Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: BOT
Program Code: BOT000009
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00:30 Well, I can hardly believe that we are at lecture number nine
00:35 in the series, The Bible Or Tradition. 00:38 Once again, I want to thank you all for coming out 00:41 for lecture number nine, which is titled, The Acid Test. 00:45 Before we study the Word of God, we want to pray, 00:48 to ask for the Lord's presence. 00:50 So I invite you to bow your heads with me as we ask 00:53 God to be with us. 00:54 Father in heaven, we thank You so much for Your Holy Word. 01:00 We realize that it would be a terrible thing to live in this 01:03 world without any divine guidance. 01:06 We wouldn't be able to explain or understand 01:09 anything that's happening. 01:10 We thank You that in Your Word you have shown us clearly 01:15 what is happening, and what will soon 01:17 take place in this world. 01:18 We thank You for Your Word, which is a sure guide, 01:22 and we ask that as we study that Word this evening, 01:25 that Your Holy Spirit will be present with us to help us 01:28 understand that which You have for us. 01:31 And we thank You for hearing our prayer, for we ask it in 01:34 Jesus' name, Amen. 01:36 In December of 2010 I held a series of meetings 01:44 in Karlsruhe, Germany. 01:48 About ten years earlier, I had held a series of meetings 01:53 in the same city, actually in the same church. 01:56 And unbeknownst to me, a non-Adventist, who attended the 02:03 first series of meetings, also attended the second series 02:07 of meetings as well. 02:09 During the second series of meetings, on a Wednesday 02:12 evening, the meetings started on a Sunday night, 02:15 he came up to me and he pointed at a handbill and he said, 02:22 When are you going to talk about this topic? 02:25 And he pointed to a section in the handbill that said, 02:29 What happens when a person dies? 02:31 Now it just so happens that the pastor of the church had placed 02:36 in that handbill that I was going to speak about 02:40 the state of the dead. 02:42 But I did not give him that topic, and so he simply put it 02:46 in there to attract the attention of the general public. 02:49 And so I told this gentleman that I was not going to speak 02:54 on that specific subject, but that if he wished, 02:57 I would be glad to come to his house and explain to him 03:02 what happens when a person dies. 03:04 And so we set up an appointment for two days later. 03:09 And in the privacy of his home the pastor and I met this 03:14 gentleman at the kitchen table. 03:17 Now as we got acquainted, he shared with us that his wife 03:23 had been a Jehovah's Witness for many, many years. 03:27 And he had been attending the Kingdom Hall of the 03:31 Jehovah's Witnesses with her for those many years. 03:34 But he had never actually become a member of the Kingdom Hall 03:38 of the Jehovah's Witnesses. 03:40 At some point he told us that he and his wife had a falling out 03:46 with one of the elders of the church of the Kingdom Hall, 03:50 and so they quit attending church. 03:53 Now it's very important for us to realize, as I continue 03:58 telling this story, that the Jehovah's Witnesses believe 04:02 very similar to Seventh-day Adventists when it comes 04:04 to the state of the dead. 04:05 The Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the dead know not anything 04:10 until the resurrection. 04:11 In other words, they believe on the state of the dead 04:14 just like Seventh-day Adventists do. 04:16 And so as we talked there at his table, he was telling us 04:22 the story about what had happened to his wife. 04:25 It just so happens that five months before we arrived 04:28 at his house, his wife had passed away after a 04:33 devastating bout with cancer. 04:35 They had been married for a period of twenty-two years, 04:39 and he was disconsolate. 04:41 In fact, as we sat there at the kitchen table, 04:44 he cried his eyes out, because he missed her so much. 04:49 Now as we sat there at the kitchen table, this gentleman 04:54 told us that after his devastating loss of his wife 04:58 five months earlier, he had searched for literature to help 05:03 him with his grief that he was suffering. 05:06 And through the recommendation of a friend, he came across 05:10 the publications of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, 05:15 a Swiss Psychiatrist, world renowned in her time. 05:20 Now Kubler-Ross's extensive work with the terminally ill 05:26 had led her to write a very famous book, 05:29 and that book is called, On Death and Dying, 05:32 which was published in the year 1969. 05:35 In this work she spoke about five stages of grief 05:40 that the terminally ill go through. 05:42 And those five stages are: denial, anger, bargaining, 05:47 depression, and finally acceptance. 05:50 And she showed that most everybody goes through 05:53 these five stages, not necessarily everyone in the 05:57 same order, but everybody experiences, in one sense or 06:01 another these stages. 06:04 Now I remember that I had the privilege of listening to 06:08 Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1972, speak at a nursing symposium 06:14 at Andrews University, where I was going to school at the time. 06:18 Now in the late 1970's Kubler-Ross became interested 06:23 in out-of-body experiences, and spiritualism. 06:27 In fact, she began experimenting with the possibility 06:32 of communicating with the dead. 06:34 She came to believe that reincarnation is compatible 06:39 with Christian doctrine. 06:41 Now as we spoke with this 72 year old gentleman, he described 06:47 how Kubler-Ross's works had become a great comfort to him 06:52 in his time of grief. 06:53 He told us that he now believed that when a person died 06:57 they would go through a dark tunnel. 06:59 And after going through the dark tunnel, they would come out 07:02 on the other side in a glorious realm of light, where everything 07:07 was peace, and everything was love. 07:10 He also told us that his dead wife had appeared to his friend. 07:15 And, according to the friend, she had the same appearance, 07:19 and spoke in the same voice, and relayed a message to him 07:24 that she was in a better place, and she was enjoying the bliss 07:29 of heaven. Now what was our response? 07:32 We knew that we had our work cut out for us. 07:36 And so I formulated a question to this gentleman. 07:42 I said, More than anything, I assume that you would want 07:46 to know that your wife is doing well, 07:49 and that she's in a better place. 07:51 Is that true? He says, Of course, that's true! 07:54 Then we showed him, in the Bible, how God had said 08:00 to Adam and Eve, that if they ate from the tree 08:02 they would surely die, and how the devil had said that if they 08:06 ate from the tree they would not surely die, 08:09 but that they would live forever. 08:11 We also shared with him the story of the witch of Endor 08:15 to show Biblically that the devil can disguise himself 08:20 as departed individuals to try and deceive those who are alive. 08:25 And we read 2 Corinthians 11, where it says that the devil 08:29 disguises himself even as an angel of light. 08:34 And then I personally presented to him a hypothetical case. 08:38 I said, What if your wife suddenly appeared in 08:42 that doorway over there? 08:44 Lets suppose that she speaks with the same voice, 08:47 she looks the same, and she remembers details of the 08:52 times that you spent together, and she tells you that she 08:56 misses you, but that she's in a better place. 08:59 Would you believe that this is your wife because you 09:03 desperately miss her, and you would like to be with her? 09:07 Would you follow the testimony of your eyes, and your ears, 09:12 and your heart, and your feelings, and believe that that 09:14 is your wife because she appears to be identical to what she was 09:19 during the time that she was alive? 09:22 This would be a most trying experience. 09:25 Your eyes, your heart, your mind, your feelings, 09:31 all tell you that this is your wife. 09:34 Would you have the courage to look at that being 09:39 that is appearing before you, and to say, My heart says that 09:43 you're my wife. My eyes tell me you're my wife. 09:46 My ears tell me you're my wife. 09:48 My feelings tell me that you are my wife. 09:51 But the Bible says, The living know that they will die, 09:55 but the dead know nothing. 09:57 Would you be willing to go by what the Bible says, 10:01 rather than following the testimony of your senses, 10:04 and your emotions, and your feelings? 10:07 Well, his eyes opened wide. 10:10 And for what seemed to be an eternity, 10:13 there was a period of silence. 10:16 We prayed with him, ended the meeting, 10:21 and this was on a Wednesday evening. 10:24 The meetings ended on Saturday night. 10:26 And he never came back to any of the meetings. 10:30 I've often wondered what happened to this gentleman. 10:34 I've wondered whether the contact that we made with him 10:39 was productive, in the sense of leading him to think about 10:44 what we had said to him. 10:46 Because, remember, he had attended the 10:48 Kingdom Hall with his wife. 10:50 And the Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the 10:53 dead know nothing. 10:54 And so we were simply presenting the Biblical scenario of what 10:59 happens when a person dies. 11:01 And so I wondered, did this man perhaps after a period of 11:08 reflection and thought, come to the conclusion that that was not 11:13 his wife that was talking to his friend? 11:15 Did he reach the conclusion that the dead know nothing? 11:20 Now the traditional acid test. 11:23 You've heard of the acid test, right? 11:26 That's an expression that we use. 11:28 The traditional acid test is used to determine if a precious 11:33 metal is gold, for example, or not. 11:36 And how do you determine if a precious metal is gold? 11:40 Well, what you do is you take a small drop of a strong acid, 11:45 such as nitric acid, and you put a few drops on the surface 11:51 of the metal. Now most metals that are not precious, 11:55 they will fizzle. In other words, they will bubble, 12:00 or fizzle. But when you put nitric acid on gold, 12:04 it doesn't fizzle at all. 12:06 And this is a test that can be applied to a metal to determine 12:11 whether it is gold, or it is not gold. 12:14 It is an inexpensive, decisive, immediate, and simple test 12:20 to distinguish what might appear to be gold, 12:23 from that which is truly gold. 12:26 You see, you can't rely on people telling you 12:30 that the metal is gold. 12:31 You can't rely on the idea that the metal looks like gold. 12:36 You can't rely on tasting the gold. 12:39 Have you ever noticed that people sometimes, 12:41 you know, they bite the gold? 12:43 I don't know if they're able to determine 12:44 it's gold by biting it. 12:46 But, anyway, that is not the way in which you should 12:50 determine whether a metal is a precious 12:53 metal of gold or not. 12:55 You can't go by your hunches. 12:57 You can't go by your feelings. 12:59 You can't go by what your senses say. 13:02 You must apply an external test that will give you absolute 13:07 certainty that that is really gold. 13:10 If you don't, you might just purchase fools gold. 13:16 And you know fools gold is actually counterfeit gold. 13:22 It has absolutely no value. 13:24 Now the Bible tells us that the devil is going to attempt 13:28 to deceive the world at the end of time, by getting them 13:32 to follow their senses, their feelings, their emotions, 13:36 and their ears, instead of following what God 13:40 says in His Holy Word. 13:41 Lets read several verses in Scripture where we are told that 13:45 the devil is going to attempt to deceive the whole world 13:48 with signs and wonders that appeal to the senses, 13:53 and to the feelings and the emotions. 13:56 Lets begin with Matthew 24: 23-25, Matthew 24:23-25. 14:04 Here Jesus is speaking about end time events, and He says this: 14:25 What is the purpose of the great signs and wonders? 14:33 And then Jesus says: 14:37 In other words Jesus is saying, I've told you this beforehand 14:41 so that you will not be what? so that you will not be deceived. 14:44 The devil is planning to perform great signs and wonders. 14:48 Among those signs and wonders is what is called spiritualism. 14:53 Notice also Revelation 16:13, 14, where we are told that the 14:58 devil is going to use signs and wonders to gather the whole 15:01 world on his side in the final controversy. 15:04 It says there in Revelation 16:13: 15:25 And what is the purpose of these signs? It is to what? 15:34 It is to gather them against the government of God, 15:38 and against God's people. 15:39 So we're told that this three-fold union: the dragon, 15:44 the beast, and the false prophet, 15:45 which we're not going to study in this particular series; 15:49 we've studied in other series. 15:50 They are going to perform signs and wonders, with the intent of 15:55 deceiving the human race, and gathering everyone 15:58 on the devil's side. 15:59 And then, of course, we have Matthew 7:21-23. 16:03 You might be saying, Well, these are going to be secular people 16:05 that are going to be doing these signs and wonders. 16:07 You know, they're not religious people. 16:09 They certainly cannot be Christians. 16:11 Are they Christians? 16:13 Notice what we find in Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 7:21-23. 16:19 Here Jesus is speaking. It says: 16:33 Are these Christians that Jesus is talking about? Sure! 16:37 Because a non-Christian would not call Jesus Lord, Lord. 16:41 Now notice what it continues saying in verse 22. 16:51 Are these people who claim the name of Jesus? Yes! Notice: 17:05 These are supposed Christians. 17:16 Or it could be translated, You transgressors of the law. 17:20 So you have here Christians, in the end time, that are going to 17:24 be prophesying, they're going to be casting out demons, 17:27 they're going to be performing signs and wonders. 17:31 And so people are going to say, Oh, this certainly 17:34 has to be from God. 17:35 But Jesus says, I never knew them. 17:38 Because they practiced what? lawlessness. 17:42 In other words, they were transgressors of God's Holy Law, 17:46 the ten commandments. 17:47 So the big question that we need to ask is this, How can we keep 17:52 from being deceived in this final conflict? 17:55 The answer, folks, is that we need a detector outside 18:01 ourselves that can show us what is true and what is false. 18:05 We need an external standard outside of us in order to 18:10 determine what is right, what is wrong, what is true, 18:14 and what is false, what is genuine, 18:17 and what is a counterfeit. 18:19 You cannot trust anything inside of you. 18:21 You cannot trust your eyes. 18:23 You cannot trust your ears. 18:24 You cannot trust your touch. 18:26 You cannot trust your feelings, your heart, your emotions, 18:30 your intuitions. None of that can you trust; 18:33 no internal standards. 18:35 We have to have an external standard like nitric acid, 18:39 to test things to find out if they are really of God. 18:43 Our only safeguard, folks, at the end of time will be the same 18:48 safeguard that God gave Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. 18:52 You see, the devil is going to do at the end time what he did 18:55 at the very beginning. 18:56 There is nothing new under the sun! 18:58 So we need to go back to the beginning to understand how 19:02 the devil deceived Adam and Eve. 19:04 And then we'll know how the devil is going to attempt to 19:06 deceive the world at the end of time, because the devil said 19:09 that it worked back then, so why won't it work again? 19:12 So I want you to go with me to Genesis 2:15-17, 19:18 Genesis 2:15-17. 19:44 Now who is setting the standard here? 19:48 Who is telling Adam and Eve what is right and what is wrong? 19:51 Is it their heart? 19:52 Is it their eyes? Is it their ears? 19:55 Or is it an external source, God saying, This is right, 19:58 and this is wrong? 19:59 Eating from all of the trees, that's right. 20:01 Eating from this tree would be sin. 20:03 It would be wrong. 20:04 The standard is not inside them to know what good and evil are, 20:10 it is a standard outside of them. 20:12 God is the One who is giving them the rule. 20:16 He's saying, Obey My Word. 20:19 But then the devil comes to Eve. 20:22 And then, later, we're going to notice that he comes to Adam. 20:25 Lets go to Genesis 3:1-6, Genesis 3:1-6. 20:30 We're going to find that the devil used five methods at the 20:35 beginning to lead Adam and Eve astray from God. 20:39 You know, God had spoken. 20:40 Was this a simple test? 20:42 Was it a test that was easy to understand? Yeah! 20:45 God said, His Word was, Don't eat from the tree. 20:48 Adam and Eve simply should have said, Well, eating from the 20:52 tree is wrong, and so we'll just eat from the other trees. 20:55 They should have obeyed the external 20:57 standard that God had set. 20:58 But now notice Genesis 3:1. 21:11 Question, do serpents speak? Of course not! 21:16 Would it be a miracle for a serpent to speak? Of course! 21:20 The devil is using a serpent, and apparently giving it 21:26 the quality of speech. 21:28 But really the devil is using ventriloquism. 21:31 This is the first ventriloquist of history. 21:34 But he's performing a counterfeit miracle, 21:37 because an animal is speaking; a serpent is speaking. 21:41 So the first method of the devil is to 21:43 perform counterfeit miracles. 21:45 Now notice what it continues saying. 21:54 Now is he going to quote God now? 21:56 Is he going to quote what God said? Yes. 21:59 Actually, he's going to misquote God's Word. 22:01 The second method that the devil uses is to misquote God's Word. 22:07 He doesn't quote it the way God said it. 22:09 His purpose is to misquote the Word. 22:12 Notice what it continues saying: 22:24 Is that what God had said? No. 22:28 But is the serpent claiming to quote God? 22:30 He's claiming to quote God, but he's misquoting God. 22:34 Do you think the devil is going to use misquoting God's 22:37 Holy Word, and changing God's Word at the end of 22:40 time to deceive? Absolutely! 22:42 Now, do you know the reason why the devil misquoted God? 22:45 Because he knew that Eve was going to correct it. 22:48 He wanted to start a conversation. 22:50 See, when somebody mentions something that you know 22:54 is wrong, what is your first reaction? 22:55 You say, No, no, no, no, that's not what He said. 22:58 And so the devil knows that if he misquotes God's Word, 23:02 immediately Eve is going to say, That's not what God said. 23:05 And then you would have the beginning of a what? 23:08 of a conversation. 23:10 And the serpent, the devil, wanted to converse with Eve 23:13 because he knew that if he could converse with Eve, 23:16 he would be able to get into her head. 23:18 Now notice then, first method the devil uses is 23:22 a counterfeit miracle. 23:23 Second method he uses is to quote God's Word, 23:26 but he misquotes God's Word. 23:28 Now the third method that the devil uses is 23:32 the most trying of all. 23:33 Lets go once again to Genesis 3:1. 23:46 And now comes the correction from the woman. 24:01 And now she adds to God's Word, because she's trying to defend 24:05 the honor of God. So she says: 24:13 And it says in Patriarchs and Prophets that when she said that 24:16 the serpent plucked the fruit and put it into her hand 24:19 and said, Are you dead? 24:20 Because she said that God had said that if she touched it, 24:25 she would die. God had not said that they couldn't touch it. 24:27 God said that they could not what? 24:30 that they could not eat it. 24:31 And so now we notice the third method that the devil used. 24:36 Verse 4. 24:44 Now lets think a little bit about what the serpent 24:47 is saying to the woman. 24:49 What is the serpent saying about God? 24:51 God is a what? God is a liar. 24:56 What do you suppose the first thought of Eve was? 24:59 God is a liar. So why did He lie? Right? 25:04 Wouldn't that be the question in her mind? 25:06 See the devil is planting the question. 25:08 See, you're not going to die. 25:10 And so Eve now is thinking, okay, if we're not going to die, 25:14 then why did God tell us that we were going to die? 25:17 I want to know! And so now you have the third method. 25:22 The devil is now going to play games. 25:24 He's going to lead her, he's going to lead her to reason 25:27 independently of God. 25:28 He's going to try and explain things that God 25:32 had not explained. 25:33 God didn't say why they couldn't eat from the tree. 25:35 He simply said, Don't eat! 25:37 He didn't say that the tree has, the fruit is poison, 25:40 or anything. God said simply, Don't eat. 25:43 God gave no explanations. 25:44 So the devil says, I'm going to give you an explanation. 25:46 And notice what he says. 25:49 Verse 5. 25:52 I'm going to give you the reason now. 26:00 In other words, God wants you to be what? 26:03 He wants you to be blind. 26:05 You're blind! He wants blind service. 26:08 He didn't explain things to you, did He? 26:09 And what is happening with Eve's mind? 26:12 Her mind is working overtime. 26:15 Her reasoning powers are working overtime. 26:18 And she says, I want to know more. 26:19 What has God been hiding from us? 26:22 God knows something that He doesn't want us to know. 26:26 He wants us to be blind! 26:27 What is it? is what her reasoning powers are screaming. 26:30 So it says in verse 5: 26:42 What is the devil telling Eve? 26:45 He's saying, Eve, and he's hinting at this. 26:50 He's saying, Eve, do you know how God became God? 26:53 By eating from the fruit of this tree, He got His powers. 26:58 But after He ate from the tree, and He discovered that this tree 27:02 makes a person God, He didn't want any rivals. 27:06 He didn't want any competition. 27:07 And so from that point on He told everyone that if they ate 27:13 from the tree, they were going to die. 27:14 But God's concern was not that they were going to die, 27:17 God's concern was that He would have some rivals 27:20 just like Him. Are you following me or not? 27:23 In other words, Eve is now saying, Ah ha! 27:27 Now I have my reason! 27:28 God didn't say why we shouldn't eat from the tree. 27:32 Now I know! God is selfish! 27:33 God is lying to us. 27:35 God wants us to be blind. 27:36 God doesn't want us to be like Him! 27:40 Are you following me? 27:42 And so what is the devil doing? 27:45 He's leading Eve to reason, and to use her logic 27:49 independently of God. 27:50 But now notice the devil says that she is going to be like 27:54 God in a certain way. 27:55 Let me ask you, who defines good and evil? 27:58 Where do we get our definition of good and evil? 28:01 Is that something that you find in your heart, 28:02 and in your brain? 28:04 Your brain tells you what's good and evil. 28:05 Your heart tells you what's good and evil. 28:07 You can determine what's good and evil. 28:09 No, no, no, no! Who defines good and evil? 28:11 God did. He said, You eat from all of the trees; that's good. 28:15 Not from this tree; that's evil if you eat from this tree. 28:18 God defined good and evil. 28:19 It's a source outside of us that defines good and evil. 28:24 But what does the devil say to Eve? 28:27 He says, You will be like God, knowing good and evil. 28:30 In other words, you don't have to depend on God to know 28:33 what is good, and what is evil. 28:35 You can know that on your own because you will be God. 28:39 So the third method that the devil is using is he's playing 28:44 mental games with Eve. 28:45 He's possessing her reasoning powers. 28:48 He's using logic so that she'll follow her logic 28:51 instead of following the Word of God. 28:52 And then I want you to notice what the fourth method 28:55 that the devil uses. 28:56 It says in verse 6: 29:00 Are her eyes involved? Yes. 29:02 Were her ears involved to this point? Yes. So it says: 29:10 What sense is involved there? 29:12 Her taste. That's right! 29:22 What sense is being involved there? Her touch. 29:29 So what is the devil using? 29:31 He's leading Eve to follow the testimony of her what? 29:34 of her senses. Of her senses. 29:39 And then I want you to notice the last method 29:42 that the devil uses. 29:43 In verse 6, at the end of the verse it says: 29:52 Let me ask you, does the devil use other people 29:55 to lead other people astray? Absolutely! 29:58 And so the devil used five methods: 30:00 1. A counterfeit miracle. 30:03 2. A misuse of Scripture. 30:05 3. A perversion of human reason. 30:08 4. Leading people to follow the testimony of their senses. 30:12 5. Use another person to lead a person into sin. 30:18 Let me ask you, what was the only protection for Eve, 30:21 and for Adam at that point? 30:23 Their only protection was to do what God said in His Word. 30:28 In other words, it was to ignore all of those things and to say, 30:33 God said that we should not eat. 30:36 And we live by every word that proceeds out 30:40 of the mouth of God. 30:41 Is the devil going to use these same methods at the end of time? 30:45 You'd better believe he is! 30:47 Is the devil going to use miracles? Yes, he is. 30:51 Is he going to misuse Scripture? 30:54 Is he going to lead people to misuse Scripture, 30:56 to twist the Scriptures, to add and to take away from Scripture? 31:00 Absolutely! Is the devil going to lead people to follow their 31:03 reasoning powers, their logic? Yes, he is. 31:06 Is he going to lead people to follow the testimony of their 31:09 senses: what they see, what they feel, what they hear, 31:11 their taste? Absolutely! 31:13 And is he going to lead people to lead other people astray? 31:16 He most certainly is. 31:18 The same methods that worked at the beginning, 31:21 the devil is going to use at the end. 31:24 Now the great detector, in other words, that God has given us, 31:29 is His Word; pure and simple. 31:33 And yet today people accept all kinds of authorities 31:38 in place of the Bible. 31:39 Things such as science, philosophy, feelings, emotions, 31:45 signs and wonders, tradition, what others say 31:50 among other things; all sorts of standards other than the clear, 31:56 simple Word of God. 31:58 And, by the way, some of our own theologians 32:01 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church today are saying that 32:04 the Bible was fine for a pre-scientific 32:07 simplistic society. 32:09 But today we have far more light, and we're far more 32:12 educated than those individuals who wrote Scripture. 32:16 Ellen White made this sobering statement about what our source 32:21 of authority should be. 32:22 In The Great Controversy, page 595, she says: 33:10 Jesus faced Satan's attacks in the wilderness by it is written. 33:15 He did not follow His feelings, His emotions, His appetite, 33:19 His senses. He simply said, I live by every word that proceeds 33:23 out of the mouth of God. 33:25 In The Great Controversy, page 593, Ellen White expresses 33:30 what the final delusion will involve. She says: 33:42 Listen carefully to this now. 34:03 So what is our source of authority at the end? 34:07 It is God's written Word, pure and simple. 34:13 A thus saith the Lord. 34:15 Now one of the doctrines that we especially need to uphold from 34:20 Scripture is the doctrine of the state of the dead. 34:23 Isaiah 8:19 is a very well known verse 34:29 among Seventh-day Adventists. It says: 34:39 We're very well acquainted with that particular verse. 34:42 But have you read verse 19, the verse that 34:44 comes immediately before? 34:45 Why does it say, to the law and to the testimony? 34:48 Who is referred to when it says, If they do not speak according 34:53 to this word there's no light in them? 34:55 Actually, lets read verse 19, and see who they are. 34:59 It says in verse 19: 35:10 What are mediums? People who claim to be able to 35:14 communicate with what? 35:15 With the dead, that's right. 35:31 And then you have that verse, to the law and to the testimony. 35:35 If they speak not according to this word, it is because 35:39 there is no light in them. 35:40 Now the law would be the writings of Moses at this point. 35:44 And the testimony would be the writings of the prophets 35:47 that have written up to that point. 35:48 Because the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. 35:52 So what Isaiah is saying is that everything needs to be tested 35:56 by the written Word of God. 36:00 Now there are two doctrines that are corollaries 36:04 among apostate churches today. 36:07 The first of these is the immortality of the soul, 36:10 and the second is spiritualism. 36:13 These two doctrines are interconnected. 36:16 It used to be that Christian churches believed in the 36:20 immortality of the soul, but they rejected the idea 36:24 that the dead can communicate with the living. 36:26 But this has changed in recent years. 36:29 It was only a matter of time until churches went from 36:34 point A to point B; from the idea of the immortality of the 36:37 soul, to the possibility that the dead can 36:40 communicate with the living. 36:42 There are notable Christian leaders today who believe in 36:47 OBE's, that is out of body experiences, as proof 36:51 that there is life after death. 36:53 And there are those who believe in NDE's, 36:56 which is near death experiences. 36:58 And they use this as proof that really it is possible 37:03 for the dead to communicate with the living. 37:06 They also use evidence from parapsychology, that so-called 37:11 science which supposedly has proven that there is something 37:16 communicating from the netherworld with those who 37:19 live in this world. 37:20 And, incidentally, you know that most people in the world 37:23 today believe that angels are the spirits 37:25 of departed relatives who have died. 37:28 The Bible tells us that the angels existed before 37:31 the creation of the world. 37:32 They are not the spirits of the dead that come 37:35 back to this world. 37:36 The Bible tells us that the angels were created by God 37:39 before human beings. 37:40 And yet in the Christian world today, the idea is that the 37:44 angels are human beings that died, and their spirits are 37:48 coming back to help us here on this earth. 37:50 The Bible is clear on the state of the dead. 37:53 For example, Psalm 146:3, 4 says: 38:04 That is when you cease to breathe. 38:11 The King James Version says his what? his thoughts perish. 38:15 There's no thinking, in other words, when a person dies. 38:19 Ecclesiastes 9:5 says: 38:25 everything. No, it says: 38:34 Their memory is forgotten. 38:49 And some Christians, they'll say, Well, what about those 38:52 texts that speak about being absent from the body, 38:54 and present with the Lord, and the rich man and Lazarus? 38:58 Doesn't that prove that there's life after a person dies, 39:01 and during the interim of death? 39:03 Well folks, I wish I had time to go into all of those texts. 39:07 Fortunately, at Secrets Unsealed we've produced a whole series 39:11 called Misunderstood Texts On the State Of the Dead. 39:13 There are twelve presentations where we take all of these 39:16 texts, and we show that they are not teaching what most 39:19 Christians think that they are teaching. 39:21 We study them carefully within their context. 39:24 Now the question is, how can we detect a counterfeit? 39:28 The answer, folks, is very simple. 39:31 The only way that we can detect a counterfeit is by 39:34 knowing the genuine. 39:35 How can you detect a counterfeit $100 bill? 39:40 Do you have to know what the genuine $100 bill looks like 39:45 to detect a counterfeit? Of course. 39:47 How many of you have ever seen a counterfeit $4 bill? 39:51 Anybody ever seen a counterfeit $4 bill? 39:54 Oh, just think how much money counterfeiters could make 39:57 if they had a counterfeit $4 bill. 39:59 Why isn't there a counterfeit $4 bill? 40:02 Because there's not a genuine $4 bill. 40:05 You see the genius of the counterfeiters is to copy 40:09 the genuine as closely as possible in order to deceive, 40:13 isn't it? And so what is our protection when it comes to 40:17 detecting a counterfeit? 40:18 You have to know the genuine in order to be able 40:22 to detect a counterfeit. 40:25 In the book Early Writings, pages 87 and 88, Ellen White has 40:31 this remarkable statement. She says: 40:34 That's God's people, by the way. 41:01 We've been talking about that. Right? 41:05 Let me ask you, if you believe that the dead aren't dead, 41:08 and that they can communicate with the living, will you accept 41:11 what they say as being true? Most likely, Yes. 41:14 And then, notice what she continues saying: 41:28 What is our protection? 41:58 What will be the only protection for God's people? 42:00 trusting in God's written word. 42:04 Let me read two or three other statements from this remarkable 42:09 author. And by the way, modern spiritualism originated 42:12 in the times of Ellen White, in 1848 in Rochester, New York. 42:18 That is the official beginning of spiritualism. 42:20 So she knew very well what she was talking about. 42:23 The Great Controversy, page 552, speaking about 42:26 the devil, she says: 42:34 The counterfeit is what? 42:36 What is a perfect counterfeit? 42:38 It's when the government can't even distinguish a counterfeit 42:41 $100 bill from a genuine one. 43:04 In Signs of the Times, August 26, 1889 she says: 43:20 See, it will appeal to their emotions, and their feelings, 43:23 is what she's saying. 43:56 In the book Maranatha, page 209, she continues saying: 44:02 That is apostate Christianity. 44:37 Now do you know what the devil's capstone 44:40 of deception is going to be? 44:41 He is going to counterfeit the second coming of Christ. 44:45 And for those who depend on their feelings, on their senses, 44:51 on Biblical arguments that others provide, 44:55 on their emotions. 44:56 They will be deceived by this counterfeit 45:00 second coming of Satan. 45:02 And you say, where does the Bible say that the devil 45:04 is going to counterfeit the second coming of Christ? 45:08 Lets go to 2 Thessalonians 2: 1, 2, and then we'll go 45:11 to verses 9-12, 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2. 45:18 Now brethren, concerning the coming. 45:20 That's a very interesting word. 45:22 It's the word parusia. Remember that. 45:30 Is Jesus going to gather to us, or are we 45:32 going to gather to Him? 45:33 Our gathering together to Him, not Him to us, us to Him. 45:50 In other words, the Apostle Paul is saying, 45:51 Jesus hasn't come yet. 45:53 That's what he's writing. 45:54 And then he goes on in verses 9 through 12, 45:58 to explain that the devil is going to counterfeit 46:01 the coming of Christ. 46:02 Now notice what it says in verse 9. 46:06 Do you know what that word, coming, there is? 46:08 It's the word parusia. 46:10 So is the antichrist also going to have a coming? Yes! 46:16 Is it going to be before the coming of Jesus? Absolutely! 46:21 So it says, The coming of the... 46:26 And what is he going to come with? 46:40 What? What is our only protection? 46:52 Now, listen carefully. 46:54 It's not a lie, in the Greek it is that they should believe 46:58 the lie. And you say, what lie is this talking about? 47:00 What has the Apostle Paul been talking about? 47:04 He's been talking about the counterfeit coming 47:07 of the lawless one who will perform signs and wonders. 47:10 That is the lie that will be accepted by those who don't 47:13 receive the truth. 47:14 So it says in verse 11: 47:29 How important is it to follow the truth, to accept the truth, 47:33 and to live by the truth? 47:35 It's a matter of life and death folks. 47:37 And, by the way, do you know where the truth is found? 47:41 Sanctify them through Your truth; Your Word is truth, 47:45 is what Jesus said. 47:46 The Word of God, the written Word of God is truth. 47:49 We cannot trust the traditions of men as being truth. 47:52 We must compare all of the traditions that men have 47:56 with what God says in His Holy Word. 48:00 By the way, Jesus also said that Satan was going to try 48:05 to counterfeit His coming. 48:08 Notice Matthew 24:23, 27: 48:22 What? We just read that in 2 Thessalonians 2. 48:29 And then Jesus says: 48:49 Is Jesus coming to this earth to settle down here? No! 48:55 We are going to gather to Him. 48:57 He is not going to gather to us. 49:00 So what if a majestic being appears all over the world, 49:05 you know, and he performs miracles, and signs, 49:07 and wonders, and he's dazzling, and he speaks beautiful words, 49:11 and he says that Sunday is the day that we're supposed to keep? 49:14 How many people would be deceived? 49:15 Probably most of the world. 49:17 Because they would not compare what this individual teaches, 49:22 with what the Word of God says. 49:24 Ellen White, in Signs of the Times, May 18, 1882, 49:28 referring to this strong delusion that God is going to 49:31 send. It's not actually God that sends it, God simply removes 49:35 His presence, and as a result they're deluded 49:37 by what they chose. She says this: 50:34 Does the Bible tell us how Jesus will come? 50:37 The Bible tells us very clearly how Jesus will come. 50:42 Is it important to know how Jesus will come? 50:44 You'd better believe it! 50:45 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, we're told how Jesus is going to come. 50:51 Jesus is not going to touch this earth when He comes. 50:53 But do you know, most every Christian in the world believes 50:55 that when Jesus Comes, He's going to settle here 50:58 in this earth for a thousand years. 51:00 The millennium is going to be here on earth they believe. 51:03 So they'll be ready to accept the overmastering delusion 51:06 of the devil when the devil appears disguised as Christ. 51:09 Because they're expecting Christ to come all the way 51:12 to the earth, and to spend a thousand years here. 51:14 Notice 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18: 51:37 Ah, there it is! 51:41 That is those who died and resurrected. 51:51 Did Jesus promise to take His people to heaven? Yes! 51:54 Jesus said, In My Father's house are many mansions. 51:56 I go to prepare a place for you. 51:58 So when Jesus comes again, He's going to take 52:01 His people to heaven. 52:02 He's not going to come down to the earth. 52:03 His feet are not going to touch the earth. 52:05 Notice Matthew 24:31, Matthew 24:31. 52:11 Notice this is a very important verse, because it tells us that 52:14 Jesus is not going to come to this earth, and then He's going 52:17 to spend a thousand years here on earth. 52:20 It says there in Matthew 24:31, at the conclusion 52:23 of the second coming: 52:28 What is He going to do? 52:41 So is Jesus going to come all the way down to the earth, 52:44 and, you know, everybody's going to come to Him? 52:46 No, no, no! It says here that Jesus is going to 52:48 be above the earth. 52:50 He's going to send His angels, and His angels will gather 52:52 the people, and they will be caught up, 52:54 as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4, in the air to meet the Lord 52:58 in the air. Now in conclusion, let me just read you 53:01 how Ellen White describes this counterfeit second coming 53:05 of Satan. It's amazing! 53:08 It's found in The Great Controversy, page 625. She says: 53:30 Notice, that's to your eyes, right? 53:52 You just read Revelation 1: 13-15. 53:55 It says his face shines like the sun, and his legs are 53:59 like burnished bronze. 54:01 You know, and he's clothed in a white robe of light. 54:05 That's the way the devil's going to look! 54:07 Just like the description of Jesus in Revelation 1. 54:10 She continues saying: 54:27 Because they're expecting Him to come all the way down 54:28 to the earth, folks. 54:41 Now notice, He's not going to say, I AM THE CHRIST! 54:44 No, He's going to speak beautiful words like Jesus, 54:47 in a soft voice. It says: 55:37 Why not? 55:57 Two ways in which people are going to know 55:59 that this is not Christ; it's not by their feelings, 56:03 or emotions, or their eyes, or their ears, or what people say. 56:07 There are two ways in which you're going to know 56:09 that this is not Christ: 56:10 1. Because the way in which he comes is not the way in which 56:15 the Bible says Jesus is going to come. 56:16 This individual will appear in different parts of the earth. 56:19 The Bible says that every eye will see Jesus simultaneously. 56:23 This individual will walk upon the earth. 56:26 The Bible says that Jesus will stay in the air. 56:29 He will not touch the earth. 56:30 And furthermore, the teachings of this false Christ 56:34 are not in harmony with the Word of God. 56:36 He's going to say, Sunday is the day that we're supposed to keep, 56:40 when the Bible says that the seventh day is the Sabbath 56:43 of the Lord your God. 56:44 So, folks, what will be the only protection for God's people 56:49 at the end of time? 56:50 It will be implicit trust in the written Word of God, 56:56 as it appears in the Bible. 56:58 Ellen White, in the book, Christ Triumphant, page 331, 57:02 had this to say: 57:11 The Word of God, a thus saith the Lord, 57:16 it is written, as Jesus told the devil three times 57:20 in the wilderness, will be the only protection 57:23 for God's people; not traditions, feelings, 57:25 and emotions, but what God has said. |
Revised 2014-12-17