>>John Bradshaw:
This is It Is Written.
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I'm John Bradshaw.
Thanks for joining me.
00:00:21.22\00:00:24.42
¤[soft instrumental music]¤
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The desert is a
stark, harsh landscape.
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It's a beautiful yet
an extreme environment.
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It's not the sort of
place you want to get lost.
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There's never a lot of water,
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and there are
plenty of creatures
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you want to be
wary of encountering.
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It's here in the desert,
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in our series "The
Prequel of the Bible,"
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that we
investigate an important story.
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It's not a well-known
story, but it's a vital story.
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It was written over a
period of 1,500 years,
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and it's not a story
that fits together neatly.
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It's one you have
to piece together.
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But unscrambling
this story is essential
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if we're going to understand
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some of the most
important questions
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that you could ever ask
about our world and about God.
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This backstory of
the Bible gives us
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critically
important information.
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It tells us what happened
to God's original creation.
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The Bible says that
this planet was intentionally
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and systematically created.
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God was so enthusiastic
about it that in Genesis 1:31,
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He said that it was "very good."
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This was a world that
reflected God's character.
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That perfect
earth had lovingkindness
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as its organizing principle.
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Nothing hurt. Nothing
destroyed. Nothing killed.
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The system upon
which the earth was based
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was one of mutual
giving, mutual blessing.
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Everything blessed and
benefited everything else.
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It's a system so
foreign to what we see today
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it's just about
impossible to imagine.
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The system we know, the
one that we're surrounded by
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and immersed in, is one
where taking, or selfishness,
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is the organizing principle.
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Look around.
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Just about every
living creature in our world
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and virtually everything
that we human beings do
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demonstrates this system.
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Consider the scorpion.
It's an incredible thing.
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It stalks its prey and then
grabs it with powerful claws
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and delivers an excruciating,
deadly venom with the stinger
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on the tip of its tail.
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Its prey dies in agony.
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The venom is so powerful
that some types of scorpion
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are capable of killing humans.
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And whether you are fascinated
or revulsed by scorpions,
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I think we can agree
they don't reflect the loving,
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giving, selfless character of
God as described in the Bible.
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In fact, a careful
reading of the Bible tells us
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that God did not
create this cunningly
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and intentionally designed
creature as we now see it.
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And that raises some
hugely important questions.
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And one of those questions is,
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if God did not create the
earth and all of its lifeforms
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with selfishness as
its organizing principle,
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then how did the world come
to be overtaken by this system?
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And what does the existence
of this creature say about God,
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whom the Bible
describes as all-powerful?
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If in the beginning He created
this world to be kind and gentle
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and only blessing, how did He
allow it to become so twisted?
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To find out, we go to
the prequel of the Bible.
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We'll start a little more
than halfway through the Bible
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in the book of Ezekiel.
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¤[soft music]¤
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In Ezekiel 28 we find
the beginning of a story
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about a high-ranking angel who
was beautiful and full of wisdom
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and who led an
extraordinary life.
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This angel was evidently adorned
with the most beautiful jewels
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and gold.
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And as we're told in verse 14,
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he was the
anointed covering cherub
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who was in attendance to God.
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Now, this was a
very highly ranked angel,
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perhaps the highest ranking
of all of the angels in heaven,
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first in
authority and responsibility
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in God's government.
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¤[soft music]¤
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The God of heaven is the Ruler
and the Lord of this universe,
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and His administration
is an organized system.
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Ephesians chapter 3 makes clear
that God wants us to understand
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how that
administration functions.
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He wants us to
understand and appreciate
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how the universe operates.
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And He wants us to understand
that even more clearly
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when we look at the life and the
ministry and the death of Jesus.
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What's taking
place here on the earth
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is very important to heaven.
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I'll have more in just a moment.
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¤[music]¤
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>>Announcer: For
thousands of years,
00:05:10.67\00:05:12.14
humanity has spoken of
a paradise called heaven.
00:05:12.17\00:05:15.14
But what does the
Bible say about heaven?
00:05:15.18\00:05:17.65
Where is it?
How do we get there?
00:05:17.68\00:05:19.51
And once we're
there, what comes next?
00:05:19.55\00:05:21.95
Find out by
getting today's free offer,
00:05:21.98\00:05:24.35
"As Good As It Gets."
00:05:24.39\00:05:26.02
To receive this free guide,
00:05:26.05\00:05:27.56
call 800-253-3000
00:05:27.59\00:05:30.43
or visit us
online at iiwoffer.com.
00:05:30.46\00:05:34.46
Learn what God's Word
actually says about heaven.
00:05:34.46\00:05:37.27
Call 800-253-3000.
00:05:37.30\00:05:40.17
>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
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I'm John Bradshaw.
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The earth was created perfect.
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There was no crime, no violence,
there was no selfishness,
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there were no thorns,
and there was no venom.
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Way back then,
there was a perfect angel.
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But he rebelled against
God, against God's character,
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and ultimately
against God's creation.
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¤[soft guitar music]¤
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Ezekiel tells us all
about it in Ezekiel chapter 28
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and verse 15, where he
says that the angel was perfect
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in all of his ways until
"iniquity was found in you."
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Now, there was no
excuse for his sin,
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no reason for his rebellion.
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There was no cause for
his grievance against God.
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Verse 17 says that he
became proud in his heart
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because of his beauty and
that he corrupted his wisdom
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for the sake of his splendor.
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The story continues when
we get to Isaiah chapter 14,
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verses 12 through 14.
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Here the
rebellious angel is named.
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His name is Lucifer.
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And we get some real insights
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into what he's
doing and thinking.
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¤[ominous music]¤
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It says, speaking of Lucifer,
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"You have said in your heart:
'I will ascend into heaven,
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I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God;
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I will also sit on the
mount of the congregation
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on the farthest
sides of the north;
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I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds,
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I will be like the Most High.'"
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So Lucifer set in motion
a plan to take God's place
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and usurp God's authority.
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It wasn't enough for Lucifer
to occupy an important place
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in the government of heaven.
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He wanted to be the emperor.
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The story continues in the last
book of the Bible, Revelation,
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and in chapter 12, what we
find is absolutely riveting.
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Satan launches an attack,
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Satan rebels against
the government of God,
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and he convinces
other angels to follow him.
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According to verses 3 and 4,
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1/3 of the angels of
heaven are recruited by Satan
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to stand on his
side in the rebellion.
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Now, of course, when it
comes to recruiting angels,
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Satan has
something of an advantage
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by dint of his authority
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and the respect that
he has among the angels.
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But even so, you have to
wonder what he could have said
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to convince the
angels to follow him.
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They were in heaven, after all.
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And they were
rebelling against God.
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But something he said convinced
a third of the angels of heaven
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to stand against
God and with Lucifer.
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The picture becomes clearer
in verse 7, where it says,
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"And war broke out in heaven:
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Michael and His angels
fought with the dragon;
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and the dragon and
his angels fought."
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So there was a war in heaven.
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Now, not a war with
weapons, as we understand them.
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In the original Greek language,
the word translated as "war"
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is the word "polemos,"
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from which we also get the
words "polemics" and "politics,"
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which are contests of ideas.
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There's also the idea
of bustle and commotion
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attached to that word.
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So when we read
about war in heaven,
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what we're reading about
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is an intense and
passionate war of ideas.
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¤[music]¤
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Now, I mentioned to you
that there are some creatures
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you want to be wary of
encountering in the wild.
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And this is one of them.
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Well, it is, and it isn't.
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That is, the beaded lizard isn't
found in the United States,
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so, if you're in the US,
you have nothing to worry about.
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He's found in Mexico and
throughout Central America,
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but even then you don't
have much to worry about.
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They're not
likely to tangle with you
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unless you get
tangled up with them.
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They are venomous,
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but they don't really
deliver that venom very easily.
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You've got to give
them a really good reason
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to want to deliver
the venom, and even then,
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he does so with
some considerable effort.
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Beautiful creatures!
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They're called beaded
lizards because they're covered
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in these amazing beads.
00:10:03.26\00:10:05.73
Now, we'd agree that
toxic venom probably was not
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God's "Plan A" for creatures.
00:10:08.67\00:10:11.31
Except even today, the
toxic venom has properties
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that are used
in pharmaceuticals.
00:10:15.68\00:10:19.31
So, the venom,
while it's a negative,
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is also a real positive
and benefits human beings.
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¤[soft solemn music]¤
00:10:26.19\00:10:27.32
So the question, of course, is,
00:10:27.36\00:10:29.52
does this creature
reflect the character of God?
00:10:29.56\00:10:34.23
Does it reflect lovingkindness,
peace, and mercy?
00:10:34.30\00:10:39.97
Does the creature
fundamentally give
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as the basis for its existence?
00:10:43.14\00:10:45.67
Does it pass on a
blessing to every other creature
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it interacts with?
00:10:48.81\00:10:49.74
Well, if it doesn't,
why does it not do that?
00:10:49.78\00:10:54.58
Obviously, with a creature like
this, we can see real positives,
00:10:54.62\00:10:59.52
and we can see some
things that we might say,
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hmm, probably wasn't intended
to be this way in the beginning
00:11:01.59\00:11:05.66
at the creation.
00:11:05.69\00:11:07.76
So to really
answer this question,
00:11:07.76\00:11:10.57
to try to decipher this
riddle, we've got to go back,
00:11:10.60\00:11:14.30
back to the
prequel of the Bible.
00:11:14.34\00:11:17.21
We go back to
the story of Lucifer.
00:11:17.24\00:11:20.84
What Lucifer did was
attack the government of God
00:11:23.65\00:11:27.28
on a political level.
00:11:27.32\00:11:29.62
He ran history's first
ever political campaign.
00:11:29.65\00:11:33.46
And if it was anything
like the political campaigns
00:11:33.49\00:11:35.72
that we're familiar with,
00:11:35.76\00:11:37.56
he no doubt smeared
the character of God
00:11:37.59\00:11:40.66
while taking the opportunity
to present his own character
00:11:40.70\00:11:43.97
in the best possible light.
00:11:44.00\00:11:45.97
While attacking
the government of God,
00:11:46.00\00:11:48.44
he was attacking
the character of God,
00:11:48.47\00:11:50.91
because the government of God
was set up to run on principles
00:11:50.94\00:11:53.71
consistent with God's character.
00:11:53.74\00:11:56.75
Now, political
campaigns don't stop
00:11:56.78\00:11:58.68
with simply character
smears and misrepresentation.
00:11:58.71\00:12:02.75
There's always
some kind of platform.
00:12:02.78\00:12:05.19
Lucifer wanted to be like
God. He wanted to be above God.
00:12:05.22\00:12:09.72
Essentially, he was
running for the position
00:12:09.76\00:12:12.49
of the
administrator of the universe.
00:12:12.53\00:12:15.70
He was saying to
the angels in heaven,
00:12:15.73\00:12:18.10
"I have a better organizing
principle for the universe
00:12:18.13\00:12:22.30
than that which God has."
00:12:22.34\00:12:24.37
He couldn't simply say,
00:12:24.41\00:12:25.97
"I'm a good guy, and my
opponent isn't. Join me."
00:12:26.01\00:12:29.31
He offered a better way
forward for the universe.
00:12:29.34\00:12:33.48
So what was Satan's better way?
00:12:33.52\00:12:36.05
I'll tell you in just a moment.
00:12:36.08\00:12:37.69
¤[music]¤
00:12:37.72\00:12:43.63
>>Announcer: For
thousands of years,
00:12:46.70\00:12:48.13
humanity has spoken of
a paradise called heaven.
00:12:48.16\00:12:51.30
But what does the
Bible say about heaven?
00:12:51.33\00:12:53.77
Where is it?
How do we get there?
00:12:53.80\00:12:55.60
And once we're
there, what comes next?
00:12:55.64\00:12:58.04
Find out by
getting today's free offer,
00:12:58.07\00:13:00.48
"As Good As It Gets."
00:13:00.51\00:13:02.14
To receive this free guide,
00:13:02.18\00:13:03.65
call 800-253-3000
00:13:03.68\00:13:06.55
or visit us
online at iiwoffer.com.
00:13:06.58\00:13:10.55
Learn what God's Word
actually says about heaven.
00:13:10.59\00:13:13.42
Call 800-253-3000.
00:13:13.46\00:13:16.36
>>John Bradshaw:
You see them in the sky
00:13:17.53\00:13:18.99
all over the world.
00:13:19.03\00:13:20.23
Most people see vapor trails,
00:13:20.26\00:13:22.33
the condensation that
often appears when a plane flies
00:13:22.36\00:13:25.30
high in the sky.
00:13:25.33\00:13:26.97
But other people see
chemtrails, chemical trails
00:13:27.00\00:13:30.34
that are the secret
work of shadowy figures
00:13:30.37\00:13:32.67
causing enormous
harm to the world.
00:13:32.71\00:13:35.21
Whatever you make
of this conspiracy,
00:13:35.24\00:13:36.78
there's a greater conspiracy
00:13:36.81\00:13:38.65
playing out
right in front of you.
00:13:38.68\00:13:40.95
Don't miss "Chemtrails,"
00:13:40.98\00:13:42.62
part 2 of the It
Is Written series
00:13:42.65\00:13:44.99
"Conspiracy, More
Than Just a Theory."
00:13:45.02\00:13:48.02
You'll hear from
an aviation expert,
00:13:48.06\00:13:50.26
and we'll go into the Bible
and learn about the rise of evil
00:13:50.29\00:13:54.20
and the conspiracy playing
out right before our eyes,
00:13:54.23\00:13:57.30
a conspiracy of
eternal importance,
00:13:57.33\00:13:59.73
a conspiracy most
people are missing.
00:13:59.77\00:14:02.20
Don't be unaware of the
greatest conspiracy of them all,
00:14:02.24\00:14:05.01
involving you
and those you love.
00:14:05.04\00:14:07.18
Watch "Chemtrails"
00:14:07.21\00:14:08.71
from the series "Conspiracy,
More Than Just a Theory"
00:14:08.74\00:14:12.18
on It Is Written TV.
00:14:12.21\00:14:14.48
[snake rattles tail]
00:14:18.05\00:14:20.36
>>John Bradshaw: Thanks for
joining me on It Is Written.
00:14:20.39\00:14:23.43
Rattlesnakes are
found across North America,
00:14:23.46\00:14:26.93
and you know you've
found one when you hear one.
00:14:26.96\00:14:30.70
[snake rattles tail]
00:14:30.73\00:14:34.84
That distinctive
rattle sound is well-known.
00:14:35.64\00:14:39.27
Now, they're especially
common here in the desert,
00:14:39.31\00:14:41.44
and they're venomous.
00:14:41.48\00:14:43.55
So if you come across one, you
don't want to tangle with it.
00:14:43.58\00:14:47.48
It's best to show them respect
and then leave well alone.
00:14:47.52\00:14:52.45
Dr. William Hayes is
a professor of biology
00:14:57.43\00:14:59.76
at Loma Linda University
in southern California.
00:14:59.79\00:15:03.10
He's an expert
on these creatures.
00:15:03.13\00:15:05.13
He knows just how
dangerous they are
00:15:05.17\00:15:07.70
and why human beings
are so terrified of them.
00:15:07.74\00:15:11.81
>>Dr. William Hayes: Why are so
many people terrified of snakes?
00:15:11.84\00:15:14.31
That's a real good question.
00:15:14.34\00:15:15.64
Some of that is going to
be a history of interacting
00:15:15.68\00:15:18.71
with snakes that, um--
00:15:18.75\00:15:20.95
it's probably been
built into our genes
00:15:20.98\00:15:23.22
where we recognize
this is something dangerous.
00:15:23.25\00:15:27.09
We see this in
primates, for example,
00:15:27.12\00:15:28.89
in areas where
there's venomous snakes,
00:15:28.92\00:15:31.19
they are instinctively fearful.
00:15:31.23\00:15:33.36
In areas where they don't
have venomous snakes around,
00:15:33.40\00:15:36.33
they're not so frightened.
00:15:36.36\00:15:37.77
So there's probably
some genetic basis to this,
00:15:37.80\00:15:40.27
an instinctive basis in humans.
00:15:40.30\00:15:42.30
But, um, to a larger extent,
00:15:42.34\00:15:44.51
I think there's a
lot of conditioned fear.
00:15:44.54\00:15:46.84
We're taught to fear
them when we're young.
00:15:46.88\00:15:48.34
A lot of times that
fear is inappropriate.
00:15:48.38\00:15:52.58
So these are designed to kill.
00:15:52.61\00:15:54.88
You know, they've, they've got
the triangular head that has--
00:15:54.92\00:15:58.59
they have a large gland
on each side, a venom gland.
00:15:58.62\00:16:01.46
>>John: Yep.
00:16:01.49\00:16:02.56
>>Dr. Hayes: And, uh,
they've got a pair of fangs,
00:16:02.59\00:16:04.16
and, uh, those are going to
inject the venom into their prey
00:16:04.19\00:16:07.23
or, when they're defensive, into
an antagonist or a predator.
00:16:07.30\00:16:11.60
So they're really
effectively designed to kill.
00:16:11.63\00:16:13.90
When it comes to us, uh,
00:16:13.94\00:16:15.17
for the most part, they
have no desire to do that.
00:16:15.20\00:16:17.84
They don't want to be around us.
00:16:17.87\00:16:19.11
They're frightened by us.
00:16:19.14\00:16:20.34
Their heart rate will actually
start beating really rapidly
00:16:20.38\00:16:23.75
when they encounter us.
00:16:23.78\00:16:24.78
The only time they
would come our direction
00:16:24.81\00:16:26.75
is when they have a place
of retreat that's behind us
00:16:26.78\00:16:30.62
that they're trying to get to.
00:16:30.65\00:16:31.89
If we just let
them go their way, um,
00:16:31.92\00:16:34.36
they're not
going to chase us down;
00:16:34.39\00:16:35.72
they're not going to harm us.
00:16:35.76\00:16:37.19
>>John: You sure?
00:16:37.23\00:16:38.59
>>Dr. Hayes: I am positive.
00:16:38.63\00:16:40.56
So when you see a
snake in the wild, uh,
00:16:40.60\00:16:42.26
I always recommend:
00:16:42.30\00:16:43.77
Leave the animal alone;
admire it from a safe distance.
00:16:43.80\00:16:47.80
For something venomous,
00:16:47.84\00:16:49.20
that should be two or
three steps away or more.
00:16:49.24\00:16:52.67
But, uh, we certainly
can admire the beauty.
00:16:52.71\00:16:55.14
I mean, God didn't make junk.
00:16:55.18\00:16:57.18
And, uh, uh, but we
don't need to kill it.
00:16:57.21\00:17:01.15
Uh, that animal has a
place in God's creation.
00:17:01.18\00:17:04.82
[snake rattling tail]
00:17:04.85\00:17:05.92
>>John: Should we be
worried that he's, uh, rattling?
00:17:05.95\00:17:07.92
>>Dr. Hayes: No, we're okay.
00:17:07.96\00:17:08.82
>>John: Oh really?
00:17:08.86\00:17:09.82
>>Dr. Hayes: This
one's a pussycat. [chuckles]
00:17:09.86\00:17:11.29
I could probably
put him around my neck,
00:17:11.33\00:17:12.63
which I would never do.
00:17:12.66\00:17:13.53
But this one's very gentle.
00:17:13.56\00:17:14.63
[snake rattling tail]
00:17:14.66\00:17:15.76
>>John: But knowing this
snake as well as you know it--
00:17:15.80\00:17:18.07
you describe him
as a "pussycat"--
00:17:18.10\00:17:20.04
knowing how to handle snakes
as well as you handle them,
00:17:20.07\00:17:22.34
you'd never take a risk?
00:17:22.37\00:17:23.44
>>Dr. Hayes: No, I don't
want to get bit. [chuckles]
00:17:23.47\00:17:25.54
A bite is
really, really dangerous.
00:17:25.57\00:17:28.04
>>John: But even
though you might know the guy,
00:17:28.08\00:17:29.58
and you're saying,
"Ah, he'd be fine,"
00:17:29.61\00:17:31.15
you'd still, you just
wouldn't push your luck then?
00:17:31.18\00:17:32.95
>>Dr. Hayes: Nope. My
odds of survival are very good.
00:17:32.98\00:17:35.92
In the U.S. it's going to
be 99, about 999 out of 1,000.
00:17:35.95\00:17:40.36
Uh, there's only about five
deaths a year in 5,000 bites.
00:17:40.39\00:17:43.89
But I could run up
a half-million-dollar
00:17:43.93\00:17:45.69
hospital bill, and I
might wish I was dead.
00:17:45.73\00:17:47.86
>>John: Yep, yep.
00:17:47.93\00:17:49.16
>>Dr. Hayes: So,
uh, here at Loma Linda,
00:17:49.20\00:17:51.20
we find that 80 percent
of the bites are to males,
00:17:51.23\00:17:55.14
like you and me.
00:17:55.17\00:17:56.91
Forty-five percent of
the time they're interacting
00:17:56.94\00:17:59.04
with the snake,
they're playing for it;
00:17:59.07\00:18:00.41
they're asking to get bit.
00:18:00.44\00:18:02.21
Twenty percent of the
time there's alcohol involved.
00:18:02.24\00:18:04.38
>>John: Oh really?
00:18:04.41\00:18:05.45
>>Dr. Hayes: So, yeah,
snake bites are associated
00:18:05.48\00:18:07.12
with the two most dangerous
chemicals in the world--
00:18:07.15\00:18:10.02
testosterone and alcohol.
00:18:10.05\00:18:11.82
>>John: Hmmmmmm.
[Dr. Hayes chuckles]
00:18:11.85\00:18:13.72
>>Dr. Hayes: Now, even though
these guys are designed to kill,
00:18:13.76\00:18:16.73
their venom can be used by
humans to save human lives.
00:18:16.76\00:18:20.80
There are a number
of medications that are,
00:18:20.83\00:18:22.70
are designed from their venom,
00:18:22.73\00:18:24.87
and there's research actually
showing that if you inject
00:18:24.90\00:18:27.64
the venom into somebody several
days before their surgery,
00:18:27.67\00:18:32.47
they should have less
bleeding during the surgery,
00:18:32.51\00:18:34.61
because the venom
provokes bleeding;
00:18:34.64\00:18:37.31
the body tries to
stop that bleeding.
00:18:37.35\00:18:39.28
>>John: Mmm.
00:18:39.31\00:18:39.98
>>Dr. Hayes: So during surgery,
00:18:40.02\00:18:41.45
you've got that
reduction of bleeding that, uh,
00:18:41.48\00:18:44.82
is a benefit from the venom.
00:18:44.85\00:18:47.12
We can rest assured that these
animals were very different
00:18:47.16\00:18:49.59
before sin came into the world.
00:18:49.62\00:18:51.39
Uh, the best
understanding we probably have
00:18:51.43\00:18:55.30
is looking at Isaiah where we're
told what snakes will be like
00:18:55.33\00:18:58.60
in heaven, where,
uh, a child can sit
00:18:58.63\00:19:01.27
next to the nest of a cobra, and
a child does not have to fear.
00:19:01.30\00:19:05.87
So we know they weren't harmful.
00:19:05.91\00:19:07.98
There's been a lot of
change that's happened
00:19:08.01\00:19:09.48
since the creation.
00:19:09.51\00:19:11.18
Uh, I would say
that's God creating in life
00:19:11.21\00:19:15.42
the ability to change,
00:19:15.45\00:19:17.25
the ability to adapt
to a, uh, a sinful world
00:19:17.29\00:19:21.32
where there's death.
00:19:21.36\00:19:22.76
And, um, and it's led to amazing
biodiversity where animals
00:19:22.79\00:19:26.90
become uniquely adapted to
many different environments.
00:19:26.93\00:19:30.27
The, the richness of different
lifeforms that we see--
00:19:30.30\00:19:33.37
it's extraordinary.
00:19:33.40\00:19:35.04
The years that I've
spent studying these snakes
00:19:35.07\00:19:37.47
has given me a lot of
insight into the natural world,
00:19:37.51\00:19:40.41
a, a better understanding
of, uh, I would say,
00:19:40.44\00:19:44.05
God's concern about, uh,
the natural environments.
00:19:44.08\00:19:48.45
I think that, uh, snakes
have a special place in nature.
00:19:48.48\00:19:53.52
God's kept them there,
00:19:53.56\00:19:55.46
and, um, it's taught me
to be a lot more respectful.
00:19:55.49\00:19:58.23
I don't want to be one that
goes out and injures nature.
00:19:58.26\00:20:01.86
And, um, it's also because
of the, the danger to humans,
00:20:01.90\00:20:06.80
which is sometimes
overstated, but, but very real.
00:20:06.84\00:20:10.14
Um, I, I've, I've gained a
better recognition of the fact
00:20:10.17\00:20:13.91
that healthy humans
need healthy environments.
00:20:13.94\00:20:16.31
We can't just go removing
this species or that species
00:20:16.34\00:20:19.11
to make it a safer place
for us, because it's all working
00:20:19.15\00:20:22.65
together in an amazing
way that God has put together,
00:20:22.68\00:20:25.82
and we've been
given responsibility
00:20:25.85\00:20:27.32
to take care of
it, even the snakes.
00:20:27.36\00:20:29.69
¤[soft guitar music]¤
00:20:30.53\00:20:33.19
>>John: Now let's
continue to follow our story.
00:20:33.23\00:20:35.70
Lucifer is in open rebellion,
00:20:35.73\00:20:38.53
and at this point God
changes his name to Satan,
00:20:38.57\00:20:42.47
meaning "enemy" or "adversary"
or, fittingly, "opponent."
00:20:42.50\00:20:47.51
In Revelation 12:7 and 8, we're
told that Satan and his angels
00:20:47.54\00:20:50.85
lost the war in heaven,
00:20:50.88\00:20:52.41
and they were evicted from
heaven and cast to the earth.
00:20:52.45\00:20:56.58
So Satan is on the earth,
having lost the war in heaven,
00:20:56.62\00:21:00.06
but he hasn't given up
his claims against God.
00:21:00.09\00:21:03.43
He attacks God by attacking what
was created in the image of God.
00:21:03.46\00:21:08.26
He attacked
humanity: Adam and Eve.
00:21:08.30\00:21:11.37
Satan approached Eve
using a snake as a medium.
00:21:11.40\00:21:15.60
And he stuck to the message
he disseminated in heaven.
00:21:15.64\00:21:18.94
Look at what he says to Eve,
00:21:18.97\00:21:21.11
and it'll give you
an idea of what he said
00:21:21.14\00:21:22.84
to the angels in heaven.
00:21:22.88\00:21:25.08
In Genesis 3:1-3, the
serpent "said to the woman,
00:21:25.11\00:21:28.85
'Has God indeed said,
00:21:28.88\00:21:30.92
"You shall not eat of
every tree of the garden"?'
00:21:30.95\00:21:33.62
And the woman
said to the serpent,
00:21:33.66\00:21:35.32
'We may eat [of] the fruit
of the trees of the garden;
00:21:35.36\00:21:37.89
but of the fruit of the
tree which is in the midst
00:21:37.93\00:21:40.13
of the garden, God has said,
00:21:40.16\00:21:41.76
"You shall not eat it, nor shall
you touch it, lest you die."'"
00:21:41.80\00:21:46.00
Now, look at what
Satan says in verses 4 and 5:
00:21:46.03\00:21:49.24
"Then the serpent said to the
woman, 'You will not surely die.
00:21:49.27\00:21:54.44
For God knows that
in the day you eat of it
00:21:54.48\00:21:56.98
your eyes will be opened,
00:21:57.01\00:21:58.81
and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil.'"
00:21:58.85\00:22:03.82
Now, did you notice
that? Satan called God a liar.
00:22:03.85\00:22:07.82
God said that they
would die if they disobeyed,
00:22:07.86\00:22:10.33
and Satan said, "You
will not surely die."
00:22:10.36\00:22:14.00
Then he said that
if they ate the fruit,
00:22:14.03\00:22:16.60
they would become like God,
00:22:16.63\00:22:18.23
which meant that God was selfish
and was keeping blessings
00:22:18.27\00:22:21.50
from them, and that
the way to become like God
00:22:21.54\00:22:24.27
was through
unbridled self-interest.
00:22:24.31\00:22:27.61
Satan said that God's system
was designed to keep power
00:22:27.64\00:22:30.81
and achievement
away from people.
00:22:30.85\00:22:33.68
A third of the
angels believed the lie,
00:22:33.72\00:22:37.22
and so did Adam and Eve.
00:22:37.25\00:22:39.12
Satan won the second battle,
00:22:39.15\00:22:41.39
and the consequences were
not only enormous and immediate,
00:22:41.42\00:22:45.43
but they continue to
impact you and me daily.
00:22:45.46\00:22:49.16
One of the terrible consequences
of Adam and Eve's sin
00:22:49.83\00:22:52.87
was a change in the
management of the earth.
00:22:52.90\00:22:56.47
God had given Adam and
Eve dominion over the earth,
00:22:56.50\00:22:59.74
but when Satan conquered them,
00:22:59.77\00:23:02.04
he took what was
theirs as the spoils of war.
00:23:02.08\00:23:05.95
Revelation 12:9 says that Satan
and his angels were cast down
00:23:05.98\00:23:10.39
to the earth.
00:23:10.42\00:23:11.52
The earth was not given to them.
00:23:11.55\00:23:14.19
But when we next see
Satan in the book of Job,
00:23:14.22\00:23:16.73
he's attending a meeting of
the sons of God, and he's there,
00:23:16.76\00:23:19.76
evidently, as the
representative of this earth.
00:23:19.79\00:23:24.60
Jesus in John 12 and John 14
00:23:24.63\00:23:27.00
referred to Satan as
"the prince of this world."
00:23:27.04\00:23:31.57
But the really
critical thing is what Satan did
00:23:31.61\00:23:34.91
once he usurped our dominion.
00:23:34.94\00:23:37.28
This fallen angel,
incredibly powerful,
00:23:37.31\00:23:40.92
stunningly intelligent,
immediately began to twist
00:23:40.95\00:23:44.65
the earth and everything in
it into a system that was based
00:23:44.69\00:23:49.42
on his organizing principle,
the system of selfishness.
00:23:49.46\00:23:54.93
And the end result is
the earth in which we live.
00:23:54.93\00:23:59.77
This is a world where God
and His system based on love
00:24:00.67\00:24:05.31
is pitted against Satan and
his system based on selfishness.
00:24:05.34\00:24:10.05
So why did God let
Satan continue to exist
00:24:10.08\00:24:13.42
after his rebellion in heaven?
00:24:13.45\00:24:15.38
And why would He let
Satan pervert the earth
00:24:15.42\00:24:17.65
and put his system
of selfishness in place?
00:24:17.69\00:24:20.92
How does this campaign end?
00:24:20.96\00:24:23.06
And how does all of
this relate to Jesus?
00:24:23.09\00:24:26.53
What we're going to
see more and more clearly
00:24:26.56\00:24:28.90
is that selfishness is a
terrible, terrible system
00:24:28.93\00:24:33.10
for running the earth.
00:24:33.13\00:24:34.54
We see the evidence for
that in the world all around us.
00:24:34.57\00:24:38.21
¤[soft guitar music]¤
00:24:38.24\00:24:40.24
So what do we do,
00:24:40.28\00:24:41.38
living in a world that's
full of selfishness and sin?
00:24:41.41\00:24:45.11
We can't get out.
00:24:45.15\00:24:46.48
So what can we
do while we're here?
00:24:46.51\00:24:49.02
Paul made an interesting
statement in Romans 6
00:24:49.05\00:24:51.89
in verse 16 when he said,
00:24:51.92\00:24:53.82
"Know ye not, that to
whom [you] yield yourselves
00:24:53.86\00:24:58.23
servants to obey, his servants
[you] are to whom [you] obey;
00:24:58.26\00:25:03.47
whether of sin unto death,
00:25:03.50\00:25:05.83
or of obedience
unto righteousness?"
00:25:05.87\00:25:09.00
In this world of sin, we get to
choose who we're going to serve.
00:25:09.04\00:25:12.77
If you wish, you
can choose to serve sin,
00:25:12.81\00:25:16.41
and you know who you'd
be serving if you did that.
00:25:16.44\00:25:19.38
Or you can choose to
serve God, to serve obedience,
00:25:19.41\00:25:22.28
to serve righteousness.
00:25:22.32\00:25:24.22
The right choice
to make is obvious,
00:25:24.25\00:25:26.49
but it might not be easy,
and that's because our heart,
00:25:26.52\00:25:30.13
affected by sin, leans
in the direction of sin.
00:25:30.16\00:25:34.00
We can war with ourselves,
but you can make the choice
00:25:34.00\00:25:38.40
and invite the God
who made a perfect earth,
00:25:38.43\00:25:41.67
and who is one day going to
remake this sin-affected earth,
00:25:41.70\00:25:45.34
to remake your heart today.
00:25:45.37\00:25:48.24
After a
disastrous fall into sin,
00:25:48.28\00:25:50.41
David prayed and said to God,
"Create in me a clean heart,
00:25:50.45\00:25:54.25
O God; and renew a
right spirit within me."
00:25:54.28\00:25:57.52
That's Psalm 51 in verse 10.
00:25:57.55\00:26:00.06
And God did.
00:26:00.09\00:26:01.72
And what God did for
David, He'll do for you.
00:26:01.76\00:26:05.33
And that means, even though
this world has been hijacked,
00:26:05.36\00:26:08.10
even though the
government of the universe
00:26:08.13\00:26:09.56
has been dramatically
impacted, you can have peace,
00:26:09.60\00:26:13.77
and you can know that
eternal life is yours.
00:26:13.80\00:26:17.47
>>John Bradshaw: Thank you for
remembering that It Is Written
00:26:19.14\00:26:21.08
exists because of the kindness
of people just like you.
00:26:21.11\00:26:24.51
To support this international
life-changing ministry,
00:26:24.55\00:26:27.78
please call us
now at 800-253-3000.
00:26:27.82\00:26:31.89
You can send your
tax-deductible gift
00:26:31.92\00:26:33.49
to the address on your screen,
00:26:33.52\00:26:34.96
or you can visit us
online at itiswritten.com.
00:26:34.99\00:26:38.79
Thank you for your prayers
and for your financial support.
00:26:38.83\00:26:41.60
Our number
again is 800-253-3000,
00:26:41.63\00:26:45.77
or you can visit us
online at itiswritten.com.
00:26:45.80\00:26:48.77
>>John Bradshaw:
Let's pray together now.
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Our Father in heaven,
00:26:52.01\00:26:53.07
¤[soft music]¤ in
Jesus' name we thank You
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that though we live
in a sin-affected world,
00:26:55.24\00:26:57.41
there is a way of
escape; His name is Jesus.
00:26:57.45\00:27:00.45
That though Your government has
been so dramatically impacted,
00:27:00.48\00:27:03.55
though the world
has been hijacked,
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we are grateful to know
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that there is an
eternal future for us
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as our lives are
surrendered to You.
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We can choose You in
the midst of the madness.
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We can choose You in the midst
of the confusion and the chaos,
00:27:16.53\00:27:19.20
and so we do.
00:27:19.23\00:27:20.57
Friend, would
you choose God now?
00:27:20.60\00:27:22.27
Would you do that now?
00:27:22.30\00:27:23.67
Would you say,
"Lord, I choose Your way.
00:27:23.71\00:27:26.21
I choose Your plan for my life"?
00:27:26.24\00:27:29.61
And as you do and as you
surrender your heart to God,
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you can know that
you're a child of God
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looking forward to a
bright eternal future.
00:27:35.02\00:27:37.95
Father, we thank You today;
00:27:37.99\00:27:39.12
we trust You in spite
of what we see around us.
00:27:39.15\00:27:42.52
We trust You; we
love You; we thank You.
00:27:42.56\00:27:45.66
And we pray in Jesus' name.
00:27:45.69\00:27:48.20
Amen.
00:27:48.23\00:27:49.76
Thanks so much for joining me.
00:27:49.80\00:27:51.17
I'm looking forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:27:51.20\00:27:53.37
Until then, remember:
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"It is written, 'Man
shall not live by bread alone,
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but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God.'"
00:27:58.91\00:28:03.14
¤[theme music]¤
00:28:03.18\00:28:08.18