Dr. Brown Answers All Your Questions

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Phone lines are open. You've got questions. We've got answers. It's time for The Line of Fire with your host, activist, author, international speaker and theologian, Dr. Michael Brown, your voice of moral, cultural and spiritual revolution. Michael Brown is the director of the Coalition of Conscience and president of Fire School of Ministry. Get into The Line of Fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

That's 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks for joining us on The Line of Fire.

This is Michael Brown, delighted to be with you, coming live from our studio in Fort Worth, Texas. You've got questions. We've got answers. 866-34-TRUTH, 866-34-87, 884. Any question of any kind that relates in any way to any subject matter that we cover on The Line of Fire, that a guest has talked about on The Line of Fire, that I've written about, spoken about, by all means, give us a call. 866-34-87-884.

One quick thing, but it's major before we get to your calls. This is a 50 year anniversary for me. Yeah, 50 year anniversary. It was November 12, 1971, that for the first time, I actually believed that Jesus died for my sins and rose from the dead. Now, I wasn't ready to repent and really turn to God. There was a five week battle that culminated in a transformation on December 17th.

But this 50 years ago was the first time that, as I said it with my lips, I actually believed Jesus died for me and rose from the dead. And the rest, as they say, has been history. I am beyond profoundly grateful. 866-34-TRUTH. Let's go to the phones.

We'll start with Aaron in Portland, Oregon. Welcome to The Line of Fire. Happy Friday, Dr. Brown. Thank you. I wanted to first just say that we serve an awesome God, a very powerful God. He's very merciful.

Yes, we do. Amen. My question has to do with 2 Samuel chapter 12. And David commits his great sin with Bathsheba, she's pregnant with his son. And God strikes the son of Bathsheba and David dead as a punishment for David's sin. And elsewhere in the Bible, I believe, Ezekiel 18, it says that the soul who sins shall die and the son shall not suffer the iniquity of the Father. So I'm trying to understand. I mean, I believe the Bible, but I'm just trying to understand how to reconcile that.

Yeah, good question. So let's look at three separate principles. There's the principle under the law of Deuteronomy 24 that sons are not to be put to death under the law for the sins of the fathers. Right. So if if the father is a murderer, he gets put to death.

You don't put the son to death for the sin of the fathers. So that's human law. That's one thing.

Right. Then Ezekiel 18 is dealing with an acceleration of punishment, because if you if you read Lamentations in the fifth chapter, it says our fathers have sinned and we're paying the price for it. And that often happens. In other words, there are consequences that the children of the Nazis, the children of those that had a murderous plan in Germany, they suffered terribly.

The whole nation suffered. So there are often consequences. The children of alcoholics have have a higher chance of becoming alcoholics themselves, just in the natural. So in Ezekiel 18, God's saying, I'm going to hasten the judge to speed the judgment. You will no longer be able to say that the children have eaten the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge. Instead, everyone's going to die for his own sins. So all that's saying there is that judgment will be accelerated.

Right. In that case, otherwise, there are often consequences from one generation to the next. And this the sins of the fathers are often visited on the next generation, especially if that generation continues to to sin, then they're going on in the process. So the third thing is, can it be that we do something that is so ugly and wrong in God's sight, that it must bring about an immediate judgment? And in this case, the child, as we would understand, thinking of eternity, does go to be with the Lord. The child himself would not be punished eternally for what David and Bathsheba did. But their act was so sinful and heinous, whether it was all David or whether it was jointly done, was so sinful and heinous in God's sight that God brought judgment on the very act. In this case, the child, he's still the redeemer.

That child goes to be with with the Lord. But there are often consequences like that. The fruit of my sin is so ugly that what it bears suffers judgment. So, again, Ezekiel 18 is speaking in a specific context about God hastening judgment. But often in the Bible, what the parents do brings about negative consequences on the next generation.

And it's it's the reality of human life. And sometimes in divine judgment, if God is going to strike home to to bring about that judgment, then this is this is a way that it's really going to hurt. And they'll recognize the depth of their sin.

One last thing. This child also would have always had something hanging over them. They are the child of the fruit of adultery and murder in terms of what David actually carries out. So the child dying young, there could even be a mercy in it for them and being with the Lord.

But it's it's a hard reality. And, you know, that's that's how these things fit one verse with the other, if that makes sense to you. Awesome. Thank you, Dr. Brown. All right. You are you are very welcome. I appreciate it. Eight six six three four truth.

Let us go to Chandler in Ada, Oklahoma. Welcome to the line of fire. Oh, awesome.

I'm so excited. I have a question for you on John Chapter six. Yeah. Verse 44.

Mm hmm. So many, I think, have the view that the father, when he draws those to Jesus, he does that through the Holy Spirit. But I don't think that he does. And so in John Chapter six, verse 44 says, No one can come to me except the father, which has sent me, draw him and I will raise him up the last day. The very next verse, he says, is written in the prophets and they shall be all thought of God. Every man, therefore, that has heard and has learned of the father comes unto me. And so I believe that the father draws us through the hearing of the gospel. Do you agree with that? Yes, but not only through the hearing of the gospel.

In other words, for sure. Romans 10. How can they hear without a preacher?

Right. How can someone preach unless they were sent? So God does draw through the preaching of the word. The cross itself, since Jesus died on the cross, John twelve thirty two. If I be lifted up, I'll draw all men and to me.

Right. So there's the Lord's active drawing. But we know in John sixteen, the ministry of the Holy Spirit that convicts of sin. We know that Jesus tells his disciples, don't go out and preach until you've been endued with power from on high in Luke twenty four forty nine. And then Acts one eight, you'll be my witnesses when you receive the Spirit. So the Spirit through the word draws people and and often the Spirit through prayer draws people. You know, when I talk about the transformation in my own life, fifty years ago, I did hear the word for sure.

And then people were praying for me and the Holy Spirit was convicting me when I didn't even understand what it was. So does the father draw? Yes.

Does he use the word? Yes. Does the son draw through the cross? Yes.

Does the Spirit draw? Absolutely. So it's not either or. And we're talking about God anyway, who is multifaceted and complex in his unity.

So I just wouldn't make it either or. I would say both and. OK, kind of a follow up quick question. How exactly would you say the Holy Spirit does draw a person? Is it like in the way that, like an example, like Lydia, the seller of fine purple, says that God touched her heart to hear the things that I think Apollos or maybe Paul was preaching about? Would you say that's kind of the way that the Holy Spirit draws? Well, we know in John 16, verse nine and following that when the Holy Spirit, Jesus leads this world, the Holy Spirit comes and he convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.

Right. So there is that aspect of the Holy Spirit making us aware of our sin, making us aware of our need. So we come under conviction. There's a revelation of our own sin. And as the word is preached, the Holy Spirit enlivens it. It quickens us with it, touches us through it. So it's the conviction of sin. It's through the message that's preached.

Again, both and. OK, so it's kind of like in Romans one, where he says that the truth of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it to them. He's showing them through the Holy Spirit.

Well, in context there, he's showing through nature in terms of his power. So that's a revelation through nature. But then the Holy Spirit works from that to personalize. The Holy Spirit works from that to show us we're united in right relationship with that God. In other words, the revelation of nature is not going to show us that in and of itself, right? The revelation of nature will show us the power and majesty of God and sovereignty of God and things like that.

But it won't talk about our relationship. That's where the Holy Spirit will come in a personal way. You also learn as you realize that the Holy Spirit interacts with us in an interpersonal way. Second Corinthians 13, 14, we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit. And the end of Ephesians four tells us not to grieve the Spirit.

The same in Isaiah 63. Right, so the point is that's for believers, but it's indicating the interpersonal way that the Spirit deals with us. So the same way with the sinner, that's the interpersonal way that the Holy Spirit brings that application, convicts, draws. That's what the Holy Spirit's doing actively.

So he's working invisibly behind the scenes on the lost and on the saved, as only he uniquely can do. And that's why we grieve the Spirit. Of course we grieve God in general. We grieve the heart of the Father. But it says we grieve the Spirit because he's the one interpersonally working. Romans 8 16, that the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. So that's his unique role. That interpersonal, hidden behind the scenes role. Drawing in the sinner, ministering to the saint.

Same way. I guess just the way that I was looking at it is that as Jesus said, he that believes on me and out of the valley shall flow rivers of living water. I was viewing it that we have to come to Jesus first and then he shed forth the Holy Spirit on us. Yeah, well again, the Holy Spirit draws us to Jesus, right? The Holy Spirit draws us to Jesus. The Holy Spirit quickens us with the preaching of the word. And then when we receive Jesus, the Holy Spirit is poured out in our lives.

So don't limit the work of the Spirit in that regard. Just include that with everything else you've been sharing. Hey Chandler, thank you for the call and the questions. Much appreciated. 866-34-TRUTH.

Let's go to Gene in East Chicago, Illinois. Welcome to the Line of Fire. Hi Dr. Braun, it's a pleasure to be here with you again. I love your ministry. You've been following for a long time.

I myself am in college ministry and lead a bunch of students, and so they're always watching YouTube videos and TikToks and things like that. One of them came across a video that was teaching that according to Jewish culture, prophecy was a warning for the present, not so much a vision of the future, and that apocalypse was more of a revealing of something in the supernatural, again, more so than a glimpse of the future. I tell you what, stay right there and we will come to that on the other side of the break. We've got one line open if you want to call, 866-34-TRUTH. 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. Thanks for joining us on the Line of Fire. You've got questions, we've got answers. Remember, we have tons of free resources waiting for you on the website, askdrbrown.org. Askdrbrown.org, so explore there, search for topics you're looking for, literally thousands of articles and videos waiting for you there, and the vast majority of all the material there is free. You can also buy my books and other full-length courses, but all there waiting for you, askdrbrown.org. Make sure if you don't get my emails that you sign up for the emails. Take you 30 seconds or less, put in your first name, last name, email, physical address if you like, and then you'll hear from us immediately. We'll send you a really neat e-book, Seven Secrets of the Real Messiah, neat mini book, and then a bunch of resources we'll send your way that will be a blessing to you.

So make sure you sign up, askdrbrown.org. Okay, so going back to Gene, so the idea would be that in the Hebrew Bible, that prophecy is about the present, and if things are about the future, then it's apocalyptic literature, and it's unveiling and revealing the future. Is that correct? Yeah, based on this teaching that is on YouTube, it's very recent, November 5th is when it came out, the claim was about ancient Judaism and how Daniel would have been understood, or even some of the New Testament prophecies. That mixes truth with error. There is something called apocalyptic, and apocalyptic literature can speak of coming events as if it's the end of the world or the great cataclysm, so that a coming destruction in their day could be presented, or in the next generation, in cataclysmic, apocalyptic terms. So Isaiah 24 through 27 is called the Apocalypse of Isaiah, and it speaks of end of the age things, and it's the final conflict. And much of prophecy is for the present, rebuking sin in the present, but plenty of prophecy is predictive, and it's not apocalyptic.

In other words, it's not in visionary terms, it is not in these mystical terms like the book of Revelation, and the Hebrew Bible is filled with it. In 1 Kings, when King Jeroboam sets up the golden calf, and then a prophet comes in and prophesies what a man named Josiah is going to do, that's hundreds of years later that that happens. There are many prophecies about days to come. When you read Isaiah 11th chapter, and the Messianic prophecy about the stump that will come out, or the root that will come out from the stump of Jesse, and how, so it's the Messianic king, he's going to rule and reign on the earth, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the Lord has covered the seas, that's not apocalyptic at all. That's just predictive prophecy.

So the Hebrew Bible is filled with that. You have Jacob prophesying over his sons in Genesis 49, and there are prophecies about future, about the Messianic ruler coming from the line of Judah. That's just prophecy.

There's nothing apocalyptic about that whatsoever. Numbers, the 24th chapter, when Balaam prophesies, I see him but not yet, so it's a future Messianic ruler, maybe David, and then in the future, the Messiah. Many, many prophecies are future, and some for the end of the age, and they're absolutely not apocalyptic in tone or structure. If I can give an example that was given in the video, talking about the statue in the book of Daniel that was destroyed by the rock, the example was, depending on if it's for present or for future, the kingdoms would have been completely different than those different sections of the statues represented, and so that would be kind of their argument in saying that it was for the present, meaning these kingdoms, rather than not being for the future, meaning future kingdoms, and finally up to the Romans. Would that be an accurate understanding? No, so what this is, okay, so first they're completely wrong on the statement that prophecy is not predictive.

In many, many cases it is. Much prophecy is predictive, predicting the children of Israel going into exile, the descendants of Judah coming out of exile, the temple being destroyed, the temple being rebuilt, all that's prophesied, and it's not apocalyptic. If it was apocalyptic, it would either be talking just about the end of the age or describing the destruction of the temple as if it were the end of the age. So the vast majority of prophetic literature is not apocalyptic, and much of it is predictive.

When it comes to the book of Daniel, critical scholars often think that Daniel is writing it after the fact, so he's writing it in the mid-second century B.C., and he's reflecting back on the recent past and things like that, but for sure there are things that Daniel speaks of that have not yet happened. So that rock that strikes at the base of the last statue, which represents the Roman Empire, certainly represents the Roman Empire, so you've got the various empires in succession, Babylonian, then Medo-Persian, then Greek, then Roman, that this stone has to strike, and from there this little beginning ends up filling the earth. So that we see with the coming of the Gospel within the days of the Roman Empire. So it has historical applicability, and it's an ongoing fulfillment until the end of the age. Now, there are prophecies that can have dual meaning. When the abomination of desolation is spoken of by Jesus, it already had an application in the second century B.C. in Daniel's day, when the temple was defiled and restored. So there is something relevant there, and in many cases prophecy has a beginning fulfillment and a final fulfillment.

But the idea that these prophecies are not filled with things that are relevant for the future would be inaccurate. Okay. Well, I won't take any more of your time. I really appreciate that answer and your response.

Yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate the question, and I'm glad you're getting with college students. 866-34-TRUTH. Let's go to Todd in Seagrove, North Carolina. Welcome to the line of fire.

Thank you, Dr. Brown. My question is coming from Revelation chapter 19. I know there is disagreement about the timing of the marriage and marriage supper of the Lamb. I'd like to find out from your understanding, do those two events take place in heaven or on earth? Right, so if you believe in a pre-trib rapture, you believe that Jesus catches us up at the beginning of the tribulation period or immediately before it catches us up, we feast in heaven the marriage supper of the Lamb and then return to earth with him. I don't see it like that at all, number one, because I don't believe in a pre-trib rapture. My understanding is the Lord returns, sets up his kingdom on the earth, and then there is this great feast that Isaiah 25 speaks about, this great feast. This is when he has destroyed death and he has raised us up to be with him forever.

So I understand it's going to take place on the earth. Now, there's also the supper that Revelation 19 mentions where all the beasts of the field, the birds of the air are called to eat the carcasses of those slain. That's another supper that's spoken of. But my understanding is as best as we can see future chronology before it unfolds, and there's always mystery to how the future will unfold, is that he will return, establish his kingdom, and then as king we will have that special marriage supper with him here on the earth. Well, that's what I've been thinking myself, because it would just seem to me that all these things have to be fulfilled before he returns, so everything would happen on earth as pertaining to the marriage and marriage supper, because I'm like you. I came to believe in the post-trib rapture view about 20-some years ago after believing in pre-trib for probably about the first, probably six or seven years after I was saved. So the more the time has rolled on, it just seems to indicate to me that both those events take place right at the beginning of the millennial kingdom. And again, look, as I said, when it comes to the future unfolding, there's always mystery and things we can miss.

And as I understand it, I see it the same way. And Todd, I came to faith in a church that preached pre-trib rapture. In fact, I heard that message probably before I even heard the gospel, because it was so interesting and end-time prophecy and all that. And then after four or five years, I just discovered it wasn't in the Bible, and then my views never changed.

So Craig Keener and I wrote a book about it, Not Afraid of the Antichrist, Why We Don't Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. Of course, we don't divide over that, but I'm with you. Hey, thank you for the call, Todd.

We see it the same way. All right, thank you. All right, God bless. 866-34-TRUTH. So we're in our studio here in Fort Worth, and what just happened, you may have heard some noise.

What it was, there was an alien invasion that is being fought off by these incredible guys on the roof of the building, and you may have heard one of the spacecraft crash, and it slid kind of like that on the top. But that's all it was. Everything's good. Actually, we have no idea what the sound was, but either way, we continue. 866-34-TRUTH.

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Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks for joining us on The Line of Fire. You've got questions, we've got answers. 866-34-TRUTH is the number to call. Let's go over to Nick in New York City.

Thanks for calling The Line of Fire. Hi. Hello. Are you there? Yes, hello, Dr. Brown?

Yeah, go ahead, please. Oh, thank you, I'm sorry, I don't have a very good connection. I just have a question about the grammar in Hebrew, in Daniel 9, verse 25 of the Week's Prophecy. If you read it the way someone like Tovia Singer would read it, it would be, If you read it the way someone like Tovia Singer would read it, it would be, I just have a question about this particular part. It says, but it doesn't actually say, if I'm not very much mistaken, it doesn't actually say, it shall return, even though that's how it's often translated. It just says return, it just says, and it seems to me, there's no antecedent there. I think it should say, he shall return, he meaning Jerusalem, but it doesn't seem to say that. It just says, and 62 weeks shall return and shall be built, and it seems to me that there's something off here.

Am I wrong, or what do you think? First, where did you learn your Hebrew? Can you hear me? Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead. I'm sorry, I can't. All right. Yeah, I was just curious where you learned Hebrew because you're reading it very nicely. Oh, thank you.

No, I'm just an amateur. Okay. Well, good, good. No, it's good, good, modern Israeli pronunciation and everything, and yeah, nicely, nicely read. So...

I'm sorry. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, so Nick, basically, you can make an argument either way. The way that you find in most Jewish translations is that you have a period of 49 weeks, right? So seven times seven, and then that's when you have Mashiach Nagid, so this anointed one of prints.

Then you have... So that could be the initial rebuilding time, and then the period of 62 weeks, so 434 years, is a subsequent one, and then you have another Mashiach who's cut off with nothing for himself. The way it's often translated in Christian translations, it argues for the 69 weeks until Mashiach Nagid. I have no problem, number one, with there being two different anointed ones mentioned in the context, no problem whatsoever, the first being a royal leader involved with the rebuilding of the temple and the second being the Messiah who is cut off, and this is the one at the end of the period. So I have no problem with reading it like that whatsoever. It doesn't take away anything from the significance of the prophecy. But to focus in on your question, the root shuv is often used just for once again, and because it's talking about the temple, it's in a feminine form rather than a masculine form.

If it was masculine, it would be you personally, right? So it is a feminine form, so tashuv v'niv netat, it will once again, the street, et cetera, it'll once again be rebuilt. So that's all that it means there. It shouldn't be taken in and of itself as you will return or it will return, but rather, once again, it will be rebuilt. So tashuv v'niv netat would be taken together.

And you'll find, for example, with the flood waters in Genesis, haloch vashov, which is literally walking and returning, it means going back and forth. So that's how it can often be used verbally. So take it together with v'niv netat, once again, it will be built, all right? And that's the best way to read it grammatically. Okay, listen, for whatever reason, it's hard for you to reply for me to hear that, but hopefully that answered the question. So again, tashuv goes with the following word, and that is, and will be rebuilt. So once again, it will be built.

Hey, thank you for the question, and keep working on the Hebrew there. You're doing great. 866-34-TRUTH. Let us go to Roy. All right, Roy's not there.

Let us go to Victoria in Greensboro, North Carolina. Welcome to the line of fire. Hi, Dr. Brown. I hope you're doing okay. Yes, I'm doing better than okay. Thank you.

Great, great. I have a question. I am a mental health therapist, and as a therapist and a believer, a Spirit-filled believer, I get this question often from my clients, and I am, I'm just, I don't know.

I don't know what to really say. So I have been questioned about suicide. If a person who professes to love God, professes Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, accepts Him as their Lord and Savior, Spirit-filled, but falls into a really bad depression mental health-wise, they just get really overwhelmed, and they start to lose hope and eventually commit suicide. I'm often asked by their loved ones, did the person lose their salvation? Did they go to hell? And I really don't know what to tell them.

And honestly, I've studied back and forth, and I told them, I said, well, the only unforgivable sin that I know in the Bible is blessing the Holy Spirit. I said, but I don't, I don't really know what to say. So if you can just give me some insight, or even give me some references. Yeah, and look, you're right in the front lines dealing with very painful issues. So I've answered this before, but I want to ask you a question as a mental health professional. Do you believe that some people, because of real mental health issues, can do things irrationally that really, if they were thinking clearly, they never would have done it? In other words, like someone in a court of law can be found not guilty by reason of insanity. Maybe they go to a mental institution instead of a prison. So do you think that people, either through depression, hopelessness, or some chemical imbalance could actually do something irrational? It's really not them, it's really, it's something, you know, they got so messed up, or their mind was so affected that they're really not thinking rationally. You would agree that that can happen, right?

Absolutely, absolutely. Right, so the first thing, when it comes to suicide, you are right in saying that the Bible does not say that's unforgivable. Now you could say, well, no murderer has eternal life, 1 John 3, and if you take your own life, you're murdering yourself, and therefore you can't have eternal life. But the idea that if I commit one sin, that that forever damns me, I would question that. If my sin was rejecting God, right, then that would damn me. If my sin was renouncing Jesus as Lord, and I die in that state, then that would damn me. But if someone does something terrible, you know, let's say you get discouraged, you have miserable times, some friends, old friends invite you out, you end up getting drunk.

You're driving that night, and in a drunken accident, you crash your car into a tree and die. This doesn't mean you're damned forever because of that. It's a terrible way to leave this world and go into God's presence. But you don't just want to make the assumption that one sin, because you didn't get to repent of it, because that's the thought, I didn't get to repent of it. Well, there are sins we commit we don't even know we commit, right, all of our lives sometimes. You know, sins of omission or co-mission we're not even aware of sometimes.

So God's mercy is great there. But the other thing is that I do believe that there are people who get in a certain situation, they find no way out. They could be suffering from PTSD. It could be they can't take the torment anymore or the physical pain anymore, and they're just like, God, forgive me, I'm sorry. And they commit suicide. I don't believe God's going to damn them for doing that. And you being on the front lines of mental health know the agony that some people live with. On the other hand, I can't just tell someone I know they're with the Lord, right?

Praise the Lord, I know they're with the Lord. I don't know that, I can't say that, but I'm certainly not going to say, well, if they commit suicide, then they're in hell. I would certainly not just, if someone, again, renounces God, I don't want you in my life, out of my life, and with a clear head and understanding renounces him and dies, well, they're clearly lost, right? But that's not the case in the vast, vast majority of situations that you're dealing with.

So I would, now here's the other thing. Sometimes people just think, oh, well, it's a, they're in a better place. Here's a kid, 17 years old, been getting high and stealing money and living a miserable life, and they commit suicide, well, they're in a better place. Well, no, no, suicide is not some magic ticket to heaven.

And that's the last thing we want to say. We don't know where they are, but we're certainly not going to say they're in heaven, and they could well be lost. But for a believer, especially if they have been through trauma and they're not themselves or in some agony situation or in deep depression, I've never suffered deep depression, but I understand the world looks very different to you in that situation, and there is no hope. It absolutely does.

It absolutely doesn't. As a professional, I thank God for, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I do thank God that He allowed me to experience, you know, I look at it as a blessing now because it makes me more empathetic and compassionate, and I thank God for that. But I have been down as a therapist even to the point where I even spiritually have been saved since I was 14, and for a small second, I felt like I lost hope. And in that moment, if I did not have somebody around me, a support system, and that's what I deal with, it's like, I'm sorry, I'm getting kind of emotional, but it's like I have these parents who have had kids commit suicide, and they ask me these questions. And that my heart is breaking because I just don't know what to say. Yeah, well, listen again, and thank you for your heart and that you don't just do this in a professional way, that you haven't become caustic and cynical after seeing so much suffering. But if this person was a believer and was in some type of trauma or pain, I would hope for the best.

Again, you can't say, you know, for sure, but I would absolutely hope for the best. And think of this. How has God revealed himself to us in scripture? Right?

What kind of God is he? Does it say he knows our frame? He remembers that we're dust. So let's say you've got someone in chronic severe pain and they can't sleep. They feel like they're losing their mind. And then in the midst of that, they get news of a loved one dying in a car wreck, and then their caregiver abandons them, and they're in this place. And it's like, okay, just take a few of these pills and the pain's over. Is God going to say, oh, you just snapped there, so damn you forever.

No, I don't see him as revealed that way in scripture. So I would say, listen, let's have hope. Let's have hope. If they really love the Lord, maybe they were just in an impossible situation, so no way out. Look, maybe they did what they did, thinking that they were shooting themselves before the enemy captured them and tortured them because they're still having war trauma, et cetera. But it's not for you to give the assurance, right, that you can say, I'm telling you for sure they're with the Lord, but you can give hope. Hey, this is not the unpardonable sin.

It still is certainly possible that you'll be with them forever. Either way, we're going to trust in the goodness of God. Hey, thank you so much for the call and for your caring. 866-34-TRUTH, we'll be right back with your calls so stay right there. Welcome to the broadcast, 866-34-TRUTH, the number to call. Next week, we've got some really neat shows I think you're really going to enjoy.

Many times from day to day, we don't know which direction we're going until the night before the show or the morning of the show, depending on things happening in the world around us. But next week, we've got some special broadcasts prepared for you. Beginning of the week, I want to talk about the Lord's joke being easy and His burden being light.

I think it's a special broadcast being light. I think it's going to be an eye-opening, life-changing time. Tuesday, Wednesday, we're going to respond to hundreds of comments about why so many are leaving their faith.

Kind of step back, look at that subject again and give you some real solid meat to help. And then Thursday, we're going to go back to a video I did, an extensive teaching about paleo-Hebrew script and is it true that there's a pictographic meaning of the Hebrew letters that still is found in biblical text today. We're going to deal with that as well. So it's going to be rich programming and then God willing, taking your calls again on Friday. All right, let's go to Jim in Atlanta, Georgia. Welcome to the Line of Fire.

Hi, thanks for taking my call. So I just have a quick question. I'm not Jewish ethnically, but I have friends that are Messianic Jews and friends that are not Messianic Jews, but my question is, when I interact with non-Messianic Jews on Twitter, they'll tell me that if you're a Messianic Jew, you're no longer Jewish. But they'll allow a person that's a homosexual or an atheist, they'll say they're still Jewish, but if you believe in Yeshua, you're not Jewish anymore. But I'm wondering, where do they get that from? Is that something the rabbis told them or is that in the Torah, is that tradition?

Where's the authority? Yeah, kind of all of the above, that there is a debate within Judaism over this. The great majority of rabbis that I've dealt with over the decades, the vast, vast majority, all recognize me as Jewish. They would say I'm an apostate Jew or confused or deceived or deceiving others, but they would say I'm still Jewish.

When I was getting baptized as a new believer, I was concerned about it and talked to a local rabbi, and the rabbi said, you know what happens to him after he's baptized? He's a baptized Jew. So there is a statement in the Talmud that even if Israel sins, Israel is still Israel. So based on that concept, it would be understood that a Jew is still a Jew because it is something beyond your practice. You can be a disobedient Jew, a non-believing Jew, an atheist Jew, a Buddhist Jew, right? You could be living a pure life or an ungodly life. You're still a Jew.

So that would be the one concept. So they'd look at me and say you're lost and you're deceiving others. They call him a shemod, which is an apostate. Others would say, well, you're like a child, a tinok shenishbe, which is a child that was born in captivity. So you weren't raised in real Judaism.

That's why you fell away, et cetera. But there are others that would say, just like you can't be a vegetarian who eats meat, then you can't be a Jew who believes in Jesus. Just like if you say Jews for Islam, you're like, well, if you're a Muslim, you're no longer a Jew. So again, the vast majority of rabbis and traditional Jews that I've dealt with for 50 years now all say, yes, you are a Jew, but you're deceived and misleading others. There are some who would say, because I'm not practicing Judaism, but, quote, practicing another religion. That's how they would see it.

They wouldn't see it as holding to the biblical messianic faith, but I have joined another religion, so I am out of the class of people called Jews, whereas an atheist, whereas a practicing homosexual, or somebody else, they haven't joined another religion, and therefore they'd still be considered Jews, although not living by the Torah. So it is a debate. It's one that's going on for many, many centuries, but overwhelmingly, as I say. But isn't it also true that within ethnicity, there's different parts of ethnicity, but one of them is your ancestry. So really, the ancestry part of being Jewish, you can't really change that.

That's permanent, right? Right. So you may not be practicing Judaism, but you're an ethnic Jew. And according to Jewish tradition, if your mother is Jewish, you're Jewish.

End of subject. It's that simple. If your mother is Jewish, you're Jewish, because it is ethnic. So it would be in that sense, like if you're Hispanic, or race, right? So ethnicity or race, that is who you are, even if you live differently than your ancestors do. So again, ethnically, you're Jewish, you're born a Jew, you're going to die a Jew.

That's a given. And then the question is, okay. And look, you could even go through Israel's history and ask people, why is it when they worshiped other gods, gods still call them my people? You're in disobedience, but you're my people, right? So obviously, all we're going to push back and say, hey, look, I'm in the biblical faith. I'm going to challenge your traditions and say you've added and you've rejected the Messiah. And that ultimately, to be a true Jew in God's sight is to recognize who he is and follow his Messiah. So I'll push back in that way with my rabbinic friends. Hey, Jim, thank you for the call, and your thinking on the ethnic lines is exactly right.

Let's go to Craig in Cary, North Carolina. Welcome to the Line of Fire. Hey, Dr. Brown, I have a question about the pre-trib that you talked about earlier.

As you and that other caller, I was a pre-trib, but I don't know about stuff I've been hearing lately. The one thing that I'm kind of stumbling over as far as the 2 Thessalonians 2, 6, where it talks about that's what was withhold, which withholds would be removed. And I take that as being the Holy Spirit, and I know that God's not going to leave us comfortless without the Holy Spirit.

That's the only thing that I have that holds me up. Yeah, got it. Right, so it's a good question. Let's start in 2 Thessalonians 2, 1, because Paul writes there and says to the Thessalonians, hey, don't be disturbed, as if you heard a report or letter from us that the day the Lord has come. He says, that day, and he says, concerning the coming of the Lord and our being gathered to him, right?

So that's what we're waiting for. We're waiting for his coming so we can be gathered to him, and people would call that the rapture when we're gathered to him. So he says, that day will not happen until the rebellion comes and the man of sin is revealed. So he's already said explicitly that there must be this final apostasy and the antichrist must be revealed before we're gathered to the Lord. So it can't be pre-trib.

He's already told us that. Do you think it's possible that apostasy comes because of a lot of people who believed in a pre-trib and they've determined that it's definitely not pre-trib? It's possible. I mean, it's certainly a possibility. People disappointed by failed prophecy.

It is a possibility. But we know in Matthew 24, 12, Jesus says, because iniquity will abound, the love of many will wax cold. Certainly that's a factor Jesus has already talked about. And then, remember, he starts off by talking about the coming of the Lord that are being gathered to him and then he says that the antichrist will be destroyed with the coming of the Lord. So it must be post-trib.

So here's the other thing. People cannot be saved without the influence of the Holy Spirit. Yet according to the pre-trib teaching, during the tribulation, a multitude will be saved that no one could number. A massive number of people will be saved. And that's when Jewish people will turn en masse to the Lord.

So they're not doing it now with the Holy Spirit working and yet the Holy Spirit's taken out of the earth and all these people are going to get saved more than ever before in history. So that can't possibly be true. So the restrainer... Let me ask you this. What holds back lawlessness? The law.

Right. So where you have strong law and order, where you have strong government with law and order, then that pushes back against lawlessness. The man of lawlessness is revealed when that's taken out of the way. And Paul speaks about, he speaks about it in two different ways.

One in the more personal way, one just as an it. So many have thought that he's talking in such a way and he's being a little cryptic about it because you take out strong governmental law and order leadership and now you have chaos and you have anarchy. So if he just wrote it directly, it could have been taken. Are you saying, is this a threat against Caesar or against the empire or something like that?

But that makes the most sense. In point of fact, though, Craig, as my friend Craig Keener explained in his part of our book, Not Afraid of the Antichrist, while we don't believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, he pointed out there are over 30 different interpretations of the Restrainer. But for sure, it can't be the church being taken out. Number one, he's explicit in this passage that we're waiting for the coming of the Lord, which he tells us in the first chapter is in flaming fire. It's a public event taking vengeance on those who don't know God. That's we are gathered to meet the Lord when he comes to destroy the antichrist at the end of the tribulation period. That's explicit there in 2 Thessalonians 2.

As for what the Restrainer is, again, different arguments, but it could just be that structure, a strong leader, law and order, taken out of the way. Now you have law, justice, and chaos. And into that void now, the antichrist, hey, he's going to take over and bring everything under his power.

That's the most natural way to read it. Again, it can't be the church taken out of the way, the Holy Spirit taken out of the way, and now more people get saved without the witness of the body. More people get saved without the Holy Spirit than ever have gotten saved in history.

Now I don't see it that way. With all respect to my pre-trib friends who differ, let's contend earnestly for the lost. Let's live godly lives. Let's shine brightly. Let's be living in readiness for the Lord's return.

Let's learn from each other, but let's not divide over end time differences. Hey, thank you for the calls. Much appreciated. Sorry for those we couldn't get to, but obviously we do our best to get to as many as possible. You can always contact our ministry, askdrbrown.org as well. One more reminder, make sure you sign up for our emails. We've got so much we want to communicate with you, free gifts we want to send you as well. That's at askdrbrown.org. Have a blessed rest of the weekend.