Live on Labor Day

We're live on Labor Day. Four lines are open. Let's do it. 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.

As always, our custom when I come your way on a holiday like Labor Day or Memorial Day, and we're live. As always, we open the phone lines like we do on Friday. You've got questions, we've got answers.

So, this is Michael Brown. It is Labor Day 2016, which makes it September 5th. Just to confirm that I'm live, let's see. Texas beat Notre Dame in a double overtime thriller last night. Does that confirm that we are live today?

Isn't that what you have to do? You give some recent news event. But phone lines are open: 866-348-7884. Anything you want to talk to me about, any question that you want to ask me about, by all means, give me a call, 866-348-7884. We're also continuing this week to offer the new Cultural Background Study Bible, edited by Professors John Walton and Chris.

Craig Keener.

So, I am going to go through select passages over the broadcast and give you some interesting cultural background to the Bible to help us better understand God's word and apply it to ourselves today.

So, I'll be doing that. You may ask me a question about background to a passage, and I'd love to give it to you from the background study Bible, maybe supplement it with some of my own thoughts as well. But we open the phone lines like this on a holiday because we know many of you are unable to listen live because of work schedules.

So, this gives you the opportunity on a day when you're off work celebrating Labor Day that you can give us a call. Or maybe you listen every day and you blood pressure gets high and you grind your teeth and you get upset, but you can't call.

Well, you can call today. We can have a friendly talk, and maybe we'll make you feel better. You won't be so upset again, 866-348-7884. The number to call. By the way, how do you feel about Donald Trump?

Speaking at a black church. in Detroit over the weekend. Is that a good move? A good sincere move? After all, Republicans are always chided for not reaching out to the African Americans.

Democrats are chided for taking them for granted. But it's very common for Democrat candidates to speak in churches, especially in black churches, very common.

So shouldn't Donald Trump do it? Is that a good move? Good thing to do? Wise thing? Increases outreach.

And hey, come in humble and talk about the treasure that the African American church is in America. Or was it exploitive or exploitative? That he didn't come in and humble himself and repent of his alleged past racist viewpoints or statements or things like that. Just curious to get your thoughts on it. By the way, I did.

Started a Twitter poll a couple of hours ago. Let's just see the results here. I asked folks what they thought about Trump's visit to the black church in Detroit and bringing a message there. And let's just see. I gave just three choices.

One was uh Dems do it, so Democrats do it, so why not? Two was it was exploitative. And three was other, please specify.

So, so far, the other has been the largest. We're getting bunches of different comments as what other thoughts they have. Only 21% thought that it was an exploitative, and 37% said Dems do it, Democrats do it, so why not? Also, I've got a new article. It's on the stream, stream.org.

My newest article is about the unheralded mother Teresas who are out there. Yeah, the. the the people who serve sacrificially And namelessly, and we don't really think about them because it's quote their job.

So I wrote an article, a tribute to the many unheralded Mother Teresas in our midst. And I asked readers, hey, put in your own nomination. Who are the people who serve behind the scenes sacrificially that we don't even think about? That's at thestream.org, 866-34TRUTH. We'll be right back.

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 this Labor Day.

We are live. 866-348-7884.

So, again, this may be a day where you can call where you normally are unable to call. Any question you have of any kind that you want to ask me about, as long as it's appropriate for Christian radio, give me a call. If you want to probe something that I've stated, want to understand it better, if you want to challenge something, I believe, if you're just curious and trying to figure something out. If it's an area of expertise that I have, if it's appropriate for Christian Radio. Phones are open.

Phone lines are open. 866-348-7884.

Before I respond to some email questions, before I talk about some items in the news, let me first talk to everybody in Greater New York. We're going to be this Thursday night. It's Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, just three days from now. Where are you going to be?

That's right. in Brooklyn with me. A special lecture, special listeners rally hosted by Chosen People Ministries.

So that's at the Feinberg Messianic Center. 1974 Coney Island Avenue, right in Brooklyn, seven to nine. I'm going to be giving a talk on Isaiah 53, the Rabbis and the Messiah. Yeah, it's going to be really interesting. We'll get into the word.

We'll understand why traditional rabbis have objected to this passage applying to Jesus, and we'll show why it must apply to him as the best and most confident. careful, honest reading of the text. Not saying others are dishonest, simply saying that this works out the best biblically.

So 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday night, we set this meeting up specially for you, our radio listeners, all of you listening on WMCA and through other means in Greater New York. Thursday night, 7 to 9, 1974 Coney Island Avenue. Remember, it is free and open to the public. And if you have Jewish friends that don't believe in Jesus, bring them along.

We also will be receiving an offering to help with our radio broadcast. And if you listen regularly, this is a great opportunity to partner together with us. You're going to be excited with what we have to share. And then Saturday night, we've got one more special listeners rally. We've never done this before, multiple locations on the same series of meetings in the same area for our listeners.

But New York being so big, we wanted to give you two opportunities. Saturday night, in Manhattan.

So, if you live around the city or else come in, Saturday night's a good time to travel in and out of the city, 2 West 64th Street. That's 2 West 64th Street in Manhattan, 730. And I'm going to be talking about Israel. The U.S. presidential elections, comparing the positions of the candidates with the Bible.

In both locations, we're going to do live QA. I'm going to do a book signing afterwards. I want to shake your hand, smile, see you face to face.

So, Tuesday night. Excuse me, Thursday night, Brooklyn, Saturday night, Manhattan. All the details on my website, ask Dr. Brown at ASKDRBrown.org. Just look for the itinerary there.

866-3666. Three for truth. Let's go to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and we will start with our callers. Max, welcome to the line of fire. How are you doing, Dr.

Brown? I'd like to ask you a question about Mesopotamia. I heard you mentioned in the show that the ancient Mesopotamians uh were not Negro in that they were uh somehow Arabian. Or something to that effect, is that correct?

Well, yeah, they they they were Semitic. They would have been Middle Eastern. Uh so similar to those we've seen in the Middle East through the many centuries. Yeah, but but not negroid in Mesopotamia primarily, correct. All right.

So I have a quote here from Cornerstone. uh Bible that states that Ham is a progenitive of the Mesopotamians. And let me start by saying that Babylon. The name Babylon itself comes from the uh Tower of Babel.

Okay, it was not the actual name. of the actual country. and lots of leading scholars. point to Mesopotamia as being Babylon.

Okay, so then you have uh Nimrod, who was a uh a descendant of Ham, who is the ruler of Mesopotamia, which Yeah, yeah, yeah. Again, how do you know he's prove no Max, Max, Max? Don't tell me, hold on, but I have a question for you. You made a statement: Nimrod's a black man. Who told you that?

It's proven that Nimrod is from Ham, okay, and Ham is the progenitor of the Cushites. Is are the Cushites not Negroit? But well, but but hang on. Does that mean that all descendants of Ham are all Negroit? We know the Egyptians are largely not Negroite.

So how do you work that out? Yeah. Scholars, Dr. Henry Block. Who is a leading scholar at a city college in New York has proven time and time again that the ancient Egyptians.

Ancient ones. I'm not talking about the Hicksoff dynasty.

Okay, let's see. The Hyksos were foreigners, right? We understand that.

Okay, let but and I'm not talking about the Greeks, I'm not talking about the Roman invasions, I'm talking about the ancient Egyptians or descendants. And you're claiming that others that all scholars agree with this. Yeah. Seriously, I don't mean to disparage you, Max. I have books that prove this.

Okay, that all descendants that all descendants of Ham are Negroid. And all scholars agree to that.

Well, that's not true. I have a quote here that states that from page 88. All right.

Of the Cornerstone Bible commentary. All right, this was published in 2007. The author was Alan Rose. And he states that to which what to the book of Genesis? That is correct.

All right.

And we both know that Shem And um and and and Ham are two brothers.

Okay, how can Shan how can Ham be black?

Okay, and shall not be black.

So you're saying, but hang on, but Max, that means all human beings on the planet would be black. How did the three sons of Noah different sons? That's different colors. How many wives did Noah have? Max, he has one wife on the ark, and there are the sons of Noah, the three sons of Noah, and their wives.

Because within the human being.

So, Max, where did white people come from? Where did white people come from? Where did Asian people come from? Where did Native American people come from? That's another subject.

I want to stay. No, no, no, no, Max. No, no, no, no. Max, Max, Max. Hang on here.

Max, Max, Max. Max. Doesn't work on radio. Doesn't work on radio if you try to talk over the host. All right?

You've obviously tried to study this issue out. But let's focus here for a minute. There is no proof that Nimrod is black. This is my field also. I do have a PhD in Near Eastern languages and literatures.

This is the world I lived in for many years.

Okay. There is no proof that Nimrob is black. If he's black, fine. But there is no proof. proof that Nimrod was black.

That's number one. Number two, you said that the sons of Noah. All had to be Black, if it's the same mother.

So just tell me then: if all the sons of Noah were black, where did whites come from? Where did Asians come from? Where did Native Americans come from? It's a legitimate question. Could you just answer that?

Could you answer that? You have to answer my question first. are not are not the Hamites. Are they not Cushites? And are the Cushites not Negroid?

Answer that question, sir. I'll answer your point. In all likelihood, the Cushites were Negroid, but they are some of the descendants of Ham. There are many descendants that are dispersed over wide areas.

Some are Negroids, some are not.

Some are Negroids, some are not.

Was Nimrod not a descendant of Ham? Yes, but not all the descendants of Ham were Negro. I'm talking about Nimrod. We have no proof. Max, can you read Hebrew?

This is not the point. Just answer my question. Can you read? Yes, I can. You can read Hebrew.

Yes. All right.

How is how is the name Ham pronounced in Hebrew? That's not the point here. You said you can read Hebrew. I'm just, Max, I'm just trying to make a point. I've studied.

You're avoiding. Max. I'm answering your questions. You're being actually a bit rude, to be candid with you. I've studied similar issues for decades.

Don't dismiss what I'm saying simply because you differ with it. You studied this? I'm respectfully trying to interact with you. Let me repeat. There is no proof that Nimrod was black.

If he was black, fine. But there is no proof that he was black. That's number one. It is clear that not all the descendants of Ham were black.

Some, many, might have been. But certainly not. Or And the ancient Egyptians were not black. If you look, you'll see that they are darker skinned. They are certainly not Caucasian, obviously.

But here's what you will see. You will see if you have a a hieroglyph and then picture with Nubian slaves, you'll see the Nubians are Negroid. and the Egyptians are not there lighter skinned. It would be if you want to say brown skin versus black skin. As for the sons of Noah, scholars believe that within the three sons of Noah were the genetic markers for all of the different races.

Hence, from these three sons, we get all the different people groups. For you to say if they're brothers, they must have all been the same skin color, then fine, they're all Caucasian, or they're all Asian. But they were all Native American. You could argue that just as well, you could argue they were all Negroes.

So, Max, listen. You need to do some more study here. You need to look at these things more deeply. more clearly. Because you're missing a lot of points here.

And you've got a bit of an attitude that's not willing to hear honest answers.

So step back. Humble yourself before the Lord. Do some more study. All right? And then we'll talk again.

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, friends, to the line of fire. Hey, I love having my views challenged. I love learning new things. And I have little patience.

for those who are unwilling. to have a serious interactive dialogue. That troubles me.

Now, why did I ask the last caller if he knew Hebrew? I simply wanted to point out that when you call and basically scorn what others are saying, give no place to it, as if there are no other opinions, as if you quote one scholar and I can't quote another or five or ten or twenty with a different viewpoint, that troubles me.

So I was simply saying, hey, can you even read the original text you're talking about? And If he could, you simply answer the question about how to the Hebrew pronunciation of ham, that's pretty easy. Right. You know, not much of a mystery. Not to pull rank, because you could be, I can know Hebrew and you could be right on something in the Old Testament.

That's not the point at all. Simply to encourage openness and dialogue and interaction. And I also want to be fair to all of you listening because I know you get frustrated when I go on with a caller sometimes and they're trying to talk over me and not listening. But we do our best to give folks a shot. 86634Truth.

So, yes. Does it say in Table of Nations, Genesis 10:6, the sons of Ham, or Ham in Hebrew, Cush. Egypt, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Kush, Seva, Havilah, Sabta, Rama, and Sabtika, the sons of Rama, Sheva, and Dadon. Kush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior in the earth.

The fact is that the ancient Canaanites were not black. We can see that from iconography, from the ancient world, from other attestation. They were not Negro. No, if they were fine, it's immaterial to me, all right? Because I'm Caucasian, they weren't Caucasian.

Okay, um so there were and the ancient Egyptians were not negroid. They were again more brown skin than black skin. Uh and then there is even Nuances and to why some of the ancient paintings in Egypt were depicted the way they were, what skin color indicated for better or worse. That's another subject entirely. When it comes to Cush, later in the Bible, Cush refers to Ethiopia.

But in its most ancient references, there is some level of debate about that. And um Some indicate it more Egypt-related than Ethiopia-related. The Cultural Background Study Bible says this: Attempts to identify Nimrod with some historical or literary figure from the ancient world have been many, including an Assyrian king, Tukulti-Ninurta I, end of the 13th century BC, or the Assyrian god Ninurta, a warrior and hunter of a myriad mythical creatures. An Assyrian poem from the end of the second millennium BC epitomizes an Assyrian king, thought to be Tiglath-Pelisa I, as a great hunter. But the piece is an extended metaphor using the language of hunting to describe the conquest of the king.

It cannot be ruled out that this is also the case in the description of Nimrod, since hunting is a metaphor for royal conquest, and it goes on. In any case, historically, we can't place who Nimrod was. Is it possible he's black? Sure, but we certainly cannot say that he was with any certainty. And then, of course, we also notice that when we go through the descendants of Shem.

Okay, this is where we end up with the children of Israel.

So if you want to argue that the Hamites were black, you're also going to say the Shemites were black, or the Semites, and then the Japhethites as well, that all the sons of Noah were black, in which case, where did the rest of the world come from? Yeah, by the way, to get your copy of the Cultural Background Study Bible and your order through our website, you'll be helping us, yes. But we will pay the postage on it and give you free with your order. My two-hour interview with Professor Craig Keener, where he got into backgrounds to the Bible. In fact, we'll play some excerpts for you in a moment from my interview with Craig Keener.

Let's go to Gaithersburg, Maryland. Joshua, welcome to the line of fire. Hey, thank you for having me. You are Well, thank you. Oh, I've never been on here before.

I don't know how things go. Did you receive my question? You go ahead and ask it. I'm good. I'm ready.

Okay. Well the uh the question I had was uh are the basically, are the biblical Jews still relevant today in I guess, I don't want to say in Christianity, but just in the world of faith and where we need to turn our beliefs to our feet forward and believing in the Messiah and um the redemption plan for his people first. And then to the nations. Sure.

So, are the biblical Jews still relevant in our walk and as far as who we need to look to? Towards to seek salvation. Yeah. Let me explain why there's relevance and why there's not. As far as our individual salvation, the one Jew we need to concentrate on is the Jew named Jesus, our Savior, our Messiah, our Lord.

He is the Messiah of the Jewish people and the Savior of the world, and we must put our faith in him to know God rightly, to have our sins forgiven, whether we're Jewish, Gentile, whether we're black, white, whether we're old, young, salvation comes through him. There's no other name by which we must be saved other than his name.

So we don't need the intercession of Jewish people today or the mediation of Jewish people today to be saved.

However, I do believe that we need to reach out to the Jewish people with the good news of Jesus. Paul writes in Romans 1:16 that the gospel is to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.

So we should be reaching out. Jewish people worldwide with the gospel. We should also recognize God's hand in bringing the Jewish people back to the land of Israel. We were scattered for centuries. We were hated, persecuted, and almost killed.

And now regathered. I say this is a Jew myself. Regathered back to the land of Israel miraculously by God's hand, not because of our righteousness. Israel is hardly a righteous nation. There's a lot of good in Israel, but a lot of bad.

So it's only by the mercy of God Israel stands. But Israel has been regathered, and the prophetic scriptures indicated that at the end of the age, there'll be a worldwide attack on Jerusalem, and then God will deliver his people from that.

So, in that sense, we should be praying for Israel. Paul says that even though the Jewish people are enemies of the gospel, they're still loved on account of the fathers, for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.

So, we pray for their salvation, we pray for their protection, we recognize God's activity right in our midst to this day, and in that respect, we also. We also participate by sharing the good news and praying.

So, salvation comes through Jesus. But Jewish people still have a relevant role, still loved by God, and still with an end-time purpose.

Okay. So you're you're Jewish yourself? Yes, sir.

Okay. Are you familiar? I don't want to take too much time. I don't know how where I can go or how far I can go. But I just want to tell you, you know, I'm a what you would call African-American man.

Young man. And um All my life I just thought that the Jews rejected Jesus and therefore we all can be saved through the faith. And that's all I already knew about the Jewish people. And then I started doing a study about the true God because I heard about the Jesus guy kind of. There's a lot of uh mythology, even dealing with Hercules, ton of horrors, blah blah blah.

So I started studying the Islam a little bit, and the Islam was okay, but it wasn't fulfilling enough either.

Well, continue. Stay right there. We've got a break. But I want to keep talking to Joshua. I want to talk to Tom Robert as well.

Stay right there. We'll get to more calls. Keep listening online. AskDrBrown.org. Just click on Listen Live.

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. Yeah, I wanna uh I want to get back to Joshua Gaithersburg, Maryland. Hey, Joshua, let me just say this before you mention where you are right now. What you heard about Jesus or Hercules or Son of Horus, that's complete nonsense. Jesus lived and died as a Jewish man.

He is the Messiah of Israel. He fulfilled essential prophecies of the Hebrew scriptures, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven, and is returning. And the fact that you have some pagan myths that are way, way, way out there that allegedly relate to him, that's just not true. You've got the true, you've got the counterfeit.

So whenever you have a counterfeit, that always means you have a truth.

So don't be bothered by the counterfeits. The counterfeits only help the truth shine out more clearly. Exactly. No doubt. I'm not on that at all.

The fact that you mentioned the truth and the counterfeit even brings to the the real the real driven point home is that uh the Jews, whether you want to c consider the the southern kingdom Or the house of Israel as a whole, they had blessings and curses that were proclaimed upon them from. the most high himself through Moses. And the fulfillment of those curses. And a lot of those things, they have to fit those curses to be considered the Jews of the Bible. And as you look in Scripture, it even foretells I don't know if you ever read this before, but that the Jews will actually forget their heritage and they will forget who their God was.

After uh the Messiah even came and left. That's what No, it doesn't really. Yeah, it doesn't really say that. Forgetting their God means they don't serve him. Listen, what you have to understand is that the Jewish people that we can identify historically, we can trace things back.

We know where we were last century and the century before that and 500 years ago and 1,000 years ago, 1,500 years ago, 2,000 years ago, 2,500 years ago. It's not a mystery. We've had different... Can I say something, Dr. Brown?

Yeah, but let me just finish the point I'm making. And the curses in Deuteronomy, tragically, we have experienced, even being sent to be slaves by ship. That's happened also. There are different times in our history where we can see where that would have happened under different ones that exiled us and those that used ships, etc.

So the fact is for African Americans to say we've suffered terribly, or for Africans to say we've suffered terribly, and therefore we are the biblical Jews, it doesn't work like that. Many people suffer terribly. That doesn't make them biblical Jews. And not at all, not at all. Um The thing is, there's many different scriptures, but real quick, in Jeremiah 17, verse 4, it says, And thou, even thyself, shall discontinue from thy heritage that I gave thee.

and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not. for you have kindled a fire in my anger which shall burn for ever.

So the the fact that the Jews were actually going to lose their heritage Um it's prophetic. And the fact that you said that you know who you were from centuries to fifteen hundred to two thousand years, it actually shows the counterfeit. Of you claiming to be the biblical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Nah, it's actually the exact reverse. Hey, Joshua, you're very gracious in the way you speak and I appreciate that, but no, no, no, you got it 100% backwards.

Uh Jesus knew who he was. The Jews in his day knew who who they were. Paul could make reference to what they had done through the generations. Again, they had different belief systems on minor points between them. But no, no, it's quite the opposite, okay?

And if you want to understand what it's talking about is that they were going to be displaced from their land, which happened, and they're going to serve their enemies in a foreign land, which happened. It doesn't mean they're going to get amnesia. Because God's addressing them as Israel, the Jewish people, and then the next generation He's addressing them, and the next.

So it looks like you're on a journey, but you got off track. Get back get back to the simplicity of the word Forget this idea of trying to identify yourself as an ancient Hebrew Israelites. It's simply not historically true. A focus on knowing Jesus and making him known to others. And if Jesus was black or white or green, that's immaterial.

He's the Savior of the world. All right, thank you for the call. Change 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. I'm hoping that readers will come to understand that even though the Bible is written for us, It wasn't written to us. It was written in another language to another culture with all of the cultural assumptions that went along with that.

Because when we take our Western, modern culture and impose it on the text, we're putting in meaning. that wasn't there. and we're missing the meaning that the text has. To find out more about the Cultural Background Study Bible, Please go to askdrbrown.org, A-S-K-D-R-Brown.org. You'll find more information right there on.

Home page. All right, looks like this is the day to discuss some of these issues about the color. The skin color of the ancient world, ancient Israelites, etc. Just got a bunch of calls. Let's go to Tom and Nanuette, New York.

Thanks for calling the line of fire. Hello, Doctor Brown. Um I find it amazing that we're talking about Nimrod, the mighty hunter, to be Negroid. And we're missing the crux of the story. And that the crux of the story is that Nimrod represents Satan's efforts using man as his agent to oppose and destroy God's plans.

God has his prince In a city.

So is Satan. And these opposing princes with their cities occupy most of the pages of the Bible. The closing pages of the Bible revealing the triumph of Emmanuel and Jerusalem. over the Antichrist in Babylon. And then if you look at that The Tower of Babel, and you look at how the timeless principle applies to us We must look to the cross and what Jesus did at the cross.

The Lord said to deny himself. Take up your cross. Take up your cross. and follow him. And the problem is that people are not looking to the cross and Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And that's why we have two camps. trying to do rely on our own strengths and our own abilities without looking to Christ and what He already done for us. Yes, certainly that's where we need to put our focus. And major on the majors and not get caught up on the minors. And again, I find it interesting that, say, during the days of Nazi Germany, that there were not Africans crying out, no, no, no, we're the real Jews.

Hitler, come and kill us. You know, you weren't hearing that.

So it's, again, the timing of these things always strikes me as odd. But you realize some of what you're saying about Nimrod is not written within the Bible itself. In other words, there are traditions outside the Bible about Nimrod and Nimrod kind of being the founder of this whole anti-God movement, etc.

So you realize that that part's not in the Bible. But in terms of the ultimate cosmic battle and the battle between light and darkness and the kingdom of God versus the kingdom of Satan, and where our gaze needs to be fixed on Jesus and his cross and resurrection, yeah, I'm definitely with you on that, and I appreciate it. Thanks for always pointing us in the right direction. 866-34-TRUTH. Let's go to Richmond, Virginia.

Robert, well. Welcome to the line of fire. And I You gotta turn your phone down. You gotta turn your radio down, Robert. Actually, all right, uh, Betsy, let's help Robert out.

By the way, um, we are in touch with one or two or three Hebrew Israelites and others. that we plan to do some healthy dialogue or debate with. And let's put the issues on the table. And we know that there is an increasing movement. Of Hebrew Israelites.

And The black population in America. Today we had many. Calling us or emailing us for months and months saying, when are you going to address this more? Matt Slick over at CARM.org put together some very useful information. Dr.

James White has now been doing debates with Hebrew Israelites.

So we want to point people to Jesus. We want to major on the majors, but because some of these groups get really off. It's not just a matter of debating ancient skin color, but they get really off. That's the danger. That's what we need to address.

But we're responding to a need. As always, we are responding to a need. 866-34-TRUTH. Let's try again. Robert in Richmond, Virginia.

Welcome to the line of fire. Yes, ma'am. Yes, sir.

Thank you, doctor Brown. You're welcome. You bet. Yeah. Dr.

Brown, I really appreciate the fact that you do give people a chance to Sir, what do you think?

Well, thanks. We we try. We try. Thank you. Penfit.

And I don't want to hold your time long because I know a lot of people are pretty interested in this. As you notice that, the more and more you talk about the Origin of things. Uh the color seems not It seemed hard to uh not bring up the color. But the question you did ask Yeah. Hmm.

did all of those nationalities descend from. I heard you actually listened to uh talker And From my study, everything originated from the black man. Do you agree? Not necessarily. I've got no problem if that's the case, but not necessarily.

Yeah, so tell me how you conclude it. Because black is the only thing that has the essence of everything in it. Ah, yeah, what I am no expert on genetics, Robert, to be totally candid with you. But what I had read was a good explanation because you got the three sons of Noah, right? Everybody comes from them because everybody else is wiped out, right?

You have Adam and Eve, and then the world populated, and then the world wiped out, and now. The rest of the world is populated ultimately through the three sons of Noah. And I had read genetic explanations that said that it's very possible that they could each have certain genetic markers, so that over the process of generations, all of the different races could emerge from these three. And we don't really know what they look like. Were they Negro-ite?

Were they more brown-skinned Middle Eastern? Was it something else, more Asian? Don't know. I mean, I'm fine with whatever it was, it was. You know what I'm saying?

It doesn't affect me today. But. If you have any more information on why you would say that, what is it about then black genetics that have within them all of the other genetics necessary for caucasoid or mongoloid, negroid? What is it about the negroid that has the other ingredients? That's what I'm not getting genetically.

But again, that's not my field.

Well, sir, the reason why I was saying that because the flood took place about, what, 4,000, 6,000 years ago? Yeah, I mean it yeah, at at least at least uh six thousand years ago you'd say, or roughly but now then it's obvious then that there were people on the earth before the flood, right? And are they not righteous?

Well, some were righteous.

Some were righteous, most were not. That's why the flood came.

Well, if the the if the flood took place And none of them, isn't that right? No it was world white. No, but but the the it was Noah Noah never went to Australia. Correct? That's true.

So that's just showing that the area that was destroyed was the place where the people were most wicked. Isn't that right? No, the whole world was wicked. No, I thought it was saved with nine of us. No, no, no, no.

You've got the stories confused. No, the whole world. No, the world at that time, well, a world could be consistent of where you're at, like right now, there's an animal world. But in the in it's the it's the music world. But The world was talking about those people in that particular part of the world.

Not the whole world. Yeah, let me read Genesis 6. When man began to multiply on the face of the land, And daughters were born to them. The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive, and they took as their wives all they chose. Then the Lord said, My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh, his days shall be a hundred twenty years.

Then it goes on to verse 5: The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

So the Lord said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I'm sorry that I've made them.

So that's the whole world. It doesn't mention Nineveh or anything like that whatsoever.

So I'm not sure where you're getting that from.

Well, sure. The the point that I was saying is that There's Nineveh was destroyed. that part of the world was destroyed. then why would we have why would you be actually give two of every kind of animal when some animals just don't even thrive in that part of the world? Yeah, God brought them.

First thing is that God brought representative animals to Noah. And then the other thing is they may have dispersed to other parts of the world after that. I mean, these are many questions, Robert. There are some who argue, because of this, that the flood must have been local. But even so, it wasn't in Africa.

The ark comes to rest in what would be modern-day Turkey, apparently, the mountains of Ararat, which would be modern-day Turkey, which is hardly a Negroid territory. The destruction of Nineveh, Nineveh, that's in the days of Jonah. That they're single out, hey, I've got a break, but I do thank you for the call. And obviously, these are discussions we're gonna continue to have. Gotta get to some more callers on the other side of the break.

Thank you, sir, for raising the questions and weighing in. Much appreciate it. Ain't the world It's fire we want, oh fire we It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get into the line of fire now by calling 866-342.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Hey, let me. Let me repeat a point I made a few weeks ago. I think everybody.

should try to picture Jesus Moses The apostles looking different than they do. In other words, we tend to see, if we are Caucasians, we tend to see a European Jesus, a European Paul. That's the way things were depicted over the ages.

Sometimes we forget the Jewishness of Jesus, Yeshua.

Sometimes we forget the Middle Eastern nature of the ancient people of the land. And then I've seen depictions of Jesus in Chinese iconography where he looks Chinese. And I remember visiting in my days when I was in Queens College in New York, there was a friend of mine who attended a large black church in Brooklyn. And when I visited the church with him, there was a large mural on the wall, and it had Jesus and the apostles, and they were all black. And he didn't actually believe that that was the case, but he said, look, it's a point of identification.

He said, when you take out your yearbook, your school yearbook, the first picture you look for is your own. This is a way for the people to identify. I think it's helpful for a white person to picture Jesus as if he was black. Or as if he was Caucasian or Native American, simply to say, Would it affect how I relate to him? Am I relating to him based on race?

The same way someone who's black that was raised up with an image of a black Jesus would do well to think of him as a white man or an Asian man or a Native American man or a Middle Eastern brown skinned man. In other words, anything that gets us. Looking At the scriptures in a way that challenges some of our presuppositions to get us to the point to say that that part doesn't matter. That part doesn't matter. Skin color does not matter.

in terms of who a person is. That's my point of getting there. And then when we have these discussions, whatever the truth is, it is, right? 866-348-7884.

Boston, Massachusetts. John, welcome to the line of fire. Welcome. Thank you for having me. I just wanted to say I've listened to a lot of what's been said and I just have a few statements.

First of all, does the Bible not say that life began along the Euphrates? Sure.

Okay. I mean, when I say sure, presumptive. It seems to be based on where the Garden of Eden would have been according to Genesis chapter 2.

Okay. That yes, Tigris and Euphrates would be part of it.

So that's the Mesopotamian area. Yeah. Oh, okay.

So does will we do that that that in a that that area could be in Africa, right? No. No. No. No, no, Tigris and Euphrates is where modern Iraq is today.

Not Africa.

So you've got Africa to the south of Israel, with the tip of it, northernmost tip being Egypt, all right? And then you go further to the so that's the southwest.

Now you go over to the to the east, and now you cross the Euphrates, and you're between the Euphrates and Tigris.

So that's Africa is one place, Mesopotamia is in another place. They're two separate continents.

Okay. Well Um I've 'Cause I'm I've I've heard the deb I'm I'm f I'm listening to the debate 'cause going on. And I know the oldest remains of men have been found in Africa.

So to say that life started in Africa is not an untrue or an uns unfair statement.

Well, even that, though, again, I have no problem if that was the case, but even that, there are debates. There are claims that the oldest specimens of the human race are found in other parts of the world. I don't, to my knowledge, there is nothing definitive archaeologically. That can place human development in Africa before anywhere else. It seems that you have civilization rising up in several different places in the world around the same time, from what we can tell, or anthropological studies would point in that direction.

But in terms of if you've got to have the Euphrates and Tigris involved based on Genesis the second chapter, then that would point over, as I say, to Mesopotamia. That's why there are traditions. It's just pure tradition. You know, that the Garden of Eden was originally in Iraq. I mean, that's what the country wants to claim, but it's pure tradition in that regard.

And then you also have to realize that people groups move. There are migrations where a group that was in one area moves to another area, and then they begin to multiply in that area, and then that becomes their homeland.

So they may not have always been in that particular area. uh throughout throughout all of history. Full text. Because I've been I've studied a little bit about kind of the origins. And of course, Yeah.

Eight. The I'm sorry. The um The origin like not the origins but um Life if life began in Africa. Then At the same time that you had Moses, that you had Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, those guys were black. And it coincides with the time that the Mongolians swept through that region.

So, what you have actually would Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be black? They're not from Africa. Abraham comes from Ur of the Chaldees, which again is to the east. It's a separate continent. It's it's in uh it's, as they say, Mesopotamia.

It would be the the place of the ancient Sumerians. and then after them the Babylonians and the Assyrians.

So there's no connection there whatsoever.

So tell you what, because I'm out of time, John. I'm out of time. Let me say again. I've no whatever was was. I I'm not I have no issue.

If civilization began in Africa, if it began in China, if it began in America. If if Adam and Eve were were black skin color, white skin color, or something we've never seen. And then out of that, the human race descended and developed. I mean, obviously, the different races had to develop out of somewhere, right? Whether they all came from Caucasite or from Mongolite or from Negrite or whatever the group.

So be it. The question is, what does it mean to us today? It should be the bigger issue. And it doesn't mean anything. And what are we supposed to make of these things?

When you end up with the conclusion that modern Israel has nothing to do with God's purposes, I'm not saying you say this, John, but that modern Israel has nothing to do with God's purposes and that modern Jews are not Jews. That's when I take issue with it. Not because of ethnic heritage, but because of God's promises and God's truths. That's why I take issue with it. But otherwise, hey.

Let it be. Yeah, Matt, I remembered reading that about China. Fossil finds in China are challenging ideas about the evolution of modern humans and our closest relatives. Again, there's dispute about the place of human origin. But hey, gotta run.

Thank you for the call, John. Remember, we're extending our special offer on the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible one more week. We got such a great response last week. We're extending it one more week. We pay the postage on this great, amazing work, and we're giving you free my two-hour interview with Professor Craig Keener.

When you're on the website, AskDrBrown.org. Be sure to also check out our trip to Israel. It's coming in February. My bottom line today: regardless of the color of our skin in Jesus, we are one. We're live on Labor Day.

Four lines are open. Let's do it. Um 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. So, where was the Garden of Eden?

Hmm. Where is the Garden of the Meeting located? We had some interesting discussion about that in the last hour. It is. Labor Day September 5th, 2016 Eastern Standard Time, 3 in the afternoon.

All that to say, this is Michael Brown live. We're not trying a best of previously recorded broadcasts. This is live on Labor Day. Michael Brown, delighted to be with you. We take advantage of these special days to give you an opportunity to call in.

Many of you are unable to call at other times of the week because of work, but you're off today.

So the phone loans are open. Anything in the world you want to talk to me about, ask me about, probe, anything whatsoever. Phone lines are open 866-348-7884. If it's appropriate for Christian Radio, I'm glad to take your call. 866-34 Truth.

So, As I've been During the last week, plus, I'm holding in my hand the cultural study Bible. The Cultural Background Study Bible just came out. We got such a good response to it last week that we're extending the special offer with it this week. And I'm looking at the comments to Genesis chapter 2, verses 11 through 13. Verse 10, a river watering the garden, the garden of Eden flowed from Eden.

From there it was separated into four headwaters. Verse 11, the name of the first is the Pishon. It winds through the entire land of Havilah where there is gold. The gold of that dand is good. Aromatic resin and onyx are also there.

The name of the second river is the Gihon it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris. It runs along the east side of Asher, and the fourth river is the Euphrates.

Now if Cush is in Africa, and the Tigris and Euphrates are in Mesopotamia, That presents a problem.

Well, we know for sure the Tigris and Euphrates are in Mesopotamia. It's possible that ancient Cush was not Ethiopia, but some place that could have been nearer to Midian, which would then put it closer to Mesopotamia. In any case, there is debate and discussion about this.

So here's what the Cultural Background Study Bible says. Attempts to identify these two rivers, Pishon and Gihon, include canals, other rivers of Mesopotamia, Bali, Diala, Zav, etc., and other rivers outside of Mesopotamia, for example, Nile, Indus, and Ganges.

So we're talking about India or Egypt, or larger bodies such as the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea. Recent investigations have attempted to identify the Pichon as a major river that dried up in antiquity. This possibility emerges from the analysis of sand patterns and satellite photography, which have revealed an old riverbed running northeast through Saudi Arabia from the Hejaz Mountains near Medina, which contains one of the richest gold mines in the region, to the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, near the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. As mentioned on verses 10 through 14, others have identified the Pishon and Gihon rivers in the area of Urartu. A final suggestion is that the Pichon and Gichon refer to the encircling cosmic waters.

None of these options may be adopted with any confidence, though some are more plausible than others. In other words, We don't know for sure. given our vantage point today, where these were.

However, it does say most scholars would place Eden in or near this is the notes to 2, 10 through 14 in or near the northern end of the Persian Gulf.

So you're talking the areas of Iran, a rock that part of the world. You're not talking Africa. You're not talking the US of A, you're not talking Russia. You're not talking China. You're not talking New Zealand.

If These scholars are right. Most scholars We place Eden in or near the northern end of the Persian Gulf based on the locations of the Tigris and Euphrates river. The flow of the rivers and the uncertainty of the location of the Pishon and Gikong has caused some to look near the source of the Tigris and Euphrates and some scholars have identified two other major rivers in the area that might qualify.

So That's the consensus. Northern end for the Persian Gulf, but we're not sure. 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. This is. The Jewish Heritage Study Bible. Right.

I'm shooting. We have it especially for you. And we have one for your wife. Thank you. Because when things go down, You can study the word of God.

when things sing like as Almost impossible. You will read Mark 9, 23, if thou canst believe. All things are possible. That was the pastor presenting a Jewish Heritage Study Bible to Donald and Melania Trump after Donald Trump spoke at. That church on Saturday, many were saying, Good move, good move.

Reach out to African Americans, tell them their vote's important. Tell them that the Democrats have not helped them. and that there are precious Treasure is In America? and that you honor the African American church. Christian heritage among them.

Do it. Reach out. Others say all you're doing is exploiting people. You didn't come in there and apologize for your racism of the past and your current racism and things like that.

So you got no business being there. You took advantage of the people. Others say, Come on, it's insincere, it's just a politician. All kinds of different views, but I'm glad he did it. I'm glad Donald Trump did it.

and didn't listen to the whole message but read a good part of the transcript. Written for him, as I understand it, by Kellyanne Conway.

So. A humble approach. He's, let me just say this: when it comes to preaching from prepared notes or using a teleprompter, Donald Trump is not what you would call a great orator. And there's one thing in the black churches of America is a great tradition of oratory, of tremendous speakers, and those gifted with the ability to speak. In tremendous ways throughout black churches in America.

So, Donald Trump certainly didn't excel there. I'm glad he did it. And I think it was a humble. Honoring speech and just curious to get perspectives from others from different backgrounds. It probably works out to whatever your views are of Donald Trump.

That's where you'll come down on this. You know what I'm saying? If you don't trust the guy, if you think he's just a manipulator, if you think he's a racist, then you won't like what he did. If you say, hey, he's a politician, but he's going for it. We appreciate him reaching out.

Then you'll have a different viewpoint. 866-34TRUTH. It's Labor Day. You've got questions. We've got answers.

First hour. We ended up with call after call after call dealing with Hebrew-Israelite issues, black Hebrew-Israelites, and were the original inhabitants of the earth black. And the sons of Noah, were they black? And was Nimrod black? And the Babylonians black, and the ancient Israelites black?

So it was a very interesting discussion, to say the least. 866-348-7884 is the number to call. Um some friends we have serving in Iraq. We've got a good-sized team of fire missionaries grads from ministry school serving in Iraq. And just getting a newsletter from another couple that was part of our community for some time and now serving in Iraq.

And he says both he and his wife are getting a real grasp of the language. Arabic, wonderful. Especially in the last couple of weeks, our comprehension has expanded significantly. I still sound like a drunk Persian when I speak, but my wife sounds like an angel. She has language lessons two times a week, and I just found a replacement for the language helper that I lost.

This time, my helper is a Muslim, so pray that God will open to us a door of utterance, as Paul said in Colossians 4. But he's got a testimony here. talking about sharing the gospel. And he said, Two weeks ago, I had a dream about a man, this Muslim that he was speaking to, a Christian monk who was teaching his position from the Bible in the Bible. In the dream, he said, the Bible teaches that Muhammad is a false prophet.

Which he had never heard before.

So he heard this in a dream, which then led to further discussions about the gospel. May God continue to speak and open hearts and minds. 866-348-7884.

Let me grab an e-question. I didn't take any of the first hour, and then I'll go to your calls. Let's see. This is from Augustine. Knowing that all Christians are on a journey to come to the unity of faith in pursuit of sound doctrine, at what point does a community of faith cross the line from sloppy, immature, or bad theology into being labeled a cult?

For example, Roman Catholicism, and who determines that point?

Well, if you're a Roman Catholic, you would say that that's the mother church and that you have the truth of the gospel there and would judge others based on that. If you're Greek Orthodox, you would base on that. If you're Protestant evangelical. As I would be broadly placed, then you would base things on that.

So, assuming that you're writing from the position of a Bible-believing Protestant evangelical. we would say that the Bible rightly interpreted is the God. That statements of church belief through the centuries are helpful. but that ultimately it is the Bible rightly interpreted that is our God. And we do our best to let Scripture interpret Scripture.

We do our best to open our hearts and let the word direct us rather than us directing the word.

Now, Having said all that, uh that a group denies the most fundamental of fundamentals. It can be labeled a cult. For example, You're not going to say someone is a cult because they believe in infant baptism versus adult baptism. You're not going to say someone is a cult because they say tongues is not for today or tongues is for today. You're not going to brand some group a cult because they say we believe we should celebrate the seventh-day Sabbath instead of setting apart Sunday.

You're not going to label them a cult, nor are you going to label someone a cult because they say we believe that we should set apart Sunday. It is more fundamental denials of the faith. if the atoning death of Jesus is denied. if his resurrection is denied. if his deity is denied.

if the authority of the Scriptures is denied. Those would be fundamental issues. And those have been, over the centuries, what have separated Christians from non-Christians, and therefore we do our best to be faithful to that. definition. Beyond that, there will be debate and disagreement.

But I will not label a group a cult if they hold to the fundamentals of the faith, even if I'm uneasy with other emphases that they have and other practices that they participate in. If they hold to the fundamentals of the gospel, Which also calls for a changed life. In other words, if they said, Well, you believe in Jesus, but then go on and commit adultery and fornicate and get drunk, and God's perfectly happy with that.

Well, obviously, I would have an issue with that as well. 866-34Truth. We go to Daniel in Richmond, Virginia. Thanks for calling the line of fire. Hello, Dr.

Brown. This is Daniel. Yes, sir.

Calling from Richmond. Yes. So I have a question. We have a few Mormon girls living next door And my wife is pretty much at home all day. And we go to my wife and I, we attend, we have we are born and raised up in a Bible believing church, a gospel hall.

And we're pretty, um uh formally grounded in the word of God. But, um how do we effectively witness to Uh some of them Mormon people living around us. Um they do not they come they always come in groups and And especially when I'm not at home. And they will find these kind of convenient times to Come and to ask questions and Um And my wife tries her best to answer them and um But it I wanted to ask you what would be a good and effective Way to witness to them in a short time. without offending them.

What your wife does is say, listen, uh I'd like you, my husband and I would gladly speak with you together if you can make an appointment to come back. Most of them will, okay? That's the first thing. The second thing, so she has no obligation to speak with them on her own. Just say, I'd be glad to speak to you when my husband's home.

And if they press, then she immediately says, you know, I'm done, no time. But if otherwise, they'll say fine. When they get there, Then say, listen, we've been following Jesus for decades. We know the Lord. We love His Word.

Are you here to have an honest conversation? Are you open to hear what we have to say? If they forthrightly tell you, Uh no, uh we are here to teach you and convert you. Then you can politely say, Well, listen, if you're not open, there's no reason for us to have a dialogue because we have a solid relationship with Jesus. And you could then ask them.

Well, what is it that I don't have? We're born again. Our sins are forgiven. We're in fellowship with God. We love the scriptures.

We love the Lord. We're in a solid community of believers. What is it that we don't have? And then, you know, turn it in that direction. Beyond that, beyond that, I'll tell you, we come back.

I'll just mention a few useful resources that would help equip you a little bit more. And again, it's only if they're open. If not, In that century, casting your pearls before swine. 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. Thanks for joining us live on Labor Day, this September 5th, 2016. Michael Brown, delighted to be with you.

Taking your calls, anything you want to ask me about. We open the phones when I'm doing a live broadcast on a holiday, knowing it's a rare time for some of you to be able to call in 866-34TRUT.

So back to Daniel in Richmond, Virginia. Just a quick anecdote, a personal anecdote. When we lived, our family in Maryland many years ago, this probably goes back. over twenty five years, these uh two Mormons came by to talk to our family. I was out of town.

And Nancy talked to him and just sensed that There might be some openness.

So she invited them back to talk.

So they came over one night and I began to interact with them. Two young men, you know, the typical story. I began to interact with them. And uh immediately, uh immediately, they uh They began to Challenged me on certain things, but had no ammunition. I mean, their arguments broke down very, very quickly when we went to scripture.

and they started to get a little flustered.

So I began to press them on some things, and one of them said, Look, we're here to teach you. I said, No, no, no. I let you in my home to teach you. I said, That's why I let you in my home, and that's why you're here. And I said to one of them, I said to both of them, I said, One day you're going to stand before God.

And your kids are going to stand before God and they're going to say, Daddy, why didn't you tell us the truth? Why did you mislead us? Why did you deceive us into this false religion? And you're going to have to give account to God for it. And the guy said to me, That's heavy stuff.

I said, Well, you need to know what you're doing and the error of it.

So I warned them, but they weren't willing to listen any further. And we had to end it there. Obviously, you pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them. And here and there, there are those that are knocking on doors that God ends up dealing with. But that's a little tougher one to reach just because they're there with a specific agenda.

They're there with someone else. It's a little harder for them to think independently. But if you'll go to the CARM website, carm.org. Carm.org. It'll give you some good fundamental information.

on what Mormons believe. And the severity of some of their errors.

Now, there are more and more Mormons that know less and less about Mormonism and are somewhat confused and are actually more open to the gospel. because they they don't know the distinctives of Mormonism. But quarum.org is a convenient place that will give you lots of information. Also, if you go to Dr. James White's website, Afen Omega Ministries, that's a-o-m-in-n.org.

A-O-M-I-N.org. There are many debates that he's done with Mormons. You know, I have a number that are referenced there.

So you can sit down with your wife and watch one or two of the debates to see how he interacts. And then he's got his letters to a Mormon elder. Led us to a Mormon elder, that's also very interesting and enlightening.

So, there are a number of resources, some online, some that you can get actual books to read, and that will better equip you. But do it together. And again, if they don't express any openness, if they are not willing to really Sit with you and examine things, because remember, they hear a lot of the same objections on a regular basis. They have their pat answers.

So you want to really highlight some of the heretical things they believe. Say, do you really hold to this? Do you really believe that God was once a man like we were? And some of the things that'll be highlighted on the Carm website. And then, as I said, also start with What do you claim that we don't have?

And you'll have something, of course, that they don't have. Right. So hopefully, you are very welcome. And never feel an obligation when someone knocks on the door if you don't feel equipped to speak to that person. And it's clear they're there to instruct you rather than to be instructed.

Just say, hey, I'll pray for you, but I've got a great relationship with God. Thanks. And you don't have to fight in every single battle. Hey, thank you for the call. I appreciate it.

866-348-7884 Dennis, have clip number five ready. I'll play it in a minute. I remember, ooh, when was this? Trying to picture where we lived. Uh maybe about eight years ago.

Uh two young guys came knocking on the door. Jehovah's Witnesses. One was in training, so he knew even less than than the other fellow. And I greeted them and began to talk. And of course, I know.

That they don't believe that you can have assurance of forgiveness of sins, know that you have eternal life. They claim that was just for the 144,000 sealed, which is mainly in apostolic times, but then a few more in more recent times. They're basically the faithful servant, the slave, trying to serve hard and then make it into the millennial kingdom and somehow. kind of work their way to a salvation of sorts. Yeah.

That's not the way they would present it. That's the way I'm presenting it. In any case, my heart went out to these guys and. I explain to them the wonderful relationship I have with God, how God is my Father, how I know Him intimately. How He works in my life, how Jesus is everything to me, how He died for my sins and rose from the dead, how I know that I know that I have eternal life, because of which I want to pursue Him all the more and live a holy and godly life.

And I said, So, what are you offering me that I don't have? these poor guys and Um, well, very uncertain times we offer hope. I've got hope, I've got infinite hope. I And of course, I didn't mention specific points that they would differ with doctrinally, so it just exposed the fact that they don't have a testimony. Yeah, Jehovah's Witnesses, if you'll ask them.

With the rarest of rare exceptions, hey, what's your test mate? They don't have one. I remember a guy saying, Yeah, I started going to Bible study. It was good, and I've been doing this for 20 years. Like, that's it.

All right, listen to this excerpt of my interview with Professor Craig Keener about 10 days ago talking about backgrounds to the Bible. When I first discovered that Bible background actually made a difference in understanding some passages, Yeah. We've got to get this into people's hands.

Now the background commentary has been well I think it's like Well, it's well over half a million copies. Amazing. In terms of getting the background understanding into everybody's hands. I mean, not all these notes are necessary to understand. You don't have to know that much about Pontius Pilot or or so on to to really understand the text but Some of them really make Yeah.

And I really want to see I I really want to see people be able to Have access. To Bible background, just like we have access to Greek. Yeah. Hence the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, the first of its kind.

So, Craig was talking about his InterVarsity Press. Bible background commentary in the New Testament that sold so well. John Walton and a team of scholars did the Old Testament.

Now John Walton and Craig Koener have teamed up together. Ooh, let's see here. When I go to Isaiah 45, starting 44:28, oh, a lot on Cyrus here. and the word anointed and what that means. And then Here's a picture from ancient Egypt of a priest being anointed by the gods from the Khnum temple in Esna, Egypt.

So the concept of anointing and how that worked out. Check out our website. We've extended the special offer from last week.

So we'll pay the postage on the Bible. And you'll also get the free two-hour exclusive interview we did with Craig Keener. Be right back, right here on the line of fire. 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, it is a joy to be live with you on this Labor Day.

866-348-7884.

The number two call. And we've got our phone lines open like we do on a holiday when I come your way live. Give me the opportunity to call in that you normally won't have because you're working other days. We still have time for your calls, 866-348-7884. Anything under the sun you want to talk to me about, as long as it's appropriate for Christian radio, give me a call.

I wrote an article last night. A tribute to the many unheralded Mother Teresas in our midst. You can read it at stream.org. Um I wrote it because Sunday the Catholic Church pronounced Mother Teresa as a saint. There's a whole five-step canonization process in the Catholic Church.

My understanding of saint is a biblical. Usage, which is that believers are called saints, hagios, so holy ones or saints.

So that every every believer is a saint in that respect. You don't become a a saint after death by recognition of the church. But either way, that was not the focus of the article. The focus was to say, you know, it it made me think about people who are doing all kinds of sacrificial saintly work, and we don't even think about them. We don't even know their names.

And why this is on my mind especially recently is is my dear mom, Almost 94 years old, frail. Mind is sharp. Not short term, short term. She could be kind of funny. Asking questions, but you know, she does crossword puzzles well, and we talk about the past and things like that.

Long-term memory is good, but she was in the hospital for eight days. And transferred over to a rehab place a few days back. And uh Nancy and I were there a lot at the hospital, now over at the rehab place. And I just so impressed. with the folks serving there.

I've just been so impressed with Uh not everybody. Is saintly, you know what I'm saying? And I know people get paid job, paid money to do what they do, and they go home to their normal homes. I'm not equating that with the level of sacrifice of a Mother Teresa, but you know, to be a nurse in a hospital, just to use that as an example. A lot of people just man, I hospital's not the kind of atmosphere I like.

You want to bring hope, ministry to people, but otherwise I... I don't think of a hospital as the kind of place you want to be. You want to get out of the hospital. You want to get your loved ones out of the hospital. There's a lot of suffering and pain and changing bedpans and cleansing wounds of strangers and changing adult diapers and and and people hurting and and and you're there to try to help them you can only help so much so every day at the hospital i would thank whatever nurses were working and and really tell them how much i appreciated their kindness towards my mom And one of 'em, you know, just loves doing what she's doing.

I said, Why? I said, you know, a lot of people you can't help. She said, but if I can help them a little. It makes a big difference. Oh, that's that's special.

And then over at the place where my mom is now trying to get her out of bed a little bit, trying to move her around, you know, a little physical rehab because you get worn down after at that age, a week in the hospital fighting off sickness. And here's a gal just, you know, met my mom. Just a matter of hours. Mom's name is Rose, and she's laughing where they're calling her Rosie posy, giving her a hug and a kiss. It's just stranger.

I thought, you know, that's very special. And I want to write an article to say, hey, what about the many others that we forget about? What about the foster parents that bring troubled kids in their homes? What about the educators that work in difficult areas, but they want to help these kids? What about this one, and that one, and this one, and that one?

So I wrote my own tribute with the hope that others would. raise their voices as well and say, yeah, I'm thinking of this one, I'm thinking of that one.

So we appreciate the many unheralded saints We're working sacrificially to help. The Herding. We'll be right back. Angel World. 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. Ultimately, everything in the Bible addresses a cultural situation.

Sometimes those situations are things that we implicitly, intuitively already understand. because they happen in all cultures. but sometimes they are situation specific.

So we need the context. The literary context, but we also need the background. And whether it's background from outside the Bible, whether it's background from elsewhere in the Bible, it's something that really opens up the text in a fresh and new way. Mm. That's the real issue.

The scriptural text in a fresh and new way. That's the voice of Professor Craig Koener talking about the NIV cultural background study. Bob, we've extended our special offer with that one more week.

So go to the website, askdrbrown.org, to find out more. Let me give you an example. I'm going to give you a contemporary example, okay? And uh And then from there, get back to the Bible.

So you'll see where I'm going in a minute. This is a clip from President Obama, but I'm going to talk about cultural background. Let's grab clip number eight, Dennis. And this is President Obama. He's talking to CNN's Fareed Zechariah ahead of his final official trip to Asia.

So this aired yesterday, September 4th. Listen to what he had to say, and then I'm going to get into cultural background. What I'm always reminding people is that Uh Although you'll see bumps. Whether it's the know-nothings or Uh you know other spasms and anti-immigrant sentiment directed it. The Irish or Southern Europeans as opposed to Northern Europeans or the Chinese.

or today Latinos or Muslims. The long-term trend is People get absorbed, people get assimilated, and we benefit from this incredible. Uh country in which the measure of your patriotism and how American you are is not the color of your skin, your last name. your faith, but rather your adherence to a creed. your belief in certain principles and values.

All right, so very interesting. President Obama was talking about immigrants in the past. My grandparents on my father's side came over from. Apparently Russia. I came over from Russia.

Um So it's a couple generations back now. I never met my grandfather, only knew my grandmother's a very old woman. My mother came over from England as an immigrant. Her mother died when my mom was just seven years old. The father abandoned the family, so she came over from England and Never Uh Never knew that side of the family, of course, on on uh on her mother's side, on my mother's side.

But the point is, they're immigrants that were absorbed here. My grandparents on my father's side, my mother, were immigrants that were absorbed here. And we are a nation of immigrants in many, many ways. No argument. No argument.

But here's the point. All right.

And here's where I get into cultural background. Were the immigrants that came from Ireland, were the immigrants that came from Italy, were the immigrants that came from Russia? Were these other immigrants Alright. carrying an ideology that hated us, Did any of them want to kill us and destroy us? Were they here to take over our country?

Were they here to subjugate our country? You see where I'm going. In other words, Can you compare past immigration with current and how much of it was illegal? These are just questions that need to be asked And are you going to have the same standard for a criminal law-breaking immigrant that has broken the law here in America, not just by coming into America illegally, but has broken the law here in America? Are you going to compare that person with someone that came here looking for a better life to work and be a productive citizen?

Are you going to compare those who want to participate in the American Dream with those who hate the American Dream?

So the point is, even though we're talking about immigrants, We may be talking about different kinds of immigrants. I'm not making blanket statements about anyone. There are plenty of Middle Eastern refugees that come here seeking a better life in America and are very happy to assimilate. And there are others who are here to undermine our way of life.

So the question is: Are we comparing apples with apples?

So now we go to scripture. If I'm reading a particular verse that was part of the Sinai covenant and God dealing with Israel for a particular reason, and now I want to apply that to Gentile believers today, well, on what basis does it apply? Am I comparing apples to apples? That's the question. Hence, the importance of studying scripture in its context.

Have you ever heard the background to a hymn? And when you hear it, it comes alive even more. Wow. That's incredible. If you know the old hymn, It Is Well With My Soul.

Right. And and wh when sorrows like sea billows roll, you know, even then it's well with my soul. As I understand, the the history of that hymn The hymn writer, A Man, Had sent his wife and children. Over uh The Atlantic Coming to the States. believe it was from England to America.

and they all died at sea. And when he was then making the voyage, the ship went down, they died at sea. when he was making the voyage the same voyage that they had died on. in roughly the same area where they had gone down. He wrote that song.

Suddenly, whatever you're going through seems much more minor unless you've suffered a loss along those lines. But here you have him saying it as well. It is well, replied. Yeah. Wow.

So, backgrounds, backgrounds help a lot. I remember. The the ham That we would sin, great is thy faithfulness.

Some of you know that, right? And God's mercies are new every morning.

Well, I knew the hymn. before I knew that it was based on a verse in the Bible. And where is that verse in the Bible? It's in the heart of the book of Lamentations, the third chapter of Lamentations, where it says. God's mercies are new.

every morning. The proclamation of God's great faithfulness. In the midst of of a complete national collapse. in the midst of exile. in the midst of agony.

That's when those verses are spoken and uttered, and that's the basis for the hymn: Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God, my Father. Yeah, is isn't that something? I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I will remember them, and my soul was downcast within thee. Yet this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed. For his compassions never fail, they are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness, lamentations. One of the most painful books in the Bible to read. All right.

Let me go to your email questions. This is from Jennifer. Hi, Dr. Brown. I just wanted to start off by saying my husband and I love listening to your show.

We think you're truly filled with the Holy Spirit and do a great job at speaking the truth in love. Here's my question. Yeah. like you believe in a post-tribulation rapture. I believe scripture is clear that we as believers will be here, but will be protected in some sort from the disasters and such.

However, even though I do believe that God will protect us, I don't see how it is possible that we won't be affected in some way. For instance, the Revelation when it says one third of the world's vegetation will be destroyed, that would have to affect us somehow. But that being said, you believe we as believers should prepare. I used to laugh at those prepping shows, but I wonder sometime if they're really that crazy. I mean, God told Joseph that there was going to be a famine in Egypt, so he should start storing food in preparation for famine.

But then I think about Matthew 6.31, where it says not to worry about what we'll eat or drink. Do you think God wants us to be prepared? Do you think we shouldn't worry about these things? I know you're a busy man, so I understand that there's. I never hear an answer to this question, but at least I wanted to try because I really value your insight.

Thank you. Well, it took me a little while to get to your question, but I am answering it now on the air.

So, Jennifer, thanks for the kind words. Glad that you and your husband enjoy listening to the show. Number one. Who says that we Are the final generation. We don't know that.

Every generation before that, that thought they were dead and gone.

So, first, we don't know that. Second, uh I was discussing this many years ago with a Vietnam vet, Green Beret Vietnam vet. And he said if you're going to stockpile food First question: Is it for you or your neighbor? If you're to love your neighbor as yourself, you're doing it for you or for your neighbor. First question.

Second question: if it is for you, he said, Are you also going to stockpile weapons? Because the moment. People find out you have food and they don't, and it's famine time, you're going to need weapons to keep them away. And that level There's a bit more to think about in terms of prepping for disaster. I think it's wisdom if you follow the counsel of medical missionary Dr.

Paul Williams, who says that he recommends that everyone stock up for a natural disaster. In other words, it could be a hurricane, could be a tornado, could be a flood, in which case you do your best to have certain things that you can take with you if you have to get out, a certain amount of water, certain amount of basics, things like that. You know, he's just got a little list.

Okay. That could make sense in that regard, but otherwise. Honor the Lord, walk with Him in wisdom in terms of just living your life with wisdom for today and for tomorrow. And if there is something coming because of which the Lord wants us to get specially prepared, He'll tell us. Like the word came to Joseph for Pharaoh and Egypt.

He doesn't tell us don't let anybody put any pressure on you. Everybody that's done the prepping up to now has had no good reason for it. 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. Yeah. Welcome back to the Line of Fire 866 Reaper 8. 7884. Uh let's just see.

Tell you what, clip number six, let me just grab one more excerpt from my interview with Professor Craig Keener. This is talking about the cultural study. Cultural backgrounds, Bible stuff. Study Bible. Study Bible.

Such a simple name. NIV Cultural Background. Study Bible. Clip number six. Let's listen to my interview again with Craig Keener.

I was reading 40 chapters of the Bible a day, trying to you know, I was converted from atheism, so I had a lot of catching up to do. But as I was reading that and I saw how everything fit together in context, I began to realize how So many times St. Paul was addressing a situation that he knew about and his audience knew about, But I didn't know about. And so I said, boy, it would really help me if I understood more of the background. All right, make sure you bring that letter for me.

Okay. Make sure you bring that letter for me. You you find that note. laying on your desk when you get home. Make sure you bring that letter for me.

First, you don't know who it's written to. Was it for you or somebody else in the family? Second, you don't know who wrote it. Sir, you don't know what letter they're talking about. Ah, what do you need?

Background. Who wrote it? Are they ready too? But they're referring to.

So That's always a foundational thing when you study scripture. Paul writing to Timothy. who is the leader over the the house churches in Ephesus.

Okay, so these are leadership letters. Titus, you know, appointed to oversee the churches in Crete.

Okay, that's the background. And all right, so that helps me understand this. James, Jacob, writing to Jewish believers. Corinth, an ancient Greek city of prominence. Ah, okay.

It helps. These things help us for sure. 866-348-786. 884. Let me go back to your emails.

My name is Drew. I've listened to your radio program and preaching for some years now. I started with your thoughts on whether Jesus was the true Messiah or not and his fulfillment of prophecy. Your thoughts on Daniel's timeline for the Messiah coming before the destruction of the temple were eye-opening, and I counted as a major pillar in my beliefs for the Messiah Jesus. I have a question I'm hoping you can answer as I respect your thoughts on the Lord.

I've struggled with Noah's Ark for some years now, and in order to keep my faith, have at times chalked it up to being more allegorical in nature. But in my study, I've come across some information on Noah's Ark and how it's almost a plagiarized version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Epic of Atrehasis, and Zeusudra, four predating stories which all make it look like blatant plagiarism. But even assuming these stories weren't connected to each other, I'm having trouble believing in this story. Little on how we could have different animals on different continents. I have faith in God, but the facts don't really hold to some of these biblical beliefs.

This isn't something like how we don't have any evidence of the Egyptian captivity in Exodus of Israel. That can be taken on faith by historical evidence, a weak place in the chain, so to speak, as other evidence holds the rest of the story up. But when science refutes an Ozark belief, you can guess logic is going to win.

So, my question for you is: As a believer in Jesus, how do I deal with these issues, or how do you deal with them? I've read some dissertations, watched some great videos on the subject. None of them seem to settle this issue for me. Your thoughts would be graciously appreciated as to your flow of thinking, as your flow of thinking is straightforward and thorough. Thanks for your time.

Well, Drew, thanks for writing. Thanks for your honesty and integrity. Thanks for your kind words. I'm so glad to know we've been a blessing to you and a help in your faith. Very, very simply.

Very simply. There are a few things we're dealing with, all right? One, was it a local flood or a universal flood? If it was a local flood, A lot of the problems questions disappear. As far as how could the water have risen a certain way, worry about all the animals coming, etc.

The text, though, to me most clearly points to a universal flood. But if it was just a local flood, a lot of the questions disappear. What if it was a universal flood? Actually, a lot of these questions have been dealt with. By scholars, by scientists, by biblical specialists as well.

And what you may want to get, there's a classic book. It's now in its 50th anniversary edition. I'm not sure how updated it's been. But it's called the Genesis Flood. It's by John C.

Whitcomb and Henry Morris. I got it many years ago and felt that it adequately addressed many issues that were coming up then. John C. Whitcomb, so W-H-I-T-C-O-M-B, and then Henry M. Morris, M-O-R-R-I-S.

And it's an inexpensive paperback that you can get chock full of information. That's one thing. All right.

A colleague of mine, a friend, Philip Williams, has a very interesting book. And he came at things from an angle that others have not come from. And it is it is examining Examining the flood on archaeological Level. All right.

Oh, let me just get the title of his book. I'm looking for it. Why can't I find it? uh about the flood, about the ark. Ah, come on, I'm not seeing it for some reason.

And anyway, I've had one here to talk about it. But he he went through a thorough archaeological study. And and Said yes, he really saw. verification archaeologically for a worldwide flood. And that's the other the other thing.

The other thing, Drew, is that these ancient accounts, actually when you read them all, they're more different than they're similar in terms of the overall flow and message.

However, However, That being said, if there was a flood that took place all around the world, that would explain why you have in culture after culture after culture around the world similar flood accounts. In fact, we have friends who served as missionaries among the Fayu people in Irian Jaya. These were people that were living basically in Stone Age conditions until they were discovered sometime after World War two. And They were primitive and they're Every their language their mathematics just every way they did things reflected primitive custom And we have friends that worked among them, served there as missionaries, and they were telling us how they had their own account of the flood. And this one guy surviving in his boat, and he said, Well, that's just local legend because there was an ancient flood, must have taken place there and some of the watery regions.

It's just interesting that culture after culture after culture after culture around the world has flood accounts.

So, no big surprise if that's the case, and no big surprise if some came from an ancient part of the world and were passed on through generations, that sure those from the ancient Semitic part of the world would be passed on in such a way that, yes, could well be. That you're gonna have a lot of similarities. But when you analyze them, what becomes clearest is the biggest differences that you have.

So, again, if it's a local flood, as some argue for it, the questions go away. If it's a universal flood, check out the Whitcomb Morris book. And of course, there is now the Noah's Ark exhibit. That deals with many, many of those issues that the folks at Answers and Genesis have put together.

So it might be worth it, if this is a big issue to you, visit there. Check it out, go through it because they deal with all these questions there as well. All right, I'm out of time. I'm out of time, but if you want more cultural background to these things, get your hands on what's in my hands right now: the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. I'm looking at a special section on the flood, and here's a picture of the Talbot tablet from the Gilgamesh Epic.

Go to ask Dr. Brown at askkdorbrown.org to find out more. My bottom line today, don't be afraid to ask honest searching questions. We have a God who is very secure. Yeah.