The city of Athens
was at the heart of the
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ancient Greek world, and
the Acropolis was one of the
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architectural
wonders of the world.
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Nearby was the Areopagus where
learned philosophers discussed
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the great issues
of life and eternity.
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We also discuss these issues in
this program on ancient Greece.
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For this program we are in
Athens, and in particular we are
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in front of the Acropolis.
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You can see it up there.
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And, of course, the Greek word
Acropolis comes from the two
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Greek words, Pollos, meaning
city, and Ekron, meaning top or
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high, in this case.
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And so this is the high city,
or top city, and it was the very
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heart of Athens.
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This is the well known Parthenon
which is derived from the Greek
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word meaning virgin, because
it was dedicated to a goddess
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by the name of
Athena, from which, of course,
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the city of
Athens takes its name.
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It was originally
occupied by a statute, which was
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40 meters high, and this statute
was adorned with gold and ivory.
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Subsequently a tyrant by
the name of Lecheries decided he
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needed the gold.
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There was nearly a ton of
gold in it, so he took the gold
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to pay his troops.
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But it certainly is a
magnificent building even today,
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isn't it?
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The Acropolis was more than just
a temple; it was a fortress.
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And in time of attack it
was defended very fiercely.
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The most notable instance of
that was in the year 480 B.C.
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when Greece was invaded by the
forces of the Persian Xerxes.
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He's known in the
Bible as Ahasuerus,
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in the book of Esther.
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When his forces approached
Athens the Greek defenders
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just packed up and left.
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They all went out to
the Pillipanies Peninsula.
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But there was a group of sturdy
defenders who stayed in the
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Acropolis and
fought to the last.
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Xerxes forces were
only successful by adopting
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a stratagem which
Alexander the Great used to very
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great effect in later years.
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That was to attack a
city at its strongest point.
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That was up that wall there.
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Well now, that was where he
was least expected, so he took
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the forces by surprise.
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They broke into the Acropolis
and massacred all the occupants,
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and then burned the Acropolis.
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A tragic thing as far as
the Acropolis was concerned,
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but it was burned with fire.
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Below the Acropolis was
the Aggerate, or marketplace,
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where the daily business
life of Athens took place.
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Here were beautiful
buildings and temples.
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The elite of Athens could stroll
through the stall with its
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marble pillars.
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On every street there were
life-size statutes, and altars
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to the many Greek gods.
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Unless the Athenians had
omitted any of the deities
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there was an altar
to the unknown god.
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The great Apostle Paul
came to Athens and was appalled
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with the way the city
was given to idolatry.
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The Bible says that he disputed
in the Aggerate daily with them
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that met him.
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This came to the ears of
the Athenian philosophers who
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challenged him to go up to the
Areopagus, a low hill between
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the Agara and the Acropolis.
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Now can you just
visualize the scene?
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Here's the Apostle Paul standing
in the midst of these learned
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men; the elders of the
city, and the philosophers,
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and they're all out
for an argument, you know.
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They're all ready to criticize.
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They're gathered around him.
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But, of course, Paul himself
was a very well educated man,
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and a brilliant elocutionist.
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He was a good match for them.
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What he said here in Acts
17 is one of the most brilliant
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discourses you
can read anywhere.
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I'll read it to you.
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Then Paul stood in the
midst of the Areopagus and said,
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Men of Athens, I
perceive that in all things you
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are very religious.
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That would
please them, of course.
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For as I was passing through,
and considering the objects
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of your worship, I even found
an altar with this inscription,
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TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
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You see the Greeks worshipped
so many gods they didn't want
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to miss anyone, so just in case
they missed somebody here was an
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altar to the unknown god.
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Therefore the one whom
you worship without knowing
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him I proclaim to you.
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That was masterly!
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You see he used this altar
to the unknown god to lead him
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to the true God; Jesus Christ.
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God who made the world and
everything in it, since he is
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Lord of heaven and
earth, does not dwell in temples
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made with hands;...
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Now that, of course,
was a reference to the
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Acropolis behind us.
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It must have pricked their
hearts a little bit to have him
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say this, but of
course, it was truth.
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And Paul went on to say,
Therefore since we are the
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offspring of God, we ought not
to think that the divine nature
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is like gold, or silver,
or stone, something shaped by
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art and man's devising.
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Well that's what was up
there, you see, the images,
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the statues, and so forth.
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Truly these times of ignorance;
God overlooked, but now commands
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all men everywhere to repent.
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Now that was very gracious.
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He wasn't condemning them.
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He was simply saying, Look,
the times of that ignorance;
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God's going to overlook that.
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And, of course,
that's what God does with us.
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When we do something wrong,
and don't realize it's wrong,
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God doesn't pounce on
us and condemn us for it.
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But, He says, because He has
appointed a day on which He will
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judge the world in righteousness
by the man whom he ordained,
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he has given assurance of
this to all by raising him
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from the dead.
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Now you see, he referred to the
judgment, and that's something
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people today
need to think about.
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There's a judgment day coming.
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It's not a case of
what you can get away with.
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It's a case of what you'll be
called to account for later on.
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God is going to judge
the world by that man whom
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He has raised from the dead.
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Now did you notice where Paul
puts the emphasis, as far as the
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future immortal
life is concerned?
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He referred to Jesus
Christ rising from the dead;
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and He did.
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He rose physically, bodily, and
that's where the Bible puts the
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emphasis, as far as the future
immortal life is concerned.
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Here in the book of
Colossians 3:4 Paul says,
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When Christ, who is our life,
appears, then you also will
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appear with him in glory.
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Now that's when Jesus
Christ returns to this world.
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And he says, then you
will appear with him in glory.
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That will be at a resurrection.
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We're going to
come back to life!
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Don't make any
mistake about that.
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Whether you believe it or
not; whether you like it or not;
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we're all going
to come back to life.
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That's what Jesus Christ says.
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And so that is
where the emphasis is.
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It's a very real
eternal future life.
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Jesus said the meek
shall inherit the earth.
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Right here in this beautiful
world made new is where the
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people of the God
will enjoy all of eternity.
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You know, there's a
beautiful verse in Job 19:25.
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Job says, For I know that
my redeemer lives, and he shall
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stand at last on the earth:
and after my skin is destroyed,
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this I know that in my
flesh I shall see God:...
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So with Job it was a
very real future life.
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Bodily he was going to
see the Lord face to face.
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That is where the Bible puts the
emphasis when it talks about the
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future immortal life.
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The prophet Isaiah had visions
of this future life to come.
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He says in Isaiah 65:17
For, behold, I create new
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heavens and a new earth:...
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They shall build
houses, and inhabit them;
00:09:04.99\00:09:08.49
they shall plant vineyards,
and eat the fruit of them.
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So nobody's going to
be having to rent a house.
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Nobody's going to have to
go to a market to buy fruit,
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or vegetables.
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No, you'll be
able to have your own.
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And it goes on to say here,
as the days of a tree, so shall
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be the days of my people, and
my elect shall long enjoy the
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work of their hands.
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Now that's where some
people howl in protest.
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They say, You've
got to be kidding!
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We're going to
have to work there?
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Yes, we'll work, alright,
but you'll just love it.
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The sort of work you'll enjoy;
the sort of work that Adam and
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Eve had in that perfect
world that God made for them.
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And it says, for they shall be
the descendents of the blessed
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of the Lord, and
their offspring with them.
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You know, mothers have
had some sad experiences;
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a little baby torn
from their arms by death.
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Now those are the ones that will
be restored; their offspring
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with them.
00:10:04.71\00:10:05.77
The wolf and the
lamb shall feed together;
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the lion shall eat straw
like the ox: and dust shall be
00:10:08.48\00:10:12.19
the serpent's food.
00:10:12.22\00:10:13.20
They shall not hurt nor
destroy in all my holy mountain,
00:10:13.23\00:10:16.32
says the Lord.
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There won't be any
wild beasts of prey there.
00:10:17.33\00:10:20.70
Everything will live
at peace one with another.
00:10:20.73\00:10:23.26
In fact it says in chapter
11 verse 6, The wolf also shall
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grow with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with
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the young goat;...
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You know if they do that now
there's usually only one left
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after a little while.
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...the calf and the young
lion and the fatling together;
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and a little
child shall lead them.
00:10:38.21\00:10:40.49
Isn't that a beautiful picture?
00:10:40.52\00:10:41.66
I just love that!
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So the future immortal
life is not in a place of
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disembodied spirits.
00:10:49.04\00:10:50.22
It's in a very real place.
00:10:50.25\00:10:52.29
And there will be
very real people there.
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I want to read to you
what it says in Isaiah 35:4
00:10:55.31\00:11:00.62
behold, your God will
come; he will come and save you.
00:11:00.65\00:11:05.47
Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened, and the ears of the
00:11:05.50\00:11:10.20
deaf shall be unstopped.
00:11:10.23\00:11:11.80
Then the lame shall leap like
a deer, and the tongue of the
00:11:11.83\00:11:16.17
dumb sing:...
00:11:16.20\00:11:17.17
That's going to bring a
lot of encouragement to people
00:11:17.18\00:11:19.17
who have disabilities. Isn't it?
00:11:19.20\00:11:20.70
Everything is going to
be perfect there, you see.
00:11:20.74\00:11:23.14
There won't be any
disabilities; no problems.
00:11:23.17\00:11:25.41
It will be a perfect new world.
00:11:25.44\00:11:27.59
And I like this verse in
Revelation 21:1 where it says,
00:11:27.62\00:11:31.77
And I saw a new
heaven and a new earth:...
00:11:31.80\00:11:34.54
And I heard a loud voice
from heaven saying, Behold, the
00:11:34.57\00:11:38.48
tabernacle of God is with men,
and he will dwell with them,...
00:11:38.51\00:11:42.58
God himself is going
to be here in person!
00:11:42.61\00:11:46.35
No more invisible!
00:11:46.38\00:11:47.76
You will see God.
00:11:47.79\00:11:49.16
Jesus said, Blessed are the pure
in heart for they shall see God.
00:11:49.19\00:11:54.11
It goes on to say, And
God will wipe away every tear
00:11:54.14\00:11:57.91
from their eyes;...
00:11:57.94\00:11:58.91
Why would people be
crying in this new earth?
00:11:58.92\00:12:01.10
Well, I'll tell you.
00:12:01.13\00:12:02.37
When the Lord comes and we
enter into that wonderful life
00:12:02.40\00:12:07.33
eternal, you're going to look
around and you'll find somebody
00:12:07.36\00:12:10.47
missing, and that will
bring tears to your eyes.
00:12:10.50\00:12:13.13
But God is going to wipe away
those tears, and wipe away the
00:12:13.16\00:12:17.08
memory, the sad memory
of those that are lost.
00:12:17.11\00:12:19.78
And God will wipe away all
tears; there shall be no more
00:12:19.81\00:12:23.94
death, no cemeteries there,
nor sorrow, nor crying,...
00:12:23.97\00:12:27.97
there shall be no more pain:
(No hospitals, no suffering;
00:12:28.00\00:12:32.33
a land without any problems)
... for the former things have
00:12:32.37\00:12:36.11
passed away.
00:12:36.14\00:12:37.11
And finally in Revelation
22 it says, He showed me a pure
00:12:37.12\00:12:41.90
river of water of life, clear
as crystal, proceeding from the
00:12:41.93\00:12:46.20
throne of God and of the Lamb.
00:12:46.23\00:12:47.79
In the middle of its street,
on either side of the river,
00:12:47.82\00:12:50.67
was the tree of life,
which bore twelve fruits,
00:12:50.70\00:12:53.49
each tree yielding
its fruit every month:...
00:12:53.52\00:12:56.16
We're going to
eat fruit, you see.
00:12:56.19\00:12:57.60
You know, I like fruit.
00:12:57.63\00:12:58.78
I think one of the fruits that
is going to be there are mangos.
00:12:58.82\00:13:00.87
I love mangos.
00:13:00.90\00:13:01.87
But just whatever fruit you
like; it's going to be there.
00:13:01.88\00:13:04.67
And we will live there; we'll
eat there; we will find it a
00:13:04.70\00:13:09.20
very real place.
00:13:09.23\00:13:10.43
But there is an interesting
question: will we know
00:13:10.46\00:13:15.16
one another there?
00:13:15.19\00:13:16.16
We are at Emmaus.
00:13:18.40\00:13:20.06
This is the church that
commemorates the incident that
00:13:20.09\00:13:23.19
occurred at this place.
00:13:23.22\00:13:24.26
Inside this church are
some beautiful lead-like windows
00:13:24.29\00:13:28.25
that tell the story of
what happened here at Emmaus.
00:13:28.28\00:13:31.28
On the day of the
resurrection, in the afternoon,
00:13:31.31\00:13:35.03
two of the disciples
were returning from Jerusalem
00:13:35.06\00:13:38.70
to the village of Emmaus.
00:13:38.73\00:13:40.69
They were very disappointed.
00:13:40.72\00:13:42.98
Their hopes had been
crushed by the crucifixion.
00:13:43.01\00:13:45.59
They couldn't understand it.
00:13:45.62\00:13:46.75
And as they walked along they
talked in disconsolate terms
00:13:46.78\00:13:51.36
of their disappointment.
00:13:51.39\00:13:52.74
But as they walked they were
joined by a stranger whom at
00:13:52.77\00:13:56.29
first they did not recognize.
00:13:56.32\00:13:57.67
He asked them what they were
talking about, and they told Him
00:13:57.70\00:14:02.30
about the crucifixion and
how they were disappointed.
00:14:02.33\00:14:05.09
And then He explained to them
from the Bible how the Christ,
00:14:05.12\00:14:09.59
the messiah, must
needs suffer like this.
00:14:09.62\00:14:12.66
Their hearts burned within them.
00:14:12.69\00:14:15.18
When they came to Emmaus they
invited Him in to have supper
00:14:15.21\00:14:19.23
with them, and so He went in.
00:14:19.26\00:14:21.55
They put the bread on the table,
and then the stranger reached
00:14:21.58\00:14:25.71
out His hands and
blessed that bread.
00:14:25.74\00:14:28.73
And there was something
about the way He did it
00:14:28.76\00:14:31.29
that rang a bell.
00:14:31.33\00:14:33.23
They recognized that
it was the risen Lord.
00:14:33.27\00:14:35.93
And as soon as He disappeared
from their sight they hurried
00:14:35.96\00:14:40.43
back to Jerusalem to tell
the wonderful news that they had
00:14:40.46\00:14:43.47
seen the Christ who
was crucified and had now
00:14:43.50\00:14:46.60
risen from the dead.
00:14:46.63\00:14:48.11
He'd already
appeared to the disciples.
00:14:48.14\00:14:51.14
And while they
were talking there
00:14:51.17\00:14:53.18
Jesus Himself stood among them.
00:14:53.22\00:14:55.20
They could hardly believe it.
00:14:55.23\00:14:56.87
They thought it
must be a spirit.
00:14:56.90\00:14:58.28
But in Luke 24:39 it says,
Behold my hands and my feet,
00:14:58.31\00:15:04.92
that it is I myself: handle me,
and see; for a spirit does not
00:15:04.95\00:15:10.30
have flesh and
bones, as you see I have.
00:15:10.34\00:15:13.13
He was just not a risen
spirit; He was a risen person;
00:15:13.16\00:15:16.58
in a risen body; a real person!
00:15:16.61\00:15:19.66
And that's the way it
is in the resurrection.
00:15:19.69\00:15:21.96
We will be real people; not
just unidentifiable spirits,
00:15:21.99\00:15:25.73
but real people who
will know each other.
00:15:25.76\00:15:28.43
A similar thought is expressed
at the time of the resurrection
00:15:28.46\00:15:32.45
when Mary
Magdalene came to the tomb.
00:15:32.49\00:15:35.07
She expected to just come
and anoint the body of Jesus.
00:15:36.17\00:15:42.29
But instead of that
a voice spoke to her.
00:15:42.32\00:15:46.59
She thought it was the gardener.
00:15:46.62\00:15:48.20
Through her tear dimmed
eyes she did not recognize Him.
00:15:48.23\00:15:51.70
But then He spoke one word,
Mary, and there was something
00:15:51.73\00:15:56.37
about that tone of
voice that she recognized,
00:15:56.40\00:15:58.47
and she
acknowledged Him as her Lord.
00:15:58.50\00:15:59.61
She knew Him by His voice.
00:16:01.35\00:16:03.81
And so it is in
the life to come.
00:16:03.84\00:16:05.85
We're going to know
each other by our mannerisms;
00:16:05.88\00:16:08.18
by our voices;
by our appearances.
00:16:08.21\00:16:11.09
We'll be real people!
00:16:11.12\00:16:12.80
Won't that be wonderful?
00:16:12.83\00:16:15.44
A real life to come!
00:16:15.47\00:16:17.44
I want to be there, don't you?
00:16:17.47\00:16:19.78
How can we be sure that Jesus
Christ is all that He claimed
00:16:21.84\00:16:25.75
to be?
00:16:25.78\00:16:26.75
In our next program here
in Israel, we'll follow in the
00:16:26.76\00:16:30.38
footsteps of Jesus.
00:16:30.41\00:16:31.80
And as we go around we'll
show you some very real evidence
00:16:31.83\00:16:35.39
on which to build
your faith in Christ.
00:16:35.42\00:16:37.89
The program is called
Israel's Promised Messiah.
00:16:37.92\00:16:41.59