Jesus: The First Two Years / Matthew 2:7-23

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>> Bert Harper: and take your Bible questions.

Welcome to Exploring the Word. I hope you're having a blessed day

Welcome to Exploring the Word.

>> Alex McFarland: Well, good evening, everybody. I hope you're having a blessed day. And I hope the day gets even more memorable as we get into God's Word and we look at the Gospel of Matthew, the first book of the NewSong Testament, the first gospel in the NewSong Testament. We're in chapter two. And yesterday we were talking about how prophecy is fulfilled. The promises of God are realized, and the Messiah, the savior for the world is born, Jesus Christ. We invite you to get a copy of God's Word, turn with us to Matthew, and we'll continue in this word. Wonderful, wonderful book that. Bert, how long has it been? More than 10 years since we last taught through the Gospel of Matthew, Is that right?

>> Bert Harper: That is right. According to my records. And I try to keep them. I'm not, you know, I can make mistakes. I'm not like the word of God that there is no mistakes. Yeah. Brent's looking at me like, yeah, we all know that. But it is true. But I believe that is right. And what a joy it is to go through the. The Gospels, each one of them. And I tell people this, and I'll be in Matthew, and I say, man, this is my favorite one. I'll be in Jon. I say, this is my favorite. It's my. Whichever one I'm studying at the time is my favorite. It's what I figured out, Alex. So in Matthew, with him being the tax collector that he is, or was, I should say, notice how the numbers come out and details and how he goes back with the Old Testament that these things might be fulfilled. it is a great book, and I enjoy it each time we go through it.

>> Alex McFarland: You know what? I was thinking about how, they say Kentucky fried chicken, the 11 herbs and spices, Colonel Sanders original recipe, is kept in a very, very safe, secure place. That's what we need to do with your list of all the books we've talked through. Because what we do, when we wrap up a book, usually a week before Bert and I will be on the phone and we'll say, where are we gonna go? And I might say, oh, you know, let's do the book of Ephesians or something. And Bert can tell the day and when we did it. And, thank you for keeping Such meticulous records, Bert. And, let's make sure that that list, you've got is never lost.

>> Bert Harper: Well, the reason I do this is because pastored in one church for 28 years. you were going to repeat not necessarily sermons, but repeat verses that you're studying from. And you always have a few, and it's usually ladies. Now, again, it can be men. It's been one of they right in their, margin of the Bible, preached by Bert on such and such a date. And, so they'd say, did you know you preached this 10 years ago? So anyway, so, yes, I try to keep those notes so I'll know them.

Alex McFarland says wise men were led by star on way to Bethlehem

And today, as we dive into the word of God, we find the wise men. They have arrived. They're bringing their gifts. They were led by the star. Now, let me share with you. We've already gone over that. They go to Herod to find out where he's born, and they say it's in Bethlehem. So notice on the way to Bethlehem, when they went to Jerusalem, obviously the star was not there. But after they had gone to Jerusalem, taught to Herod and started to Bethlehem, which was only five miles away, the star appeared again. Now, we don't know exactly was it cloudy? We don't know all the reasons why that star was not there. But this gave me Alex, and I want you to comment on it. I thought if I can start on this, it'd be a good direction to go. He gives us direction along the way, but along the way to where we're going. Sometimes we don't see it as clearly as we could at the beginning. It doesn't mean you quit. It doesn't mean you sidetracked. But it does mean you wait and you research and you pray. And, then guess what? The star reappeared. To take them to the exact place that God wanted them to be. Alex, I found some spiritual guidance in that, with the star.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. that is so good. I'm glad you brought that out. And you know, I think about in our own ministry, we've been very blessed to do events all over the country. in fact, we've got an event this weekend with Rick Metaxas in Myrtle Beach. It's free if you're in the Mid Atlantic region. We would love for you to come here, Rick Metaxas. and at my website, alexmcfarland.com is all the info. But here's the thing I think about. Years ago, we did an event in New Haven, Connecticut. and we rented a Venue on the campus of Yale University. I felt a call to do that. And, it was great. It had a great event. Had, almost 200 people make a salvation decision. but we got up there. I mean, we spent well over a year preparing for this. And we met pastors, we met churches, we met individuals, and we built that prayer team, built that local coalition like we have done many times. But I see what you mean. I mean, we saw the call of God to go in that direction. And then once we got up there, the minutiae of the details were very surprising. And God would lead us, and there'd be a period where nothing was going, nothing was coming together, and we'd really, really pray, and then we'd meet another Christian leader. And, it's like that. There's a call, there's clarity. Maybe there's a season of ambiguity where you just really have to get on your knees and pray. And then God responds. And, Bert, is it fair to say very often we see the clear, clear will of God retrospectively. We look back, we say, oh, I see what God was doing there. God was leading. And, sometimes it was seasons in the night, but God was always leading, and God was always with us.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. And it will be that way. You know why? it's simple. We walk by faith, not by sight. And so we walk by faith. It does not mean that you don't consider how to do something. It does not mean you don't look at the details, like you said in NewSong Haven. No, you look at that. But sometimes those things can be murky. And you say, where in the world you trust the Lord? You. You live by faith, you minister by fai. And so without faith, it is impossible to please God, Alex. So we trust him. That's the bottom line. So they came, and they came to where the young child was. And we find out, they had come this way. And when they came into the house, verse 11, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Now, let's stop there, and we'll get to verse 12, because it's a little bit different, avenue that they have to take but notice the young child. You mean they stay, I'm going to be facetious here. So don't everybody. You mean they stayed in the stable that long? No, it doesn't say. You know what I mean? Because all the nativity scenes has the Wise men there. And it's beautiful. And I realize that. But. But it says they came to the house. they didn't go back to Nazareth. They stayed in Bethlehem for a while. And, they came. Notice what else it says where the young child was. And then it says in verse 11, saw the young child m. With Mary, his mother. Notice how Matthew is so careful to make sure that this is presented in such a way, you know, that Joseph is not the father, the birth father. It is the Holy Spirit. Matthew just weaves that in again and again in this story, doesn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: Absolutely.

Herod and his entourage searched for the young child

Absolutely. And, this is so beautiful. I've often thought about this. They came to where the young child was. And it's been said that, you know, to assemble the entourage, cross the desert and get to Jerusalem. and then Bethlehem, you know, might have taken well over a year, maybe up to maybe, like two years. But, you know, Herod, like in verse eight, carefully, searched for the young child. And when you have found him, bring back the word to me that I may come and worship him also.

Matthew 2:10 says people rejoiced when they saw the star

Now, I want to talk about, if we may, Matthew 2:10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And, Bert, I'm going to ask permission. Can we chase a rabbit for you?

>> Bert Harper: Chase that rabbit. I can see him running across. go ahead, Alex.

Genesis 1:16 says God made the stars also

>> Alex McFarland: Let's talk about stars. The word star, which is. And by the way, in the original language here, the word star is a variation of a Greek word, stronomy. Now, you've heard of astronomy, the study of the heavens. Now, how many stars are there that God made? all right, this is just really amazing because in Genesis 1:16, you know, it says God, you know, spoke into existence the heavens, the planets. Genesis 1:16 contains these five words. He made the stars also. Now, what's really wild is it's just five little words.

>> Bert Harper: God.

>> Alex McFarland: Oh, by the way, in all the planets, the solar system, the Earth, God made the stars also, as if it's insignificant, but it really isn't. And, I'll show you where I'm going with this in a second. How many stars are in the universe? Well, it's one septillion. Now, that's 200 billion trillion. And they say that's 10 to the 22nd power times 10 to the 24th power. in other words, a one with about 24 zeros. That's more stars than we could ever think about. And yet he designated this special star, this Strunami, from which we get Astronomy. Now, Bert, here's the thing. The word star, you know, Isaiah, 40 and Psalm 147 talks about that God spread the stars across the heavens. The word there for star is similar to spreading a bedspread out or a blanket. You spread it out, remove every wrinkle. It's as spread out as far as you can spread a cloth out. And that's how God's heavens are. and, you know, it's just amazing. And yet one designated child. And they were led there by a very, very designated star.

>> Alex McFarland: Fascinating, isn't it?

>> Bert Harper: It really is. Think of that in Genesis, okay? Made the stars also in here, beginning of the NewSong Testament, that one star. And this, is the power of God. It gives me strength and lets me know something. Is God's leadership, God's guidance. In this passage again, Alex, they fell down and they worshiped him. These are Gentiles. We talked about this yesterday. They probably was taught and it was handed down to generation, by Dan. And they knew that this would happen, and they came and followed him. They were looking for the king. And what do you present to a king? You present gifts. And these gifts. And I think we'll have more time. I think we need to go. In time, the three wise men come. We don't know how many they were, probably many more than that in the whole entourage. But we know there were three gifts. So that's where they get the three wise men. But gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And each one of these are significant. Could there have been more gifts? Yes, could. Matthew said, hey, these are the ones that are significant in such a way that we need to let them know real quickly. Alex. Gold. He's going to. He's the king of kings, isn't he? He is the king of frankincense. He's the. He's our great high priest, isn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes.

>> Bert Harper: And myrrh. Listen, his death, burial and resurrection. Overcoming sin and death.

>> Alex McFarland: Was that a burial spice?

>> Bert Harper: That was a burial spice. It certainly was, Alex. So here we have. We're going to come back and talk about a little bit more of that. But, Alex, again, I don't care if it's August or December. What a story. What a true story. This is. What a magnificent, savior we have. And we need to worship him as the wise men came and worshiped him. We want to worship HM, him in our lives, and we want to do that today, even here on Exploring the Word. We'll be back with more right after this break.

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the devil thought he had a hold

of me

>> Alex McFarland: he told so many lies that I believed Got too weak to carry on and thought that I was too far gone but then I heard a voice from Calvary and now I'm singing no more shackles on my feet. The devil's got no hope.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. I was waiting for that line. Listen, don't let the devil have his way in your life. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. And listen, Jesus Christ is truth. Don't you believe the lies?

Truth for Youth is distributing 65,000 Bibles this week to teens

Speaking of truth, Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: Yes.

>> Bert Harper: This is national truth for Bible Week here at afr, AFR and, Revival fires International. Once a year, the beginning of the school year, we partner together to give away NewSong Testaments. It's an exciting week, isn't it?

>> Alex McFarland: Well, it really is. And I can testify firsthand, even from being at camp this week, how teenagers gravitate towards these truth for youth Bibles. You've got God's word, the NewSong Testament, but then you've got, in comic book form, graphic novels. We call it, the Gospel. And also many current events. You know, things that are going on that are in not only just truthful, scriptural, relatable ways, but it's printed in such a way the kids love it. They read it. And, So you can go to afr.net and give. We're trying to have people donate so that we could distribute to America's teens 65,000 copies of God's Word. Bert, we've used, these for a lot of years. And I can, like I say, to see young people sitting around, not scrolling a screen, but looking at the Bible and reading God's word, that's a blessing. That's why we're asking people to partner with us. Our dear friend Tim Todd, he's, just a great evangelist, and we partner with his ministry to distribute these Truth for Youth Bibles.

>> Bert Harper: And this is this week and for ages you 13 to 18 who will give away one of these NewSong Testaments to a friend in school that needs to receive it. It is free. Now all you have to do is go online@tfy.org truth for youth. That's the t f y truth for, for youth. Tfy.org and you can order it or you can call this number up to 4:30, each day this week, 8007-3347-3780-0733-4737. As Alex said, want to give away 65,000 AFR. And with truth for Youth, we've given over a million away in our partnership, and we've had over 30,000 youth tell us that they've received Jesus Christ as savior. This is a great outreach. This is a great partnership. So be a part of it. And as Alex said, you can order them yourself if you want to order them for like a youth group and you give it to them so they can give it away, you can do that. And that's $2 a piece. So you can order them in bulk and use them that way. It's good for them, especially those graphic novels on how to deal with issues that youth are facing today. So let me give thou those contact, places again, numbers and letters, tfy.org or 800-733-4737 and get that done today.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen.

Matthew chapter two is full of fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies

Well, we are in Matthew chapter two, and thanks everybody for praying for us and standing with us. And we link arms and labor together to get the word of God and the gospel out there. Well, you mentioned before the breakbird about these treasures. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. They speak of Jesus kingship. They speak of his ministry. They speak of his eventual death, burial and resurrection. Verse 12. The wise men are warned in a dream and they depart. And you know when, it talks about in verse 16, that Herod was angry and he engaged in what was called the slaughter of the innocents. But before we get there, if you look at 13 through 15, after the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord alerted Joseph again in a dream. Remember he was spoken to in a dream about, yes, go through and take Mary as your wife. She is pure and Christ is born the virgin born sinless. So they get up 14 and they depart for Egypt. And this is a fulfillment of a prophecy from Hosea. Ah, 11 out of Egypt have I called my son Bert. it's been said that There are basically 72 major events in the Gospels that depict the life of Jesus. And it seems like every one is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophetic prediction. in this case the flight to Egypt from the Old Testament book of Hosea.

>> Bert Harper: It is amazing. And Alex, I want you to comment on this. Isaiah and Hosea and Micah gave specific, so many specific things and they were all part of the quartet, 8th century, you know, before Christ. And you comment on it, it seems like. And you see it in the Old Testament, you see it in the NewSong Testament Book of Acts. We've seen it through church history. It seems that sometimes these great works of God happens in groups, bunches like the Book of Acts, you know, you see so many more miracles in the beginning than you do at the end. And each time that the Gospel is to be introduced into a new area, the church. Early on Pentecost, that at Jerusalem, later in Samaria, later in Ephesus, we found the Holy Spirit of God coming in so much power like he did at Pentecost on the first day. So here in that 8th century BC God seems, he gives this, this prophecy through Isaiah, this one through Hosea, this one through Micah to say, hey, he is coming. And like you said, the fulfillment of it is really true. One more quick thought before we get away from the G too much now. Joseph and Mary, I bet they had a hard time getting enough money to go from Nazareth to, to Bethlehem, you know, cuz that was, that was fulfilled. God's prophecy was fulfilled. He used Caesar Augustus to make this happen through the registration. But now, man, they going to make another trip. I know it's in two years, we don't know what kind of work Joseph had there in Bethlehem, but while they were there, but this, and don't get me wrong, I don't want to use, you know, trifle this but traveling money now through these gifts they have what they need in order to do what God is telling them to do. So God's, is it God's provision Once

>> Alex McFarland: again, brother, I think it is God's provision. And God sovereignly, he knew what the need would be. And God sovereignly had a plan, and that plan was worked out.

Bertrand Russell: Herod was obsessed with his own position

Now, the remainder of chapter two, not only deals with their home, their eventual home in Nazareth, which was also a fulfillment of prophecy, but, let's talk a little bit. 16 through 18. What is called the slaughter of the innocents or the massacre of the babies. The innocents. Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, the king, James says, mocked of the wise men. Wise men led by God. They. They got away. He was the king, James says, wrath W R O T H. Exceedingly angry. He was enraged, wasn't he, Bert? And he sent forth, and he put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem, in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men then was fulfilled. What was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, verse 18, a voice was heard in rhema, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning. Raechel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more. this is very sad. And remember, yesterday I was talking about how the historical record talks about Herod? He was paranoid, he was murderous. I mean, he would be even willing to kill close associates and family members to guard this position. He thought he had. you know, Bert, the estimate. How many babies were killed, it may have been as few as two dozen. It may have been. Do you know, in the Eastern Church, they. And this goes back a long way, they think that it may have been over 10,000 babies that were killed. we don't know the exact number. Any poor child slaughtered over Herod's, Well, I mean, just think. So obsessed with his own little position, he was willing to commit the murder of babies. Let me just say this. to want to kill an infant for your agenda, that's wicked, isn't it?

>> Bert Harper: It really is. And again, this shows who he was. no character at all worth any. And, these baby boys, two years old and younger, slaughtered. I cannot imagine. The soldiers who carried this out, what would they go? They would go to a house. It reminds me of Egypt. You remember, Moses was supposed to be slaughtered, and I'll use that word. And, the. The midwives in Egypt, they said, no, this can't happen, and those babies were saved. I hope. I don't know. This. This is completely imagination. Alex, I'd hope one of those soldiers that was to carry Out Herod's orders would have enough character to go to a house and they find a baby boy there. And they would do what the midwives did in Egypt and say, get, go out of here. Don't you let this, take place. And he would not participate. there's a time to disobey orders, isn't there, Alex?

>> Alex McFarland: There is. And do you know what? one of the great Christian philosophers, of our time was a dear friend of mine, Norm Geisler, and somebody asked about, you know, Romans 13 says that we are to obey the law. Well, during the time of the Holocaust, there was the, you know, Oskar Schindler, who famously saved hundreds of Jewish people. And there was, the hiding place in Corrie 10 boom. And somebody asked Dr. Geisler, well, you know, I thought we were supposed to obey the law. And Dr. Geisler said we are. And many great thinkers from Augustine to even in his book why we can't wait. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. makes a great case for the civil rights movement. And when is civil disobedience justified and unjustified? And Geisler, many great Christian ethicists would say when it comes to the saving of human life, civil disobedience is justified. That's why Thomas Jefferson could write in the Declaration appealing to God for the rectitude of our intentions. In other words, the highest ethic is the saving of human life. That's why let me say the pro abortionists are even worse than King Herod. How so? Well, Herod only wanted to kill the male babies. The pro abortionists want the murder of male and female babies. And even, I hate to even say these satanic words, post birth abortion, which also is infanticide. But I'll say this, killing and murder are not the same thing. Self defense, national defense, that might involve killing, which is sad, but it's not the same as murder. The unjustified wanton slaughter of human life. Murder of any age person is heartbreaking. But the murder of babies, my goodness. Do you know what Herod near, the end of his life. It is recorded Herod was wanted to kill a stadium full of Jewish people. He was an anti Semite, like many today are. He was never able to carry that out. But he did kill the male babies two years and younger in the region around Bethlehem. And that's just wickedness. Satan, I'll throw it back to you, Bert. Jon 10:10. Satan has come to steal, kill and destroy. And human operatives like Herod have played into that satanic, blood thirst.

>> Bert Harper: Amen. In the book of Acts, we find out Peter, Jon will obey God rather than man. And they said, we can not speak but the things which we have seen and heard. Disobeying a direct order. Daniel going to his window and praying three times a day. Disobeying a direct order. there are times. Yes, there are. And God obey God rather than man. Verses 19 through 23 don't have a lot of time, but two dreams occur. He's, there in Egypt, and Herod dies. God sends a dream to Joseph to let him know it's time to bring the child and his mother back. And then he gets on the way and he finds out the Son, the Archelaus, is thou. And he begins to wonder.

Matthew uses dreams to tell story about God's redemption through Jesus Christ

And God gives him another dream and said, go ahead. I'm going to be with you. So in verse 23, he comes and dwells in the city of Nazareth. He skips Bethlehem, goes back to their home, that it might be there. It is that term again, Alex. That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the not prophet. But prophets. He shall be called a Nazarene. Listen, I think that's one reason I love, Matthew so well. He gets the singular and the plural, the numbers and all of that. And he interweaves in them to tell the story about God's redemption through Jesus Christ, doesn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: He really does. He really does. you know, it's interesting, all these figures, these are historical people. Archelaus, the son of Herod was what was called an Ethnarch. He wasn't a full king, and he ruled over Judea, Samaria, and several, other smaller localities. But they didn't go back to Bethlehem. They went to Nazareth for safety, but also in fulfillment of prophecy.

>> Bert Harper: So can anything good come out of Nazareth?

>> Alex McFarland: Alex, Come and see.

>> Bert Harper: Come and see. Hey, that number 888-589-884. Give us a call.

Preborn Network offers free ultrasounds to women facing unplanned pregnancies

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In the presence of my Savior. Praise God. You know, the reformers talked about coram deo means in the. In the presence of God, in the view of God that every day we live Coram Deo in the presence of our Savior.

Alex and Bert discuss how different Bible translations render 1 John 5:7

Welcome back to to Exploring the Word. Alex and Bert, so honored that you're listening. And we take phone calls and the number is 885-89-8840. And let me again remind you, please consider supporting the Truth for Youth Bible initiative. You can go to afr or afa.net and support that. Bert, before we pick up the phones, I know we've got, ah, callers. may I reference. I think it was a call from Monday that we just didn't get to yet. And it was about a verse 1 Jon 5:7 that sometimes is called the yohanin comma. now yohanin means something of the writings of Jon. And so there is a verse in First Jon the way the King James renders it. And I've got, let's see a new King James. Here is, it says there are three that bear witness in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Holy spirit. And these three are 1 8. There are three that bear witness on earth. The Spirit, the water, and the blood. Now here's the thing, the way this is rendered and little insight into Bible translation here. When we say the Bible is God's infallible word, sometimes you'll hear us use the word inerrant. That's a technical word. And, it means without error. And we know that is true. The original copy, now we have copies of copies. And when you've got a good, reputable English translation, it's God's word and you can depend on it. now there are manuscripts that they estimate to be older than others. There are manuscripts they estimate to be younger than others. And I want to say first of all that the Trinity does not hang. The Father, Son, Holy Spirit does not stand or fall with this verse. and there are many, many other trinitarian passages, in old and NewSong Testaments, and there's maybe as many as 29 or 30 passages that clearly present the triune God. So don't worry about defending the Trinity based on how Your Bible renders 1st Jon 5, 7, okay? There are roughly nine or ten Greek manuscripts that contain 1 Jon 5, 7, as the king James renders it. And then there are several thousand Latin manuscripts that have it this way. And there are several thousand Greek manuscripts that, that don't render it this way. Bert, what translation do you have?

>> Bert Harper: Mine is the new King James, and it does render it bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit.

>> Alex McFarland: And this is one of those passages that, you know, I don't want to cause concern about the reputability of the Bible. I really don't. There are, you'll see in the notes of Mark, chapter 16, there are some notes about, some manuscripts have it a little differently. The bottom line, I'm going to read it like let's say in the NewSong American Standard. the NewSong American Standard renders this as, well, it really goes from six to eight. But verse seven says there are three that testify, and they've got the Spirit, the water and the blood. And these are in agreement. Now here's the way, and that's NewSong American Standard. So here's basically our two options. First, Jon 5, 7, 8, there are three that testify verse eight, the spirit, the water and the blood. These three are in agreement. Here's why the King James renders it. There are three that bear witness. And here are the disputed words in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. And these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth. So what you've got is this clause really in heaven, the Father, the Word, that's Christ. by the way, in the early church, they referred to Jesus as the Word of God, Jon 1:1. And they would use what's called Hamalogia. Jesus is Lord, the Logos is Lord. So, Bert, here's my point. if you've got a King James Bible or a new King James, you've got these words in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. And these three are one. And then you've got the Word. On earth, there are three that bear witness on earth, the Spirit, the water, and the blood. And these three are in agreement whether it's the longer rendering of 7 and 8 or whether it's the shorter rendering. I personally think that it's harmonious. I'm going to go with the longer, but irrespective. and no doubt in the margins of your Bible, there's notations about This, I think it's good to include it because there are manuscripts that include it. But, Bert, let me just say that the Trinity does not stand or fall on this passage. And there are plenty of passages that are absolutely undisputed. I think about First Peter, one, two, that speaks of the Father, the Spirit, the Son, Second Corinthians. So you've got, in the NewSong Testament, two passages in Matthew. You've got the writings of Paul, the writings of Peter that clearly portray the Trinity. You've got the writings of Moses, you've got Isaiah. so this is just one of those passages that, in an English translation, because of the, you know, old manuscripts. What do you follow, the age of the manuscript or the volume of manuscripts? This is one of those things where equally good translators are on both sides of the issue.

>> Bert Harper: Well, what you said again, this is one of those passages. They may be one or two more. you know, I'm not going to go into them that have these, difficulties. But when you look at the larger pictures you said about the Trinity and all the verses and the scriptures that are undeniable, back this up. This would be a correct rendering. Either way, Alex.

>> Alex McFarland: Yeah, either way. It's not doctrinally accurate.

Alex: Steven, thanks for taking my call. Steven: Thank you for taking the call

Let's go to Missouri. Stephen. Missouri, thanks for holding, and welcome to the program.

Thank you for taking my call. You guys are great. I, I heard you talking about Lamentations a little bit ago and, the babies being killed and all that stuff. And I just wanted to pass this along. our pastor was asked, here, just not recently, what they thought, the tribulation would be like if we didn't get raptured for some reason. And he said. And his answer, I thought was just brilliant. He said. Well, he said, read lamentations and study it very closely and really pay attention. And he said, then multiply the horror of that by a hundred and you'll get pretty close. And I thought that was just a brilliant answer. Okay. So I just wanted to pass that along.

>> Bert Harper: Oh, man. thank you, Steve. I would say what you do, right now, if you were at certain places on Earth, they're in great tribulation in that area. Okay, Alex. In that area, exactly. But what you're doing in that seven year is longer and then worldwide. So, but Lamentations. Yes, and multiply it. Thank you, Steve. Great.

>> Alex McFarland: question. Arkansas, is where Jeremy is.

Jeremy: Of all the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled, some have been fulfilled

Jeremy, welcome to Exploring the Word.

Thank you so much for having me. I just wanted to ask, of all the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled when he came to this earth. you know how the Jewish people are still waiting on their Messiah? are there any of those prophecies that just simply couldn't be fulfilled to this day because of things that have changed since that time that it happened?

>> Alex McFarland: M. I'm not sure. well, you know, I think the greatest prophecy of all is Psalm 16:10 that says, that the body of the Messiah would not be left in the grave, and the holy one of God would not see decomposition, corruption. And so I think the greatest prophecy that is the proof of Christ's messiahship is his power over death in the grave. now, regarding his return, scholars, sometimes use the word imminent, meaning it could come at any time. Bert, what do you say?

>> Bert Harper: Well, when you look, Let me just say about prophecy, when you look at the Old Testament and you'll find it in the same passage, a verse that's obviously talking about the suffering servant Christ. But then verses, you'll see great power. And I've used this illustration before. It wasn't original with me. And I've experienced this, driving from, the east toward the west, and you come across the great plains in Kansas or wherever you might be, and all of a sudden you get close enough and used to start seeing a mountain range. And those mountains similarly look like, well, it's, just a great mountain range with, just one strand. And I'm using a wrong term of mountains, but when you get there, you'll find out that here's this mountain. Go through a valley and there's another mountain. And so when you look at the old Testament prophecies this way, and you see it fulfilled, the ones that came about in his first coming have come about every one of them, Alex. Not one is waiting. They have been fulfilled. And, yes, there's something better coming. Hallelujah. But in between that time, better coming, there'll be difficulties, and then there's also going to be tribulation, isn't there, Bert?

>> Alex McFarland: That's a great word. I'm not going to take the time now, but I've got. If you would later on in, the week, maybe remind me of, of an illustration like that, from the city of Charlotte. But yes, God's prophecies, his words are being fulfilled in the minutia.

Bob in Ohio is struggling with depression; let's pray for him

Let's go to Ohio. Bob in Ohio. Welcome to Exploring the word.

Yeah, I wonder if I could get prayer for my son. Rhyen is his name. He's struggling with depression, and he's really not in a good place right now.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Thank you for sharing that. Rhyen.

>> Bert Harper: Rhyen. Alex, is it? RFI Pray for this, please.

>> Alex McFarland: And everybody, let's join together in prayer for Bob. Son, Rhyen.

>> Bert Harper: Father, I thank you for a dad like Bob that loves his son. And I, Man, I'm there with him loving three sons that you've given me. And now we find Ryan dealing with depression. It's a real. It's real, Father. it's like being in a tunnel and can't see light at either end. And so, Father, I pray that he would look unto you. I pray he would look unto some others that could help him, those that have some biblical medical training to help them to get him to that place where he can be at a place where he sees a little light, and, Father, go toward that light. And I pray for his family that is with him, that they would be close to him. And I pray that again, they would strengthen and pray. And we're praying right now that you would speak to his heart, where he is, and bring him out of this depression that is so waiting upon him. We pray this and believe this in Jesus name, Amen.

>> Alex McFarland: Amen. Amen. And, Bob, thank you for sharing that. And let's everybody be faithful to pray for Rhyen as we're doing.

Let's go to Mississippi Charles in Mississippi. Charles, are you there? Hello? Yes

Let's go to Mississippi Charles in Mississippi. Charles, are you there?

Hello? Yes. Brother Alex. Welcome. God bless y', all, and thank you all very much for your ministry. It's a blessing to us.

Bert: There's something significant about the age of 12, isn't there

Okay, just a quick thought on, you know, the wise men, when they came to Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus. And the question is, if you can, in. In Luke, chapter two, verse 39, it says, so when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. So I guess that would be 40 days, you know, then they returned to Nazareth. The question is, why would they be in Bethlehem, when the wise men got there maybe a year or two later? And in the following verse down here, verse 41, it says his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. I was just thinking maybe, possibly, since they went, you know, after they came back to Nazareth, the next passover, they went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. And then the next year they were there. Maybe that would be why they would be living. I mean, they would be in Bethlehem. It's too crowded to stay in Jerusalem, but they would be in a place in Bethlehem by that time. When the wise men finally arrived.

>> Alex McFarland: Mm You know, Deuteronomy 16:1 says, observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God. For in the month of Abib, the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. So that was an annual observance, wasn't it Bert? The keeping of the Passover.

>> Bert Harper: It really was. And when they came back to Nazareth, notice he grew in favor with God and man, grew strong there. And he again, he went to the local synagogue there in Nazareth, that it's intriguing, I have to tell you, those 12 years, from birth till he went up to Jerusalem that particular year. But he had been there before, as he said, Alex. But on that day, there's something significant about the age of 12, isn't there? I mean, there really is kind

>> Alex McFarland: of, you know, very often we've talked about a, phrase that it's not really in the Bible, but the principle is absolutely there, what we call the age of accountability. You know, where a young boy, a young man, a girl, a young woman, they understand right from wrong. And their own accountability to God is that 12 years old could be, I actually could be a little younger, could be just a tad later. But it's that age of accountability.

>> Bert Harper: It is. Well, read ahead. We'll be in Matthew chapter three tomorrow. things change a little bit in Matthew three. We're going to find somebody that's called the forerunner. Alex, he's quite a man of God as well, isn't he?

>> Alex McFarland: is it the world's first Baptist preacher?

>> Bert Harper: That's him, Jon the Baptizer. And he would preach repentance for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Well, we're going to look at that tomorrow and so tell someone about this program, but more importantly, tell them about Jesus.

>> Alex McFarland: The M views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio M.

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