Philosophy's Achilles Heel
A king's dream and the future
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Philosophy's Achilles Heel
A king's dream and the future
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Philosophy's Achilles Heel
A king's dream and the future
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Philosophy's Achilles Heel
A king's dream and the future
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Philosophy's Achilles Heel
A king's dream and the future
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Philosophy's Achilles Heel
A king's dream and the future
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Philosophy's Achilles Heel
A king's dream and the future
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Philosophy's Achilles Heel
A king's dream and the future
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>>Announcer: It has
stood the test of time.
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God's book, The Bible
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Still relevant in
today's complex world
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It Is Written
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Sharing messages of
hope around the world!
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>>Chris: Each of the major world
religions claims that their way
is the only way. In
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Canada, according to the 2011
national household survey, 39%
identified themselves as Roman
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Catholic, 27% as Protestant, 24%
as claiming no religious
affiliation, and the remaining
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11% include Islam, Hinduism,
Sikhism, Buddhism, Judaism and
Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
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However, as we saw in a previous
show, it's only the Old and New
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Testament Scriptures that invite
us to test the validity of their
claim of authority and
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inspiration. Isa
46:9-10 declares,
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In addition in
John14:29, Jesus states
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Today we will continue our
journey through the book of
Daniel. We will continue to
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test the Bible with the
invitation to look at predictive
prophecy and see if
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this book really is what it
claims to be. We will look at an
ancient king's dream. That
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ancient king was Nebuchadnezzar
and his kingdom Babylon all
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recorded in Daniel chapter 2.
However, before we launch into
our study, there is a very
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important principle we need to
understand, that Nebuchadnezzar
instinctively understood. As we
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come to understand this
principle, it will become much
easier to distinguish whether
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religious claims to authority
and inspiration have a source
higher than the imagination,
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creativity and tradition
of those who make the claims.
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Nebuchadnezzar faced a problem.
He had a dream, knew it was
important, but couldn't
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remember the dream and did not
know what it meant. So, at one
point in the story the king
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expressed full confidence in the
ability of his wise men,
magicians, astrologers,
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statesmen, and religious
leaders. However, they were not
able to help him and
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miserably failed. But if we now
fast forward to the end of the
story of Daniel 2 before
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we study the rest of the story,
we will see this all important
principle emerge in
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verses 46 and 47
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Remember, Nebuchadnezzar was
Babylonian, he was not a Jew,
yet in defiance of all
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probability this pagan king
acknowledges the God of heaven.
Obviously, the king
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had become convinced that
Daniel's God is the true God
After all of his Babylonian
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cultural, scientific, and
religious training, what could
possibly have changed the
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king's mind? As we study this
chapter we will see how it is
possible that Nebuchadnezzar's
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mind was changed. In fact, our
study today has two major
objectives:The first is to
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introduce the principle that
convinced Nebuchadnezzar of the
true God and the second is
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to use that principle in order
to provide definitive answers to
the questions that many
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have today about God. How does
God choose to reveal Himself in
a context where those who
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worship Him claim contradictory
things about Him? In other
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words, are these contradictions
just different paths to the true
God or is one of them right and
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the others wrong? How can the
issue of the true God be
settled? Similarly, postmodern
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philosophy teaches that there is
no absolute Truth, meaning that
truth is subjective and
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culturally derived. Thus, if
there is such a thing as
objective absolute Truth, then
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is it possible to know it?
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Some say that since men wrote
the Bible, its contents are
simply the productions of the
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human beings who wrote it.
However, the Bible actually
teaches that God is the author
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and the men who wrote it are His
penmen. In light of this, how
can we know that the
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information that is in the Bible
actually comes from a
supernatural, rather than a
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man-made source? There are many
theories about a philosophy of
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history: Marxist, evolutionary,
Western Greek philosophy,
Eastern philosophy, and
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Biblical. Which one is
correct and how do we know?
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And finally, probably the most
important question that can be
asked,is God a personal being
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that is deeply involved in the
affairs of men or is He
impersonal and disconnected?
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So, in order to discover the
principle that so mightily
convinced king Nebuchadnezzar,
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we need to first take a look at
the dream, its interpretation,
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and its fulfillment in history
before we answer some of the
questions that I just posed.
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Let's now take a closer look at
the king's dream and read the
passage from Daniel
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2:1-13. Let's read.
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What a fascinating event! Truly
amazing, in fact. I would like
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to make some observations about
this encounter between the king
and the wise men before we get
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to the dream itself. Now I
suppose, for the sake of
argument, that it might be
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possible for someone to guess
the entire contents of the
dream. Yet, the probability of
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that happening is beyond futile
and absurd. Thus, any chance
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really becomes impossible. So,
if chance is ruled out, then
there is no human solution to
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this enigma. This contest would
once and for all either
vindicate or expose the claims
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of the Babylonian wise men to be
in touch with the gods and thus
be superior to all other
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religions. This test for all
practical purposes would settle
the question of whether
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there was indeed a supernatural
source to the claims made by the
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wise men of Babylon.
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What was the most important
thing for the king to know? The
most important thing that
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the king needs to know, of
course, is the interpretation of
the dream. Yet, he realized
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several things: Number one, the
only way to get to the
interpretation.is to know the
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content of the actual dream. But
he has a real problem here, he
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cannot recall the dream. Second,
which may seem overly obvious.he
knows that the interpretation is
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based on the content of the
dream.So, quite simply put, no
content, no interpretation.
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Third, just because someone has
the content, it doesn't mean
that they have the correct
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interpretation of the content.
Later in Daniel chapter 4, king
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Nebuchadnezzar has another
dream, there he was able to
recall the dream, howeverthe
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wise men could not formulate an
adequate interpretation. So here
in Daniel 2, because he cannot
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recall the dream, the only way
in which he can make sure that
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he has the correct
interpretation of the dream is
if the wise men are able to
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reveal to him the contents of
the dream and then the
interpretation. By the wise men
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revealing the contents of the
dream to the king, it would be a
confirmation that the Babylonian
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system of religion is not just
based on empty claims, but has
truth to it. It would
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communicate that the true God is
revealed among them through the
Babylonian system of religion.
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In addition, the king based his
decision on the fact of the
highly improbable nature of
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guessing the contents of the
dream. The king knew that anyone
who could accurately
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tell him what he dreamed could
also ensure that the
interpretation is correct.
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When the wise men complained
about how difficult the king's
request was, they were
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actually confessing that they
what they worshipped was a
powerless and impotent god.
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In this case, by giving the king
a dream that no one could
discover through any of the
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ways in which human beings gain
knowledge, God was seeking to
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make Himself known to all in
Babylon, most particularly King
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Nebuchadnezzar. This brings us
to the principle that God
introduced and which the king
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applied to the wise men of
Babylon, and that is this:
Events that have a high
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probability of fulfillment
strongly point to chance,
guesswork and human ingenuity.
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However, on the other hand,
events that have an extremely
low probability of fulfillment
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(such as trying to guess the
contents of the king's dream)
strongly point to information
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that comes from a divine source.
This is the method that God used
to introduce Himself in an
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environment where many different
kinds of people believed
contradictory things
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about Him. Let's now turn to the
dream itself: After the wise men
complained about the
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difficulty of the test, the king
gave the command to destroy all
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of the wise men of the land.
Daniel and his three friends
were considered to be part of
00:16:24.85\00:16:32.32
the group of wise men, although
they weren't a part of this
initial interaction with the
00:16:32.42\00:16:39.49
king. As the soldiers carried
out the king's command, they
came to the home of Daniel. And
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he asked why this was all
happening so hastily. He
requested audience with the
00:16:47.40\00:16:53.58
king. There he requested time to
come up with the dream and it's
interpretation. Next, Daniel
00:16:53.68\00:17:03.62
does something that might seem
unnecessary. This is recorded in
00:17:03.72\00:17:13.73
verses 17-19. Daniel prayed.
Here Daniel makes it very clear
that he understood that
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understanding this dream was not
a matter of human devising or
studying in some library. He
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understood that there was only
One source from which he could
attain this information. So he
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prayed, simply speaking, he
spoke to God and asked for help.
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God did help. As a matter of
fact, when Daniel is ultimately
ushered into the presence of the
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king, Nebuchadnezzar asks him if
he is able to make known to him
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the dream and its
interpretation. Verses 27-28
tell us what Daniel answered.
00:18:28.87\00:18:37.15
Notice what Daniel does here.
Daniel did not attribute this
knowledge to his own
00:19:04.37\00:19:09.61
brilliance attempting to attain
to some higher position in
Babylon. Daniel did not
00:19:09.71\00:19:16.08
bargain with the king because he
had information the king wanted.
No. Daniel attributes
00:19:16.18\00:19:23.56
the knowledge of the dream and
it's interpretation to God
alone. Daniel received a
00:19:23.66\00:19:32.23
divine revelation of God and
now he was going to share that
00:19:32.33\00:19:38.67
information with Nebuchadnezzar.
And although Daniel was about to
unravel the mystery of the dream
00:19:38.77\00:19:45.05
and its interpretation to the
king for his time, I want you to
notice that just as Daniel
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spoke to the king some 2600
years ago, he is also speaking
directly to us in the 21st
00:19:52.99\00:20:01.93
century. Why do I say that?
Because the focal point of the
dream is, as it states, that
00:20:02.03\00:20:08.94
it is concerned with what will
happen in the latter days. The
latter days.time after Daniel
00:20:09.04\00:20:19.08
and Nebuchadnezzar. It has
significance for us. For you and
for me because we are
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living in the latter days. In
addition, this dream has
significance for us because
00:20:28.92\00:20:35.20
the method that the Lord used to
reveal Himself in an environment
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in which people believed
contradictory things about Him.
That method works, not only in
00:20:42.07\00:20:49.74
ancient Babylon but also now in
the 21st century. And so, Daniel
began to describe the contents
00:20:49.84\00:21:00.46
of the dream to the
king in verse 31-35,
00:21:00.56\00:21:07.03
A metal man of varying values
and strengths, a stone cut
without hands.what does it all
00:22:06.35\00:22:13.56
mean? Well, we are out of time
this week. Next week we will
look at the interpretation of
00:22:13.66\00:22:21.74
the dream and and its remarkable
fulfillment in history. My dear
00:22:21.84\00:22:28.11
friend you won't want to miss
next week's show, we will see in
this remarkable turn of events
00:22:28.21\00:22:35.55
the principle emerge and be
confirmed that those things that
have an extremely low
00:22:35.65\00:22:43.66
probability of fulfillment
strongly points to the
information coming from a
00:22:43.76\00:22:48.63
divine source. And as we study,
we will see the fulfillment of
00:22:48.73\00:22:56.54
Isaiah 46:9-10 and God passing
the test. And with each passed
test, we will be able to answer
00:22:56.64\00:23:06.05
those all important questions
about the meaning of life.
00:23:06.15\00:23:13.12
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank
you for the Bible, we thank you
for king Nebuchadnezzar's
00:23:14.49\00:23:18.69
dream and we thank you that you
want us to know that you are
God. We pray this in Jesus
00:23:18.79\00:23:26.43
name, Amen.
00:23:26.53\00:23:28.27
>>Bev: Hi, everyone. If you're
like me, you like a nice, hot
soup sometimes. It's soothing,
00:23:58.67\00:24:03.34
it's comforting, it's yummy.
Well, usually, we boil our soups
on the stove. But how
00:24:03.44\00:24:10.41
about a raw, living soup? I've
got a really great recipe for
you adapted from one that I
00:24:10.51\00:24:17.02
learned at the Living Lights
Culinary Institute where I was
at school to learn to become a
00:24:17.12\00:24:23.76
raw chef. And this one is
really, really good for you. Let
me tell you all about it.
00:24:23.86\00:24:28.86
Starting off with some kale.
Kale is fantastic for you. It's
a dark, leafy green just
00:24:28.96\00:24:35.44
full of all kinds of good
nutrition. So I'm putting in
about a cup and a half of kale
00:24:35.54\00:24:41.14
into my Vitamix blender here.
And I'm using the Vitamix
blender today because it's a
00:24:41.24\00:24:47.22
high-speed blender. It's going
to get this all nice and smooth.
If you don't have one
00:24:47.32\00:24:52.22
of these, though, you can use
your regular blender and just
make sure you blend it a
00:24:52.32\00:24:56.49
little bit longer to make sure
that you're getting a nice,
smooth soup, unless you want
00:24:56.59\00:25:01.43
it chunky, that's okay too. But
today, we're using the Vitamix.
00:25:01.53\00:25:05.70
So we've got the kale in there.
I'm going to add apple, about
half of an apple. It's cored,
00:25:05.80\00:25:12.97
the seed is out there. And
that's just going to add a nice
little bit of texture as well as
00:25:13.07\00:25:18.45
a little bit of sweetness. Then
I'm going to add half of an
orange. This is also for some
00:25:18.55\00:25:23.62
sweetness. It's going to take
the edge off the kale because
kale is bitter. Adding about
00:25:23.72\00:25:28.99
three-quarters of a cup of water
into this. We'll let that get to
00:25:29.09\00:25:34.50
the bottom there to make it
easier for everything to blend
up together. Cilantro. A lot of
00:25:34.60\00:25:40.40
people don't like cilantro, but
it is so good for you. And one
of its properties is that
00:25:40.50\00:25:45.71
it will bind with heavy metals
in your body and just kind of
usher them out of your system.
00:25:45.81\00:25:51.31
So cilantro is a really good
thing to have in your diet. Just
a little bit of salt
00:25:51.41\00:25:56.12
here. You could use something
like a light miso in that soup,
and that would give it a
00:25:56.22\00:26:02.02
nice kind of, mm, the word is
umami, and that means an earthy
kind of feel or taste
00:26:02.12\00:26:07.93
to the soup. But today, we're
just going to use a little bit
of salt. We're going to use a
00:26:08.00\00:26:13.17
little bit of lemon juice
because that's going to just
give it a little bit of a tang
00:26:13.27\00:26:16.91
and brighten it. So just about a
tablespoon there, a half a
tablespoon. Next, jalapeņo.
00:26:17.01\00:26:26.95
We're going to kick this up a
notch. So just about a half of a
small jalapeņo. And we've
00:26:27.05\00:26:32.32
got some garlic. Garlic is
fantastic for your health. Now,
we're going to blend all
00:26:32.42\00:26:38.03
of this together. I do have one
more ingredient which is
avocado, but we don't want to
00:26:38.13\00:26:44.93
add that too soon because it's
going to turn frothy. So we're
going to blend everything
00:26:45.03\00:26:47.50
else, then we're going to add
the avocado at the end. And
we're going to have a lovely
00:26:47.60\00:26:52.51
garden blend soup. Here we go.
Beautiful. So now I'm going to
add the avocado. And you
00:26:52.61\00:27:17.03
saw me kind of feel the vessel
there for a minute. I wanted to
make sure that it wasn't
00:27:17.13\00:27:21.40
heating up because we don't want
to heat this soup. This is a
raw, living soup. So we
00:27:21.50\00:27:25.67
don't want it to get hot. So now
I'm going to add the avocado.
This is going to add
00:27:25.77\00:27:30.08
a nice, silky creaminess to it
along with some good fats. And
we're going to blend it just a
00:27:30.18\00:27:36.58
little bit. And then we'll have
our beautiful garden soup. And
00:27:36.69\00:27:55.47
that's all we need to do. It's a
gorgeous green colour. And I'm
going to just put it in this
00:27:55.57\00:28:02.04
nice little bowl here. Ooh, look
at that green. There you go. A
garden blend soup. If you wanted
00:28:02.14\00:28:14.32
to warm this up a little bit,
you could put it on the stove
and just warm it very slightly.
00:28:14.42\00:28:18.69
You don't want to heat this
because you don't want to kill
all the natural enzymes that
00:28:18.79\00:28:23.16
are in these natural
ingredients. So you want to just
keep it to a nice little
00:28:23.26\00:28:27.74
warmth, not any kind of heat.
And there you have it:
nutritious, yummy, totally
00:28:27.84\00:28:34.04
good for you.
I'll see you next time.
00:28:34.14\00:28:37.55
>>Chris: Dear friends I want to
offer you today the "Focus on
Prophecy" lessons which
00:28:43.59\00:28:47.52
will give you the opportunity to
study more of predictive
prophecy. Here is the
00:28:47.62\00:28:52.63
information you
need for today's offer.
00:28:52.73\00:28:55.30
>>Chris: Friends, thank you so
much for watching. Make sure you
plan to join us next week
00:29:46.51\00:29:50.45
for the interpretation of the
dream. Until then remember, It
Is Written, man shall not live
00:29:50.55\00:29:57.66
by bread alone, but be every
word that proceeds from the
00:29:57.76\00:30:03.06
mouth of God. $$$$$$$$$$$$$
00:30:04.10\00:30:05.67