Today in Southern Illinois
it was one of those steel grey
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wind-swept rainy days
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that sort of irritates you and
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rearranges your plans
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and maybe tests your
Christianity just a little bit.
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I spent the day on my roof
patching and in my basement
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baling and watching
the weather report...
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which thankfully says
tomorrow will be a better day.
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It will be better tomorrow.
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And I was thinking about that
because we as humans have this
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fascination with tomorrow.
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We always think about tomorrow.
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We wax rhapsodic about tomorrow.
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We write songs about
it; we have poems about it.
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Tomorrow, tomorrow,
I love you, tomorrow...
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you're always a day away.
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Many things about
tomorrow I do not understand,
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but I know who holds tomorrow,
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and I know who
holds my hand. And yet...
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the truth is:
tomorrow is not promised to us.
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We have no
assurance about tomorrow.
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Tomorrow is beyond our reach.
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Yesterday has
slipped from our grasp,
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and all that we have been
given custody of is today.
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We only have today.
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"Choose ye THIS day
whom you will serve. "
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Hebrews 4:7: "Today,
if you hear His voice,
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harden not your hearts. "
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Allow me to perform a
little bit of sanctified surgery
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on that text and say:
"Today, when you hear His voice,
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harden not your hearts.
" For truly you will hear
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the voice of God
from the man of God,
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the Word of God, on this
day as we heard on last night
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and we will in
subsequent meetings.
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We've been talking
about that important day...
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the day that we
call the Sabbath.
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That day of days. That day
that humankind has chosen to
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forget and God has
asked us to remember.
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So as you hear the Word
of God today, make a decision
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to accept God's Word today.
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Because if you
take care of today
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God will take care of tomorrow
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and all the
tomorrows until that great day
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when Jesus comes.
My name is C.A. Murray.
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And again we welcome you to
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really a wonderful set of
meetings that we are calling
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Give Me The Bible.
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Tonight's subject
is an intriguing one...
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Baptized Paganism.
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Now I've heard
about baptized pagans,
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but this is Baptized Paganism,
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and I'm curious to
hear what the man of God,
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our friend, our
evangelist, our teacher
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Elder Cox has to say on
this particular subject.
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But before he comes to us,
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Joe Pearles is here
singing a wonderful song
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Beautiful Life.
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Each day I do
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a golden deed.
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By helping those
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who are in need.
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My life on earth
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is but a span.
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And so I'll do the best I can.
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Life's evening sun
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is sinking low.
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A few more days
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and I must go
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to meet the deeds
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that I have done.
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Where there will be
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no setting sun.
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While going down
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life's lonesome road,
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I'll try to lift
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some traveler's load.
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I'll try to turn
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my night to day.
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Make flowers bloom
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along the way.
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Life's evening sun
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is sinking low.
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A few more days
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and I must go
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to meet the deeds
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that I have done.
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Where there will be
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no setting sun.
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Thank you, Joe.
00:05:03.37\00:05:04.80
Thank you very much.
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Always, always
enjoy having Joe here.
00:05:06.53\00:05:09.30
Did you enjoy
that? Amen! That's great.
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Well, welcome to you.
We're very happy to have you
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here tonight for the second part
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of this series on the Sabbath.
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And we're just glad that you're
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here in spite of
all the rain we've had.
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But we're
thankful that you're here.
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We'd like to welcome all those
that are watching by television
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and also those that
are listening by radio.
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Welcome to this series.
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What says the
Bible, the blessed Bible?
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This should my only question be.
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The Lord gave us His
Sabbath to bless and remind us.
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What says the Book of God to me?
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That's what we need to know
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and that's what
we need to find out.
00:05:55.96\00:05:57.97
And so we're taking a look
at the question of the Sabbath.
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Tonight this takes
two sessions to cover...
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two
presentations. And so tonight
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we're talking about
Baptized Paganism I.
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OK? And then tomorrow
morning we'll take a look at
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Baptized Paganism II.
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So it takes both
those to cover this subject.
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And they're very, very important
because it helps you see things
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that are happening and
taking place that you wouldn't
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pick up otherwise.
And so we hope you'll
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follow carefully as we
take a look at this subject:
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Baptized Paganism II.
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What are we looking at there?
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We'll be talking about some
things that paganism has done
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that affects your life.
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I mean in a very,
very real and definite way.
00:06:48.72\00:06:52.14
So you'll want to be
sure and take a look at that.
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Tonight on Baptized Paganism I
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what are you looking for there?
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Want you to see
basically the conflict
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that has gone between
paganism and God's people.
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And how that has
entered and how you see it
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all the way
through the scripture.
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It's not just a little bit.
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All the way through the
scripture you find that.
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And we'll see how that fits
together and all works together.
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So we hope that you'll follow
carefully as we take a look
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at the Word of God.
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And when you get home
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you might take
your Bible and sit down
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and just try to
trace some of these things
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that I have talked to you about
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so that you can see
there in God's Word...
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what God's Word
has to say about it.
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So we hope you will do that.
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It's always a
great, great delight
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to have Joe
come and sing for us.
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I know you are being
blessed in a special way,
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and I know that
I am being blessed.
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So Joe, we're
happy that you're here.
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He's going to sing for
you a beautiful song entitled
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Because of Calvary.
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Today I went back to the place
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where I used to go.
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Today I saw that same old crowd
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I knew before.
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When they asked
me what had happened
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I tried to tell them.
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Thanks to Calvary
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I don't come here anymore.
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Thanks to Calvary
00:09:02.61\00:09:05.78
I am not the man I used to be.
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Thanks to Calvary
00:09:13.80\00:09:16.85
things are
different than before.
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While the tears ran down my face
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I tried to tell them...
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Thanks to Calvary
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I don't come here anymore.
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Then we went back to the house
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where we used to live.
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My little boy
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ran and hid behind the door.
00:10:01.89\00:10:07.24
And I said "Son, oh son,
00:10:11.54\00:10:14.49
don't be afraid because you've
got a brand new daddy now. "
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Thanks to Calvary
00:10:19.03\00:10:23.85
we don't live here anymore.
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Thanks to Calvary
00:10:32.27\00:10:35.28
I am not the dad I used to be.
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Thanks to Calvary
00:10:43.24\00:10:46.20
things are
different than before.
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While the tears ran down my face
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I tried to tell him...
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Thanks to Calvary
00:11:04.89\00:11:08.80
we don't live here anymore.
00:11:09.00\00:11:14.29
Thanks to Calvary
00:11:16.94\00:11:19.85
we don't live here
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anymore.
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Gracious Lord,
00:11:53.98\00:11:55.42
thanks to Calvary we have life.
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Thanks to Calvary
00:12:02.25\00:12:03.93
there's hope.
00:12:05.08\00:12:07.07
Thank you, Lord, for what
You did for each one of us.
00:12:07.92\00:12:12.61
We pray that tonight
00:12:13.85\00:12:15.99
that our hearts may be open.
00:12:16.98\00:12:19.77
That we may be given insight.
00:12:20.17\00:12:24.88
May Your Spirit
come and dwell among us.
00:12:25.08\00:12:27.93
Give us
understanding of Your Word.
00:12:28.13\00:12:31.00
May we understand
well enough, Lord,
00:12:31.20\00:12:34.76
to make sure that
we place ourselves
00:12:34.96\00:12:38.37
squarely on your side
00:12:38.68\00:12:40.93
and that we'll walk
with You and follow You.
00:12:41.13\00:12:43.82
Bless us tonight in
a special way we pray.
00:12:44.68\00:12:48.09
In Christ's name, Amen.
00:12:48.30\00:12:50.47
Well to begin with tonight
00:12:55.85\00:12:57.48
we're going to take a look at
a quotation from a history book
00:12:57.68\00:13:01.43
on church history by Worley,
00:13:01.63\00:13:04.19
and it simply says this:
00:13:04.39\00:13:07.09
And so tonight
what we want to do is
00:13:23.98\00:13:27.24
we want to look at the conflict
00:13:27.34\00:13:30.11
that has gone on between
God's people and paganism
00:13:30.31\00:13:33.83
and how that plays out.
00:13:34.03\00:13:36.06
All the way through the
scripture you see that going
00:13:36.09\00:13:40.27
back and forth, back and forth.
00:13:40.47\00:13:42.31
So to begin with,
00:13:42.51\00:13:43.60
we're going to go right back
00:13:43.80\00:13:44.94
to the beginning to
the book of Genesis.
00:13:45.14\00:13:46.79
And in the book of
Genesis it talks about
00:13:46.99\00:13:50.05
a tower that the people built
00:13:50.25\00:13:52.01
referred to as
the Tower of Babel.
00:13:52.21\00:13:55.27
Now, I'm sure that over
the years if you've seen
00:13:55.48\00:13:58.75
pictures of it it
always pictured it
00:13:58.85\00:14:02.12
as being round... but that's
really not the way it was.
00:14:02.22\00:14:04.96
This is a model of it.
00:14:05.16\00:14:08.05
And the Tower of Babel
was built after the flood,
00:14:08.25\00:14:13.44
and the people hoped that
by building this they could
00:14:13.64\00:14:17.90
make some way that
if it ever flooded again
00:14:18.10\00:14:20.99
they could be
saved... some of them at least.
00:14:21.20\00:14:23.90
And so it says:
00:14:24.00\00:14:25.06
So it tells you clearly
what they had to work with.
00:14:44.49\00:14:47.89
They had the
bricks that they made
00:14:48.09\00:14:50.98
and they had the
asphalt as mortar.
00:14:51.18\00:14:54.42
Now here everyone at that time
00:15:08.32\00:15:11.28
all spoke the same language.
00:15:11.48\00:15:14.65
Everyone did.
00:15:14.95\00:15:16.36
God looked down, saw
this... saw what was going on.
00:15:16.56\00:15:20.16
And it says:
00:15:20.37\00:15:22.75
God confused the languages
00:15:31.73\00:15:34.36
so that they had trouble
talking to one another...
00:15:34.56\00:15:37.01
and because of this they stopped
building on the Tower of Babel
00:15:37.21\00:15:41.60
and were scattered
across the nations.
00:15:41.70\00:15:44.49
Now this was the Tower of Babel.
00:15:58.06\00:16:00.38
This took place
basically because of one man,
00:16:00.58\00:16:05.88
and this one man is mentioned
in the chapter just before this.
00:16:06.08\00:16:11.10
One man that did
this... it says this about him:
00:16:11.30\00:16:15.33
Nimrod was a mighty
hunter before the Lord.
00:16:30.86\00:16:35.05
Now that has great
significance, folks.
00:16:35.25\00:16:37.93
Goes on and says this about him:
00:16:38.13\00:16:39.85
So he's the one that
basically started this.
00:16:45.57\00:16:50.08
Let me tell you a
little bit about Nimrod.
00:16:50.28\00:16:52.19
It says that he was a
mighty hunter before the Lord.
00:16:52.39\00:16:55.64
Back then as sin entered
00:16:55.84\00:16:58.88
and man became more corrupt
00:16:59.08\00:17:03.49
the animals also
became more vicious.
00:17:03.69\00:17:08.84
And anybody who
was a great hunter
00:17:09.04\00:17:12.63
was highly revered
because he protected the people.
00:17:12.83\00:17:17.30
They placed great
reverence on this person.
00:17:17.50\00:17:20.56
Nimrod was a mighty
hunter before the Lord.
00:17:20.76\00:17:23.59
Not only is he a
mighty hunter before the Lord
00:17:23.80\00:17:26.77
but he is known in history
as being the one who started
00:17:26.97\00:17:30.55
building walls around
cities to protect the people.
00:17:30.75\00:17:34.85
And so he became
very, very revered
00:17:35.05\00:17:39.00
as a special
person by the people.
00:17:39.20\00:17:42.69
And as time went on, he died.
00:17:42.89\00:17:47.53
When he died, his wife Semiramis
00:17:47.73\00:17:50.98
told the people that her
husband had gone to the sun
00:17:51.19\00:17:56.10
and was now the god of the sun.
00:17:56.30\00:18:00.73
What she told the
people. And thus you find
00:18:00.76\00:18:04.64
these symbols of Nimrod
as you go different places.
00:18:04.84\00:18:09.26
The picture you are
looking at now is a shot
00:18:09.46\00:18:11.49
that I took in
Europe over in Berlin
00:18:11.69\00:18:15.14
at the Pergamon Museum.
00:18:15.34\00:18:18.30
And as you can see it,
you have the god there,
00:18:18.50\00:18:21.62
rays of the sun around his face.
00:18:21.82\00:18:25.01
The four horses
represent the four directions,
00:18:25.11\00:18:28.35
and this is
Nimrod, the god of the sun.
00:18:28.56\00:18:32.13
Or they gave him
many other names...
00:18:32.33\00:18:35.05
but one of the most common
that we'll read in the Bible
00:18:35.25\00:18:37.67
was Baal.
00:18:37.87\00:18:39.11
And this was the god of
the sun, the great, great god.
00:18:39.31\00:18:44.35
And they worshiped him as a god.
00:18:44.55\00:18:47.42
OK. Let me just tell you a
story, show you what happens
00:18:47.62\00:18:53.15
in regard to this.
There's a good king in Israel...
00:18:53.25\00:18:56.67
or in Judah, I should say.
00:18:56.87\00:18:58.31
His name is Hezekiah.
00:18:58.51\00:18:59.82
Hezekiah loved the
Lord, served the Lord,
00:19:00.02\00:19:02.78
has tried to follow the Lord.
00:19:02.98\00:19:04.50
And the Lord sent the
prophet Isaiah to Hezekiah
00:19:04.70\00:19:07.76
and said: "Hezekiah,
set your house in order
00:19:07.86\00:19:10.28
because you're going to die. "
00:19:10.48\00:19:11.95
Well, Hezekiah
didn't take that very well.
00:19:12.15\00:19:16.38
And it says he crawled in bed,
turned his face to the wall,
00:19:16.58\00:19:21.17
and cried... and pled with
the Lord to not let him die.
00:19:21.37\00:19:25.88
And so the Lord
said: "OK, Hezekiah.
00:19:26.08\00:19:28.52
I'll give you 15 more years. "
00:19:28.72\00:19:32.24
Uhh. Probably would have
been better of to have listened
00:19:33.67\00:19:36.18
to the Lord to begin with. But
anyhow, when Isaiah told him...
00:19:36.31\00:19:41.18
he said "the Lord's going
to give you 15 more years, "
00:19:41.38\00:19:43.45
Hezekiah said: "how
can I know this for sure? "
00:19:43.66\00:19:46.92
And Isaiah said: "Well, "
said, "you want the sun dial
00:19:47.12\00:19:50.93
out in the courtyard... you want
it to go forward 10 degrees?
00:19:51.13\00:19:54.02
You want it to go
backwards 10 degrees? "
00:19:54.22\00:19:55.93
And Hezekiah said: "Well,
it wouldn't be too much for
00:19:56.13\00:19:59.41
it to go forward 10 degrees. "
00:19:59.51\00:20:00.81
He said: "Send it
back 10 degrees. "
00:20:01.01\00:20:03.58
Well you can read in your Bible.
00:20:03.78\00:20:05.27
The sun stood
still... went back 10 degrees.
00:20:05.47\00:20:10.45
Now, that was a wonderful
sign to Hezekiah, but folks,
00:20:10.65\00:20:14.65
you've got to understand
the implications of this
00:20:14.75\00:20:18.88
because down in
the city of Babylon
00:20:19.08\00:20:22.92
they worshiped the sun.
00:20:23.12\00:20:26.08
The sun is the
greatest god that they have.
00:20:26.28\00:20:30.64
I mean, he is
the god of conquest.
00:20:30.84\00:20:35.23
He doesn't fail.
00:20:35.43\00:20:37.01
And all of a sudden their
god stopped and went backwards.
00:20:37.21\00:20:42.79
That was... that was totally...
they couldn't put that together.
00:20:42.99\00:20:46.67
And thus you read
this text in the Bible
00:20:46.87\00:20:49.26
here in II Chronicles 32:31:
00:20:49.46\00:20:51.98
They said: "Who is this God? "
00:21:03.07\00:21:05.35
"Who is this God of
yours that can stop our god
00:21:05.55\00:21:09.24
and send him backwards? "
00:21:09.45\00:21:11.32
That they wanted to
know; they came asking Hezekiah
00:21:11.35\00:21:14.93
"Who is this God
that you worship? "
00:21:15.13\00:21:16.54
You see, Baal, or the sun god,
00:21:16.74\00:21:20.59
was the god of conquest.
00:21:20.79\00:21:23.29
He was the god of victory.
00:21:23.49\00:21:24.89
He always went
forward, never went backward.
00:21:25.09\00:21:28.87
And that's the reason you
see these kinds of statues
00:21:29.07\00:21:31.67
as you travel across Europe
where these people worshiped
00:21:31.87\00:21:35.21
the god of the sun.
00:21:35.41\00:21:37.24
And it was the
greatest of all their gods.
00:21:37.44\00:21:41.61
They worshiped him, believed
he was the greatest god.
00:21:41.81\00:21:44.95
So you have that incident
taking place there in the Bible.
00:21:45.15\00:21:50.18
Nimrod's wife, Semiramis,
00:21:51.46\00:21:55.18
after he died she
lived there in Babylon.
00:21:55.38\00:21:59.70
This is a picture that
was taken there at the museum
00:21:59.90\00:22:04.36
in Berlin of Semiramis.
00:22:04.56\00:22:06.93
Very significant
because Babylon is being sacked.
00:22:07.13\00:22:11.67
It's being destroyed, and
you can see her looking out
00:22:11.87\00:22:15.06
the window. She does
not want to be taken,
00:22:15.16\00:22:19.09
and so you can see
her reaching for the sword
00:22:19.29\00:22:22.66
to take her life.
00:22:22.86\00:22:24.32
And which she did.
00:22:24.52\00:22:26.91
And she told the
people to tell the people that
00:22:27.11\00:22:31.20
when she died that
she went to the moon
00:22:31.30\00:22:35.86
and was now the
goddess of the moon.
00:22:36.06\00:22:39.84
And she became known
as the goddess of the moon
00:22:40.04\00:22:44.89
or known by other
names other than Semiramis.
00:22:45.10\00:22:48.79
She became known as Diana.
00:22:48.89\00:22:51.73
She became known as
Venus, the goddess of love.
00:22:51.93\00:22:56.30
These were all the different
goddesses that they had.
00:22:56.50\00:22:59.66
And she also gave
birth before she died
00:22:59.87\00:23:03.71
to a boy. And she told the
people that she had conceived
00:23:03.92\00:23:09.36
this from her
spirit husband in the sun.
00:23:09.56\00:23:12.07
And she gave birth to a boy
00:23:12.27\00:23:15.36
who she named Tammuz.
00:23:15.56\00:23:19.02
This was her son. And
since the people believed
00:23:19.23\00:23:22.28
that Tammuz was the
result of the god of the sun
00:23:22.48\00:23:27.39
and Semiramis, they
also worshiped him, Tammuz,
00:23:27.59\00:23:32.63
as a god... a god of fertility.
00:23:32.77\00:23:37.23
A god of reproduction... this
is what they worshiped him as.
00:23:37.43\00:23:41.44
And so you have
these people or these gods
00:23:41.64\00:23:44.07
all figuring into this,
and you find them affecting
00:23:44.27\00:23:49.17
all the way through
the scripture God's people.
00:23:49.37\00:23:52.94
So watch as we begin to go
through and take a look at it.
00:23:53.14\00:23:57.25
Now folks, we are
only... listen to me.
00:23:58.13\00:24:03.74
We are only 62
years from Solomon.
00:24:03.94\00:24:09.91
This is 62 years later.
00:24:09.94\00:24:13.08
The king of Israel now
00:24:13.48\00:24:16.06
is Ahab.
00:24:16.16\00:24:17.99
Listen to what it says.
This is only 62 years...
00:24:18.29\00:24:21.47
Watch what they've done:
00:24:21.68\00:24:22.91
And... and if you go back...
And there were, by the way,
00:24:30.61\00:24:32.93
there were six - six
other kings in Israel - between
00:24:33.13\00:24:37.56
Solomon and Ahab.
00:24:37.77\00:24:39.99
And if you go back
and read their story,
00:24:40.19\00:24:42.29
it's not very nice.
00:24:42.50\00:24:44.38
Not very nice at all.
00:24:45.59\00:24:46.95
In fact, Israel had 19 kings
00:24:47.15\00:24:51.97
and it didn't have
one good one in the bunch.
00:24:52.17\00:24:55.83
This is Ahab.
00:24:57.24\00:24:59.06
He's worse than all
that were before him.
00:24:59.26\00:25:01.98
OK?
00:25:02.18\00:25:03.81
So it says that
he married Jezebel.
00:25:21.56\00:25:25.03
Jezebel's father, Ethbaal,
00:25:25.23\00:25:27.82
is the priest of
the temple of Baal.
00:25:28.02\00:25:30.36
And when Jezebel
got through with Ahab,
00:25:30.56\00:25:33.56
he forsook the Lord.
00:25:33.76\00:25:36.04
And through Jezebel and Ahab
00:25:36.25\00:25:38.93
they turned all of
Israel against the Lord.
00:25:39.13\00:25:43.32
Sixty-two years, mind you.
00:25:44.68\00:25:48.21
All of Israel now
has forsaken the Lord
00:25:48.41\00:25:51.73
and they're serving Baal.
00:25:52.72\00:25:54.75
Because Israel... in
fact, they have so completely
00:25:56.83\00:26:02.77
left the Lord that God sends
a prophet by the name of Elijah.
00:26:04.01\00:26:09.45
Elijah thinks he's the only one.
00:26:09.65\00:26:12.70
It's that bad!
00:26:14.55\00:26:15.93
And He sends Elijah and
He told Elijah... He said:
00:26:16.81\00:26:19.99
"You go and see Jezebel
and Ahab and you tell them
00:26:20.19\00:26:24.58
that if they do not change
00:26:24.78\00:26:28.01
it will not rain
for 3-1/2 years. "
00:26:28.22\00:26:33.67
And it says:
00:26:34.97\00:26:36.46
And he showed up there
and said that and was gone.
00:26:51.33\00:26:54.89
And when he left
I'm sure that Ahab
00:26:55.19\00:26:58.20
and Jezebel thought this
was just some crazy old man...
00:26:58.40\00:27:01.28
because they didn't pay
any attention to what he said.
00:27:01.48\00:27:04.78
But a year passed
and there was no rain.
00:27:05.81\00:27:09.85
And after a year
passed and there was no rain,
00:27:10.81\00:27:13.99
they said: "Has
anybody seen Elijah? "
00:27:14.19\00:27:16.89
Looking for him, see?
00:27:18.43\00:27:20.03
No rain.
00:27:20.33\00:27:22.72
In fact, the
scripture says it became so bad
00:27:23.82\00:27:26.55
that they sent out
envoys to all the nations around
00:27:26.75\00:27:30.44
and said: "If you're hiding him,
00:27:30.64\00:27:32.78
we're going to go
to war with you. "
00:27:32.88\00:27:34.61
I mean, they were...
they were looking for Elijah.
00:27:35.98\00:27:38.44
Hunting him. God had hid him,
00:27:38.64\00:27:40.71
so they weren't
going to find him.
00:27:40.91\00:27:42.22
I mean, the Lord had
taken care of that, see?
00:27:42.32\00:27:45.68
But for 3-1/2 years...
00:27:45.82\00:27:48.37
3-1/2 years it
never rained one drop.
00:27:48.57\00:27:52.86
And folks, you go back...
00:27:54.02\00:27:56.40
If you really want to
have an interesting study,
00:27:56.60\00:27:58.55
you go back and read it.
00:27:58.75\00:27:59.81
That part of the
country was beautiful.
00:28:00.01\00:28:02.97
I mean, this
was... this was lush
00:28:04.09\00:28:07.41
area as you go back and read it.
00:28:07.61\00:28:10.35
By the time 3-1/2 years
was over, it was a desert.
00:28:10.55\00:28:13.37
Finally the Lord said:
"Elijah, go see Ahab. "
00:28:16.79\00:28:22.46
Elijah said: "I
don't want to go see Ahab.
00:28:24.42\00:28:26.18
He's looking for me,
00:28:26.38\00:28:27.52
I don't want to see him. "
00:28:27.72\00:28:29.30
The Lord said: "Go see him. "
00:28:30.68\00:28:33.16
And so Elijah went to see him.
00:28:33.36\00:28:35.92
Ran onto one of Ahab's servants.
00:28:36.12\00:28:39.78
And he said: "Go tell
your master I'm here. "
00:28:39.98\00:28:42.54
And he said:
"Not on your life. "
00:28:42.74\00:28:44.20
He said, "Cause while I'm
gone to tell him, you'll leave.
00:28:44.40\00:28:48.27
Then he'll come here
and you won't be here,
00:28:48.47\00:28:50.31
and he'll kill me! "
00:28:50.41\00:28:51.51
And he said:
"No, I'll be here. "
00:28:51.71\00:28:53.88
And so he went and told Ahab,
00:28:54.08\00:28:57.07
and Ahab came
driving up in his chariot
00:28:57.27\00:29:00.04
and he spoke to him.
00:29:00.24\00:29:01.46
And this is what he said to him:
00:29:01.56\00:29:03.00
Said: "Are you the one here
00:29:12.61\00:29:15.32
that's
troubling all of Israel? "
00:29:15.42\00:29:17.27
Said: "I'm not the one
that's troubled Israel.
00:29:32.98\00:29:35.60
You're the one
that's troubled Israel.
00:29:35.80\00:29:37.94
You've forsaken
God's commandments.
00:29:38.14\00:29:40.34
You now are serving Baal. "
00:29:40.54\00:29:42.42
And he told Ahab, he said:
00:29:42.62\00:29:44.56
"Gather all of Israel
00:29:44.76\00:29:47.04
and bring them up on
top of Mount Carmel. "
00:29:47.24\00:29:50.14
And he said: "There
we'll find out who is God. "
00:29:50.45\00:29:55.28
So all of Israel came up
on the top of Mount Carmel.
00:29:56.49\00:30:00.64
Not just all the people alone.
00:30:00.85\00:30:04.17
Four hundred and
fifty prophets of Baal
00:30:04.37\00:30:08.27
and four hundred
prophets of the groves.
00:30:08.47\00:30:12.36
And Elijah said to them:
00:30:14.44\00:30:16.44
"Build an altar.
Put a sacrifice on it
00:30:16.64\00:30:20.74
and pray. And if
Baal sends down fire
00:30:22.06\00:30:26.35
and burns up the sacrifice,
00:30:26.46\00:30:27.92
then he's god.
00:30:28.12\00:30:29.78
If he doesn't,
I'll build an altar,
00:30:31.64\00:30:34.00
put a sacrifice on it and pray,
00:30:34.20\00:30:38.03
and if God sends
down fire from heaven
00:30:38.23\00:30:41.07
then He's God. "
00:30:41.27\00:30:42.83
And they said: "OK. "
00:30:43.03\00:30:45.54
And they got up
there. The prophets of Baal
00:30:47.34\00:30:50.49
and the prophets of the groves
they built their altar there.
00:30:50.69\00:30:53.01
They put wood on it and
they put a sacrifice on it.
00:30:53.21\00:30:56.55
Everything ready
except for the fire,
00:30:56.75\00:30:59.00
and they start praying.
00:30:59.20\00:31:01.35
All morning long they prayed.
00:31:01.65\00:31:06.06
No fire.
00:31:07.18\00:31:08.79
About noon
Elijah said: "You know,
00:31:09.78\00:31:12.24
you might outta
yell just a little louder
00:31:12.44\00:31:15.10
because maybe
Baal is taking a walk.
00:31:15.30\00:31:19.47
Or he... or he
could be taking a nap. "
00:31:19.67\00:31:22.47
And they began to shout.
00:31:22.67\00:31:25.35
They worked themselves
into such a frenzy, it says
00:31:25.56\00:31:29.00
that they took
knives and cut their bodies
00:31:29.10\00:31:31.53
and the blood ran
out on the ground.
00:31:31.73\00:31:34.17
Finally about 3 o'clock
00:31:34.37\00:31:36.94
in the afternoon he
said: "that's enough, "
00:31:37.14\00:31:40.86
and went over to where
the altar of God stood.
00:31:41.06\00:31:43.99
And he re-built
the altar of God.
00:31:44.29\00:31:48.19
Placed wood on it.
00:31:48.39\00:31:50.27
Put a sacrifice on it.
00:31:50.48\00:31:52.52
Then he had them dig a trench
00:31:53.53\00:31:57.08
around the altar.
00:31:57.28\00:32:00.34
And they had them
bring up 12 barrels of water.
00:32:00.55\00:32:05.58
Dumped it over the altar,
00:32:09.08\00:32:11.21
sacrifice, stones,
till it filled up the ditch.
00:32:11.41\00:32:15.13
And then he knelt and he said:
00:32:16.36\00:32:20.70
"If Thou be the God of Israel,
00:32:20.90\00:32:22.82
send down fire and
burn up this sacrifice. "
00:32:23.03\00:32:27.50
And the
scripture says fire fell.
00:32:27.71\00:32:30.43
Elijah took all of Israel
00:32:51.43\00:32:55.41
and brought them back
to following the Lord.
00:32:55.61\00:32:58.77
Over and over and over
00:32:59.91\00:33:02.67
you find God sending
messengers, prophets and all
00:33:02.87\00:33:06.88
calling the people
back to following the Lord.
00:33:07.08\00:33:10.43
One of the prophets
that pled with Israel,
00:33:10.64\00:33:14.29
worked with them all his life,
00:33:14.49\00:33:16.45
referred to in the scripture
as the weeping prophet,
00:33:16.55\00:33:19.21
was the prophet Jeremiah.
00:33:19.41\00:33:21.74
And Jeremiah has
prayed and prayed and prayed
00:33:22.92\00:33:26.22
for these people. I want you
to listen to God's conversation
00:33:26.42\00:33:30.36
with him. This is
what God said to him:
00:33:30.46\00:33:33.08
"Jeremiah, don't pray
any more for this people... "
00:33:37.25\00:33:40.29
Said: "Don't pray
any more for them;
00:33:47.74\00:33:50.53
I'm not going to hear you. "
00:33:50.73\00:33:52.37
He said: "Can't you
see what they're doing? "
00:33:58.81\00:34:01.69
That doesn't sound too bad...
00:34:05.15\00:34:06.73
That doesn't sound bad...
00:34:09.91\00:34:11.86
Here they were making cakes
00:34:23.34\00:34:27.32
and offering them
to the queen of heaven:
00:34:27.52\00:34:31.16
to Semiramis, to Diana,
whatever you want to call her.
00:34:31.36\00:34:35.42
They were offering
this as an offering to her.
00:34:35.62\00:34:38.60
Over, over and over the children
of Israel are doing this,
00:34:46.81\00:34:51.41
you find, even as you
move into the New Testament.
00:34:51.51\00:34:56.28
Paul is over in
the city of Ephesus.
00:34:56.48\00:35:00.45
In the city of
Ephesus there's a silversmith
00:35:00.75\00:35:06.20
by the name of Demetrius.
00:35:06.40\00:35:08.65
Demetrius just
makes little statues
00:35:08.85\00:35:13.14
of the goddess Diana.
00:35:13.34\00:35:15.94
She's a goddess of fertility,
00:35:16.14\00:35:19.31
and they worship her as
the goddess of fertility.
00:35:19.51\00:35:22.68
Paul preaches against that, and
his preaching is so effective
00:35:22.88\00:35:28.92
that it began to
hurt their trade.
00:35:29.06\00:35:32.14
And it hurt it so
bad that they rioted.
00:35:33.47\00:35:37.46
It says here:
00:35:37.67\00:35:39.43
They stood there shouting
00:35:51.08\00:35:52.72
"Great is Diana
of the Ephesians. "
00:35:52.92\00:35:55.02
They all
worshiped it, believed it.
00:36:17.37\00:36:20.19
You find that over and over.
00:36:20.39\00:36:21.98
When you go to
the book of Ezekiel,
00:36:22.18\00:36:25.35
it gives you an insight into
how much it affects our lives
00:36:25.55\00:36:30.53
in a very, very definite way.
00:36:30.73\00:36:34.31
Now folks, they've gone
in here to the Lord's house,
00:36:52.77\00:36:56.93
and here on the walls they have
all their different images...
00:36:59.02\00:37:04.98
beasts... that
they worship as gods.
00:37:05.08\00:37:09.05
That's what's happening here.
00:37:09.25\00:37:11.34
They've got them there on
the wall all the way around.
00:37:12.70\00:37:15.24
So they're in there
worshiping these pagan gods...
00:37:31.80\00:37:36.95
gods of wood, gods of stone...
00:37:37.15\00:37:41.94
and they have
forsaken the God of Israel.
00:37:42.15\00:37:45.70
Said: "The Lord
doesn't see what's going on.
00:38:01.67\00:38:03.52
We worship whoever we want to. "
00:38:03.73\00:38:05.87
Now watch:
00:38:06.08\00:38:07.72
And He said: "Worse
than worshiping these idols
00:38:16.96\00:38:20.34
that they have portrayed
on the walls all around
00:38:20.54\00:38:22.71
you're going to
see worse than that. "
00:38:22.91\00:38:24.79
The son of Semiramis and Nimrod.
00:38:37.48\00:38:41.35
The one they believed
to be a god of fertility.
00:38:41.55\00:38:45.09
Let me tell you a
little bit about Tammuz.
00:38:45.29\00:38:47.42
You see, they believed that
Tammuz was a god of fertility...
00:38:47.62\00:38:52.99
reproduction.
00:38:53.09\00:38:54.18
They believed that Tammuz died
00:38:55.44\00:39:00.01
every fall when
the grass turned brown
00:39:00.21\00:39:05.34
and the trees lost their leaves
00:39:05.54\00:39:07.99
and all of nature went dormant.
00:39:08.19\00:39:10.64
This was a sign that Tammuz
00:39:10.84\00:39:13.36
was dying.
00:39:13.56\00:39:15.12
And so he died every fall.
00:39:15.32\00:39:17.90
They believed that every spring
00:39:18.10\00:39:22.27
he could come back to life.
00:39:22.47\00:39:25.47
And so every spring,
00:39:25.67\00:39:28.91
40 days before the sun
reaches the vernal equinox
00:39:29.11\00:39:34.99
that began spring,
they had 40 days of weeping
00:39:35.19\00:39:40.52
for Tammuz.
00:39:40.72\00:39:41.89
They were weeping,
afflicting their souls
00:39:42.09\00:39:46.36
for Tammuz to come back to life.
00:39:46.56\00:39:48.84
Forty days of
weeping for Tammuz.
00:39:49.04\00:39:54.01
Well, how does that affect us?
00:39:54.21\00:39:56.68
Well, have you ever
heard of 40 days of Lent?
00:39:56.88\00:40:01.25
You see the 40 days of Lent
00:40:02.63\00:40:04.76
come directly from that custom.
00:40:04.96\00:40:07.83
When they... 40 days...
that's when it takes place.
00:40:08.03\00:40:11.34
Forty days before the
sun reaches the equinox...
00:40:11.54\00:40:14.72
that's exactly
when it takes place.
00:40:14.82\00:40:16.57
And 40 days of Lent for
them to afflict their souls.
00:40:16.77\00:40:20.38
What are you going to
give up for Lent? See?
00:40:20.58\00:40:25.82
This was what went on.
00:40:26.02\00:40:27.89
You see, folks, these
were gods that they worshiped:
00:40:28.09\00:40:31.72
gods of fertility,
gods of reproduction.
00:40:31.93\00:40:35.86
If you ever
wondered... how did Easter eggs
00:40:39.30\00:40:44.85
ever get involved in the
resurrection of our Lord?
00:40:45.05\00:40:50.13
Or how did bunny rabbits
00:40:51.78\00:40:54.39
get involved in the
resurrection of our Lord?
00:40:54.59\00:40:58.24
Because they're gods of...
they were symbols of fertility
00:40:58.44\00:41:03.10
to the pagan Jews.
00:41:03.30\00:41:05.36
And so what we did is we just
reached out here and took these
00:41:05.57\00:41:08.87
pagan customs
and brought them in.
00:41:09.07\00:41:12.01
And brought them
in to our own belief.
00:41:12.21\00:41:15.83
And so today people use them.
00:41:16.03\00:41:18.63
Now, don't misunderstand me.
00:41:18.83\00:41:21.91
There is nothing...
there is nothing wrong
00:41:23.55\00:41:28.01
in remembering the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
00:41:28.21\00:41:31.55
Says:
00:41:32.73\00:41:33.74
We find that Christ came forth
from the grave and dear friend,
00:41:49.26\00:41:53.05
there is absolutely
nothing wrong in remembering
00:41:53.25\00:41:57.43
the resurrection of
our Lord and of our Savior.
00:41:57.63\00:42:00.18
But it is not right
00:42:01.16\00:42:03.76
that we should
take pagan customs
00:42:03.96\00:42:07.66
and mix it with that.
00:42:07.86\00:42:09.76
That is what we're not to do.
00:42:09.96\00:42:12.26
It's not wrong
for me to be... say:
00:42:12.46\00:42:16.00
"Yes, this is when
my Lord was resurrected.
00:42:16.20\00:42:18.32
This is when He died.
This is what He did for me. "
00:42:18.52\00:42:21.42
That's not wrong.
00:42:21.62\00:42:23.02
But for me to take and mix it
00:42:23.32\00:42:26.02
with paganism? NO!
00:42:26.22\00:42:29.46
That isn't what we should do.
00:42:29.66\00:42:31.56
It affects our lives.
It affects what we do,
00:42:31.76\00:42:35.78
what we believe, in a very,
very real and definite way.
00:42:35.98\00:42:40.80
But it goes on and says:
00:42:41.01\00:42:43.25
He said: "Now worse than
these women worshiping Tammuz...
00:42:52.26\00:42:56.91
worse than that
you're going to see. "
00:42:57.14\00:43:00.81
Said: "Worse than all this
00:43:26.26\00:43:27.95
here these men of
Israel were in God's house
00:43:28.15\00:43:31.64
worshiping the
sun as the sun god. "
00:43:31.84\00:43:36.01
Over and over and over
00:43:36.41\00:43:41.30
God has tried to do away
00:43:42.11\00:43:45.48
with the worship of paganism.
00:43:45.68\00:43:48.91
It's been there; it's interfaced
over and over in God's Word.
00:43:49.11\00:43:55.01
And you'll find that as you
read through the Word of God
00:43:55.21\00:43:58.09
it crops up time and time again.
00:43:58.29\00:44:00.75
I... I've just barely scratched
the surface tonight, folks,
00:44:00.85\00:44:04.00
of what it says
about paganism there.
00:44:04.21\00:44:08.19
But it was there, and Israel
00:44:08.39\00:44:12.99
constantly turned away from God
00:44:13.19\00:44:16.10
and went and
worshiped these pagan gods.
00:44:16.30\00:44:18.94
This went on until
they were carried off
00:44:19.14\00:44:24.23
to captivity... the
Babylonian captivity.
00:44:24.33\00:44:27.97
When they spent 70
years of Babylonian captivity,
00:44:28.17\00:44:32.46
when they came out of that
00:44:32.66\00:44:34.50
never again did
they worship pagan gods.
00:44:34.70\00:44:37.47
That cured them, and
they didn't do that any more.
00:44:37.77\00:44:41.80
But worse than that,
00:44:43.77\00:44:45.32
Israel and the Jewish nation
00:44:45.52\00:44:50.45
became... how should I say...
00:44:50.66\00:44:54.06
they didn't share what they had.
00:44:54.26\00:44:56.81
They... they
kept it to themselves.
00:44:57.11\00:44:59.15
They wouldn't go out and they
wouldn't share what they had...
00:44:59.35\00:45:02.06
what they believed.
00:45:02.26\00:45:03.59
God had given the children
of Israel clear instruction
00:45:03.80\00:45:07.71
that they were to go
out and they were to share
00:45:07.91\00:45:11.17
what they had with the Gentiles.
00:45:11.37\00:45:13.79
That the Gentiles were
to find salvation in them.
00:45:13.99\00:45:17.20
But the Gentiles were pagans,
00:45:17.40\00:45:20.22
and so the Jewish
people considered them dogs.
00:45:20.42\00:45:25.72
And they wouldn't
share the gospel with them
00:45:26.84\00:45:29.40
or the plan of salvation.
00:45:29.60\00:45:31.27
They didn't think they
deserved it or had right to it
00:45:31.47\00:45:34.48
and so they kept it within
themselves in a special way.
00:45:34.68\00:45:39.20
That all went on for 400 years
00:45:39.40\00:45:43.96
until Jesus Christ showed up.
00:45:44.16\00:45:47.39
And when Jesus Christ showed up,
00:45:47.59\00:45:50.73
the whole paradigm changed.
00:45:50.93\00:45:54.35
I mean, completely changed.
00:45:54.55\00:45:57.47
Because up until
then the pagan nations...
00:45:57.67\00:46:03.06
You see, since the Jewish people
kept the gospel to themselves
00:46:03.26\00:46:07.99
and they didn't share
it and they didn't tell
00:46:08.19\00:46:11.34
other people about it, the pagan
nations could contain them.
00:46:11.44\00:46:15.73
They just put them
in subservience to them.
00:46:15.76\00:46:20.27
They overthrew them. They
made them subjects of Rome
00:46:20.48\00:46:23.96
and they contained them,
00:46:24.16\00:46:25.91
and they just
could hold it like that.
00:46:26.11\00:46:28.16
But something happened because
when Jesus Christ showed up
00:46:29.08\00:46:33.10
He told them this gospel of
the kingdom shall be preached
00:46:33.30\00:46:36.40
in all nations.
And all of a sudden...
00:46:36.60\00:46:40.64
all of a sudden the gospel
was no longer territorial.
00:46:40.84\00:46:45.43
No longer was it
held within confines.
00:46:45.63\00:46:49.41
Now any nation could accept it.
00:46:49.61\00:46:51.76
Now any
individual could accept it.
00:46:51.96\00:46:53.81
Now it didn't make any
difference if you were Roman
00:46:53.91\00:46:56.29
or if you were
Greek or if you were Jew,
00:46:56.39\00:46:58.45
you could accept Jesus Christ.
00:46:58.65\00:46:59.85
It didn't make any
difference what your color was.
00:47:00.05\00:47:02.03
It didn't make any difference
whether you were male or female,
00:47:02.23\00:47:05.13
you could accept Jesus Christ.
00:47:05.33\00:47:07.26
And all of a sudden
the whole paradigm changed
00:47:07.46\00:47:10.06
and paganism
didn't know what to do
00:47:10.26\00:47:13.56
because they
couldn't contain it.
00:47:15.22\00:47:17.10
Couldn't hold onto it;
they couldn't keep it localized
00:47:17.30\00:47:21.23
and it spread like
wildfire everywhere.
00:47:21.33\00:47:25.70
The only thing
that paganism knew to do
00:47:25.90\00:47:29.67
was to persecute.
00:47:29.87\00:47:33.05
Because now any
person, any individual,
00:47:33.25\00:47:37.73
could accept Jesus
Christ as their personal Savior.
00:47:37.93\00:47:41.09
Those people went
out and they preached
00:47:42.39\00:47:44.89
and they offered it to kings,
they offered it to servants.
00:47:45.09\00:47:49.19
They offered it to prisoners;
they offered it to soldiers.
00:47:49.39\00:47:54.33
They offered it to anybody
they came in contact with.
00:47:54.53\00:47:58.27
They could accept Christ;
they could have the gospel.
00:47:58.47\00:48:01.48
And it spread
across the whole country.
00:48:01.68\00:48:05.78
Only thing that
paganism knew to do
00:48:06.08\00:48:09.69
was to persecute.
00:48:09.89\00:48:11.84
No longer could she contain it.
00:48:13.49\00:48:16.92
Therefore you find some
of the worst persecution
00:48:17.12\00:48:21.44
that ever took place was
poured out upon Christianity.
00:48:21.64\00:48:26.20
That came down.
00:48:27.88\00:48:29.44
The Jewish people were in revolt
00:48:31.49\00:48:35.04
against the... Rome.
00:48:35.24\00:48:38.72
And they would come down
00:48:38.92\00:48:40.14
and they would absolutely
00:48:40.34\00:48:42.85
slay the Jewish people.
00:48:43.05\00:48:44.85
The problem with that was
00:48:45.05\00:48:47.24
they couldn't tell any
difference between the Jew
00:48:47.44\00:48:52.20
and the Christian.
00:48:52.40\00:48:53.65
And so many, many,
many of the Christians
00:48:53.85\00:48:57.98
lost their lives.
00:48:58.18\00:48:59.79
You see, Rome did not care...
00:48:59.82\00:49:03.22
Rome didn't care
what god you worshiped.
00:49:03.43\00:49:07.63
They were polytheistic.
00:49:07.83\00:49:09.94
They had lots and lots of gods.
00:49:10.14\00:49:11.78
You could worship
any god you wanted to.
00:49:11.98\00:49:13.60
What the DID care
00:49:13.80\00:49:16.18
was that you
were... that they DID care
00:49:16.38\00:49:20.21
about having your allegiance...
that you were loyal to Rome.
00:49:20.31\00:49:24.14
And so they had
their goddess Roma.
00:49:24.34\00:49:28.31
Once a year you
were required to come in
00:49:28.61\00:49:33.41
and take a little
incense and to offer it
00:49:33.61\00:49:38.26
before this goddess as a
sign of your allegiance to Rome.
00:49:38.46\00:49:44.35
And then you were free.
00:49:44.55\00:49:46.13
You could go out and you could
worship anybody you wanted to.
00:49:46.33\00:49:49.78
But the
Christians wouldn't do that.
00:49:49.98\00:49:53.04
They would
worship only the Lord.
00:49:53.24\00:49:57.25
No one else, just the Lord.
00:49:57.45\00:50:00.74
And thus, many, many -
00:50:00.94\00:50:05.54
untold thousands -
00:50:05.74\00:50:08.22
gave their lives because
they said they were Christians.
00:50:08.42\00:50:13.75
They followed the Lord.
00:50:13.95\00:50:16.19
These people
died by the thousands
00:50:16.40\00:50:19.40
and their blood was like seed
00:50:19.60\00:50:24.85
because I mean the
gospel moved and spread.
00:50:25.05\00:50:29.55
And they went out
and they took a stand
00:50:29.75\00:50:32.69
and they said: "We will worship
Jesus Christ and Him only. "
00:50:32.89\00:50:36.40
And by the time
you reach 300 A.D.
00:50:36.70\00:50:42.67
half of the Roman
Empire is Christian.
00:50:42.87\00:50:47.92
Christianity has
spread with great rapidity.
00:50:48.12\00:50:51.81
Paganism could
not longer contain it.
00:50:52.01\00:50:54.79
300 A.D. something happened.
00:50:57.37\00:51:01.81
Something happened
00:51:02.21\00:51:04.21
that changed
the whole situation.
00:51:04.41\00:51:08.52
Something that you
and I need to understand,
00:51:10.52\00:51:14.35
we need to know about.
00:51:14.46\00:51:15.95
For you, each one of
us, need to make sure
00:51:16.15\00:51:20.56
that we belong to Jesus.
00:51:20.76\00:51:23.11
Jesus my Lord,
00:51:26.97\00:51:30.52
I love you forever.
00:51:30.72\00:51:35.06
There is no power
00:51:36.22\00:51:38.82
of evil can sever.
00:51:39.03\00:51:43.69
He gave His life
00:51:43.89\00:51:47.28
to ransom my soul...
00:51:47.48\00:51:51.62
Now I belong to Him.
00:51:52.48\00:51:58.42
Now I belong
00:52:01.18\00:52:04.42
to Jesus,
00:52:04.62\00:52:09.00
Jesus belongs to me.
00:52:09.20\00:52:15.16
Not for the years
00:52:17.40\00:52:21.14
of time alone,
00:52:21.34\00:52:25.52
but for
00:52:26.82\00:52:28.94
eternity.
00:52:28.97\00:52:34.92
Let us pray.
00:52:38.87\00:52:39.90
Heavenly Father, we
come to You this evening
00:52:40.50\00:52:44.13
sensing the
conflict that is going on
00:52:44.33\00:52:49.74
for the souls of men and women.
00:52:49.94\00:52:51.60
Lord we pray that we might
00:52:52.66\00:52:54.66
give ourselves to
You and to You alone.
00:52:55.87\00:52:58.90
That we will worship You.
00:52:59.79\00:53:01.60
That we will not permit any idol
00:53:01.80\00:53:05.96
to come between us and You.
00:53:06.16\00:53:09.03
That our hearts may be open
00:53:09.23\00:53:12.96
to Your guidance and
Your direction in our life.
00:53:13.16\00:53:16.09
That we might walk
as You have told us to.
00:53:16.29\00:53:21.75
That we might follow You.
00:53:21.95\00:53:24.27
Might keep Your commandments.
00:53:24.58\00:53:27.07
Might love You
with all of our heart,
00:53:27.27\00:53:30.69
with all of our
soul, with all of our mind.
00:53:30.89\00:53:34.80
For this we ask in
Christ's name, Amen.
00:53:35.10\00:53:40.13
300 A.D. something
drastically took place
00:53:42.23\00:53:48.19
that changed a lot of
things that are happening
00:53:48.39\00:53:53.08
in the world today.
00:53:53.28\00:53:54.67
That's where we will pick it up
00:53:54.87\00:53:56.57
on our next presentation
00:53:56.77\00:53:59.09
on Baptized Paganism II.
00:53:59.29\00:54:01.87
We're going to pick
up there and begin to see
00:54:02.07\00:54:04.54
what happened
and what took place
00:54:04.74\00:54:06.49
that affects our lives in a
very very real and definite way.
00:54:06.69\00:54:12.20
So we hope you'll
continue to be with us.
00:54:12.40\00:54:15.27
Follow as we study God's Word.
00:54:15.47\00:54:18.26
And we're going to see
in our next presentation
00:54:18.46\00:54:22.00
what happened about 300 A.D.
00:54:22.20\00:54:24.87
and we are going to trace
it right on down to our present
00:54:25.07\00:54:27.86
day... the present
time that we live in.
00:54:28.01\00:54:30.20
Appreciate you
watching by television,
00:54:30.41\00:54:32.22
listening by radio.
00:54:32.42\00:54:33.80
We hope that you'll
be true to the Lord.
00:54:34.00\00:54:36.51
Follow Him; stay close
to Him in all that you do.
00:54:36.72\00:54:39.72
Thank you to each one
of you for being here.
00:54:39.93\00:54:42.37
God bless you, and we hope
that you'll have a great day.
00:54:42.50\00:54:45.88
Take care. Good
night to each one of you.
00:54:46.18\00:54:50.31
Thank you very
much for being here.
00:54:50.41\00:54:52.60
God bless you.
00:54:52.87\00:54:54.35
Jesus said in Luke chapter 8
00:54:56.11\00:54:58.06
a sower went
out to sow his seed.
00:54:58.26\00:55:00.59
And as he sowed,
00:55:00.79\00:55:02.02
some fell by the wayside
00:55:02.22\00:55:04.19
and it was trampled down
00:55:04.39\00:55:05.79
and the birds of
the air devoured it.
00:55:05.99\00:55:07.93
Some fell on rock
00:55:08.13\00:55:09.63
and as soon as it
sprang up it withered
00:55:09.83\00:55:11.85
because it lacked moisture.
00:55:12.05\00:55:13.76
And some fell among thorns
00:55:13.96\00:55:15.80
and the thorns sprang
up with it and choked it.
00:55:16.00\00:55:18.55
But others fell on good ground,
00:55:19.90\00:55:22.53
sprang up, and
yielded a crop a hundred-fold.
00:55:22.76\00:55:26.19
Jesus Christ came to
sow the seed of truth
00:55:26.39\00:55:29.23
into this world.
00:55:29.43\00:55:30.91
And just as every
seed has life in it,
00:55:31.11\00:55:33.42
the Word of God is also life.
00:55:33.62\00:55:35.81
Jesus said in John 6:63
00:55:36.01\00:55:38.52
"The words that I
speak to you, they are Spirit
00:55:38.72\00:55:41.77
and they are life. "
00:55:41.97\00:55:43.49
But sadly in this day and age
00:55:43.69\00:55:45.98
many professed
ministers of the gospel
00:55:46.18\00:55:48.47
don't accept the Bible
as God's inspired Word.
00:55:48.67\00:55:51.78
Because its plain teachings
condemn their practices
00:55:51.98\00:55:55.06
they have tried to
make it appear mysterious
00:55:55.26\00:55:57.99
and obscure in order to
excuse their own transgressions
00:55:58.09\00:56:01.06
of God's law.
00:56:01.16\00:56:02.49
There are those who
try to make everything seem
00:56:02.72\00:56:05.03
pleasant and positive.
00:56:05.23\00:56:06.74
They gloss over or
ignore the warnings of God,
00:56:06.94\00:56:09.69
and thus they strip the
Bible of the power to convict
00:56:09.89\00:56:13.14
sinners of their
need of salvation.
00:56:13.34\00:56:15.68
But no matter how brilliant
and how pleasant they sound
00:56:15.88\00:56:19.39
their message cannot
satisfy the spiritual hunger
00:56:19.59\00:56:23.30
of a true seeker.
00:56:23.50\00:56:25.36
The truth is that
ever since the fall of man
00:56:27.03\00:56:29.98
Satan has been busy
sowing the seed of error.
00:56:30.18\00:56:33.33
But friends, when the
Word of God is preached
00:56:33.53\00:56:36.21
in simplicity and sincerity,
00:56:36.41\00:56:38.31
it's powerful.
00:56:38.51\00:56:39.61
Instead of pointing
out the errors of others
00:56:39.91\00:56:41.96
or seeking to combat
the opponents of the gospel,
00:56:42.16\00:56:45.18
we must follow
the example of Christ
00:56:45.38\00:56:47.68
and simply sow
the seeds of truth.
00:56:47.88\00:56:50.36
Oh, yes, there will be seeds
that will fall by the wayside,
00:56:50.56\00:56:55.58
be eaten by the birds.
00:56:55.78\00:56:57.58
Other seeds will
sprout in stony soil
00:56:57.78\00:57:00.38
only to dry up
for the lack of water.
00:57:00.58\00:57:02.82
Still others will
fall among the thorns,
00:57:03.02\00:57:05.18
but many will spring up
to bear an abundant fruit.
00:57:05.38\00:57:09.87
The sower's job is to sow seed.
00:57:10.93\00:57:13.36
And believe me,
there is no greater joy
00:57:13.39\00:57:16.63
than to see the lives
transformed under the influence
00:57:16.83\00:57:19.99
of the Holy Spirit.
00:57:20.19\00:57:21.67
It's an experience
all of us can have,
00:57:21.87\00:57:24.18
and it's the only goal
we have as a ministry team.
00:57:24.38\00:57:28.40
We have a marvelous opportunity
00:57:28.60\00:57:30.64
to sow by broadcasting
these wonderful seeds of life
00:57:30.84\00:57:34.31
to the whole world.
00:57:34.51\00:57:35.86
Jesus gave all of us
the gospel commission.
00:57:36.06\00:57:38.93
Won't you join
us in this effort?
00:57:39.13\00:57:41.37
Please consider what you can do
00:57:42.74\00:57:44.41
for those who still
don't know about Jesus.
00:57:44.51\00:57:47.20
As the Holy Spirit impresses,
00:57:47.40\00:57:48.97
you may send your
tax-deductible gifts to:
00:57:49.17\00:57:51.41
Thank you for helping us
to bring the Blessed Hope
00:58:03.98\00:58:06.31
to millions all
around the world.
00:58:06.41\00:58:09.59