Dr. Brown Responds to Challenges to His Beliefs

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Today, you get to tell me where you think I'm wrong. It's time for the Line of Fire with your host, biblical scholar and cultural commentator, Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity. Call 866-34-TRUTH to get on the Line of Fire. And now, here's your host, Dr. Michael Brown.

Hey friends, welcome to a special edition of the Line of Fire. Michael Brown, always thrilled to spend this time with you. Thanks for tuning in.

You've got so many things you could be listening to, so many things you could be doing. Thanks for taking the time to join in on the broadcast. I trust you're going to be edified, blessed, strengthened, and encouraged by today's content. Right now, as you're listening to this, I am in Germany for a few days of ministry, then Monday in Latvia, then heading home, God willing, on Tuesday. So, I wanted to make today's show special because I'm just fielding questions that have been submitted in advance. I tweeted this out a few days back, so this is not the time now to tweet in a question because I've already solicited these for the show. But I tweeted this and I said, I'm going to record a show and in the show I'm going to respond to your tweets on this topic. Tell me where you think I'm wrong. It can be theological or biblical or cultural or political. Just tell me where you differ and I'll respond on the air.

Thanks. I love to answer questions. I love to sit around with students. I love to sit around with pastors and leaders. I love to sit around with tour groups in Israel. I love to sit around with groups of people, friends, and answer questions. I love doing it.

It's a joy. Our website is AskDrBrown.org. Our app, Ask Dr. Brown Ministries, right, so our ministry name is Ask Dr. Brown Ministries. So, I love doing that, but I really love being challenged. I really love where people challenge me on a point, want to debate me on a point, so we always open up the airwaves. I mean, on a regular basis, for years and years and years, for going on a decade and a half now, open up the airwaves, say, hey, call in. We pay for live airtime as opposed to just having a preaching show or a teaching show, which have great value and minister to so many.

But we can do that in the midst of a live show as well as take calls. So, not only do we get to weigh in on what's happening in the world around us or breaking news and key things and be a cultural commentator for you, be your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity, but also what we get to do is we get to have you call in and ask you questions and differ with me. How I wish that more people who attack us online and criticize us online and malign us online and sometimes even write books and put out videos against us online, how I wish that more of you would call in so we could have a discussion about it.

So, I asked for it here and I haven't seen, as I've started to scroll through the comments, I haven't seen anything hostile, which would be fine because I asked for it. But there are some challenges here and I'm going to go through these, all right? I'm going to get through as many as I possibly can.

Here and there, there's just a generic question, but for the most part, there are specific challenges to me. So, I'm going to start with Annie who says in Exodus 30 23, really, it is cannabis balsam or what we call hashish, kanei bosam. And you would know that if you ever became bar mitzvah and if you're not competent to read from the Torah, you should leave it to those of us who are. And I said Annie, sorry, it's Anne.

May I suggest to you that you do a better job of finding out who you're responding to because you challenged the wrong person on this one. Number one, I was bar mitzvahed at the age of 13. Number two, my bachelor's degree is in Hebrew language. Number three, my master's and PhD are in Near Eastern languages and literatures. So, let's open up the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible and let's read in Biblical Hebrew together.

Shall we do that? The articles that I've written making clear that no cannabis is not mentioned in the Bible are philological articles. I try to simplify things for the general reader. Number one, there is a breakdown in the expected linguistic or transliteration or philological details. If it was an exact equivalent with cannabis, you do not have that. We don't even have an explanation as to why we would get the double N. And I can give you an example, the double N in Hebrew kinamon, which comes out of cinnamon, that's preserved, but a double N in cannabis is not found in kane.

It's simply a sweet smelling wreath. We also demonstrated that the ancient translations, such as Septuagint, do not recognize this as cannabis. We also demonstrated that priests were not even allowed to drink wine when going into the holy place, obviously, so as to modify their behavior and make sure that they were sober minded, not going in so they could pay attention to details and not die. So the philological correspondences break down, number one. Number two, the ancient translations did not recognize this as cannabis, but rather a sweet smelling reed and then there are various options as to what that was. Some related it to calamus, not cannabis. And number three, the priests were called to be sober minded going into the holy place.

They would not have mind altering incense burning in the background. So yes, I read the Torah in Hebrew. Yes, I've written academic articles on the ancient Hebrew language. Yes, I was bar mitzvahed. And pick on a different person with a different argument.

That one, boom, boom, boom breaks down on every side. I don't know if you're, I imagine you're a cannabis user. I was before I was a believer in Jesus when I came to faith in 1971 as a pot smoking, hash smoking, LSD using, speed using, heroin shooting, and on and on. Drug abuser, the Lord wonderfully set me free and made clear to me that none of those substances were to go into my body. The same Holy Spirit that saved me made clear to me that not only was I not to shoot dope, I was not to smoke hash or a pot or any other such drug. And that is how I can be sober minded because my mind, that's one of many reasons I can be sober minded because my mind's not being polluted with that junk. We're not talking about a question of a medical use of a substance. That is not the question here. We're talking about what was used in the tabernacle, what was burned in the incense.

It was not pot or hash. All right, let's see here. Joshua, no clue where we differ.

I think we line up pretty well. Yeshua is Lord. All right, that's great. I'll take that. Brian, I'm not sure how in depth you want this to go. I'm Calvinist, cessationist, post millennial, covenantal theology.

There's probably more. I appreciate your ministry. Keep up the good work for the glory of God.

Thank you, my brother. And obviously what unites us is far greater than what divides us. So I'm going to discuss a couple of things here. Calvinist, cessationist, post millennial, covenant theology. I'm going to discuss them from a positive side of harmony and affirmation and then from the side of where I disagree and why.

Not intending here to get into a full length debate on these subjects and how can it be a debate if it's just me and there's no one responding. But as far as being a Calvinist, as I was from 1977 to 1982, Calvinism is not another gospel. A colleague asked me last night, is Calvinism another gospel? No, Calvinism is not another gospel. There are Arminians who damn Calvinists to hell. There are Calvinists who damn Arminians to hell.

Let us both step higher. When George Whitefield died in 1770, John Wesley, who was his older colleague in the Lord, but George Whitefield experienced a new birth before Wesley did. Whitefield was a Calvinist. Wesley was an Arminian.

They had a deep split between them for a time then reconciled. Sadly, their followers never reconciled. But according to one account I read, when George Whitefield died in 1770, John Wesley was asked by a critic, do you expect to see Whitefield in heaven? And Wesley said, oh no, I don't expect to see him in heaven, which the critic was very glad to hear. Aha, he's not going to heaven. That Calvinist is not going to heaven. And then Wesley said, he'll be far too close to the throne of God for me to ever see him. Yes. And I read the account.

I can't verify the accuracy of these accounts. I haven't dug deep enough that before Wesley had died so many years earlier, when Whitefield was still alive, he was asked a similar question and gave a similar answer. What I appreciate about Calvinism is the idea that God is God. That he's not hoping and wishing and wringing his hands and things are such a mess that I wish I could do something about it, but I can't because I've given the earth over the people. Yes, God's given the earth over the people in terms of a domain and a responsibility, but he remains God. He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, as long as it's not in violation of his character.

He is ruling and reigning in the midst of chaos. Now, he may allow certain things to happen. He certainly grieves over things that happen, but he remains God. And I have the confidence of a Calvinist in preaching to the lost in the power of the gospel to save. As far as cessationism, I appreciate cessationists' esteem for the preeminence and uniqueness of the word of God, that any message, any prophetic message, any utterance we receive today is not equivalent to the word of God and cannot add to or take away from the Bible. And I appreciate cessationists having a high esteem for the power of the gifts. In other words, while they wrongly believe that anyone, quote, with the gift of healing could just heal at will, they do recognize that the gift of healing should bring more results than we often see.

I appreciate that. As for post-millennial, I appreciate the optimism of post-millennialism in the triumph of the gospel. I appreciate the optimism of post-millennialism in the confidence that the gospel triumphs and that the purposes of God come to pass. Of course, I differ with each of these, Calvinism, cessationism, post-millennialism, which I'll explain why succinctly on the other side of the break. As for covenant theology, while I explain my differences there, I do appreciate the overarching understanding that God has made certain covenants, that God brings those covenants to pass, that God keeps his word. I appreciate that emphasis, but often as covenant theology works out, it works out in the denial of God's very covenants to Israel.

Covenant theology can be used in different ways by different people. I'm going to explain that on the other side of the break. Again, not taking calls today. As you're listening, I am right now in Germany. So, last night in Bremen, today, then the weekend in Tübingen, and then Monday in Latvia. God willing, that's our schedule and Tuesday returning home. So, we've got some great broadcasts for you.

I trust you've been enjoying the broadcasts already this week. I want to encourage you, friend. Know the word for yourself. Yes, I'm here to serve you, teach, equip. Yes, your pastor and others that God puts in your lives are here to serve, teach, and equip, but you need to know what you believe based on your own walk with God and your own conviction. Be sure about the foundations. We can debate other things that are secondary, but the things that are life-and-death issues that pertain to whether we know the Lord or not, whether we're saved or not.

Be sure to be grounded in those for your son. We'll be right back. Hey, friends.

Michael Brown here. Many of you know about the radical health transformation in my own life, starting August of 2014, went from 275 pounds to 180 pounds, less than eight months, not by dieting, but by radical lifestyle transformation, getting rid of the bad, unhealthy things, eating only healthy foods. I've kept it up by God's grace now for nine years, going from three headaches a week to no headaches in nine years, blood pressure as high as 149 over 103, now maybe 105 over 70 on average. I mean, radical transformation, and I encourage you to look at your life, look at your diet, ask, are you going in the right direction or do you need to make some changes?

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It's a phrase that people often use these days as a subtle insult. You need some help, dude. You need help.

The strange thing about it is that we should not be insulted at all. The reality of the human condition is that we all really do need help, help from those around us, and mostly God's help. Jesus even said to his followers that he was the vine and we were the branches. Apart from him, we can do nothing. That's pretty helpless. In another place in the Bible, it says, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it. So the Bible's pretty clear. God sees that we are pretty helpless without him, but we spend much of our lives fighting against that reality, thinking that we are very self-sufficient.

That is, until we have some rude awakening that reminds us that apart from God, we are pretty helpless. And only those who do realize they need help are the ones on the right track. So the next time someone says.... You need help.

.... you can say without any shame at all... God is right. I do need help. The Truth Network. It's the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Welcome back to a special edition of the Line of Fire where you get to tell me where you think I'm wrong. You can do that really any day. If the phone lines are open, you can fall in and differ with me. I love that. I love for some that just say, Dr. Brown, I don't see it the way you do. And we have a friendly discussion. And I love it when people are going to call in and tell me I'm ignorant and biased and blind and all that and lay out their argument. And then I get to respond.

That's the joy of live talk radio. I've often said that when people are bold enough to invite me to come on a college campus, which is rare, sadly, but when they do invite me, when Christian groups do invite me, I normally say, can you find someone to do a debate with me? You want me to talk about a controversial issue about politics or culture or theology or something? Can you find someone to debate me, a professor or a qualified spokesperson from the other side so that the students and the faculty that come can hear both sides?

I love that. And if they say we can't find anyone to do it, then I say, can we make sure we have open mic Q&A at the end so people can challenge me? That is a major reason that we have live radio so you can call in with your differences.

Now, if you're unable to call, you listen and it's like your work schedule or whatever, it does not permit you to listen live or to call during our live broadcast. And you're really mad at me. Well, you can just, we've got lots of pictures of me online or just search for my name. You'll see pictures.

Just take one of those, print it up and put it on the wall, make it into a dart board. And you could just get all your anger out there. And maybe once you get the anger out, you can just pray that God would bring all of us closer to his heart, to his mind. Alright, so following through with a tweet, interacting with a brother, pastor, honors me in the Lord and the same with him. I honor him in the Lord. Here's why I'm not a Calvinist. As much as I appreciate the Calvinistic emphasis on God being God and God carrying out his purposes on the earth, I see from Genesis to Revelation the emphasis, the call on us to choose, choose, choose, choose. And I see God's pleasure when we choose rightly by his grace. I see God's grief when we reject his free offer of grace.

This to me does not speak of predestination but of freedom within these parameters that God has given us. I also see clearly as I look at scripture that Jesus dies to make the salvation of the entire world possible, that he clearly sheds his blood for each and every human being on the planet and to infallibly secure the salvation of those who believe. There's another reason that I cannot believe in Calvinism. It's clear he can grieve and quench the spirit who calls us to the Lord, who calls us to the cross. And of course Calvinists would agree with some of what I'm saying but here's the other point that I want to make with all respect to my Calvinist friends.

And Dr. White, if you're driving or rowing or just don't lose your focus, let the adrenaline go in here a little bit. But my dear Calvinist friend with whom I've had some wonderful debates and then our favorite is when we get to debate together against others which we've only gotten to do a couple of times so far. But here's the other big issue I have with Calvinism. The Calvinism is, the Calvinist gospel calls on people to do what they cannot do and that God will not empower them to do.

In other words it calls on a cripple to walk without giving power to that cripple to walk. It calls on a non-believer to believe without giving that believer the power to believe. A Calvinist would say you must be born again before you can believe so God is to give you new birth before you can respond and if he chooses not to give you new birth you cannot respond. Therefore you're called to believe but you're unable to believe if you're not elect. And then even if you did believe it wouldn't apply because Jesus didn't die for you if you're not elect according to Calvinism.

These are just a few of the reasons with all respect I don't believe in Calvinism. The reason I don't believe in Cessationism is because again with no insult intended from my Cessationist friends the New Testament is explicit that the gifts will continue until Jesus returns. That the outpouring of the Spirit and prophecy and dreams and visions are for the last days. That it is not until we see the Lord face to face that these things will pass away. And on the flip side we are exhorted like 1 Corinthians 14 to earnestly desire the gifts especially that we can prophesy.

So if we're not earnestly desiring them then we're disobeying a divine mandate. I tried to become a Calvinist late 70s early 80s. I distanced myself to become a Cessationist excuse me.

I tried to. I read books against gifts and power of the Spirit today. I questioned things but the Testament of Scripture was too strong and then confirmed by the testimony of the Spirit in my own life. Just check out a book like Craig Keener's Miracles today. It's so overwhelming the abundance of documented evidence of miraculous healings. I mean overwhelming that you can't deny God's supernatural healing on a regular basis around the world today. As for post-millennial the reason I don't believe that the Gospel will triumph over the entire world that the entire world will be quote Christianized in the best sense of the world before Jesus returns is because there's so much in Scripture about the end of the age being a time of parallel extremes that the wheat and the tares are there right to the end that the harvest is the end of the age with both good and bad that when Jesus returns he's going to destroy an Antichrist and destroy the wicked.

It's just overwhelming testimony of the presence of the wicked on the earth. 2 Thessalonians 1, Zechariah 12, Zechariah 14, many other passages end time prophecies in the New Testament about deception. So just as you have end time prophecies about Alporn you have deception. As for covenant theology if God's promises to Israel are not true, if they're not going to be literally fulfilled with a return to the land and with a massive national turning in faith then how can you trust any promises God's made? I mean just Jeremiah 31 verse 31 to 37 the New Covenant is made but look at what follows in verses 35 to 37. This is to me a matter of the integrity of God.

Alright but thanks for posting that. Grace for the prize. You believe with the Reformers that true faith will always result in obedience but the 600,000 men who cross the Red Sea Hebrews 11, 29 notes their faith went on to be unfaithful in the desert. True faith is therefore a no true Scotsman fallacy. 1 John 2, 19 notwithstanding namely those who went out from us speaking about the anti-Christ among us. Those who went out from us were not really among us if they really were they would have believed. Well of course you do have to deal with 1 John 2, 19 with the no true Scotsman fallacy.

In other words setting something up that can't exist. But let me just point out something to you in Hebrews since Hebrews 11, 29 was quoted. Let's just take a look in oh let's see Hebrews, let me get this up here. Hebrews, there we go. Let's go to Hebrews the third chapter. Alright Hebrews chapter 3 and let's see what's written there. So it's a call for us to follow Jesus the apostle and the high priest of our confession. Today if we hear his voice we don't harden our hearts like the Israelites did when they tested God.

See to it my brothers verse 12 that no evil unbelieving heart is found in any of you is shown by your turning away from the living God. Hey friends this is Dr. Michael Brown. I want to invite you to join our support team.

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Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Welcome back, friends, to the line of fire. If you get to tell me today where you differ with me, I'm not taking calls or really solicited comments, questions on Twitter. Hey, thank you, all of you who are torchbearers, our monthly supporters. Thank you so much for undergirding our work. And if you have never found out about the benefits of being a torchbearer, about all the ways we pour into you, about the free books you get, about the discount in our online bookstore, about discount on trips to Israel with us, about hundreds of hours of free audio and video resources including full classes that you get for free, literally hundreds, even thousands of dollars of resources we pour back into you as our gift. You support us with one dollar a day. Join our support team. If you've been blessed, it's a biblical thing to bless and support back. And what you're doing is helping amplify our voice to get on many, many more stations across America. You can go to AskDrBrown.org and just click on donate monthly support.

First check out all the benefits and then join our team. Thank you in advance for standing with us. Alright, Chris, you previously quoted Genesis 3 21 where God makes clothing for the human beings, skins of animals, as support for Christian modesty as you see it. But it's unclear to me how God giving a gift constitutes a moral rule for others. I've already learned so much from you. I'd love to get your perspective on this.

Thanks. So, one of the most bizarre calls we ever got, among many bizarre calls, was a Christian brother calling and insisting he was not asking for himself, which I trust him on. He was quite clear on that. But that a friend of his, claiming to be a born-again Christian, finds no biblical prohibition against nudity.

And how would I respond to that? Well, one of the obvious responses is that after the fall, Adam and Eve now recognize they are naked. So, in a pristine state of complete innocence.

So, Adam and Eve at creation, with all of their intellect and with all of their full physical development, had the innocence of a baby. So, you can put two six-month-old babies next to each other and they're on changing tables at a nursery and they're both naked, one a boy, one a girl. There is no concept of nakedness. They're unaware that there's such a thing as nakedness. They're unaware that there's such a thing as modesty or they should cover up because they are totally innocent.

But after the fall, that innocence was gone. So, they realized they were naked, they were ashamed, therefore they covered themselves with fig leaves. So, God now clothes them. Why does he clothe them?

Was it just an arbitrary gift? No, he didn't give them a hat. He didn't give them a pipe. He didn't give them glasses to wear. He didn't give them earrings. He clothed them.

Why? Because they were right in recognizing that they were supposed to be covered. Alright, so let's not downplay the text there. And then everywhere else in the Bible, people are clothed. What is a symbol of absolute shame? What is one of the basest things that could happen that a woman's skirts are uncovered? In other words, that her garments are lifted up, exposing her nakedness. That is something absolutely shameful. When the church of Laodicea is boasting and how great it is, Jesus says, you say, I'm rich and I've acquired wealth and don't need a thing. You don't realize you're wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

So, he counsels them. Now, this is spiritually speaking, but being naked is a bad thing. Being stripped naked is a bad thing. Going about naked is a bad thing. And therefore, the Lord says to them, by salve for your eyes you can see, by gold you can be rich, by garments to cover your nakedness. Throughout scripture, nakedness is negative. Being clothed is positive.

Having your nakedness revealed is shameful. So, let's not downplay the reality of Genesis 3. Let's recognize the rest of the testimony of scripture. I've actually had, I mean, people knew this, natural as Christian natural. I've actually argued this.

I'll see periodic posts about it. May the Lord help you and deliver you from that very, very serious and ridiculous and utterly useless deception. It's not even a deception that helps you better humanity or function better in society.

Aside from logic, aside from the fact that you cannot be modest if you're naked, that you can't be clothed with good works like you're clothed with modest clothes if you're naked, aside from those common sense elements there. So, enough said on that, but thanks. Hopefully, Chris, as you said, you've learned a lot.

I hope this helps you. Okay. Let's see. Where is Dr. Brown wrong? Hmm. Thinking. This is DC Harris, PhD.

This is a tough one. I can't recall a time when I sat up and shouted at the radio over anything you've said. I consider you a mentor figure. I'd be scared to do and say some of the things you've done and said, hey, bless you.

Thank you for the kind words. Carrie, I think you're wrong that the Torah was done away with when the temple was destroyed. Does Deuteronomy 30 still apply? Is there a dichotomy between the purpose of the Torah, rest and safety in the land, versus the work of Yeshua on the cross, eternal salvation, or are they inseparable?

Thank you very much for the point and the question. I do not believe that the Torah was done away with. The Torah remains of eternal purpose and eternal prominence in God's plan. And Yeshua does not abolish Torah prophets, meaning the entirety of the Hebrew Bible. He does not abolish but fulfill, brings it to its fullest meaning. Right?

So that's the first thing. What is done away with is the Sinai Covenant as a covenant. So we as New Covenant believers are not under the Sinai Covenant. We're not under a death penalty for a violation of the seventh-day Sabbath. We're not stoning adulterers. We're not burning sorcerers. We're not stoning disobedient and rebellious and decadent children who refuse to repent.

We're not doing any of that. We are not under the Sinai Covenant. We are not under the blessings and curses of the Sinai Covenant as Israel would have been.

All right? And the curse, the ultimate curse of the law is taken by the Messiah dying on the tree, dying on the cross for our sins. So Torah is not done away with.

Rather, the righteous principles of the Torah are written in our hearts. Does Deuteronomy still apply? Deuteronomy 30. Yes, if the Jewish people turn back to God from around the earth, what will happen? God will circumcise their hearts and bring them into the new and better covenant. Many scholars even look at Deuteronomy 30 as a new covenant prophecy.

Right? So as you turn back and obey now in the light of this new and better covenant, God will bring complete repentance and back to the land. Yes, there are different purposes for the Torah, specifically for Israel, versus what Yeshua did on the cross, for sure.

They each have their distinct purpose. No one is saved without Yeshua's death on the cross, neither Jew nor a Gentile. But a Gentile Christian, for example, is not called to be under the Sinai Covenant. So we need to distinguish between Torah, the teaching and revelation of God, the five books of Moses as a whole, versus the stipulations of the Sinai Covenant.

Let's see, the fog music video out now. Hey Dr. Brown, what are your thoughts on Proverbs 17, 15 in comparison to Isaiah 53? Also, what are your thoughts on Paul's teachings that are apart from the law when the Lord says not to add or take away commandments?

I look forward to hearing from you. So this is more of a question than a challenge, but as I read it I'll respond to it briefly. So Proverbs 17, 15, exonerating the wicked and condemning the righteous are both detestable to the Lord. Correct. So when God exonerates and clears a wicked person, if He did that, and lets them go on with their wickedness without suffering the penalty for their sin, that would be wicked. If God took a righteous person and said, I'm going to condemn you for no good reason, that would be wicked.

A judge who did that would be wicked. That's not what happens in Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, the righteous one, willingly lays down his life as a ransom, right? He lays down his life as a righteous substitute for us. This is the atoning power of the death of the righteous as it would be taught in Judaism. This is a willful martyr saying, take my life and spare the others.

That's number one. Number two, God now offers grace and forgiveness and salvation to all who will turn from their sins and receive mercy. So He's not exonerating the wicked. He's not saying, yeah, you killed, go free and kill again.

Everybody has a bad day. No, He's saying, you've killed, kill no more and receive forgiveness through the cross. As for Paul saying that he did certain things apart from the law, what he meant was not adding or taking away commandments. What he meant was still honoring the righteous principles of the law.

For example, loving God, loving one's neighbor, don't steal, don't commit adultery, even while not being under the law, say reaching out to a Gentile, it was different than reaching out to a Jew. All right, let's see here. Go back over to Twitter. Kevin, I think more evangelical leaders need to speak out against Donald Trump. Why are none calling out his slanderous lies against the other candidates?

Some are embracing him. He lies constantly about Governor DeSantis. It really bothers me and your book is good on many of these subjects. Obviously referring to my book, I would assume the political seduction of the church, which I'd encourage all of you to check out, especially as we get closer to the 2024 elections. Political involvement is really important. Political seduction is deadly.

You say, what's the difference? Well, political involvement is where we vote in an educated way, where we call on our congressional officials to do what's right, and where we run for office if we're called to or local school board, whatever the case would be. Political seduction is when we look to a candidate or a party somehow to save us or transform the nation, when we put our trust in a system the way we should only put our trust in God, when we look to politics to do what only the Gospel can do, when we divide within the body over political issues rather than unite around Jesus.

But sadly, pretty much all candidates attack other candidates and many of them lie. That's why we just have to distance ourselves from being an appendage of a political party on the left or the right, or being more identified with a political candidate than we are with the Lord. As for Donald Trump himself, I pray for God's best for him. I pray for God's best for Governor DeSantis and for all the other candidates, as well as for Joe Biden and Democrat candidates.

I pray for God's best for them. But for the most part, I'm not sitting here making political commentary. When it crosses over to more cultural issues, I feel to address it. Otherwise, politics will get very dirty and I'm not here primarily as a political pundit. Where there are things that cross lines, of course, I speak out about them all the time.

All right, we'll be right back. I'm Paul Burnett, a board certified doctor of holistic health, and I want to take this opportunity to talk to you about the importance of healthy blood flow and how it's enhanced by a miracle molecule known as nitric oxide. You see, blood vessels release nitric oxide, which increases blood flow known as something called vasodilation. At Triveda, we take blood flow seriously for our members and we've developed a nitric oxide plus supplement that has been formulated with natural ingredients designed to maximize nitric oxide production in our blood vessels, which increases blood flow. You may be wondering why you don't have as much energy as you used to. One study that I came across revealed that by the age of 40, we only produce about 50% of the nitric oxide production as compared to our 20s. And by the age of 70, the study showed that we're only producing about 15 to 25%.

I have good news. As we age, there's another way for our body to increase nitric oxide production and that's by converting nitrates and vegetables like beetroot into nitric oxide. Bottom line, with more nitric oxide, we stimulate more blood flow to our vital organs and we experience more energy while supporting healthy blood pressure. Triveda's nitric oxide plus has been formulated to increase nitric oxide production and blood flow at every age. To place your order for products to support your wellness goals, call 1-800-771-5584 or online at triveda.com. As a Triveda introductory offer, use promo code BROWN25 and receive a 25% discount on the products of your choice. Call 1-800-771-5584, 800-771-5584.

May you live with greater wellness. It's The Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on The Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown.

All right, we've got one last segment here on The Line of Fire. Will you get to tell me where you think I'm wrong? All right, by showing on hands, how many of you have downloaded my app?

Say, Dr. Brown, can you see it? Well, I just kind of had some fun to do, all right? By showing of hands, how many of you have downloaded the Ask Dr. Brown Ministries app?

Okay, join the thousands, tens of thousands, I think, who have downloaded it and so many really enjoying it. You'll have literally thousands of free resources at your fingertips and you just scroll down to, you know, searching articles and videos and I'm looking for something. For a moment, I've searched for things but I'm looking at it, I'm writing an article, I'm looking about where I previously addressed something, right? And I'm going through the article and I was like, what article did I write in it? And I'll go search like, whoa, I got 10 articles on that.

Oh, I got four videos and three articles. I didn't realize. So, the resources are there. You can, if you miss a broadcast, just click to listen to the last show.

It's so convenient. Ask Dr. Brown Ministries. Lighten up. I think you're right on most things but your belief in hell being eternal conscious torment is horrifically wrong. Hell is very real and certainly an eternally permanent punishment but it is a fire that consumes.

The soul is not eternal apart from God and hell separates us from him. Actually, the view of final annihilation, of being utterly cut off and destroyed, something that is absolutely horrific, something that we wouldn't wish on our worst enemy, something of eternal consequence, something that is irreversible, I believe that's a very possible reading of scripture. I believe that folks need to wrestle with what the verses say.

I've said this for many, many, many years, that both should be analyzed. Eternal conscious torment and final ultimate annihilation and destruction. They should both be looked at as possible scriptural viewpoints. The key thing is, whatever we come to, if it lessens our burden, if it lessens our sense of urgency to reach the lost, if it lessens our sense of a holy fear and awe of God, there's a problem. There's a problem.

So, let's make sure whatever we hold to is not just biblical but has good practical fruit in our own lives. Let's see here. Navigate life.

Oh, this is a hard one. This one hurts. Your mustache is wrong, just plain wrong. Can't wait for you to defend this one with a smile.

Thanks, thanks for having a little fun there. You know, here's the fun thing about my mustache. By the way, you should know that haters attack my mustache. It was one of the more interesting things when we started speaking out against culture wars for gay activists to attack my mustache.

Seriously, I kid you not. But here's the deal. I'm going to smile for those that are watching on YouTube or Facebook. And as you see, I'm smiling here and talking with my teeth clenched. You may be able to see that I have quite an underbite, quite a pronounced underbite.

In other words, the lower jaw is larger than the upper jaw. So, because of this, it would actually look very strange without the mustache. So, Nancy is not a mustache lover. And she would ultimately prefer that I didn't have a mustache.

But she much prefers the mustache to what the look would be without the mustache. So, I know you're having fun. And I was expecting even more to have fun with me here. So, I do appreciate that. But yeah, funnily enough, I get attacked for the mustache.

Heart. People are quick to reject oneness doctrine. But you could be wrong about the Trinity. Why can't God exist as different manifestations of himself all at the same time? Read New King James Version, Colossians 2, 9, John 3, 13, John 14, 7-11.

Also, does this help us understand more the angel of the Lord? I don't dismiss oneness quickly. I dismiss oneness as a result of in-depth study for decades, interaction with both rabbis and oneness Christians. Clearly, when you read John 13, 14, 15, 16, especially 14, 15, 16, I should say, you're not dealing with different manifestations. And when you have Father, Son, Spirit doing things in conjunction, the Father doing this, the Spirit doing this, the Son doing this, you're not dealing with manifestations.

So, I don't dismiss it quickly or lightly. I absolutely emphasize, hold to, believe the oneness of God, the unity of God, absolutely. It's very clear to me that he's complex in his unity. In fact, that Malach Adonai, the angel of the Lord, further underscores the fact that the same God who sits in heaven, enthroned, untouchable, invisible, also makes himself known, visible on the earth at the same time. The Son praying to the Father, that's not two manifestations. The Son going to the Father, sending the Spirit who then testifies of Jesus, who glorifies the Father. Those aren't just different manifestations.

The Spirit coming on Jesus in the form of a dove as he's getting baptized and the Father saying, this is my beloved Son, this is my Son whom I'm pleased. Those are not manifestations. So, now I know one of the scholars would reply with nuanced answers to everything I'm saying, with all respect to the one of the scholars who are out there. I've stated things clearly so you understand what I believe. I know you have your comebacks on those things. I simply reject those comebacks.

So, let's see, Ridgeline Path. I don't actually know where you stand on national divorce or balkanization, but I imagine you're against it. I think it has merit on several levels. I don't think national repentance is possible. It's better to carve out new nations where it is possible for one. I don't know what you mean by national divorce, but new nations are not the solution, because there's not going to be a perfect Christian nation in this world before Jesus returns. The key is for believers to be salt and life evangelized, bring moral and spiritual reformation through the Gospel and our witness and example to the world, and then have more and more people turning to the Lord, so that a nation which is ever going to be perfectly righteous or perfectly wicked before Jesus returns, a nation can be turned more to the Lord than away from the Lord.

And with that, there can be consequent blessings and favor that come with it. So, I am all for national repentance, understanding it's never going to be 100%, but it can be far better than it is now, beginning with repentance in the church, than leading to repentance through those coming to faith and then even those in society awakening to what is right and what is wrong. Jacob, hi Dr. Brown, I'm with you, 100% on Israel not being the church, premillennialism and overall eschatology, yet can you please explain how you see the election of Israel as a nation being any different than the election of individuals unto salvation, the nature of election, blessings. So Israel being elect is chosen for distinct purposes in God without guaranteeing the salvation of any individual Israelite. And that's what I understand Paul is dealing with in Romans 9, when he's talking about God having mercy on him, he has mercy in choosing him, he chooses. I understand it to be for service, not for salvation.

So, of course, my Calvinist friends would differ with me on that. So, in that case, Israel is the elect nation, but it doesn't mean every individual within Israel will be saved. There are Talmudic traditions that say all Israel has a place in the world to come except for a few choice sinful categories and choice sinners, but that's a rabbinic tradition. I do believe there'll be national turning at the end of the age, but even then, God knows the remnant that will exist, the numbers that will exist, et cetera, how that will all come to pass. But being an Israelite does not guarantee anyone's salvation. As far as individual election, I understand that God ordained before the foundation of the earth that he would have a people in Messiah, that he would have a people in Christ, right? So, whoever puts their trust in him becomes part of that elect people. And that is the evidence that the Holy Spirit has worked in our lives, that we are now among those elect because God has empowered us to have new birth as we turn to him and cry out to him for mercy. So, in that sense, individual election also ties in with our response to the gospel. So, it breaks down the same, that there is a nation of Israel, that God chose, but individual salvation is based on our response to him.

God preordains, not exact parallel, but rough parallel, God preordains that he will have a people after his own heart in his son Jesus, and now individual election is based on our response to the gospel. All right, I covered most of what was posted. Jesse, as always, I appreciate your interaction and kind words. As to you saying, I don't think we need to see sign gifts every Sunday, I do believe that on average, in an assembly, there should be some supernatural evidence of the Spirit's work.

This is just normal. Be it tongues, be it interpretation, be it prophecy, be it healing. I think if you read 1 Corinthians 14, Paul countenanced something like that. Not to keep us believing, but as a sign of the activity of the Spirit in our midst, for the glory of God, for the good of the body, for the good of the lost. Hey, appreciate everyone's interaction, appreciate the many kind words as well. And let me encourage you once more that we are here to see you healthy in spirit, soul, and body. And as you know, TriVita is our great co-sponsor, helping you get healthy and helping more and more people hear the line of fire.

It's great teamwork, so my appreciation always to our co-sponsor. If you'd like to find out more, if you'd like to get a free consultation like, hey, what do you have? How can it help me?

The number you can call is 800-777-5584. These are supplements that I take. They're not substitutes for healthy living, for healthy eating, but boy, do they help in so many other ways. And they'll help you wherever you start. Maybe they can help you start to get healthier in other ways.

And then maybe with that little incentive, you can start to change your diet lifestyle too. So you can call 800-771-5584. Tell them Dr. Brown sent you. If you're calling outside of regular office hours, TriVita will be very happy to call you back.

So you can call 800-771-5584 or you can go to trivita.com, but be sure to use the code BROWN25 if you go there. BROWN25, this way you get a special 25% discount and know that 100% of all your first orders go to support the line of fire and more than a tie of all subsequent orders. Hey friends, Jesus is Lord. He's building his ecclesia, his church, his messianic congregation, and the gates of hell. We'll not prevail against you.