A Common Bible Word Study Error and Answers to Your Calls

We'll talk about some common errors in biblical word studies, and then take your calls on a wide range of subjects.

Phone lines are open. 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.

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Just looked at it, proofed it again. You will be blessed. I am absolutely sure you will love this. Every part of it, from the Hebrew word study and the Hebrew word kana, as in God being an El Kana, you say, what's that? Well, you'll read about it in the newsletter, to stories right from the gospel being preached in mosques in the Middle East, to an inspiring lead article on Dreaming God-Sized Dreams, to an amazing testimony from a former Palestinian Muslim living in America, to a lengthy excerpt from How Saved Are We? Jesus the Radical.

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866-34-TRUTH. Before I go to the phones, I want to talk about this subject briefly. What is one of the most common errors that's made in doing word studies, especially biblical word studies? It can be in any literature, but I see it commonly in the Bible, when people are really trying to dig in and understand what the Hebrew or Aramaic mean, what the Greek means. And there's a very, very common error, and it's very simply avoided. But the principle is this. I'll give you the right principle, then tell you the error. The principle is that every word has one meaning and one context.

Unless there's an intentional double entendre, for example, in the title of my book, A Queer Thing Happened to America, so used with a double meaning there and with a smile in terms of the overall point being made, unless that is the case, every word has one meaning and one context. Very, very simple principle. The error is to take a meaning from one context and move it over to another context. That is the very common error.

So my standard example is very simple. Let's take the word hard. Hard can mean hard like this table in my studio here. Hard can mean hard as in difficult. If I tell you the test is hard, it means it's a difficult test. If I tell you the rock is hard, I mean it's a very sturdy rock. So if you are just learning English and you have a dictionary and you look up the word hard and you see that it could have to do with the substance itself being hard or it can do with the difficulty of the subject, so you now decide to take one meaning and put it in another context. And when I tell you the test is hard, you think, oh, so if you take the test and hit it over your head, it'll crack your skull. Or conversely, if I say the rock is hard, you think, oh, it's a difficult rock to maneuver.

No, saying the rock is hard is different from saying the test is hard. People commonly do that in the Bible. They see a particular word, they look up in the Hebrew-Greek dictionary, or they wrongly use the dictionary in the back of Strong's Concordance, which was never primarily meant to be a stand-alone lexicon.

And they'll find a meaning in one verse and they'll say, oh, that's the same Greek or Hebrew word, and they'll apply it somewhere else. So, for example, I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the root rafa, the Hebrew root rafa, which is principally associated with healing. And my dissertation looked at all the usages, nominal and verbal, of rafa in the Hebrew Bible and then how the root was used in the ancient Near Eastern Semitic languages.

Was it used in Akkadian, was it used in Ugaritic, was it used in Arabic, Aramaic, Syriac, etc. What were the meanings, Ethiopic and so on. What could we glean from this? What could we learn from it? And how did it enhance our understanding of the biblical text?

So I focused on just one word from my doctoral dissertation. So, for example, in the intensive form of the verb called the pial, it can be used for giving medical treatment. However, in 1 Kings 18, speaking of Elijah, it says that Elijah repaired the Lord's broken down altar. Well, it's the same verb and verbal form used there, but to translate it with he healed the altar would be wrong.

That would be blatantly wrong. Or when God says to Israel, I am the Lord your healer, meaning healer there in an expansive way, talking even more broadly about not putting on Israel any of the plagues that he put on Egypt. So that same root, rafa, is used in Leviticus 13 and 14, speaking about negat sarraat, which is a serious skin disease. Normally translated as leprosy, but leprosy as we know it, Hansen's disease did not exist in the ancient east at that time. So it was a severe skin disease.

And then also used of this negat sarraat when it's affecting the house. So it would be referring to mildew there. Well, when it gets to a certain point that it has run its cycle and it's no longer there, the Hebrew text says that it is rafaad, mixing Hebrew and English there. That it has been rafaad. Again, that's not Hebrew. I'm using an English suffix to it. So you say, oh, so the skin disease has been healed.

Okay, that works. But it also says that about the mildew in the house, does mildew get healed? Or is it better to say in both cases something like it is remitted? The point is that each word has a particular meaning in a particular context. And you cannot just take the meaning from one place and superimpose it in another.

You have to see what nuance it has. So when it comes to rafaad, fundamentally it means to restore, make whole in its most fundamental sense. Now when applied to a sick body, it's healed. When applied to a broken vessel, it's repaired.

When applied to the fissures in the earth, it's to mend, etc. So you have to just apply it rightly, otherwise you end up using a wrong word in a wrong place. It's very, very common to see people do that. And sometimes when you're looking at a lexicon, it's going to list the different meanings of the word. But then it's going to break it down and say, here are contexts where it means this, here are contexts where it means this.

Now sometimes it's debatable. There's overlap. And that's where you'll have different translations, etc. But just be sure that because a word has one meaning in one context, that that same word or that same meaning is not assumed to have that same meaning in another and different context. That's what must be sure that it could be a different nuance or aspect of that word that behaves very differently in a different context.

Simple principle, but something to avoid. Alright, phone lines are wide open. They are often slammed at this point, but we've got open lines. So 866-348-7884. And let us start with our buddy Eddie in Madison, Connecticut. Welcome to the line of fire. Dr. Brown, how are you today? Good, man.

Long time, haven't heard from you. Yeah, we've still got fireworks going here in these Bibles. We're the only Bible study, Dr. Brown, that you've got to have a first aid kit. Come on. But anyway, the topic this week was we were talking about Gamaliel, if I'm saying it right. The guy in Acts, the Pharisee.

Yes, in English we pronounce it Gamaliel, in Hebrew, Gamaliel. So either way, take your pick. I said it wrong on both sides. Don't worry about it, man. You were in between.

You were in between. So we were saying that if Paul studied under this guy, and when they went to him, they asked him about whatever the Christian movement going on. And he said, listen, guys, if it's of God, you're not going to stop it. If it's not of God, it's going to fall apart.

Right. So what would make Paul that studied under this guy saying, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go murder these guys. And wait a minute, ain't you Paul? Don't you know the commands of God?

Not sure how to murder, but you're going to go out and murder. So we're just confused there. We're saying the leader's over here, look how he answered it. Listen, if it's of God, you're not going to stop it. And if it's not of God, it's going to crumble. But Paul said, no, not me.

I'm going to go murder him. Right. So we just were confused with that.

We're like, wow, this seems like a contrast here, a big contrast with this. Yeah, that's a very fair question, especially when you would say that in Jewish thought that the disciple is very much loyal to his teacher, to his rabbi, to his master. Right.

The answer, though, is pretty simple. Number one, Paul studied under him in his youth. Now Paul is an adult and is his own man.

That's the first thing. The second thing is that Gamliel may never have uttered those words until then. In other words, this may not have come up until that moment. And Paul may not even have known that was his counsel. It's not to say that they were in ongoing communication. Gamliel had many students, so it's not like he was his buddy and sidekick and would have known it. And number three, in Paul's mind, he wasn't murdering. He was carrying out the requirements of the law to deal with heresy, etc. And his goal was to have people brought up for trial and in prison. In other words, he wasn't just going around and putting a gun to people's head and carrying this out himself. So he was helping in the process.

He was agreeing. He was aggressively persecuting and was responsible for the death of believers. But not that he put them to death himself. So again, he said it under him in his youth, number one. Number two, we don't know that Gamliel's words were widely circulated and that Paul would have known about it.

Number three, he's his own man and doing what he's doing. But he was sinning. In 1 Timothy 1 he says, look, I was the worst of sinners. And I violently persecuted the believers. So we have at the end of Acts 7, beginning of Acts 8, how Paul is consenting to Stephen's death. And he's holding the clothes of the garments of people that are stoning Stephen. And then goes around stirring up tremendous trouble. So he definitely was responsible for their death. But trying to do it through a proper process. So it's a totally legitimate question. But that is the simple answer. What I love is all these years you guys are still together and still part of the same Bible study.

You build some really good relationships with that and really get to know each other. And iron sharpens iron. So thanks as always for the call.

And we will be right back. 866-348-7884. This is Michael Ellison, founder of TriVita Wellness. Being aware of the dangers of homocysteine is crucial to protecting our health. This natural occurring amino acid that the body creates plays a vital role. But when elevated in excess, it can pose significant risk to our health. One of the dangers of elevated homocysteine is the impact on cardiovascular health. Research has shown that high homocysteine can contribute to heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular conditions.

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As a new customer, 100% of your order proceeds from your first order will go to support the Line of Fire radio broadcast. 1-800-771-5584 or online at TriVita.com. This is how we rise up It's the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH. Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks, friends, for joining us on the Line of Fire today, 866-348-7884. Let's go back to the phones with Brian in Louisville, Kentucky. Welcome to the Line of Fire. Hey, Dr. Brown, glad to be on with you.

I had a question for you. I was reading through Wikipedia and, you know, there's like, okay, so Wikipedia calls the face of the Old Testament Hebrews just Yahwehism. And if you go on the Wikipedia page for Yahwehism, it talks about a theory that I think secular academics, a lot of them believe in, that the Hebrews were apparently originally polytheistic and they worshiped Yahweh as a lesser god under El and all this stuff. And I'm sure that you may have come across that theory in your studies. And I was just wondering if you have any advice for like if a Christian was talking to somebody and they brought up this argument that they think that the Hebrews started out polytheistic and all that stuff. Yeah, so I would just say, hey, listen, the one thing we agree on is the biblical text. In other words, you may think it's not inspired.

I think it is inspired. But either way, that's our source for what ancient Israel believed. For example, if we look at documents from Ugarit, the Ugaritic documents, and they're from, oh, it would be roughly around the time of Moses, just to give very, very rough dates, in north of Israel in Syria, modern day Rosh Shamra. And they talk about the Canaanite pantheon there and El and Baal and all these other gods and goddesses, etc.

No mention of Yahweh in those texts. So we understand what the Canaanites believe. If you look at Akkadian documents and find out about Babylonian religion and Marduk and Baal and these other gods and goddesses, so we know what they believe.

You go around the ancient world, you know, the different inscriptions that we have and find out what different peoples believed. If you want to find out what ancient Israel believed, you have to look at what's written in the scriptures. So I would just say, can you actually show me that anywhere in the Bible?

What happens is, you have scholars, some of them very, very brilliant, who look at ancient Near Eastern evidence, look at the Bible in that light, and then interpret the Bible in such a way that you come up with these radically, radically different ideas. Now, you could argue that the earliest Israelite belief is henotheistic versus monotheistic. You could argue that Yahweh was recognized as the deity of all deities and that there were lesser deities. You know, if Moses would say, Miel Kamocha, who is a god like you, right? B'alim, among the gods. Now, you could either take that as saying, there are no other gods. No other gods exist.

It's only you, Lord. Or you could say, among all the gods, you're the most high, you're the most powerful. And then it develops into exclusive monotheism.

So some could try to argue that, right? That it recognized Yahweh as the god of all gods, who was the same as El or Elohim, and then you had lesser gods, and then they ultimately said, no, there's only one god, and all the others are just created beings. Or you could say, from the start, they understood that there was only one god, just created beings. But otherwise, show me anywhere where Yahweh is subservient to El. You know, in a clear text. Not trying to argue it from Psalm 82. In a clear text. Finally, anywhere where, you know, just go through all the ancient texts and the most ancient poems we have.

It's just not there. It's something that is imported from outside, and now it's re-read in that way. And it's also, you have to realize that many scholars are rationalistic in their approach. For example, if they see prophecy, if they see in 1 Kings 13 a prophecy about a future King Josiah, they're sure that that was not actually a prophecy, that that was written many years later to make it look like a prophecy. We have no problem saying it was a prophecy, believing in inspiration. So, if you say, well, we don't find evidence of monotheism in Canaan at that time, so where did it come from?

We say, it's easy. It was revelation from God. That's the whole thing. You know, God revealed himself in antiquity in different ways, and that's what made it so distinct.

So, either way, the monotheism that you find in prophets like Isaiah, so strict, you know, that only God is God and there's no other being called God. Where did that come from? How did that develop? Well, it came from inspiration. It came from revelation. So, I would just ask someone, can you actually show me plainly where this is in the Bible rather than importing from the outside?

I'll say this last thing. Our late departed friend, Dr. Michael Heiser, in his book, The Unseen Realm, drew a lot of attention to the ancient Near Eastern texts and the pantheon of the ancient Near Eastern and how to read some things in the Bible differently. But Michael would have completely rejected these theories. In other words, he, like me, was thoroughly conversant in these areas, and our degrees were similar in Near Eastern languages and literatures, etc. He just had more history in his degrees as well. And so we're aware of all the evidence, but we just don't find it supported in Scripture. That makes sense.

That makes sense. Thank you so much. You are very welcome. 866-3-4-truth. We don't have to just dismiss something as idiotic. We could say, hey, that's a serious theory by serious scholars, but here's why we don't accept it. Here's why it breaks down.

Here's why something is being imposed on the biblical text. Let's go over to Kentucky. Willie, welcome to the line of fire. Hey, Dr. Brown. How are you? Doing just great.

Thank you. Yeah. Hey, I have a question about, it's really not about the Trinity, but it kind of is. It's like, I know God exists. God is everywhere, right? So, at the moment of the new birth, okay, Jesus, the way I understand it, Jesus comes to live inside of us.

Is that correct? By his Spirit. In other words, the Spirit comes to live inside of us. Yes. Okay.

Alright. And so, God is everywhere. When Jesus comes in, I know Colossians 1.27 says that the mystery that has been revealed is Christ in us, the hope of glory. And I understand in Acts 1.8, we shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, right? So, right now, as a Christian, as a new creation, so is it the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God, all the three living inside of us? Is that correct?

Yes, so I really appreciate the question. In John 14, Jesus does say that my Father and I will come and make our abode with you as a believer. But that is done by the Spirit. That's the Spirit's role. So, just understand, all of God is in all of God. All of God is in the Father, the Son, the Spirit. None of them are like partially deity, right?

I mean, you understand that. It's not like the Father is somehow lacking an aspect of deity. And that's the uniqueness of God. He is absolutely one, and he is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the same time. So, the simplest explanation would be this, that we have an identity in Jesus, in Yeshua, as new creations. We are in him. He is in us in terms of our identity. But the Father, Son, and Spirit live within us by the Spirit.

The role of the Son is to make the Father known. And we interact with him as our friend, as our Savior, and our Lord. The Father, 1 Timothy 6 16, he dwells in unapproachable light. No one has seen or can't see him. John 1 18, no one has seen God.

So, the Father is the source and origin of all things. We pray to him. We look to him.

But he dwells in unapproachable light. His glory fills the universe, but his actual presence is localized in heaven. He reveals himself to us through his Son. And then the Ruach, the Spirit, works within us. That's why 2 Corinthians 13 14 says that we have fellowship, koinonia, with the Spirit. That's why Romans 8 14, we are led by the Spirit. 8 16, the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we're the children of God. Luke 24 49, Acts 1 8, we're empowered by the Spirit. So, it is the Spirit who is fully deity, fully God, dwelling within us, who brings the presence of Father in so many. When he says, Jesus says in John 14, I won't need you as orphans, I'll come to you. He means I'll come by sending the Spirit. Hope that's helpful.

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Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks, friends, for joining us on the line of fire. We posted a very important article today to all of us in the prayer movement, struggling with the scandal surrounding Mike Bickland, IHOPKC. And it's an important read. It's an edifying read for everyone that's been struck by a scandal. And what do we do and how do we handle things? And how do we how do we maintain faith when leaders fall? You'll find it really helpful.

Those who feel especially called to houses of prayer and worship. What next? What now? It's on our Web site, the line of fire dot org. Just click on read and you'll find it as the latest article.

I also interacted with what I felt unhelpful and he gets said in Super Bowl. I really appreciate the efforts being made to reach the unchurched. I really appreciate all those who are investing funds to make Jesus known to those who don't know him. Have some constructive input as to how it can be done better. That article is also there on the Web site. Latest articles about Israel as well. So make sure you check it out and remember when you get our e-mails that every week, the end of the week, we'll tell you the latest articles, the latest videos so you don't miss anything. That's all the line of fire dot org. Just sign up for our front lines newsletter. All the other e-mails will follow.

Let us go to Tampa, Florida. Greg, welcome to the line of fire. Hey, thank you, Dr. Brown. I don't know if you're familiar with Ron Wyatt and some of the discoveries, quote unquote. I was just curious your take on those.

OK. I have not followed his work carefully at all. I have not investigated his claims at all. I can say that many look at him as a very serious researcher, that he's devoted decades of his life to looking for things regarding the Ark of the Covenant or other esoteric subjects and trying to find clear archaeological evidence or traditional evidence that would point to locations and things like that. I know he's taken very seriously in some circles. I don't know that he's taken seriously in peer reviewed archaeological journals and historical journals or things like that.

But I just haven't followed his work closely in all fairness to him to give comment either way. Was there something specific that you were asking about? Oh, no, just curious.

I have an eight and a six year old. And so I came across some of the videos and just trying to teach them about the Bible. It's interesting. Some of the things that he was bringing to light that he potentially discovered. And my eight year old in particular was interested in I was showing him one of the videos.

I'm just trying to get them more into the word, but I didn't know. I'm like, wait, I don't want to be showing them this if it's a complete hoax. I mean, you know, who is this guy? So in all fairness to Ron Wyatt, because I have not studied what he's done carefully, my opinion is not fair to him. For critics of Ron Wyatt, my opinion is not fair because it is not based on careful study.

I would simply say this. If someone, whoever the person is, claims to have discovered something that no one else has discovered. And to this day, it is not recognized by top scholars in the field. That raises a question for me.

It's just procedurally that reaches. Now, that may not be the case here. He may have discovered something and it's widely accepted or it may be widely debunked. I don't know.

And I'm not weighing in. But I would just recommend in general that if you're trying to get your kids interested in the word, that you do it in a way that's less sensationalistic. Number one, what if the thing proves false?

Then that that can hurt them. Number two, you're always going to have to find something else sensationalistic. I think there's enough within the word and in the nature of God that is amazing and incredible and overwhelming and wow, that we can just stay with that without needing it. I'm not saying that the work is irrelevant. Again, I can't comment either way. It's just something I've never focused on. I'm just saying for our own faith and our own walk, especially for kids, I would just be careful with what I interest them in.

That's all. Do you have a reason why? Is there any particular reason why you haven't looked into it? I mean, these are, I would say, pretty bold claims based on Scripture.

And he goes through verse by verse and explains why he believes these are, you know, and they match up. But I was just curious why you haven't looked into it. Yeah, two things, time and burden. In other words, there are thousands, millions of things I would love to look into and study and controversies that I'm asked about, you know, by the second, you know, that I don't have time for. So unless something really catches my interest and becomes an issue that needs attention, then the other way I get into it is if I feel burdened by the Lord to get into a particular thing.

So it's not been the case in either of these. So it could be some of the most important work on the planet. It could be some of the craziest work on the planet. It's not fair to me to comment either way. Yeah, no, it makes sense.

I'll say this, though. I can't tell you how many things have come up during phone calls on this show where I've said, boy, I want to dig into that more. But, you know, it's on the list of all these things I want to get into. Well, I really, really appreciate it. I don't know if you can say this on the air or not, but do you have any churches in Tampa that you'd recommend or on the list?

Actually, yeah, it's something that we don't do for quite a few reasons. But as far as I know, there's some fine churches in the area. I will just say, though, hang on. If you just look up Pastor Brent Simpson, he's looked to me as a mentor, and I've been there many times, and he's in the greater Tampa area. So just look up Pastor Brent Simpson. I don't do this by policy, but since it's someone that I've been close to over the years and have preached for a number of times, I can just mention that, OK? OK, thank you so much.

God bless. 866-348-7884. We go back to the phones in a moment, but we do have some phone lines open. Occasionally on Fridays they open up more. Normally they're filled the entire show, but we, again, just open up a few phone lines. So great time to call now. 866-348-7884. Let's go to Will in Springfield, Virginia. Welcome to the line of fire.

Hi, Dr. Brown. So my question is on when was Adam made? Because here in Genesis 2, it says no shrubs or plants came because the water didn't come up from the ground. But when it did, man was made. But in Genesis 1, we see that the water under the sky was gathered, and then the vegetation came. But that was on day 3. So that confused me a bit.

Yeah, yeah. So day 1, Adam is created on day 6, according to the biblical text, right? And then Genesis 2 is just giving us a focus on what's happening within the Garden of Eden. That's all. So it's strictly within the Garden? Yeah, that's all it's describing.

Why the conditions were, what they were. Also, let me just read it to you. Let me just go over to Genesis, the second chapter, okay? Genesis 2. And when no bush of the field was yet in the land, and no small plant of the field had yet sprung off for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground, then the Lord God formed the man. So you already have this mist. You already have something of what's been described happening. So you have a specific picture of what's happening in the Garden of Eden. But there's no contradiction because you already have a mist going up from the land that's watering the whole face of the ground, right? Which could mean the whole earth at that point.

So that's already happening. But this is just focusing in on the Garden of Eden, and you don't really need to go beyond that in any way. So Genesis 1 is like the big overview, and now Genesis 2 comes in and kind of focuses very specifically on specific things. That's why you now have Adam, which is man or mankind created on the sixth day, but now you have specifically how Chava, Eve, is taken out of Adam and how that unfolds.

And some think it's contradictory. No, one's just like the macro view and the other is the micro view. All right? All right, sounds good. Thank you. You're very welcome. I appreciate the call.

866-348-7884. Let me just share something that I did in the article that I wrote about just posted today. Let God be true and every human being a liar from Romans three. How do we process scandals? How do we process when beloved leaders, people that we've looked to or been inspired by, maybe we came to faith through their teachings or writings, maybe their example inspired us, moved us. Then we find out that on some level they were living a double life. We find out that there was serious sin involved, et cetera.

How do we how do we sort that out? On the one hand, it can be a terrible blow because you don't know what's what's up and what's down, what's right and what's wrong. You you don't know anymore because you really thought this person was right. And now you find out they weren't.

So how do you how can you even tell? Or if they were the one that God seemed to use to help build your faith or bring you to the Lord, now you wonder or are they are they real? Was my faith real?

Was my experience with God real? So others just become very cynical. Don't trust anybody. Don't trust anything.

And look at all leaders from a distance. Both of those attitudes are unhelpful and also unrealistic. So Romans three in a different context, pulsing. What if some are unfaithful? Does our unfaithfulness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means, he says.

This is this. The God be true. But every man or every human being a liar. So in the end, the only one who can be trusted in an absolute total way with our entire being for ever is God, because every human being has the potential of falling short, no matter how devoted or sincere they may be. And that's why God, speaking to Israel and Isaiah forty nine, asked this question. Can a nursing woman forget her child, the child nursing at her breast?

And you say, obviously not. God says they may actually forget, but I'll never forget. I won't.

So we need to start with recognizing that the failings of people only underscore the faithfulness of God, that the badness of people only restores the goodness of God. All right. I'll continue on the other side of the break. Are you experiencing fatigue, heart palpitations or tingling in your hands and feet? These may be signs that you are deficient in vitamin B12, which may increase your risk of serious cardiovascular conditions without you even knowing it. I'm Paul Burnett, a board certified doctor of holistic health and director of wellness services at Trivita.

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These statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This is how we rise up. 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.

Call 866-34-TRUTH. So how do we respond when leaders fall, when leaders fail? This is something we've been addressing, sadly had to address many times over the years, and have addressed quite a few times recently because of the very, very serious allegations that have come against Mike Bickel, who was a good friend of mine in the past. I mean, we didn't hang out together all the time. It could be years where we didn't see each other. But when we were together, there was a sense of real closeness and real fellowship that really centered around Jesus and the things of God. So it was an absolute shock to hear these very credible, very, very intense, serious allegations against Mike. So when I hear these things, the first thing is I feel tremendous pain for the name of Jesus and the reproach that it brings to the Lord and how we hurt him and the tremendous pain it brings to the body. And then, while being concerned about the individual and praying for them, I search my own heart. I look for anything in my own heart that's displeasing to the Lord on any level. And then, of course, I think of those who've been directly hurt and my heart breaks for them. But I don't sit around and look down through a long, self-righteous nose.

I walk in holy fear before God. So we have to remember that human beings at our very best are still flawed in some way. We're still weak. We're still just human vessels. And without God's grace and help, we're all in big trouble.

Without his mercy, we're all in big trouble. So we can honor people. We can respect people. But let's not overdo it.

You know, one of my friends that was much closer to Mike than I was said, I just didn't think he was tempted with women the way other men were. Well, that's unrealistic to think that. We should walk in discipline and holiness, yes. But the idea that we're oblivious or, you know, we're not like other people in that regard. Don't put people on that kind of pedestal. Don't do that.

It's unwise. One person may have a weakness with pride, another with gambling, another with dishonesty, another with prayerlessness, another with gluttony, another with sexual lust, another with cowardice. Everyone has something they've got to be really on guard about before the Lord. So in that respect, all of us walk with a limp, not like, look at me. I'm the big man.

I'm the big woman of God. And we don't want to create an atmosphere for that. And when we do over exalt someone, it's it's easy for us to fall because or excuse me, for us to to be deeply disappointed when they fall.

On the other hand, there are leaders who are worthy of respect and honor, but just don't overdo it. Be realistic. How well do you know that person? How good is their track record? To what extent have they lived this out?

How well do you know their family, et cetera? These are all things to look at. So you give proper honor, you give proper esteem. And in point of fact, what we'll see as final investigations take place and or final investigation takes place and everything comes to the light. How much of a double life Mike had lived for how long a period of time this law come to light. Let's say it's absolutely devastating. Let's say it's the worst case scenario. Things we don't even know yet.

I mean, what we've heard thus far is horrific. But let's say it's even more than that. And that's what all comes to light.

So that that being that being the case. We still have to remember that any good thing that happened through it was God. That any good thing that you received from Mike Bickel was from God, not from Mike. That it's the Holy Spirit who works through human beings and produces good. And then if you were inspired to pray through him, as I've said many times before, it was God who inspired you to pray. When you gave yourself to 24 seven worship and prayer, it was it was God you were worshipping, not a person. And moreover, it was God who appointed you to pray.

He's the one who gave you the assignment. So as human beings fail, just strengthen your own resolve. I'm going to I'm going to do what's right. I'm going to do what's right.

And I'm going to walk, walk even more carefully in my own life. All right. Let's see if I can get to a few more calls quickly. Let's go to C.J.

in Mississippi. Welcome to the line of fire. Hey, Dr. Brown, how are you today? Doing very well. Thank you.

Hey, I have a question. I basically the first time I ever heard you talk about the pre-tribulation rapture. Your story sounded like mine when I first got saved. I was born again in 1978.

I went to an independent church. I'd maybe been saved about six or seven months. I began reading through the Bible and I just couldn't see what the guy was teaching. And I thought, well, I think I'll go talk to him.

So this man was saved in 1944. So he's been passed away a few years. I went to him and spoke to him about it. And I said, look, you know, I'm sort of like you mentioned, I'm just a young guy. And who am I to talk to this guy that's been saved for years? He seemed to get upset about it because I said, I just can't find that in the scripture.

And so he didn't seem too happy about it. And I wanted a couple more questions. I won't hold you long, but I don't know if you've heard this before, if it's even true. I've heard that in the 1830s, there was a young lady that had been born again.

She'd only been saved for about a year. Let me just jump in. The modern, for sure, for sure. The teaching that became so popularized can be traced back to the 1830s. Dispensationalism definitely has its origins there.

So even if teachers say, well, we have references to Pre-Trib Rapture here and there and other ancient church literature, which of course I differ with, there's no question. You can trace the origins back to the 1830s and then it becomes popularized through J.N. Darby and the Brethren Movement. And then from there, the Schofield reference Bible.

And then Hal Lindsey and the Great Planet Earth and Left Behind series. But yeah, it definitely goes back to prophesying sisters, probably sisters in the 1830s who allegedly got that revelation. If you want to trace it back, that's where it begins. What is your take on one left, one taken, and one left behind? In context, it seems to me, in judgment. So the one that's taken is the one taken in judgment. Matthew 13, that the wicked, represented by weeds, will be removed by the angels. So it's the wicked that are taken.

One taken probably means one taken in judgment. And the one that's left behind is the believer. You know, CJ, I respect those in the Lord who are my elders.

As I'm getting older now, there are less of them. But especially as a younger believer, we respect those who've gone before us and studied and looked at things. But you did the right thing. I mean, you asked questions. And what we have to do as pastors and leaders and elders is not be defensive, right?

Because when someone comes with honest questions and says, with all respect, I don't see what you're teaching in the Bible, when we get defensive, it almost points to an insecurity or a weakness in our position, as opposed to saying, great questions. Let's take a look together. Let me tell you why I hold to this.

And that helps us grow. I can tell you this, though. If you picked that up in seven, eight months, you were way ahead of me. It took me a little longer to get it. But hey, thank you for the call, man. God bless you. I appreciate it. Yes, sir. Thank you. Yes. All right.

Let us go over to Pepe in Miami, Florida. Welcome to the line of fire. Good afternoon, Dr. Brown. Hey. I appreciate what you do.

Thank you. I have a question, because I comment a lot on Yehuda Gisrell's page. And I was telling him that Toby Singer censors my comments. And then he tells me that you censor his comments, so we're equal. And also, he's talking about you failing to answer Rabbi Gisrell Blumenthal's video.

Oh, no, no, no. Rabbi Blumenthal and I have exchanged literally thousands of pages of e-mails. We were in touch as recently as a couple weeks ago when he shot me a YouTube video he thought I'd be interested in. We have interacted in massive, massive depth.

In fact, if we can get things properly edited, we have over 600 page exchange leading up to Isaiah 53 that we just want to release free to the public. We did a video series interacting back and forth where we both published on the same day a video at a prescribed length. And then we posted second part, third part. And then we both misunderstood some things. I apologized to him.

He apologized to me in terms of communication we had. This is all public and out. But I think I know who the fellow is that goes by that name, Yehuda Israel.

I actually gave him a set of answering Jewish objections to Jesus years and years ago. I don't personally monitor most of our sites. But if someone persistently posts falsehoods and is doing this in an obnoxious way, sometimes a comment will be deleted.

But if they do it persistently, yeah, they'll get blocked. If someone is posting falsehoods about you and we see false attacks about another believer or something like that, or even falsehoods about a Rabbi Blumenthal, a learned rabbi, devoted rabbi, ultra-orthodox and counter missionary, if we saw them attacking Rabbi Blumenthal falsely, we'd block that. On the flip side, just go through our YouTube page and look at how many tens of thousands, literally, how many tens of thousands of comments are there that differ with my position all the time, every day.

Look on all of our social media pages, because by God's grace, we've got big followings. And I don't examine them, but when I do, look at it. There's stuff differing with me by the second. Have at it. As long as you don't violate our guidelines. Obviously, he's violated the guidelines, and that's why he's been blocked. As for Rabbi Singhi, unfortunately, I've heard that if you differ, you get blocked. Hey friends, the truth will set us free. We run to it.