Participants: Bill Santos
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201204
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00:01 >>Bill: On today's "It Is Written" program we have
00:02 the fourth and last part of our study of 1st and 00:05 2Thessalonians. So, you know the drill. Go get 00:11 your Bible, your pen and a pad of paper because "It 00:12 Is Written" begins right now. 00:19 (Music) 00:30 Announcer: It has stood the test of time.. 00:33 God's book, The Bible. 00:36 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:41 It Is Written. 00:43 Sharing messages of hope around the world. 00:49 (Music) 00:58 Let me welcome all of our viewers to this weeks "It 00:59 Is Written" program. I want to welcome 01:02 our returning guest, Dr. 01:02 George Knight. Dr. Knight, welcome back again. >>Dr. 01:05 Knight: Thank you Bill. 01:06 >>Bill: Well, we've come to the fourth and last 01:08 installment in this four part series on exploring 01:12 Thessalonians and you've lead us through that 01:12 That's also the name of your book and at the end 01:17 we're going to give folks a chance to get a website 01:21 where they can acquire your book. You are 01:22 retired now? >>Dr. Knight: Supposedly. >>Bill: 01:27 Although - supposedly (laughter).>>Dr. Knight: 01:29 My wife doesn't think so. >>Bill: That's right. 01:30 Working more now. >>Dr. 01:32 Knight: My employer does. 01:32 I only half as much money. 01:33 >>Bill: And you have been a church pastor; you 01:34 have been a seminary professor.>>Dr. Knight: 01:40 That's right. 01:41 >>Bill:.author, travelled around the world and you 01:44 have always been very gracious with your time 01:45 with "It Is Written" and we thank you for that. So, 01:47 over the last three weeks you have taken us through 01:51 Thessalonians, you've given us some powerful 01:52 insights, once again as we do each week we always 01:56 have some folks that are joining us for the very 02:00 first time. Let's take, just bring us quickly up 02:01 to speed as to where we are and then we're going 02:03 to go right into, I guess, it's 2Thessalonians. >>Dr. 02:09 Knight: 2Thessalonians. 02:09 Yeah. We've spent three weeks on 1Thessalonians 02:12 recognizing that these are the oldest Christian 02:13 documents that we have. 02:19 Nothing is older. Less than 20 years after the 02:20 crucifixion of Jesus. So, in Thessalonians we have 02:23 a pretty good view of the earliest Christianity, 02:28 written 20 - 40 years before the Gospels were 02:29 put into writing. >>Bill: Wow. >>Dr. Knight: And, as 02:37 I've noted the last three weeks, the very focal 02:41 point of these two books is the Second Coming of 02:42 Jesus. They had a little bit of a problem and they 02:50 had a question. They had several questions. What's 02:56 going to happen to our friends who've died? Are 02:57 they going to miss out? 02:58 >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. 02:58 Knight: We thought Jesus was going to come and he 03:00 hasn't come. What, you know.Paul says, no, don't 03:01 worry about it. Don't worry about it. When Jesus 03:06 comes, he'll call them forth from the graves. 03:11 They're sleeping in the graves now. That's where 03:12 they are. They don't know anything. They're just 03:15 sleeping. And when He comes again; they'll be 03:21 resurrected; taken up into the atmospheric heavens; 03:22 they'll meet Jesus there and then those people who 03:28 are still alive will be raptured or caught up to 03:32 meet them in the air. 03:33 >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. 03:33 Knight: Hey, nothing secret about that. Open 03:36 graves; people being caught up; thunder and 03:38 lightning and trumpets; the voice of the 03:39 Archangel. But they've got another question. When? 03:44 When will this happen? We are anxious. We want to 03:50 know. And Paul basically told them the same thing 03:51 that Jesus did, none of your business. Your 03:56 business is to live like child, children of the 04:00 light. >>Bill: Right. 04:00 >>Dr. Knight: Don't, not, no, stay away from the 04:05 darkness, man. >>Bill: Right. Right. >>Dr. 04:06 Knight: But walk with Jesus. And we closed 04:09 last week with their sanctification. That is, 04:15 they're not only being set apart for holy use but 04:16 actually through the Holy Spirit being sanctified 04:20 that is growing more and more to be like Jesus. 04:25 Mentally, physically, spiritually, the whole 04:26 person. >>Bill: The whole package. >>Dr. Knight: 04:29 That's right. Well, all of us belong to Jesus. Not 04:32 just our spiritual nature but our bodies and our 04:33 minds and so all of that is for holiness. >>Bill: 04:37 It's interesting. Some folks will teach that 04:42 Jesus isn't concerned about the physical and 04:43 here Paul seems to suggest that, yeah, He is. >>Dr. 04:47 Knight: Yeah. Yeah, I'm going to tell you the 04:50 truth. If your bodies messed up, your mind 04:51 doesn't think well. 04:53 >>Bill: Yes. You're right. 04:54 >>Dr. Knight: And if your mind doesn't think well 04:56 you don't make good spiritual decisions 04:57 >>Bill: That's right. 04:58 >>Dr. Knight: Exercise and proper diet are all part 04:59 of what it means to grow more and more like Jesus. 05:02 >>Bill: Yes. >>Dr. Knight: Because the healthier I 05:05 am, the better I can think; the better I 05:06 can think, the better decisions I can make for 05:10 Jesus and how to love my neighbor every day. Well 05:13 let's turn now to 2Thessalonians. >>Bill: 05:14 Okay. >>Dr. Knight: And we really want to spend most 05:20 of our time on chapter two. >>Bill: Okay. >>Dr. 05:23 Knight: But there's, there's an important part 05:24 down here in chapter one. 05:28 Remember, these people are suffering under 05:28 persecution.>>Bill: Right. 05:33 >>Dr. Knight:.and Paul himself was being kicked 05:34 from town to town. Now, I think this is important 05:37 because in these two books we have what we call a, 05:39 what we might call a theology of suffering. And 05:40 part of that theology of suffering and Jesus taught 05:47 in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, "Blessed 05:51 are those who are persecuted". >>Bill: 05:51 Right. >>Dr. Knight: You consider yourselves, 05:55 yourself blessed? >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. Knight: In 05:59 fact, in Luke he says, 'jump for joy when 06:00 everything goes wrong'. 06:01 >>Bill: Yes. >>Dr. Knight: Hey, go and practice that 06:02 one. I'm preaching that sermon, that verse some 06:04 weeks ago and the homework assignment is, when things 06:09 go wrong I want you to start jumping. >>Bill: To 06:10 rejoice. >>Dr. Knight: I mean rejoice and jump for 06:14 joy. Why? Because God is developing your character. 06:22 And Paul went through his own over there in 06:22 2Corinthians, about the 11th chapter and 06:26 he's talking about all his religious persecutions and 06:28 he says, 'when I awake that is when I am strong' 06:30 >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. 06:37 Knight: And in Romans 5, tribulation is how 06:38 God uses to build our character. >>Bill: Is it 06:47 in Philippians, chapter three where he talks 06:50 about, you know, having thrown everything out. 06:51 I took Christ and the knowledge of Christ and he 06:54 talks about all the things he gained when he took 06:56 Christ including a companion in his 06:57 suffering. >>Dr. Knight: That's right. That's 07:02 right. And I think this is important because we have 07:07 so many people, even TV preachers who are saying, 07:08 if you accept Jesus, you've got faith nothing's 07:11 going to go wrong. Hey, that's not the way Jesus' 07:15 life was. That's not the way Paul's life was and 07:16 to be frank with you mine hasn't shown up much 07:19 better. >>Bill: Yeah. How was that old song 'I never 07:22 promised you a rose garden'. Was there a song 07:23 like that? >>Dr. Knight: That's right. But, you 07:24 know, he did promise us something besides a thorn 07:28 too. >>Bill: That's right. >>Dr. Knight: And 07:29 so, we'll pick up on that right now. >>Bill: Okay. 07:31 >>Dr. Knight: Because there will come a time. 07:33 Part of the theology of suffering is there will 07:34 come a time when God will make everything right. 07:39 And we find that in 1Thessalonians, the 1st 07:42 chapter.>>Bill: 2Thessalonians. >>Dr. 07:43 Knight: 2Thessalonians, first chapter beginning in 07:50 verse five.>>Bill: Okay. 07:50 >>Dr. Knight: "This is evidence that the 07:52 righteous judgment of God that you may be made 07:54 worthy of the kingdom of God for which you 07:55 are suffering". >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. Knight: 07:59 So there's that theology of suffering again. He's 08:01 using it to make us worthy.>>Bill: Right. 08:02 >>Dr. Knight:.of God. 08:06 >>Bill: Okay. >>Dr. 08:06 Knight: Developing our character. And in verse 08:08 six, "Since indeed God deems it just to repay 08:09 with affliction those that afflict you" Oh, there's 08:11 two sides to this. When God comes again, He's 08:16 going to reward the righteous. We've already 08:17 studied about the Second Coming but here's the 08:20 downside. 'Since indeed God deems it just to repay 08:24 those will affliction those that afflict you and 08:25 to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted. And 08:29 the more Jesus is revealed from heaven with His 08:33 mighty angels and flaming fire, inflicting vengeance 08:34 upon those who do not know God and upon those that 08:39 do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ". 08:44 >>Bill: Wow. >>Dr. Knight: Hey, that's important. 08:45 >>Bill: Yes. >>Dr. Knight: You don't just accept 08:48 the Gospel, you obey the Gospel. >>Bill: Yeah. 08:49 That's very important. 08:50 That's right. >>Dr. 08:50 Knight: Yeah. >>Bill: That's right. >>Dr. 08:52 Knight: "They shall suffer the punishment of eternal 08:54 destruction and exclusion from the presence of the 08:55 Lord". Verse 10, "When He comes on that day to be 09:01 glorified in saints". Hey, this is important, verse 09:05 nine, "They shall suffer the punishment of eternal 09:06 destruction". >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. Knight: 09:14 That is not perpetually being destroyed. Book of 09:18 Revelation, the 21st chapter calls this the 09:20 second death. >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. Knight: 09:21 God is not some kind of an infinite Hitler who 09:24 tortures people forever and ever. >>Bill: 09:25 Throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. Yeah. 09:26 >>Dr. Knight: That's right. The Bible says, 09:28 "They are burned up". >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. 09:29 Knight: "Left neither root nor branch." >>Bill: 09:31 Right. >>Dr. Knight: And I think that that's just as 09:35 important when we're talking about eternal 09:36 destruction. >>Bill: So, it's the.>>Dr. Knight:.not 09:38 eternal destructing >>Bill: Right. It's the 09:40 consequences are eternal. 09:41 >>Dr. Knight: That's right. The results are 09:43 eternal. >>Bill: The results are eternal. >>Dr. 09:44 Knight: That's right. 09:45 >>Bill: Okay. >>Dr. 09:46 Knight: At least Adolf Hitler had fine-tuned the 09:49 process of torture but his victims eventually 09:50 died >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. 09:57 Knight: St. Augustine helped the church 09:58 understand wrongly when he said, well, God will just 10:00 perform a miracle. He'll keep them alive so they 10:02 can be tortured forever and ever. And, of course, 10:03 that's the best argument against Christianity, is 10:07 eternal hell fire. >>Bill: Probably the most powerful 10:11 one. That's right. >>Dr. 10:11 Knight: Oh yes. Yeah. You cannot reconcile that with 10:13 a loving God. >>Bill: Loving God. That's right. 10:14 >>Dr. Knight: No. They will be as if they had 10:18 never been. >>Bill: And, also, then that means that 10:20 the wicked would get immortality also. >>Dr. 10:21 Knight: Not a very good to have immortality who can't 10:23 live forever and ever We've already studied that 10:26 in 1Corinthians:15 that, "It's only those who 10:27 believe in Jesus that get immortality and not until 10:33 He comes again". You don't believe in Jesus, you 10:36 don't get immortality. 10:36 Therefore, you can be destroyed but you can't 10:39 live.>>Bill: Forever. 10:40 >>Dr. Knight:.immortal life. >>Bill: That's 10:43 right. >>Dr. Knight: Well, what we really want 10:44 to talk about here is chapter. "Now concerning", 10:47 remember those words? 10:56 >>Bill: Yeah. That means they had a question, 10:57 right? >>Dr. Knight: Oh, they've got a question. 11:00 >>Bill: They've come up with a question, right. 11:02 >>Dr. Knight: It's going to show up right up 11:03 front "Now concerning the Coming of our Lord, Jesus 11:07 Christ and our assembling to meet Him, we beg you, 11:08 brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or 11:09 excited, either by Spirit or by word or by letter 11:12 purporting to be from us to the effect that the day 11:17 of the Lord has come." 11:18 Now, the day of the Lord is the Second Coming. 11:24 >>Bill: Second Coming. 11:24 >>Dr. Knight:.of Jesus. 11:25 >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. 11:27 Knight: So somehow.>>Bill: So, is he saying that 11:28 someone had told them the Lord had already come? 11:30 >>Dr. Knight: Yes. Somehow the belief got loose in 11:34 this congregation, Jesus had already come. But 11:35 how it got loose we don't know. Paul says it might 11:42 have been by a Spirit We'd probably mean 11:45 spiritual gifts. >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. Knight: And 11:46 he had dealt with that over in 1Thessalonians, 11:49 the fifth chapter which we'll quickly look at. 11:55 1Thessalonians, chapter five, verse 19, "Do not 11:56 quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying 12:01 but test everything. Hold fast that which is good." 12:05 >>Bill: Oh, yes. Okay, yes. Yeah. >>Dr. Knight: 12:06 So spiritual gifts, especially the gift of 12:08 prophecy must have been a controversial issue. 12:10 >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. 12:11 Knight: Some people say, well, prophecy stopped 12:13 with the last apostle. 12:13 No, never, the Bible never teaches that. But it does 12:18 teach us, don't despise spiritual gifts including 12:19 prophecy but test them. 12:23 And Jesus offered a test, just try their fruits 12:24 >>Bill: Right. >>Dr. 12:28 Knight: What kind of life? 12:29 What's the fruit of their teaching? Test everything. 12:31 Hold fast which is good. 12:32 So, that's probably what he meant by, well, they 12:37 might have got it by a spirit. >>Bill: Okay. 12:38 >>Dr. Knight: And he said, they might have got it by 12:41 a letter. Well, what kind of letter might that be, 12:43 Paul? Uh, you're not Paul are you? You're Bill. 12:44 >>Bill: Claiming to have been from me, right? >>Dr. 12:46 Knight: Yeah. Yeah. >>Dr. 12:46 Knight: From Paul. That somebody.>>Dr. Knight: But 12:49 Paul wants to straighten them out. >>Bill:.wants to 12:51 sign my name to it. >>Dr. 12:51 Knight: So he's not going to let them get away with 12:54 it twice. So, at the end of 2Thessalonians he 12:55 writes his own signature, in verse 17, "I, Paul, 12:58 write this greeting with my own hand. This is the 13:05 mark and every letter of mine. It is the way 13:05 I write". He signs it so that nobody.>>Bill: 13:10 No counterfeits. >>Dr. 13:10 Knight: That's right. No counterfeits. But somebody 13:13 told them that Jesus had come again and either they 13:17 said they had a vision about it or that Paul 13:18 had.>>Bill: Written about it. >>Dr. Knight: Yeah. 13:24 >>Bill: May have actually used his own writings. 13:26 >>Dr. Knight: And then Paul responds to this 13:27 Verse 3, "Let no one deceive you in any way". 13:29 >>Bill: Wow. >>Dr. Knight: Two things must happen. 13:38 "For that day will not come until the rebellion 13:39 comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed. 13:46 The son of perdition who opposes and exalts himself 13:51 against every so called God or object of worship 13:52 so that he takes his seat in the temple of God 13:57 proclaiming Himself to be God." Wow. >>Bill: So he 14:05 can't come. He can't have come yet. >>Dr. Knight: 14:06 No, he can't come yet. 14:07 >>Bill: Things haven't happened. >>Dr. 14:08 Knight:.because the great apostasy hasn't taken 14:12 place. Two things; theapostasy has to come 14:15 and the man of lawlessness has to arise. And you go 14:16 on to verse five, "Do you not remember, that when I 14:21 was still with you, I told you this?" So, once again 14:27 they're forgetting what the great apostle had 14:28 taught them. But his man of lawlessness. >> 14:33 Bill: Yes. That's what my translation has actually. 14:39 The man of lawlessness. 14:39 >>Dr. Knight: That's actually what the Greek 14:41 says, the man of lawlessness. I think the 14:42 King James Version says 'man of sin'. It's all 14:44 the same thing. This is a character who's got a 14:50 profile that runs all the way through scripture. The 14:51 only person to call him "anti-Christ" is John. 14:55 >>Bill: Okay. >>Dr. 14:56 Knight: In his three letters he mentions 15:00 four or five times, the anti-Christ is coming and 15:04 is at already at work.same thing as Paul is going 15:06 to say here and he says there's more than 15:09 one anti-Christ. Now, anti-Christ can mean one 15:14 of two things. It means against Christ or it 15:15 means to take the place of Christ. >>Bill: I see. 15:20 >>Dr. Knight: And what we have here is normally one 15:22 who's against Christ but one who is claiming to be 15:23 like Him. And, of course, the ultimate anti-Christ 15:28 is nothing less than Satan. >>Bill: Satan, 15:32 sure. >>Dr. Knight: What's it say over there in 15:33 Isaiah? Isaiah, the 14th chapter - I wish 15:35 we had more time for this particular study but here 15:40 we have words about Satan. 15:40 Isaiah 14, verses 13 and 14, "You said in your 15:49 heart I will ascend to heaven above the stars of 15:50 God; I will set my throne on high; I will sit on 15:54 the Mount of Assembly in the far north; I will sit 15:59 above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself 16:00 like the Most High." Wow. 16:04 And verse 15 says you'll be brought down to the 16:05 pit of hell. >>Bill: Yeah. 16:10 That's not going to happen. >>Dr. Knight: 16:11 Yeah. Yeah. So, we have starting here, talking 16:14 about Satan, not starting here but certainly 16:20 continuing on, the same thing in Revelation, 16:21 excuse me Ezekiel the 28th chapter, "But we have 16:24 certain impersonations of the Satan as he goes down 16:29 through history". In other words there are many 16:30 anti-Christs. Satan is the primary anti-Christ but he 16:34 has agents.>>Bill: He has to work through agents, 16:41 right? >>Dr. Knight: Yeah. That's right. Just 16:42 like Jesus works through people. >>Bill: Yes. Satan 16:45 does also. >>Dr. Knight: The Devil works also. 16:47 Watch these words here. We find the descriptury here 16:48 in 2Thessalonians, verse 3 and 4, "The man of 17:00 lawlessness is revealed; the son of perdition or 17:07 destruction who opposes and exalts Himself above 17:08 every so called God or object of worship, so 17:14 he takes His seat in the temple of God proclaiming 17:18 Himself to be God". 17:19 >>Bill: Wow. >>Dr. Knight: Great claims, taking the 17:23 place of God, desecrating the temple of God. You'll 17:24 find the same character back in Daniel the 7th 17:31 chapter. >>Bill: Okay. 17:32 >>Dr. Knight: Daniel 7, verse 25, "He shall speak 17:34 great words against the Most High; shall wear out 17:51 the saints of the Most High," that's the 17:52 persecution of God's people, "and shall think 17:58 to change the times and the law". He's lawless. He 18:05 puts himself above the law. >>Bill: Above the 18:05 law. Right. >>Dr. Knight: And, of course, this 18:09 is an historical personage back here in time but once 18:12 again, verse 26, "But the judgment shall sit and the 18:13 minion will be taken away from Him." We find 18:17 the same character in Revelation 13. Revelation 18:21 13, verses 5 and 6, verses 5 and 6, "And the beast 18:22 was given a mouth uttering hottie and blasphemous 18:32 words and was allowed to exercise authority for 42 18:39 months and open his mouth to utter blasphemies 18:40 against God, blasphemy His name and his dwelling that 18:43 is his temple, and those who dwell in heaven." And 18:49 the lawlessness part here is in verse 17 at the end 18:50 of earthly history then the dragon was angry with 18:55 the woman that is the church and went off to 19:01 make war on the rest of her offspring and those 19:02 who keep the Commandments of God. This lawless 19:06 person is reflected on, both in the Old Testament 19:10 and several places in the New. Jesus calls 19:11 it in Matthew 24, "the abomination that causes 19:16 desolation". So, we need to begin to think about 19:22 who could this power be? 19:22 And the first thing that we must never forget is 19:31 the basic power is Satan himself. But Paul goes on 19:32 it's not merely Satan he uses earthly agents. Verse 19:40 5, "Do you not remember this, when I was still 19:46 with you, I told you this". Verse six, "You 19:47 know what is restraining him now so that he may be 19:52 revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness 19:55 is already at work, only who, he who now restrains 19:56 it will do so until he's out of the way". Well, 20:02 the closest parallel is that God's restraining the 20:06 Devil. I think it's Revelation 7, verse 1, 20:07 "The angels hold back the four winds of strife 20:11 right before Jesus comes". 20:12 Verse 8, "And then the lawlessness will be 20:18 revealed and the Lord, Jesus will slay him with 20:20 the breath of his mouth and destroy him by His 20:21 appearing and His coming. 20:25 The coming of the lawless one, lawless one by the 20:26 activity of Satan will be of all power and with 20:32 pretended signs and wonders". This is an 20:36 interesting verse. In Matthew 24, Jesus uses 20:37 practically the same words. That somebody would 20:43 impersonate Him, a false coming of Christ. And the 20:46 word 'coming' here is the same word 'parasea'. The 20:47 lawless one, Satan will do an impersonation.>>Bill: 20:53 Of the Second Coming. 20:54 >>Dr. Knight: That's right. That's right. But 20:58 meanwhile, who are some of his agents working now? 21:01 And this has been a focal point of discussion 21:02 of those concerned with prophecy down through 21:07 history. Even before the Protestant Reformation of 21:13 the 1500's, Roman Catholic theologians and thing, 21:14 you know, the Pope himself who's making awful large 21:21 claims. You know, about being able to forgive sins 21:25 and who he is. And some Roman Catholic's began to 21:26 think, well, maybe this is the Papal power. 21:29 No surprise that Martin Luther joined that group. 21:34 As the beginning of the Protestant Reformation 21:35 I read from Luther, "The Pope, the real 21:41 anti-Christ, who is raised himself over and set 21:44 himself against Christ. 21:45 For the Pope will not permit Christians to be 21:48 saved except by his own power". For Luther this 21:49 was not an issue. The same thing with John Calvin, 21:53 the founder of so many of the Protestant churches 21:59 today, he writes in his Thessalonians, 21:59 in his commentary on Thessalonians, "Paul 22:05 does not speak of one individual but of a 22:07 kingdom that is to be taken possession by Satan 22:08 We see this accomplished in Popary." Again he goes 22:12 on and makes a similar statement in other places. 22:17 The Westminster Confession, the foundation 22:18 of Presbyterian theology makes the same kind of 22:23 claims. Well, that's one opinion. But certainly, 22:29 down through history, people have not only 22:30 been concerned but as the apostle John points 22:36 out, there's not one anti-Christ, there are 22:42 many. Anybody who makes these kinds of claims, 22:43 whether it be the leader of a church, and I would 22:49 say that it could be a leader of any kind of 22:52 church. >>Bill: Right. 22:52 >>Dr. Knight: Certainly there are historic 22:55 anti-Christ's; certainly Satan has been behind 22:56 every anti-Christ but anybody who seeks to take 22:58 the place of Christ. You know, some preachers even 23:03 have that problem. >>Bill: Yeah. >>Dr. Knight: 23:04 Anybody who tries to take the place of Christ 23:06 or is against Christ is anti-Christ. That's the 23:14 meaning of anti-Christ. To take the place of or to be 23:15 against. So, as we look at history, as we look at 23:21 religious bodies today, anybody, any person 23:27 claiming the prerogatives of God, claiming the 23:28 authority that only God and Jesus have reserved 23:34 to themselves that is always one function of 23:40 anti-Christ. >>Bill: The pharoses' at one point 23:41 thought Jesus was speaking blasphemy. >>Dr. Knight: 23:47 That's right. >>Bill: When he offered to forgive 23:50 someone sins. >>Dr. 23:51 Knight: That's right. He said, "Who can forgive 23:54 sins but God alone". He had a point. Jesus knew He 23:55 had a point. So he said, hey, which is easier 24:00 to forgive sin or heal a body. In order to 24:05 demonstrate it, that I'm not a fake-o, I will heal 24:06 the body and forgive the sin. >>Bill: So, if he 24:10 hadn't been God He would have been guilty of 24:15 blasphemy, and thus, an anti-Christ. >>Dr. Knight: 24:16 That's right. Yeah. 24:18 Anybody who claims to be able to forgive sin has 24:19 just fallen into the same pit. >>Bill: That is 24:24 an attribute exclusive to God. >>Dr. Knight: That's 24:28 right. That's right. And so, it's, we have this guy 24:29 sitting in the temple of God thinking he's like 24:33 God, and this is Satan all the way through, but down 24:38 through history Satan has used different 24:39 individuals. And to put it, to be very bluntly 24:45 with you, you and I.>>Bill: We're all 24:49 susceptible. >>Dr. Knight: We could be against Christ 24:50 or take the place of Christ in our ministries. 24:56 >>Bill: That's right. 24:56 >>Dr. Knight: Satan is out there to pervert every 24:59 human person. That's how come, Bill, I always say 25:02 the 11th Commandment is 'thou shall never trust 25:04 a theologian, thou shall never trust a preacher'. 25:06 You test preachers. And what do you test them by? 25:11 The word of God. >>Bill: God's word. >>Dr. Knight: 25:12 Oh boys, any church, any preacher, anybody who 25:15 claims to have authority from God must be tested by 25:21 this word. And by the way that's another sub-theme 25:22 that runs throughout these letters. Test everything 25:27 by the word of God. Then you're safe. >>Bill: Thank 25:32 you Dr. Knight. Wow, that was powerful. Thank you. 25:33 Let us pray. Gracious and loving, heavenly Father, 25:40 we thank you for your kindness, mercy, your 25:43 grace towards each and every one of us. Father, I 25:45 pray that you may dispatch your holy spirit to the 25:49 lives of each and every one of us, Father. May we 25:54 be those that reflect Jesus Christ, Father 25:55 Banish the evil one from our lives. That those that 26:00 we come in contact with may know that we, too, 26:06 have been with Jesus. 26:07 In his name we pray, Amen >>Dr. Knight: Amen. 26:11 (Music) 26:28 >>Bill: You know, we want to encourage all 26:29 of our viewers to ground themselves in God's word. 26:31 And every week we try to make resources available 26:35 to help you and here's one, it's a special 26:36 edition of the Signs of the Times magazine. 26:39 This edition is called "History's Greatest Hoax". 26:44 It is our gift to you. 26:44 Here is the information you need in order to get 26:49 your copy. 27:48 >>Bill: Well Dr. Knight we've come to the end of 27:49 our series. Thank you so much for leading us out in 27:52 this. There was probably so much more we could talk 27:55 about. Dr. Knight has put together a commentary 27:56 on Thessalonians called "Exploring Thessalonians". 28:03 If you visit our website itiswrittencanada.ca, 28:07 there you will find a link that will take you 28:08 to a site where you can purchase this book and 28:12 all of Dr. Knight's other books. They are tremendous 28:15 resources. We hope and pray that we will be back 28:16 together again next week. 28:20 Until then, remember, man shall not live by bread 28:21 alone but by every word that proceeds from 28:25 the mouth of God. 28:32 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2015-02-06