I remember as a young man sitting in on a lecture 00:00:27.52\00:00:30.34 listening to a preacher talk about the great beasts 00:00:30.44\00:00:34.65 of the book of Daniel. 00:00:34.95\00:00:36.44 I remember the first one was like a lion 00:00:36.94\00:00:41.95 and it had eagle's wings. 00:00:42.15\00:00:43.62 And the second was a bear. And it was a funny bear 00:00:44.02\00:00:47.08 because it was raised up on one side and it had three ribs 00:00:47.28\00:00:49.85 in its mouth. The third beast was a leopard. 00:00:49.95\00:00:52.88 And it was a strange leopard, too, because it had 4 heads 00:00:53.08\00:00:56.14 and wings. And the fourth beast was so dreadful 00:00:56.24\00:00:59.33 that even the Bible prophet couldn't imagine 00:00:59.43\00:01:01.95 what a... that an animal looked like it at all. 00:01:02.15\00:01:04.32 It was just an indescribable beast. 00:01:04.42\00:01:06.95 What I didn't understand then that I clearly understand now 00:01:07.25\00:01:10.95 is that these beasts didn't exist as beasts. 00:01:11.15\00:01:13.47 Rather they were representative of something. For example, 00:01:14.57\00:01:17.56 it's like if you picked up the newspaper tomorrow 00:01:17.76\00:01:22.21 and there you saw the kangaroo in the cartoon section 00:01:22.45\00:01:27.01 immediately what nation is in the news? 00:01:27.31\00:01:30.60 Australia... because everybody knows that the jumping kangaroo 00:01:30.90\00:01:35.30 represents Australia. Now the interesting thing is 00:01:35.50\00:01:38.93 that the idea of using animals to represent nations 00:01:40.40\00:01:43.48 did not originate with with the cartoons. 00:01:43.58\00:01:48.55 It actually originated in the Bible. 00:01:48.95\00:01:51.86 The Bible was the first book to use animals 00:01:52.16\00:01:54.79 to represent nations. 00:01:55.09\00:01:56.53 And today we're going to study an amazing prophecy 00:01:56.94\00:02:00.66 from the book of Daniel that uses animals 00:02:00.86\00:02:03.78 to represent nations like we still do today 00:02:03.98\00:02:07.04 with the kangaroo of Australia, and the lion, Great Britain, 00:02:07.24\00:02:10.24 and the eagle, America, and so forth. 00:02:10.44\00:02:12.66 So would you open your Bibles to Daniel the 7th chapter... 00:02:13.86\00:02:17.23 Daniel chapter 7 and we'll notice here verse 17. 00:02:17.43\00:02:22.43 Daniel 7 and verse 17. 00:02:22.73\00:02:25.63 Here Daniel is told after seeing these 4 great beasts... 00:02:28.17\00:02:32.73 This is what he is told in verse 17: 00:02:32.83\00:02:35.04 So you see, like we have found with the Bible 00:02:45.69\00:02:48.45 when you allow the Bible to explain itself 00:02:48.65\00:02:50.69 there is no question as to the interpretation. 00:02:50.89\00:02:54.09 The Bible has already told us the interpretation 00:02:54.19\00:02:57.23 so when we see these animals now 00:02:58.52\00:03:00.58 we immediately recognize that the Bible says they represent 00:03:00.78\00:03:04.25 kings or kingdoms. 00:03:04.45\00:03:05.85 Now if we go back to verse 2 of chapter 7 00:03:06.15\00:03:08.84 we begin to notice a description of each of these 4 animals. 00:03:09.04\00:03:13.43 Now you can see whether the artist has pictured this exactly 00:03:41.13\00:03:46.36 as Daniel saw it... I don't know. 00:03:46.56\00:03:48.55 But the picture you are seeing now is very close to what 00:03:48.65\00:03:51.36 Daniel no doubt saw. 00:03:51.46\00:03:52.86 This lion was no ordinary lion because it had eagle's wings. 00:03:53.06\00:03:57.97 But the difference with this lion is that it had a man's 00:03:58.21\00:04:01.10 heart. Now when we talk about a man having a lion's heart 00:04:01.20\00:04:05.39 what do we usually mean by that? 00:04:05.59\00:04:07.05 Yes. Strong and resilient and so forth. 00:04:07.85\00:04:10.94 Now a lion having a man's heart would be the opposite. 00:04:11.24\00:04:15.18 And the great lion of ancient history 00:04:17.01\00:04:20.04 if you went back to the ancient world and went over to Babylon 00:04:20.24\00:04:24.13 you would see the lion still. If you walk the streets 00:04:24.33\00:04:27.95 of Babylon today - which is in modern Iraq - 00:04:28.15\00:04:31.07 and you can still see the giant lions. 00:04:31.37\00:04:35.41 There's one right on the processional way. 00:04:35.51\00:04:38.38 And this lion is actually standing on a man, indicating 00:04:38.69\00:04:41.92 that the great empire of Babylon which reigned from 00:04:42.12\00:04:45.58 606 BC to 538 BC 00:04:45.79\00:04:50.57 dominated the world. And it did! 00:04:50.87\00:04:53.58 And the wings represent the speed with which Babylon was 00:04:54.84\00:04:58.48 going to conquer the world. 00:04:58.68\00:05:00.48 And it's interesting that Babylon has come down to us 00:05:03.24\00:05:07.27 as the symbol because some of you may remember 00:05:07.47\00:05:09.54 a few years ago when you went to the supermarket you 00:05:09.74\00:05:11.68 could buy dates. And the brand of date that you could buy 00:05:11.88\00:05:16.54 was called The Lion of Babylon dates 00:05:16.74\00:05:18.77 because they came from Iraq. 00:05:20.17\00:05:22.92 And I don't think that there would be too many authorities 00:05:23.91\00:05:26.98 that would disagree that the lion represents Babylon. 00:05:27.08\00:05:31.24 That great kingdom: probably the greatest kingdom 00:05:31.34\00:05:34.12 that ever pressed this earth. 00:05:34.33\00:05:36.20 And it became its most popular period under a king by the 00:05:36.50\00:05:40.42 name of Nebuchadnezzar. 00:05:40.52\00:05:42.12 It's often called the neo-Babylonian empire. 00:05:42.42\00:05:45.50 But Babylon wasn't going to last forever because the Bible 00:05:45.81\00:05:48.86 went on to say in verse 5: 00:05:49.06\00:05:52.73 Now when the Babylonian empire fell in the year 538 BC 00:06:06.94\00:06:10.64 it was followed by the next world-dominating power. 00:06:10.84\00:06:13.68 And you historians will remember who it was. 00:06:13.98\00:06:17.19 Who was it? Yes... the Medes and the Persians 00:06:17.39\00:06:21.44 represented here by this bear standing up on one side 00:06:21.84\00:06:25.76 indicating that one of the sides was stronger than the other 00:06:25.96\00:06:29.03 or higher than the other. It was a coalition government 00:06:29.23\00:06:31.81 like Austria-Hungary in the last war... 00:06:32.01\00:06:33.86 the Medes and the Persians. 00:06:34.06\00:06:35.36 In fact you can go over to Iran today where the 00:06:35.56\00:06:38.77 ancient city of Persepolis, 00:06:38.97\00:06:40.46 the headquarters of the Mede and Persian empire. 00:06:40.66\00:06:43.48 And you can see all over the walls... I have walked around 00:06:43.68\00:06:46.63 the city. You can see a flat hat on a soldier followed by 00:06:46.83\00:06:51.23 a round hat. A flat hat, a round hat. A flat hat, 00:06:51.43\00:06:53.96 a round hat because there was a Mede followed by a Persian. 00:06:54.16\00:06:57.71 A Mede followed by a Persian. A Mede followed by a Persian. 00:06:57.91\00:07:01.41 And as I walked around I saw 00:07:02.26\00:07:04.74 where the stone had been protected from the elements 00:07:04.94\00:07:07.29 and they still had that mirror finish on that stone. 00:07:07.49\00:07:11.07 You could see your own picture reflected in the stone. 00:07:11.27\00:07:14.24 And I thought to myself: "what an amazing city 00:07:14.64\00:07:17.46 it must have been in its hey-day! " 00:07:17.66\00:07:19.65 And the three ribs in its mouth represent the three nations 00:07:19.95\00:07:23.55 that the Medes and the Persians overthrew - 00:07:23.75\00:07:25.90 Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt - 00:07:26.10\00:07:28.28 in order to conquer the world. 00:07:28.58\00:07:30.29 But even the Medes and the Persians weren't going to last 00:07:30.59\00:07:32.64 forever because the Bible says... verse 6: 00:07:32.84\00:07:35.29 Now once again this leopard is no ordinary leopard. 00:07:46.34\00:07:49.61 As you can see it's got four heads and wings. 00:07:49.81\00:07:52.99 We know very well that a leopard is known for its speed. 00:07:53.19\00:07:56.33 And this next power that was going to take over 00:07:56.63\00:07:59.55 in the year 331 BC when the Medes and the Persians fell - 00:07:59.75\00:08:03.97 because they reigned from 538 BC to 331 BC - 00:08:04.17\00:08:08.07 then the next world power that came on in the year 331 00:08:08.27\00:08:12.74 was none other than the great Grecian empire 00:08:12.94\00:08:16.65 led by Alexander the Great, the great Macedonian king. 00:08:16.75\00:08:20.78 An amazing man. 00:08:21.97\00:08:23.56 Conquered the then-known world by the age of 33. 00:08:23.86\00:08:27.69 And when you think of the map... 00:08:28.95\00:08:31.62 If you could imagine the map laid out before you 00:08:31.83\00:08:33.99 right through to the borders of India right from the 00:08:34.20\00:08:37.49 most extreme west right through to the borders of India 00:08:37.69\00:08:41.39 Alexander the Great had conquered the then-known world. 00:08:41.59\00:08:44.38 An amazing man. 00:08:44.58\00:08:45.74 Probably the greatest general the world has ever known. 00:08:45.95\00:08:48.34 And the wings represent the speed with which he was going to 00:08:49.59\00:08:53.27 conquer the world. And it's interesting that 00:08:53.37\00:08:55.42 Alexander the Great had 120 generals, and they all fought 00:08:55.53\00:08:58.57 among one another as to who was going to become the next 00:08:58.67\00:09:01.09 Alexander the Great when he died. 00:09:01.30\00:09:03.47 And it's interesting that they reduced themselves 00:09:03.67\00:09:05.86 to exactly four: Lysimachus, 00:09:06.07\00:09:09.51 Cassander, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. 00:09:09.71\00:09:13.33 And they divided his empire north, south, east, and west. 00:09:13.73\00:09:17.67 For example, the Ptolemy... the Ptolemaic empire... 00:09:17.88\00:09:22.13 what part of the world was that? 00:09:22.33\00:09:24.21 That's the Egyptian part of the world. 00:09:24.51\00:09:26.42 And you remember reading about Marc Antony and Cleopatra. 00:09:26.72\00:09:30.85 And so his kingdom was divided into four divisions. 00:09:32.10\00:09:35.29 But even Alexander's wonderful kingdom finally came to an end 00:09:36.50\00:09:41.22 in the year 168 BC. 00:09:41.43\00:09:43.39 And it was going to be followed by the fourth world empire. 00:09:43.69\00:09:46.22 Verse 7: 00:09:46.42\00:09:47.87 Now this 4th beast was just... Well, Daniel couldn't 00:10:08.77\00:10:13.26 think of a beast that looked like it. 00:10:13.46\00:10:14.78 And the artist has tried to do his best, too, to figure what 00:10:15.08\00:10:18.78 it would have looked like. And this beast was different 00:10:18.88\00:10:21.51 because it had 10 horns. 00:10:21.61\00:10:23.65 And Daniel's attention now was centered on those 10 horns. 00:10:23.68\00:10:27.60 And by the way, what was the power that took over 00:10:27.90\00:10:30.92 when Greece fell in the year 168 BC? 00:10:31.12\00:10:34.98 By the way, this was the power that was ruling when Jesus 00:10:35.18\00:10:37.96 was born and continued right through until the year 476 AD. 00:10:38.06\00:10:42.81 It lasted longer than any of the other world powers. 00:10:43.11\00:10:45.67 What was the power? The Roman Empire. 00:10:45.87\00:10:48.45 We're down in more familiar ground here. 00:10:48.65\00:10:50.75 Daniel's attention now was going to be riveted on those 10 horns 00:10:51.05\00:10:54.61 because he says in verse 8: 00:10:55.01\00:10:56.91 So as Daniel was watching this power, 00:11:12.95\00:11:16.07 these 10 horns, he then noticed 00:11:16.28\00:11:18.01 another little horn that came up and actually uprooted 00:11:18.22\00:11:21.74 three of those ten. 00:11:21.94\00:11:24.65 Daniel's attention couldn't be taken off this little horn. 00:11:26.18\00:11:31.52 And if you come over to verse 23 00:11:31.83\00:11:34.09 on the next page it tells us a little bit more about 00:11:34.29\00:11:37.15 what was going to happen. Verse 23: 00:11:37.35\00:11:39.27 Verse 24: the ten horns are what? 00:11:49.74\00:11:52.82 So here the Bible makes it very, very clear 00:12:06.51\00:12:09.76 that among those ten horns 00:12:09.96\00:12:13.09 was going to come up this little horn, 00:12:13.29\00:12:15.44 uproot three of those horns. 00:12:15.65\00:12:18.57 Now when Rome finally fell in the year 476 AD... 00:12:18.87\00:12:23.93 You see, if I'd been writing the Bible I would have been tempted 00:12:24.13\00:12:26.09 to say that if Babylon was followed by Medo-Persia, 00:12:26.19\00:12:28.78 Medo-Persia was followed in turn by Greece, 00:12:28.98\00:12:30.89 Greece in turn was followed by Rome, 00:12:31.09\00:12:33.60 what would you naturally think? 00:12:33.81\00:12:35.57 That when Rome fell it would be followed by a 5th world empire. 00:12:35.87\00:12:39.62 But the prophet said "no. " 00:12:39.82\00:12:41.49 The prophet said it's going to be divided into 10 divisions. 00:12:41.69\00:12:45.55 And it was actually the Barbarians coming down 00:12:46.05\00:12:49.33 from the north and from the south... the Vandals coming up 00:12:49.53\00:12:51.87 from the south that attacked Rome's borders. 00:12:52.07\00:12:54.21 And finally Rome began to fall. 00:12:54.31\00:12:57.17 And it was completed in the year 476 AD. 00:12:57.47\00:13:01.95 And the interesting thing is out of those 10 divisions 00:13:02.25\00:13:05.76 come what we call Europe today. 00:13:05.96\00:13:08.15 Because it was the break-up of the Roman Empire that 00:13:08.45\00:13:12.00 gives us our nations of Europe today. For example, 00:13:12.20\00:13:14.47 the Anglo-Saxons became known as the British. 00:13:14.57\00:13:19.08 The Alemanni were the Germans. 00:13:19.18\00:13:22.03 The Franks were the French. 00:13:22.13\00:13:23.97 And basically our nations of Europe today have come about 00:13:24.09\00:13:28.74 because of the break-up of the Roman Empire. 00:13:28.94\00:13:32.04 Because God said it would never be another world one empire 00:13:32.34\00:13:35.96 that would unite Europe. Instead Europe will be fragmented. 00:13:36.16\00:13:40.72 And of those ten, three are not going to survive. 00:13:41.78\00:13:45.31 And the three that finally didn't survive 00:13:45.71\00:13:48.91 were the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths. 00:13:49.11\00:13:51.34 They were absorbed by the rising power in Italy. 00:13:51.48\00:13:55.83 Because that power was a religious power as well as a 00:13:56.23\00:13:59.95 political power, and so they subdued those other 3 nations. 00:14:00.05\00:14:04.80 And that's why we haven't got any remnants of the Heruli, 00:14:05.00\00:14:07.79 the Ostrogoths, or the Vandals today 00:14:07.99\00:14:11.10 because they have all gone. 00:14:11.20\00:14:13.32 But in verse 25 God went on to describe in more detail 00:14:13.62\00:14:17.51 what this little horn was going to do. 00:14:17.71\00:14:19.13 Because the rest of the chapter now centers about 00:14:19.33\00:14:21.84 what this little horn was going to do. Verse 25: 00:14:22.04\00:14:24.44 The intention, the Bible says, of this little horn will be to 00:14:39.08\00:14:43.23 change the law of God and the times within the law. 00:14:43.43\00:14:48.15 Its sole aim would be to attack God's law. 00:14:48.65\00:14:53.14 It would not only do that, it would speak great words 00:14:53.44\00:14:56.84 against the Most High. 00:14:57.04\00:14:58.40 Now before we identify the antichrist 00:14:58.50\00:15:00.73 because that's what we need to do this afternoon 00:15:00.93\00:15:02.82 we need to have a look and remind ourselves 00:15:02.92\00:15:04.97 what Jesus said about the law. 00:15:05.17\00:15:06.72 Just come over to Matthew chapter 5 in the New Testament. 00:15:07.02\00:15:09.74 Matthew the 5th chapter. 00:15:09.94\00:15:11.70 And we'll notice just before we venture any further 00:15:12.20\00:15:15.68 what Jesus said about the law. Matthew 5 and verse 17 00:15:15.98\00:15:20.15 where Jesus said here in verse 17: 00:15:20.25\00:15:23.57 You see, there were some people in Jesus' day who thought 00:15:31.48\00:15:33.99 that His purpose was to destroy or do away with the law. 00:15:34.20\00:15:37.88 And Jesus said: "Don't you think that I've come to do that 00:15:38.18\00:15:40.84 at all! I haven't come to destroy it; 00:15:41.04\00:15:43.17 I've come to fulfill it. " 00:15:43.37\00:15:44.50 That word fulfill means to fully preach 00:15:44.80\00:15:46.47 because Jesus said on another occasion 00:15:46.67\00:15:48.54 "I have come to fulfill all righteousness. " 00:15:48.74\00:15:50.95 Now that doesn't mean to do away with it. 00:15:51.26\00:15:52.75 It means to fully preach it, to expand it out 00:15:52.95\00:15:55.79 so everybody would understand it. 00:15:55.99\00:15:57.48 And here Jesus came to fully preach the law. 00:15:57.78\00:16:01.08 "Don't think I've come to destroy it. " 00:16:01.28\00:16:02.73 And He made that very clear in verse 17... verse 18: 00:16:02.74\00:16:05.97 That jot and tittle is probably not an expression that you use 00:16:16.89\00:16:19.96 today. What it means is... We have an equivalent in English 00:16:20.16\00:16:24.46 and the equivalent is... You know, when you're writing 00:16:24.66\00:16:26.67 out a passage you might... you go back and you dot 00:16:26.78\00:16:28.85 your i's and you cross your t's? 00:16:29.05\00:16:30.34 That's the jot and the tittle in the original language. 00:16:30.54\00:16:34.22 And Jesus said: "Even the dotting of an i 00:16:34.52\00:16:37.36 or the crossing of a t will not pass from the law 00:16:37.56\00:16:40.80 while heaven is above and earth beneath. " 00:16:41.00\00:16:44.00 Now I don't think anybody in the world would suggest that 00:16:44.79\00:16:47.35 heaven's been done away with and the earth been done away with. 00:16:47.45\00:16:49.76 So not even the dotting of an i or the crossing of a t 00:16:50.07\00:16:53.33 will pass while heaven is above and earth beneath. 00:16:53.53\00:16:56.97 Verse 19: 00:16:57.27\00:16:59.97 And Jesus said: "If you want to be called great 00:17:13.22\00:17:15.25 in the kingdom of heaven, you keep the commandments 00:17:15.38\00:17:17.62 yourself and you teach others to keep them. " 00:17:17.72\00:17:20.00 But He said: "If you want to have no part in God's kingdom, 00:17:21.47\00:17:24.37 don't keep the commandments yourself and you teach others 00:17:24.57\00:17:26.84 that they've been done away with. " 00:17:27.04\00:17:28.56 It's a very serious thing to say that the Ten Commandments 00:17:28.80\00:17:31.33 have been done away with. And yet we have just read 00:17:31.53\00:17:34.19 back in the book of Daniel where God says 00:17:34.29\00:17:36.74 there's going to come a power and that power's great 00:17:36.84\00:17:39.97 aim will be to do away with the law of God. 00:17:40.17\00:17:45.21 Jesus said He would never do away with it. 00:17:45.35\00:17:47.43 And there's no question that He's talking about the 00:17:47.63\00:17:49.46 Ten Commandments because He quotes from some of them. 00:17:49.56\00:17:52.50 If you go down to verse 21, for example. It says: 00:17:52.70\00:17:55.06 And then if you go down to verse 27: 00:18:02.50\00:18:04.31 "You have heard that it was said to those of old 'you shall 00:18:04.51\00:18:06.94 not commit adultery. ' " So Jesus was quoting 00:18:07.04\00:18:09.76 from some of the Ten Commandments, and He says 00:18:09.89\00:18:12.68 "As long as heaven is above and earth beneath 00:18:12.82\00:18:15.80 not even the dotting of an i or the crossing of a t 00:18:15.94\00:18:19.16 will pass from that law. " 00:18:19.29\00:18:22.23 And yet we have read about a power back there 00:18:22.36\00:18:24.81 in the book of Daniel that's going to think itself 00:18:24.94\00:18:27.21 able to change the law of God. 00:18:27.34\00:18:29.88 You know, it's not a very popular thing today 00:18:31.27\00:18:33.25 to teach and uphold the Ten Commandments. 00:18:33.38\00:18:36.15 Now some of you may wonder about that statement 00:18:36.39\00:18:39.97 but it's true, let me tell you. 00:18:40.10\00:18:41.32 You tell people that you're planning on keeping the 00:18:41.55\00:18:44.84 commandments and all of the commandments and mention 00:18:44.97\00:18:46.87 the Sabbath and see what happens. 00:18:47.01\00:18:48.45 I'll guarantee the next breath 00:18:48.68\00:18:51.18 that the person breathes that you're talking to 00:18:51.32\00:18:53.66 will tell you that that's all been done away with. 00:18:53.80\00:18:55.84 Nailed to the cross. 00:18:56.43\00:18:59.06 No longer do Christians have to keep the law. 00:18:59.30\00:19:02.06 Free from the law... oh happy condition. Sin all you like, 00:19:02.75\00:19:06.19 there's plenty of remission. 00:19:06.33\00:19:07.86 That's not the teaching of the Bible let me tell you 00:19:08.10\00:19:10.98 because Jesus said: "As long as heaven is above and earth 00:19:11.11\00:19:15.14 beneath there'll be no change, not even the dotting of an i 00:19:15.28\00:19:19.39 or the crossing of the t. " 00:19:19.53\00:19:21.03 You know, it's an interesting thing that I find very 00:19:21.16\00:19:23.39 interesting is this: the only part of the Bible 00:19:23.52\00:19:26.24 that God actually wrote Himself was the Ten Commandments. 00:19:26.38\00:19:29.64 Is that true? Yes it is! 00:19:29.78\00:19:32.33 And He didn't write it once, He wrote them twice 00:19:32.56\00:19:34.56 when Moses broke them. 00:19:34.70\00:19:35.71 So sacred were the Ten Commandments 00:19:35.84\00:19:37.94 God didn't even trust Moses to write those down. 00:19:38.08\00:19:41.34 He wrote them Himself, 00:19:41.58\00:19:43.24 and yet that is the one part of the Bible today 00:19:43.37\00:19:46.66 that many Christians want to do away with. 00:19:46.80\00:19:48.63 Strange, isn't it? 00:19:48.86\00:19:50.20 That's the center of the Bible that's under attack today... 00:19:50.43\00:19:53.48 not by those who don't believe in God 00:19:53.81\00:19:57.45 but by those who professedly say they do believe in God. 00:19:57.69\00:20:00.97 People say to me: "Well maybe if... if Jesus 00:20:03.56\00:20:08.23 didn't do away with the commandments, maybe the 00:20:08.37\00:20:10.19 apostles did away with them. " 00:20:10.33\00:20:11.53 Well now listen, friend... how dare the apostles 00:20:11.77\00:20:13.74 do away with the commandments if Jesus didn't. Is that right? 00:20:13.87\00:20:17.17 How dare they? But of course, they didn't! 00:20:17.30\00:20:19.88 And there's no record anywhere 00:20:20.11\00:20:21.94 in the Bible where any of the apostles attempted to change 00:20:22.08\00:20:25.54 or alter the law of God. 00:20:25.67\00:20:27.39 Now we must make a distinction here between 00:20:27.62\00:20:29.52 the Ten Commandments and the law of the Jews. 00:20:29.65\00:20:31.49 We're not talking about the law of the Jews. 00:20:31.63\00:20:33.04 That was done away with when Jesus died on the cross. 00:20:33.27\00:20:35.84 Well much of it was done away with. 00:20:36.07\00:20:37.34 We are talking about the Ten Commandments 00:20:37.58\00:20:39.45 that have never been and never will be 00:20:39.58\00:20:42.54 abrogated or changed. 00:20:42.58\00:20:44.08 In fact, let me read you what Jesus said over here in the 00:20:44.31\00:20:47.43 book of Revelation. 00:20:47.57\00:20:48.54 Come over to Revelation chapter 22 and verse 14. 00:20:48.74\00:20:53.23 Revelation 22 and verse 14 00:20:55.17\00:20:57.60 where John the Revelator writes this down: 00:20:58.85\00:21:02.48 Almost the last statement of scripture God says 00:21:11.49\00:21:13.74 "Blessed are those who do His commandments. " 00:21:13.87\00:21:16.86 Those who keep the commandments are specially blessed by God. 00:21:17.10\00:21:21.07 The Bible says: "blessed are those who do the commandments. " 00:21:21.30\00:21:24.80 See that's worth striving after, isn't it? To be blessed by God. 00:21:25.21\00:21:30.55 So if you and I want to be blessed by God 00:21:30.78\00:21:33.22 part of that is to keep His commandments. 00:21:33.36\00:21:35.25 Come down to verse 18. 00:21:35.48\00:21:38.09 And so we have been told we must not add 00:21:58.54\00:22:01.86 and we must not subtract anything from God's Word. 00:22:02.00\00:22:06.10 And yet we have read already in the book of Daniel 00:22:06.33\00:22:09.36 about the antichrist power who is going to think himself 00:22:09.49\00:22:13.25 able to attempt to change the law of God. 00:22:13.39\00:22:16.90 Jesus said He would never do it. 00:22:17.03\00:22:19.22 But He did predict that there was going to be a power 00:22:19.56\00:22:24.00 that would think himself able to do it. 00:22:24.13\00:22:26.16 Now when we talk about the antichrist 00:22:26.40\00:22:29.17 the antichrist is a power that's not necessarily 00:22:31.93\00:22:36.28 anti against God. 00:22:36.42\00:22:38.48 Unfortunately in our English language we generally use 00:22:38.72\00:22:42.00 the word anti to mean if you're anti something 00:22:42.14\00:22:44.78 you're against it. 00:22:44.92\00:22:46.30 But that's not primarily the meaning of the Bible 00:22:46.64\00:22:50.30 when it talks about the antichrist. 00:22:50.43\00:22:52.15 Its primary meaning means "in place of Christ. " 00:22:52.38\00:22:56.90 So when God has a truth, the devil has something 00:22:57.34\00:23:01.76 that he puts in place of that which God gave. 00:23:01.89\00:23:05.11 Like we spoke the other night about the counterfeit. 00:23:05.34\00:23:07.91 A counterfeit looks like and appears like the genuine thing. 00:23:08.15\00:23:12.56 But there are subtle differences. 00:23:12.92\00:23:15.63 Just like in this... If I didn't tell you that this $50 note 00:23:15.87\00:23:20.09 was a counterfeit, you wouldn't know because 00:23:20.23\00:23:24.20 everything about it looks like the real genuine thing. 00:23:24.34\00:23:27.59 But there are subtle changes made 00:23:27.83\00:23:30.49 which makes it a counterfeit. 00:23:30.63\00:23:32.46 And that's how the devil has worked. 00:23:32.70\00:23:34.14 Down through the years the devil has counterfeited 00:23:34.37\00:23:37.49 by changing subtly some things 00:23:37.62\00:23:40.58 still maintaining the outward appearance of the genuine. 00:23:40.82\00:23:44.91 So using Biblical terminology 00:23:45.15\00:23:47.56 but changing the very essence of what it stands for. 00:23:49.22\00:23:53.66 That's what the devil has done. 00:23:53.90\00:23:55.51 And that's why the Bible calls him the antichrist. 00:23:55.75\00:23:59.14 He has come with a religion in place of 00:23:59.27\00:24:02.20 the religion that God gave. 00:24:02.33\00:24:04.24 And unless you study the Bible you wouldn't know 00:24:04.48\00:24:07.40 the difference. You see the Bible tells us 00:24:07.53\00:24:09.77 that the devil works by substitution. 00:24:09.90\00:24:12.28 For he knows that atheism has never been very popular 00:24:14.04\00:24:17.25 even in Russia and those places that avowedly declared 00:24:17.38\00:24:21.01 themselves Communist and atheist 00:24:21.14\00:24:22.93 the vast majority of people really in those countries 00:24:23.07\00:24:26.05 weren't atheist. And that's why as soon as the Iron Curtain fell 00:24:26.19\00:24:28.72 the people just rushed back to church. 00:24:28.85\00:24:30.50 Because deeply rooted in the heart of every individual 00:24:30.74\00:24:33.61 is the desire to worship. 00:24:33.75\00:24:35.30 And even in secular Australia people still worship something. 00:24:35.54\00:24:38.48 They may not worship the true God 00:24:38.61\00:24:39.99 but they worship money or they worship sport 00:24:40.13\00:24:42.66 or they worship this or with that. 00:24:42.79\00:24:44.18 Because deeply rooted in our hearts when God made us 00:24:44.41\00:24:47.26 He made us to worship. 00:24:47.39\00:24:48.56 And the devil knows that. That's why he comes along 00:24:48.80\00:24:52.10 and he's not worried about a person going to church. 00:24:52.14\00:24:54.20 He's not even worried about a person who reads the Bible 00:24:54.54\00:24:57.63 as long as they do not follow exactly what the Bible says. 00:24:57.77\00:25:03.11 That's when the devil really gets upset: 00:25:03.34\00:25:05.22 if you start to be serious about following! 00:25:05.45\00:25:08.20 Because he wants to bring a religion along that will be 00:25:09.69\00:25:12.83 a substitute. That will look like the real thing 00:25:12.96\00:25:17.09 but in actual fact subtle changes have been made. 00:25:17.22\00:25:21.22 Now he attempted to do that in the days of Jesus. 00:25:21.36\00:25:23.88 In fact, in the days of Jesus it's exactly the same 00:25:24.12\00:25:26.89 as it is today... the situation. Let me read it to you. 00:25:27.02\00:25:29.39 Come over the Matthew the 15th chapter. 00:25:29.63\00:25:31.48 Matthew chapter 15, and I'll read you the situation 00:25:32.50\00:25:35.35 that Jesus was up against in His day. 00:25:35.48\00:25:39.01 Matthew 15 and we will read here verse 2. 00:25:39.14\00:25:42.94 Because the disciples and Jesus were confronted by the 00:25:43.18\00:25:46.58 religious leaders: the scribes and the Pharisees. 00:25:46.72\00:25:48.84 This is what they said to them... verse 2: 00:25:49.07\00:25:51.53 Now let me just pause here. 00:26:00.48\00:26:01.65 This washing of the hands had nothing to do with hygiene. 00:26:01.78\00:26:04.28 They believed - the Jews believed - that if you put a bit 00:26:04.51\00:26:06.37 of water between your wrists and rubbed them together 00:26:06.50\00:26:08.21 then everything that you touched was then ceremonially clean. 00:26:08.35\00:26:12.04 Get the idea? 00:26:12.18\00:26:13.18 Now you'll never read about that in the Bible. 00:26:13.32\00:26:15.31 That is a tradition. That is that is a teaching that was 00:26:15.54\00:26:18.93 taught by the church. It's not a teaching in the Bible. 00:26:19.06\00:26:23.35 And so when Jesus came along 00:26:23.59\00:26:25.72 He didn't rub His hands together like the Pharisees 00:26:25.95\00:26:29.52 and like the rest of the Jews. 00:26:29.65\00:26:31.10 And so He was in conflict with them because He didn't follow 00:26:31.34\00:26:33.96 those traditions. 00:26:34.09\00:26:35.41 Notice what Jesus said in verse 3: 00:26:35.76\00:26:38.39 Can you see how the devil had deceived these people? 00:26:47.46\00:26:49.47 That while they were earnestly following what their church said 00:26:49.71\00:26:52.71 in actual fact what were they doing contrary 00:26:52.85\00:26:55.68 to in their teaching? 00:26:55.92\00:26:57.82 Yeah, they were against the commandments. 00:26:58.69\00:27:00.90 Can you see? The more earnest they were in following 00:27:01.03\00:27:02.92 what the church said the more they were breaking one of 00:27:03.06\00:27:05.42 God's Ten Commandments. In this case it happened to be 00:27:05.56\00:27:07.35 commandment number five 00:27:07.49\00:27:08.77 as you read the rest of the story. 00:27:08.90\00:27:10.45 That's how the devil had deceived them. 00:27:10.69\00:27:13.20 So the more earnest and sincere they were 00:27:13.43\00:27:16.56 in doing what the church said the more they were breaking 00:27:16.79\00:27:19.14 one of God's Ten Commandments. 00:27:19.28\00:27:20.69 And Jesus finally summed it up in verse 9 when He said: 00:27:20.93\00:27:25.00 And I don't care what church it's in, if you and I 00:27:33.77\00:27:36.57 are following teachings that are based on the mere commandments 00:27:36.70\00:27:40.60 of men, Jesus said that is vain or useless. 00:27:40.73\00:27:43.58 People say to me: "Well Geoff, how did the devil deceive people 00:27:43.82\00:27:47.34 into believing that tradition was above the Bible 00:27:47.48\00:27:50.12 and the commandments of God? " 00:27:50.26\00:27:51.52 Well, to understand that we must go back in our minds 00:27:51.76\00:27:54.55 and remember that the world that the disciples were born into 00:27:54.69\00:27:59.36 was not a Christian world. It was a pagan world. 00:27:59.49\00:28:02.54 And the world that Jesus came to preach to was 00:28:02.77\00:28:05.60 basically a pagan world. 00:28:05.73\00:28:07.09 They all worshiped the sun... sun worship. 00:28:07.33\00:28:10.76 And they had the sun and the moon 00:28:12.27\00:28:16.00 and five of the planets that they understood. 00:28:16.13\00:28:19.14 And these were part of their deity worship. 00:28:19.18\00:28:23.45 And so when it came to naming the days of the week 00:28:23.97\00:28:26.76 they named then in honor of their gods. 00:28:26.90\00:28:29.63 The first day was named in honor of their god 00:28:29.87\00:28:34.67 the sun, hence the name Sunsday. And we still call it Sunday. 00:28:34.80\00:28:39.39 That's where it came from. 00:28:39.62\00:28:40.90 Sun worship... in our very language still. 00:28:40.93\00:28:44.60 The next most important god to the pagans was the moon. 00:28:44.84\00:28:48.15 And they called the second day of the week moon day. 00:28:48.46\00:28:51.49 We have shortened it to Monday 00:28:51.63\00:28:52.81 but that's where the name comes from. 00:28:52.85\00:28:54.25 And for the pagans they had five planets... they knew of 00:28:54.48\00:28:57.73 five planets and so they named the rest of the days of the week 00:28:57.87\00:29:01.07 Tiwesday, Wodansday, Thorsday, 00:29:01.21\00:29:03.71 Frigersday and Saturnsday. 00:29:03.85\00:29:05.60 And basically that's how the names of the days of the week 00:29:05.83\00:29:09.52 have come down to us in the English language. 00:29:09.66\00:29:12.32 Because the Bible doesn't call the days of the week like that 00:29:12.56\00:29:15.80 at all. The Bible calls the days of the week 00:29:15.93\00:29:17.83 first day, second day, third day, fourth day, 00:29:18.87\00:29:21.47 fifth day, Preparation Day, Sabbath. 00:29:21.61\00:29:24.41 That's how the Bible names the days of the week. 00:29:24.55\00:29:26.70 But the pagans said: "No! Sunday, Monday, 00:29:26.93\00:29:28.97 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. " 00:29:29.10\00:29:31.97 And we in the English language have directly followed 00:29:32.77\00:29:36.76 the pagans through the Romans through the Latin and 00:29:36.90\00:29:39.60 we have brought this directly into our language today. 00:29:39.74\00:29:42.94 Now let's just remind ourselves as we go back to the 00:29:43.18\00:29:46.19 Ten Commandments how God set the days of the week out. 00:29:46.33\00:29:49.33 Come back to Exodus chapter 20 at the beginning of the Bible. 00:29:49.57\00:29:52.85 Page 71: Exodus chapter 20 and verse 8. 00:29:53.09\00:29:57.59 And we will just remind ourselves of the fourth 00:29:57.82\00:30:01.53 of the Ten Commandments. 00:30:01.67\00:30:03.19 Exodus 20 verse 8: 00:30:03.32\00:30:05.08 So right back from the beginning the Ten Commandments 00:30:16.29\00:30:18.81 set forth that the seventh day was the Sabbath. 00:30:18.95\00:30:22.28 Now in the New Testament it's exactly the same. 00:30:22.52\00:30:25.08 Because if you come over into the New Testament 00:30:25.32\00:30:27.48 to the book of Mark the 15th chapter... Mark chapter 15... 00:30:27.61\00:30:31.72 we will notice that there is no difference between the 00:30:31.86\00:30:34.37 Old and the New Testament on this teaching. 00:30:34.51\00:30:37.32 Mark 15 and verse 42. Verse 42 says: 00:30:37.56\00:30:42.57 So right back there in the New Testament too 00:30:51.17\00:30:54.19 it was the same cycle of days. 00:30:54.33\00:30:56.94 We have the Preparation Day. That is, the day before the 00:30:57.08\00:30:59.90 Sabbath. And it's interesting that if you go over to Greece 00:31:00.04\00:31:02.17 today they still use the same word for Friday 00:31:02.31\00:31:04.45 that they used in Bible times. 00:31:04.59\00:31:06.23 It's still called the Preparation Day. 00:31:06.36\00:31:08.20 And Sabbath is still called the Sabbath in Greece today 00:31:08.43\00:31:12.17 because that's the very language. 00:31:12.30\00:31:13.91 That's the day that Jesus was crucified. 00:31:14.14\00:31:16.75 Now perhaps someone is saying: "Well Geoff, are you suggesting 00:31:16.89\00:31:19.93 today that my parents and my family who were good earnest 00:31:20.06\00:31:23.36 Christians and went to church on Sunday 00:31:23.49\00:31:25.03 were pagans and they weren't Christians? 00:31:25.17\00:31:27.09 Is that what you're saying? " 00:31:27.22\00:31:28.39 No, I'm not saying that at all. 00:31:28.63\00:31:30.14 But what I am saying is this: 00:31:30.47\00:31:32.56 that when God brings light to our path and He shows us 00:31:32.80\00:31:36.83 what He wants us to do, 00:31:36.96\00:31:38.48 when we earnestly love the Lord we will then want to get 00:31:38.71\00:31:41.94 our life in harmony with what God wants us to do. 00:31:42.08\00:31:44.51 Because the book of Acts says at the times of their ignorance 00:31:44.75\00:31:47.91 God winked at, but now He has brought light to our path 00:31:48.04\00:31:52.96 and He has brought us a consciousness of right and wrong 00:31:53.19\00:31:58.58 and He wants us to follow that. 00:31:58.72\00:32:00.79 And we would never spank or punish a child 00:32:01.02\00:32:03.21 for doing something that he or she didn't understand 00:32:03.35\00:32:05.98 to be right or wrong. But if we explained it to them 00:32:06.11\00:32:08.27 as parents, then we expect them to be obedient. 00:32:08.41\00:32:11.39 And that's the way God is with us. 00:32:11.63\00:32:13.57 He doesn't hold us responsible for things on the past 00:32:13.80\00:32:16.78 of our ignorance. But He does expect us... When we know 00:32:16.92\00:32:20.27 a thing to be right He then does expect us to be obedient. 00:32:20.40\00:32:23.33 Well you say: "How then did Sunday get into the church? 00:32:23.57\00:32:28.00 I can understand how the pagans worshiped it 00:32:28.24\00:32:30.60 but how did it get into the church? " 00:32:30.73\00:32:32.77 Well, in order to answer that we need to read 00:32:33.00\00:32:35.69 two major scriptures. Come over to the book of Acts. 00:32:35.82\00:32:38.40 And first of all, Acts chapter 20 and verse 28. 00:32:38.64\00:32:42.91 And we will notice here Paul's admonition 00:32:43.15\00:32:45.65 to the leadership of the church at Ephesus. 00:32:45.68\00:32:48.15 And he gave them a very strong warning 00:32:48.38\00:32:50.63 in Acts 20 and verse 28 where he says: 00:32:50.77\00:32:55.06 Now Paul calls these wicked people "wolves. " 00:33:26.99\00:33:31.67 And these wolves... where were they going to come from? 00:33:32.98\00:33:35.45 Were they going to come from without and attack the church 00:33:35.59\00:33:38.02 from without? Or were they going to come from within 00:33:38.16\00:33:40.39 the church and attack the church from within? 00:33:40.53\00:33:42.37 Within or without? Within. 00:33:42.60\00:33:45.68 And I want to remind you that the greatest attacks 00:33:45.91\00:33:47.85 that have ever been made against the church have always been 00:33:47.99\00:33:50.40 made from within. 00:33:50.54\00:33:51.58 And Paul calls these savage wolves. 00:33:52.02\00:33:56.26 Now if you come over to II Thessalonians - 00:33:56.49\00:33:58.48 just a little bit further on: II Thessalonians - 00:33:58.62\00:34:01.41 we'll notice again very clearly how Paul explains in more detail 00:34:01.65\00:34:06.71 what these "wicked wolves" were going to teach. 00:34:06.84\00:34:08.99 II Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 1 00:34:09.23\00:34:14.92 where he writes here: 00:34:15.06\00:34:16.42 You see there were people teaching in the days of Paul 00:34:33.55\00:34:35.99 that Christ was going to come back in the first century. 00:34:36.13\00:34:37.92 And they were forging Paul's signature and sending letters 00:34:38.05\00:34:41.13 out to all the church members. And Paul says "even if you 00:34:41.26\00:34:43.31 get a letter signed by me saying that Christ's coming 00:34:43.45\00:34:46.37 is at hand, don't believe it. " Why? 00:34:46.51\00:34:48.09 Verse 3: 00:34:48.22\00:34:49.49 So a man was going to come in the church. 00:35:13.80\00:35:15.79 He was going to claim to be God on earth 00:35:15.93\00:35:17.65 and people were going to worship him. 00:35:17.78\00:35:19.38 I tell you, you've got tremendous power over people 00:35:19.62\00:35:22.47 when they worship you. Isn't that right? 00:35:22.61\00:35:24.40 Tremendous power. And that's what happened in the church. 00:35:24.63\00:35:27.44 And Paul went on to say in verse 7 describing the teaching 00:35:27.68\00:35:31.38 of this man of sin: 00:35:31.51\00:35:32.82 So the antichrist was beginning in Paul's day. 00:35:36.30\00:35:39.40 He's already at work. And what was the characteristic? 00:35:39.63\00:35:42.02 What was the major teaching of the antichrist here? 00:35:42.15\00:35:44.37 Lawlessness. 00:35:44.70\00:35:46.51 Now lawlessness simply means to be opposed to the law of God. 00:35:46.75\00:35:50.48 Not subject to the law of God. 00:35:50.62\00:35:52.36 This is the same power that Daniel spoke about 00:35:52.60\00:35:55.68 who was going to oppose the law of God. 00:35:55.82\00:35:57.70 Now Paul is explaining in more detail that it would begin early 00:35:57.93\00:36:02.25 in the Christian period. It was beginning in Paul's day... 00:36:02.38\00:36:05.42 this teaching of lawlessness. Verse 8: 00:36:05.55\00:36:07.48 So how long is this lawless one going to be allowed to continue 00:36:15.86\00:36:19.19 in the world? Right through until Jesus comes 00:36:19.33\00:36:22.87 when he's going to be destroyed by the brightness of His coming. 00:36:23.00\00:36:25.94 So obviously the antichrist is not one individual 00:36:26.17\00:36:28.58 because no one individual lives for 2,000 years. 00:36:28.71\00:36:31.36 The antichrist is a religious system that began very early 00:36:31.59\00:36:35.28 in the Christian period and continues right through 00:36:35.42\00:36:37.77 until Jesus destroys it when He comes the second time. 00:36:37.90\00:36:41.14 And its major teaching will be lawlessness or being opposed 00:36:41.57\00:36:46.90 to the law of God. Now I'm going to give you 00:36:47.03\00:36:50.54 a sheet of paper. I'm going to ask the ushers 00:36:50.68\00:36:53.12 if you wouldn't mind just handing that out. 00:36:53.25\00:36:55.14 Those of you that are watching your television sets 00:36:55.38\00:36:59.96 will now see it on the screen. 00:37:00.09\00:37:03.10 We're going to hand you out a copy of the Ten Commandments 00:37:03.34\00:37:06.75 as they appear in the Bible and as they appear for millions 00:37:06.88\00:37:11.73 of Christians today in the world. 00:37:11.86\00:37:13.89 And I don't want to be attacking anyone here today 00:37:14.13\00:37:17.04 in doing this, but nevertheless we need to be honest. 00:37:17.17\00:37:19.73 So remember I have said to you that the antichrist counterfeits 00:37:19.86\00:37:24.28 every single teaching in the Bible. 00:37:24.41\00:37:26.93 Here is a perfect illustration of what we're saying. 00:37:27.16\00:37:29.25 God had Ten Commandments and the devil or the antichrist 00:37:29.45\00:37:32.87 has a counterfeit Ten Commandments. 00:37:33.07\00:37:35.08 But they're still called Ten Commandments. 00:37:35.28\00:37:37.51 Now look, when you get your sheet and you compare the left 00:37:37.62\00:37:40.33 with the right, the left is what God wrote 00:37:40.43\00:37:42.88 as the Ten Commandments in the Bible. 00:37:42.98\00:37:44.64 The right is as they have been changed for millions of 00:37:44.84\00:37:47.54 Christians today. Without reading a single word 00:37:47.65\00:37:50.13 what's the first thing that hits you? 00:37:50.23\00:37:51.46 It is how much abbreviated what man has written 00:37:54.14\00:37:57.03 compared with what God wrote. 00:37:57.06\00:37:58.51 Two-thirds have been left out. 00:37:59.63\00:38:01.30 And when you look at the commandments, the first one 00:38:02.48\00:38:04.90 we wouldn't disagree with. 00:38:05.00\00:38:06.08 God said: "don't make any images. 00:38:12.73\00:38:15.26 Nothing that looks like anything in heaven. 00:38:15.46\00:38:18.27 And don't bow down to it and don't worship it. " 00:38:18.47\00:38:21.66 But that got in their road so they simply left it out. 00:38:21.97\00:38:25.56 And so there is no #2 that is a parallel 00:38:25.76\00:38:29.94 to God's #2. Their #2 is parallel to God's #3... 00:38:30.04\00:38:34.01 even though it's shortened. 00:38:34.21\00:38:35.79 And if you have a look at #2 on the other side 00:38:40.28\00:38:42.43 it says: "thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God 00:38:42.63\00:38:44.89 in vain. " See what they've done? 00:38:44.99\00:38:46.16 Well you say: "They must only have 9 commandments. " 00:38:46.36\00:38:48.80 No, they've got 10. 00:38:49.01\00:38:50.21 Let me explain how they get their 10. 00:38:50.41\00:38:51.94 If you go down to the bottom it says #10 on God's side 00:38:52.14\00:38:55.15 If you go over to the other side now and have a look at 00:39:04.45\00:39:06.97 #9 and #10, #9 says: 00:39:07.07\00:39:09.63 #10 says: 00:39:11.73\00:39:12.80 What have they done to make up #10? 00:39:14.64\00:39:16.62 Yeah, they've split God's #10 into two to make up ten. 00:39:16.92\00:39:20.29 But it's still called Ten Commandments. 00:39:20.49\00:39:22.34 And when you meet these people you say: "Well do you believe 00:39:22.54\00:39:24.50 in the Ten Commandments? " "Yes, " they say. 00:39:24.60\00:39:26.42 But they've got in mind the right-hand side; 00:39:26.62\00:39:29.94 you've got in mind the left-hand side. 00:39:30.14\00:39:31.93 Can you see how the devil has counterfeited? 00:39:32.13\00:39:33.77 And unless you've studied your Bible you wouldn't know 00:39:33.97\00:39:36.38 the difference. That's why it is so important 00:39:36.48\00:39:40.46 to know the difference. And as I said, this is the way 00:39:40.66\00:39:43.62 hundreds of millions in the world today 00:39:43.82\00:39:46.30 believe that the Ten Commandments are. 00:39:46.50\00:39:49.54 Now by the way, what I'm going to share with you now 00:39:49.74\00:39:52.53 is so clear that you can check this up in your history books, 00:39:52.73\00:39:57.37 in the encyclopedias, or in your Internet. 00:39:57.57\00:39:59.75 There are two men who are responsible for bringing Sunday 00:40:00.05\00:40:03.94 into the Christian church. Neither of these men's names 00:40:04.04\00:40:06.80 appear in the Bible. 00:40:06.90\00:40:07.94 The first man's name is Tertullian of Carthage 00:40:08.14\00:40:11.13 and the second man's name is Clement of Alexandria. 00:40:11.43\00:40:15.31 These men were the first men to bring or call Sunday 00:40:15.52\00:40:19.59 the Lord's Day. Up until they came along 00:40:19.79\00:40:23.71 every prophet in the Bible upheld the Sabbath as 00:40:23.91\00:40:26.92 the Lord's Day. 00:40:27.02\00:40:28.17 Well you say: "How did Sunday get in? " 00:40:30.47\00:40:32.38 Well in the year 125 AD 00:40:32.58\00:40:34.91 a man by the name of Sixtus spelled S-I-X-T-U-S 00:40:35.11\00:40:38.67 came along. And he proposed that the Christian church 00:40:38.87\00:40:42.13 ought to remember once a year 00:40:42.33\00:40:44.66 the resurrection of Christ. 00:40:44.86\00:40:47.03 Seventy-five years later another man by the name of Bertar 00:40:49.34\00:40:52.57 came along. And Bertar said that anybody that didn't go along 00:40:52.67\00:40:55.93 with the annual observance of the resurrection 00:40:56.03\00:40:58.29 ought to be excommunicated from the church. 00:40:58.49\00:41:00.34 So that further increased the idea 00:41:01.43\00:41:05.06 of people believing in Sunday as the resurrection. 00:41:05.27\00:41:09.16 Then between 200 AD and 314 AD 00:41:09.36\00:41:12.67 the annual observance of Sunday 00:41:12.87\00:41:15.53 as a memorial of the resurrection 00:41:15.73\00:41:17.57 gradually became a weekly observance. 00:41:17.77\00:41:19.97 So we have these two days being kept now: 00:41:20.17\00:41:22.32 the Sabbath in the Bible and Sunday as the memorial 00:41:22.52\00:41:25.54 of the resurrection. Can you see? 00:41:25.64\00:41:27.04 Both alongside one another. 00:41:27.24\00:41:28.55 And then in the year 314 AD 00:41:29.75\00:41:32.54 Constantine made a law in which he said 00:41:32.74\00:41:35.64 every government worker can have a holiday on Sunday. 00:41:35.84\00:41:39.66 Well I've never known a govern- ment worker yet to turn down 00:41:39.96\00:41:42.71 a holiday, have you? 00:41:42.81\00:41:43.84 That was embraced, 00:41:44.14\00:41:47.03 and it remained that way for a number of years. 00:41:47.14\00:41:49.54 And then the private sector said: "This is not fair! 00:41:49.75\00:41:53.15 Why should civil servants be allowed to have a holiday 00:41:53.55\00:41:56.65 on Sunday and we've got to work? " 00:41:56.75\00:41:58.35 And they appealed to Constantine. 00:41:58.55\00:42:00.78 And he saw some light in that, and so on the 7th of March 00:42:01.08\00:42:04.41 in the year 321 AD 00:42:04.61\00:42:07.84 Constantine made a law in which he said 00:42:08.04\00:42:10.87 "Everybody in the Roman Empire can have a holiday 00:42:11.07\00:42:14.09 on Sunday. " And that's why still Sunday is regarded 00:42:14.19\00:42:17.76 as a holiday. We have continued it from the 00:42:17.86\00:42:20.93 time of Constantine when it was first made a holiday. 00:42:21.03\00:42:24.65 And you see it was easy for people to accept that, remember? 00:42:24.85\00:42:28.09 Because they had been worshiping on Sunday as pagans. 00:42:28.23\00:42:31.49 You can go over to Rome today and see the Parthenon. 00:42:31.69\00:42:34.12 And there, the Parth... You can see the big hole 00:42:34.32\00:42:37.04 in the ceiling where the sun shines. 00:42:37.14\00:42:38.63 Where it used to shine right on where the people used to worship 00:42:38.83\00:42:41.73 their sacrifice. You can still see it today 00:42:41.84\00:42:44.24 because that was a pagan temple. 00:42:44.44\00:42:48.35 Still standing. 00:42:48.65\00:42:50.21 And it was very easy for these people to accept the idea of 00:42:51.38\00:42:54.57 Sunday because they had been brought up to honor Sunday 00:42:54.77\00:42:58.03 as the day of worship as a pagan. 00:42:58.23\00:43:00.81 And what they said is: "Look, it's very simple. 00:43:02.29\00:43:05.16 Now no longer are you going to worship the sun in the sky. 00:43:05.36\00:43:08.56 Now you can worship the Son of God. " 00:43:08.76\00:43:10.56 And as the Roman soldiers went out through the world 00:43:10.76\00:43:13.77 they took Sunday with them. 00:43:13.87\00:43:15.02 And when they got over to England, for example, 00:43:16.24\00:43:17.95 they met stiff resistance in the Celtic church 00:43:18.15\00:43:21.26 who were Sabbath keepers. 00:43:21.46\00:43:22.61 And finally the Celtic church had to relinquish because 00:43:22.81\00:43:25.49 the Roman soldiers and the army defeated the Celtic church. 00:43:25.69\00:43:28.84 You've heard of Patrick of Ireland. 00:43:28.87\00:43:30.40 He never kept Sunday in his entire life. 00:43:30.60\00:43:32.49 He was a Sabbath keeper. 00:43:32.69\00:43:33.78 And all the early Christians were all Sabbath keepers. 00:43:33.98\00:43:36.95 And then finally a council was called 00:43:40.48\00:43:43.73 on January 18, 1563, 00:43:43.83\00:43:46.97 in which Casper del Fosso got up and made a speech 00:43:47.17\00:43:49.87 in which he said that tradition was above the Bible. 00:43:49.97\00:43:52.38 And all the delegates to that council all said: 00:43:52.58\00:43:54.22 "Yes, we agree with you Casper del Fosso. " 00:43:54.33\00:43:56.61 And since that time the official position 00:43:56.81\00:43:59.78 of the church has been that tradition is above the Bible. 00:43:59.98\00:44:04.04 The Bible has to be interpreted by tradition or by the church. 00:44:04.24\00:44:07.84 The church has the final word on interpreting the Bible. 00:44:08.04\00:44:11.05 That's still their position today. 00:44:11.25\00:44:13.63 That was made an official position in 1563 AD. 00:44:13.83\00:44:16.91 And then in the year 1770 a man by the name of 00:44:19.82\00:44:22.84 Captain James Cook came out to this part of the world 00:44:22.94\00:44:26.38 and founded the first settlement with Arthur Phillip. 00:44:26.59\00:44:29.30 And they taught their children to keep Sunday. 00:44:29.50\00:44:32.81 And their children taught their children to keep Sunday. 00:44:33.01\00:44:35.25 Until your great great great great grandfather taught 00:44:35.45\00:44:37.78 your great great great grandfather Sunday. 00:44:37.88\00:44:39.90 And your great great great grandfather taught your 00:44:40.10\00:44:41.70 great great grandfather Sunday. 00:44:41.80\00:44:42.99 And your great great grandfather taught your great great 00:44:43.19\00:44:44.97 grandfather Sunday... Your great great grandfather 00:44:45.07\00:44:46.95 taught your great grandfather Sunday. 00:44:47.05\00:44:48.52 Your great grandfather taught your grandfather Sunday. 00:44:48.72\00:44:50.79 Your grandfather taught your father Sunday. 00:44:50.99\00:44:53.48 Your father taught you Sunday. 00:44:53.68\00:44:55.39 And that's how we all came to keep Sunday. 00:44:55.59\00:44:58.34 So Captain James Cook came over to this part of the world 00:44:59.53\00:45:02.70 in a boat. He brought Sunday over here with him in a boat 00:45:02.90\00:45:05.78 and now we're all in the same boat. 00:45:05.98\00:45:07.38 Friend, that's how it happened. Truly! 00:45:08.62\00:45:10.43 Because from the Old World came Sunday. 00:45:10.83\00:45:15.00 The same was with America. 00:45:15.10\00:45:16.55 Sunday came over from the Old World. 00:45:16.75\00:45:19.07 And wherever the Roman soldiers went around the world 00:45:20.48\00:45:22.79 they took Sunday with them. 00:45:22.99\00:45:24.61 But listen: the Bible not only says that this power was 00:45:24.71\00:45:27.73 going to the law of God. Just come back to Daniel chapter 7 00:45:27.83\00:45:32.54 and notice what else the Bible says that this power 00:45:32.64\00:45:35.56 was going to do because this is important. 00:45:35.66\00:45:37.92 Daniel 7 and verse 25. 00:45:38.12\00:45:40.52 Look at this: Daniel 7 and verse 25. 00:45:40.72\00:45:43.85 Not just the law but the time. 00:45:59.97\00:46:02.94 Now listen. Just take those Ten Commandments... 00:46:03.14\00:46:05.37 that sheet that you've got. Those viewing on television 00:46:05.47\00:46:08.66 can see it on the screen now. 00:46:08.86\00:46:10.62 Just have a look at God's Ten Commandments. 00:46:10.83\00:46:12.99 #10 down the bottom: does that talk about time? 00:46:13.19\00:46:16.53 Does it mention time? No. 00:46:16.83\00:46:19.59 #9 doesn't mention anything about time nor does #8. 00:46:19.72\00:46:23.09 #7 doesn't mention time nor does #6 nor does #5. 00:46:23.29\00:46:27.26 None of those commandments mention anything about time. 00:46:27.46\00:46:30.18 Is that true? #1... does that mention anything about time? No. 00:46:30.38\00:46:34.85 #2... does that mention anything about time? No. 00:46:34.99\00:46:38.48 #3... does that mention anything about time? No. 00:46:38.61\00:46:42.33 What about #4? 00:46:42.46\00:46:43.62 "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. 00:46:43.82\00:46:45.72 Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work 00:46:45.92\00:46:48.53 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. " 00:46:48.74\00:46:51.28 Does it mention time? 00:46:51.48\00:46:53.51 The whole commandment is based around time 00:46:53.71\00:46:56.59 for God said that the seventh day is the Sabbath. 00:46:57.70\00:47:00.75 And this power, the Bible said, would not only change 00:47:00.96\00:47:03.40 the Sabbath... the law but also change the Sabbath itself. 00:47:03.60\00:47:08.17 But listen: not only have they changed the day 00:47:09.12\00:47:12.41 but do you know that they have actually changed the time 00:47:12.61\00:47:14.72 that the day is to be kept? 00:47:14.92\00:47:16.36 Come back to Leviticus chapter 23. 00:47:16.56\00:47:18.41 Leviticus chapter 23. 00:47:18.71\00:47:20.75 And while this is concerning one of the ceremonial Sabbaths 00:47:20.95\00:47:24.21 nevertheless the principle still applies 00:47:24.41\00:47:27.24 to the seventh-day Sabbath. 00:47:27.45\00:47:28.79 We'll talk about those Sabbaths tomorrow in our meeting. 00:47:28.99\00:47:31.75 But have a look at verse 32. 00:47:31.95\00:47:34.42 This is Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 32. It says: 00:47:34.72\00:47:39.45 So when does the Bible say the Sabbath is to be kept? 00:47:55.27\00:47:57.68 From evening to evening. 00:47:57.88\00:48:00.70 Now, following the principle that we have been outlining 00:48:00.90\00:48:04.20 comparing scripture with scripture. We don't just guess 00:48:04.40\00:48:06.70 when the evening begins. We must go to the Bible 00:48:06.90\00:48:09.35 to find out when the evening begins. 00:48:09.55\00:48:11.11 To do that come over to the New Testament 00:48:11.31\00:48:13.20 Mark chapter 1 and verse 32. 00:48:13.40\00:48:15.65 Mark chapter 1 and verse 32 and here it tells us 00:48:15.85\00:48:19.72 when the evening begins. 00:48:19.92\00:48:21.97 When the Biblical evening begins. 00:48:22.17\00:48:23.99 Mark 1 verse 32 says: 00:48:24.19\00:48:27.18 In other words, when does the day begin and end Biblically? 00:48:32.71\00:48:36.33 From sunset to sunset. 00:48:37.50\00:48:41.08 All through the Bible that principle applies. 00:48:41.28\00:48:43.47 That's why in Genesis chapter 1 it says "the evening and 00:48:43.67\00:48:46.28 the morning were the first day. " 00:48:46.38\00:48:47.51 "The evening and the morning were the second day. " 00:48:47.71\00:48:49.37 Because the evening part of the day always starts first. 00:48:49.67\00:48:52.85 Because if you take from sunset to sunset 00:48:53.05\00:48:55.07 it's the dark part that comes before the light part, 00:48:55.27\00:48:57.57 isn't that right? Evening to evening. 00:48:57.77\00:49:00.18 And all through the Bible you have that. 00:49:01.53\00:49:04.40 Paul said on one occasion "Don't let the sun go down 00:49:04.60\00:49:06.74 on your wrath. " If you've had a difference with someone, 00:49:06.84\00:49:08.77 don't allow the day to end until you've made that right. 00:49:08.97\00:49:11.88 Sunset to sunset. But when this power came along 00:49:12.99\00:49:15.85 it actually changed the very reckoning of time. 00:49:16.05\00:49:18.89 Remember on Friday afternoon when Jesus died it said: 00:49:19.19\00:49:23.15 "And the Sabbath drew on... " 00:49:23.35\00:49:26.09 because the Sabbath was to begin that Friday afternoon 00:49:26.19\00:49:29.17 when Jesus was crucified at sunset that night. 00:49:29.27\00:49:32.10 That's why it says: "The Sabbath drew on... " 00:49:32.30\00:49:34.55 But when this power came along it not only changed 00:49:35.91\00:49:38.84 the Sabbath into Sunday 00:49:38.87\00:49:40.85 but it also changed the very reckoning of time. 00:49:41.05\00:49:44.84 Because instead of keeping a day now from sunset to sunset 00:49:46.10\00:49:49.59 we now keep a day from midnight to midnight. 00:49:49.80\00:49:52.09 And that's come down to us from this power. 00:49:53.66\00:49:56.15 Let me read you what the Catholic Encyclopedia says 00:49:56.25\00:49:58.89 on the article "Sunday. " 00:49:59.09\00:50:00.39 And so it was during the Dark Ages 00:50:21.43\00:50:24.04 that this church - the Medieval church - 00:50:24.24\00:50:27.14 not only changed the Sabbath but they changed the time 00:50:27.34\00:50:30.56 when the Sabbath was to be kept. 00:50:30.76\00:50:32.13 And so instead of sunset to sunset 00:50:32.44\00:50:34.51 now we keep a day from midnight to midnight. 00:50:34.71\00:50:36.81 You know, I often smile when people go out and 00:50:38.07\00:50:41.31 spend all their night on New Year's Eve. 00:50:41.51\00:50:43.69 You know, why do we have New Year's Eve? 00:50:43.99\00:50:46.10 Why do we have Christmas Eve? 00:50:46.30\00:50:48.01 If you were like me when I was brought up we used to get 00:50:48.31\00:50:50.72 presents on Christmas Eve. 00:50:50.82\00:50:51.90 You know, we'd go to sleep as kids and they'd fill our 00:50:52.00\00:50:54.02 pillowcase with presents. 00:50:54.12\00:50:56.36 Why is that done the night before Christmas? 00:50:56.56\00:50:58.93 I'll tell you why. Because originally 00:50:59.13\00:51:01.83 Christmas Day began at sunset the night before! 00:51:02.03\00:51:04.50 That's why. We've continued the tradition even though we've 00:51:04.70\00:51:07.83 changed the day from midnight to midnight. 00:51:07.93\00:51:09.96 New Year's Eve... the night before. 00:51:10.26\00:51:13.27 You know, I smile. People go out at midnight 00:51:13.47\00:51:15.76 thinking it's welcoming the new year in. 00:51:15.96\00:51:18.24 I want to tell you: the new year began at sunset that night. 00:51:18.44\00:51:20.71 They are three or four hours too late 00:51:20.91\00:51:22.94 when the day... when the new year comes in 00:51:24.45\00:51:26.49 because it's sunset to sunset. 00:51:26.79\00:51:28.96 A friend of mine was telling me some years ago 00:51:29.27\00:51:31.74 that he used to like to go to the church dances. 00:51:31.94\00:51:34.40 Because he said, you know, the prettiest girls used to go 00:51:35.55\00:51:38.22 to the church dances. And they used to like to go... 00:51:38.32\00:51:40.47 the boys used to like to go to the church dances. 00:51:40.68\00:51:42.46 And he said it was very awkward because the church would not 00:51:43.84\00:51:46.85 allow them to dance after midnight on Saturday night. 00:51:46.95\00:51:50.93 Now don't ask me to defend that; I can't. 00:51:51.23\00:51:53.64 But that was the law of the church. 00:51:53.74\00:51:55.51 I guess because they said well Sunday begins after midnight, 00:51:55.61\00:51:57.84 see? So they can't dance on Sunday 00:51:58.05\00:51:59.85 but you can dance on Saturday night. 00:52:00.05\00:52:02.44 And he said for young fellows it was very awkward 00:52:02.94\00:52:06.00 sometimes because it would take you and hour or two to pluck up 00:52:06.20\00:52:08.70 some courage to ask the girl that you really wanted to ask 00:52:08.80\00:52:11.47 for a dance. And he said sometimes it might be 00:52:11.67\00:52:15.78 quarter past eleven, half past eleven at night 00:52:15.98\00:52:18.13 and you realize "I've only got half an hour left 00:52:18.33\00:52:20.10 to really get on with this girl, " see? 00:52:21.57\00:52:24.34 So he said what one of the boys would do... 00:52:25.63\00:52:27.69 He said they would go up to the clock 00:52:27.89\00:52:29.83 and they would give it a flick back an hour. 00:52:29.93\00:52:31.85 Give themselves an extra hour, you see. 00:52:32.15\00:52:34.69 What happens in daylight saving? 00:52:36.25\00:52:38.18 Well I'll tell you. Daylight saving we're around one hour 00:52:38.38\00:52:41.56 different from winter to summer, isn't that right? 00:52:41.66\00:52:43.79 If you're going to observe it from midnight to midnight, 00:52:44.00\00:52:47.21 you're out one hour. 00:52:47.41\00:52:48.38 But what if you observe it from sunset to sunset? 00:52:48.41\00:52:51.36 Does that make any difference? 00:52:51.56\00:52:52.97 No. Doesn't matter what hour you call it because we keep 00:52:53.18\00:52:56.36 the day from sunset to sunset. 00:52:56.56\00:52:58.77 Daylight saving or not... makes no difference. 00:52:58.97\00:53:01.31 And I've often thought, you know, if I have 00:53:02.57\00:53:04.62 watched the sun set on Friday afternoon 00:53:04.73\00:53:07.65 and we welcome in God's Sabbath as it begins, 00:53:07.85\00:53:11.71 you know God's Sabbath comes in a blaze of glory... 00:53:11.91\00:53:15.43 the most beautiful colors. 00:53:15.64\00:53:16.88 You see some beautiful sunsets here in this place. 00:53:18.03\00:53:20.50 Beautiful sunsets over the water. 00:53:20.80\00:53:23.08 Comes in, in a blaze of glory 00:53:24.25\00:53:26.22 and then when the Sabbath goes out 00:53:26.42\00:53:28.63 Saturday night it goes out in a blaze of glory. 00:53:28.93\00:53:32.33 So you welcome it as a friend 00:53:32.63\00:53:34.30 and you say goodbye to it as a friend. 00:53:34.40\00:53:36.16 But what about the devil's day? 00:53:36.36\00:53:38.64 It comes in, in the blackness of midnight 00:53:38.84\00:53:41.54 and goes out in the blackness of midnight. 00:53:41.64\00:53:43.42 And you should know nothing about it because you should be 00:53:44.74\00:53:46.63 asleep at that time, isn't that right? 00:53:46.73\00:53:48.14 But with God's Sabbath you're able to welcome it as a friend. 00:53:48.44\00:53:52.07 And God has painted His most glorious colors 00:53:53.49\00:53:57.57 to tell us that the Sabbath is to begin. 00:53:57.78\00:54:01.16 And God's Sabbath is full of life from beginning to end 00:54:03.59\00:54:06.42 whereas the devil's is full of darkness 00:54:06.72\00:54:09.31 from beginning to end. 00:54:10.89\00:54:12.64 And it reminds me of that wonderful verse over here 00:54:14.07\00:54:16.58 in Revelation chapter 14 and verse 12. 00:54:16.68\00:54:19.06 Revelation chapter 14 and verse 12 00:54:20.84\00:54:23.55 where God is pointing out His people in the last days. 00:54:23.75\00:54:26.88 And this is what He says: 00:54:26.98\00:54:28.03 You see, there the characteristics of God's people 00:54:43.22\00:54:46.54 in the last days: that they'll be faithful to Jesus 00:54:46.64\00:54:49.61 and faithful to His commandments. 00:54:49.81\00:54:52.18 And I want to tell you, friend, I'm looking for a people 00:54:53.67\00:54:56.33 in these last days who are not only faithful to the 00:54:56.43\00:54:59.12 commandments but they're faithful to Jesus. 00:54:59.22\00:55:01.14 Because you cannot distinguish between the two 00:55:02.21\00:55:05.08 because the two go together. 00:55:05.28\00:55:06.80 They're like hand and glove, 00:55:07.10\00:55:09.25 husband and wife... they go together. 00:55:09.66\00:55:12.81 Because Jesus said: "If you love Me, 00:55:13.59\00:55:17.31 you'll keep My commandments. " 00:55:17.61\00:55:19.79 But this power... opposed to the law of God... 00:55:20.09\00:55:23.48 God predicted in Daniel that it was going to attempt to change 00:55:23.68\00:55:27.24 the law of God. Paul said that the characteristic 00:55:27.34\00:55:30.26 of this power would be lawlessness. 00:55:30.36\00:55:32.98 Opposed to the law of God. 00:55:33.55\00:55:35.39 And it would last right through until Jesus comes. 00:55:35.59\00:55:38.66 And today we live in a world in which lawlessness - 00:55:39.97\00:55:43.08 being opposed to the law of God - 00:55:43.11\00:55:45.13 is one of the primary teachings of the apostate church 00:55:45.33\00:55:50.40 and the apostate message. 00:55:50.60\00:55:52.37 And I want to tell you this, friends: that one of the easy 00:55:52.57\00:55:54.36 characteristics as you can work out those who are associated 00:55:54.46\00:55:57.77 with the antichrist is simply their attitude 00:55:57.87\00:56:00.52 to the law of God. 00:56:00.62\00:56:01.79 Because the Bible says that is the way that you can 00:56:01.99\00:56:05.21 distinguish error from truth. 00:56:05.31\00:56:07.28 And if you and I are looking for truth in these last days 00:56:07.48\00:56:10.25 we must look for a group who are upholding God's Ten Commandments 00:56:10.45\00:56:14.63 and upholding Jesus... because you can never keep the 00:56:14.83\00:56:17.84 commandments without Jesus. 00:56:17.94\00:56:19.21 But when you love Jesus in your heart, 00:56:19.41\00:56:21.11 you want to be faithful and to do what He's asked you to do. 00:56:21.31\00:56:24.00 Because when you fall in love with somebody 00:56:24.30\00:56:26.41 you want to do the things that that person likes, 00:56:26.61\00:56:29.55 isn't that right? 00:56:29.65\00:56:30.75 It's a natural response. You haven't got to force yourself. 00:56:30.95\00:56:33.28 Love has to live in action. 00:56:33.48\00:56:36.30 And that's the way it is in the Christian life. 00:56:36.50\00:56:39.07 When we fall in love with Jesus, 00:56:39.28\00:56:41.17 we want to do what He wants us to do. 00:56:41.31\00:56:43.64 And I trust today that God will firmly fix in our heart 00:56:43.78\00:56:49.18 a desire not to be part of that lawless teaching 00:56:49.39\00:56:53.23 bur rather to be faithful to Jesus 00:56:53.43\00:56:55.57 and faithful to His commandments in these last days. 00:56:55.77\00:56:59.15 Let's just bow our heads together in prayer. 00:56:59.35\00:57:01.47 Our wonderful Father in heaven, 00:57:01.77\00:57:03.65 I just want to thank you again today for Jesus 00:57:03.85\00:57:06.10 and I want to thank you for Your Word. 00:57:06.30\00:57:08.06 I want to thank you, Lord, for the commandments. 00:57:08.26\00:57:09.99 Not because we are saved by keeping the commandments. 00:57:10.09\00:57:12.43 God forbid that anyone would ever think that. 00:57:12.63\00:57:14.66 But rather the commandments reveal our attitude 00:57:14.86\00:57:18.23 the same as when we're in love with someone 00:57:18.43\00:57:20.59 our... what we do reveals our love or lack of it. 00:57:20.79\00:57:25.46 And so I pray, Lord, that You will help us 00:57:25.66\00:57:27.31 to be earnest. That You'll help us to understand 00:57:27.51\00:57:30.71 that when we love Jesus we want to keep His commandments. 00:57:30.91\00:57:33.92 So I pray that You'll bless us now as we go home 00:57:34.12\00:57:36.54 and that You'll bring us back again in our next program 00:57:36.67\00:57:38.79 as we begin to study the fatal mistake - the tragedy - 00:57:38.99\00:57:42.33 that has happened in the Christian church that has led 00:57:42.53\00:57:44.96 to so many tragic teachings. 00:57:45.16\00:57:47.00 I pray for Christ's sake, Amen. 00:57:47.20\00:57:50.02