A Friendly Discussion About Our Differences

The following is a pre-recorded program. Hey friends, welcome to the broadcast. A few days ago, I solicited questions on Facebook and Twitter and said, hey, tell me where you have some differences with me and post on Facebook, Twitter, and then on the Monday show, I'll get to as many as I can.

So I'm not going to be taking calls, but I think you're really going to enjoy the broadcast. My appreciation to all who posted. A few did so in a wrong spirit. A few don't believe in God at all and posted some challenges, but I'm glad you posted. So I'm going to respond to as many as possible.

And I'm going to start with one from Russ. So it's a series of questions and it links to a YouTube video attacking me and Sid Roth. Never saw the video. Anyway, do you agree with Benny Hinn that there are non-persons in the Trinity? Of course not. He made a ridiculous statement, by the way, and repented of it immediately. So he doesn't believe that, but no, of course not.

How could you even ask me that question? I've made my views clear in the Godhead for 50 years. Did Jesus go into hell as Benny Hinn predicted?

Did he go into hell and suffer and become demonized? Of course not. Of course not. I've denounced that teaching scores of times. Do you believe in grave soaking? The anointing is mentioned by Benny Hinn. I've never heard him talking about it, but there is no such thing as grave soaking as far as a practice. Bill Johnson has repudiated it. But no, I don't believe in it.

I don't believe you can lay by the grave of some previous man or woman of God and soak in their anointing. Of course not. What do you feel about the demunct oily Bible and Sid Roth's supernatural? From what I understand, there was a genuine miracle that was taking place over a period of time and then the guy decided to try to enhance it and make it happen on his own.

But the whole thing may have been bogus from the start. Don't know. I had no connection with it whatsoever. Do you believe that the youth of the 70s is the last youth generation before the tribulation as prophesied by Catherine Coleman?

Obviously not. So I'm not aware of her saying this. She said it. That was a wrong prophecy.

False prophecy. So that settles that. Let's just move on.

Let's see here. And by the way, somebody posted this lengthy thing attacking me for endorsing Todd Bentley for years and years and endorsing all these false teachings. Of course, completely bogus. I've been on public record and private confrontation for many, many years, well over a decade in terms of not endorsing Todd's ministry, praying for his repentance and wholeness in the Lord. In any case, it's been publicly clear, well, when you stop sending out your books and retire from ministry, then I'll know you're serious.

This is what the guy posted. So I'm going to show you that because it's just false witness. But it's distressing to see how people will say these things. For example, the ridiculous statement Benny Hinn made many, many years ago that within the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Spirit were each triune, so it was like nine gods. Immediately, what I was told was confronted by elders within this church after he said it, repented of it immediately. It's an idiotic, ridiculous, stupid, unbiblical statement. But he doesn't hold to that.

He never held to it after that. But people quoted this as if that's his view. Among Charismatic Pentecostals, there are all kinds of abuses, mistakes, errors. I've written whole books dealing with that. And then among the hypercritics, there's all types of unethical behavior, and both are grievous. Both are grievous in God's sight. Okay, so a bunch of people have taken issue with me for saying pharmacia in Revelation 1823 simply means sorcery. It's not a prediction about the pharmaceutical companies doing what they're doing, okay? So Scott, Dr. Brown, what else could Revelation 18, 23, 24 possibly mean other than what it plainly says, a group of businessmen using pharma to deceive the Christians? Okay, first, the word pharmacia in Greek, if you will study it out, study out its usage in the Septuagint, right?

So in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, which was used as the Bible by Greek-speaking Christians for centuries, if you will see it, the Old Testament, right? If you will look into it, if you will dig into the best lexicons, if you will see how it's even alluding to Naam chapter 3, verse 4, which has the Hebrew kshafim, which is equivalent to sorcery, there's no question it should be translated sorcery there. That's why you'll see it translated that in virtually all English versions, all right? Well, what Big Pharma is doing is similar to sorcery.

Okay, well, that's a totally separate issue. But because it says pharmacia, people think, oh, it's pharmaceuticals. No, you cannot take a word used today derived from an ancient Greek word and then say, well, that's what the Greek means. I've explained this endlessly, but we got our word dynamite from the Greek dunamis, power. When power went out from Jesus, it didn't blow people up, it healed them.

So you can't take a meaning centuries later in another language and put it back, well, that's what the original meant. But let's just take a look for a second, all right? Let's go to Revelation chapter 18, because this came up from a bunch of people that took issue with me over this. So I'm going to read this, okay? So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence?

You say Big Pharma is not a city, but it doesn't have to be actual city. It can be metaphorical. I'm fine with that, right?

Babylon can refer to a system, a world system. I'm fine with that. And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute players and trumpeters will be heard in you no more.

Well, when were harpist, musicians, flute players, trumpeters heard within Big Pharma? What more would that mean? And a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more. And the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more.

It really does seem to be speaking of a civilization, of a city, of a people, not companies. And the light of a lamp will shine in you no more. And the violence of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.

Now look at this. And in her, in Big Pharma, according to this interpretation, was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth. This is talking about people being martyred for their faith, being killed for their faith. To say, well, it's Big Pharma, you would never would have said that for a split second if not for the Greek word pharmakeia. But the Greek word pharmakeia doesn't mean pharmaceuticals. It doesn't mean drugs there.

It means sorcery. So go, if you want to indict Big Pharma for greed, go to texts about greed. If you want to go somewhere else about putting people under pressure to do certain things, go there.

All right? But this has nothing to do with it. I don't know how to make it any more plain. Before you can interpret a passage, you have to understand what the words mean. And this word means sorcery. And let me say it one more time. No one would have been talking about Big Pharma is the Babylon of Revelation 18. And read the whole chapter. It does not apply to Big Pharma.

All right? Nobody would have been saying that if not for the Greek word pharmakeia, which has been misunderstood to mean pharmaceuticals. So do you honor the word of God? Do you reverence the word of God? Do you believe that God knew what he was doing in speaking those words, which were also relevant to the first century Christians who heard them? Then don't change the Bible. Don't change the Bible.

And don't accuse those who want to be truthful to what the text says for not being spiritual because they're going by what the actual words mean. Okay. Let's see here.

Yeah. And, you know, another one says it's your stance on pharmakeia. Not only is the world deceived into taking test drugs which the VAX permissions, et cetera, it goes on and on and on. So, you know, it keeps going on with other things and global restrictions. The fact is, read Revelation 18. It does not apply to Big Pharma. It cannot. Many of the verses simply cannot.

So I'll say it for the last, last time. Unless the word pharmakeia occurred there, which people wrongly took to mean pharmaceuticals, nobody would be reading Big Pharma into Revelation 18. And my own view is that the people involved developing the vaccine are trying to save lives. There may be a lot of greed at the top. There may be others who are trying to get control over a populace with them. There may be many with wrong motives along the way. But I personally believe that those under President Trump who were working hard to develop the vaccine, and it was Trump's motivation as well, were seeking to save lives.

Whether they did the best job or not, whether it's wisest or not to rush you through that quickly, whether there's a lot of greed along the way, those are all separate questions. But I do believe that there was an actual attempt and continues to be an attempt to save lives. That I do believe, whether you agree with the vaccine or not.

Okay, where, let's just see here. I'm looking for a statement that, all right, how about this one from Debbie? I feel you defend your stance about believers looking to President Trump as a savior too many times. And then someone pointed out I wrote a book called Donald Trump is Not My Savior. Now, I wrote that book as a Trump voter. Donald Trump is Not My Savior's subtitle, Evangelical Leader Speaks His Mind About the Man He Supports as President. I wrote that in 2018 after voting for him in 2016 and voting for him in 2020. But all the while shouting out, he's not our savior. Don't look to him as bigger than life.

It's going to be a mistake. So I'm sorry you feel I've defended my stance about that. Generally, I only do when I get attacked for it, and I feel it's helpful for people to understand why. In other words, it's not about defending my stance. It's not about me being right. I told you so.

I'm going to gloat now. Rather, I'm trying to help people see a particular thing and how we look to him in an idolatrous way and how I had warned about that many a time along the way. And once we got past the elections, and then there was the turmoil over where the elections were stolen, and I saw how traumatized people were, and it was as if the savior is gone. And then I spoke out even more loudly and, of course, got attacked for it.

So I've been trying to help people to see that. In other words, let's say Trump runs again in 2024. Unless he was a changed man and not as destructive in his ways.

This is just someone who voted for him twice, right? Unless he was a changed man and not as destructive in his ways, and unless we did not look to him in an idolatrous way, then I would have grave concerns about his presidency. If we said, hey, we're not looking to him as any kind of savior, we're not saying, without Trump, America is doomed, only Trump can save America, as many have said. If we're not saying that, it's like, yeah, pragmatically, him versus Democrat, yeah, if he won Republicans' nomination, yeah, pragmatically, I think he'd do a better job, but where I differ with him, I'll make it plain, and he himself learned to exercise some humility and not be so destructive, then, okay, great, good, seems like the better choice.

But if it was a repeat scenario of what we've seen, I'd have grave concerns. Anyway, I do my best to first seek the Lord and speak what I get burdened to speak. It doesn't mean I'm perfect, right?

Obviously. We all are doing our best to sort out pastor preaching, parents instructing their kids. We're all doing our best to sort out what's important and where to prioritize.

But I do that, and then as I see things happening and I feel there's a need to respond, like when I saw The Rise of Hypergrace wrote a book about that, Confusion Over Can You Be Gay and Christian wrote a book about that. When I saw evangelicals in wrong relationship with Trump, when I saw us looking to him a wrong way, so I gave guidelines. Here, if we're going to pass the Trump test, Evangelicals at the Crossroads, which came out in 2020, if we're going to pass the Trump test, we're going to have to get these things right. So I was laying out the concerns as a Trump voter, laying out the warnings, and I finished another book that's due out September of next year on the political seduction of the church, where I talk about what we got wrong and then reiterate what we need to do rightly to move forward effectively and be who God has called us to be.

So that's my heart on that. Okay, we'll be right back and we'll look at more of your differences with me right here on the Line of Fire. It's the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get into the Line of Fire now by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Well, we're having an honest discussion about some differences you have with me because I solicited them. I solicited them on Facebook and Twitter.

So we're going to get into these. Let me just remind you as we come to the end of the year that your support for us at a time like this is so helpful. It really gets us moving into the new year with wind in our sails and gives us funds to reach out to more people.

God's really laid on our heart to get on as many radio stations as we can in the coming years. And we'll do that with your help, with the Lord's directive, but it's a joint thing and often he works through you and through me, right? So if we've been a blessing to you, if we've helped you, help us help others. If you've been strengthened by what we've poured into you these many years or maybe you're a newer listener or viewer or reader, if you've been strengthened and then turn around and help others, you can do it with your tax-deductible year-end gift.

Just go to AskDrBrown.org, click on donate. All right, so as I solicited differences from you, this is one from W. Brett Hild and he says this, taking a middle road regarding vaccines and not showing clear leadership in that area. Your Romans 14 premise doesn't hold up in light of Mark 7.15 in my opinion and you're not showing responsible leadership regarding people's health. Provaccination is responsible leadership in my opinion.

Antivax is irresponsible. Sitting in the middle is liking the courage to be a true leader. So Brett, I appreciate you posting that. Thanks for your candor. First, it has nothing to do with courage. I've risked my life literally, literally, physically, risked my life preaching the gospel. With my friend Yesupadam being with us last week from India, we're just sharing with our staff some of the adventurous experiences we had and where we willingly risked our lives preaching and where I preached the opposite of what I was told to preach in the politically correct warnings we were given knowing it could cost us our lives because the only thing that matters to me is obedience. I've lost everything we had, 50-acre campus in seeking to be obedient to convictions I had before the Lord years ago, lost reputation, get blackballed on various networks because of stances I've taken, been on hit lists of major organizations, their list of singling you out to discriminate against you, you know, major organizations in America. So courage is not the issue. The only issue to me is obedience. So you can think I'm mistaken, but to apply to lack of courage, sir, you don't know me. If you say that, you don't know me. Every day of my life, I take stands that are costly, and I don't calculate what it's going to cost.

I honestly don't calculate. It's just simply a matter of, well, what does God want? And if he wants this, I do it. The bottom line is people look to me as a leader in the body, as a father, as an elder. They respect my views, and I do not know what the right position is regarding vaccinations. I am responsible to God for people's lives. If I give bad counsel and mislead someone and it hurts them spiritually, I'm responsible.

Right? Hebrews 13, 17, as a leader in the body, I'm accountable for people's souls. James, Jacob, the third chapter, not many should be teachers because you'll be held to greater accountability. The top medical people that I spoke with have real concerns about the vaccine and do not endorse it. At the same time, there are brilliant people, Christians committed to the – I'm talking about Christians, committed Christians, brilliant people who have grave concerns about the vaccine. Then on the other hand, there are committed Christians, brilliant people, scientifically educated, who say the vaccine is saving millions of lives. I know people personally, according to what we know, they died as a direct result of COVID. I mean, friends of mine, according to what we know, they died as a direct result of complications specifically due to COVID. I have other friends who have given me firsthand reports of people close to them, family members who are in excellent shape and within 24 hours of getting vaccinated dropped out of a heart attack.

I've received numerous reports like this, all right? I do not have the medical expertise to sort these things out. And God has not spoken to me either way. So the only responsible thing for me to do, the courageous thing for me to do, is to speak the truth. And by the way, when I first saw your post about taking a middle road regarding vaccines, I thought you wanted me to be anti-vax. No, you wanted me to be pro-vax. For every one of you that thinks I should be pro-vax, there's someone else who thinks I should be anti-vax, okay?

So the courageous thing for me to do here is to honor the Lord and to speak the truth and to encourage everyone, do the research, talk to medical professionals, pray for wisdom, and make an informed decision. I have lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of friends who are vaccinated and they've had no side effects of any serious kind, and they're doing fine. I have other friends who are vaccinated, got COVID after getting vaccinated. They came through it fine, but they did get COVID.

I have other friends who are not vaccinated, got COVID mildly, and others who are not vaccinated who haven't gotten it. So the responsible thing for me to do, the thing that takes courage for me, because I want to come out this side or that side, is to say, I am not going to take your good faith in me. You're looking to me as a leader that's respected and trash that by speaking things about your health that I don't know about. Oh, I'll tell you, go to vitaminmission.com and in addition to living healthily, get these supplements.

You'll find them really good. I'll do that because I believe in the product and I take these things myself. So that I have some expertise and it's pretty generic. In other words, it's not like, if you take this, you're going to get sick. No, it's healthy supplements. But again, you have to realize when you're in a position of leadership responsibility, Marcus Lamb felt it was very important to sound the alarms about vaccines, et cetera, and did that, died as a result of COVID. People said, well, you got to speak out against it. He really felt there were issues.

He really felt there were concerns. That being said, when I had Jonathan Sarfati on with me, Dr. Sarfati, who's strongly pro-vax, is anti-mandate, as I am anti-mandate. All right, so I've been outspoken about that anti-mandate, but God forbid that I speak to you in a life and death area where I don't have expertise. That would be a serious sin against you and a serious sin against God. And if I say, look, my opinion is worth nothing here, then why give it?

Why give it if it's worth nothing? So I hold to that position. Sorry, you're looking for something else, but I have to give account to God.

There could be a trillion people saying the same thing you're saying. Sorry, I have to give account to God. But thank you.

I ask for posts like this. Thank you for posting. Brett, I feel your position that a God exists is wrong.

So Brett, thank you for posting that. The first question is, if you realized, if you could conclude and understand that God is real, that He created you and brought you into this world for a purpose, and that one day you'll stand before Him and give account, and you realize that He's full of love and truth and perfection and beauty and justice, would you follow Him? Would you give your life to Him?

I'm just asking that out of curiosity. But I know that He's real. He's worked in my life regularly for 50 years. I have a personal relationship with Him.

I've seen His hand over and over and over again. But intellectually, scientifically, I cannot conceive of nothing creating everything. I cannot conceive of nothing suddenly creating matter. How could nothing create everything? You say, well, the universe always existed. Well, that's more absurd than saying God always existed, because the universe by its very nature is this physical substance that has to have a beginning. Same with life.

It has to have a beginning. To this day, scientists cannot explain the origin of life. To this day, scientists cannot explain the origin of matter. To this day, even if you believe in a big bang, like my friend Frank Turik says, you need a big banger, because science can't explain where all the energy and everything comes together to make this happen. Even the illustrious Dr. Stephen Hawking said, well, you know, gravity was always here. Well, where did gravity, maybe a simplifying statement, but where did gravity come from?

How is it that the universe operates under fine, precise laws, I mean, with mathematical precision? And then what about human DNA? The coding is so dense that if you read basically, what, a letter a second, it would take you dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of years to read the DNA coding that's in us. So if you go down for breakfast one day, and you see, oh, maybe some of your towels have been cut up into little pieces, and they are now spelling out all the way down the steps and down the hallway and into the kitchen, I hope you're having a good day. There is a message that I want to get to you, and I wanted to make sure to get your attention.

But it goes on, and it's actually, it goes through the entire house and up the walls, and you go outside, and it's all just these flowing sentences. That didn't just happen. It just happened. No, obviously not. Someone did it. Well, that's like a thousandth of a thousandth of a thousandth of a thousandth of a thousandth of a thousandth of a thousandth, on and on and on, of the complexity of the universe, of the complexity of the human being. You know, it's been pointed out that one of the least sophisticated creatures is a worm, and yet the design of a worm is more complex than the design of an iPhone. Would anyone think the iPhone just happened? It just happened one day? So I find it intellectually impossible to conceive of a universe that was not created by God, so that one that by nature eternally existed and could bring these other things into being in motion.

I find it intellectually utterly bankrupt even to entertain that for a split second. But, this much I do know, aside from the intellectual argument, if you will genuinely, with all your heart, say, God, if you're really there, if you're true and you make me to know it, understand it, I'll follow you. If you're sincere, he'll do that for you. He really will, if you're sincere. God knows your heart, but if you're sincere, hey, it won't hurt.

Pray the prayer, will it? All right, we'll be right back and take up more of your differences with me. It's the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice of moral, cultural, and spiritual revolution.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. You know, as much as I love doing radio, the one thing I regret is I don't get more people calling in who differ with me. We've even had days just set up for critics to call in on different subjects and sometimes go on whole days without a single call from them.

At the same time, the post will be piling up, attacking it, rolling on this, this, this, this. Okay, tell you what, let's talk about it on this day. You can call in on this day.

So I regret that. I'd love to hear from more people who differ. In fact, a lot of folks who do talk radio, when they get calls, they love to take calls from those who differ.

So there's no end of questions that you call in with. And I love that. And when we're talking about controversial subjects, I'm so glad that you weigh in. But I wish more you would call to differ with me.

I love dealing with differences. Okay, Nicole on Facebook posted, I disagree with you that you can lose your salvation. I believe this is an important issue we should all be in agreement on, especially as we witness to others. So Nicole, I don't use the term lose your salvation. I use the term forfeit your salvation. My question is, what do you do with all the verses in the New Testament – and there are many which warn us about the danger of apostasy – that talk to us about the danger of a brother or sister turning away from the faith? Even one book like Hebrews, you have warning after warning, Hebrews 2, Hebrews 3, Hebrews 4, Hebrews 10, Hebrews 12, about the severe judgment that will come on those who willfully turn away. You say, well, that makes one insecure.

Why? Are you saying God will force you to stay in his house? Are you saying God will force you to stay in his family? Are you saying that once you're saved, God forces you to follow him? And when Jesus says that if you deny him, he'll deny you, those are just empty words? That when Peter warns about those that once knew him and then turned away, it'd be better for them if they never knew him?

That we just throw those verses out? So, when I'm witnessing to someone, I'm going to tell them God's a Savior and he'll keep you to the end. But why on earth would I tell someone no matter what you do, once you're saved, you can live an adultery, you can be a serial killer, it doesn't matter, you still go to heaven.

Why would I ever say that? Number one, it's not true, but why would I even want to preach that in the message? You say, no, no, you want to tell them they're eternally secure. Okay, first, show me in the Bible where that was the message, where that was included in the Gospel message.

Let's start there. Show me that, okay, where there's a reference to if you believe you're eternally secure. You say, I'm talking about in the salvation message. You say, but no one can pluck us out of the Father's hand.

Correct, no one can pluck us out of the Father's hand, but he won't force us to stay. So, if you want to follow him, you're safe, you're good, you're fine, you've got nothing to worry about. But if you don't want to follow him, why would I want to give assurance to someone? Why on earth would I want to give assurance to someone that no matter what you do, no matter how you live, you're still in?

It's a falsehood. And what kind of message is that? You say, no, I don't believe that. I believe if someone's truly saved, they'll follow him. Well, doesn't that – isn't that going to sound like salvation by works to someone? In other words, if you preach it like that, I preach – if you cry out to him for mercy, he'll save you. He will absolutely save you. And as long as you want to be saved, you're saved. But if you want to go your own way and deny him, live in sin and rebellion and turn your back on him, he won't stop you.

So the assurance is there for those who want him. What more could there be? Let's see. Okay.

I want to skip down to – here we go. Dina, I want clarity regarding your position concerning the rapture and the charismatic gifts. So Dina, I imagine you're a newer participant on our Facebook page, because I've been clear on these issues for many, many, many, many years. So obviously you're coming anew, so I'm very happy to take the time. I've written a whole book with Professor Craig Keener, Not Afraid of the Antichrist, Why We Don't Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

So that will make absolutely clear our view. I am historic premillennial. I believe, according to Scripture, that Jesus is coming at the end of this age. He will set up his kingdom, then will rule and reign over the earth for a thousand-year millennial kingdom. There will be the final rebellion, destruction of the wicked, and then the eternal age. I do not believe in a pre-trib rapture because of what the Bible says I don't believe in. Do you believe that tongues are a spiritual gift?

Of course. If so, why? Because the Bible says so. What purpose do tongues serve after the completion of the canon of Scripture?

They have nothing to do with the canon of Scripture. Tongues are a spiritual gift. According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 14, we commune with God. We pray in tongues, we praise in tongues, we speak mysteries in the Spirit to God, and nobody understands us. When's the last time you read 1 Corinthians 14?

Because some of the questions that follow you may want to review that chapter. The Scriptures make it clear that tongues means language. Yes, it could be heavenly language. Paul talks about speaking in tongues of angels and tongues of men, 1 Corinthians 13. The gift of tongues was the supernatural ability to speak a foreign language that the tongue-speakers had never learned. That happened once in Acts 2.

It doesn't say it happens again. And when Paul speaks about it in 1 Corinthians 14, he refers to it that no one can understand you, and you're speaking mysteries in the Spirit to God. There were specific rules in place where the apostles spoke in tongues, for example, that had to be an interpreter, 1 Corinthians 4 and 27. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two at the most, three should speak one at a time and someone must interpret. Speak them out publicly, publicly, if you're delivering a message in tongues.

But privately, Paul said, I thank God I speak in tongues more than all of you. What languages are modern day tongue-speakers communicating when they communicate they're speaking indecipherable gibberish? Actually, it sounds like indecipherable gibberish to you because you don't know the language. I've preached around the world, and my translator's translating, and I think, that can't be a language.

Are you serious? I've heard people talking to each other thinking, that can't be a language. What kind of sounds are those? Why do they keep repeating these certain syllables? But it's an actual language. It sounds indecipherable to me. In fact, Paul writes about tongues in his day that outsiders will think you're speaking gibberish. That's what he writes, the real tongues. The outsiders will think you're speaking gibberish. Where does he say it? King James, they'll think you're a barbarian. What does that mean? Barbarian is someone, their speech is like, bar, bar, bar, bar.

That's where you get barbarian from. So Paul's actually saying that, that those on the outside, if everyone's speaking in tongues at the same time, the genuine New Testament tongues, right, which in the vast majority of cases are not a foreign earthly language but a heavenly language that God understands, right, that someone hears it from the outside, they'll think we're crazy. That's what he said about the tongues in his day. So tongues is a wonderful gift. I pray in tongues virtually every day of my life. And it's wonderful communion with the Lord. And Paul is explicit, don't forbid speaking in tongues. So this continues. In fact, he's explicit that this continues until Jesus returns, until we see him face to face and know him as we're known. So it's a beautiful, wonderful gift.

It is wonderful for edification. Now, I do have friends, colleagues, firsthand where the Spirit came on them and they spoke and they just thought they were speaking in tongues, but it was the language of the person where they were. I know of accounts like that to this day. And then I was just with a brother. We were checking out of a place together.

We'd both been on TV. And I heard him talking to the gal that was cleaning the rooms in Spanish. I said to him, when did you pick up Spanish? He said, I learned just a little in school, but I couldn't speak it. And he said, I was ministering in Spanish speaking countries a lot and just had a tremendous burden to be able to speak with people conversationally. And he said, I really prayed and God gave me the gift. So to this day, he speaks Spanish. I heard him speak Spanish.

He has witnesses that know the whole story, can tell when it happened. He gave me the details when he was in the car with his translator and others and suddenly realized, I understand what you're all saying. And then he began speaking. It's like, wow, I'm speaking Spanish. So it does happen.

Still happens like that. I even heard it from a non-charismatic friend. He said, you're not going to believe what happened on this trip with my translator. And then when he talked to the head of the ministry, they said, oh yeah, we reach all these unreached people.

It happens all the time. But the primary gift in the New Testament, as Paul articulates in 1 Corinthians 14, is speaking to God and praising, worshiping, praying in tongues. And it's beautiful and wonderful, edifying. And then my mind gets renewed in the Spirit.

It's just a beautiful, beautiful experience. By the way, Cindy, thank you for taking a middle road to the vaccine issue. I appreciate you not being a knee-jerk reactionary like someone else. Another brother critiques me for a lack of courage. Cindy appreciates my not being knee-jerk reactionary.

Hey, let me say this again. Many of you have followed our ministry for decades, literally decades. And we built up a certain amount of credibility with you. And those that are new and getting to know me realize that I'm not just going with the tide of the society or what the right says or what this one says. I'm doing my best to honor the Lord, be biblical. Many others preaching, teaching, you're doing the same thing, right?

We're trying to sort this out before the Lord, whatever the issues are. So I'm going to take unpopular stance all the time because my goal is to please God, not please people. But by pleasing God, I hope I can serve you.

I may not please you initially, but I hope I can serve you. And then long-term you realize, hey, what you said was reliable. What you said was truthful.

What you said was helpful. And if I'm not sure, I'm going to tell you I'm not sure. If I see it could be this way, it could be that way, I'll tell you. And where there's a stand to be taken, I'll take it regardless of cost or a consequence. J, probably only disagree with the tone you exhibited in your post-tribulation book.

I know a few people that felt belittled. Me, I just don't see definite evidence that any one of the previews are absolutely correct. There's always an argument for the other camp right. Well, I feel quite emphatically that the pre-trib rapture teaching is not in the Bible.

I'm quite sure of it. But some of the finest people I know on the planet differ, and we differ before the Lord. We love the same Lord, study the same Scriptures, so we differ. And I don't think it's ambiguous, but that's fine.

Others, no problem. We can have differences there. What troubles me, J, is the feeling that you have that the tone that Dr. Kean and I wrote with was belittling. If you could really help here, please go through the book. And if you just pull out the passage, we'll know if I wrote it or Craig Kean wrote it. Anything that sounds belittling, I would love to know because everything in our hearts in writing it from beginning to end was not to belittle and to constantly talk about the people that love the Lord that differ with us here, and not to accuse people of just having an escapist mentality. In fact, the title of the book, Not Afraid of the Antichrist, was not our title. And the publisher subsequently realized how much it was in our title because we've talked about it. Our title is Why We Don't Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

That's the subtitle. In other words, it's almost implying, well, you're afraid of the Antichrist. That's why you want to be raptured out. That applies to some. It doesn't apply to many others.

They just theologically read it differently and believe we won't be here to see the Antichrist. But it would really help if you could pull that out because overwhelmingly, we get thanked by readers from all camps for our gracious tone. We get thanked by people who are even attacking us for our gracious tone. So I would really want to know if a passage came across in a way that was belittling. I would really want to know that.

I really want to take a look at that. So if you could do that, and perhaps when you read it again, you realize, ah, no, it's not belittling at all. You just read something into it. But if there is anything belittling, we would absolutely want to fix that because it's not our heart.

And again, according to what we've heard from an overwhelming number of readers, it was anything but belittling. And people appreciate our gracious differences with others within the body and making clear, hey, these are differences within the body and we don't divide over them. And I've said it many times, people I've worked with literally for decades, even so in my own immediate team, I don't know where they stand, all of them, on pre-trib or post-trib rapture or some of these other things. 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. Well, I cannot believe how time has just flown by, but I do love differing, do love dealing with differences. I don't love differing with people, but I love dealing with differences and being challenged about what I believe. So we're responding to posts I solicited on Facebook and Twitter a few days ago, asking for areas where you differ with me. Chad posted, free will is an illusion.

I differ with you on that. And I would say that you chose to post that and I chose to differ. But you might say, yeah, we think we're making choices, but really not.

Well, if you believe in biological determinism, that we are just products of an evolutionary process and we're just responding automatically a certain way, well, then I fundamentally differ because I say God created us, not biological determinism. But if you say God foresees for knows, has ordained everything, I beg to differ based on the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Throughout the Bible, we're called to choose, choose, choose, choose, choose, choose, and then God judges us.

He commends us. He judges us based on our choices. So you may think philosophically it's an illusion. I believe the Word of God plainly says it is real. Victor, I do not like your middle road stance on biblical creationism. Are the creation days in Genesis several literal days?

I don't believe they have to be literal days. But I cannot say whether the earth is young or old because I could read the text either way. So when I read Genesis 1, do I believe I'm reading seven literal days?

No. I believe that creation is presented in a schematic way to point to theological truth about who God is and that's what we learn from it, all right? And that it's presented in a certain way others have pointed out. It's very similar to the building of the tabernacle, building of the temple in very similar designs and divides and place of sevens and things like that. So to me, it's there to teach us about gods.

That's what it's there for. Do I believe that they are literal 24-hour days? No, I don't. I don't believe that, right? However, you could read it like that. It's legitimate to read it like that. I don't read it like that, but you could.

It's also legitimate to not read it like that based on other texts. So again, there are – I appreciate the fact that you'd like me to take a definite stand one way or the other, but to me, the biblical evidence can go in one of two directions. The biblical evidence would lean towards young earth versus old earth, but could go in either direction.

From what it seems, the scientific evidence goes more towards old earth and young earth, but I don't have sufficient scientific expertise. Look, you could put you, Ross, in Ken Ham or Fuz Rana and Jonathan Sarfanti or just name an old earth scientist and a young earth scientist. Put them on the same room and they have a debate. Maybe I'd be able to see someone squirt a point here and there, but otherwise, when they start – the more technical they get, the less like, I don't know who's right here. So I've made dogmatic stands on hundreds, thousands of issues and trust me, I pay for every single moment of every single day. Is that a moment that goes by that someone's not attacking me for one of my stands?

And I've got enough books out tackling controversial issues. But where I have not come to a definite conclusion myself, it's not compromise. It's honoring God. It's being faithful to God as best as I can be and honoring his word. Look, I'm writing an Isaiah commentary now, okay? So I'm dealing with some verses.

They're not like massively important in terms of the overall scheme of the book and history of interpretation or anything like that. But it's really difficult to figure out who's talking in this verse. Is it God speaking to Isaiah?

Is it Isaiah speaking to a disciple? And the commentary is going through back and forth and I'll spend hours and hours and hours and hours. And then some say it seems this.

Others say sometimes it's very difficult to land somewhere. And you say, here are the views. I lean towards this, but you can't be dogmatic. When I can be dogmatic, trust me, it's my nature to be dogmatic. It's my nature to be black and white. It's my nature to say this is right and other views are wrong. That's my nature. When I was first saved, I was dogmatic about every single point I believed in.

There was no room anywhere. Now I'm dogmatic about fundamentals, hills I'm willing to die on. Bill, I appreciate your funny little comment about your church in Alaska. Yeah, okay, so a few people post it about Sabbath and law. Acts 15 is where things are laid out. And there's nowhere in the New Testament where Gentile believers are ever corrected for not observing a seventh-day Sabbath. There's a very clear precedent in Rome where you had Gentile believers and Jewish believers not to divide over sacred days, which would include Sabbath. And Colossians 2 warns against anyone putting you under pressure to observe the Sabbath and says that the Sabbath is the shadow, the substance, the reality is found in Christ in the Messiah. That's the New Testament emphasis. Therefore, I will not go beyond the Word.

And the same logic that would get you to keep the Ten Commandments and a written stone by God, but the same logic that would get you to keep those would get you to keep the rest of the Torah as binding and obligatory. In any case, Acts 15 lays it out. You say, no, but it does say that the Gentile believers will catch on later as they hear. No, it doesn't say they'll catch on later at everything else. It means they're familiar with these things. They've heard the basic things we're telling them they're familiar with.

They've heard them already. So there was an opportunity to address it. That was the moment to say the whole church must observe the seventh-day Sabbath. It didn't happen. It didn't happen. And nowhere in the rest of the New Testament does it happen. Okay, so read the writings then of the disciples of the apostles. Did they say to the rest of the church you must observe the seventh-day Sabbath? No, they didn't.

They didn't. So I have to go with what the Word says. All right, over on Twitter, someone posted strongly that there's no historical evidence for resurrection and therefore no reason for a Jew to be a Christian. Well, my goal is not for Jews to be Christians.

My goal is for Jews to follow Jesus the Messiah. Because often what it means to be a Christian is different than what it means to follow Jesus the Messiah. There's a lot of baggage with the word Christian.

So let's not emphasize that. But historical evidence for the resurrection, it's really quite the contrary. It's very, very difficult, if not impossible, to explain the rise of the Jesus movement without his resurrection. And you have to realize that there's strong attestation for his death, even in other Roman sources in the decades that followed about his death. Jewish literature in the centuries that followed talk about his death.

Well, everyone knows someone's going to die. But my point is, pointing to his violent death, pointing to his execution, that is well attested, not just within the New Testament, but outside. And you have to ask yourself, why does the New Testament paint the picture of the heroes, the leaders – Peter, John, Matthew, the other disciples, some of whom wrote gospels, all of whom were leaders in the early church, the apostles, those closest to the Lord – why does it paint the picture of them as cowering in fear, as not believing the reports about his resurrection, about trying to stop him from going to the cross, and being shocked when he rose from the dead, to the point that Thomas says, I won't believe until I see him face to face, until I put my hands on the wounds on the side.

Let's see if it's really him. So it's a fair question to ask, why would the New Testament paint them in such negative terms, as opposed to confident, believing, sure. And then, this is not an example of cognitive dissonance. They were not expecting him to rise. When he died, they thought it was over. His resurrection shocked them, to the point that they lived the rest of their lives willing to die for him. As it's often been said, you don't die for a lie.

So the exceptional growth of the movement, the fact that not a single one of the leaders ever stopped preaching his resurrection after that, and the fact that to this day, in his name, miracles take place, is ongoing evidence of his resurrection. But historically, very, very difficult to come up with another scenario. And again, especially the way the Gospels paint the leaders, it is not the norm. Especially when you're writing stuff about yourself that's indicting.

It's not the norm to do that. You want to kind of cover up the faults and the sins of your leaders so people will have confidence in what you say. Even to present the women as the first ones to see him rise, that's the last argument you'd want to make if you're trying to prove this in a court of law in the ancient world, because women were considered secondary witnesses. And the men initially don't even believe them.

So the whole way it's written is there's an academic term called criterion of embarrassment, where you ask, okay, would someone embarrass themselves? Would a movement embarrass its leaders unless they were telling truthful stories and ultimately points to the greater truth of God's faithfulness? I don't know if you've read books arguing for the resurrection, or if you've watched debates about it, but I'd be curious to know what you've actually read about the historical proof of the resurrection, or even the old who moved the stone type books.

You know, lay things out, and as the centuries have gone on, we've not seen this repeated. You say, well, there are movements where people still follow their deceased spiritual leader. Yeah, but not attesting that they met with him physically after his resurrection, and that this continued for weeks and weeks and weeks.

You don't have those accounts. Even those that were waiting, like with the Baba Turebi, Menachem Mendel Schneerson in 1994 when he died at the age of 92, waiting by his grave site for him to rise, never happened. I'd encourage you to check out my book, Resurrection. Resurrection investigating a rabbi from Brooklyn, a preacher from Galilee, and an event that changed the world. By the way, last I saw it was on sale in Kindle for like $2.99. So everybody, if you don't have that, get it.

Get it while you can. Resurrection. It's a fascinating read.

Trust me on it. A fascinating, ultimately edifying read. Resurrection. Just put in my name, Resurrection, Amazon. Get it on Kindle for $2.99.

And if you don't have a Kindle reader, just download the app on your phone, your computer, your tablet, whatever. Hey, one last reminder. Do you get my emails? Do you get my emails?

If not, would you take a moment and go to AskDrBrown.org. We want to pour into you. We want to sow into you. We want to bless you with all kinds of resources and materials. So here's how we get started. Go to AskDrBrown.org. Pick on email. Put in your first name, last name, email, address, and if you like your physical address as well, and we will start pouring into you today.