Alright, let's begin
our second class by studying
00:00:15.19\00:00:19.94
principle number three.
00:00:19.97\00:00:21.47
It's on page
four of your syllabus.
00:00:21.91\00:00:24.37
And hopefully we'll be able
to cover most of this principle
00:00:24.91\00:00:29.53
in this our second class.
00:00:29.56\00:00:31.88
Principle number three is
that we are suppose to remember
00:00:32.67\00:00:37.33
to study the historical
and cultural background,
00:00:37.36\00:00:41.50
the grammar, the
syntax, and the vocabulary
00:00:41.90\00:00:46.17
of the passage
that we are considering.
00:00:46.20\00:00:48.68
In other words, there's a
lot of work that goes into
00:00:49.32\00:00:51.23
studying the text
itself within its context.
00:00:51.26\00:00:54.38
Now prayer can never
take the place of in-depth,
00:00:55.13\00:01:00.86
careful, and exhaustive, as
well as exhausting sometimes,
00:01:01.37\00:01:06.64
investigation of the text.
00:01:06.67\00:01:08.55
We must do a basic
study of the text or passage
00:01:08.98\00:01:13.94
that we are dealing with.
00:01:13.97\00:01:15.43
Here are some
principles to remember.
00:01:16.02\00:01:18.23
And I have twelve principles
here under this third principle,
00:01:18.26\00:01:22.59
which is talking about
dealing with the text itself.
00:01:22.93\00:01:28.04
First of all, Peter stated
that Paul wrote some things
00:01:28.91\00:01:34.78
that are hard to understand,
which the unlearned twist
00:01:34.81\00:01:39.35
to their own destruction.
00:01:39.38\00:01:40.94
This must mean that the
Bible, the study of the Bible,
00:01:41.86\00:01:46.23
is not always easy.
00:01:46.26\00:01:48.48
Profound Bible study
requires time and effort.
00:01:49.20\00:01:54.28
It is not enough
to read the Bible,
00:01:55.00\00:01:56.97
we must search the Bible.
00:01:57.00\00:02:00.09
There is a grave danger, folks,
of being hasty and superficial
00:02:00.73\00:02:05.57
in our study of Scripture.
00:02:06.16\00:02:08.29
Because we haven't carefully
examined and correlated
00:02:08.60\00:02:12.34
all of the evidence
that comes from the text.
00:02:12.37\00:02:14.63
Bible study is
like detective work;
00:02:15.44\00:02:18.02
looking for clues here
and there, and then bringing
00:02:19.47\00:02:23.43
all the evidence together
to solve the case, so to speak.
00:02:23.46\00:02:26.72
Our study must be
meticulous and exhaustive.
00:02:26.90\00:02:30.30
In other words,
it's not enough to pray.
00:02:30.40\00:02:32.64
We must pray and
then we must study.
00:02:34.12\00:02:36.47
You know, God will not do for
us what we can do for ourselves.
00:02:37.90\00:02:42.26
He has given us
resources to do it.
00:02:42.81\00:02:45.11
So the first principle is
that we need to dedicate time
00:02:45.62\00:02:49.99
and effort in gathering
all of the information.
00:02:50.02\00:02:52.42
Second, this is
at the top of page 5,
00:02:52.91\00:02:56.71
we should always pray for
the guidance of the Holy Spirit
00:02:57.12\00:03:00.12
in our study.
00:03:00.15\00:03:01.18
The Holy Spirit
inspired the Bible.
00:03:01.67\00:03:03.80
And for this reason He
is the only one who can
00:03:04.31\00:03:06.44
explain what it means.
00:03:06.47\00:03:08.26
And we might have to
read a text several times
00:03:08.55\00:03:11.24
before we are able to
make any sense of what the text
00:03:11.75\00:03:15.75
is trying to tell us.
00:03:15.78\00:03:17.27
Third, try and
discover what the text means
00:03:17.72\00:03:22.08
before you try to
determine what it means to you.
00:03:22.49\00:03:25.62
Are you
understanding the difference?
00:03:28.24\00:03:29.89
The Bible text has an
objective inherent meaning
00:03:32.85\00:03:37.38
independently of what you think.
00:03:37.41\00:03:39.30
Correct?
00:03:40.90\00:03:41.93
Does God inject in the text
a meaning that's apart from me?
00:03:43.07\00:03:47.65
Sure.
00:03:48.10\00:03:49.13
The danger of Bible
study groups where people ask,
00:03:50.17\00:03:54.27
"What does this
text mean to you?"
00:03:54.30\00:03:56.48
is that we will put
our on spin on the text
00:03:57.50\00:04:00.45
instead of allowing the
text to speak for itself.
00:04:00.75\00:04:04.10
As a result, we end up with
many opinions about the text,
00:04:05.40\00:04:09.22
but not
necessarily with the meaning
00:04:10.63\00:04:12.42
that the writer intended.
00:04:12.45\00:04:13.79
Sad to say, in many study
groups what the people are doing
00:04:15.19\00:04:18.48
is pooling their ignorance.
00:04:18.51\00:04:20.18
How can you give your opinion
about what the text means to you
00:04:25.00\00:04:27.58
if you haven't
studied what the text means?
00:04:27.61\00:04:29.55
The apostle Peter assures
us that no prophecy is of
00:04:31.37\00:04:34.46
any private interpretation.
00:04:34.49\00:04:36.41
In short, beware of determining
what the Bible means to you
00:04:37.77\00:04:43.74
until you are sure
what the text really means.
00:04:43.77\00:04:47.13
We are to extract from
the Bible what it means
00:04:48.22\00:04:50.99
rather than putting into
the Bible what we think it means
00:04:51.02\00:04:54.83
or what we want it to say.
00:04:54.86\00:04:57.00
Point number four,
carefully examine the context.
00:04:59.70\00:05:04.72
And I'm going to give
you examples of most of these
00:05:05.16\00:05:07.16
in a few moments, but I
wanted to go through the
00:05:07.19\00:05:08.99
principles first.
00:05:09.02\00:05:10.39
Carefully examine the context.
00:05:11.50\00:05:13.97
That is, what comes
before and after the passage
00:05:14.96\00:05:18.65
that you're studying.
00:05:18.68\00:05:20.01
Many times the
context contains the key
00:05:20.23\00:05:23.54
that unlocks the
meaning of the passage
00:05:24.19\00:05:26.42
that we are struggling with.
00:05:26.45\00:05:28.15
So read what comes
before and what comes after.
00:05:28.18\00:05:31.00
It's vitally important.
00:05:31.35\00:05:33.04
Because some people simply
isolate a text and they say that
00:05:33.07\00:05:36.70
this text means this when
it doesn't mean that at all.
00:05:36.73\00:05:39.23
To give you an
example, Colossians chapter 2,
00:05:39.26\00:05:41.57
"Let no one judge
you about the Sabbath."
00:05:41.60\00:05:43.63
You know, Taj is an evangelist.
00:05:44.91\00:05:48.51
He faces people all
the time who use that text
00:05:48.54\00:05:51.37
to say, "See," you know.
00:05:51.40\00:05:52.79
Or, nobody judge
you regarding days.
00:05:52.82\00:05:55.32
So they take that one verse, but
they don't look at the context,
00:05:55.74\00:05:59.82
the immediate context, as well
as the broader biblical context.
00:05:59.85\00:06:03.34
So the context is
critically important.
00:06:03.37\00:06:06.86
Point number five,
when you read the Bible
00:06:07.35\00:06:10.81
mark the key words
and write your own notes
00:06:11.49\00:06:16.36
and comments in the margins.
00:06:16.39\00:06:18.29
Any questions, any comments you
have, write them in the margins.
00:06:18.79\00:06:22.43
Very important.
00:06:23.58\00:06:24.82
In this way when you
are studying the passage,
00:06:24.85\00:06:27.48
many other related Bible
passages will come to mind
00:06:27.58\00:06:31.53
and help you
understand the specific passage
00:06:31.56\00:06:34.12
that you are studying when
you read over and over again.
00:06:34.15\00:06:38.86
Number six, if you are not able
to read the original languages,
00:06:39.52\00:06:44.25
read the passage in as
many Bible versions as possible.
00:06:45.32\00:06:48.86
It is highly unlikely,
although once in a great while
00:06:49.86\00:06:53.65
it does happen, that
all Bible versions are wrong
00:06:54.80\00:06:58.88
in their translation.
00:06:58.91\00:07:00.25
And be very
careful with paraphrases
00:07:00.78\00:07:03.36
and amplified versions.
00:07:03.39\00:07:05.08
Because they are
not translations.
00:07:05.11\00:07:07.47
They are interpretations.
00:07:07.50\00:07:09.63
So we have to be
very careful with those.
00:07:09.66\00:07:12.16
Seven, do a careful study
of the meaning of key words
00:07:12.90\00:07:17.38
in the passage.
00:07:17.41\00:07:18.82
You can do this by
using a Bible concordance,
00:07:19.28\00:07:22.03
such as Strong's.
00:07:22.69\00:07:24.28
So look for other
passages that use the same word.
00:07:24.31\00:07:27.58
Frequently the same
words are used in other
00:07:28.22\00:07:30.66
passages of the Bible.
00:07:30.69\00:07:32.40
A careful study of
these words in other passages
00:07:33.01\00:07:36.21
of the Bible will help
you understand much better
00:07:36.46\00:07:39.62
the passage or the
verse that you are studying
00:07:40.15\00:07:42.83
or that you are considering.
00:07:42.86\00:07:44.34
Number eight, look at
the marginal references
00:07:44.89\00:07:49.25
for any parallel passages to
the one that you are studying.
00:07:49.64\00:07:53.98
Some of these
connections are priceless.
00:07:54.29\00:07:56.76
And I'll be giving you
some examples in a few moments.
00:07:56.89\00:07:59.84
Number nine, study
the grammar and syntax
00:08:00.38\00:08:04.57
of the passage.
00:08:04.77\00:08:06.21
By syntax we mean, word order.
00:08:07.20\00:08:09.84
Are verb tenses important?
00:08:10.23\00:08:12.64
They most certainly are.
00:08:13.04\00:08:14.29
Extremely important.
00:08:14.32\00:08:15.99
You don't need to know the
original languages to do this.
00:08:16.19\00:08:20.23
There are many
resources in English which can
00:08:20.57\00:08:23.66
help you in this regard.
00:08:23.69\00:08:25.36
A good Greek English
and Hebrew English lexicon
00:08:25.80\00:08:29.96
would be very valuable.
00:08:30.35\00:08:32.16
And you know, in our free
time when we're not in class
00:08:32.26\00:08:35.50
I'll be glad to share with
you the software that I use.
00:08:35.53\00:08:38.39
It's a software that
anyone can use whether you've
00:08:38.78\00:08:41.27
studied Greek or Hebrew or not.
00:08:41.30\00:08:43.05
You can find out the
meanings of words, the tenses.
00:08:43.82\00:08:46.86
You know, it's amazing.
00:08:47.07\00:08:48.90
It's an amazing software.
00:08:49.10\00:08:50.59
Number ten,
learn to ask questions,
00:08:51.42\00:08:55.82
we've already
covered this, of the passage
00:08:55.85\00:08:57.32
that you are studying.
00:08:57.35\00:08:58.67
A good detective
is a good questioner.
00:08:58.70\00:09:01.15
Some of you might be
too young to remember
00:09:01.75\00:09:03.77
Lieutenant Columbo.
00:09:03.80\00:09:05.15
He asked and asked
until the guilty party
00:09:06.13\00:09:09.82
self-incriminated himself.
00:09:09.85\00:09:11.78
What does the passage say?
00:09:13.09\00:09:14.97
What does the passage not say?
00:09:15.76\00:09:18.12
Why does it say
things in the way it does?
00:09:18.81\00:09:21.77
Who wrote the passage?
00:09:22.35\00:09:23.91
To whom was it written?
00:09:23.94\00:09:26.09
What special circumstances
led to its writing?
00:09:26.12\00:09:29.34
From where was it written?
00:09:29.44\00:09:30.69
When was it written?
00:09:30.72\00:09:32.20
Learn to reflect on
what you are reading.
00:09:32.83\00:09:35.35
It is like looking in a mirror.
00:09:35.95\00:09:37.44
You look into the
mirror, and suddenly the mirror
00:09:37.47\00:09:39.32
starts looking at you.
00:09:39.35\00:09:40.84
In other words, the
mirror talks back to you.
00:09:41.48\00:09:43.42
We should study the Bible, and
then the Bible will study us.
00:09:43.45\00:09:46.34
Number eleven,
after you have done
00:09:47.24\00:09:49.90
all your personal research...
00:09:49.93\00:09:51.43
This is very important.
00:09:51.46\00:09:52.71
Many people go to
Ellen White first.
00:09:52.91\00:09:54.86
I always go to Ellen White last.
00:09:55.18\00:09:56.92
Because I enjoy the excitement
of discovering it for myself.
00:09:57.60\00:10:00.97
And then I go to Ellen White
to see if I missed anything.
00:10:01.68\00:10:04.08
And many times
I've missed quite a bit.
00:10:04.11\00:10:06.19
After you've done all
your study, go to see what
00:10:08.63\00:10:13.03
Ellen White has to
say about that verse
00:10:13.06\00:10:14.97
or about that passage.
00:10:15.00\00:10:16.44
Read the Seventh-day
Adventist Bible Commentary,
00:10:17.63\00:10:20.15
or other commentaries to
see what those commentaries
00:10:20.66\00:10:23.33
have to say about that
verse or about that passage.
00:10:23.36\00:10:26.01
Because there might be
something that you missed
00:10:26.04\00:10:29.36
in your own personal study.
00:10:29.61\00:10:31.24
And finally number twelve, when
you've finished your research,
00:10:32.47\00:10:36.47
put all of the pieces
of information together
00:10:36.84\00:10:39.78
and reach your conclusions
and see how the passage
00:10:40.32\00:10:43.45
can help your
spiritual life by enhancing it,
00:10:43.48\00:10:46.84
protecting it,
enriching it, and correcting it.
00:10:46.87\00:10:50.22
You must now be willing to
obey what you have learned.
00:10:50.97\00:10:54.10
The purpose of the Bible
study is not to increase our
00:10:54.47\00:10:57.44
intellectual knowledge.
00:10:57.47\00:10:59.11
The final goal of all
Bible study is obedience.
00:10:59.36\00:11:02.44
So those are some of
the principles that we need
00:11:02.94\00:11:06.97
to apply when we
study the text itself.
00:11:07.00\00:11:10.27
Now let me give
you a few examples
00:11:10.80\00:11:13.12
of the importance of
all of these little nuances
00:11:13.42\00:11:16.70
that we find within the text.
00:11:16.73\00:11:18.76
First of all, the importance
of the historical background.
00:11:19.05\00:11:22.06
Go with me to
Philippians chapter 3,
00:11:22.53\00:11:25.08
Philippians chapter 3
and verses 3 through 11.
00:11:26.03\00:11:29.62
Philippians chapter 3
and verses 3 through 11.
00:11:30.62\00:11:33.48
This is the
apostle Paul speaking.
00:11:33.51\00:11:35.52
And we'll have
occasion to come back to this
00:11:37.09\00:11:40.23
a little later on in our class.
00:11:40.43\00:11:42.34
Here the apostle Paul says this,
00:11:43.19\00:11:45.59
"For we are the circumcision,
who worship God in the Spirit,
00:11:46.07\00:11:50.59
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh,
00:11:50.69\00:11:55.95
though I also might
have confidence in the flesh.
00:11:56.24\00:11:59.49
If anyone else thinks
he may have confidence
00:11:59.77\00:12:02.16
in the flesh, I more so:
circumcised the eighth day,
00:12:02.19\00:12:06.79
of the stock of Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin,
00:12:07.13\00:12:10.47
a Hebrew of the Hebrews;
concerning the law, a Pharisee;
00:12:10.50\00:12:14.77
concerning zeal,
persecuting the church;
00:12:14.80\00:12:17.74
concerning the righteousness
which is in the law, blameless."
00:12:17.77\00:12:22.52
Now would it be helpful to us
to go to Paul's conversion story
00:12:23.93\00:12:31.22
in the book of Acts to
understand what he's saying?
00:12:31.25\00:12:33.59
Could you understand what he's
saying if you didn't understand
00:12:35.45\00:12:38.35
who Saul of Tarsus
was before his conversion?
00:12:38.55\00:12:41.40
It wouldn't make any sense.
00:12:42.10\00:12:43.54
So you have to go beyond
this text to another context
00:12:44.03\00:12:48.48
that will help you understand
where the apostle Paul
00:12:48.51\00:12:50.67
is coming from here.
00:12:50.70\00:12:51.98
Now notice verse 7.
00:12:52.65\00:12:54.19
This is the road to
Damascus experience.
00:12:54.68\00:12:57.10
"But what things were
gain to me, these I have
00:12:57.13\00:13:01.66
counted loss for Christ.
00:13:01.69\00:13:03.68
Yet indeed I also count all
things loss for the excellence
00:13:04.39\00:13:09.00
of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have
00:13:09.03\00:13:12.24
suffered the loss of all things,
and count them as rubbish,
00:13:12.27\00:13:16.14
that I may gain
Christ and be found in Him,
00:13:16.17\00:13:19.87
not having my own righteousness,
which is from the law,
00:13:19.90\00:13:22.85
but that which is through faith
in Christ, the righteousness
00:13:23.05\00:13:26.09
which is from God by faith."
00:13:26.19\00:13:28.84
Would it be helpful for
us to read about who Saul was
00:13:29.61\00:13:33.25
before, and his conversion
experience, to understand
00:13:33.28\00:13:35.66
what he's saying here?
00:13:35.69\00:13:36.73
Yes.
00:13:37.11\00:13:38.14
And so what I'm saying is,
we need to know the historical
00:13:38.27\00:13:42.05
background to passages.
00:13:42.08\00:13:43.38
Incidentally, when the apostle
Paul says, "I've lost all things
00:13:43.48\00:13:46.55
for Christ," this is
one of his prison epistles.
00:13:46.58\00:13:49.05
He was in prison.
00:13:49.08\00:13:50.24
And he had lost everything
for the cause of Christ.
00:13:50.78\00:13:53.93
And so does it help to
know where he's writing from?
00:13:54.22\00:13:56.57
Of course.
00:13:56.60\00:13:57.63
Where he's writing from,
what his frame of reference is,
00:13:57.66\00:14:00.72
what his experience has been
00:14:00.75\00:14:02.18
will help us
understand the text.
00:14:02.28\00:14:04.25
You can't isolate a text from
the experience of the writer.
00:14:04.28\00:14:08.17
So the historical background
is extremely important.
00:14:08.20\00:14:11.91
Now what about verb tenses?
00:14:12.42\00:14:14.48
Is the verb tense important?
00:14:14.79\00:14:16.68
It most certainly is.
00:14:17.54\00:14:19.10
Let me give you an example.
00:14:19.83\00:14:21.39
Revelation chapter
11 and verses 1 and 2.
00:14:22.57\00:14:26.04
Revelation
chapter 11 verses 1 and 2.
00:14:26.14\00:14:28.87
"Then I was given a
reed like a measuring rod.
00:14:40.97\00:14:43.66
And the angel stood,
saying, 'Rise and measure the
00:14:44.40\00:14:47.07
temple of God, the altar,
and those who worship there.'"
00:14:47.10\00:14:50.73
Now we're going to find
something later on in the class,
00:14:51.98\00:14:55.17
and that is that many of the
text that we find in Revelation,
00:14:55.20\00:14:59.66
the division of chapters,
are in the wrong place.
00:15:00.62\00:15:04.00
Actually, Revelation
chapter 11 verse 1 belongs with
00:15:04.94\00:15:09.03
Revelation chapter 10.
00:15:09.06\00:15:11.26
And we're going to
find that Revelation 14:1-5
00:15:12.04\00:15:14.66
belongs to Revelation 13.
00:15:14.69\00:15:16.65
And we're going to find that
Revelation chapter 21 verse 1
00:15:17.38\00:15:20.28
belongs to chapter 20.
00:15:20.31\00:15:22.12
In other words, the translators,
because they didn't understand
00:15:22.76\00:15:25.77
the literary
structure, the order of events
00:15:25.80\00:15:29.33
which we understand through the
help of the spirit of prophecy,
00:15:29.36\00:15:33.25
they divided the chapters where
they felt that the chapters
00:15:33.56\00:15:36.33
should be divided.
00:15:36.36\00:15:37.46
But they divided the
chapters in the wrong place.
00:15:37.49\00:15:40.22
And we'll come back to
that when we deal with the
00:15:40.42\00:15:42.34
literary structure of
Daniel and Revelation.
00:15:42.37\00:15:44.87
There's no way we
can understand Revelation
00:15:45.07\00:15:47.52
unless we understand
how the book was organized.
00:15:47.55\00:15:49.96
It's impossible.
00:15:50.24\00:15:51.40
Because the book of Revelation
is not in chronological order.
00:15:51.86\00:15:54.52
I mean, it jumps back
and forth, back and forth,
00:15:54.94\00:15:57.14
back and forth.
00:15:57.17\00:15:58.20
And you know, if you try to read
it from Revelation 1 verse 1
00:15:58.23\00:16:01.18
through Revelation chapter
22 the last verse and say,
00:16:01.48\00:16:04.45
"Okay, I want to know
what's going to happen
00:16:04.48\00:16:05.79
in the course of Christian
history and in the end time,"
00:16:05.82\00:16:08.56
you'll be so confused you won't
know what planet you're on.
00:16:08.59\00:16:11.73
But once you know the
code, once you know how the book
00:16:14.04\00:16:16.66
is structured,
Daniel and Revelation,
00:16:16.69\00:16:19.33
then you know exactly
where each event takes place.
00:16:19.65\00:16:22.91
Now notice verse 2.
00:16:22.94\00:16:24.39
"But leave out the court
which is outside the temple,
00:16:25.58\00:16:29.04
and do not measure it, for it
has been given to the Gentiles.
00:16:30.11\00:16:34.93
And they will tread
the holy city underfoot
00:16:35.31\00:16:38.25
for forty-two months."
00:16:38.69\00:16:40.28
Now what is the issue here?
00:16:41.11\00:16:43.08
It gives the impression that the
court was given to the Gentiles,
00:16:43.58\00:16:52.28
and then they
trampled for 42 months.
00:16:52.93\00:16:56.48
Right?
00:16:56.51\00:16:57.64
That's the
impression that you get from it.
00:16:57.98\00:16:59.74
And so some people
have said that the 42 months
00:17:00.19\00:17:02.95
are future.
00:17:03.40\00:17:04.76
They're a different
period than 1260 days
00:17:05.23\00:17:07.99
or time, times, and
the dividing of time.
00:17:08.02\00:17:10.78
But when you realize
that there's a verb tense,
00:17:11.35\00:17:14.17
and it actually says,
"But leave out the court
00:17:15.55\00:17:20.24
which is outside the
temple, and do not measure it,
00:17:21.30\00:17:24.30
for it has been
given," really it says,
00:17:24.50\00:17:27.13
"it was given to the
Gentiles to trample the city
00:17:27.16\00:17:32.44
underfoot for forty-two months."
00:17:32.47\00:17:34.38
In other words, the
tense of the verb is past.
00:17:34.41\00:17:37.45
The tense of the verb is
not that from this point on,
00:17:38.43\00:17:41.63
you know, this event
is going to take place
00:17:41.73\00:17:44.86
during the 42 months.
00:17:44.89\00:17:45.92
No, the 42 months
are past from this point.
00:17:45.95\00:17:50.33
The 42 months are not
future from this point.
00:17:50.53\00:17:54.14
Now, also cases are important
when we study the biblical text.
00:17:54.92\00:18:01.31
Let me give you an example
here, which is very interesting.
00:18:02.38\00:18:04.89
Acts chapter 9 and verse 7.
00:18:04.92\00:18:07.02
Acts chapter 9 and verse 7.
00:18:07.65\00:18:09.90
And you know, sometimes
you read things in the Bible
00:18:14.75\00:18:17.48
that appear to
be a contradiction.
00:18:17.51\00:18:19.28
But they're not really
a contradiction when you
00:18:19.48\00:18:21.59
take into account
the biblical testimony,
00:18:21.62\00:18:24.31
the totality of
the biblical testimony.
00:18:24.34\00:18:26.34
Notice Acts
chapter 9 and verse 7.
00:18:26.37\00:18:31.95
It says, "And the men
who journeyed with him
00:18:32.80\00:18:34.98
stood speechless, hearing
a voice but seeing no one."
00:18:35.01\00:18:40.36
So were those who were
present, did they hear a voice?
00:18:40.94\00:18:44.51
Yes, they heard a voice.
00:18:45.25\00:18:47.26
Now let's go to Acts 22 verse
9, which is the parallel verse
00:18:47.77\00:18:51.91
speaking about the
conversion of the apostle Paul.
00:18:52.01\00:18:55.04
Acts chapter 22 and verse 9.
00:18:55.46\00:18:59.46
"And those who were
with me indeed saw the light
00:19:05.56\00:19:08.74
and were afraid, but they
did not hear the voice of Him
00:19:08.77\00:19:11.93
who spoke to me."
00:19:11.96\00:19:13.10
You see the problem?
00:19:13.93\00:19:15.07
9 verse 7 says what?
00:19:18.21\00:19:20.09
They heard.
00:19:20.53\00:19:21.66
Chapter 22 says
they didn't hear.
00:19:23.34\00:19:25.50
So the Bible
contradicts itself, right?
00:19:26.51\00:19:28.58
Wrong.
00:19:29.29\00:19:30.44
That's why we need... In
Greek there are four cases.
00:19:30.92\00:19:33.82
There's the nominative case,
there's the accusative case,
00:19:34.17\00:19:37.77
there's the genitive case,
and there's the dative case.
00:19:37.80\00:19:40.78
And I'm not going to go
into all of the details now.
00:19:41.63\00:19:45.42
You can get this on this
software that I was mentioning.
00:19:45.45\00:19:47.93
But the fact is that when the
Greek uses the word, "akouo,"
00:19:48.20\00:19:53.80
that is the word, "to hear,"
when it uses the word, "akouo,"
00:19:54.00\00:19:57.08
in the genitive case it means,
"to hear without understanding."
00:19:57.11\00:20:03.20
But when it's used
in the accusative case,
00:20:04.48\00:20:07.85
it means, "to hear
with the understanding."
00:20:08.53\00:20:11.42
And so you would never
know that if you read the text.
00:20:12.68\00:20:16.26
And so people say the
Bible contradicts itself.
00:20:16.29\00:20:18.49
But depending on which case,
whether it's the genitive case
00:20:18.59\00:20:22.73
or the accusative case, it means
to hear with the understanding
00:20:22.76\00:20:26.99
or it means to hear
without the understanding.
00:20:27.02\00:20:29.69
So there's no contraction;
it's a matter of Greek grammar,
00:20:29.72\00:20:33.13
in other words.
00:20:33.16\00:20:34.19
Now we're going to skip the
one on the importance of the
00:20:34.69\00:20:37.57
structure of the passage.
00:20:37.60\00:20:38.80
We're going to deal
with the seventy-weeks
00:20:38.83\00:20:40.16
a little bit later on.
00:20:40.19\00:20:41.73
Let's notice the importance
of the meaning of words.
00:20:42.15\00:20:45.24
Go with me to 2
Thessalonians chapter 2.
00:20:45.62\00:20:48.38
2 Thessalonians chapter 2.
00:20:49.51\00:20:51.74
You've read in Great Controversy
where Ellen White states that
00:20:52.87\00:20:57.13
Satan is going to counterfeit
the second coming, right?
00:20:57.86\00:21:01.12
He's going to come, you
know, like Jesus is described
00:21:01.41\00:21:05.65
in Revelation
chapter 1; a glorious being.
00:21:05.68\00:21:08.25
Well, I want you to notice
something very interesting
00:21:08.28\00:21:11.77
here in chapter 2 and
beginning with verse 1.
00:21:11.80\00:21:15.17
"Now, brethren,
concerning the coming
00:21:15.20\00:21:17.48
of our Lord Jesus Christ..."
00:21:17.51\00:21:19.40
That word, "coming," there
is the Greek word, "parousia."
00:21:19.84\00:21:24.10
Very important word, "parousia."
00:21:25.69\00:21:27.25
It's one of the
second coming words.
00:21:27.28\00:21:29.16
And so, "Now,
brethren, concerning the coming
00:21:29.86\00:21:31.76
of our Lord Jesus Christ and
our gathering together to Him,
00:21:31.79\00:21:34.74
we ask you not to be soon
shaken in mind or troubled,
00:21:34.77\00:21:38.12
either by spirit or by word
or by letter, as if from us,
00:21:38.15\00:21:41.65
as though the day
of Christ had come."
00:21:41.68\00:21:44.27
So in other words,
what Paul is saying here
00:21:44.55\00:21:47.58
is that Jesus is
going to have a parousia.
00:21:47.61\00:21:51.53
Jesus is going to have a coming.
00:21:52.30\00:21:53.67
He's speaking about
the coming of Jesus,
00:21:53.77\00:21:55.37
the parousia of Jesus.
00:21:55.40\00:21:57.06
But now let's notice,
let's go down to verse 9.
00:21:57.84\00:22:05.46
Verse 9, the very
same word is used.
00:22:05.95\00:22:08.40
And let's actually read
verse 8 for the context.
00:22:08.78\00:22:12.21
It says, "And then the
lawless one will be revealed,
00:22:12.24\00:22:17.09
whom the Lord will consume
with the breath of His mouth
00:22:17.59\00:22:20.51
and destroy with the
brightness of His coming."
00:22:20.54\00:22:22.65
And then it says, "The
coming of the lawless one..."
00:22:22.68\00:22:25.92
Do you know what that
word, "coming," is there?
00:22:26.15\00:22:28.15
Parousia.
00:22:28.88\00:22:30.09
The identical word that is
used in verse 1 to describe
00:22:32.09\00:22:34.99
the second coming of Christ.
00:22:35.02\00:22:36.44
Are you following me?
00:22:37.70\00:22:38.73
Is it important to
know it's the same word?
00:22:39.11\00:22:41.07
Of course.
00:22:41.32\00:22:42.35
So it says, "The coming of the
lawless one is according to the
00:22:42.38\00:22:45.04
working of Satan, with all..."
00:22:45.07\00:22:46.24
And then there's three words,
00:22:46.34\00:22:47.70
"...signs, lying
wonders, and power."
00:22:48.00\00:22:52.24
Lying wonders is one Greek word.
00:22:52.27\00:22:54.19
You know, there's only
one other place in the Bible
00:22:55.11\00:22:57.20
where that combination of
identical three words is used.
00:22:57.23\00:23:00.23
And that's referring to the
miracles that Jesus performed.
00:23:00.53\00:23:03.38
So when you realize that
verse 1 is using parousia
00:23:05.75\00:23:09.22
to describe the
second coming of Christ,
00:23:09.25\00:23:11.10
and verse 9 uses the same
word to speak of the parousia
00:23:11.73\00:23:16.41
or the coming of the
lawless one, you know that Satan
00:23:16.44\00:23:20.52
is going to
falsify the parousia.
00:23:20.55\00:23:22.71
He's going to falsify
the second coming of Christ.
00:23:22.74\00:23:25.03
He's going to counterfeit
the second coming of Christ.
00:23:25.06\00:23:27.21
And of course Ellen
White calls this the almost
00:23:28.02\00:23:30.94
overmastering delusion.
00:23:30.97\00:23:33.65
Another example of
the importance of words
00:23:34.71\00:23:37.63
is the
expression, "temple of God."
00:23:37.66\00:23:40.63
You know, when people
read 2 Thessalonians chapter 2,
00:23:42.19\00:23:45.91
it says that the antichrist
will sit in the temple of God
00:23:46.45\00:23:49.55
showing that he is God.
00:23:49.58\00:23:51.07
Do you know how most
Protestants interpret
00:23:51.46\00:23:54.04
that express, "temple of God?"
00:23:54.07\00:23:55.90
They say, "Oh, the temple of
God, that is the Jewish temple
00:23:57.44\00:24:00.97
that's going to be
rebuilt in the Middle East."
00:24:01.00\00:24:02.77
And there's going to be
a personal nasty antichrist
00:24:03.43\00:24:05.93
who blasphemes God.
00:24:05.96\00:24:07.42
He's going to sit
in that rebuilt temple.
00:24:07.45\00:24:09.82
And he's going to build a
great big statue of himself;
00:24:10.50\00:24:13.99
an image.
00:24:14.74\00:24:15.88
And he's going to
command everyone to worship
00:24:15.91\00:24:17.80
the image of himself.
00:24:17.83\00:24:18.86
And whoever doesn't
worship will be killed.
00:24:18.89\00:24:21.22
They interpret the temple of
God as a rebuilt Jewish temple
00:24:21.82\00:24:25.13
in the Middle East.
00:24:25.16\00:24:26.19
However, we need to
see how the apostle Paul
00:24:27.10\00:24:31.26
uses the
expression, "temple of God,"
00:24:31.29\00:24:34.15
in all of his writings.
00:24:34.35\00:24:35.79
Never once does the
apostle Paul use the expression,
00:24:36.49\00:24:40.06
"temple of God," to refer
to a rebuilt Jewish temple.
00:24:40.23\00:24:44.16
The expression, if you
study it in all of his writings,
00:24:44.88\00:24:47.88
refers to the spiritual
temple, which is the church.
00:24:48.38\00:24:52.99
Go with me to Ephesians
chapter 2 and you'll see this.
00:24:53.26\00:24:56.24
This is also the importance
of studying the context
00:24:56.44\00:24:59.29
and studying the meanings
of words and expressions.
00:24:59.32\00:25:01.91
We need to go to the totality
of the testimony of Scriptures.
00:25:01.94\00:25:05.81
Notice Ephesians chapter
2 and let's see what Paul
00:25:05.91\00:25:10.40
means by the temple.
00:25:10.43\00:25:11.46
Is it the rebuilt Jewish
temple in the Middle East?
00:25:11.49\00:25:13.92
Absolutely not.
00:25:13.95\00:25:15.09
It says there in verse
19, "Now, therefore, you are
00:25:15.59\00:25:19.37
no longer
strangers and foreigners..."
00:25:19.40\00:25:21.27
He's writing to the Gentiles.
00:25:21.30\00:25:23.26
"...but fellow citizens
with the saints and members
00:25:23.59\00:25:26.13
of the household of
God, having been built,"
00:25:26.16\00:25:29.22
now listen
carefully, "on the foundation
00:25:29.92\00:25:32.00
of the apostles and prophets..."
00:25:32.03\00:25:33.39
What kind of
foundation does the temple have?
00:25:33.42\00:25:35.66
They're not
stones. They are what?
00:25:36.75\00:25:38.47
People.
00:25:38.90\00:25:39.98
Primarily the
writings of people.
00:25:40.48\00:25:42.27
"...having been built
on the foundation of the
00:25:42.40\00:25:44.44
apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being
00:25:44.47\00:25:47.49
the chief cornerstone..."
00:25:47.52\00:25:48.87
So is this a literal temple?
00:25:49.39\00:25:50.99
No.
00:25:51.71\00:25:52.74
Verse 21, "...in whom
the whole building..."
00:25:52.92\00:25:56.35
See, the whole building.
00:25:56.38\00:25:58.19
"...being fitted together,
00:25:58.29\00:25:59.92
grows into a holy
temple in the Lord..."
00:25:59.95\00:26:02.37
The identical word, temple.
00:26:02.48\00:26:04.15
"Naos," temple, that is used
in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.
00:26:05.95\00:26:11.12
So it says, "...grows
into a holy temple in the Lord,
00:26:11.15\00:26:13.93
in whom you also are being built
together," now listen carefully,
00:26:14.13\00:26:18.16
"for a dwelling place
of God in the Spirit."
00:26:18.19\00:26:20.06
What is the
Shekinah in the temple today?
00:26:20.16\00:26:22.56
You know, the Shekinah
Glory that came into the temple,
00:26:23.89\00:26:26.44
the visible Glory
in the Old Testament.
00:26:26.47\00:26:28.01
What is the Glory today?
00:26:28.04\00:26:30.09
It's the Holy Spirit.
00:26:30.57\00:26:31.86
So are the
foundations literal stones?
00:26:32.30\00:26:34.54
Is the chief
cornerstone a literal stone?
00:26:35.41\00:26:37.51
Are the individual stones which
is us, are those real stones?
00:26:38.16\00:26:43.20
No.
00:26:43.43\00:26:44.46
Is this a physical
Glory that can be seen?
00:26:44.49\00:26:47.75
No.
00:26:48.21\00:26:49.24
So when the apostle
Paul says that the antichrist
00:26:50.05\00:26:52.40
is going to sit
in the temple of God,
00:26:52.43\00:26:54.34
what temple is it referring to?
00:26:54.89\00:26:56.55
The antichrist is
going to sit in the church.
00:26:57.02\00:27:02.08
The spiritual temple of God.
00:27:03.39\00:27:04.63
Because there's only
one literal temple today,
00:27:04.83\00:27:06.64
and that's the temple in heaven.
00:27:06.67\00:27:07.82
See, the literal
temple is in heaven.
00:27:10.18\00:27:12.78
Right?
00:27:15.07\00:27:16.10
And our literal
High Priest is in heaven.
00:27:16.91\00:27:19.17
And the literal
stones are in heaven.
00:27:20.63\00:27:22.60
And the literal
Glory is in heaven.
00:27:23.63\00:27:26.01
So there's no
fulfillment in the Middle East
00:27:28.49\00:27:30.96
when you take into account
the meaning of the expression
00:27:31.51\00:27:34.10
and you allow
Paul to interpret Paul.
00:27:34.30\00:27:37.82
Now we already took a
look at an example from
00:27:39.10\00:27:42.98
Matthew 24 on the importance
of the immediate context.
00:27:43.25\00:27:46.50
Is it important to know the
immediate context to a passage?
00:27:46.79\00:27:49.90
Yeah, you know,
sometimes we just go to verse 4
00:27:50.20\00:27:52.72
where it says, "Let no
one deceive you in any way,
00:27:52.75\00:27:55.20
for false christs shall arise."
00:27:55.23\00:27:56.55
You know, we're interested
in getting to the signs
00:27:56.58\00:27:58.58
of the second coming.
00:27:58.61\00:27:59.89
But we forget to read
the first three verses
00:28:00.67\00:28:03.80
where it gives us the context.
00:28:04.69\00:28:06.33
And it shows that Matthew
24 has a two-fold application.
00:28:06.53\00:28:10.05
The two questions
that we mentioned,
00:28:10.16\00:28:11.62
that's the context.
00:28:11.65\00:28:12.79
In other words, when are
these things going to be?
00:28:13.42\00:28:15.03
"When is the temple
going to be destroyed
00:28:15.06\00:28:16.83
so there's not one
stone left upon another?
00:28:16.86\00:28:18.99
What will be the sign of Your
coming and the end of the age,
00:28:19.02\00:28:22.21
or the end of the world?"
00:28:22.24\00:28:23.38
And then Jesus said,
"Okay, let Me tell you.
00:28:24.18\00:28:25.89
I'm going to blend
the two descriptions."
00:28:25.92\00:28:27.71
The context
gives us the two-fold
00:28:27.74\00:28:30.51
application of Matthew 24.
00:28:30.54\00:28:32.23
And so we need to take
into account the context.
00:28:32.43\00:28:35.49
We also need to take into
account the broader context
00:28:35.52\00:28:38.19
of the passage.
00:28:38.22\00:28:39.25
And what I mean by a
broader context is not only what
00:28:39.28\00:28:41.97
comes immediately
before and after the passage,
00:28:42.00\00:28:44.45
but also what the
totality of Scripture has to say
00:28:44.55\00:28:48.48
about that same
theme or that same topic.
00:28:48.84\00:28:52.21
And I have here as an
example Matthew 24:37-39.
00:28:52.49\00:28:57.93
You know, there's this text
that says, "One will be taken
00:28:58.25\00:29:01.46
and one will be left."
00:29:02.31\00:29:03.67
And so, you know,
we've reached the conclusion
00:29:04.73\00:29:06.37
that the one that is
taken, he's taken to heaven,
00:29:06.40\00:29:08.87
and the one that is
left is left behind.
00:29:08.90\00:29:10.89
You know, basically we
argue in the Adventist Church
00:29:11.23\00:29:14.30
the same way that
the Pentecostals argue,
00:29:14.33\00:29:17.59
except that they believe
that the saints will be taken
00:29:17.62\00:29:22.36
seven years before the
glorious coming of Christ.
00:29:22.39\00:29:24.76
But they still understand
"taken" as those who are taken
00:29:24.79\00:29:27.10
to heaven, and those who
are left, that are left behind.
00:29:27.13\00:29:29.64
But I believe
that this translation
00:29:31.72\00:29:33.64
or this understanding
does not take into account
00:29:33.67\00:29:36.90
the broader
context of Scripture.
00:29:36.93\00:29:39.11
What has Jesus been
talking about in verses 37 to 39
00:29:40.26\00:29:44.27
immediately before He
says one will be taken
00:29:44.30\00:29:46.72
and one will be left?
00:29:46.75\00:29:47.94
He's been describing the flood.
00:29:47.97\00:29:49.85
And so what is the
broader context of these verses
00:29:51.15\00:29:54.06
that are being read?
00:29:54.09\00:29:55.12
The broader context is Genesis.
00:29:55.88\00:29:58.04
Because it's
referring to Genesis.
00:29:58.91\00:30:00.77
Are you understanding
me? Are you following me?
00:30:01.10\00:30:02.83
So what do we have to do?
00:30:03.03\00:30:04.49
We have to go beyond
the immediate context
00:30:04.52\00:30:07.34
to the broader context.
00:30:07.37\00:30:09.82
We go back to Genesis.
00:30:09.85\00:30:11.92
And there we describe
who is taken and who is left.
00:30:12.02\00:30:14.96
Genesis 7:22-23.
00:30:15.89\00:30:18.46
Genesis chapter
7 verses 22 and 23.
00:30:18.94\00:30:21.83
The whole story of the
flood is an amazing story.
00:30:23.60\00:30:26.43
It's a typological
story in every regard.
00:30:26.46\00:30:29.49
I mean, it's the clearest
presentation of end time events,
00:30:29.52\00:30:33.20
I believe, the broad
outline of end time events
00:30:33.23\00:30:36.57
that we find in the Bible.
00:30:36.60\00:30:38.21
Genesis 7 verses 22 and 23.
00:30:38.24\00:30:41.38
I'm reading from the
New King James Version.
00:30:43.44\00:30:45.25
It says, "All in whose
nostrils was the breath of life,
00:30:45.28\00:30:48.78
all that was on
the dry land died.
00:30:49.32\00:30:52.62
So He destroyed all
living things which were on the
00:30:53.94\00:30:56.37
face of the ground: both
man and cattle, creeping thing,
00:30:56.40\00:30:59.88
and bird of the air.
00:30:59.91\00:31:00.94
They were
destroyed from the earth.
00:31:00.97\00:31:02.82
Only Noah and
those who were with him
00:31:03.02\00:31:06.03
in the ark remained alive."
00:31:06.06\00:31:08.69
And if you read many
modern versions, it says that
00:31:08.72\00:31:11.12
only Noah and
his family were left.
00:31:11.15\00:31:13.86
You see, the word,
"left," is a remnant word.
00:31:15.90\00:31:18.37
For example, when a
flood takes away a city,
00:31:20.00\00:31:24.22
you say, "Well
wasn't anyone left?"
00:31:24.42\00:31:26.35
The word, "left,"
has to do with a remnant.
00:31:28.38\00:31:30.93
In Greek it's
the word, "loipos."
00:31:32.05\00:31:33.95
You know, the dragon
makes war against the
00:31:34.37\00:31:38.15
remnant of her seed.
00:31:38.18\00:31:39.50
Who is the remnant?
00:31:39.53\00:31:40.65
They are those who are what?
00:31:41.11\00:31:42.87
Who are left or remain.
00:31:43.24\00:31:45.65
You know, go with me
to 1 Thessalonians 4.
00:31:46.21\00:31:48.34
The importance, once
again, of looking at other text
00:31:48.37\00:31:51.33
of Scripture,
the broader context.
00:31:51.36\00:31:53.29
1 Thessalonians chapter 4...
00:31:53.32\00:31:55.46
...and let's read
beginning with verse 15.
00:31:58.80\00:32:01.05
Chapter 4 and verse 15.
00:32:01.08\00:32:02.92
"For this we say to you
by the word of the Lord,
00:32:03.82\00:32:05.82
that we who are
alive and..." What?
00:32:05.85\00:32:09.00
"...and remain..." So
who are the remaining ones?
00:32:10.25\00:32:12.73
The saved.
00:32:14.39\00:32:15.82
"...we who are alive and remain
until the coming of the Lord
00:32:16.57\00:32:19.11
will by no means
precede those who are asleep.
00:32:19.14\00:32:21.82
For the Lord Himself
will descend from heaven
00:32:22.18\00:32:23.95
with a shout, with
the voice of an archangel,
00:32:23.98\00:32:26.28
and with the trumpet of God.
00:32:26.31\00:32:27.59
And the dead in
Christ will rise first."
00:32:27.79\00:32:29.63
And so who are those who remain?
00:32:29.83\00:32:32.93
They're the righteous.
00:32:33.13\00:32:34.16
Let's finish reading verse 16.
00:32:34.19\00:32:36.24
"For the Lord Himself
will descend from heaven
00:32:36.27\00:32:38.00
with a shout, with
the voice of an archangel,
00:32:38.03\00:32:40.12
and with the trumpet of God.
00:32:40.15\00:32:41.19
And the dead in
Christ will rise first.
00:32:41.22\00:32:42.93
Then we who are alive and..."
00:32:43.04\00:32:45.07
There it is again,
"...and remain," or are left,
00:32:45.67\00:32:48.51
"shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds
00:32:48.71\00:32:50.65
to meet the Lord in the air.
00:32:50.68\00:32:51.87
And so shall we
ever be with the Lord."
00:32:51.90\00:32:53.72
Let's notice one
further text on this.
00:32:54.59\00:32:56.88
Isaiah 24.
00:32:56.91\00:32:59.16
Isaiah 24.
00:33:00.45\00:33:02.05
See, you're dealing
with a remnant word here.
00:33:02.48\00:33:04.76
And you'll only know it if
you go to the broader context;
00:33:05.58\00:33:08.27
the flood story.
00:33:08.30\00:33:09.56
Isaiah chapter 24.
00:33:09.94\00:33:13.66
And by the way,
Isaiah 24 is describing
00:33:15.77\00:33:18.24
the second coming of Christ.
00:33:18.27\00:33:20.09
You can read all of
the previous verses.
00:33:20.59\00:33:22.44
It's a vivid description of
the destruction of the world
00:33:22.70\00:33:25.88
at the second coming of Jesus.
00:33:25.91\00:33:27.49
And I want you to
notice what we find in verse,
00:33:28.00\00:33:31.73
actually let's read verse 3
so that you can see the context.
00:33:31.93\00:33:36.07
It says, "The land
shall be utterly emptied
00:33:36.51\00:33:38.82
and utterly plundered, for
the Lord has spoken this word.
00:33:38.85\00:33:42.14
The earth mourns and fades away,
00:33:42.51\00:33:45.19
the world
languishes and fades away;
00:33:45.22\00:33:47.67
the haughty people
of the earth languish.
00:33:47.88\00:33:50.00
The earth is also
defiled under its inhabitants,
00:33:50.03\00:33:52.62
because they have transgressed
the laws, changed the ordinance,
00:33:52.65\00:33:56.08
broken the everlasting covenant.
00:33:56.11\00:33:58.34
Therefore the curse
has devoured the earth,
00:33:58.54\00:34:01.01
and those who
dwell in it are desolate.
00:34:01.21\00:34:03.50
Therefore the inhabitants
of the earth are burned,
00:34:03.53\00:34:06.77
and few men are left."
00:34:06.99\00:34:10.49
Now that's describing
the second coming of Christ,
00:34:13.09\00:34:15.34
which is it clearly.
00:34:15.64\00:34:17.25
The spirit of prophecy shows
it, and the context shows it.
00:34:17.28\00:34:19.90
Who would be the
ones who are left?
00:34:20.94\00:34:22.49
Let me ask you, is there
going to be anyone left alive
00:34:23.49\00:34:26.34
when Jesus comes here on earth?
00:34:26.37\00:34:28.69
Any of the wicked people
going to be left alive on earth?
00:34:30.15\00:34:32.95
No, so who are those
that, when the destruction comes
00:34:32.98\00:34:36.67
and human beings
are destroyed or burned,
00:34:36.70\00:34:40.07
who are the ones that are
left, the few that are left?
00:34:40.10\00:34:42.54
It has to be the righteous.
00:34:43.12\00:34:44.57
So what does the
word, "left," mean?
00:34:45.96\00:34:47.85
It means the remnant.
00:34:49.75\00:34:51.11
I said this was
the last passage.
00:34:51.74\00:34:53.71
Let me go to one more.
00:34:53.74\00:34:54.95
Isaiah 4, Isaiah chapter 4.
00:34:55.28\00:34:59.43
Isaiah chapter 4.
00:35:01.70\00:35:03.19
And notice verses 4 and 5.
00:35:06.48\00:35:09.94
"When the Lord has washed
away the filth of the daughters
00:35:12.51\00:35:15.17
of Zion, and purged the blood
of Jerusalem from her midst,
00:35:15.20\00:35:19.04
by the spirit of judgment
and by the spirit of burning,
00:35:19.07\00:35:21.74
then the Lord will create
above every dwelling place
00:35:21.94\00:35:25.10
of Mount Zion, and
above her assemblies,
00:35:25.13\00:35:27.20
a cloud and smoke by
day and the shining of a
00:35:27.23\00:35:29.93
flaming fire by night.
00:35:29.96\00:35:31.27
For over all the glory
there will be a covering."
00:35:32.02\00:35:35.61
And there will be a tabernacle
for shade in the daytime
00:35:35.64\00:35:38.55
from the heat, for a place
of refuge, and for a shelter
00:35:38.58\00:35:41.33
from storm and rain."
00:35:41.36\00:35:42.39
That's speaking about
what God is going to do
00:35:42.42\00:35:43.83
for the righteous, right?
00:35:43.86\00:35:45.00
Now notice verses 2 and 3.
00:35:45.44\00:35:47.27
"In that day the
Branch of the Lord shall be
00:35:48.00\00:35:51.21
beautiful and glorious; and
the fruit of the earth shall be
00:35:51.24\00:35:54.27
excellent and
appealing for those of Israel
00:35:54.30\00:35:58.14
who have..." What? "...escaped."
00:35:58.17\00:36:00.53
Because the previous verses
are talking about destruction.
00:36:00.56\00:36:03.01
Verse 3, "And it shall
come to pass that he who is...
00:36:03.04\00:36:07.05
...left in Zion and remains in
Jerusalem shall be called holy."
00:36:09.18\00:36:16.38
So who are the left ones?
00:36:16.41\00:36:17.91
The holy ones.
00:36:18.74\00:36:20.06
Very same word, "left," that
is used in Genesis chapter 7
00:36:21.26\00:36:24.23
verse 23.
00:36:24.26\00:36:25.49
So is it important for
us to take into account
00:36:26.04\00:36:29.28
the broader context
to understand what a
00:36:29.31\00:36:31.51
phrase or a passage means?
00:36:31.54\00:36:33.09
It is indispensable.
00:36:33.19\00:36:34.63
Now let me go to one
final point in this section.
00:36:35.03\00:36:39.52
And that is the importance
of the definite article.
00:36:39.55\00:36:42.87
Do you know what a
definite article is?
00:36:43.94\00:36:46.15
The house.
00:36:48.47\00:36:50.26
"The," is a definite article.
00:36:51.32\00:36:53.90
Now in Greek, in Greek you have
a masculine definite article,
00:36:54.38\00:36:58.41
you have a
feminine definite article,
00:36:58.44\00:37:00.84
and you have a
neuter definite article.
00:37:00.95\00:37:03.18
So in Greek, you know, you
can tell whether the word is
00:37:03.21\00:37:06.63
masculine, feminine,
or neutral by the article.
00:37:06.66\00:37:11.50
Not so in English.
00:37:11.85\00:37:12.88
In English all
you have is, "the."
00:37:12.91\00:37:14.52
So English is limited, you know.
00:37:15.43\00:37:17.35
You don't know whether "the
man" is masculine or feminine
00:37:17.38\00:37:21.21
by the definite article.
00:37:21.24\00:37:22.74
But now I want to
show you the importance
00:37:23.04\00:37:24.59
of the definite article.
00:37:24.62\00:37:26.05
Go with me to 2 Thessalonians
chapter 2, which we were
00:37:26.35\00:37:31.60
looking at a little while ago.
00:37:31.63\00:37:33.09
2 Thessalonians
chapter 2 and verse 11.
00:37:33.12\00:37:36.78
We've already
discussed the word, "parousia,"
00:37:36.81\00:37:39.17
which is a very important word,
but now let's notice verse 11.
00:37:39.35\00:37:43.67
Speaking about those
who don't embrace the truth,
00:37:47.21\00:37:49.27
"they did not receive
the love of the truth,
00:37:49.30\00:37:51.01
that they might be saved.
00:37:51.04\00:37:52.15
And for this reason God will
send them strong delusion..."
00:37:53.37\00:37:56.90
It's not that God sends them the
delusion, but God allows them
00:37:58.04\00:38:00.81
to be deluded.
00:38:00.84\00:38:01.95
Because in the Bible what
God allows, the Bible speaks
00:38:02.40\00:38:05.40
as if God did it.
00:38:05.43\00:38:06.69
But it's indirectly,
because God is allowing it.
00:38:07.35\00:38:10.15
So it says, "...God will
send them strong delusion,
00:38:11.05\00:38:13.22
that they should believe...
00:38:13.52\00:38:15.62
...the lie."
00:38:17.86\00:38:19.50
The King James says,
"a lie," I think, right?
00:38:21.09\00:38:23.38
But in Greek,
it says, "the lie."
00:38:25.26\00:38:28.10
The question is,
in context, which lie?
00:38:29.08\00:38:31.66
The counterfeit second coming.
00:38:33.32\00:38:35.19
Is that the lie that
the immediate context
00:38:37.55\00:38:39.55
speaks about?
00:38:39.58\00:38:40.72
The almost overmastering
delusion whose coming,
00:38:41.06\00:38:44.41
whose parousia, is according
to the working of Satan,
00:38:44.44\00:38:47.47
according to the context.
00:38:47.50\00:38:48.92
And those who do not
receive the love of the truth,
00:38:49.51\00:38:51.48
they will believe what?
00:38:52.34\00:38:53.69
They will believe,
not a lie, any old lie.
00:38:54.06\00:38:58.08
They will believe "the" lie.
00:38:58.11\00:39:01.07
In other words, they
will accept this counterfeit
00:39:01.83\00:39:03.53
second coming of Christ.
00:39:03.56\00:39:04.63
And folks, let me say this...
00:39:04.66\00:39:06.89
There were a few of you
that were in church on Sabbath,
00:39:06.92\00:39:08.99
and I'm going to go over
that material here in class
00:39:09.02\00:39:11.22
when we discuss the different
methods of interpreting
00:39:11.42\00:39:14.14
prophecy; preterism,
futurism, and historicism.
00:39:14.17\00:39:17.20
But is it important for us
to know how Jesus will come?
00:39:17.65\00:39:21.63
It is vitally important.
00:39:23.66\00:39:25.30
You know, once
somebody said to me,
00:39:25.84\00:39:27.23
"I don't really care,
you know, how He's coming.
00:39:27.26\00:39:29.84
I only care that He's coming."
00:39:29.87\00:39:31.59
Well the fact is, if you
don't know how He's coming,
00:39:32.82\00:39:35.01
you're going to
accept the wrong who.
00:39:35.21\00:39:37.22
It's that simple.
00:39:39.05\00:39:40.21
And there's a way in which
we can know whether it's the
00:39:41.04\00:39:43.53
true Christ or
not the true Christ,
00:39:43.56\00:39:45.08
and it's only
based on Scripture.
00:39:45.11\00:39:47.15
It's not based on your
feelings, your emotions,
00:39:48.08\00:39:50.09
your eyes, your
ears, your touch.
00:39:50.12\00:39:52.65
None of those things.
00:39:52.68\00:39:54.23
It's whether
you're firmly grounded
00:39:55.09\00:39:56.67
and founded upon Scripture.
00:39:56.70\00:39:58.16
So is it important to take into
account all of these things?
00:39:58.68\00:40:01.60
See, Bible study is
a taxing experience.
00:40:01.63\00:40:05.89
You know, you have to
study all of these things.
00:40:07.44\00:40:08.70
You say, "How can I
study all these things?
00:40:08.73\00:40:10.00
I don't know the
original language."
00:40:10.03\00:40:11.40
You don't have to know the
original languages anymore.
00:40:11.43\00:40:14.38
There's software that presents
it all to you in English.
00:40:15.04\00:40:19.45
Or in Spanish, and I
assume in Portuguese, I'm sure.
00:40:20.55\00:40:24.64
Because there's
millions and millions of people
00:40:25.16\00:40:28.29
who speak Portuguese.
00:40:28.32\00:40:29.88
And so folks, what we need to do
is we need to do our homework.
00:40:30.17\00:40:34.59
We need to look at
all of these things.
00:40:35.46\00:40:37.65
We need to look at
the historical background,
00:40:37.68\00:40:39.87
we need to look at
the tenses of the verbs,
00:40:40.07\00:40:42.24
we need to, you
know, look at when there's
00:40:42.35\00:40:45.16
an apparent contradiction.
00:40:45.19\00:40:46.26
Maybe it has to do
with the particular case
00:40:46.29\00:40:48.92
that is involved.
00:40:48.95\00:40:50.19
We need to look at the
structure of the passage,
00:40:50.29\00:40:53.14
and we'll study more about that.
00:40:53.17\00:40:54.50
We need to look at
the meaning of words.
00:40:54.53\00:40:56.88
We need to look at the immediate
and the broader context.
00:40:56.91\00:41:00.19
We need to look at
what the article is.
00:41:00.22\00:41:02.34
I mean, we need to
exhaust every means possible
00:41:02.37\00:41:06.36
to study all the
details about the passage.
00:41:06.39\00:41:09.11
So it's not enough just to pray.
00:41:10.14\00:41:12.15
We pray and then we work.
00:41:13.33\00:41:15.69
You know, Ellen White says that
those who do nothing but pray
00:41:17.17\00:41:20.36
will eventually stop praying.
00:41:20.39\00:41:22.24
And I believe in prayer.
00:41:24.26\00:41:25.64
But I also believe in hard work.
00:41:26.01\00:41:27.76
I believe that you have to
pray and then you have to sweat.
00:41:28.20\00:41:30.56
And it takes a lot of work
to sit down and study Scripture.
00:41:31.43\00:41:34.50
And the more you do it,
the easier it will become.
00:41:34.53\00:41:38.25
You know, at first you
say, "Well, all of these things,
00:41:38.66\00:41:42.75
you know, how am I
going to do all of this?"
00:41:42.78\00:41:44.19
You know, as you practice
it, it'll become second nature.
00:41:44.22\00:41:47.49
It'll become natural.
00:41:48.19\00:41:49.37
Okay, now let's
go to principle...
00:41:50.50\00:41:52.33
Is this okay?
00:41:52.36\00:41:53.52
So far so good?
00:41:53.75\00:41:55.01
Okay, so now let's go
to principle number four.
00:41:55.31\00:41:57.90
We're on a roll.
00:41:58.35\00:41:59.66
Principle number four, the
Bible is its own interpreter.
00:42:00.85\00:42:06.01
That's why it's
called, sola scriptura.
00:42:09.79\00:42:12.74
The Bible alone.
00:42:13.82\00:42:15.37
Now let's go
through this principle.
00:42:15.68\00:42:17.48
The Bible is an organic
whole and is spiritual unity.
00:42:18.85\00:42:24.36
And as such, it is
its own interpreter.
00:42:25.55\00:42:29.41
The Holy Spirit has
placed within the Bible
00:42:30.87\00:42:34.67
everything that we need in
order to correctly interpret
00:42:35.13\00:42:39.07
every single verse of the Bible.
00:42:39.10\00:42:41.02
We don't need any external
source to interpret the Bible.
00:42:43.65\00:42:46.05
The Holy Spirit has
placed within Scripture
00:42:46.90\00:42:49.12
the key to
interpret every verse.
00:42:49.22\00:42:50.99
The Holy Spirit supervised
the composition of Scripture.
00:42:53.94\00:42:57.64
Do we have all the books in
the Bible that the Holy Spirit
00:42:59.30\00:43:01.33
wanted us to have?
00:43:01.36\00:43:02.63
Yes.
00:43:03.03\00:43:04.06
He not only supervised
the giving of Scripture,
00:43:04.09\00:43:06.40
but the forming of
the canon of Scripture.
00:43:06.43\00:43:09.47
And the Holy Spirit, because
He superintended the composition
00:43:11.66\00:43:15.32
of Scripture, has placed
within it everything we need
00:43:15.35\00:43:19.12
to explain every single part.
00:43:19.15\00:43:20.61
We must be aware of
dissecting Scripture
00:43:22.62\00:43:25.80
like the liberal scholars
who use what is known as the
00:43:25.83\00:43:29.26
historical critical method.
00:43:29.29\00:43:30.92
This method is
the method of doubt.
00:43:33.24\00:43:35.34
In other words,
nothing in Scripture is
00:43:37.12\00:43:38.49
accepted at face value.
00:43:38.52\00:43:40.37
They say, "Oh, can you really
trust this, can you trust that?
00:43:42.11\00:43:45.27
Well have they ever seen anybody
raised from the dead today?
00:43:45.30\00:43:48.52
Well, well, how can we
believe that happened back then
00:43:48.55\00:43:51.20
if it's not happening today?"
00:43:51.23\00:43:52.53
It's a method of
doubting Scripture
00:43:52.56\00:43:54.45
and dissecting Scripture.
00:43:55.07\00:43:57.01
This method does not
allow one part of the Bible
00:43:58.13\00:44:00.76
to explain other parts.
00:44:00.79\00:44:02.19
In other words, the
unity of Scripture is denied.
00:44:03.31\00:44:05.56
They say that each
author, you know, presented
00:44:05.59\00:44:07.78
his perspective and
there's contradictions
00:44:07.81\00:44:10.05
between one and the other.
00:44:10.08\00:44:11.11
The Bible is just one big
collection of human opinions.
00:44:11.14\00:44:13.90
And so they dissect and say,
00:44:14.93\00:44:16.08
this is inspired
and this isn't inspired.
00:44:16.11\00:44:18.15
We can't go down that road.
00:44:18.55\00:44:20.07
For example, its advocates
believe that the Pentateuch,
00:44:21.78\00:44:25.51
that's the five books of Moses,
00:44:25.54\00:44:27.21
was written by
four different authors.
00:44:28.20\00:44:30.20
JEDP; I won't get into that.
00:44:31.36\00:44:33.69
And none of those
authors was Moses.
00:44:34.35\00:44:36.44
And incidentally, we're
not talking here about pagans.
00:44:38.44\00:44:43.39
We're talking about theologians
from the mainline churches
00:44:43.60\00:44:46.64
and the Roman Catholic Church.
00:44:46.67\00:44:47.75
They use this method.
00:44:47.78\00:44:49.05
Most scholars today
don't believe that Moses wrote
00:44:49.92\00:44:52.27
anything that's in
the five books of Moses.
00:44:52.30\00:44:54.48
They also dissect the
New Testament, trying to
00:44:57.43\00:45:00.65
determine what is reliable
and what isn't reliable.
00:45:00.68\00:45:03.60
For example, they see
a contradiction between
00:45:04.94\00:45:07.05
the account of the
death of Judas in the gospels
00:45:07.08\00:45:09.25
and the book of acts.
00:45:09.28\00:45:10.38
Have you ever read
the account of the death
00:45:12.15\00:45:14.57
of Judas in the gospels?
00:45:14.60\00:45:15.70
It says that he
went and hung himself.
00:45:15.73\00:45:17.80
But in Acts it says
he fell a long distance
00:45:18.84\00:45:21.22
and his stomach exploded
and his innards came out.
00:45:21.43\00:45:24.58
So they say, "See,
you have a case here of
00:45:25.24\00:45:27.58
two different authors..."
00:45:27.61\00:45:29.26
By the way, Matthew didn't write
"Matthew" according to them.
00:45:29.83\00:45:32.97
And Luke probably
just didn't get it right.
00:45:33.90\00:45:36.61
That's the way
Scripture is treated today
00:45:38.30\00:45:40.25
in the religious world
in liberal Protestantism.
00:45:41.05\00:45:46.17
Ellen White presents a beautiful
harmony between the two stories,
00:45:48.00\00:45:51.32
as she usually does.
00:45:51.74\00:45:53.13
She says that Judas went
to where there was a dead tree
00:45:53.94\00:46:00.59
and he put the rope over one
of the high branches of the tree
00:46:01.50\00:46:04.84
to hang himself.
00:46:05.77\00:46:07.04
And he was so heavy,
because Ellen White said he was
00:46:07.46\00:46:09.46
the tallest of the
apostles, and when he jumped off
00:46:09.49\00:46:16.22
the limb to hang
himself, the branch broke.
00:46:16.25\00:46:19.80
And he fell a long
distance to the ground,
00:46:20.55\00:46:22.77
and his belly exploded,
and his innards came out.
00:46:23.64\00:46:26.40
So is the gospel
account in contradiction to
00:46:27.37\00:46:30.91
the account in the book of Acts?
00:46:30.94\00:46:32.57
No.
00:46:32.60\00:46:33.63
He did commit suicide.
00:46:33.98\00:46:35.78
He just didn't
expect the branch to break
00:46:35.88\00:46:38.45
and to die that way.
00:46:39.48\00:46:41.06
So what they do is
they dichotomize Scripture.
00:46:41.62\00:46:45.13
They say you can't trust
this and you can't trust this,
00:46:45.16\00:46:49.53
because these are
individual accounts by these
00:46:49.56\00:46:51.48
individuals in different times.
00:46:51.92\00:46:53.91
They don't believe that
the Holy Spirit superintended
00:46:53.94\00:46:56.40
the composition of Scripture.
00:46:56.43\00:46:57.96
Now, conservative
evangelical scholars who expound
00:46:59.01\00:47:03.41
Bible prophecy are also
guilty of dissecting Scripture.
00:47:03.44\00:47:07.23
Dispensationalists...
00:47:08.61\00:47:09.79
Have you ever heard
of dispensationalists?
00:47:09.82\00:47:11.52
Dispensationalists
radically dichotomize
00:47:12.26\00:47:15.63
the Old and New Testaments.
00:47:15.66\00:47:17.22
They say the Old
Testament was by law
00:47:17.33\00:47:19.67
and the New
Testament is by grace.
00:47:19.87\00:47:22.09
That's the evangelical position.
00:47:22.97\00:47:24.57
Old Testament; law.
New testament; grace.
00:47:24.60\00:47:26.61
Although in the evangelical
world, many scholars are
00:47:26.64\00:47:28.86
starting to change their view.
00:47:28.89\00:47:30.23
They're starting to say
that the Old Testament had law
00:47:30.26\00:47:33.16
and grace, and the New
Testament has law and grace.
00:47:33.57\00:47:37.22
So the scholarly world is
shifting somewhat on that.
00:47:37.25\00:47:40.69
But basically, they say
that God has two mutually
00:47:41.54\00:47:44.49
exclusive plans for
Israel and the church.
00:47:44.52\00:47:47.43
And we'll have a lot
more to say about this.
00:47:47.86\00:47:49.59
They say that God
had one plan for Israel
00:47:49.62\00:47:52.19
and He has another plan
for the Christian church.
00:47:52.22\00:47:54.74
And some of them even say
that God has a heavenly destiny
00:47:56.84\00:47:59.54
for one and He has an
earthly destiny for the other.
00:47:59.57\00:48:02.17
And they say that now
God, "We're in the church age,
00:48:04.55\00:48:06.80
God is dealing with the church.
00:48:06.83\00:48:08.11
But at the rapture He's
going to take the church away
00:48:08.21\00:48:10.77
and then His plan
will kick in for the Jews.
00:48:10.80\00:48:13.05
Because God has two
mutually separate peoples."
00:48:13.92\00:48:16.57
And this is the great
counterfeit that makes it
00:48:18.31\00:48:21.23
so difficult for
people to accept Adventism.
00:48:21.26\00:48:23.71
And we're going to
have room to discuss this.
00:48:25.72\00:48:27.72
We're going to
take two whole sessions
00:48:27.75\00:48:29.30
to discuss the
schools of interpretation
00:48:29.72\00:48:31.81
and the serious implications
that are involved in accepting
00:48:31.84\00:48:35.85
any one of
these interpretations.
00:48:36.93\00:48:39.43
In Selected
Messages, volume 1, page 42,
00:48:40.53\00:48:43.22
Ellen White wrote, "When a
man feels so very wise that
00:48:44.07\00:48:47.50
he dares to dissect God's
Word, his wisdom is, with God,
00:48:47.53\00:48:52.11
counted foolishness."
00:48:52.14\00:48:53.86
In the Seventh-day
Adventist Bible Commentary,
00:48:56.26\00:48:57.98
volume 7, page 919, she
says, "Do not let any living man
00:48:58.01\00:49:02.59
come to you and begin
to dissect God's Word,
00:49:02.62\00:49:05.45
telling what is
revelation, what is inspiration,
00:49:06.11\00:49:09.59
what is not, without rebuke.
00:49:09.62\00:49:12.02
Tell all such that
they simply do not know.
00:49:12.83\00:49:15.94
They simply are not able to
comprehend the things of the
00:49:16.31\00:49:19.28
mystery of God.
00:49:19.31\00:49:20.57
What we want is
to inspire faith.
00:49:21.25\00:49:24.08
We want no one to
say, 'This I will reject,
00:49:25.32\00:49:28.42
and this will I receive,' but
we want to have implicit faith
00:49:28.45\00:49:33.50
in the Bible as a
whole and as it is."
00:49:33.70\00:49:38.95
Praise the Lord for that.
00:49:40.15\00:49:41.44
We need to take
the Bible as it reads.
00:49:42.14\00:49:44.11
And you know, even in the
Adventist church these days.
00:49:44.14\00:49:46.86
If I might just mention
for a couple of moments here
00:49:46.89\00:49:49.15
a controversial issue.
00:49:49.18\00:49:50.25
You know, the issue of roles
of men and women in the church.
00:49:51.25\00:49:54.56
You know, there are those
in our midst that are saying,
00:49:55.49\00:49:57.47
you know, you can't really
take Paul's interpretation
00:49:57.50\00:50:02.33
of Genesis as authoritative.
00:50:02.36\00:50:05.71
You know, where Genesis
very clearly has, you know,
00:50:05.74\00:50:10.51
the position that God
established originally
00:50:10.54\00:50:13.17
that man is the head and
the woman is suppose to accept
00:50:13.20\00:50:16.62
the lead of the man.
00:50:16.65\00:50:17.96
And the apostle
Paul confirms that.
00:50:18.52\00:50:20.03
The apostle Paul says,
00:50:20.06\00:50:21.17
"Listen, I do not
allow the woman to teach..."
00:50:21.20\00:50:23.87
And that's not talking about
teaching Sabbath School lessons.
00:50:23.90\00:50:25.94
That's teaching with
full ecclesiastical authority.
00:50:25.97\00:50:28.64
"...to teach or to have
authority over the men."
00:50:29.35\00:50:31.38
He says, because man was
created first and then woman.
00:50:31.41\00:50:34.22
And woman was created
for man, not man for woman.
00:50:35.04\00:50:38.46
In other words, the apostle Paul
explains what Genesis means.
00:50:39.87\00:50:44.47
But what they're saying
is, "You know, we really can't
00:50:45.05\00:50:48.29
take Paul's interpretation
of what Genesis says."
00:50:48.32\00:50:52.24
What they're doing is
they're severing Scripture.
00:50:52.97\00:50:55.61
They're pitting
Paul against Moses.
00:50:56.08\00:50:58.93
When really you have
to take Paul's assessment
00:50:59.69\00:51:04.52
and
interpretation as authoritating
00:51:04.55\00:51:07.51
as what we find in Genesis.
00:51:07.54\00:51:09.38
Because Paul was
inspired by the same Spirit
00:51:09.94\00:51:12.79
that inspired Moses.
00:51:12.89\00:51:14.85
You cannot say, "I like
this, but I don't like that."
00:51:15.32\00:51:18.43
It's either the whole
of Scripture or nothing.
00:51:19.19\00:51:22.05
Because eventually if you
start nitpicking with this text
00:51:22.52\00:51:25.00
and the other, you will
end up believing in nothing.
00:51:25.03\00:51:27.93
As has happened with
many biblical scholars.
00:51:28.46\00:51:31.18
Now, how can we find connections
between biblical texts?
00:51:32.18\00:51:37.78
Well, let's take a
couple of examples.
00:51:38.83\00:51:42.09
I have several here.
00:51:42.12\00:51:43.57
But let's take for
example the first one.
00:51:43.77\00:51:46.25
Revelation 6 and verse
17, Revelation 6 and verse 17.
00:51:46.28\00:51:53.13
And incidentally,
what's of great value here
00:51:53.23\00:51:57.51
in finding how text relate
to each other is get a good
00:51:57.62\00:52:01.45
Bible concordance and check
out the marginal references.
00:52:01.48\00:52:05.37
Get a Bible with marginal
references that have a little
00:52:05.40\00:52:08.24
letter that show you
other verses relating to the
00:52:08.27\00:52:11.02
verse that you're studying.
00:52:11.05\00:52:12.35
So notice
Revelation 6 and verse 17.
00:52:12.73\00:52:15.73
Every interesting question.
00:52:17.15\00:52:18.64
It's the culmination of
the second coming of Christ.
00:52:18.67\00:52:21.36
The previous verses
speak of the second coming.
00:52:21.39\00:52:23.80
So it says, "For the
great day of His wrath is come,
00:52:24.49\00:52:28.24
and who is able to stand?"
00:52:30.17\00:52:32.07
Interesting question.
00:52:34.73\00:52:36.47
The great day of
His wrath is come,
00:52:36.82\00:52:38.14
who shall be able to stand?
00:52:38.17\00:52:39.63
Well, if you have
a marginal reference,
00:52:39.66\00:52:41.98
or you have a concordance,
you'll find some other verses
00:52:42.56\00:52:45.53
that are very valuable
in understanding this verse
00:52:45.56\00:52:47.78
and that will tell you
who will be able to stand.
00:52:48.50\00:52:50.57
Let's go to Psalm 24.
00:52:51.60\00:52:53.68
And I hope you'll
look up all these verses.
00:52:53.92\00:52:55.94
There's a, there's a...
00:52:56.98\00:52:58.14
In every verse here
there's something to be found.
00:52:58.46\00:53:02.15
Notice Psalm 24
and verses 3 through 6.
00:53:02.35\00:53:07.09
Psalm 24 verses 3 through 6.
00:53:07.47\00:53:09.43
You see, in Revelation
chapter 6 it doesn't tell you
00:53:09.63\00:53:12.87
who's going to be able to stand
00:53:13.36\00:53:14.46
and what their
character is like.
00:53:14.49\00:53:16.06
Unless you go to the next
chapter where it speaks of the
00:53:16.85\00:53:19.06
sealing of the 144,000.
00:53:19.09\00:53:20.89
And there it doesn't even tell
you the character they have.
00:53:20.92\00:53:23.42
It simply tells you
that they're being sealed.
00:53:23.45\00:53:25.21
You have to go
to Revelation 14:1-5
00:53:25.72\00:53:27.87
to know what their
character is going to be like.
00:53:27.90\00:53:29.64
What is the character going
to be like of those who say,
00:53:30.05\00:53:32.63
"Who shall be able to stand?"
00:53:32.66\00:53:34.30
Notice chapter 24 of
Psalm verses 3 through 6.
00:53:35.03\00:53:40.67
"Who may ascend into
the hill of the Lord?
00:53:40.70\00:53:45.95
Or who may stand
in His holy place?
00:53:46.43\00:53:49.94
He who has clean
hands and a pure heart,
00:53:51.04\00:53:53.28
who has not lifted
up his soul to an idol,
00:53:54.00\00:53:56.26
nor sworn deceitfully.
00:53:56.47\00:53:58.22
He shall receive
blessing from the Lord,
00:53:58.42\00:54:00.62
and righteousness from
the God of his salvation.
00:54:01.01\00:54:04.37
This is Jacob, the generation
of those who seek Him,
00:54:04.40\00:54:08.01
who seek Your face."
00:54:08.04\00:54:09.78
It tells you
something about their character.
00:54:11.09\00:54:12.52
It asks the same question.
00:54:12.55\00:54:14.05
Notice also Isaiah 33
and verses 12 through 16.
00:54:14.77\00:54:20.34
Isaiah 33 and
verses 12 through 16.
00:54:20.37\00:54:23.74
You know who's going to
live in the midst of the flames
00:54:23.77\00:54:25.94
of hell eternally?
00:54:25.97\00:54:30.19
You know, the
churches out there, they say,
00:54:30.81\00:54:32.93
"Oh, the wicked are
going to burn in hell forever."
00:54:32.96\00:54:35.25
But the Bible teaches that it's
the righteous that are going to
00:54:35.28\00:54:37.55
live in the fires.
00:54:37.58\00:54:38.78
They've got it
the wrong way around.
00:54:41.70\00:54:43.91
"Say what, the Bible
says that the righteous
00:54:45.30\00:54:47.55
will live in the
midst of the fire?"
00:54:47.58\00:54:49.25
Incidentally, the
fire is God's glory.
00:54:49.28\00:54:51.61
You're going to
have a handout that
00:54:51.64\00:54:53.20
deals with the issue of hell.
00:54:53.23\00:54:54.32
We're going to take a
look at what the Bible
00:54:54.35\00:54:55.73
has to say about that.
00:54:55.76\00:54:56.87
But there are
multiple text that show that
00:54:57.15\00:54:59.11
the fire is God's glory.
00:54:59.14\00:55:00.86
It's so glorious that when
God's people are standing on the
00:55:03.38\00:55:06.91
sea of glass, it looks
like it's mingled with fire.
00:55:06.94\00:55:09.25
Because Ellen White
says that the glory of God
00:55:09.28\00:55:11.27
shines on the water.
00:55:11.30\00:55:13.44
Wow.
00:55:15.08\00:55:16.24
Isaiah 33 and verse 12.
00:55:17.98\00:55:20.48
"'And the people shall be
like the burnings of lime;
00:55:22.21\00:55:24.60
like thorns cut up they
shall be burned in the fire.
00:55:25.01\00:55:28.19
Hear, you who are
afar off, what I have done;
00:55:28.77\00:55:31.98
and you who are near,
acknowledge My might.'
00:55:32.01\00:55:34.55
The sinners in Zion are afraid;
00:55:34.87\00:55:37.12
fearfulness has
seized the hypocrites."
00:55:37.39\00:55:39.78
And now comes the question.
00:55:39.81\00:55:41.09
"Who among us shall
dwell with the devouring fire?"
00:55:41.39\00:55:45.47
Is that related to what
we read in Revelation 6?
00:55:45.50\00:55:48.13
Yes.
00:55:48.43\00:55:49.57
"Who among us shall dwell
with everlasting burnings?"
00:55:49.60\00:55:52.55
Now here comes
the surprising answer.
00:55:52.58\00:55:54.40
"He who walks righteously
and speaks uprightly,
00:55:54.43\00:55:59.03
he who despises the
gain of oppressions,
00:55:59.48\00:56:01.75
who gestures with his
hands, refusing bribes,
00:56:01.78\00:56:03.88
who stops his ears
from hearing of bloodshed,
00:56:03.91\00:56:07.11
and shuts his
eyes from seeing evil."
00:56:07.14\00:56:09.65
Does it tell us about
the character of those
00:56:10.48\00:56:12.74
who will be able to stand?
00:56:12.77\00:56:14.20
See, if you're
only in Revelation 6
00:56:14.23\00:56:15.96
you don't have
the whole picture.
00:56:16.06\00:56:17.56
You have to use the marginal
references or your concordance.
00:56:17.93\00:56:20.31
Look up the word,
"stand," and that will give you
00:56:20.34\00:56:24.04
several text to look up.
00:56:24.07\00:56:25.70
One more before we
bring this to an end.
00:56:25.81\00:56:28.84
Joel chapter 2 and verse 11.
00:56:28.87\00:56:31.72
The previous
verses are describing
00:56:32.14\00:56:34.30
the second coming of Christ.
00:56:34.33\00:56:35.89
And I want you to notice
the question that is asked.
00:56:36.74\00:56:39.10
Joel chapter 2 and verse 11.
00:56:39.13\00:56:42.37
After describing the
second coming, it says,
00:56:42.74\00:56:45.39
"The Lord gives
voice before His army,
00:56:45.42\00:56:48.57
for His camp is very great;
00:56:48.60\00:56:50.42
for strong is the One
who executes His word.
00:56:50.45\00:56:53.13
For the day of the Lord
is great and very terrible;
00:56:53.16\00:56:56.96
and who can endure it?"
00:56:56.99\00:56:59.60
Now if you read the following
verses, you're going to
00:57:00.38\00:57:02.15
find a description
of the Day of Atonement.
00:57:02.18\00:57:04.20
You're going to find
what preparation is necessary
00:57:06.42\00:57:09.07
to be able to stand.
00:57:09.10\00:57:10.36
In verse 12 through
verse 17 it speaks about the
00:57:11.39\00:57:15.76
Day of Atonement;
fasting afflicting the soul,
00:57:15.79\00:57:18.78
gathering around the
Sanctuary so to speak,
00:57:19.05\00:57:22.46
so that you can be able
to stand in the last day.
00:57:23.64\00:57:25.92
So does it help us to
go to a concordance and
00:57:25.95\00:57:29.50
marginal references
and look up all of these
00:57:29.53\00:57:32.90
additional passages?
00:57:32.93\00:57:34.20
Does it help us understand
Revelation 6 verse 17?
00:57:34.23\00:57:36.74
It most certainly does.
00:57:37.09\00:57:38.37
The Bible is
its own interpreter.
00:57:38.40\00:57:42.06
The Holy Spirit
placed everything we need
00:57:42.09\00:57:44.12
to understand
every single verse.
00:57:44.23\00:57:46.20