Participants: Chris Holland
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201337
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00:11 >>Announcer: It has stood the test of time.
00:14 God's book, The Bible 00:18 Still relevant in today's complex world 00:24 It Is Written 00:26 Sharing messages of hope around the world! 00:38 >>Chris: It was a beautiful day. The sand was crisp and white, the 00:42 water was warm, unusually warm and it was clear Then it happened, 00:49 something unusual, something extremely out of the ordinary. The water 00:55 just disappeared, it was as if the ocean had gotten thirsty and just swallowed 01:02 back itself. Boats sat upon the sandy ocean floor. See creatures and 01:07 shells were revealed. People should have known what was coming. They 01:12 should have referred back to history and known in their minds what was 01:16 happening. But many didn't, they just seemed to enjoy the moment. 01:21 Walking out as far as they could and exploring. Then they heard it, a rumble 01:27 and then the sound like that of a jet airplane. They didn't know what was 01:32 coming, but it was a wall - a wall of water moving at a speed that is equal 01:39 to the square root of the product of the acceleration of gravity 01:44 (9.8 m/s2) and the water depth. It was most likely moving at anywhere between 01:48 300 to 600 miles per hour. The wave itself was probably anywhere from 50 01:55 to 100 feet tall. Over 200,000 people died in the the destruction of that 02:03 tsunami on December 26, 2004. Many should have known the destruction that 02:09 was about to come upon them, but they chose to ignore it. 02:22 How many are there today who see the spiritual tsunami coming but are 02:28 choosing to ignore it? Over the last two weeks we have been studying what we 02:33 have been calling the beatitudes of Revelation Revelation 1:3 03:04 And now today we come to beatitude number three. A blessing given in the 03:11 midst of the sixth plague. As we study the passage for today, we find its 03:17 context in Revelation 15:8 the Bible says, Revelation 15:8, 03:45 What is the scene that is happening? The temple is filled with smoke. No one 03:50 can enter any longer. The ministration of the temple is over. There is no more 03:56 ministry happening there. Why? Because decisions have been made. People 04:02 have made a choice for right or wrong. And now Jesus is readying Himself 04:06 to return with everyone's just reward. Probation for humankind has ended All 04:14 humankind has made their final choice. 04:20 The Revelation hapter 16 opens with the seven last plagues which contain the 04:33 wrath of God They come in all their fury. Each of the plagues is brought by 04:39 an angel. These plagues fall on those who have refused to recognize the 04:44 soveirnity of God. 1st angel brings a plague of Boils; a 2nd angel brings 04:50 a plague that turns the Sea to blood; then a 3rd angel brings a plague the 04:56 turns Rivers and springs to blood; the 4th angel a plague where the Sun 05:00 scorches men; then a 5th angel brings us to a plague of darkness. And 05:05 that finally brings us to the sixth angel who has another plague. But within 05:12 this plague there is a blessing, our third beatitude of Revelation. 05:19 In Revelation 16 the Bible says the following in verses 12 through 16: 06:19 Here God uses a literal event that happened in the past to symbolize and 06:26 foretell future events. 06:30 In order to understand this passage we need to go back in time to a 06:33 historical event in the history of Israel. As you will remember in the sixth 06:38 century BC Babylon was the dominant empire of the middle east. They had 06:43 conquered Jerusalem and taken captive many Hebrew young people. One of those 06:48 young people was the prophet Daniel. While Babyon was in power, a 06:54 growing force was emerging in the east. The Medes and the Persians were uniting 07:04 forces to become a very considerable force. Belshazzar was co-reigning 07:12 with his father Nabonidus in Babylon. Nabonidus lead the Babylonian troops out 07:19 from Babylon to contend with this emerging force and crush their rebellion. 07:25 Nabonidus was detained and his troops defeated. However, Babylon was 07:33 considered a impenitrable city and had supplies to last some twenty years. 07:43 During the battle to take Babylon, the Persian general Cyrus' favorite 07:50 horse was killed. He was so infuriated by this event that he decided that 07:57 he would take the city at all costs. He led his troops to dig trenches all 08:06 along the Euphrates river, which ran through the center of Babylon, and 08:13 they diverted the river so much that it lowered height of the river to 08:18 only as high as a man's thigh. While all of this was going on, Nabonidus' 08:26 son, who co-reigned with him was left in the city. Do you think Belshazzar 08:32 was preparing for war and doing all he could to defeat the coming 08:37 Persians? No, in fact the Bible records that he was living the lavish life and 08:44 partying. Even bringing the vessels taken from God's temple to serve 08:51 drinks at the party. But God sent a message to Belshazzar and his kingdom 08:58 was taken from him. Because unbeknowst to him, Cyrus and his troops were 09:04 marching up the lowered Euphrates, someone left the gate that was lowered 09:11 into the river open and Cyrus and his troops marched right into the 09:17 city to defeat it and thus ending Babylon's reign. 09:26 What then is this passage telling us in these symbols that point back to 09:37 the story of ancient history. First, when the angel dumps the plague 09:43 upon the earth it says that the Euphrates, "its water was dried up" What 09:49 does this symbolize? The Euphrates provided the basic necessity of water 09:55 to ancient Babylon. Revelation 17:15 give us a clue as to what the 10:04 Euphrates symbolizes. Revelation 17:15 says. 10:19 The story of Revelation is of Jesus the Lamb versus the beast. A great 10:25 controversy verses good and evil. The beast power of revelation, which 10:31 represents a false religious system has as Revelation 13:3, 10:46 So the whole world was following this false religious power.people, 10:51 multitudes, nations and tongues and as the sixth plague is poured out, that 10:58 support system of the beast is dried up and the people stop in their 11:05 support. The people begin to turn away in the midst of the plagues, because 11:11 the promise of prosperity is failing and instead they are receiving the 11:19 plagues. The text goes on to say that this "prepares the way for the kings of 11:32 the east" Well in that story of ancient Babylon, Cyrus came from none other 11:39 than east. It is very interesting to note what the Bible calls Cyrus in 11:49 Isaiah 45:1. 12:10 That word annointed in the Hebrew is the same word for messiah. Cyrus was a 12:18 deliverer of God's people. Under Cyrus' nation, the Hebrews were able to go 12:26 back and rebuild Jerusalem. This is a symbol of preparation of 12:38 Christ return. The Bible says in Matthew 24:27, 13:00 Jesus is coming from the east. And so as the support system of the 13:04 Beast power is dried up it prepares the way for the coming of the true 13:09 Messiah, the true King, Jesus. But then Revelation 16 goes on to say, 13:44 As the support for the beast power dries up, there is a concerted 13:48 effort to try to win back support through all kinds of deception. 13:57 The false spirits being as frogs is an interesting choice. The only other 14:02 time the Bible discusses frogs is in plagues that fell on Egypt. The frog 14:07 was a symbol of ancient foreign gods and in the last days, the false 14:14 teachings of Egypt will continue onward into the future throught the beast 14:19 anti-Christ power to deceive the nations. They are demons and devils 14:25 working miracles trying to reclaim the dried up support. Work the whole 14:34 world into a frenzy for the last great battle. The the passage gives clear 14:38 timing, Behold I come as a thief This is the second coming of Jesus. Notice 14:52 the timing To my friends who believe in the secret rapture, this passage 14:57 clearly demonstrates that God's people are still here on this planet during 15:09 the plagues and great tribulation. But the key piece of our study comes 15:15 next. Here is the beatitude: 15:30 Here the blessing is a two fold instruction Number one is to watch To watch 15:38 literally means to be awake, alert and vigilant. Jesus said in Matthew 15:44 24:42, 15:52 Freind, we are to be in a constant state of readiness, we are to be 15:56 always seeking Jesus and maintaining a relationship with him. It is to be 16:01 constant. Later Jesus gave the same counsel to the ten virgins in Matthew 16:06 25:13, 16:14 Now why were the virgins who were ready, prepared for the return of Jesus? 16:20 Because they had lamps and oil - representations of word of God and the Holy 16:25 Spirit Friends, this is not a works oriented Gospel, but being a people 16:34 who are both hearers and doers of God's Word. But the second instruction is 16:42 to keep his garment What garment is being referred to here? Clearly the 16:49 analogy takes us back to the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve in their perfect 17:00 condition wore garments of righteousness. But in a tragic turn of events, 17:07 Adam and Eve make a choice to be disobedient to God. And when they did this, 17:15 Genesis 3:7 tells us , 17:33 To be naked is to be self sufficient. To be covered is to depend the sacrifice 17:40 of Christ. To be clothed is to be covered with the righteousness of Jesus 17:46 Christ. To be naked is to be self sufficient and shameful This has been the 17:53 nature of man throughout history, an attempt to try to cover self.which never 18:01 works and leaves the person empty. They are blessed not because these 18:10 individuals are just starting to watch and keep their garments, no.but 18:15 they have practiced and prepared through a faithful life for the 18:19 final great day of God. 18:25 What have the people of God been prepared for? Those who are blessed, 18:30 because they watch and keep their garment. The Bible says they are 18:41 prepared for Armaggedon. This symbol of Armageddon is difficult to identify 18:48 exactly. Some have thought this was a literally place for a literal great 18:53 Battle. However, all of plague six has spoken in symbolic language and that 19:04 symbolism continues here. This Greek word, Armageddon literally means 19:11 the mount of Megiddo. Megiddo is a literal place of ancient times. Because 19:21 Megiddo was in the shadows of Mt. Carmel It could draw our attention to the 19:27 showdown on Mt. Carmel with Elijah and the false prophets of Baal. A 19:34 reference to God's decisive victory Or it could draw reference to 19:40 Jehoshaphat and his story of 2 Chronicles 20:15-17 Or to Israel in Judges 4 19:47 and 5 The overarching theme is clear. God is the supreme power in the 19:56 universe and even though at times, it may seem as if your all alone. God 20:01 comes through. Those who watch and are faithful to Jesus and keep themselves 20:09 under the cover of His righteousness will be able to be faithful, even when 20:14 it seems that all is failing. When the support of the beast power is 20:19 waning and drying up, but there is great deception, who will be able to stand. 20:27 Those who watch and keep on their garment. Are you watching for the return of 20:35 Jesus? Have you surrendered your life to Him fully that you live 20:42 under his righteousness? Today, why not make that commitment. The promise of 20:49 the book of Revelation is that you will be blessed if you do so. Let's pray. 20:59 Heavenly Father, we want to receive the blessing that is promised in 21:04 Revelation. And so our prayer is very simple. Lord, help us to watch and 21:11 help us to be in a constant state of readiness for Your Son's 21:14 return. Help us to be ready at all times. But Lord, we also, we also 21:21 want to pray that You help us to keep on the garment of Christ's righteousness, 21:26 that we would every day, as Paul prayed, that we would die daily. And 21:32 Father, through all of this, may we be submitted to your will and follow 21:38 You no matter what the cost. This is our prayer in Jesus' name, amen. 22:25 >>Bev: Hi, everyone. If you are nuts about nuts, you'll be glad to hear 22:28 that eating a small handful every day can help lower cholesterol and 22:32 prevent heart disease. According to the Mayo Clinic, eating nuts as 22:36 part of a healthy diet can be good for your heart, and a number of health 22:40 studies confirm this to be true. Despite their diminutive size, nuts are 22:45 packed with all kinds of good nutrition, including protein, omega 3 fatty 22:49 acids, fibre, vitamin E, trace minerals, and something interesting 22:54 called L-arginine. L-arginine is a substance that helps make your 22:58 arteries more flexible, thereby aiding in lowering your blood pressure. So 23:04 what's your favourite nut? I love the rich creaminess of cashews, the hard 23:08 crunch of a Brazil nut, the way walnuts mix so well with dates, and the 23:13 heightened sweetness of almonds when they plump up after soaking in water. 23:17 Speaking of soaking, it's a good idea to soak nuts for several hours before 23:21 using them. This makes them easier to digest by neutralizing protective 23:26 enzyme inhibitors on the surface of the nut. Soaking times vary for 23:31 different nuts, and you can Google the internet to find more information. 23:36 When purchasing nuts, raw is best. Leave the salted and chocolate-covered ones 23:40 on the grocery shelf. At home, store nuts in the fridge so their natural 23:45 oils don't spoil too quickly. What all can you with nuts? The list is 23:49 endless. Make your own nut milks, nut butters, pâtés, sweet or savoury creams, 23:56 cheeses, pie crusts, scrambles, and more. Be careful, though. With 24:01 their high fat content, it's easy to overload by eating too many nuts. Been 24:06 there, done that. Keep in mind that about a quarter cup of nuts daily is 24:10 enough to derive all their delicious health benefits. If you have high 24:15 cholesterol or want to lose weight, however, you'll want to curb your 24:18 intake of nuts. This week, instead of purchasing cow's milk, blend your own 24:23 healthy nut milk instead. It's super easy and so delicious. Let me show 24:28 you how to make almond milk. You'll need one cup of raw almonds. Rinse them 24:33 well, then soak them overnight. This will yield about one-and-a-half cups 24:37 of almonds. Three to four cups of water, depending on how thin or thick you 24:41 like your milk, and filtered water is best. Maybe about four dried 24:45 dates, soaked to soften, or two teaspoons of honey, and half a teaspoon of 24:50 vanilla. And after soaking overnight, drain and rinse the almonds, then place 24:55 them in the blender. Add the dates, the vanilla, and half the water. Blend 25:00 on high speed until creamy. And keep adding the remaining water and 25:04 blend until you have the consistency of milk you like. Now, I'm just going 25:08 to do that right now. I've got my water already in here. And I'm going to put 25:14 the nuts in and the dates. And you know what? I usually don't add the 25:19 vanilla, so I'm not even going to do that this time. And then you would 25:26 just put this back on. I'm using a Vitamixer. And this is the king of 25:30 blenders. So here we go. 25:50 You can strain the milk if you prefer, but don't throw out the fibrous 25:53 goodness. Be sure to use the pulp in other recipes. And you can store the milk 25:57 in a glass jar in the fridge for three days. I'm just going to pour this 26:01 out to show you. Look at this. When I make it, I don't strain it. Beautiful 26:07 milk. Enjoy it in good health. I'll see you next time. 26:19 >>Chris: The book of Revelation is the unveiling of the character 26:22 of love of Jesus. Today we want to offer you the "Focus on Prophecy" 26:28 lessons which will guide you through the book of revelation to better 26:31 understand it and to receive the blessings that Jesus has promised. To 26:38 receive today's free offer, here is the information that you need. 27:44 The beatitudes of Revelation are Jesus' blessings pronounced on 27:50 God's people in these last days. I know I want to receive the blessings of 27:55 Jesus and I know you do too. The call today is that we would watch, be 28:00 ready for Jesus, and we would submit to Him on a daily basis and put on 28:05 that robe of righteousness. Thank you so much for watching. I 28:09 invite you to join us again next week. Until then, remember, it is 28:15 written: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that 28:20 proceeds from the mouth of God." 28:24 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ |
Revised 2020-02-13