.

But through the rest of our daily radio show and in our writing and videos on the website, we're constantly addressing what's happening in the culture. And maybe you're frustrated. Oh, the child news.

Well, let me be your voice. We're probably articulating the things that you feel. I've often mentioned this, but some years ago when I was on Pierce Morgan and he challenged me about what the Bible said about homosexuality and what did Jesus actually say about it, and I addressed the objections, and then another gentleman, Mark Lamont Hill, came with a response, and I was able to rebut that response. One pastor said, I was watching the TV shouting, yeah, yeah, because I was saying what he wanted to say. You'll find that with many of my articles, videos, you could share them with others as well.

By the way, when you do, you get involved in some of the controversy I live with day and night, but it's good. It's worth it. It's constructive. And we will never misrepresent the Lord. In other words, whatever we say, We'll say with grace and truth together.

So find out all about the latest articles, videos on my website, askdrbrown, a skdrbrown.org. Sign up for our emails and we will immediately send you the free e-book, a real eye-opener, page turner, seven secrets of the real Messiah. Let's go to the phones in California. Debbie, welcome to the line of fire. Hello, Dr.

Brown. Thanks for answering my call. Sure. My question is about replacement theology, and it just seems to be increasing in our American churches. And I'm wondering if you know if there are any statistics that indicate what percentage of churches are aligning themselves with replacement theology.

Yeah, first let me say that there's no way of giving an exact response to that, one reason being that we have so many tens of thousands of independent churches. And you'd have to find out exactly what each of them believe. And then within denominations, you can have differences. But first, for the benefit of my listeners and viewers, let me explain what you mean by replacement theology. Replacement theology is the idea that the church has replaced Israel and God's plan of salvation.

This is how the term has been used for some time now. In other words, God gave promises to Israel. You read in the Old Testament, there are promises to Israel. They'd say, well, no, those promises now apply to the church, that God may still love the Jewish people as individuals, but there are no national promises that remain. The church has replaced Israel and God's plan of salvation.

It's also called supersessionism, which simply means the church has superseded Israel. Others would say, well, no, no, there were always promises given to God's people called the church. In the Old Testament, it was Israel.

Now it's Jewish believers and Gentile believers. There were never promises just for national Israel, but of course there were. There were many promises given to national Israel. And for example, God said he would scatter the nation in his wrath, and he would regather in his mercy.

So the ones he scattered, the ones he has to regather. And when replacement theology began to grow in the early church, the seeds of it in the second, third centuries, and then more full-blown in the fourth, fifth centuries, it opened the door wide to anti-Semitism.

So even though, Debbie, there are fine Christians today, people who love the Lord, who are not anti-Semites, who hold to one form of replacement theology. They might call it fulfillment theology or expansion theology or covenant theology. They may not like the term replacement theology. Even though today there are fine Christians, they love the Lord, they love the Jewish people, they are not anti-Semites, and they just have these theological views, it's undeniable that through history, Through history, it was the teaching of replacement theology that opened up the door to anti-Semitism in the church. And I documented in detail in my book, Our Hands Are Stained with Blood: the tragic story of the church and the Jewish people.

As for Is it growing in America? This was a largely held viewpoint in many churches around the world. before the restoration of the Jewish people back to the land.

Now you had great Puritan leaders, say like John Owen, the greatest theologian of the Puritans, who spoke very plainly. about a Jewish return to the land. And promises to Israel remaining, and speaking of this happening in conjunction with Jewish people putting their faith in the Messiah. You had men like Charles Spurgeon. saying that if anything's plainly taught in scripture, it's that there are promises that remain for national Israel and there will be a national regathering of the Jewish people to the land and a messianic kingdom in the land with the Jewish people as a nation following the Messiah.

You had great preachers of a generation back like D. Martin Lloyd-Jones that made plain the same thing. The promises remain. But what happened was That when the Jewish people were restored to the land, the rebirth of the modern state of Israel in 1948 and the aftermath of the Holocaust, many churches changed their views. They thought, wow.

Obviously, God's not finished with Israel as a nation, because here they are. God's not through with the Jewish people as a nation because they've been preserved in who they are. And many other churches, Debbie, were grieved because they knew that anti-Semitism and their church traditions, both Protestant and Catholic, helped pave the way for the Holocaust in Europe. Because without centuries of, quote, Christian anti-Semitism, you could not have had the Holocaust. You would not have had that level of Jew hatred without centuries of Catholic and Protestant anti-Semitism.

So there was a repenting of that and a grieving.

Some over-repented, and they now said Jewish people can be saved without Jesus. They have their own covenant. They don't need Jesus.

So they went too far. But others now are starting to swing back. They don't recognize Israel as the fulfillment of prophecy.

Some never did, but some that did no longer do. The more liberal churches, The The liberal sides of the Presbyterian church or the Lutheran church, they become almost anti-Israel. They're so pro-Palestinian, they're anti-Israel. It's part of their overall apostasy. They're also pro-abortion.

They're also pro-homosexual activism. But What's happening is that the younger generation rising up today They have no real recollection of a Holocaust. I mean, that's just distant history to them. The miracle of the rebirth of the modest state of Israel, they don't grasp it. The miracle of the Six-Day War in 1967, they don't grasp it.

What they see is: why is Israel so mean to the Palestinians? What do they have this mean wall of? Why are they killing children in Gaza? I mean, that's how it looks to them.

So, wanting to stand for the side of justice. not understanding the word often in as much depth. Having a more superficial understanding of what's happening in the Middle East, they have often cited. With Palestinians and then adjusted their theology with that as well.

So On the one hand, there's a real problem. There's no question. That replacement theology is growing again in churches, and that concerns me. because as I said in the past, it has opened the door to anti-Semitism. And for example, the Palestinian Christians who are most hostile to the State of Israel are those that hold to replacement theology.

Palestinian Christians that do not hold to replacement theology recognize the legitimacy of the state of Israel and have a very different attitude towards the Jewish state and the Jewish people. It is a real problem on the flip side, Debbie. God is still moving. There is a major, major, major evangelical base that stands with Israel, especially in America. There is a strong outreach to young people to turn their hearts.

So, again, I can't quantify it with statistics. It is of concern. But God is still moving. God is still working. There is a strong foundation.

Of rejection of replacement theology. And by the way, That does not mean you have to be a pre-trib dispensationalist, believe that Jesus is coming before tribulation. I don't believe that. I do not hold to replacement theology, but I'm not a dispensationalist. I do not hold to pre-trip theology personally.

I don't divide over that. Many people say that's just modern dispensationalism. No, no, no. This is something the church has held to for the centuries. And the early church believed that there would be a restored kingdom with Israel in the center of it.

That's clearly taught. They believed in a thousand-year millennial kingdom with Israel in the center of it. That was widely held by many in the early church. But it is certainly a concern. And I wish every pastor, leader in America would read my book.

Or hands are stained with blood. Let them see. First, The bad ugly fruit. Of replacement theology in history. Let's see what kind of fruit this tree bore.

That's number one. Number two. Chapters 12 through 14, and our hands are stained with blood. I go through the scriptural evidence. Did Paul teach this in Romans 9 through 11, or did he teach the exact opposite?

And how do we interpret the Old Testament? If we're going to hold to replacement theology, what do we do with verse after verse after verse after verse? Let's test this doctrine by the word, let's test this doctrine by the fruit. fruit.

So yes, you should be concerned, but not in a panic. God is still God. He's still with Israel. And he continues to raise up many with a heart for Israel. Oh, last thing.

Around the world, as I travel around the world, nation after nation after nation after nation after nation, I see profound love for the Jewish people, no clue about replacement theology, and recognizing that God has restored the Jewish people back to the land, even in unbelief.

So God is moving even around the world. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown.

Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUT. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Hey friends, Michael Brown here. Welcome back to the line of fire. You know, there's joy in doing the will of God. Even when there's pressure on you, even when there are difficulties, challenges, there's joy. and doing the will of God.

And it's wonderful to know that you're in the center of his will. When I'm here on the radio, when I'm here doing this broadcast for you, I just have this great sense of joy answering your questions, digging into the word together.

So thanks for participating. Here's the number to call with your questions, 866-348-7884. Let us go back to the phones and we'll go to Richmond, Virginia. Carrie, welcome to the line of fire. Hi, Dr.

Brown. It's a pleasure to speak to you, sir. It's Corey, actually, but that was good to see. Corey, all right. Yeah, you know what it is.

You know what it is? Without my glasses, the O and the A, they look familiar.

So I've done this before, but thank you, Corey. We'll do it right. Corey, welcome to the line of fire. Mm-hmm. Yes, sir.

elaborate for me on Isaiah chapter 19, verse 19 and 20. Yeah.

What specifically is the profits? In terms of this the ultra-Earth planet. Yeah, yeah, yeah. in the midst and at the border thereof in Egypt. Yes, so Isaiah 19 is a fascinating passage.

I'm just looking at it in the Hebrew in front of me, but I'll just pull up an English translation. There is a promise of future blessing coming to Egypt and Assyria, which is modern-day Iraq. Here's what it says: starting verse 18: On that day, five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan. By the way, The language of Canaan, Sphat Canaan in Hebrew, that's actually the Hebrew language.

So Hebrew was a Canaanite dialect, by the way. And this is what the text tells us. They'll all speak Hebrew. It's a language of Canaan. and swear loyalty to the Lord of hosts.

One of the cities will be called City of the Sun. On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord near her border. It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, He will send them a Saviour and leader, and He will rescue them. The Lord will make himself known to Egypt.

And Egypt will know the Lord on that day. They'll offer sacrifices and offerings. They'll make vows to the Lord and fulfill them. The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and healing. Then they'll return to the Lord and He will hear their prayers and heal them.

On that day, There will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. Assyria will go to Egypt, Egypt to Assyria, and Egypt will worship with Assyria.

Now, they'll get this. On that day, Israel will form a triple alliance or will be the third part. with Egypt and Assyria a blessing. Within the land, the Lord of hosts will bless them, saying, Egypt, my people, Assyria, my handiwork, and Israel, my inheritance, are blessed.

So this Cori is speaking about a future event. I understand that Jesus, after whatever tribulation is poured out on this earth, Jesus will return at the end of this age. We will be caught up to meet him, and he will establish his kingdom here on the earth for a thousand years. This is before we go into eternity. What's called the millennial kingdom?

It's described in passages like Isaiah 11. It's described in passages like Zechariah 14. Jesus speaks about it in passages like Matthew 19, when he says to the disciples that you'll sit on 12 thrones in the regeneration, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. It's spoken about in passages like Revelation 20, which describes the thousand-year reign of the Messiah. And during that time, the nations of the earth will come to worship the God of Israel.

And here it's saying there will actually be sacrifices and offerings.

Now, is it literal? Literal sacrifices and offerings, in which case they are simply memorials and vows of dedication. And if anything, reflecting back, looking back to what Messiah's done on the cross, or is it spiritual, metaphorical? You could read it either way, but they will worship. It's something that God declared would happen in Malachi 1: that the nations would offer incense to God.

So, this is something that will happen in the future. As I understand it, Israel will be the lead nation in the millennial kingdom. Those of us who are already saved, born again, resurrected, we will rule and reign together with the Messiah. But Israel will be the lead nation in the millennial kingdom. Jesus will have his kingdom established in Jerusalem.

Passages like Isaiah 2 point to that. Peter says in Acts 3 that everything the prophets spoke will come to pass, the restoration of all things of which the prophet spoke, that will all happen. And Egypt and Assyria will worship the God of Israel together. And they will form in that sense a threefold alliance, each one loved by God, and all. Worshiping God together in Hebrew.

Something still to come, and it will be memorialized by that pillar. Hey, thank you for your question. 866-34TRUTH. Oh, let's just see if I have time for one more quick question. Let's go to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Layla, time is short. Let's try to dive right in. Hi, Dr. Brown. My question was Did Jesus go to hell after the crucifixion in order to take fully our full punishment?

Mm-hmm. All right, so here's your simple answer. When he hangs on the cross, he says in John the 19th chapter, it is finished. It is finished. As one minister said many years ago, he did not say to be continued.

He paid for our sins with His blood. The Messiah bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we being dead to sin should live to righteousness. By his blood, we are cleansed, we are washed. By his wounds, we are healed. The punishment was put on him on the cross.

That's where he paid. In full for our sins.

Now, did he descend into the nether world? Yes, I believe he did, but not to suffer. Not to suffer. Ephesians 4 probably speaks about that, that he descended into the lower parts of the world, unless it just means he came down from heaven to earth. But I think that could well mean there he descended into the lower parts of the earth.

And then 1 Peter 3 says that he went. Into the lower parts of the earth, into Hades, into the place where the dead were, into the place where the unrighteous dead were, and the spirits of angels, angelic spirits that had previously disobeyed, they were there. And what happened is that Jesus descended there and declared his victory. He didn't suffer there. I know Acts 2 says that the pangs of death couldn't hold him, but that's physical death.

He did not suffer in hell. He went and declared his victory. You can get more information by going to my digital library.

So just go to ask Dr. Brown, A-S-K. drbrown.org and just search for did Jesus go to hell all right did Jesus go to hell or just some of the keywords there and you'll find the short video teaching that I did on the digital library so no he did not suffer in hell to pay for our sins he had already paid for our sins on the cross it is finished and if you just go back a few verses before that in John 19 so John 19 30 is it where he says it is finished just go back a few verses Jesus finished Everything that had to be done, same word, same form in Greek. He knew that everything was finished. Then he says, it is finished on the cross.

And that's why he then says, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. The work is done. Thank God for the finished work of the cross. Again, check out our resources at askdrbrown.org. Sign up for our emails.

Get our free e-book there. And your gifts, your contributions, help us do exactly what we're doing right now. We do it together with you. Thank you. It's the line of fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker, and theologian Dr.

Michael Brown.

Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-34TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Well, thank you. Thank you for joining us today on the line of fire. You've got questions. We've got answers. Whatever I can do to help sort out something for you biblically, theologically, spiritually, it is my joy to do so.

866-348-7884. Also, if you're unable to get through or if you're listening or watching at a time that's not live and you're unable to call in during the live broadcast, remember we have thousands of hours of free resources waiting for you on our website, askdrbrown.org, A-S-K-D-R-Brown.org.

So just go there. As soon as you have a few minutes, go there and look at, okay, all the articles we have there. All the videos we have there. We have a digital library.

So search. Mom, what do you teach about tithing? What about women in ministry? Or did you ever hear anyone on New Earth Creationist or Old Earth Creationist on your radio show? Just search.

You'll be amazed how much info is waiting there for you. 866-348-7-884. Let's go straight to the phones in Columbus, Ohio. CJ, welcome to the line of fire. Uh hello, Doctor Brown.

Hey. A couple questions. if you can. I um I believe God has given me this passion. for um learning and sharing All the good things that he's put in the Food and and uh fruits and vegetables and things that it's given.

Um But um also recently just incorporated some things that involve You know, genetically modified risk and those types of things. But when I shared them, When I shared them with the uh the church, they they don't really seem to be as as welcomed or or well received. And I don't know if it's because of Maybe scriptures like uh Mark sixteen, eighteen or First Timothy four, eight. But I guess I just wondered, is it not biblical to Yeah. want to have that type of ministry or to think or or to kind of Educate the church on the CJ, it's biblical and it's needed.

Why is it biblical? Love your neighbor as yourself. If you were watching your neighbor drink himself or drink herself to death, love would say, reach out. If you saw your neighbors doing all these things with kerosene heaters in the house and all these safety codes, you think you're going to set your house on fire, man. Love would say you sit down and talk to the person.

If you had, say, your brother or sister, they were eating themselves into the grave. They were getting heavier and heavier.

Now the doctor says you got high blood pressure, your arteries are clogged, you got type 2 diabetes, and you're going to live five more years, max, the way you're going. Love Would reach out.

So I don't know if you've read the book that my wife Nancy and I wrote, Breaking the Stronghold of Food: How We Conquered Food Addictions and Found a Holden Way of Living. You better believe this is spiritual. This has to do with the stewardship of our bodies. What does the Bible say about gluttony? No, it's not that what I eat will defile me.

So you mentioned passages in Mark 16, the longer ending of Mark, if they drink any deadly thing, it won't hurt them. That has to do with someone trying to poison you for the gospel. That's what that has to do with. And 1 Timothy 4, yeah, the things that God created, they're good, nothing to be refused. And yes, Mark 7, Matthew 15, what you eat, what goes in your mouth doesn't defile you.

But doesn't the Bible speak of false teachers whose God is their belly? Doesn't the Bible speak against gluttony? Isn't one of the fruits of the Spirit self-control? The reason a lot of people don't want to hear it is because they want to change. I didn't want to change for 59 years.

August 24th of 2014, I weighed 275 pounds. I'm a big guy, I work out, but I was obese. I weighed 275 pounds. And it wasn't because I was a glutton. I just had lifelong bad eating habits and I was addicted to chocolate and other junk.

Blood pressure as high as 149 over 103, cholesterol as high as 230. Headaches three, four times a week, constant lower back pain, severe sleep apnea. Less than eight months later, I weighed 180 pounds, blood pressure 100 over 65, cholesterol down to 123. Haven't had a headache now in almost three years, no lower back pain. I don't even need a breathing machine anymore.

Life and death difference. Check out Breaking the Stronghold of Food. We'll show you the spiritual side of this. Yes, yes, the church needs this desperately. Yes, go do it with the blessing of God.

Give us strict to always do what's right. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

Welcome, welcome to the line of Fire Broadcast. This is Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual. Revolution joyfully here to serve you. Answer your questions: 866-348-7. 884.

I want to go straight back to the phones, this time in San Diego. Carlo, welcome to the line of fire. Hey, Dr. Brown, how you doing? Doing well, thank you.

doctor Brown, I just wanted to thank you for that spiritual warfare series and angels and demons. It has truly been a blessing. But I still have a question on the aspect of fear. Yes, sir. The Holy Spirit has just been revealing to me a lot of things in my childhood, and me and my wife.

And But it's still every day, doctor Brown. There's just so much evil. Penetrating and coming through, and I'm on my face, and I'm praying, and I'm crying out to the Lord. But it's just been hard and I'm so tired. But um so you're just you're getting hit, like tormented with fear and that kind of thing.

Oh, yeah, it's coming I mean, what happened is that we were sleeping and it happened like at three in the morning a week ago. And I c I could just hear an evil spirit just speaking and our apartment was the only apartment without light. in the whole complex and I thought this is freaky. And you know, Doctor Brown, this has been I'm just tired and But I'm hopeful. In your series, what was interesting is that my laptop, as soon as I flipped it open, the series started blasting through And it was just you speaking, and my wife and I were just praying in our apartment, seeking.

The Lord the only thing right now is I I think it's just that that spirit of fear that has always been a part of me that I never gave over to to the Lord. And I'm just asking for help because I'm here just standing. I'm standing on Ephesians 6, and every day I'm crying out to the Lord. At the same time, Dr. Bunn, it's tiring to be in a spiritual battle.

Yeah, it it is it is tiring, sir. All right, so I I do have some practical thoughts for you. Again, I don't know every detail of your situation, but let me give you some practical thoughts. And for folks Listening, watching, wondering what series is he talking about. Actually, in the late 1980s, I taught series on spiritual warfare and a series on angels demons and deliverance i taught them prior to that I taught them subsequently to that.

But one-time teaching, I thought this is the best I've taught them, laid them out.

So we have distributed that audio series for many, many years. It's on our website, askdrbrown.org. One on spiritual warfare, 12 hours of teaching, and one on angels, demons, and deliverance, 12 hours of teaching. Very, very biblically based and practical. Number one.

Do what you're doing presently and continue to renew your mind to the word. that you are an overcomer. that he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world. that fear has torment and perfect love casts out fear. I would speak those words.

I would pray over those words. I would renew my mind with those words. I'd do it together with my wife on a regular basis. You're probably doing that already. But I would do that.

Secondly, if you found no breakthrough in that, you get hit, just torment. Or it could be like a panic attack hits. And I had that happen a few times in my life. It's, you know, just in a certain squeezed-in situation, it's like, how do you get out of this? You're not thinking rationally at the time.

How do you break the spell of it? And that's what fear is. Fear has that irrational power. And how do I get out of it? How do I fight my way free from this?

So, for sure, it can be very challenging in that moment. In particular, fear is. paralyzing and faith of course is a is a direct opposite Force in that we are trusting in God and His power.

So that's the one thing. Keep renewing your mind according to the Word. I have the armor of God. I have the mind of Christ. The Spirit of God lives within me.

He who's in me is greater than He who lives in the world. I'm an overcomer. Perfect love in my heart casts out fear. That's number one. Number two, you say, I've been doing that.

I haven't had a breakthrough. Have you fasted for breakthrough? Have you set aside whether it's a day or two or three and said, okay, I've got to fast for a breakthrough? I've been under spiritual attack sometimes. And there were some times many years ago where it was a battle of quite a few months of constant oppression.

Every day it felt like running through knee-deep mud. When I go to preach, it took me several hours of prayer just to feel normal. like a normal human being before I could even get to the point of thinking about preaching and and ministering. And there was real ugly attack. Nancy and I were under it kind of day and night and it finally broke while fasting.

I went away to pray for a few days and fast and pray, and that's when the thing broke. If it still doesn't break after that, That's where you go to a solid leader. a pastor in your congregation, a solid respected leader. And ask for prayer, there may be some stronghold in your life where you need outside help. We all do at one time or another, or many of us do at one time or another.

There could be some root of that fear deep inside of you that just goes back to some earlier trauma, and God's going to address that. And fix it. In other words, you know, when I talked about like a panic attack, like being squeezed in somewhere. You know, maybe that had happened to somebody once. You know, they were trapped in a building and they thought they were going to suffocate and die.

And now, when they find themselves in tight spaces, they get that fear.

Well, God can fix that, God can heal that as well.

So, one, keep renewing your mind according to the word and praying, praying in the spirit. If you don't see the breakthrough too, Give yourself to fast. Just pray for grace to fast, set aside some days, and fast for a breakthrough, for complete deliverance from the spirit of fear. If still you're struggling, then get outside help. Get someone to pray with you and for you.

The breakthrough will come. You will see your way out of the tunnel. God is faithful. He will give grace. If we hold on to his promises, if we'll do what he's given us to do, he will do what only he can do.

So, my brother, we pray right now for freedom. for freedom from the spirit of fear. By the authority of Jesus' name, we pray for a breakthrough for my brother, for his family, this day. In Jesus' name, thank you, sir, for the call. 866-3487-8.

Let's go to Seagrove, North Carolina. Todd, welcome to the line of fire. Thank you, Dr. Brown. My question is coming from 2 Kings 5.

It's concerning the healing of Naoman the Syrian from leprosy. He tells Elijah that he will not worship any other gods anymore but the one true God, and he requests to carry back some containers of dirt with him back to Syria. And I was called to find out what the significance is of him doing that. It it's kind of what you might think on the surface level. In other words, it's not that there was a universal ancient belief That the dirt had spiritual quality.

It's almost just here. Look at it like this. It was a spiritual memento. All right. It was his way of remaining attached to the God of Israel when he went back to his home country.

When Yankee Stadium, the old Yankee Stadium, was torn down, they actually cut up the field. Yeah, good, good merchandising thing to do, right? And they sold pieces of the field. I'm pretty sure one of my family members got it as a gift one time. They sold pieces of the field.

So, in the same way, it's kind of doing that spiritually. And there might have been some superstitious connection that there's a blessing with that or the presence of the deity with it. There may have been other beliefs associated with it. We don't have a massive amount of information about ancient Aramaean religious beliefs. But if you just look at it as the same kind of thing.

There was a church that experienced great revival, and people, when they tore out the carpets, people wanted a piece of the carpet. It's like, it's just a piece of carpet is all it is. It's the presence of God that did it. But so many people spent so many hours on that carpet repenting of sin and shedding tears of repentance.

Some of them wanted a piece of the carpet.

Now, it may be more superstition than anything, you know, or just having the memento, but look at it like a spiritual memento that he wanted to connect him back to the God of Israel. That was his way of doing it. But again, fascinating question, and I appreciate you asking it, sir. You've always called with interesting questions. Yet another one today.

Thank you. 866-348-7884. Let's go to, all right, we won't go there. Let us go to Charlotte, North Carolina. Chrissy, you're on the line of fire.

Hey, Dr. Brown, thanks for taking my call. I don't actually have a question, but just hearing your call. Name of Mark, I believe, from Monterey, California, talking about issues and struggles of addiction and Just his Assurance of salvation. And I wasn't able to hear everything he said because I was in the carpool line picking up one of my daughters.

But I wanted to reach out and Tell him there's actually a wonderful ministry there in Monterey specifically for addiction recovery by a gentleman who suffered the same addictions that he was speaking of. And it's a great group of people. It's called the Bridge Restoration Ministry. And it An offshoot of a great church that we used to be a part of called Calvary in Monterey, right there off the 68.

So if he knows Monterey, he's familiar with what that is. All right, just give it a n give the name. Yeah, give the name again, please. The bridge. Brave.

Bridge Restoration Ministry. All right, so the Bridge Restoration Ministry. Mark in Monterey, if you're still listening, the Bridge Restoration Ministry could be a godsend for you. Thank you, Chrissy, for calling. God of light, hear our cry, send the fire.

It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

You know what I love about talk radio? is we can really be family. And I travel a lot and it happens all the time. I'll be walking to the airport. I'll be walking to a grocery store.

And someone comes up to me with a big smile. It's the smile of someone who's known you for years. But I don't know who they are. You know what I'm saying? It's like, oh, I haven't seen your.

I don't know who you are, but I know what's coming next. I listen to you every day on the radio. They're part of our family.

Now that we get to put some of our radio broadcasts on TV as well, we get to extend the family. But you just got a great example of our radio family. See, we are on two hours live five days a week across the country. If you want to listen to the show any day, just go to the line of fire, thelineoffire.org. You can even download the line of fire app.

Just put in the line of fire and my name. You get it for your iPhones and things like that and just listen on your cell phone anywhere. But we're on two hours a day, five days a week. But I know some of you are watching a half-hour TV broadcast. Or some of you are listening in the car for 10 minutes.

And we have folks that are listening, though, for two hours, and they'll hear a caller maybe an hour ago. And the caller will say, I'm struggling with this problem in my life. And someone will finally get through because the lines can be busy. They'll finally get through. They say, Hey, I've got information for that caller.

So you may think, I don't remember that call, because sometimes it may be, maybe if you're watching on TV, a different TV episode, and a week later, someone's calling with info, but in real time, it's happening the same day. But thank you for being part of our family. And I know many of you will write and say, I've been praying for that caller. I remember some years ago, an old Jewish woman named Sarah called in. She was in her 90s, I believe, or late 80s, early 90s.

She had gotten wonderfully born again, a Jewish woman, and Yeshua Jesus made himself real true. She was a religious Jewish woman all her life. And she got wonderfully born again and discovered the radio show and called in. It was a classic call, one of the most unforgettable calls in all my years of radio. And I remember we were also on live in Hawaii at that same moment.

And someone wrote in and said, I had to pull the car over and weep as I listened to that call.

So thank you for being part of our broadcast and program. And someone may call in with a crisis in their lives. And some of you could then go pray for that person. What great teamwork as we serve God together. All right.

Back to the phones: 866-3487-884. We go to Joe in Fleming Island, Florida. Welcome to the line of fire. Thanks for taking my call, Dr. Brown.

really appreciate your ministry just on a daily basis. It's so rewarding to me. Thank you. Now For most of us, the Trinity, the concept of the Trinity is really difficult to wrap our minds around. And I'm not trying to split hairs with my question, but there does seem in the Bible to be a hierarchy where Jesus obeys the Father.

Jesus, um Praise to the Father. Um so my question is Who was the creator? Who is the creator? And then So certainly while Jesus is on the earth, there's a hierarchy, and he says, my father is greater than I. And then 1 Corinthians 15 says that once everything has been brought under the feet of the Lord, that even death has been destroyed and put under the feet of Jesus, then the Son will submit itself to the Father.

So God will be all in all. And when we get to Revelation 22, it speaks of God and the Lamb. It says his servants will see his face.

So ultimately, the emphasis is on one God. Yes, Father, Son, Spirit, but the biblical emphasis is on one God. And yet, there are different functions for sure. Within the Godhead, there are certainly different functions.

So, if we take a look at a text like 1 Corinthians chapter 8, I'm just going to pull it up on my screen here. What you refer to is spoken of. In other words, it's not a matter of splitting hairs. It is what the Bible speaks of.

So, 1 Corinthians chapter 8, verse 5: For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, is there many gods and many Lords, so-called, yet for us there is one God, the Father. All things are from him. and we exist for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus the Messiah. All things are through him.

and we exist through him. You find the same language in Colossians 1. You find the same language in John 1. Speaking of the sun, all things were created through him. Ham.

So the Father is the source of all things. Everything comes from him Through The sun.

So the source of the universe is the Father. It is created through the sun, by means of the sun.

Now, let's just look at it in the most simple way, Joe.

So Genesis one, Veyoma Elohim, ye he ore And God said, Let there be light.

So the saying is the spoken word. Jesus is the word made flesh, not just the spoken word, but everything implied with being the word made flesh.

So God creates the universe, how by means of his word. There's the physical illustration, everything comes into being through the Messiah.

So one God. doing the creating. The Father is the source of everything. And it is through the agency of the sun that things are created. The answer is: God created the universe, right?

As we know, the Father, the Source. The sun as the one through whom, by whom, Things came into existence, and we see it illustrated almost physically, as I say, that God speaks, and through his spoken word, the world comes into existence, the universe comes into existence, and then the Holy Spirit is working through all of creation and enlivening creation. Does that answer you specifically enough? Uh so See a s a sign that says Jesus created the world. or the universe.

Is that correct or is it the father?

Well well okay, because they're one ultimately. It's correct. And because it was by him that everything was created. In other words, whatever happened happened through him. Yes, I would say so.

And I would just. I would, again, we can be more precise and said it was through Jesus the world was created, but we're really saying the same thing. And in Colossians chapter 1, it says this. It uses this very language, right? He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Verse 16, for everything was created. By him. All things have been created through him. And for him, he's before all things, by him all things hold together.

So, yes, yes, sure. Say that Jesus created the universe, or more precisely, the Son created the universe. And if someone impresses you, what do you mean? You say, God created everything. And he created it through his son, Jesus.

Colossians 1, verse. 16 probably shouts it out the loudest of all. And thank you. Glad we have been a blessing to you. Friends, don't forget to visit my website, askdrbrown.org.

Explore all the resources there. We've got lots of teaching on our videos answering many of your questions, articles dealing with the critical moral cultural issues. How do I address what's happening in society? It seems like the world's losing its mind. We're addressing it every week.

Political upheaval, Israel. We're addressing it. Check out our articles. Check out the archives of our radio show and get the free e-book. I want to send it to you today: Seven Secrets of the Real Messiah.

Go to askdrbrown.org. Sign up today to get it. When you get our emails, you'll get the e-book too. May the blessing of the Lord be yours.