male announcer: This
presentation is brought to you
00:00:02.16\00:00:03.67
by the friends of the
Amazing Facts ministry.
00:00:03.77\00:00:06.53
Doug Batchelor: It's been
many years, but it still feels
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like yesterday.
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Living in a cave high above Palm
Springs, no money, no prospects
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just drifting through life,
deeply confused about who I was
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and wondering if
life held any purpose.
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Coming from a wealthy family,
I could have had it all: money,
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power, fame, but this all
struck me as plastic and empty.
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It wasn't until I was at the
lowest point in my life when I
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found true meaning.
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Somebody had left a Bible in my
cave, and I quickly discovered
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why this is the number
one best seller in the world.
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Friends, I can't even begin to
tell you what the Bible has done
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for me.
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It's the awe inspiring living
Word that has the power to
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transform human hearts.
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Jesus said, "If you
abide in My word, you are My
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disciples indeed.
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And you'll know the
truth, and the truth will make
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you free."
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And this is
still the truth today.
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And it's the reason that I'm
standing here today, thankful to
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be able to proclaim His Word
and eager to bring hope to those
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in need.
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I truly believe that today's
program is going to fulfill that
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desire and leave you
with a rich blessing.
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And don't forget, stay tuned for
our very important free offer at
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the end of this presentation.
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Doug: Really, it's the time
of year, about 1,992 years ago
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during the Passover, Jesus
died on the cross for our sins.
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He rested in the tomb, even on
the Sabbath day, from redeeming
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mankind, and then
He rose from the dead.
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And our subject this morning
is going to revolve around the
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subject of the Resurrection.
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And I'll be giving you a little
bit of personal information on
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why I believe in
the Resurrection.
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And keep in mind, I'm coming
from a background where I was
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raised agnostic, but I'd like
to begin with something that may
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surprise you a little bit.
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These are amazing
facts about a movie.
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Now, I don't go to movies,
but I bet most of you have
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seen "Ben-Hur."
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I saw it too.
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It had the largest budget, over
$15 million, of any movie made
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up to that time,
about $150 million today.
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That would probably be
closer to $500 million today.
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I think Titanic was
like $500 million budget.
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Can you imagine that?
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It had the largest sets built of
any film production at the time.
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A hundred costume wardrobe
fabricators, two hundred artists
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and workmen provided the
hundreds of freezes and statutes
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needed for the film.
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Over 200 camels and 2,500 horses
were used in making the film.
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Now, you know, Amazing Facts
is involved in completing a film
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right now called "Armageddon:
The Final Events of Bible
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Prophecy," and ours is a low
budget film, but it's going to
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be really--it's a
big budget for us.
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But I can't imagine
working with 2,500 horses.
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I mean, the crew that
you need just to handle them.
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Ten thousand
extras were in the movie.
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The nine minute chariot race
has become one of cinema's most
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famous action sequences.
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And contrary to urban myths
you heard, nobody died during
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that filming.
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It's the longest ever musical
score composed and conducted by
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Miklos Rozsa.
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It had a $14.7
million marketing budget.
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It was the fastest growing,
as well as the highest grossing
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film of 1959, becoming the
second highest grossing film in
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history at the time, only
after "Gone With the Wind."
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It won 11 Academy Awards.
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No picture has won more.
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Some pictures have
tied for 11 Academy Awards.
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Epic film.
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Now, the reason I shared all
that with you is because there's
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a backstory.
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Back in the 1870s, two men
got on a train in North America.
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One of them was General Lee--I'm
sorry, General Lew Wallace, and
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he encountered another friend
who had also fought in the Civil
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War with him on the side
of the North, his name was
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Robert Ingersoll.
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Now, I don't know if you
recognize the name Robert
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Ingersoll, but he was
probably the most famous
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American agnostic.
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He would go around and do
seminars and talk about how the
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Bible cannot be trusted
and religion is a sham, and he
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talked to packed houses.
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He was very eloquent,
went into politics and became a
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successful politician.
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They knew each
other from the war.
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And Ingersoll asked General
Wallace if he'd like to sit with
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him in his coach.
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So they sat in their private
coach and they had a long ride
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going to this convention,
they were both going to the
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same convention.
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And Ingersoll took in talking to
Wallace about there is no God.
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The Bible cannot be trusted,
and he waxed eloquent, it flowed
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like a river for hours.
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And Wallace was not
especially religious.
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He was rather indifferent to
religion, but he was so rattled
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by what Ingersoll said that
he resolved, you know, I need to
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study into this for myself,
because if what he's saying is
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true, nothing really matters,
and he needed to find out.
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So he did a personal
study on is there a God?
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Is the Bible true?
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And by the way, Wallace, while
he was once a general, afterward
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he was an attorney.
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So he looked at it from a
logical, defensible position as
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a lawyer.
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Here's what he says.
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"To write all of my reflections
would require many pages.
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I passed them to say simply that
I resolved to study the subject.
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It only remains to say that I
did as resolved, with results.
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The first result is I
wrote the book 'Ben-Hur.'
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The second is a conviction
amounting to absolute belief in
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God and the divinity of Christ."
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So that whole movie that
became an epic film about the
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Resurrection, it's what you
would call historical fiction,
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it grew out of someone being
challenged on the subject of is
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the Bible true?
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Did Jesus really live?
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Did He rise from the dead?
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Now when I first heard
this, I was a little shook.
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You know, I went to--I'm
not Catholic, but I went to two
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different Catholic schools.
00:07:14.83\00:07:16.13
And I remember hearing one
time them talk about one of the
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prayers, they were teaching
me the Beatitudes in one of our
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Bible classes.
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And they said, you know, Jesus,
you know, He taught, and then He
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died on the cross, and He rose
from the dead the third day, and
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then He told his disciples to
go out, and I said, wait, wait,
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wait, let's back up.
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He what?
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He rose from the dead?
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I was only in
third grade at the time.
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But I said, well, that
doesn't happen every day.
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And I kind of struggled
with it even back then.
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And so I was pretty much an
agnostic until I began to search
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for is there a God
when I was about 16, 17.
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How did I come to the
point where I could believe in
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the Resurrection?
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Well, I've got seven primary
points, I may take a few rabbit
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trails along the way.
00:08:02.08\00:08:03.98
First of all, two thirds of
American adults, there was a
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survey that was done by the
Life Study, and two-thirds of
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Americans, 66% say they do
believe in the biblical account
00:08:13.96\00:08:18.13
of the physical
Resurrection of Jesus.
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But it's troubling when
you realize that those that are
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between 18 and 30, 18
and 34, 59% do not believe.
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Meaning that the generation that
is coming along, as you probably
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already heard from numerous
studies, is becoming more and
00:08:33.91\00:08:37.08
more agnostic, and less and
less believing in Christianity,
00:08:37.11\00:08:43.08
believing in God.
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Things are changing in
our culture, and I'd like to
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especially appeal to that group
in my comments this morning.
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Why do I believe
in the Resurrection?
00:08:52.96\00:08:54.36
One, it was
foretold in the Bible.
00:08:54.40\00:08:58.23
Paul says in 1 Corinthians, he
said that Jesus rose the third
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day as the scriptures say,
according to the scriptures.
00:09:01.87\00:09:05.61
There are many scriptures.
00:09:05.64\00:09:07.11
You can look in the Old and the
New Testament, Old Testament,
00:09:07.14\00:09:09.88
Psalm 16, verse 10, "You will
not leave my soul in the grave."
00:09:09.91\00:09:13.88
This is speaking of the Messiah.
00:09:13.92\00:09:16.25
He didn't say I
want to go to the grave.
00:09:16.28\00:09:17.69
He said, you want to leave it
there, "nor will your holy one,"
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the Messiah, "see corruption.
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Wouldn't be there long enough to
decompose, which happens after
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the third day.
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Jesus walking around when He
was alive, He told them over and
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over, "From that time," Matthew
16:21, "Jesus began to show to
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His disciples that He must go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things
00:09:35.87\00:09:39.64
from the elders and the chief
priests, be killed, and rise the
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third day."
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He said it very frequently.
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He said it so frequently that
even His enemies remembered this
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after He was
crucified, they went to Pilate.
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You find this in Matthew 27:63.
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They say, "Sir, we remember
while He was still alive, how
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that deceiver said after
three days, I will rise."
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They remembered it.
00:10:03.67\00:10:05.63
That's why they requested
a guard at the tomb, which of
00:10:05.67\00:10:09.50
course, just further proves that
it did happen, increased the
00:10:09.54\00:10:12.41
number of witnesses.
00:10:12.44\00:10:13.78
So there are so many prophecies.
00:10:13.81\00:10:15.34
I mean, Jesus said, "No
sign will be given to this
00:10:15.38\00:10:17.35
generation, but
the sign of Jonah."
00:10:17.38\00:10:19.95
And the the big sign of Jonah
is, you know, it's not very
00:10:19.98\00:10:23.22
likely that a person is going to
come out of a fish alive after
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three days.
00:10:26.12\00:10:27.42
Jonah's experience is
a type of a Resurrection.
00:10:27.46\00:10:31.09
Indeed, Daniel coming out
of the lion's den is a type of
00:10:31.13\00:10:34.10
the Resurrection.
00:10:34.10\00:10:35.50
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
surviving the fiery furnace is a
00:10:35.53\00:10:39.47
type of the Resurrection.
00:10:39.50\00:10:40.87
When Abraham goes up the
mountain with Isaac and he's
00:10:40.90\00:10:44.64
going to the place of sacrifice
and there's a substitute, and
00:10:44.67\00:10:49.24
Isaac comes back alive, Paul
tells us that that is a type of
00:10:49.28\00:10:53.31
the Resurrection.
00:10:53.35\00:10:54.98
And so you've got all these
different examples in the Bible
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where it looks like it
was hopeless, and then things
00:10:57.75\00:11:00.49
turned around.
00:11:00.52\00:11:01.82
So the prophecies foretold this.
00:11:01.86\00:11:03.56
Point number two, Jesus's
after death appearances, all the
00:11:03.59\00:11:09.93
different times that
He appeared after He died.
00:11:09.96\00:11:13.27
According to the apostle Paul's
letters, as well as the four
00:11:13.30\00:11:16.24
gospel accounts, Jesus appeared
alive after His death on
00:11:16.27\00:11:19.97
numerous occasions in
diverse and varied ways.
00:11:20.01\00:11:23.14
They saw Him in the Upper Room,
they saw Him on the Mount of
00:11:23.18\00:11:27.05
Olives, they saw him
fishing at the Sea of Galilee.
00:11:27.08\00:11:30.19
They saw Him walking between
Jerusalem and Emmaus, and many
00:11:30.22\00:11:33.92
other occasions that
are not even recorded.
00:11:33.96\00:11:36.16
It says over a period
of 40 days He appeared.
00:11:36.19\00:11:39.46
Now look at how Paul describes
this in 1 Corinthians chapter
00:11:39.49\00:11:42.56
15, verse 3, and I think you're
going to see this on the screen.
00:11:42.60\00:11:46.27
1 Corinthians 15, verses 3
through 8, "For I delivered to
00:11:46.30\00:11:50.91
you first of all that which I
also received: that Jesus Christ
00:11:50.94\00:11:55.21
died for our sins according to
the scriptures, and that He was
00:11:55.24\00:11:58.45
buried, and that He rose
again the third day according to
00:11:58.48\00:12:02.05
the scriptures."
00:12:02.08\00:12:03.42
Notice he says, according to the
scriptures, this is what it said
00:12:03.45\00:12:05.55
was going to happen.
00:12:05.59\00:12:07.42
"And that He
was seen by Cephas."
00:12:07.46\00:12:08.92
Cephas is one of the names
for Peter, same name, "then by
00:12:08.96\00:12:12.59
the twelve."
00:12:12.63\00:12:13.96
Notice 12, speaking those who
are of the team of 12 apostles.
00:12:14.00\00:12:19.50
"After that he was seen by over
five hundred brethren at once."
00:12:19.53\00:12:25.77
Now, friends, if I came, you
know, running in the room here
00:12:25.81\00:12:28.28
and I said, oh,
you won't believe it.
00:12:28.31\00:12:30.21
I just talked to Gabriel.
00:12:30.25\00:12:32.65
You say, you talk to Gabriel?
00:12:32.68\00:12:34.02
Yeah, Gabriel, the angel.
00:12:34.05\00:12:35.82
You sure?
00:12:35.85\00:12:37.19
Yeah, I saw this shadow and then
I heard this voice, and I'm sure
00:12:37.22\00:12:39.99
it was Gabriel.
00:12:40.02\00:12:41.62
You'd go...
00:12:41.66\00:12:43.66
Well, four people come in
and say we just saw Gabriel.
00:12:43.69\00:12:47.60
They say, well, still they maybe
all had the same hallucination.
00:12:47.66\00:12:52.13
But if we all came in and
we said, we saw Gabriel and we
00:12:52.17\00:12:54.94
touched him, then you say, what?
00:12:54.97\00:12:59.24
Then if we all came here, we
said, we saw him, he spoke to
00:12:59.27\00:13:02.48
us, we spoke to him, we touched
him, and we ate together.
00:13:02.51\00:13:07.82
If people don't believe that,
what evidence would you accept?
00:13:07.85\00:13:13.09
What did Jesus have to do after
the Resurrection to prove He
00:13:13.12\00:13:16.69
was real?
00:13:16.73\00:13:18.06
What would you accept?
00:13:18.09\00:13:19.39
If you won't accept that He
walked, and He talked, and He
00:13:19.43\00:13:21.66
ate, and He appeared to
them, and they could touch Him.
00:13:21.70\00:13:25.43
He wasn't a phantom, and
this is not one or two people.
00:13:25.47\00:13:29.54
This is hundreds of
people that saw Him.
00:13:29.57\00:13:33.61
I would think
that's pretty compelling.
00:13:33.64\00:13:35.84
Then it says He was also seen,
the greater part, let me see,
00:13:35.88\00:13:39.21
"After that He was seen by over
five hundred brethren at once,
00:13:39.25\00:13:42.22
of whom the greater
part remain to the present."
00:13:42.25\00:13:44.25
He said, when Paul writes this,
he say many are still alive.
00:13:44.29\00:13:46.65
If you want living witnesses,
he's writing to the church in
00:13:46.69\00:13:49.39
Corinth, "but some have
fallen asleep," some have died.
00:13:49.42\00:13:52.66
"After that He
was seen by James."
00:13:52.69\00:13:54.20
This is James, the brother
of Jesus who ends up becoming a
00:13:54.23\00:13:58.30
leader of the church.
00:13:58.33\00:13:59.67
Jesus especially appeared to His
brother because you know, the
00:13:59.70\00:14:02.34
Bible says, even His brethren
did not believe, so He appeared.
00:14:02.37\00:14:10.05
The other reason I believe,
point three, the short time
00:14:10.08\00:14:14.05
frame between the events and
the actual eyewitness claims.
00:14:14.08\00:14:18.55
Now, so many people, when
they tell a fantastic story, the
00:14:18.59\00:14:21.52
story is written years later.
00:14:21.56\00:14:23.12
It's like, you know, they say
the city of Rome was founded by
00:14:23.16\00:14:26.43
Romulus and Remus who
were nursed by a wolf.
00:14:26.46\00:14:31.57
And this legend is written, you
know, hundreds of years after
00:14:31.60\00:14:34.24
they had all been dead and gone,
and they just make up, you know,
00:14:34.27\00:14:36.71
it's as true as
Hercules or anything else.
00:14:36.74\00:14:39.11
There's all kinds
of interesting stories.
00:14:39.14\00:14:40.54
When you read "Homer's Odyssey,"
you wonder how much about the
00:14:40.58\00:14:43.98
battle of Troy and the Trojan
Horse, how much of that is true.
00:14:44.01\00:14:46.98
Were there really sirens on
the island calling the men into
00:14:47.02\00:14:50.55
the rocks?
00:14:50.59\00:14:51.92
Was there really a
cyclops with one eye?
00:14:51.95\00:14:53.19
Was there really a Medusa with
snakes coming out of its head?
00:14:53.22\00:14:56.16
I mean, because of some of the
things in Greek mythology and
00:14:56.19\00:14:59.19
these things they
say, how can that be true?
00:14:59.23\00:15:01.70
But the Bible is
written very differently.
00:15:01.73\00:15:04.37
The Bible gives a lot of very
accurate accounts of history,
00:15:04.40\00:15:08.97
and events of empires,
and customs of the day in
00:15:09.00\00:15:12.91
great detail.
00:15:12.94\00:15:14.68
And it not only talks about the
good things the heroes do, it
00:15:14.71\00:15:18.35
talks about their
embarrassing failures.
00:15:18.38\00:15:21.12
It is one of the most objective
books of history that you could
00:15:21.15\00:15:24.45
ever read, where the other ones,
you know, they always make the
00:15:24.49\00:15:27.96
hero out to be this
almost a divine champion that is
00:15:27.99\00:15:31.69
beyond reality.
00:15:31.73\00:15:33.90
But it'll tell you about King
David killing Goliath, and it'll
00:15:33.93\00:15:36.36
tell you about
David and Bathsheba.
00:15:36.40\00:15:40.04
There's a short
time frame for the Bible.
00:15:40.07\00:15:43.44
You know that the first history
of Alexander the Great was
00:15:43.47\00:15:48.28
written by Theodora Silas 300
years after Alexander was dead.
00:15:48.31\00:15:55.25
Now today, you know, when
we're writing about Christopher
00:15:55.28\00:15:58.89
Columbus, we can't get our heads
together about what to think
00:15:58.92\00:16:01.79
about him, because after
hundreds of years go by, you
00:16:01.82\00:16:05.93
just don't have
that many documents.
00:16:05.96\00:16:07.83
Nobody ever questions Alexander
the Great, even though the first
00:16:07.86\00:16:12.53
history was written 300
years after he was dead.
00:16:12.57\00:16:16.44
One of the most compelling
points I've got listed as point
00:16:16.47\00:16:20.18
number four is the
sincerity of the witnesses.
00:16:20.21\00:16:26.68
They absolutely believed what
they were saying because they
00:16:26.72\00:16:32.12
put their lives
literally on the line.
00:16:32.15\00:16:34.82
Most of the apostles died of
unnatural causes, generally from
00:16:34.86\00:16:39.06
persecution because they
were preaching and teaching the
00:16:39.09\00:16:42.40
Resurrection of
Jesus, they had seen it.
00:16:42.43\00:16:45.60
They were totally unafraid
of death because they knew death
00:16:45.63\00:16:48.60
had no fear for them, because
Jesus rose and it should have no
00:16:48.64\00:16:51.77
fear for you,
because Jesus rose.
00:16:51.81\00:16:55.28
They had absolute confidence.
00:16:55.31\00:16:57.85
Peter, at first, he was
so afraid there in the trial
00:16:57.88\00:17:01.98
of Christ, he denies Jesus,
but after the Resurrection, when
00:17:02.02\00:17:04.79
they threatened Peter, he said,
"You decide whether I ought to
00:17:04.82\00:17:08.32
obey God or you."
00:17:08.36\00:17:09.99
And they continued preaching
about Jesus even though they
00:17:10.03\00:17:12.43
were whipped and
flogged for doing it.
00:17:12.46\00:17:16.10
So you look in the first
century, the gospel, it takes
00:17:16.13\00:17:20.64
off like a cannon shot.
00:17:20.67\00:17:23.34
It goes from no Christians
to covering the Roman Empire.
00:17:23.37\00:17:28.08
Why?
00:17:28.11\00:17:29.41
How could they
do that so quickly?
00:17:29.44\00:17:31.21
Because they believed what
they were preaching was true.
00:17:31.25\00:17:36.92
They put their lives, I mean,
you know, some people will make
00:17:36.95\00:17:40.89
up stories and deceive, but how
many of you would be willing to
00:17:40.92\00:17:43.19
die for something
you knew to be a lie?
00:17:43.22\00:17:47.03
So they were absolutely sincere.
00:17:47.10\00:17:49.96
Then you've got the
extra-biblical accounts.
00:17:50.00\00:17:52.63
It's not just the
Bible talking about this.
00:17:52.67\00:17:55.17
There are historians outside
of the Bible that talk about it.
00:17:55.20\00:17:59.77
You got Christians and
non-Christians, believers and
00:17:59.81\00:18:03.85
unbelievers, and they admit it,
not only in the New Testament,
00:18:03.88\00:18:08.42
you got Tacitus, he was a Roman
historian that had nothing good
00:18:08.45\00:18:12.35
to say about Christians,
but he acknowledged Jesus, he
00:18:12.39\00:18:15.59
acknowledged that
Jesus was crucified.
00:18:15.62\00:18:17.19
He says Jesus was crucified
by Pilate, he was a historian
00:18:17.23\00:18:20.36
during the time
of Emperor Tiberius.
00:18:20.40\00:18:24.33
You've got Josephus, Lucian,
the Clement of Rome, Ignatius,
00:18:24.37\00:18:30.37
Polycarp, Barnabas,
Justin Martyr, et cetera.
00:18:30.41\00:18:33.01
They're all living
outside of the Bible.
00:18:33.04\00:18:34.81
They're all recent reports.
00:18:34.84\00:18:37.58
Many of them contemporaries
with those who witnessed it and
00:18:37.61\00:18:41.62
they talk about the events as
though they're absolute history.
00:18:41.65\00:18:45.25
You know, friends, if you're
going to believe anything you
00:18:45.29\00:18:46.99
ever read in history, you're not
going to find more in ancient
00:18:47.02\00:18:52.13
history than you're going
to find on the Resurrection of
00:18:52.16\00:18:55.20
Jesus in the times of Jesus.
00:18:55.23\00:18:56.77
There is a reason that history
today is dated from his birth.
00:18:56.80\00:19:01.47
The other reason I believe is,
it is a central pivotal teaching
00:19:01.50\00:19:06.74
throughout the New Testament.
00:19:06.78\00:19:09.14
The teaching of Jesus rising
is really the axle on which the
00:19:09.18\00:19:14.85
gospel rotates.
00:19:14.88\00:19:17.59
Acts chapter 2, as soon as
the Holy Spirit poured out, what
00:19:17.62\00:19:20.32
does Peter say?
00:19:20.36\00:19:21.66
Acts chapter 2, verse 23.
00:19:21.69\00:19:23.59
"Him being delivered by
the determined purpose and
00:19:23.63\00:19:26.09
foreknowledge of God, you have
taken by lawless hands and have
00:19:26.13\00:19:29.23
crucified and put to death,
put to death, whom God raised up
00:19:29.26\00:19:35.07
having loosed the pains
of death, because it was not
00:19:35.10\00:19:37.34
possible that He
should be held by it."
00:19:37.37\00:19:40.28
Paul Acts 17, verse 2, "Then
Paul as his custom was," what
00:19:40.31\00:19:44.88
did Paul do as a regular custom?
00:19:44.91\00:19:46.75
"He went into them and three
Sabbaths, he reasoned to them
00:19:46.78\00:19:49.65
from the scriptures, explaining
and demonstrating that the
00:19:49.68\00:19:53.09
Christ had to suffer,
rise again from the dead."
00:19:53.12\00:19:56.52
Paul is explaining from
the scriptures, not the New
00:19:56.56\00:19:59.53
Testament, that the Messiah
would rise from the dead.
00:19:59.56\00:20:03.06
"This Jesus whom I
preach to you is the Christ."
00:20:03.10\00:20:08.04
Paul would have had
nothing to gain by doing that.
00:20:08.07\00:20:10.61
And on many occasions, he got
stoned because to say that Jesus
00:20:10.64\00:20:14.78
could rise from the dead
was putting them on a level
00:20:14.81\00:20:16.85
with God.
00:20:16.88\00:20:18.21
They called that blasphemy.
00:20:18.25\00:20:19.55
Acts 5:29, "But Peter and
the other apostles answered and
00:20:19.58\00:20:23.65
said, 'We ought to
obey God rather than men.
00:20:23.69\00:20:26.39
The God of our fathers raised
up Jesus who you murdered by
00:20:26.42\00:20:30.36
hanging on a tree.'"
00:20:30.39\00:20:31.89
The whole message, the
punctuation, the exclamation
00:20:31.93\00:20:35.53
mark that Jesus makes on
everything else He said earlier
00:20:35.56\00:20:38.63
is that He would
rise from the dead.
00:20:38.67\00:20:40.74
If you wondered if
He was the Son of God,
00:20:40.77\00:20:43.30
He said, well, I'll prove it.
00:20:43.34\00:20:46.41
He said, "I lay down my
life and I take it up again."
00:20:46.44\00:20:49.38
I mean, you got to be pretty
powerful to raise yourself.
00:20:49.41\00:20:52.81
Wouldn't you say?
00:20:52.85\00:20:55.08
And then of course, point
number seven, the empty grave.
00:20:55.12\00:21:00.89
I think that is
actually a point.
00:21:00.92\00:21:02.79
They went to the grave.
00:21:02.82\00:21:04.16
They had put His
body in the grave.
00:21:04.19\00:21:06.09
You got all these gospel
testimonies, they laid Him in
00:21:06.13\00:21:08.76
the grave.
00:21:08.80\00:21:10.13
He was dead.
00:21:10.17\00:21:11.47
Tells where the grave came from.
00:21:11.50\00:21:12.83
Tells how the
body got to the grave.
00:21:12.87\00:21:14.17
Joseph of Arimathea, who was one
of the Sanhedrin that did not
00:21:14.20\00:21:16.57
support the decision, he was not
invited to the kangaroo court
00:21:16.60\00:21:20.08
when they convicted Jesus.
00:21:20.11\00:21:21.74
He went and begged the
body of Jesus from Pilate.
00:21:21.78\00:21:25.31
Once it was confirmed He was
dead, he was given the body, he
00:21:25.35\00:21:28.15
and Nicodemus worked
together to buy the ointment.
00:21:28.18\00:21:31.19
They delivered the project
to the women who oversaw the
00:21:31.22\00:21:34.29
wrapping of His body.
00:21:34.32\00:21:35.66
I mean, they're
wrapping His dead body.
00:21:35.69\00:21:36.99
He would have suffocated
if he was just in a coma.
00:21:37.03\00:21:39.86
They wrapped up his
head, the empty grave.
00:21:39.89\00:21:42.40
Well, they could
have snuck his body away.
00:21:42.43\00:21:44.33
You know, the Roman soldiers
were later paid to say that they
00:21:44.37\00:21:46.77
stole the body away.
00:21:46.80\00:21:48.84
But really, I mean, can you
picture the apostles, the guards
00:21:48.87\00:21:53.54
there around the tomb?
00:21:53.58\00:21:55.41
They quietly tipped over over
these Roman soldiers that are
00:21:55.44\00:21:58.21
all snoring so heavily, they
don't hear them wrestling this
00:21:58.25\00:22:01.48
stone aside from the tomb
and they don't wake them up.
00:22:01.52\00:22:06.32
They all sleep through it.
00:22:06.35\00:22:08.26
And a Roman soldier, if it
loses its charge, they lose
00:22:08.29\00:22:11.19
their life.
00:22:11.23\00:22:13.46
That's why they said the
soldiers were afraid, and the
00:22:13.50\00:22:15.90
priest said we'll pay
Pilate if it comes to his ears.
00:22:15.93\00:22:18.80
Don't worry.
00:22:18.83\00:22:20.14
We'll pay you, we'll cover it.
00:22:20.17\00:22:22.07
And that's how they
got that false testimony.
00:22:22.10\00:22:23.81
But you know what?
00:22:23.84\00:22:25.17
I think some of the soldiers
couldn't keep it to themselves.
00:22:25.21\00:22:26.64
They said, yeah, we got paid.
But yeah, we saw the angels.
00:22:26.68\00:22:29.64
How could you forget that?
What evidence would you accept?
00:22:29.68\00:22:33.35
Some people just
refuse to believe.
00:22:33.38\00:22:35.72
The seed falls on the
stony ground and they just don't
00:22:35.75\00:22:38.52
realize that there is
evidence for your faith.
00:22:38.55\00:22:43.36
I remember reading a story about
a missionary in Brazil, and he
00:22:43.39\00:22:49.53
was working with this remote
tribe in the Amazon, and many of
00:22:49.56\00:22:54.30
them were struggling with
illness, and they had a clinic
00:22:54.34\00:22:57.64
not too far away from this
river, but they would not cross
00:22:57.67\00:23:01.04
the river,
because-- and it's not
00:23:01.08\00:23:02.88
that they were afraid of rivers.
00:23:02.91\00:23:04.21
They crossed many rivers, but
this one river that went between
00:23:04.25\00:23:06.65
them and where the clinic was,
they believed it was filled with
00:23:06.68\00:23:09.28
evil spirits.
00:23:09.32\00:23:11.29
And a plague started going
through the whole tribe and many
00:23:11.32\00:23:15.06
were dying.
00:23:15.09\00:23:16.32
And the missionary begged them
to follow him across the river
00:23:16.36\00:23:19.93
and he said all will be well.
00:23:19.96\00:23:22.10
He said you go to the hospital,
they'll give you medicine.
00:23:22.13\00:23:24.07
They said we can't go in
there, there's evil spirits.
00:23:24.10\00:23:25.77
And so the missionary went down
by the edge of the river and he
00:23:25.80\00:23:28.57
put his feet in the river.
00:23:28.60\00:23:29.94
They said, look
nothing's happening to me come.
00:23:29.97\00:23:32.27
They said no, no, no, no.
00:23:32.31\00:23:34.01
And he got down knee deep and he
splashed in the water and they
00:23:34.04\00:23:37.28
looked at him waiting for
something bad to happen to him.
00:23:37.31\00:23:40.35
And he said, you can make it.
00:23:40.38\00:23:42.72
And they said no, evil spirits.
00:23:42.75\00:23:44.49
Finally, he realized his only
hope was he dove in the river,
00:23:44.52\00:23:49.86
he's a good swimmer, he
disappeared, and he swam as far
00:23:49.89\00:23:54.00
as he could underwater and he
came up on the other side, and
00:23:54.03\00:23:57.63
then he waved at them and they
all jumped on the shore and they
00:23:57.67\00:24:00.97
cheered, and they were then
willing when they saw that he
00:24:01.00\00:24:04.31
had gone across to the
other side to take the plunge
00:24:04.34\00:24:07.14
of faith.
00:24:07.18\00:24:08.68
Now, we have someone that has
gone before us, and he came up
00:24:08.71\00:24:12.38
alive on the other side.
00:24:12.41\00:24:14.28
This life is not it.
00:24:14.32\00:24:16.62
This life is preparation for
the life that really matters.
00:24:16.65\00:24:20.22
Death is not the
end for the Christian.
00:24:20.26\00:24:22.86
Because He lives, we can live a
new life then, but we can live a
00:24:22.89\00:24:27.30
new life now
because of the Resurrection.
00:24:27.36\00:24:29.90
That same power and Spirit that
brought Him back to life can
00:24:29.93\00:24:33.74
change your heart.
00:24:33.77\00:24:35.30
It can give you a new heart.
00:24:35.34\00:24:37.21
It can give you victory over
your sins and the devil, just
00:24:37.24\00:24:40.38
like it gave
victory to Jesus over death.
00:24:40.41\00:24:44.01
If you believe, all
things are possible.
00:24:44.05\00:24:47.85
Doug: The Bible never says that
Eve ate an apple, nor does it
00:24:51.72\00:24:55.36
say that three wise men
came to see Jesus in the manger.
00:24:55.39\00:24:59.16
Neither does the Bible
say that God made a devil.
00:24:59.19\00:25:02.46
So how well do
you know your Bible?
00:25:02.50\00:25:05.60
And what does it really
say about heaven and hell, the
00:25:05.63\00:25:08.77
origin of the devil, and
the Second Coming of Jesus?
00:25:08.80\00:25:11.57
There are so many
common misunderstandings about
00:25:11.61\00:25:14.61
the Word of God.
00:25:14.64\00:25:15.94
That's why Amazing Facts
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00:25:15.98\00:25:19.55
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00:25:22.98\00:25:25.59
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¤¤¤
00:25:53.88\00:26:03.19
¤¤¤
00:26:03.22\00:26:05.06
Doug: God is offering
you peace and eternal life.
00:26:05.09\00:26:07.76
How?
00:26:07.83\00:26:09.20
Well, it all begins by
simply turning towards the lord.
00:26:09.23\00:26:12.47
The bible promises
that if we draw near to god,
00:26:12.50\00:26:15.57
He will draw near to us.
00:26:15.60\00:26:17.77
You can turn to him right
now and ask for forgiveness
00:26:17.81\00:26:21.18
and a new heart and he's ready
to forgive and receive you.
00:26:21.21\00:26:24.71
That's why Jesus came;
whether do you know it or not,
00:26:24.75\00:26:27.85
He's always been
your best friend.
00:26:27.88\00:26:30.32
A new life is
only a prayer away.
00:26:30.35\00:26:33.19
Just ask him now.
00:26:33.22\00:26:34.72
female announcer: Have
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00:26:39.46\00:26:40.90
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Yet, how can you dive in
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00:26:42.90\00:26:45.93
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Now available in 18 languages,
these 24 easy-to-read lessons
00:27:13.03\00:27:17.33
will give you confidence about
what the Bible actually says
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about the Second Coming,
the Rapture, the antichrist,
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and the mark of the beast.
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You'll also get the truth about
hell and the afterlife, and
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practical insight
about grace, salvation,
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and how to
truly live like Jesus.
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Even better, it's absolutely
free, at storacles.com.
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So don't miss out, get started
on your Bible study adventure
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today at storacles.com.
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male announcer:
Don't forget to request
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today's free offer.
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It's sure to be a blessing.
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And thank you for
your continued support
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as we take the
gospel of Jesus Christ
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to the world.
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We hope you'll join us next week
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as we delve deep
into the Word of God
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to explore more amazing facts.
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announcer: This presentation
was brought to you by the
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friends of the
Amazing Facts ministry.
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