So, do religious debates really do any good? And the phone lines are open for your calls. It's time for the Line of Fire with your host, biblical scholar and cultural commentator, Dr. Michael Brown.
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All right, phone lines are wide open. You get to call with any question you want to ask me, anything you want to talk to me about. It's my goal, as always, five days a week to be here to serve you as your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity and to do my best to infuse you with faith and truth and courage. So, whatever answers I give, I want to do my best to edify and help. You can challenge me on anything.
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Right on the homepage, click subscribe. Okay, we have been talking through a lot of controversial issues recently. I don't look for controversy. I don't look for clickbait subjects.
I'm quite aware that when we feature someone's name, a well-known person's name or a controversial person's name in the subject of the broadcast, say on YouTube, it's going to get 10 times or 20 times or 50 times more views. But the object is just to try to be honest and righteous and to deal with the things that come before us. There's so many thousands of directions we could go every single day, all of you in ministry, you know that's the case.
So, we try to get the mind of the Lord, try to deal with things that are pressing and key and focus on that. I'm going to go to the phones momentarily, but before I do, religious debates, as I'm hoping to have a major debate on cessationism versus continuationism later this year, another debate on that subject, the gifts of the Spirit that were in the New Testament, are they normative today? Or I've debated rabbis many times last year, debated a Muslim in London in the same week, a black Hebrew Israelite here in the States on live stream. Is there any purpose to these?
Do they do any good? Well, generically, it all depends on the debate and the audience, right? In other words, some debates are fruitless and profitless. Some debates just, you pass each other like ships in the night.
But here's why I believe they're of great value. First, there's a precedent in scripture. Both Paul and Apollos in the book of Acts engaged in debate in the synagogues. For example, Acts 18, 28, explaining how Apollos strengthened those who had believed by grace, so strengthened the local believers.
It said he mightily, as a Jew, he mightily refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. This strengthened them and encouraged them. When I've debated rabbis, I've seen great strength come to the Messianic community. I've seen great courage come to Jewish believers to be more bold than their witness because they feel more confident.
So that's always a positive. Those that believe, as you do, are now strengthened because they see solid answers and that you're able to respond to the criticisms. So I don't have a science background or philosophy background. I see John Lennox debate.
I see William Lane Craig debate. And that heartens me, that encourages me in those areas where I don't have background because I can say, great, I know there are solid answers. I don't just have to take it by faith. I know there are solid answers.
That's one thing that comes out of it. Another thing is there are many, many people who are in the middle. There are many people who are undecided. There are many people who are unsure of exactly where they stand. And because of that, when you do the debate, even if they're leaning one way or another, you can turn their heart and mind. We've seen that happen many times over the years, that people in the middle or people even leaning in a position against me have their eyes open and contacts subsequently and say that was a key for changing my heart, my mind or a key for me becoming a believer. And then for those that are completely on the other side, maybe you can plant a seed of doubt in their mind. Maybe you can make them question what they believe that they've been so sure about because you exposed some chinks in their armor. You punctured one of their tires with the truth. And now they have to deal with that. Maybe that'll stick with them in the years to come.
So good fruit can come out of these. And that's why as God opens doors and it's the right person, you know, we get challenged to debate constantly. I don't see most of the challenges that come my way, but it has to be someone that's qualified. For example, if I debated Richard Dawkins on scientific issues, within seconds, he'd utterly crush me. What does it prove? Does it prove that evolution, Darwinian evolution is true and the Bible is false? No, it proves I don't have any science background.
All right. You could debate me on any number of subjects where I don't have expertise and crush me. What does it prove? Nothing. Just like if I was to get into a boxing ring with a three-year-old kid and punch the kid and they fall over. What did that prove?
Nothing, except I'm a jerk, right? So that's why it has to be someone who's recognized in the other community. And if someone comes to me and it's an area where also I have expertise so we can have an equal battle here over the truth, then we can have a good debate because now there are representatives from each community and those representatives now who have stature in their communities can do a good job of presenting. Last point, when I've been asked to give controversial talks on college campuses, I've requested, can we do a debate instead of a lecture?
Why? Because I want everyone here to hear the best of both sides. I want them to hear the best of both sides and then be able to evaluate. And not only so, I know a debate will draw more people. That's secondary.
My biggest thing is let's have it out publicly and then people can ask questions on both sides and probe and then they can make an informed decision. All right. With that, we go to the phones.
We'll start in Roanoke, Virginia. Ed, welcome to the line of fire. Hey, Dr. Brown, can you hear me? Yes, I can, sir.
Okay, because they told me to turn off my speaker, but I don't know how, because I'm using an Android, I usually use an iPhone. Okay, a couple questions came up last week. I don't know why these popped into my head, but I thought, you know, I wonder if anyone's ever given these questions before. Let's suppose you have a Christian who, I mean, he's trying to do everything right and he's serving God, best that he knows, but he really doesn't know how to walk with God. He doesn't know how to walk in the Spirit. He just says, this is what I know I need to do.
Okay. And Scripture says, you know, some people said, hey, I did this in your name, I did that in your name. He said, depart from me, I know you now. So let's suppose you've got this one Christian, he's just doing his best. He is confessing sin, but he doesn't really know how to walk with God. He doesn't know how to be led by the Spirit per se, but he's trying to do everything right.
Okay. And then let's suppose you have a Christian who is living in sin, and he's also serving God, but I mean, he is living in sin. Hang on, you can't be living in sin and serving God. You can't do that. You can't be living in unrepentant sin and serving God.
That's not possible. People do it. No, no, no, no, they're not serving God. They're serving the flesh. They're serving themselves. They're serving the devil. Paul makes clear, you can't serve, Jesus said, you can't serve two masters in another context, but Romans six, you're going to be a slave to the one you yield to, either to sin or to the Spirit. But you cannot walk in habitual unrepentant sin, live in sin and serve God at the same time. How are you serving God?
Here, can I be your employee serving you at your job while I'm staying home drinking all day? No, obviously not. No, no. Yeah. Well, okay, let me, maybe the question would be more like, he knows he's doing wrong, but he's really trying to serve God. Okay, so he's struggling. He's struggling.
Yeah, he's struggling, and he's always struggled. So you have two Christians, one that doesn't really know how to walk with God, but he's trying to do his best. You got another who's in sin, he knows it, but he's trying to serve God at his best. How does the reward thing work in heaven for either situation?
Right, okay, so here's the deal. I do believe Scripture speaks of rewards. There is some dispute over this, but I believe it's clear enough with the parable of the talents and the fact that we have to give a count and the fact that, at least for church planters and leaders, but perhaps for all believers, 1 Corinthians 3 is speaking, where it says that some, their works, what they've produced, what they've built, it's like gold, silver, precious stones, others like wood, hay, stubble.
In some cases, the wood, hay, stubble, then when your situation is going to burn up, gold, silver, precious stones, they'll remain. So one is saved, yet as by fire, because what they produced went up in smoke. The other is obviously getting a reward, and that's why we give a count to God.
For what purpose? We're not dealing with our sins. Our sins have been dealt with, cleansed, washed. So God is looking at our heart.
God is looking at the revealed light that we have. God is looking at the opportunities that we have, and He's working with perfect fairness, and that's for Him to evaluate. And again, if I rightly understand what Scripture teaches about rewards, it has to do with obedience to our assignment done in a right spirit. In other words, you can do all the things rightly outwardly, and look really good, and even seem like a high-level minister of the gospel, whereas you're doing it for pride, you're doing it for financial gain, et cetera. And because of that, that's all going to go up in smoke, even if you're still saved, to speak to your question here. Let's say the other person is really trying to follow the Lord sincerely, but they've got some error in different ways, and they don't understand a lot of other aspects of the gospel, but they're walking in the light they have, and seeking to love the Lord and please Him.
That person would then get a greater reward than the person who does all the great outward things, but their heart is not right. Hey, I'm going to move on to another question as we try to limit it to one each, but thank you for the call. By the way, quick story.
Then I'm going to take a break and come right back, so I don't want to cut you off next caller. So, a Finnish translator of mine when I was in Finland told me that a Finnish missionary got stuck behind the Iron Curtain in Communist China under Mao when, or the bamboo curtain, excuse me, when persecution broke out. She couldn't get out of the country, so she was living kind of and hiding in the countryside, had led a young man to the Lord, and he went out preaching and came back some time later, all excited with the report. And she said, what happened? He said people were being healed as I prayed for him.
She said, what did you say? I said, be healed in the name of Jesus Christ of Bethlehem. And she said, well, and she said, well, in the Bible, it's Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He said, well, it worked. In other words, it was the same Jesus. It was the same Jesus.
So that's what God's looking for more than our exact precision. Okay. 866-348-7884. We've got a phone line or two open, and we will be right back. This is Michael Ellison, founder of Tributa Wellness. I want you to hear an amazing testimony from my friend, James Robison, and most all of you will know of him. He and his wife, Betty, host the Life Today television program. Now here is James. Let me tell you about a miracle I experienced. My friend, Michael Ellison, he and his wife are our 40 year plus best friends.
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Call 800-771-5584 or go online to TriVita.com. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the line of fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.
Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks for joining us, friends on the line of fire. And as always, my shout out of appreciation to our co-sponsor TriVita that helps us broadcast to you right now and helps us spread this message around the nation.
Those interested in some of the great wellness products I use myself every day, you can call 800-771-5584 or you can go to TriVita.com. And if you go there, be sure to use the code BROWN25. All right, 866-34-TRUTH. Let's go over to Rachel in Sarasota, Florida. Welcome to the line of fire. Hey, Dr. Brown.
Nice to have you today. Just had a quick question for you about tongues. So my husband and I both speak in tongues like as a private prayer language. And we know that there's different types of tongues. But we just moved to a new town and we're having a really difficult time finding a church that's balanced on this because it's like, it's either a mega church that doesn't make room for the Holy Spirit at all, or it's a charismatic church that has pastors on stage speaking in tongues from the pulpit. And we don't think it's a reason to write off the church, but isn't that not biblical to have without interpretation? Yes.
So give me an example. Are you saying that they'll just grab the mic and speak in tongues for like a minute and tell everyone to pray or okay. Are they encouraging everyone to pray in the Spirit together? Well, no, no, but they'll be speaking and then they'll go into speaking in tongues and no interpretation.
And then they just go back to it. Yeah. Okay. Well, that's normal. Yeah. Okay.
Yeah. That's, that's obviously unscriptural and look at it like anything else. Let's just say that you're in an all English speaking church and three minutes into the message, the pastor who's bilingual gets very inspired and begins to speak in Spanish for a minute. Well, it doesn't help anybody. It doesn't do any good unless he interprets what he says that that's the abuse of it, that it's meaningless.
And for an outsider, it's think you're weird. It's one thing if there's congregational prayer, you know, and, and everyone's praying together in whatever language you may have 20 different nations and you're all praying in your own language. And some are praying in tongues. There's just one sound going up to God together. I understand that that's not my issue, but if you're going to deliver a message, there has to be interpretation.
So here's what I would suggest. If other things in the church seem good to you, the doctrine is sound, the people seem committed to following Jesus and reaching their community and other things are positive. And it's not a mega church where pastor leaders would be unapproachable. I would just ask if I could make an appointment, if not with the senior pastor, with someone else. And you were your husband say, Hey, we're really, we just moved here.
We're looking for a home. There's a lot we like here, but, you know, we see clearly from scripture, this mandate. And we're just, we're just wondering about this practice. You know, we're not writing you off for it. And either they'll give you a bad explanation, unscriptural, and then you have to judge what you do. Or they'll say, yeah, that's a bad habit we have. Or they'll tell you, no, no, what follows is the interpretation that we're just not saying it that way, but this is an inspiration we get, and we go into tongues and that's what we're continuing to preach. And then you have to decide whether you think that's valid or not.
But that's all I, that's what I would do. You know, again, that's not something to write off a whole group for, you know, just like you might not like, you know, a certain one particular doctoral emphasis, but it's a fine church otherwise. Most of us have had to deal with that our whole lives. You know, if it's exactly your church, then others wouldn't feel at home, you know, so there's some diversity. But I would, I would just ask about it, you know, in a gracious way, just like you're calling and not like, well, my Bible says, you know, but just, yeah, could you explain this? And then you have to decide, you know, either they'll, they'll say, yeah, it's a mistake.
We just get caught up or this is why. And then you, you decide whether you accept the explanation or not and whether it's a deal breaker. All right. You'd say as long as otherwise it's a doctrinally sound church and everything else is good.
It's not a reason to write it off because it truly is a great church. We just think they get caught up in the moment. Yeah. Yeah.
If that's the only thing, right. And it's not a pattern of other spiritual excesses or abuses. And it's just, you know, look, everybody has their spiritual habits.
Okay. We are creatures of our culture and you can go to like a black Pentecostal church, and they're talking back to you as you preach. And you can go to a white Pentecostal church and they're sitting there, you know, listening, you know, and so even though they're both Pentecostal, I've watched, you know, in Pentecostal charismatic circles that when people quote, you know, dance in the spirit, it looks different based on the culture, you know, and everybody has it, you know, the reform camp, this is a good message and here's how we worship. And everybody has their ways. So sometimes we just have habits that are unscriptural and unhelpful. Agreed. Yeah.
If it's a minor thing, then maybe just your meeting with them will help them to make an adjustment. And like, even if it's not a deal breaker for you, it might turn off some unbeliever. It might cause some other seeker to think, what is this? Right.
And that's the concern. What are these weird people doing? And then the question is based on 1 Corinthians 13, is it love? Is it based on love? I'm edified. I feel the spirit.
But is it love? Does it edify or help others? And, you know, look, we can be loose in some of our Pentecostal charismatic culture and just kind of let things go. So you approach it in the spirit, maybe it'll bring some correction to them. Or it could be, as I said, that they said, no, this is the interpretation that immediately follows. We need to be clear on that.
Or they could just be out of order. So, you know, hopefully it'll resolve in a positive way. Nice. Thank you so much. Appreciate your help. You're very welcome.
Sure. Thanks for calling. 866-34-TRUTH. Let's go to Julius in Florida. Welcome to the line of fire. Hey, Dr. Brown, do you hear me?
I can hear you, Julius. God bless. I just wanted to ask a question concerning the chapters of Isaiah, from Isaiah chapter 60 to 66, and how it should be properly interpreted. Because, you know, you have black Hebrew Israelites who say they're like, oh, look, you know, like the Gentiles are going to be serving us and that's going to be their salvation. So, but I mean, I don't, I don't believe that they're the real Israelites.
I don't hold to that view. So how do, how can we, like, properly interpret, like, these chapters saying that, like, the Gentiles will be serving Israel and, you know, they're going to be taking of their spoils and, you know, the nation that will not serve you shall perish. And like, where do the saved Gentiles fit into there? Because from my, from my belief and understanding, these judgments are going to pass over Gentiles who are saved. But how can we, like, properly interpret those passages of Scripture? Yes, sir. And also with that, in the book of Revelation, this one is not something I have too much of an issue with, but I would, like, appreciate, like, an effective response to this, because they say that, like, the New Jerusalem has only 12 gates and it's the 12 tribes of Israel, so they say, like, there's no entrance for Gentiles, you know, like, they're going to be outside. So, like, how can we, like, properly... Yeah, yeah, sure.
So, so, here's where we start, sir. And, and the Black Hebrew Israelites are, are a cult. They're, they're, they're different groups and some here and there may actually preach a saving gospel, others are lost cult members and that's how we have to look at them. So, first we look at the, the explicit testimony of the entire New Testament, that Jew and Gentile become one in Jesus, Yeshua. That in him there is neither Jew nor a Gentile, Galatians 3 28. That, that there is no difference in terms of our salvation, Romans 10 12. All of Romans is addressing that from beginning to end, Romans 9 10 and 11, over and over and over emphasizes it to the point of saying it's the fullness of the Gentiles coming in that then provokes Israel to envy and that one role of Gentile believers is to provoke Israel to envy and that Jew and Gentile together as one, that's Ephesians 2, the one new man. So, the entire testimony of the New Testament refutes that from beginning to end.
That's number one. Number two, there are explicit verses in the Old Testament as well. For example, in Isaiah 56 that the foreigner that, that follows the God of Israel gets equal status with an Israelite as well. So, that's, that's another issue that is explicit. But first I go through the explicit testimony of New Testament verse after verse after verse.
Now, what about those verses that you just quoted? Come back at the other side of the break and I'll tell you exactly how I see those fulfilled in the future. Stay right there. My delight to serve as your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity. We are living in such urgent times today, friends, that all of us are in the line of fire. There's a target on your back.
There's a target on my back. If you simply seek to live by biblical values or just conservative moral values, you could be canceled. You could be cast out.
You could be put down. You could be silenced. I'm here to say, friends, that I am not about to be silenced, and I don't believe you are either. It is time for us to stand up. It is time for us to say, enough is enough. It is time for us to push back in Jesus' name. Not fighting the way the world fights.
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Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Hey, shout out to all of our torchbearers, all of our monthly supporters. Thank you. You are helping us make a difference literally around the world. I wish I could take those of you who support this ministry financially around the world to all of our fire missionaries in different nations that we support every month. I wish we could take you to meet Jewish people who've come to faith through the materials we've been able to put out. It's teamwork. It's sacred. We do it together for the glory of God. Those wanting to join our support team, go to thelineoffire.org.
Click Donate Monthly Support. Julius, back to you. Two things are going to happen at the end of the age. One is that God is going to bring destruction on the nations that attack Israel, that we see that in Zechariah 12 and Zechariah 14. So there is going to be that judgment. And then, as I understand Scripture, Israel will be the lead nation in the Millennial Kingdom. Now, all of us who are saved, Jew and Gentile, we're already glorified. Jesus has returned.
We're caught up with him. We're already glorified. The ekklesia, the body, the church, the messianic congregation, we're already with him. We will rule and reign with him forever. All saved by the Messiah's blood, all washed, all cleansed, all with equal status, all resurrected bodies, never to sin again, never to fall again, forever and ever and ever.
That's settled. But as I understand Scripture, there is a thousand-year Millennial Kingdom. The Book of Revelation in the 20th chapter mentions the thousand-year kingdom five consecutive times. And that's what the end of Isaiah is prophesying about the Millennial Kingdom. That's what Zechariah 14 speaks about. So that the survivors of the nations that attacked Jerusalem will now come up to worship God in Jerusalem.
And if they don't, they'll be struck with the plague. That's where they now get to minister to and serve the people of Israel. It is those that were not saved, those that were not part of the body, that final generation, the survivors of the nations that attacked Jerusalem, that enter into the eternal age and then serve the people of Israel. It's not talking about saved believers.
So it's a massive writing off and ignoring of the whole testimony of Scripture and then taking a few verses and misapplying them, which of course Hebrew Israelites do constantly. So hopefully that's helpful to you, okay? Amen, thank you. You are very welcome, sir.
866-348-7884. Let's go to Will in Southwestern Virginia. Welcome to the Line of Fire. Good afternoon, Dr. Brown. Can you hear me okay?
Yes, I can. Okay. Hey, I watched your warning to your friend, your critics on Wednesday, and I thought that was a hoot. Oh, my friendly challenge to the critics. Yeah, I had a lot of fun doing it, our whole team did, and hopefully people got the point. But thank you, thank you, sir. That was awesome. I want to take a screenshot of that with you behind all your works, and maybe one day you should try to write a book and see how it goes. Yeah, if I get around to it, if I have the time. Yeah, thank you, sir.
That's right, that's right. So I have a couple of things on the prosperity teaching and on cessationism. So on the prosperity, I think, and I've looked at both sides of this, and I think it's only valid within the context of stewardship and service. In other words, if you've taken up your course, if you've denied yourself, given everything to your savior, it's all his, and he can bless you, whatever, it's not yours, it's not a selfish thing anymore.
And then it's all completely biblical. So here's the first thing, what I wanted to ask you is, have you seen, because I almost fell off my chair when I listened to a sermon by John McArthur, that is almost identical to the legitimate prosperity teaching from Charismatics. Do you remember the name of the sermon?
Yes, sir. I emailed you about it. It is Path to Prosperity, and you can find it on his website, gty.org, by searching for that. It's in two parts.
I don't see emails that come in, but I'll ask my team. What I'm planning to do next week, sir, is do another teaching, I haven't done it in years and years, and separate what the Bible says about generosity and divine reciprocity and abundance and provision from the carnal prosperity message. And there's no question that there's a positive message of generosity and provision. And I found that many of the churches that have embraced this are incredibly generous.
They do more to help the poor, more to support missions, more to do outreach to their communities than anybody I know. And that they don't preach carnal prosperity, meaning the reason you give is in order to get, or you can judge spirituality by material possessions, or Jesus died on the cross to make you rich. That's the carnal prosperity message that is so destructive. But there's no question that the whole Bible attests to principles of sowing and reaping.
And here's the thing. When Paul urges believers, especially in poverty, to give with generosity, he says, God will meet your needs. What he's saying is, if you give for the work of the gospel sacrificially, God will see to it that you don't have lack. In other words, if you gave an obedience to God, he's now going to meet your needs so you don't die of starvation. And if you're faithful, he's going to continue to provide so that you can have more to give to others. And to Abraham, you will be blessed, so you can be a blessing.
Yes, exactly. And that's biblical, and that's a truth. One of my colleagues who's a well-respected missionary statesman, has trained missionary leaders around the world, a man who's highly respected in the world missions community, he told me that he believed that God birthed the contemporary prosperity message to fund missions worldwide, but it got off the rails. It went off track.
It became carnal. It bypassed the cross. It lost sight of the things you were saying, stewardship and service. But when I do the teaching next week, I'm going to be quoting from church leaders of the past and commentators, scholars who speak against the health and wealth gospel, and yet absolutely affirm what you're saying. So that message from Pastor MacArthur, if I can get a staff member to go through and pull some notes, that would be great to use. Yes, sir. So yes, and you can get the MP3, but they also have the transcript of the whole sermon. Ah, that I can speed read, perfect.
I can speed read that, yes. So here's my question on cessationism. This is just an argument, because I really love listening to John MacArthur. I have a lot of respect for him, Justin Peters, all these guys. What I feel, though, is that I think it's prideful to turn around and say, and condemn everybody else.
You know, throw the baby out of the bath water, so to speak. I think that's prideful. I don't think that's correct, on their side, if you understand what I'm saying. And cessationism is such a central doctrine in their understanding of what the Scriptures say. They also say sola scriptura, sola scriptura, but they have a very weak argument from Scripture. Yeah, exactly.
Are they violating their own... A hundred percent. So, sir, I appreciate so much of the good that Pastor MacArthur's done, and his unashamed stand for the Gospel, and his pointing to Jesus and the cross and the Word, and I truly believe that Justin Peters is deeply grieved over those that were expecting healing and didn't get it, or got misled by false prophecies. I absolutely believe in his sincerity in terms of why he does what he does. Of course, I fundamentally, categorically differ with their understanding of Scripture on this issue, and that's why in my book, Authentic Fire, I have a chapter titled Sola Scriptura, and therefore Charismatic. In other words, if the Word of God alone is my final absolute authority for divine revelation and doctrine, then I have to be Charismatic, just based on the explicit testimony of Scripture.
Yeah, we are thinking alike, sir. So, continue to receive whatever you can from these brothers, and then... And look, they see the worst of the worst, they see the abuses, and I understand where they're coming from. I really wish that I could take them around the world with me, with some of the obscure places and meet Charismatic Pentecostal believer after believer after believer after believer after believer after believer.
Humble, Jesus-loving, Word-based, Godly living, producing fruit, making a difference, and I think it would rock their world in a positive way. Hey, thank you for the call, I appreciate it. All right, God bless. 866-34-TRUTH, let's go to Anna in Charlotte, North Carolina.
We could almost shout to each other from where I am in North Carolina. Welcome to the show. Are you there, Anna? Okay, Anna is gone. Okay, let's go over to Andrew in Dayton, Ohio. Welcome to the line of fire. Hey, Dr. Brown, how are you doing?
Doing well, thank you. All right, I got a question I've been struggling with a little bit, and that is, when Jesus was going to the Garden of Gethsemane, before He went, He sent His disciples to make the Passover ready, because He had a desire to eat the Passover with Him, and then He went and was betrayed, was betrayed, taken to the Sanhedrin, and then to Pilate, and the Pharisees said they did not want to go into the Petorium, or however you say it, because they didn't want to be defiled because they wanted to eat the Passover. Yep. And so it appears that there's two Passovers, or how do you reconcile these two things? Yeah, so I'm not an expert on the chronology of the Gospels and the disputes about the Last Supper, etc., and I'm going to answer as best as I can, but I'd encourage you, sir, to go to TalkAboutDoubts.com. TalkAboutDoubts.com. Email then this question, Jonathan McClatchy, a colleague of mine who runs that, has written on this extensively, and will point you to what he's written.
You'll find it ten times more helpful than what I'm about to tell you, but there is a debate with scholars, did Yeshua have a meal the night before the Passover, or was it the first day of the Passover, and how it breaks down. All I can say is sometimes when you have three or four different accounts, it's the standard thing of eyewitnesses watching an accident on a corner where they live, right? One person was in a car, one person was walking by, one person was looking out their window in their apartment, and another person was on the other side of the street, and they all describe it differently, and it sounds different until you put it all together.
But if you go to TalkAboutDoubts.com, talkaboutdoubts.com, write out, same thing, you don't have to go into as much, as simple detail as you gave to me, they'll give you a far more detailed answer, point you to things that they've written about it in more depth, whereas my answer is more generalities because I haven't focused on it in sufficient depth to give you a quality answer. So thank you, sir. I appreciate it, and we will be- Thank you so much. You got it.
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Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Welcome back to the Line of Fire, 866-34-TRUTH. All right, let's try to reconnect with Anna and Charlotte. Are you there?
I am indeed. Thank you very much. Sure thing. Go ahead.
Thank you. So you do sometimes if you hear like a British person speak and then you hear them sing, it sounds different, like they sound, I guess, more American when they sing a little bit than when they speak. I've noticed when I'm learning Hebrew and people who speak Hebrew, like as a, you know, a clear second language, like obviously like you do our first language even, I don't know.
When they speak English, they speak it like you and I, so like super clearly. And then when they slip into Hebrew, it has this underlying sort of melding tone to it. And I didn't know when you speak Hebrew, is there some different way that you hold your vocal cords or like the back of your throat or something?
No, it's more just the people you're around. In other words, if you go to Israel and just listen to a thousand different native-born Israeli-speak Hebrew, they're going to have a pretty similar accent. If you listen to people that have come from other countries, they're Russian-born and they moved to Israel when they're 20 and now they're 30 years old, you're going to detect a Russian accent.
But as far as the way you hold your, the position of your tongue or roof of the mouth or things, you know, there'll be one thing with Chinese where there are things that are more distinct. Arabic even preserves some of the ancient Semitic phonemes and sounds that modern Hebrew has lost. But with Hebrew itself, no, it's probably just more what you're picking up from the people that you're around as opposed to any type of norm. So yeah, the R in Hebrew today is a rolled R, so that is a little bit different. But the other major sounds and constants, like I said, with Arabic, it preserves the guttural, more of the ryan and ryan and some of the dentals of tah and dah and stuff. And those sounds are not preserved.
They would have been part of ancient Hebrew, but aren't preserved in modern Hebrew. So I would not make that generalization. It's an interesting question, but I don't think so. Thanks for asking, though. Okay, well, thank you very, very much.
You are welcome. 866-34-TRUTH. Let's go over to Zach in Kentucky.
Welcome to the line of fire. Hello? Yeah, there. Go ahead. Oh, okay. Sorry, I didn't know if it was me, because I'm in Cincinnati, but close enough.
You know what it is? Thank you for taking my call. Yeah, it does say Cincinnati, but without my glasses, it looks like K-Y, and although so is K-Y. But anyway, we have determined that you are Zach in Cincinnati, Ohio, correct? Perfect. All right, we are set, man. We are on the move. Go ahead.
Perfect. All right, so I was wondering if you could speak on the issue, you know, regarding Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro, more so their supporters, probably, but I know you read an article about when she first said it, and she said Christ is king, and so should we rejoice, like in Philippines, you know, 118, where Messiah is being proclaimed, but a lot of the people are, that are saying Christ is king, are also saying anti-Semitic things, you know, mean things towards Jewish people, and you know, replacement theology type of things, and conspiracies, and yeah. All right, so first, the larger question of Candace Owens, Ben Shapiro, Daily Wire, and I've interacted with senior guy at Daily Wire, telling him that I believe he did the right thing in releasing Candace Owens, and my friend, Rabbi Shmueli, has really gone, he's gone berserk on Candace Owens, and they've been having this battle back and forth.
It's almost like a street, no holds barred street battle on all sides, which I hate to see. I appreciate the good that Candace Owens has done, and issues that she's been bold to tackle, but I have had concerns. Let me say first, as she talks about Jesus, I hope that she really knows the Lord. I don't know her personally, I have no access to her personally, but I pray that she really knows the Lord intimately, really comes to walk with him, and understand him, and embrace his word, and not just have a certain form of Christianity, or a form of Catholicism that is supposed to be Christianity, etc.
So that's the first thing. I've only listened to snippets of what she's said and written over the years, so I'm no expert on her stances. However, the little that I've heard, I don't know that she's born again, I don't know that she has a personal relationship with the Lord, and her sins are forgiven, and that she's walking in the word. I don't know that, okay? I'm not her judge.
I simply don't know, I haven't, I don't know enough to know if there's evidence of that. But the bare proclamation of the words Christ is King is not preaching the Gospel. No, I don't rejoice over saying the case of Nick Fuentes, an anti-Semite, and a white supremacist saying Christ is King. I don't rejoice in that at all. He's not preaching the Gospel, he's not proclaiming the Gospel. So no, I don't rejoice in that. I'll continue to proclaim Mashiach Hu Hamelach, Messiah is King, Christ is King.
It's biblical, I'll proclaim it. But the way it gets misused, the words themselves are obviously not anti-Semitic to proclaim that the Jewish Messiah is King is not anti-Semitic, but it's used by anti-Semites in this way, that they associate white supremacy and the supremacy of America with Christianity. They associate Jews with being outsiders, intruders, evildoers, who are going to displace the white people, even though most American Jews themselves are white. And therefore, in proclaiming Christ is King, like Nick Fuentes says, we got to get rid of Jewish leadership and power, and if it comes down to who's willing to die, we'll kill them, they're not going to kill us.
Horrific things like that. So, and when Candace Owens said it in the context of interacting with Ben Shapiro and accusing him of being a greedy Jew, it was clearly anti-Semitic. It was clearly used in a wrong way.
And although some of the charges against her may be exaggerated, she really has continued to open the door to anti-Semitic drivel and junk, and there's just no place for it. So, I believe Daily Wire did the right thing in dismissing her. Thank you, sir, for the call. I appreciate it. Thank you for articulating that, and we appreciate you taking the call. You bet.
You bet. 866-34-TRUTH. Let's go to Jeff in Toledo, Ohio. Welcome to the Line of Fire. Yes, hello, Dr. Brown. I guess you're getting a call from every corner of the state today. Looks like it, yes. Yes, anyway... In fact, I'm looking, there's another Ohio call right next to you.
Go ahead. Yeah, it's a pleasure to talk to you, Dr. Brown. May I ask you, Dr. Brown, I always see you interacting with different branches of the Christian faith, you know, with Justin Peters, and you're always kind and gracious. I was wondering, do you have any friends in the Catholic Church, like, say, from the Charismatic wing, maybe? Yeah, they're Charismatic Catholics. I don't see much, but I've been at joint gatherings with them, and, you know, some intersect in different ways, but the main Catholics I interact with are on the stream. I write that there regularly for James Robison, and James intentionally brought the other Evangelicals and Catholics there on the stream. So, for example, John Zmirak, who's a very, very sharp-witted cultural commentator, and a strong critique of Catholics as a Catholic, we interact. Jay Richards, they're both PhDs, both brilliant men, who's a professor at Catholic University. He writes there regularly. There's some others, so that's where I'm interacting mainly with Catholics, is on moral and cultural issues, and looking at their columns, going back and forth with them in private emails on issues. So, that's where we're at.
