536 The Great Disappointment
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[BREATH OF LIFE THEME Music]
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PB:  Matthew, chapter
24 and verse number 36.
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If you have it, let
me hear you say amen.
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Come on, if you have it,
let me hear you say amen.
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All right, the Word of God says,
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"But of that day
and hour knoweth no man,
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no, not the angels of
heaven, but my Father"-
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-what everybody?    Aud.:  Only.
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PB:  But as the
days of Noah were,
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so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be.
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For as in the days
that were before the
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flood they were
eating and"--what, everybody?
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Aud.:  Drinking.    PB: 
Come on, eating and what?
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Aud.:  Drinking.    PB:
"Marrying and giving in"--what?
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Aud.:  Marriage.    PB:
 "Until the day that Noah
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entered into the ark, and
knew not until the flood came,
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and took them all away;
so shall also the coming
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of the Son of man be."
Go down to verse number 42,
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"Watch therefore: for
ye know not what hour your
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Lord doth come." Verse
44: "Therefore be ye also"-
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-what, everybody?   Aud.: Ready.
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PB:  Come on, "Be ye
also" what? Aud.:  Ready.
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PB:  "For in such
an hour as ye think not
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the Son of man
cometh." Today we challenge you
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on the subject, "The
Great Disappointment."
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Father, bless us now as we
worship You through Your Word.
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Hide us behind Your
cross. Forgive us of our sins.
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Speak to Your people
this day, we pray. And God,
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we give you now all
the glory, all the honor,
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all the praise. It
belongs to You. Not to
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me but to You. It's in
Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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Have you ever been
disappointed? Anybody?
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Ever been
disappointed.    [Aud. reaction]
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PB:  I mean, really,
really, disappointed.
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All right,
you're not feeling it,
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maybe not feeling
so let me try this way.
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You applied for a job,
but you didn't get the job.
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You studied, and you
didn't study on the Sabbath,
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and somebody who
studied on the Sabbath,
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they passed the
test. But you didn't study
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on the Sabbath, but
you didn't pass the test.
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[Aud. reaction]    PB: 
You tried out for the team,
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but you didn't make the
team. You confided in a friend,
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but they told your
business. You went out on a limb
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for a family member, but a
family member let you down.
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Call the roll today, go
down the list, all of us at
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some point have been
disappointed. But I'm learning,
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you've got to get to the
point where you say I'm not
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even going to get mad
anymore. I'm just going to
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learn to expect the
lowest out of the people
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I thought the
highest of.   I don't know if
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you realize it, but
172 years ago to this date
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the greatest
disappointment in Earth's
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history occurred.
Now, we come to the search,
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we go to this
institution, we watch by
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television, but I
don't really know if we
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know what really
transpired on October 22.
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It wasn't
individual disappointment,
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it was collective
disappointment, affecting
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thousands of people.
This date is probably
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one of the most important
dates in our church's history.
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A gentleman by the
name of William Miller,
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a farmer turned
Baptist preacher, coming from
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upstate New York,
predicted that Jesus would
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return on October
22, 1844. William Miller
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studied Daniel
chapter 8, verse number 14:
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"After 2300 days,
then shall the sanctuary
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be cleansed." He
became convinced that the
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cleansing of the
sanctuary meant the cleansing
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of the Earth. It
meant the cleansing of the
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Earth by fire at
Christ's Second Coming instead
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of the cleansing of
the sanctuary in heaven.
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Applying the prophetic
"one day for one year" rule,
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as recorded in
Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6,
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Miller became convinced
that the 2300-day period
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started in 457 B.C.
with Artaxerxes of Persia's
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rule and his decree to
rebuild Jerusalem's walls,
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and it would end 2300
years later with the coming
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of Jesus Christ. Just as
the time of Christ's first
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coming had been
foretold in Daniel 9, Miller
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believed that Christ's
Second Coming had been foretold
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in the 2300-day prophecy
of Daniel 8. Miller preached
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with passion across
the United States, "Repent,
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for the hour is at
hand. Jesus is soon to come.
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Quit playing church.
Get your house in order."
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Miller's popularity and
his methods grew like wildfire.
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So great was the
people's desire in major cities
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at the time--Bostin,
New York, Philadelphia,
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Baltimore, Washington--so
great was their desire
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to hear him that they
couldn't find auditoriums
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large enough to
accommodate the crowds.
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Each of his followers
were known as "Millerite."
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Everybody say
"Millerites." Aud.:  Millerites.
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PB:  And they were
challenged to win at least
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one soul for Jesus
Christ during the last year
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of Earth's history,
because Jesus was soon to come.
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Because the Jewish
year began in the spring
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rather than in January--listen
to me now--Miller
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believed that Jesus
would come sometime after
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the spring began in
1843, exactly 2300 years
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from 457 B.C.   So
then, Christ was supposed
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to come between March
21, 1843, and March 21, 1844.
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But Jesus didn't come. So
Miller and his associates,
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they went back to work,
did some more calculations,
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and discovered that
they had believed they had
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the right event but
they had the wrong date.
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That new date was
October 22, 1844. Why this date?
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Another Millerite preacher
by the name of Samuel Snow
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was convinced that
Jesus would return at the time
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of the Jewish Day of
Atonement, which according to
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Old Testament Scripture
was on the 10th day in the
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seventh month of the
year. Because they believed that
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mid-March was when the
Jewish year began and April
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was the first full
month of the Jewish year,
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they counted down
seven months and 10 days,
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and when using the
calendar of the Karaite Jews,
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they determined this
date to be October 22, 1844.
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This seventh-month
message spread with rapidity
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unparalleled in
Miller's earlier experience
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among the people. Just
before October 22, 1844,
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Advent believers
believed and were convinced that
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Jesus was coming and the
Earth would come to an end.
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Notice, it was Advent
believers, not necessarily
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Seventh-day Adventists.
 Crops were unharvested,
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potatoes undug, shops
closed, people quit their jobs.
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Nothing was more
important to the people than
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the fact that Jesus
was coming in a few days.
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People needed to be
warned, sins confessed,
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debts repaid, wrongs made right.
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Millerite churches
and meeting places hosted
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almost continuous
religious services.
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In many parts of
the United States,
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on the morning of
October 22, 1844, Advent groups
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and believers were
gathered in homes or meeting
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houses to wait on the
final hours of Earth's history,
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perhaps as many as
100,000 people, back in 1844,
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waiting in expectation
that Jesus would soon appear.
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Some were on mountaintops,
hoping for a head start into
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heaven. Some were in graveyards,
planning to ascend to heaven
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with their departed
loved ones. Some ladies of high
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society clustered
together outside of Philadelphia
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to avoid entering God's holy
kingdom among common animals.
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Some people dressed
in white robes, hoping to
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rise into heaven.
But Jesus didn't come.
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Jesus didn't crack the
sky. Jesus didn't appear.
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The people were crushed.
The people were devastated.
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The people were saddened.
The people were frustrated.
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The people were
disappointed. This was the
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Great Disappointment.
But what they didn't
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realize was that this
time they had the right date,
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but the wrong event.
Jesus wasn't coming to
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cleanse the Earth. Jesus
wasn't coming back to the Earth.
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Jesus wasn't moving
from heaven to Earth,
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but Jesus was moving
from the Holy Place in
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heaven to the Most
Holy Place in heaven,
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typical of the
movement of the Old Testament,
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high priests in
the earthly sanctuary,
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where He moved from
the Holy Place to the
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Most Holy Place on
the Day of Atonement.
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Jesus, our High
Priest; Jesus, who's seated
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at the right hand of
the Father, according to
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Hebrews 9, moved
from the Holy Place in the
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heavenly sanctuary
to the Most Holy Place
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in the sanctuary,
where He is right now.
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This is important,
and I had to preach this
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today because I'm
discovering in my travels
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that young people and
older people alike don't
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know the distinct
message of the Adventist church.
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It is not the
Sabbath. There are other people
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who are not of our
faith who keep the Sabbath.
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It is not what we put
in our bodies; it is not
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the state of the dead.
The distinct message of
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the Seventh-day
Adventist Church is the doctrine
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of the sanctuary,
and we don't know it.
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[Aud. reaction]   
PB:  So Jesus is in the
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Most Holy Place. What
is He doing right now?
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He's engaged in the
investigative judgment,
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where He's reviewing
the book of us right now,
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looking over your
name, looking over my name,
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looking over our
names. Why is this important?
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This is important
because it's for the benefit
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of the angels. Remember,
Satan deceived one-third
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of the angels into thinking
that God was a hard God,
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that God was not a
kind God, that God was a
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straitjacket God. So during
the investigative judgment,
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Jesus and the angelic host
are looking over our names,
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seeing in essence who's been
naughty and who's been nice.
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But understand,
there are three judgments:
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the investigative
right now, then when we get
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to heaven there will
be a millennial or white
00:12:07.79\00:12:09.82
throne judgment. It
will be for the benefit of
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the righteous, because
the righteous will be able
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to look over the books
and see how everybody got
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their just reward. At
the end of the 1,000 years
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when the wicked are
resurrected, there will be
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a third judgment, the
postmillennial judgment,
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where the wicked will be
able to look at the books
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and they too will see
why they're getting their
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just reward, because
everybody will see that God
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was a just God,
that God was a fair God,
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that God was a
loving God, that God was not
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willing that any should
perish but that all should
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come to repentance,
because in that great day at
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the end of the 1,000
years, the prophecy must come
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to pass that a day must
come where every knee shall bow,
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every tongue must confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord.
00:12:47.86\00:12:53.00
[Aud. reaction]   PB:  But
the good news, friends of mine
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is this: Jesus, my High
Priest, Jesus is seated at the
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right hand of the Father.
Jesus right now is in the
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Most Holy Place in
the heavenly sanctuary.
00:13:05.28\00:13:07.65
Jesus is my intercessor.
Jesus is my mediator.
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Jesus is my
go-between. Jesus speaks for me
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when I can't speak
for myself. Jesus is
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pleading my case
before the Father.
00:13:21.63\00:13:23.97
[Aud. reaction]   PB: 
Go with me to the courtroom
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of heaven, because the
Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5
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that we all must appear
before the judgment seat of God.
00:13:30.17\00:13:35.48
Go with me to heaven's
courtroom. If you will,
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I am the defendant.
Understand that Satan is
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the prosecuting
attorney. Understand that
00:13:44.32\00:13:47.29
Jesus is my defense
attorney. But also understand
00:13:47.32\00:13:52.66
that my God, the
Father, is the judge that sits
00:13:52.69\00:13:56.40
on the throne. I
don't believe I've got some
00:13:56.43\00:13:58.77
witnesses in here. The
good news is the fight is fixed,
00:13:58.80\00:14:02.47
because the same God
that pleads my case is the
00:14:02.50\00:14:06.01
same God and judge that
sits, that will decide my case.
00:14:06.04\00:14:10.38
[Aud. reaction]    PB:  Satan
says Carlton Byrd is a liar.
00:14:10.41\00:14:14.28
Carlton Byrd is a
cheat. Carlton Byrd is this,
00:14:14.32\00:14:18.32
Carlton Byrd is that. I
rest my case. But the Father
00:14:18.35\00:14:23.99
looks down and He
asks the defendant to rise.
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Me and Jesus, my
defense attorney, stand up.
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[Aud. reaction]  
PB:  God the Father says,
00:14:32.20\00:14:34.74
Carlton Byrd, how
do you plead? Well,
00:14:34.77\00:14:38.44
I can't plead not
guilty, because everything
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Satan is saying is
the truth. I can't plead
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I'm innocent, because
if I'm found innocent,
00:14:46.98\00:14:49.98
I'm not telling the
truth, and if I plead guilty,
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I'm going to have
eternal damnation. I don't
00:14:53.69\00:14:57.66
know what to say.
Satan says, come on,
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Mr. Judge, we need
to hear how he pleads.
00:15:01.03\00:15:04.43
God says again,
Carlton Byrd, how do you plead?
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I'm shaking. I'm
nervous. My feet are moving.
00:15:08.37\00:15:12.14
I don't know how to
plead. I can't plead innocent.
00:15:12.17\00:15:15.04
I can't plead guilty.
I can't plead not guilty.
00:15:15.08\00:15:18.01
Carlton Byrd, how do you plead?
00:15:18.05\00:15:22.25
All of a sudden, my
attorney-- [Aud. reaction]
00:15:22.28\00:15:25.25
PB:  My Jesus, He leans
over and He whispers to me,
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Byrd, plead the
blood.   [Aud. reaction]
00:15:31.33\00:15:35.30
PB:  Byrd, plead
what can wash away my sin?
00:15:35.33\00:15:40.14
Nothing but the blood
of Jesus! [Aud. reaction]
00:15:40.17\00:15:44.44
PB:  What can
make me whole again?
00:15:44.47\00:15:46.44
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
00:15:46.47\00:15:48.78
Miller had the right
date, but the wrong event.
00:15:48.81\00:15:56.55
But Miller wasn't
the only one who has
00:15:56.58\00:16:00.26
had the wrong event.
If we call history today,
00:16:00.29\00:16:04.69
history says that
in 236 a church leader
00:16:04.73\00:16:07.23
named Hippolytus
predicted that Christ was
00:16:07.23\00:16:09.43
sure to return by 500
A.D., but Jesus didn't come.
00:16:09.46\00:16:13.34
The year surrounding
1000 A.D. there were still
00:16:13.37\00:16:15.67
predictions of Christ's
coming, but Jesus didn't come.
00:16:15.70\00:16:18.41
In the 1500s, the
great Reformer Martin Luther
00:16:18.44\00:16:21.04
said we have reached
the time of the right
00:16:21.08\00:16:23.18
force of the
apocalypse. This world will not
00:16:23.21\00:16:26.18
last any longer
than another 100 years,
00:16:26.21\00:16:28.85
but Jesus didn't
come. A little well-known
00:16:28.88\00:16:32.22
fact is the fact that
Christopher Columbus was
00:16:32.25\00:16:34.72
a student of Bible
prophecy. He wrote a volume
00:16:34.76\00:16:37.29
called "The Book of
Prophecies" in which he
00:16:37.33\00:16:39.09
predicted that the
world would end in 1556.
00:16:39.13\00:16:42.43
But Jesus didn't come.
The year of 1666 saw an
00:16:42.46\00:16:46.17
explosion in end
times speculation.
00:16:46.20\00:16:48.60
One pastor wrote in his journal,
00:16:48.64\00:16:50.17
"Every time a
storm has hit this year,
00:16:50.21\00:16:51.87
the church was full of
people waiting for Jesus."
00:16:51.91\00:16:54.64
But Jesus didn't
come.   In 1936--some of the
00:16:54.68\00:16:57.65
older folk may remember
this name--Herbert Armstrong.
00:16:57.68\00:17:00.75
He was founder of the
Worldwide Church of God.
00:17:00.78\00:17:03.02
He told his members
that the Second Coming of
00:17:03.05\00:17:04.59
Jesus was to take place
in 1936 and that they only
00:17:04.62\00:17:07.92
would be saved. They should
have known that was not true,
00:17:07.96\00:17:11.53
because the Bible says
John looked down and saw a
00:17:11.56\00:17:14.36
number that no man
can number. So even as an
00:17:14.40\00:17:19.20
Adventist Christian,
don't you get the big head
00:17:19.23\00:17:21.47
and think you're going to
be the only one in heaven.
00:17:21.50\00:17:23.10
I wish I had a witness in
this place.   [Aud. reaction]
00:17:23.14\00:17:25.07
PB:  After this
prophecy failed in 1936,
00:17:25.11\00:17:27.51
Armstrong changed the
date three more times:
00:17:27.54\00:17:30.91
1943, 1972, 1975.
But Jesus didn't come.
00:17:30.95\00:17:37.79
In May 1980, a
tele-evangelist, Christian
00:17:37.82\00:17:40.92
Coalition founder
Pat Robertson, startled
00:17:40.96\00:17:44.09
and alarmed many
when he informed his
00:17:44.13\00:17:46.09
700 Club viewership
that he knew when the
00:17:46.13\00:17:49.23
world would end. He
said, "I guarantee you,
00:17:49.26\00:17:52.07
by the end of 1982
that there is going to
00:17:52.10\00:17:56.34
be judgment on the
world." But Jesus didn't come.
00:17:56.37\00:18:01.24
January 1, 2000, drew near.
The beginning of a new year,
00:18:01.28\00:18:07.42
a new decade, a new
millennium. Many people grew
00:18:07.45\00:18:11.75
concerned that computers
might bring about doomsday.
00:18:11.79\00:18:15.96
The perceived problem
was that many computers
00:18:15.99\00:18:18.69
would not be able to
tell the difference between
00:18:18.73\00:18:20.33
the year 2000 and the
year 1900. No one was really
00:18:20.36\00:18:22.96
sure what to do, but
many suggested catastrophic
00:18:23.00\00:18:25.43
problems ranging from
blackouts to nuclear holocaust.
00:18:25.47\00:18:29.40
Gun sales jumped. Survivalists
prepared to live in bunkers.
00:18:29.44\00:18:35.24
My wife and I even bought,
we even bought something-
00:18:35.28\00:18:40.95
-not thinking the Lord was going
to come--but my wife and I,
00:18:40.98\00:18:43.95
we bought a gas heater,
because we said in January,
00:18:43.99\00:18:47.12
if something goes
wrong, we can't be cold.
00:18:47.16\00:18:48.92
Do I have a
witness in this place?
00:18:48.96\00:18:51.96
[Aud. reaction]    PB:
 But Jesus didn't come.
00:18:51.99\00:18:56.40
A preacher by the name
of Harold Camping predicted
00:18:56.43\00:19:01.50
that Jesus would
come on September 6, 1994.
00:19:01.54\00:19:05.44
When Jesus didn't
come, he revised the date
00:19:05.47\00:19:09.74
to September 29th
and then to October 2nd,
00:19:09.78\00:19:13.35
but Jesus still
didn't come. Camping then
00:19:13.38\00:19:18.02
predicted that on March
31, 1995, Jesus would come.
00:19:18.05\00:19:23.16
But Jesus still
didn't come. Camping's final
00:19:23.19\00:19:27.46
prediction was that a
devastating earthquake
00:19:27.50\00:19:30.53
would occur on May
21, 2011, with God taking
00:19:30.57\00:19:34.87
approximately 3 percent
of the world's population
00:19:34.90\00:19:38.34
into heaven and that
the end of the world would
00:19:38.37\00:19:40.98
occur five months
later, on October 21, 2011
00:19:41.01\00:19:44.21
When his original prediction
failed to come to pass,
00:19:44.25\00:19:47.32
Camping revised his
prediction and said that on
00:19:47.35\00:19:49.75
May 21, a spiritual
judgment took place,
00:19:49.78\00:19:53.49
and that both the
physical rapture and the end
00:19:53.52\00:19:56.86
of the world would
occur on October 21, 2011.
00:19:56.89\00:20:00.10
But nothing happened.
Jesus still had not come.
00:20:00.13\00:20:06.80
But all of these people
had one thing in common:
00:20:06.84\00:20:11.31
They all had the same
problem. Even though they
00:20:11.34\00:20:16.91
were preachers, even
though they were Bible scholars,
00:20:16.95\00:20:20.92
even though they were
professors, even though they
00:20:20.95\00:20:24.42
had read the Bible, they
must have missed the text
00:20:24.45\00:20:29.99
that we read today,
that no man knows the day
00:20:30.03\00:20:36.60
nor the hour, not
even the angels of heaven
00:20:36.63\00:20:41.14
but My Father only.   So
if someone is walking around
00:20:41.17\00:20:45.94
Huntsville, New
York, Atlanta, London,
00:20:45.97\00:20:48.01
wherever you might
be, talking about Jesus
00:20:48.04\00:20:50.48
is coming on January
1, 2017, we know that's
00:20:50.51\00:20:54.62
a lie from the pits
of hell. Because Jesus
00:20:54.65\00:20:58.29
said no man knows
the day nor the hour but
00:20:58.32\00:21:01.22
My Father only. So
then, what was Jesus
00:21:01.26\00:21:03.73
trying to tell us
in the text? What He's
00:21:03.76\00:21:06.63
trying to tell
us is simply this:
00:21:06.66\00:21:08.33
Just be ready at all
times. [Aud. reaction]
00:21:08.36\00:21:12.00
Now yes, at other
times Jesus says to
00:21:12.03\00:21:15.10
watch for the signs,
earlier in Matthew 24.
00:21:15.14\00:21:17.81
But not so that we
can put off being ready,
00:21:17.84\00:21:20.78
but so that we will ever
be expectant of His return.
00:21:20.81\00:21:25.41
So today, October 22,
commemorating the Great
00:21:25.45\00:21:30.15
Disappointment, I'm not going to
tell you a date. I'm not going
00:21:30.19\00:21:35.29
to give you a precise
date of when He's coming.
00:21:35.32\00:21:38.96
I'm just here to
let you know that
00:21:38.99\00:21:41.30
Jesus is coming
soon, and we've got to be
00:21:41.33\00:21:45.80
ready at all
times. It's in our name.
00:21:45.83\00:21:49.87
We are Seventh-day Adventists.
00:21:49.90\00:21:53.27
We are looking
forward to the Second Advent,
00:21:53.31\00:21:56.41
the Second Coming of
Jesus Christ. We worship
00:21:56.44\00:22:00.35
God on God's
Sabbath, the seventh day,
00:22:00.38\00:22:02.95
Because we love God.
So because I love God,
00:22:02.98\00:22:06.82
I'm a seventh-day, keeping a
seventh-day Sabbath Adventist,
00:22:06.86\00:22:10.26
looking for the Second Advent or
00:22:10.29\00:22:11.99
Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
We've stopped preaching it.
00:22:12.03\00:22:15.50
We've stopped teaching
it. That's why we're here.
00:22:15.53\00:22:21.27
Jesus is soon to
come. The signs tell it.
00:22:21.30\00:22:26.21
[Aud. reaction]    PB:  Wars
and rumors of wars, earthquakes,
00:22:26.24\00:22:31.78
hurricanes, pestilence in
diverse places. In the text,
00:22:31.81\00:22:38.45
Jesus then compares His
coming to Noah and the Flood.
00:22:38.49\00:22:43.46
But as the days of
Noah were, so shall also the
00:22:43.49\00:22:47.40
coming of the Son of
man be, for as in the days
00:22:47.40\00:22:49.86
before the flood they were
eating and what, everybody?
00:22:49.90\00:22:51.70
Aud.:  Marrying.   PB:  And
marrying and giving in what,
00:22:51.73\00:22:53.90
everybody? Aud.:  Marriage. 
 PB:  Until the day that Noah
00:22:53.94\00:22:55.70
entered the what? And knew not
until the flood came and took
00:22:55.74\00:22:58.07
them away. So shall the
coming of the Son of man be.
00:22:58.11\00:23:01.21
Just like it was in Noah's day.
00:23:01.24\00:23:03.75
That's just like it is today.
People eating and drinking,
00:23:03.78\00:23:10.95
eating any and
everything they want,
00:23:10.99\00:23:14.92
drinking any and
everything they want.
00:23:14.96\00:23:18.49
Marrying and giving in marriage.
00:23:18.53\00:23:22.06
Some people change
marriage partners like
00:23:22.10\00:23:24.23
they do magazine
subscriptions. Marrying and
00:23:24.27\00:23:29.00
giving in marriage.
Noah preached 120 years.
00:23:29.04\00:23:33.98
Only eight
people got in the boat.
00:23:34.01\00:23:37.78
If only eight people are
going to get in the boat,
00:23:37.81\00:23:40.18
Noah just could
have had family worship.
00:23:40.22\00:23:42.15
You all don't
hear what I'm saying.
00:23:42.18\00:23:43.89
[Aud. reaction]  PB:  But only
eight people got in the boat.
00:23:43.92\00:23:47.32
Now, did Noah believe
the flood was imminent?
00:23:47.36\00:23:51.59
Did Noah believe the
rains would come at any moment?
00:23:51.63\00:23:56.10
Yes, that's why he spent every
waking moment building a boat.
00:23:56.13\00:24:01.77
But did anybody else
think the flood was coming?
00:24:01.80\00:24:04.41
Did they believe God?
No, they were partying.
00:24:04.44\00:24:09.14
They spent their time
with scoffers and with
00:24:09.18\00:24:11.58
people who mocked
Noah, and because they
00:24:11.61\00:24:13.85
didn't think God
would do what He promised-
00:24:13.88\00:24:15.92
-listen to
me--because they didn't think
00:24:15.95\00:24:18.25
God would do what He promised,
00:24:18.29\00:24:19.79
their bad theology
led them to bad behavior.
00:24:19.82\00:24:23.76
[Aud. reaction]  
PB:  When judgment came,
00:24:23.79\00:24:26.39
they perished.
They lost everything.
00:24:26.43\00:24:31.77
Oh, but Noah, Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord.
00:24:31.80\00:24:38.57
Noah believed God.
Noah knew God was coming
00:24:38.61\00:24:43.78
down in judgment, so Noah
did what God told him to do.
00:24:43.81\00:24:47.72
He built a boat. Noah preached
to anybody who would listen.
00:24:47.75\00:24:52.95
That's why I can't worry
about big crowds anymore.
00:24:52.99\00:24:55.46
When I go do revivals across
the country and the world,
00:24:55.49\00:24:57.73
I can't worry about big
crowds. God said in His Word,
00:24:57.76\00:25:00.36
wherever there are two or
three gathered in My name,
00:25:00.40\00:25:02.53
I shall be in the
midst. Noah preached to anybody
00:25:02.56\00:25:07.34
who would listen. He
worked to make sure his
00:25:07.37\00:25:10.87
family went in with
him.  But we need to realize
00:25:10.91\00:25:13.31
that Noah didn't do what
he did because he was afraid.
00:25:13.34\00:25:17.38
The ark--listen to
me--was not a work of fear.
00:25:17.41\00:25:22.22
The ark was a labor of love.
Noah was driven by a promise.
00:25:22.25\00:25:29.96
The promise was Noah, if
you do what I tell you to do,
00:25:29.99\00:25:34.60
you will be saved. And
because Noah believed in God's
00:25:34.63\00:25:39.97
promise and did what God told
him to do, when judgment came,
00:25:40.00\00:25:45.51
Noah was going to be safe.
Noah was saved because Noah did
00:25:45.54\00:25:51.75
what God told him to do. But
God--listen to me good, church,
00:25:51.78\00:25:56.28
'cause you got to say amen,
but you've got to say aha--Noah,
00:25:56.32\00:25:59.69
God didn't need a boat
to save Noah and his family.
00:25:59.72\00:26:04.33
God didn't need a boat.
It wasn't the boat that saved
00:26:04.36\00:26:10.07
Noah and his family. It was
God. He's CEO of the universe.
00:26:10.10\00:26:18.17
You didn't vote Him in
and you can't vote Him out!
00:26:18.21\00:26:22.34
Once they stepped in the
boat, God closed the door
00:26:22.38\00:26:27.98
and God watched over
them. It was because Noah
00:26:28.02\00:26:32.49
did what God asked.
Noah had access to the
00:26:32.52\00:26:38.79
promise of salvation. As
it was in the days of Noah,
00:26:38.83\00:26:43.63
so shall it also be in
the coming of the Son of man.
00:26:43.67\00:26:47.94
And just like Noah,
I'm driven by a promise.
00:26:47.97\00:26:54.28
You are driven by a promise.
We're driven by a promise.
00:26:54.31\00:27:01.75
God is not a man that He
should lie nor the Son of man
00:27:01.78\00:27:08.06
that He should repent. We
should be driven by a promise.
00:27:08.09\00:27:13.23
The grass withereth, the
flower fadeth, but the word
00:27:13.26\00:27:17.87
of our God shall stand forever.
I'm driven by a promise.
00:27:17.90\00:27:24.11
Let not your heart be
troubled. Ye believe in God,
00:27:24.14\00:27:28.04
believe also in me. In my
Father's house are many what?
00:27:28.08\00:27:32.01
Mansions. If it were not
so I would have told you.
00:27:32.05\00:27:34.48
I go and prepare a
place for you, and if I go and
00:27:34.52\00:27:36.82
prepare a place for you I
will come again and receive
00:27:36.85\00:27:39.12
you unto myself, that where
I am there ye may be--what,
00:27:39.15\00:27:42.32
everybody? Aud.:  Also.  
PB:  I'm driven by a promise.
00:27:42.36\00:27:44.83
For the Lord himself shall
ascend from heaven with a shout,
00:27:44.86\00:27:48.70
with a voice of the
archangel and the trump of God,
00:27:48.73\00:27:51.80
and the dead in Christ
shall rise first. Then we which
00:27:51.83\00:27:55.60
are alive and remain
shall be called up together with
00:27:55.64\00:27:57.67
them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air,
00:27:57.71\00:28:00.14
and so shall we ever be with the
Lord. I'm driven by a promise.
00:28:00.18\00:28:05.98
Behold, I show you a
mystery, that one day we shall
00:28:06.01\00:28:10.19
not all sleep but we
shall be changed. In a moment,
00:28:10.22\00:28:14.99
in the twinkling of
an eye, at the last --
00:28:15.02\00:28:17.03
>:  Thank you for
joining us for another exciting
00:28:17.06\00:28:18.29
Breath of Life
television broadcast.
00:28:18.33\00:28:20.90
Tune in next
week at the same time,
00:28:20.93\00:28:22.83
as Dr. Byrd will
deliver another dynamic message
00:28:22.86\00:28:25.70
from the Lord, just for you.
00:28:25.73\00:28:27.80
Until next time,
may God bless you.
00:28:27.84\00:28:30.14
END
00:28:30.17\00:28:45.19