Hi, my name is Richard Wallton.
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I'm originally from California.
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And I'm currently a
second year Law student
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at Georgetown University
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of Law Center in Washington D.C.
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Let's open the word
today to Isaiah 58 verse12.
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Before we begin let's pause
for a quick word of prayer.
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Dear Lord, thank you
so much for the blessings
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You so bountifully bestow on us.
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Thank you for Your word
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and for the opportunity
to study it together.
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Now open our
hearts and our minds,
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we pray in Jesus name, amen.
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Isaiah 58 verse 12
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"And they that shall
be of thee shall build
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the old waste
places, thou shalt raise up
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the foundations
of many generations;
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and thou shalt be called,
the repairer of the breach,
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the restorer of
paths to dwell in."
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The restorer of
paths to dwell in.
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Three thousand years
ago, Isaiah looked forward
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in time and foresaw a
people who would rediscover
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old truths and rebuild
a long forgotten dream.
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They would be
pathfinders for the world.
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But what may I ask was the dream
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they would rediscover.
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Today let me
post to you a question
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once asked of John the Baptist.
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If you would
like to follow along,
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you can turn to John,
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the gospel of John Chapter 1
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verses 19 and 22.
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"Now the Jews of
Jerusalem sent priests
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sent Levites to ask
John the Baptist who he was?
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Finally they said who are you?
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What do you say about yourself?
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Two millennia
ago, a great man of God
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was at the place
called "Bethabara"
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that's a wide spot
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on the east bank
of the Jordan River.
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John the Baptist was in fact
the first voice of revolution
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that would turn the world
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upside down with an empty tomb.
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He was a herald of the morning.
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And at Bethabara just
north of the Dead Sea,
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he waited for time and history
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to converge in for
the Lord of creation
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to make the 60 mile
walk south from Galilee.
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In another words, John
the Baptist, was an Adventist.
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But he was also
an active Adventist
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and he spent his time in waiting
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proclaiming
Messiah's soon arrival.
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An example of one of
his sermons was recorded
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by Matthew in his gospel
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which you can find at
Chapter 3 and verse 2.
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John the Baptist preached
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"Repent ye for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand."
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His message
naturally attracted attention
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for Israel was at the
time and occupied province
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of the gigantic Roman Empire.
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A tiny piece of Pax
Romana enforced by the male
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and armed might of
the legions of Rome.
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God's people were in captivity
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and it was time for Messiah.
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Soon word spread
westward across the mountains
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to Jerusalem about
this wild hills man
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proclaiming the arrival
of the kingdom of heaven.
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And as John's audiences
grew, so did their questions.
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Many thought he was the Messiah.
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And so finally a
group of government
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and religious
officials found John there
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at Bethabara and they
asked him two big questions.
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Who are you really?
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And what is it
you have to say to us?
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All of which bring me to you.
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Two thousand years later
another group of Adventists
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in the
wilderness waiting for time
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and history to once
more converge into something
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called the
second coming of Jesus.
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We aren't here by accident.
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We're not just
another denomination focused
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2,000 years in the past.
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We're in time people
within in time message.
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We are heralds of the morning.
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But what is the message
you've to proclaim to the world.
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What makes us
unique as a people?
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We rightly preach the Sabbath,
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but we got that
from Seventh-day Baptist.
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We preach health reform,
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but we share health
reform with Mormons.
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As to the Advent
many denominations today
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look for the soon
return of Jesus Christ.
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So what make us different?
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In other words who are you?
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And what is it you
have to say to the world?
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Well, let's open the word.
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Please turn with me
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if you will to the
Book of Revelation.
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Revelation
Chapter 14 verses 6 and 7,
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"And I saw another angel
fly in the midst of heaven,
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having the
everlasting gospel to preach
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unto them that
dwell on the earth,
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and to every nation,
kindred, tongue, and people,
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saying with a loud voice,
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fear God and give glory to him,
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for the hour of
his judgment is come".
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Might I respectfully suggest
we are a judgment our people
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with a judgment our message.
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The one unique doctrine
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we have is the
investigative judgment.
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In fact I would like to propose
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that the investigative judgment
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is not just an interesting idea,
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it's who we are as a people?
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So for just a few minutes
today you and me together,
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let's ask two important
questions about the judgment.
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Is the pre-advent
judgment biblical number one.
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Number two, is
it good news or bad.
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Question one,
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is the pre-advent
judgment biblical?
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You tell me it
is, let's prove it.
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The concept of a final
judgment pervades the Bible.
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Abraham was
obviously familiar with it,
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because during his
intercession for Sodom,
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he challenged God
with the ultimate argument.
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If you wanna follow you can turn
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to Genesis
Chapter 18 and verse 25.
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Abraham is speaking,
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he is pleading with God
for the people of Sodom.
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And he says,
"Far be it from thee
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to do such a thing as this,
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to slay the
righteous with the wicked,
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shall not the judge of
all the earth do right?"
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The writer of
Ecclesiastes echoes
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and Ecclesiastes
12:14 for "God shall bring
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every work into judgment
with every secret thing,
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whether it be good
or whether it be evil."
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Revelation actually
describes the judgment scene.
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"And I saw the
dead, small and great,
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standing before God,
and the books were opened;
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and another book was opened,
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which is the book of life,
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and the dead were judged
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according to their
works by the things
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which were
written in the books."
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So the judgment is
a biblical concept.
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But how can we prove
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that it occurs
before the advent.
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Take a look at Jude
1:14. Jude Chapter 1 verse 14
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"And Enoch also,
the seventh from Adam,
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prophesied of these,
saying, Behold, the Lord cometh
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with ten
thousands of his saints,
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to execute judgment upon all."
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Execute, I am a
second year law student
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at Georgetown
University Law Center
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and that word is filled
with legal meaning for me.
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You see legal systems
have several faces of trial.
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First you have a bad thing,
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somebody does something
wrong and another person
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having no sense of
humor sues them for it.
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Then the case goes to trial.
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There is opening statements,
examination of witnesses,
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cross
examination, closing argument,
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that is the process
were by the each side
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gets to put on their evidence,
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good and bad, try to destroy
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the evidence of the other side
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that is the
first phase of trial,
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it's called the
investigative phase.
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There is a second phase of trial
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however that's
where the jury files back
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into their deliberation room
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and they begin to go
over the various accounts
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of the facts
which people have given.
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They then decide
exactly what happened?
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They say, this
is the set of facts
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we find would have happened?
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Based on our
conclusion as the facts
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applying those
facts to the rule of law,
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the judge has instructed us
on we find for the defendant
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or we find for the plaintiff.
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That is entry of
judgment sentences pronounced,
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that's phase two.
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Phase one investigation,
phase two judgment,
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but there is a third phase.
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It called execution of judgment,
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execution of sentence.
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And if the person is
found to be either guilty
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or liable depending
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on whether it's a o
criminal or a civil case,
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the court then
carries out the judgment.
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Thus when judgment is executed
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as Jew describes it.
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They're already has
to have pinned a trial.
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And the trial is
the investigative phase
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of the process just the way
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Adventist pioneer described it.
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And just the way Jude
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described it in his little book.
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So in legal terms
execution is something
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that takes place after judgment.
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It happens after trial
and entry of the verdict.
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Hence if Christ at His coming
is going to execute judgment,
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the trial must all
ready have taken place.
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So it has to have
happened before the advent.
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So the concept of
a pre-advent judgment
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is quite biblical,
but we can also see
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God's endorsement of it
in our own church history.
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I recently had the
privilege of guiding tours
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to historic Adventist
sites in Northern New York.
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Among them was
the Hiram Edson Farm,
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where our sanctuary
doctrine was first discovered.
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Let me tell you
what happened there.
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And show you how
closely God guided the people
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who made the
sanctuary discovery.
00:12:59.24\00:13:03.10
On the clear great
dawn of October 23, 1844
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most Millerite
Adventist walked away
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from a time prophecy
that had accurately foretold
00:13:10.88\00:13:14.82
to the very year,
the arrival of Christ
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and to the very hour
when He would be crucified.
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Their hearts, their wallets,
00:13:24.82\00:13:26.20
and their lives had been broken
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on the dream of seeing Jesus.
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And as most turn their backs
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on the most profound message
00:13:36.37\00:13:38.97
in the Bible, a few hung on.
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They knew the
prophecy was correct.
00:13:46.74\00:13:50.97
They knew the date was right.
00:13:50.98\00:13:53.95
And so they clung to nothing
00:13:53.96\00:13:55.58
but their naked faith pleading
00:13:55.59\00:13:57.86
like Job with heaven.
00:13:57.87\00:13:59.43
Why, what did we
miss, what went wrong?
00:13:59.44\00:14:04.84
And one of those
believers was named Hiram Edson.
00:14:04.85\00:14:10.35
I told, no doubt
you've heard of him.
00:14:10.36\00:14:12.47
You might even
heard about his cornfield.
00:14:12.48\00:14:16.59
Well, let me tell you
what really happened there?
00:14:16.60\00:14:20.74
It's in greeted October 23
like all the other Adventist,
00:14:20.75\00:14:24.54
heart broken. He
hadn't seen the Lord.
00:14:24.55\00:14:29.22
But he was one of the
few that still believe
00:14:29.23\00:14:31.43
the date was right
even if the event wasn't.
00:14:31.44\00:14:36.28
So we went to his
granary to pray agonize
00:14:36.29\00:14:39.04
with the Lord in prayer.
00:14:39.05\00:14:40.72
Few friends were with him
00:14:40.73\00:14:42.36
and during prayer he
felt strangely encouraged.
00:14:42.37\00:14:44.95
He felt his love, the
clouds were beginning to part.
00:14:44.96\00:14:47.79
Now he didn't know
why they were wrong yet,
00:14:47.80\00:14:51.39
he still believed that
the prophecy was correct
00:14:51.40\00:14:55.16
and the God would
reveal the answer to him.
00:14:55.17\00:14:57.69
And so he started
out to go encourage
00:14:57.70\00:15:00.26
his neighbors
and for some reason
00:15:00.27\00:15:01.99
he crossed his cornfield.
00:15:02.00\00:15:03.44
The most like
reason is he wanted
00:15:03.45\00:15:05.72
to avoid ridicule
from his neighbors.
00:15:05.73\00:15:08.56
You see a lot
people back then who sang
00:15:08.57\00:15:11.75
about Jesus very
loudly every Sunday
00:15:11.76\00:15:15.00
got just a little
terrified at the thought
00:15:15.01\00:15:17.42
of actually
seeing Him come back.
00:15:17.43\00:15:22.09
And so they would get
the Millerite Adventist.
00:15:22.10\00:15:24.86
They would talk them,
00:15:24.87\00:15:25.90
in fact another
Millerite Adventist,
00:15:25.91\00:15:29.12
James White was
walking along a road
00:15:29.13\00:15:31.88
a few days after
the disappointment.
00:15:31.89\00:15:33.56
And one of his former
friends walked up to him
00:15:33.57\00:15:36.00
and said, oh, Brother White,
00:15:36.01\00:15:37.48
are you still in
land of the living.
00:15:37.49\00:15:39.75
Well, James White
perhaps being a little
00:15:39.76\00:15:41.49
thicker skin than Hiram Edson
00:15:41.50\00:15:42.89
was very quick
with the comeback.
00:15:42.90\00:15:44.11
He said, no brother I'm
in the land of the dying.
00:15:44.12\00:15:46.64
But when Jesus comes very soon
00:15:46.65\00:15:48.84
I will be in the
land of the living.
00:15:48.85\00:15:51.67
So Hiram Edson wants
to avoid this ridicule
00:15:51.68\00:15:54.98
that was so often
heaped on Millerite Adventist
00:15:54.99\00:15:58.13
and he crosses his
cornfield so as to avoid
00:15:58.14\00:16:00.72
earlier travelers on the road.
00:16:00.73\00:16:04.62
And as he walked
through that field,
00:16:04.63\00:16:07.03
a text flashed through his mind.
00:16:07.04\00:16:08.47
It was Daniel 7 and he
realized at that moment
00:16:08.48\00:16:12.41
that Jesus did go
somewhere on October 22
00:16:12.42\00:16:16.69
but he didn't go to earth.
00:16:16.70\00:16:20.19
And finally at
the end of the day
00:16:20.20\00:16:21.60
after visiting
with other believers,
00:16:21.61\00:16:23.52
he came home sat down
at a humble little table
00:16:23.53\00:16:27.14
that he'd made himself
00:16:27.15\00:16:28.36
on which was
sitting a large Bible.
00:16:28.37\00:16:30.66
And while this may
not be the preferred
00:16:30.67\00:16:33.49
method of Bible study.
00:16:33.50\00:16:34.81
He thought to himself well,
00:16:34.82\00:16:36.43
let's pray to the Lord
00:16:36.44\00:16:39.00
and let's ask Him to
guide us to the text we need.
00:16:39.01\00:16:46.67
So they had earnest prayer
00:16:46.68\00:16:47.77
and they just let
the Bible fall open
00:16:47.78\00:16:50.03
and would you like to
guess what text it fell open to.
00:16:50.04\00:16:54.46
It fell open to
Hebrews 8 and 9 Chapters
00:16:54.47\00:16:58.81
filled with symbolism
from the sanctuary service
00:16:58.82\00:17:02.00
and from the
judgment it foretold.
00:17:02.01\00:17:05.29
Take a look at Hebrews
Chapter 9 verses 23 and 24.
00:17:05.30\00:17:12.70
"It was therefore necessary
00:17:12.71\00:17:14.32
that the patterns of
things in the heavens
00:17:14.33\00:17:16.21
should be purified with these;
00:17:16.22\00:17:18.09
but the heavenly
things themselves
00:17:18.10\00:17:19.65
with better
sacrifices than these
00:17:19.66\00:17:22.43
for Christ is not entered
00:17:22.44\00:17:23.78
into the holy
places made with hands,
00:17:23.79\00:17:26.21
which are but
figures of the true
00:17:26.22\00:17:28.39
but into heaven itself,
00:17:28.40\00:17:30.48
now to appear in the
presence of God for us."
00:17:30.49\00:17:36.07
Think about it.
00:17:36.08\00:17:37.47
What Hiram Edson
needed to understand
00:17:37.48\00:17:40.93
was the truth of
the heavenly sanctuary
00:17:40.94\00:17:43.48
and the text God guided
him to are found in Hebrews
00:17:43.49\00:17:46.78
where the sanctuary
is so clearly described.
00:17:46.79\00:17:51.23
Over the next several weeks
00:17:51.24\00:17:52.49
with earnest prayer and study.
00:17:52.50\00:17:55.64
Hiram Edson and a
few believers discover
00:17:55.65\00:17:57.79
the mechanism by
which God deals with sin.
00:17:57.80\00:18:02.13
And in so doing, he put
00:18:02.14\00:18:03.46
the whole gospel
on a firm legal basis.
00:18:03.47\00:18:07.97
As most Christians
today what happens to sin
00:18:07.98\00:18:10.66
once you've confessed it
and given it to the Lord.
00:18:10.67\00:18:13.18
And they'll tell
you, well praise the Lord.
00:18:13.19\00:18:15.61
God throws it into
the depths of the sea
00:18:15.62\00:18:18.84
which is certainly true,
00:18:18.85\00:18:20.73
but if you stop there
00:18:20.74\00:18:21.90
you're only
getting half the story
00:18:21.91\00:18:24.38
and until you go on
you cannot understand
00:18:24.39\00:18:27.29
how the plan of salvation works.
00:18:27.30\00:18:29.45
Let me illustrate.
00:18:29.46\00:18:31.31
Suppose you're coming
home one day from happy hour,
00:18:31.32\00:18:35.05
you had one to many
you're seeing two lanes
00:18:35.06\00:18:37.08
when they should only be one
00:18:37.09\00:18:38.93
and you tip on the young father
00:18:38.94\00:18:40.22
in the intersection on
his way home from work.
00:18:40.23\00:18:43.29
He dies, you
sober up next morning
00:18:43.30\00:18:46.02
and you are very
sorry for what you've done.
00:18:46.03\00:18:49.05
You ask God to forgive
you and certainly He can,
00:18:49.06\00:18:52.54
but the effect of
that sin doesn't go away.
00:18:52.55\00:18:57.02
You see somewhere
00:18:57.03\00:18:58.06
in the large city that evening,
00:18:58.07\00:18:59.88
there is a young
mother going to be explaining
00:18:59.89\00:19:01.94
to her kids why daddy
isn't coming home anymore.
00:19:01.95\00:19:06.60
The effect of
sin even forgiven sin
00:19:06.61\00:19:09.59
does not just go away.
00:19:09.60\00:19:13.29
Something has to happen to it.
00:19:13.30\00:19:15.06
Our entire world
operates on laws,
00:19:15.07\00:19:17.86
the law of gravity.
00:19:17.87\00:19:18.87
If I jump off the
Empire State building,
00:19:18.88\00:19:20.96
I know I'm committing suicide,
00:19:20.97\00:19:22.60
because gravity will certainly
00:19:22.61\00:19:23.91
pull me down to the bottom.
00:19:23.92\00:19:26.80
If I commit a sin
something just assuredly
00:19:26.81\00:19:31.22
will have to die as a result.
00:19:31.23\00:19:35.16
There are two great
mysteries which the Lord says,
00:19:35.17\00:19:37.51
"We will never understand,
00:19:37.52\00:19:38.52
one is godliness,
the other is sin."
00:19:38.53\00:19:41.54
And so the Lord does exactly
00:19:41.55\00:19:43.00
what I would do if I
were arguing the case
00:19:43.01\00:19:45.38
to you and you are on a jury.
00:19:45.39\00:19:47.02
He goes and he
draws you a picture.
00:19:47.03\00:19:50.61
Say its real simple there
is a couple of rooms here,
00:19:50.62\00:19:52.93
there is a courtyard,
there is some furniture.
00:19:52.94\00:19:55.03
If you follow the pageantry
00:19:55.04\00:19:56.62
of this service
you can understand,
00:19:56.63\00:19:59.20
you can at least
grasp how ideal was sin.
00:19:59.21\00:20:03.55
You don't have to die
00:20:03.56\00:20:04.90
through the pageantry
of the sanctuary service.
00:20:04.91\00:20:08.01
I can transfer your guilt
00:20:08.02\00:20:09.98
to the person responsible for.
00:20:09.99\00:20:13.12
That is the beauty
00:20:13.13\00:20:15.08
of the heavenly
sanctuary message.
00:20:15.09\00:20:17.32
That is the best
news in the whole gospel.
00:20:17.33\00:20:20.80
And folks, if
anybody ever tells you
00:20:20.81\00:20:26.03
that believing in
the heavenly sanctuary
00:20:26.04\00:20:28.42
makes Satan your savior.
00:20:28.43\00:20:29.86
My response to that is
if you can believe that,
00:20:29.87\00:20:33.38
you can believe
it watching my uncle
00:20:33.39\00:20:34.82
drink himself to
death makes me a drunk.
00:20:34.83\00:20:36.79
It just doesn't work that way.
00:20:36.80\00:20:39.33
All right, Jesus takes my sin.
00:20:39.34\00:20:43.73
I give my sin to God
00:20:43.74\00:20:44.86
what He does with
it, is His business.
00:20:44.87\00:20:48.53
So an answer to
our first question
00:20:48.54\00:20:50.31
is the pre-advent
judgment biblical,
00:20:50.32\00:20:52.76
the answer is absolutely.
00:20:52.77\00:20:55.23
Something happened
on October 22, 1844.
00:20:55.24\00:20:58.79
It obviously was
not the second coming,
00:20:58.80\00:21:00.97
because here we still are.
00:21:00.98\00:21:03.37
But as Edson and a few
other discovered October 22
00:21:03.38\00:21:07.08
was the beginning of
the pre-advent judgment,
00:21:07.09\00:21:10.89
which brings us very
briefly to question number two,
00:21:10.90\00:21:13.72
is the judgment
good news or bad?
00:21:13.73\00:21:17.21
Let's open the book of Daniel,
00:21:17.22\00:21:18.70
Daniel Chapter
7 verses 9 and 10.
00:21:18.71\00:21:22.08
"I beheld till the
thrones were cast down,
00:21:22.09\00:21:24.33
and the Ancient of days did sit,
00:21:24.34\00:21:26.38
whose garment was white as snow,
00:21:26.39\00:21:28.36
and the hair of his
head like the pure wool,
00:21:28.37\00:21:32.99
his throne was
like the fiery flames,
00:21:33.00\00:21:34.82
and his wheels as burning fire.
00:21:34.83\00:21:37.10
A fiery stream issued
and came from before him,
00:21:37.11\00:21:40.37
thousands,
thousands ministered unto him,
00:21:40.38\00:21:42.72
and ten thousand
times ten thousand
00:21:42.73\00:21:44.72
stood before him
the judgment was set,
00:21:44.73\00:21:47.83
and the books were opened."
00:21:47.84\00:21:50.88
Now Daniel is unmistakably
describing a courtroom.
00:21:50.89\00:21:54.21
All the necessary
actors are present.
00:21:54.22\00:21:56.32
A presiding
officer, court attendance,
00:21:56.33\00:21:59.09
even a formal gathering
and books which are obviously
00:21:59.10\00:22:03.10
transcripts containing evidence.
00:22:03.11\00:22:06.03
As we saw earlier,
it is one of the most
00:22:06.04\00:22:08.30
the Bible's most obvious truths
00:22:08.31\00:22:10.41
that one day there will
be investigative judgment
00:22:10.42\00:22:13.07
in which every human
life will be reviewed.
00:22:13.08\00:22:17.49
Unfortunately having
grasped the concept of judgment,
00:22:17.50\00:22:21.67
most Christians
become terrified of it.
00:22:21.68\00:22:25.30
Portrayed as an acting
tyrant seeking to fuel hell
00:22:25.31\00:22:28.33
with anybody who
deviates from the law in anyway,
00:22:28.34\00:22:31.96
God has been
slandered by the very people
00:22:31.97\00:22:34.82
who claim to preach His word.
00:22:34.83\00:22:36.87
And in the process
Christians have complicated
00:22:36.88\00:22:39.72
the obvious and
trivialize the momentous
00:22:39.73\00:22:42.09
and the real loser
is our Lord Himself,
00:22:42.10\00:22:44.93
whose wonderful
ministry on our behalf
00:22:44.94\00:22:47.43
is lost in the process.
00:22:47.44\00:22:50.08
But as Hiram Edson
and the few believers
00:22:50.09\00:22:52.28
rediscovered
Daniel's view of the judgment
00:22:52.29\00:22:55.23
is the most powerful argument
00:22:55.24\00:22:57.12
against such an interpretation,
00:22:57.13\00:22:59.25
because Daniel focuses us
on who the judge really is?
00:22:59.26\00:23:03.92
Now in Daniel's
heavenly courtroom scene
00:23:03.93\00:23:06.11
all heaven is assembled.
00:23:06.12\00:23:07.99
The ancient of days glittering
00:23:08.00\00:23:09.91
host of angelic
officers who await
00:23:09.92\00:23:11.91
his orders even the records.
00:23:11.92\00:23:14.73
But somebody hasn't arrived yet,
00:23:14.74\00:23:16.99
the judge is not there.
00:23:17.00\00:23:19.68
Most people think
that God the Father,
00:23:19.69\00:23:21.80
is our judge but
it just isn't so.
00:23:21.81\00:23:25.16
You remember John
5:22, Jesus is the judge,
00:23:25.17\00:23:29.70
"The father judgeth no man,
00:23:29.71\00:23:31.14
but hath committed all
judgment unto the son."
00:23:31.15\00:23:36.46
And in Daniel 7:9 and 10
Jesus hasn't arrived yet.
00:23:36.47\00:23:41.65
He doesn't arrive until 3 verses
00:23:41.66\00:23:43.68
later in Daniel 7:13.
00:23:43.69\00:23:46.36
We see him arrive in
the heavenly courtroom
00:23:46.37\00:23:48.52
accompanied by a
cloud of angelic attendance.
00:23:48.53\00:23:52.40
"I saw in the night
visions, and behold,
00:23:52.41\00:23:54.71
one like the Son of Man
00:23:54.72\00:23:56.18
came with the clouds of heaven,
00:23:56.19\00:24:00.07
and came to the Ancient of days,
00:24:00.08\00:24:02.00
and they brought
him near before him."
00:24:02.01\00:24:04.96
Quite obviously
Jesus does go somewhere
00:24:04.97\00:24:07.92
in the vision of Daniel 7
just before judgment begins.
00:24:07.93\00:24:12.42
So something did
happened on October 22,
00:24:12.43\00:24:15.74
Jesus went to begin
purifying the sanctuary,
00:24:15.75\00:24:19.37
but not the earthly one
as William Miller thought.
00:24:19.38\00:24:22.20
He went to begin purifying
the sanctuary in heaven.
00:24:22.21\00:24:26.19
So what the investigative
judgment says to us
00:24:26.20\00:24:28.90
is that Jesus our
divine human brother
00:24:28.91\00:24:31.66
is also our judge.
00:24:31.67\00:24:34.43
Now is that bad news or good.
00:24:34.44\00:24:37.29
Of course it's good news.
00:24:37.30\00:24:38.69
We're being judged by somebody
00:24:38.70\00:24:40.17
willing to die for us.
00:24:40.18\00:24:43.67
You think the news can't
get any better than that.
00:24:43.68\00:24:45.97
Well, I got news
for you, it does.
00:24:45.98\00:24:48.06
Not only is Jesus our judge,
00:24:48.07\00:24:50.13
He is our defense attorney.
00:24:50.14\00:24:52.04
First John 2:1,
"My little children,
00:24:52.05\00:24:55.07
these things I write to you,
00:24:55.08\00:24:57.22
that ye may not
sin, but if anyone sins,
00:24:57.23\00:25:01.44
we have an
advocate with the Father,
00:25:01.45\00:25:04.36
Jesus Christ the righteous.
00:25:04.37\00:25:07.53
" What's an advocate?
00:25:07.54\00:25:08.86
An advocate a lawyer
00:25:08.87\00:25:10.39
and the Bible does something
00:25:10.40\00:25:11.76
that no legal system
on earth has ever done,
00:25:11.77\00:25:14.72
except the Hebrew system itself.
00:25:14.73\00:25:17.37
It combines the offices
00:25:17.38\00:25:19.01
of judge and defense attorney.
00:25:19.02\00:25:21.96
In another words
the same individual
00:25:21.97\00:25:23.81
judging us is
also arguing our case,
00:25:23.82\00:25:27.56
the judge is committed
to obtaining our salvation.
00:25:27.57\00:25:33.91
Now you think about it.
00:25:33.92\00:25:35.24
How can a person
have any fuller assurance
00:25:35.25\00:25:38.29
of salvation than that?
00:25:38.30\00:25:40.97
Folks, you can't lose the case
00:25:40.98\00:25:42.65
like that unless you
make the ultimate mistake
00:25:42.66\00:25:45.48
and fire your lawyer.
00:25:45.49\00:25:48.89
So on the morning
of October 23, 1844,
00:25:48.90\00:25:52.17
Hiram Edson sense the
truth that would open up
00:25:52.18\00:25:55.22
the whole concept of
the heavenly judgment.
00:25:55.23\00:25:58.86
In Daniel 7:9 to 13, we see
00:25:58.87\00:26:01.13
Jesus commencing a judgment
00:26:01.14\00:26:03.50
that is some of the
best news in the Bible.
00:26:03.51\00:26:08.12
He is our great cosmic lawyer
00:26:08.13\00:26:09.88
will defend our
cases so completely,
00:26:09.89\00:26:12.84
that even the lowest of sinners
00:26:12.85\00:26:15.73
can have hope, think about it.
00:26:15.74\00:26:18.58
David as wile a
sinner has ever lived
00:26:18.59\00:26:22.13
who can take his
faithful general's wife
00:26:22.14\00:26:25.18
and then commit a
murder to cover his sin,
00:26:25.19\00:26:28.38
could find
forgiveness so complete
00:26:28.39\00:26:30.43
that he repeatedly begs
God to hasten his judgment.
00:26:30.44\00:26:35.39
You can find it in Psalms 7:8,
00:26:35.40\00:26:37.58
26:1, 35:24 and
54:1. Hiram Edson sense
00:26:37.59\00:26:43.97
just how good the
news was and decided
00:26:43.98\00:26:46.16
it was worth everything he had.
00:26:46.17\00:26:48.81
Without going into
details I can tell you
00:26:48.82\00:26:51.77
he sold both his farms
00:26:51.78\00:26:53.17
one of them had
interest in his father's farms
00:26:53.18\00:26:55.07
for one dollar
because Jesus was coming.
00:26:55.08\00:26:57.79
He sold two more
farms for $2,200 and $3,500
00:26:57.80\00:27:04.20
to help advance the work.
00:27:04.21\00:27:06.16
That's the level
of the commitment
00:27:06.17\00:27:07.45
we find in our pioneers.
00:27:07.46\00:27:09.65
That's our heritage as Adventist
00:27:09.66\00:27:12.29
and that's why a
tiny denomination grew
00:27:12.30\00:27:14.57
so rapidly that within
a couple of generations,
00:27:14.58\00:27:17.36
we had per capita of
the most extensive system
00:27:17.37\00:27:20.36
of mission work in
the protestant world.
00:27:20.37\00:27:24.50
"And I saw another angel
fly in the midst of heaven,
00:27:24.51\00:27:26.94
having the everlasting
gospel to preach unto them
00:27:26.95\00:27:29.34
that dwell on the
earth, to every nation,
00:27:29.35\00:27:31.76
and kindred, and tongue,
00:27:31.77\00:27:32.89
and people saying
with a loud voice,
00:27:32.90\00:27:35.50
fear God, and give glory to him,
00:27:35.51\00:27:37.79
for the hour of
his judgment is come."
00:27:37.80\00:27:42.35
And so today in response
00:27:42.36\00:27:43.60
to the Millennia old questions
00:27:43.61\00:27:45.08
asked of John the
Baptist, who are you?
00:27:45.09\00:27:46.94
And what you have
to say to the world?
00:27:46.95\00:27:49.50
And I respectfully
suggest you are heralds
00:27:49.51\00:27:51.61
of the morning
with the best news
00:27:51.62\00:27:53.67
in the gospel
judgment has already began.
00:27:53.68\00:27:56.61
And you have a
friend at the throne.
00:27:56.62\00:27:59.45