(uplifting theme music)
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>>Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're glad that you have
chosen to join us once again
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as we continue on this journey
through an important subject.
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We are looking at "On Death,
Dying, and the Future Hope."
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And this week we're
on lesson number 11.
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We are closing in on the
very end of our 14 lessons,
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but we still have
some important ones to go,
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not the least of which
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is what we're going
to be looking at today:
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"End-Time Deceptions."
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And we're grateful to
be able to have with us,
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once again,
today Dr. Alberto Timm.
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He is an associate director
of the Ellen G. White Estate
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and the author of the
Sabbath school lesson.
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Alberto, welcome back.
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>>I am very
pleased to be with you.
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>>So, end-time deceptions,
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I wanna begin by reading
the memory verse for this week,
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and then we're
gonna start talking
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about some of these
end-time deceptions.
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The memory verse is
found in 2 Corinthians,
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chapter 11, verses 14 and 15.
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I think these are probably
familiar passages to many of us.
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Verse 14 says, "And no
wonder! For Satan himself
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"transforms himself
into an angel of light.
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"Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers
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"also transform themselves
into ministers of righteousness,
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whose end will be
according to their works."
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So, Satan himself
can transform himself
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"into an angel of light."
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That's a pretty
good-size deception.
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His followers,
his angels, his demons
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can also transform
themselves, and, of course,
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the adversary's got
plenty of human beings
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who are doing his bidding.
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As we get closer and
closer to the end of time,
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we can expect that
there are probably going to be
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quite a few deceptions.
How far off am I on that?
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>>Well,
actually, Paul speaks about
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the last days as
being terrible, difficult.
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There are different
translations of this passage
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of 2 Timothy,
chapter 3, verse 1.
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But anyway, what
we will find today
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in our world, I mean, there
are many different theories,
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and some people are inclined
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to say that, "Well, this
is just a matter of opinion.
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It's just a cultural matter."
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A friend once told me
that sometimes culture
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can be excuse for disobedience.
So be careful with this.
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The matter is not if
it's cultural or not.
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Is it in harmony with
the Bible, or is it not?
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If it's not, if it
contradicts the Bible teaching,
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the clear
teaching from God's Word,
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then we have to be careful,
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and we should not really
embrace such kind of ideas.
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But today, our world is
really full of mysticism
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and spiritualism and all kinds
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of these paranormal--
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or whatever you want
to call it--experiences,
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and this has been spread
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through many of
Hollywood's productions.
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You have plenty of books.
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And some of these components
also are in the new trend,
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the manga, as it's
called, that kind of literature
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with all the
drawings, coming from Japan.
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You have video games,
and so especially one topic
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that's very popular today
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is the so-called
near-death experiences.
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>>And so we're gonna be
looking at a lot of these topics
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or these subjects
in this week's lesson.
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Let's start with mysticism.
What exactly is mysticism?
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What are some things that
are associated with mysticism?
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Because the word itself
is, well, rather mysterious,
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and maybe somebody
who hears "mysticism"
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doesn't know
what exactly that is.
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And perhaps there are some
things that we never considered
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to be mysticism,
we never considered
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that they might be mysticism,
that fall under this umbrella.
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So what is mysticism? How
can we understand this idea?
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>>Well, the mystic
element is basically
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all that that you cannot explain
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from a rational perspective.
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So there is something
that goes beyond reason.
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And you have many of
this going-beyond-reason,
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there are experiences
that you cannot explain
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that are real,
but they happened.
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And so in this
you have ideologies.
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You have the
power--for instance,
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I would put under mysticism
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some kind of...power
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attached to the
crystals, to the minerals.
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So let's suppose you
bring there a pyramid at home,
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or a obelisk, and
this, it has the power
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to attract the cosmic fluids,
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so to say, or the
cosmic power to me here.
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So, this comes very close
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to what, in the Middle
Ages they had the relics,
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for instance,
where things have power
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to help me out on
this situation or other.
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This is just an example
because this--as you mentioned,
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used the word
"umbrella"--and it's a word
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that I like as
well--is a very huge element,
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but usually there is some
things that goes beyond reason.
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>>So things that are what
we might call supernatural,
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unexplained, at least
from a human perspective,
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and so they seem interesting.
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They--there's an allure to them
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because of the
mystery involved in them.
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You know, one of those things
that you talk about on Monday
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is near-death experiences,
near-death experiences.
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This is something that is...
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Well, it's a challenge
for many people to deal with
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because many people have
had near-death experiences,
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or they know someone who
has had a near-death experience,
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and the temptation is to say,
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"Well, I see what the Bible
says, but I have experienced,
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or I know someone
who has experienced..."
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And so the Bible gets
sort of shifted down a shelf,
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and the experience can
go up on the top shelf.
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What's the danger with
near-death experiences,
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and why are they
something that we really need
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to pay careful attention to?
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Not the experience
itself, but watch out for it.
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>>Strange as it might look,
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the first reference to
this kind of experience
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that I know of--maybe
there are other ones--
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is precisely in
Plato's book "The Republic."
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Because I mentioned before
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you have this one
that's called "The Phaedo,"
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you have another
one, is "The Phaedrus,"
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that deal very much about
this kind of mystical element,
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and so, this
dichotomic approach--
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but close to the end
of this book by Plato,
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"The Republic"--that's
his best-known book--
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he speaks about a soldier,
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a brave Er, E-R.
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And there was a
war, he was killed,
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and then his body
was not decomposed
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for 12 days.
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And that was strange
because the other ones, yes,
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but he remained. And
then here it's mentioned,
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then when he
went to the afterlife,
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whoever was there
to judge the souls,
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his soul was not judged.
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He said, "No, you
will not go to the reward.
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"You just wait here.
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"And then...you see
what is going on here.
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"And then later on, you
will go back to the living ones,
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and you will tell
what you saw here."
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And sure enough, according
to what is stated there,
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12 days later, he went back,
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and then he
could tell what he saw.
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So what I see in
this case is a parallel.
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These experiences are
not grounded in the Bible
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because of all people that
were resurrected in the Bible,
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there is no near death-testimony
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whatsoever. It's
absolutely out of the Bible.
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But in this book
here, I found a experience.
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You know, it started
really to become more popular
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in 1975
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when Raymond Moody Jr.
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published his famous
book "Life After Life"
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with several accounts
on this to this extent.
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And there they had
basically all the similar stuff,
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like a tunnel with a light,
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I mean, a light
being at the other side,
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welcoming the person, and
then later on he came back
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and could then
explain exactly what happened.
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But it's interesting
that there are many books
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on this matter, but
there is one that claims
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to be the scientific approach
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to near-death experiences
in the broadest studies,
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and it's the book that
I have here in my hands.
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And it says that finally
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we actually know that
this is something for real
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because some
people used to claim
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that they were just
psychochemical experiences,
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like when you have the LSD
or some other kind of drug,
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and that it really
has that kind of effect
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with that kind of hallucination.
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But in this one,
it says clearly--
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and I am reading from page 51--
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it says that the
near-death experiences,
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the studies show
that 45% of those
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surveying said to "had 'psychic,
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"'paranormal, and
other special gifts'
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that they did not have
prior to [that] experience."
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So this kind of
near-death experiences, in my
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understanding, seems to be
opening the doors, the gates
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for the mystical,
spiritualistic paranormal world
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for many people. So
during those experiences
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there is no
reference to the gospel,
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of how to really
be closer to God,
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but only the
experience by itself
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and the results you
can see. In this case,
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people become mediums and so on.
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So I don't see this as
having any Bible ground,
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but exactly part of
the final deceptions
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that the Bible speaks of.
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>>So, if we choose
to allow our senses
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to determine what's truth,
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we can put ourselves on
some pretty dangerous ground;
00:12:06.19\00:12:08.89
it sounds like a slippery slope
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because some who have
experienced this, as you
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mentioned, have gone into
other elements or other areas of
00:12:12.26\00:12:17.23
mysticism. But
the good news for us
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is that if we want to
know what the Bible teaches
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on the subject--or what
the truth is on a subject;
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maybe I should say it
that way--that the Bible
00:12:22.97\00:12:24.81
actually teaches us
the truth on that subject,
00:12:24.81\00:12:27.58
and we can trust it. And so
that's why we've been studying
00:12:27.58\00:12:31.01
this subject in the Bible
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over the course
of the last 11 weeks,
00:12:33.45\00:12:35.95
and we still have
a few weeks to go.
00:12:35.95\00:12:37.95
But if you would like
to dig into it more deeply,
00:12:37.95\00:12:40.49
get more out of it,
understand it better,
00:12:40.49\00:12:42.79
and share the encouraging truth
on this subject with others,
00:12:42.79\00:12:47.56
I wanna
encourage you to make sure
00:12:47.56\00:12:49.16
that you pick up
the companion book
00:12:49.16\00:12:51.37
to this quarter's
Sabbath school lesson:
00:12:51.37\00:12:53.10
"On Death, Dying, and the
Future Hope" by Alberto Timm.
00:12:53.10\00:12:57.31
And you can pick that up
at the It Is Written Shop.
00:12:57.31\00:13:00.18
That's itiswritten.shop.
00:13:00.18\00:13:02.21
Again, itiswritten.shop.
00:13:02.21\00:13:04.18
The name of the book is
00:13:04.18\00:13:05.48
"On Death, Dying, and the Future
Hope" by Dr. Alberto Timm.
00:13:05.48\00:13:10.55
This subject, if
rightly understood,
00:13:11.62\00:13:13.56
can give us so much
hope, so much encouragement,
00:13:13.56\00:13:17.33
so much peace and
allay so much anxiety.
00:13:17.33\00:13:21.63
God has given it to us
for such a time as this
00:13:21.63\00:13:24.67
to give us encouragement.
00:13:24.67\00:13:26.03
We're gonna be
back in just a moment
00:13:26.03\00:13:27.40
as we continue looking at
this very important subject,
00:13:27.40\00:13:30.44
"End-Time Deceptions." We'll
see you back in just a moment.
00:13:30.44\00:13:33.88
(uplifting theme
music swells and ends)
00:13:33.88\00:13:36.95
>>[John Bradshaw]
Crystals, yoga, Ouija boards,
00:13:38.58\00:13:41.42
witchcraft are back in vogue.
00:13:41.42\00:13:44.65
What the Fox sisters popularized
is now part of pop culture.
00:13:44.65\00:13:48.69
Books and movies about
witchcraft, wizardry, and magic
00:13:48.69\00:13:52.06
are everywhere. What's often
said to be just entertainment
00:13:52.06\00:13:56.30
is part of something
much larger and darker.
00:13:56.30\00:13:59.83
Don't miss
"Dancing With the Devil,"
00:13:59.83\00:14:02.07
where we'll explore
the rise of the occult,
00:14:02.07\00:14:05.11
and you'll meet a young woman
who overcame her involvement
00:14:05.11\00:14:07.58
with the occult
through the power of God.
00:14:07.58\00:14:11.08
In a world where the media is
saturated with occult imagery,
00:14:11.08\00:14:14.65
in a society
where ghosts and demons
00:14:14.65\00:14:16.85
are treated as trivial and fun,
00:14:16.85\00:14:18.82
it's never been
more important to discern
00:14:18.82\00:14:20.86
between the
sacred and the profane.
00:14:20.86\00:14:23.06
In "Dancing With the Devil,"
00:14:23.06\00:14:24.69
you'll learn there's
nothing new under the sun
00:14:24.69\00:14:27.23
and that the roots
of what we see today
00:14:27.23\00:14:28.93
go all the way back
to the origin of sin.
00:14:28.93\00:14:32.57
"Dancing With the Devil,"
00:14:32.57\00:14:34.34
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:34.34\00:14:37.24
(uplifting theme music)
00:14:39.14\00:14:42.04
>>[Eric] Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:43.68\00:14:45.18
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:45.18\00:14:47.48
We are taking a look
today at "End-Time Deceptions"
00:14:47.48\00:14:51.19
and the importance
of understanding them
00:14:51.19\00:14:52.69
in the light of what
happens when a person dies.
00:14:52.69\00:14:55.72
Alberto, I wanna come back
to the lesson here on Tuesday;
00:14:55.72\00:14:59.23
you talk about reincarnation.
00:14:59.23\00:15:01.60
Most people that I know
don't believe in reincarnation,
00:15:03.26\00:15:07.27
but you go to
other parts of the world,
00:15:07.27\00:15:09.84
and that's not exactly the
case. Where does the whole idea,
00:15:09.84\00:15:12.84
the whole belief system
of reincarnation originate?
00:15:12.84\00:15:16.41
How did it come into being?
What lays the foundation for it?
00:15:16.41\00:15:20.02
And how can we
know that this is not
00:15:20.02\00:15:22.05
a biblical belief or a reality?
00:15:22.05\00:15:27.12
>>If you ever pick up
"The Book of the Dead,"
00:15:28.32\00:15:31.29
the Egyptian "Book of the Dead,"
00:15:31.29\00:15:34.20
you will see there that
there are some kind of prayers.
00:15:34.20\00:15:38.17
If you become a falcon,
you should pray this one,
00:15:38.17\00:15:41.80
to become
another one, and so on.
00:15:41.80\00:15:44.34
So this idea of
reincarnation is very clear
00:15:44.34\00:15:47.64
in Egyptian pagan
religion. Of course,
00:15:47.64\00:15:51.41
it's a complete
mystical and complex way.
00:15:51.41\00:15:55.88
One of the most difficult
religions, in my understanding,
00:15:55.88\00:15:58.72
to understand is
the Egyptian religion
00:15:58.72\00:16:01.16
because it has so
many trails and so on,
00:16:01.16\00:16:04.06
but I don't
want to go into this.
00:16:04.06\00:16:06.83
But really, the reincarnation,
00:16:06.83\00:16:09.20
and this one is
also present in Plato.
00:16:10.30\00:16:15.14
What, when I went through Plato,
one thing that surprised me
00:16:16.47\00:16:19.51
is that very
few of the new ideas
00:16:19.51\00:16:23.48
in regard to that we have today
00:16:23.48\00:16:27.52
are not grounded in
some way or another one
00:16:27.52\00:16:31.09
in Greek philosophy.
00:16:31.09\00:16:32.72
But, of course, the
world is so complex,
00:16:32.72\00:16:35.86
and yet you have so
many different expressions.
00:16:35.86\00:16:39.09
But the reincarnation
00:16:39.09\00:16:41.16
is the notion that
you can reincarnate
00:16:41.16\00:16:45.70
into a lower level
of life or another one.
00:16:45.70\00:16:50.77
When I was starting to
work after finishing college,
00:16:52.11\00:16:56.44
one day I
went--somebody came to my place,
00:16:57.48\00:17:01.42
and he said--or better to say,
00:17:01.42\00:17:03.42
I went to the place of
somebody, and that person said,
00:17:03.42\00:17:06.12
"Well, in this life,
you are a human being.
00:17:06.12\00:17:10.73
Next reincarnation, you
might be even a sound system."
00:17:10.73\00:17:15.76
I never heard about this before.
00:17:16.56\00:17:18.43
I thought always that people
would believe in living beings
00:17:18.43\00:17:23.10
and not something else. But
that is what the man mentioned.
00:17:23.10\00:17:27.38
And I will not mention
his religious background
00:17:27.38\00:17:30.58
because I don't want to
be offensive in this way.
00:17:30.58\00:17:33.58
But anyway, this is a notion.
00:17:33.58\00:17:35.75
The notion of reincarnation
is absolutely against the Bible.
00:17:35.75\00:17:40.62
First of all, you
improve or you grow--
00:17:40.62\00:17:45.63
not by God's grace--by coming
00:17:45.63\00:17:50.23
from one stage of
life to another one,
00:17:50.23\00:17:53.30
and so it goes
basically in Hinduism,
00:17:53.30\00:17:57.61
as this is one of the forms.
00:17:57.61\00:18:00.44
Another one really
is that the morality
00:18:01.54\00:18:05.95
of our life depends of
evolution in a certain sense.
00:18:05.95\00:18:10.95
And then you have other ones.
00:18:10.95\00:18:12.55
For instance, the
idea that the destiny,
00:18:12.55\00:18:17.03
my destiny is not
decided forever and ever
00:18:18.06\00:18:21.90
during this lifetime
00:18:21.90\00:18:23.80
because I have
several chances later on.
00:18:23.80\00:18:27.40
I can go
backwards, or I can progress,
00:18:27.40\00:18:31.21
whatever is the
case. Also in this case,
00:18:31.21\00:18:35.24
the Second Coming does not
make much sense. And specially
00:18:35.24\00:18:39.61
when you go to Hebrews 9:27,
00:18:39.61\00:18:44.42
it says very clearly
that for the human beings, us,
00:18:44.42\00:18:49.49
we die once, and then
later on we will face judgment.
00:18:50.86\00:18:54.76
So there is not a
second chance after that.
00:18:55.80\00:18:59.33
So the whole
idea of reincarnation
00:18:59.33\00:19:01.90
is in direct
opposition to the Bible text.
00:19:01.90\00:19:06.68
>>So we see some
problems with mysticism.
00:19:06.68\00:19:09.24
We see some
problems with reincarnation.
00:19:09.24\00:19:12.61
We see some problems
with near-death experiences.
00:19:12.61\00:19:15.62
The next one that you
address here in the study
00:19:15.62\00:19:18.35
is necromancy
and ancestor worship.
00:19:18.35\00:19:21.26
Now, "necromancy" sounds like
00:19:21.26\00:19:23.32
a very long, mysterious word.
00:19:23.32\00:19:26.93
What is necromancy?
Break that down a little bit.
00:19:26.93\00:19:29.90
And how does that have
to do with ancestor worship?
00:19:29.90\00:19:32.90
Because, again, in
some parts of the world,
00:19:32.90\00:19:34.80
there's a great
deal of ancestor worship,
00:19:34.80\00:19:37.37
and other parts, maybe not
so much. But what is necromancy,
00:19:37.37\00:19:41.38
and how does that fit
in with ancestor worship?
00:19:41.38\00:19:44.45
>>Well, actually necromancy
00:19:44.45\00:19:47.05
is the
communication with the dead.
00:19:47.05\00:19:50.52
So this communication
usually takes place
00:19:50.52\00:19:53.62
when somebody who died
00:19:53.62\00:19:56.36
shows up in your
front and appears.
00:19:56.36\00:20:01.33
You go, for instance,
into a mediumic experience,
00:20:01.33\00:20:06.40
and then you can
see your grandpa,
00:20:07.50\00:20:09.90
who passed away many years ago,
00:20:09.90\00:20:12.14
and he speaks to you and
so on. This is very attractive
00:20:12.14\00:20:16.71
for people that really miss
00:20:16.71\00:20:21.42
their beloved ones.
00:20:21.42\00:20:23.55
And the other one is basically
this idea that they believe
00:20:23.55\00:20:27.16
that the dead have something,
00:20:27.16\00:20:28.92
can provide some
kind of advice for us,
00:20:28.92\00:20:33.03
help us in our lives, and so on.
00:20:33.03\00:20:36.43
So, in some of the...
00:20:36.43\00:20:38.97
of the Asian religions--
00:20:40.20\00:20:43.47
some of our Western
world, the older you become,
00:20:45.07\00:20:50.05
the more obsolete you are,
and you need to be replaced.
00:20:50.05\00:20:54.78
But in other
places, especially in Asia,
00:20:54.78\00:20:57.62
they believe that
you are more reliable
00:20:57.62\00:21:00.39
because you build more
knowledge, you have more
00:21:00.39\00:21:03.56
experience, and soon
you will become an ancestor.
00:21:03.56\00:21:06.63
So they praise the old people
and especially the ancestors
00:21:06.63\00:21:11.00
because they can learn from
them and be blessed by them.
00:21:11.00\00:21:14.97
But all this has to do
with some kind of conscious
00:21:14.97\00:21:19.31
or unconscious
communication with them.
00:21:19.31\00:21:22.11
>>So,
communication with the dead,
00:21:23.14\00:21:25.31
there's an interesting story,
00:21:25.31\00:21:27.22
and this is a story
that often gets brought up
00:21:27.22\00:21:29.55
when we're talking
about this in the Bible.
00:21:29.55\00:21:31.65
The story, it's found
in 1 Samuel, chapter 28.
00:21:31.65\00:21:35.72
So, it's the witch
of Endor, as it were.
00:21:35.72\00:21:38.46
Share a little
bit about that story
00:21:38.46\00:21:40.16
and what we can learn from it
00:21:40.16\00:21:42.63
and what we ought
not to take away from it.
00:21:42.63\00:21:45.23
>>Well, this is a very, very
00:21:46.23\00:21:48.74
self-explanatory experience
because, first of all,
00:21:48.74\00:21:53.17
you remember that Saul destroyed
00:21:54.14\00:21:57.28
many mediums and
spiritists in Israel,
00:21:57.28\00:22:01.32
according to the
commandment that you find
00:22:01.32\00:22:03.72
in the Pentateuch. So
he followed it clearly,
00:22:03.72\00:22:08.16
so he did not spare them.
00:22:08.16\00:22:12.53
But later on, he
departed from the Lord
00:22:12.53\00:22:16.93
and was rejected by the Lord.
00:22:16.93\00:22:20.14
So the Lord was
no longer with him.
00:22:20.14\00:22:22.97
And so he stopped his
communication with the Lord.
00:22:22.97\00:22:26.91
So he himself now went to Endor
00:22:26.91\00:22:30.98
and spoke with this lady,
00:22:30.98\00:22:34.15
who was a mediumic
person. And in that case,
00:22:34.15\00:22:39.22
he had a special request:
00:22:40.42\00:22:43.59
that prophet
Samuel should appear.
00:22:43.59\00:22:47.30
And the lady was afraid, saying,
"But why do you come to me?
00:22:47.30\00:22:51.87
"You have been--you
kill the other ones,
00:22:51.87\00:22:55.04
the other mediums and so
on. Why do you come to me?"
00:22:55.04\00:22:59.01
And then he promised
that he would not really do
00:22:59.01\00:23:01.71
anything with her.
"Just bring me Samuel."
00:23:01.71\00:23:05.98
And then Samuel comes up,
00:23:05.98\00:23:09.45
you know, does not
come down from paradise,
00:23:09.45\00:23:12.89
but comes up and
then appears there
00:23:12.89\00:23:17.03
and speaks to him, saying that,
00:23:17.03\00:23:20.66
"You will be with me tomorrow.
00:23:20.66\00:23:23.77
Tomorrow you will be with me."
00:23:23.77\00:23:26.30
Well, this is a
very strange record
00:23:26.30\00:23:30.97
because of something.
00:23:30.97\00:23:32.57
Samuel died.
00:23:34.41\00:23:37.05
I mean, later on. But if Samuel
00:23:37.05\00:23:40.98
supposedly would be in paradise,
00:23:40.98\00:23:45.02
how could he promise Saul
that he would be with paradise
00:23:45.02\00:23:50.09
since he was
absolutely against God?
00:23:51.03\00:23:53.46
He was in apostasy, so to
say, does not make any sense.
00:23:53.46\00:23:57.23
You see immediately that
there are contradictions there.
00:23:57.23\00:24:00.24
But this is a word of warning
to us, this whole chapter,
00:24:00.24\00:24:05.17
not to get involved
with this kind of experiences
00:24:05.17\00:24:09.54
because they are
absolutely misleading,
00:24:09.54\00:24:12.35
and actually they are
part of Satan's strategy
00:24:12.35\00:24:16.69
to mislead people because
it contradicts completely
00:24:16.69\00:24:19.95
the Bible and its teachings.
00:24:19.95\00:24:22.99
>>So when it
tells us in that story
00:24:22.99\00:24:24.79
that the witch
brought up Samuel,
00:24:24.79\00:24:27.23
that was not actually
Samuel who was brought up
00:24:27.23\00:24:30.50
because that would be completely
contradictory to the Bible.
00:24:30.50\00:24:32.97
>>That was a personation.
00:24:32.97\00:24:35.64
>>All right, impersonation
is actually what we get to
00:24:35.64\00:24:37.91
on Thursday's lesson.
00:24:37.91\00:24:40.31
And I wanna read again 2
Corinthians 11, verse 14. It
00:24:40.31\00:24:44.08
says, "No wonder! For
Satan himself transforms himself
00:24:44.08\00:24:47.15
into an angel of light."
00:24:47.15\00:24:49.32
All of these deceptions that
we've been looking at this week
00:24:49.32\00:24:52.79
have been leading
toward a master deception
00:24:52.79\00:24:56.62
that is one day going to come.
00:24:56.62\00:24:58.59
What's that big
deception going to be?
00:24:58.59\00:25:01.33
>>Actually, let me just mention:
00:25:01.33\00:25:03.10
If Satan is able
to transform himself
00:25:03.10\00:25:06.23
into an angel of light,
can he not transform himself
00:25:06.23\00:25:10.91
also into other human beings,
00:25:10.91\00:25:14.28
especially the
ones that are deceased,
00:25:14.28\00:25:16.91
the ones that died already?
00:25:16.91\00:25:19.11
Actually, if you read the
book "The Great Controversy,"
00:25:19.11\00:25:22.35
you'll see that over there
00:25:22.35\00:25:24.52
it's mentioned
that in the last days,
00:25:24.52\00:25:27.32
demons will even
personify or personate
00:25:29.39\00:25:34.46
the apostles of Christ.
00:25:35.56\00:25:38.07
And in this case, it
will be not so difficult
00:25:38.07\00:25:41.97
for one to say,
"Well, I am the apostle John.
00:25:41.97\00:25:45.04
When I wrote my gospel
in the book of Revelation,
00:25:45.04\00:25:47.71
"that was for that time.
00:25:47.71\00:25:49.24
But now we have another,
we are in another world;
00:25:49.24\00:25:52.18
we have a better light." So
in this case, the climax of it
00:25:52.18\00:25:57.19
is when Satan
00:25:57.19\00:25:58.59
will really appear
00:25:58.59\00:26:02.32
as if was Christ Himself
00:26:02.32\00:26:06.36
and to mislead.
00:26:06.36\00:26:07.96
And if you are not
grounded in this whole package,
00:26:07.96\00:26:11.83
this huge menu of different
strategies that Satan uses
00:26:11.83\00:26:16.17
to misguide people, it
will be a difficult time.
00:26:16.17\00:26:20.58
Our only assurance is to
be faithful to the Bible.
00:26:20.58\00:26:24.81
>>And that's really
why we're spending 14 weeks
00:26:24.81\00:26:27.78
looking at this subject
so that we can be prepared
00:26:27.78\00:26:31.19
and guard against these
deceptions that, in truth,
00:26:31.19\00:26:35.46
are going to cause a lot
of people to stumble and fall
00:26:35.46\00:26:38.43
and probably in
the very end be lost
00:26:38.43\00:26:41.30
because they haven't placed
their faith in the Word of God,
00:26:41.30\00:26:44.60
and instead they've
listened to their heart,
00:26:44.60\00:26:47.80
they've followed their eyes,
they've followed their ears,
00:26:47.80\00:26:51.11
and they've fallen victim
00:26:51.11\00:26:52.41
to a lot of these
end-time deceptions
00:26:52.41\00:26:54.61
that we've been
looking at here this week.
00:26:54.61\00:26:58.11
Alberto, I wanna
thank you once again
00:26:58.11\00:26:59.68
for making this
lesson very, very clear,
00:26:59.68\00:27:02.12
making it very practical,
00:27:02.12\00:27:03.72
and helping us to see
some of the deceptions
00:27:03.72\00:27:06.35
that are taking
place in the world,
00:27:06.35\00:27:08.62
sometimes in other
parts of the world,
00:27:08.62\00:27:10.33
sometimes very close
to where we are right now,
00:27:10.33\00:27:13.60
because the
adversary is preparing the way
00:27:13.60\00:27:15.83
for a great
deception, which is to come.
00:27:15.83\00:27:18.73
And if he can get us to believe
00:27:18.73\00:27:20.77
some of the smaller
deceptions right now,
00:27:20.77\00:27:23.71
then he is
preparing us for that time
00:27:23.71\00:27:25.74
when he's going to
deceive a great many people
00:27:25.74\00:27:29.98
and cause many
people to be lost.
00:27:29.98\00:27:32.45
But we don't have to be lost.
00:27:32.45\00:27:33.82
You don't. I don't. We can
be ready. We can be prepared
00:27:33.82\00:27:37.65
for those days by
being prepared today.
00:27:37.65\00:27:41.62
So I hope and trust that you
have been enjoying this study
00:27:41.62\00:27:44.69
on this subject of "Death,
Dying, and the Future Hope."
00:27:44.69\00:27:48.06
We're going to
continue it again next week,
00:27:48.06\00:27:50.10
as we have three more
lessons left this quarter.
00:27:50.10\00:27:53.47
We look forward to
seeing you again next time
00:27:53.47\00:27:55.40
on "Sabbath School,"
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:55.40\00:27:58.34
(uplifting theme music)
00:27:58.34\00:28:01.54
(music ends)
00:28:27.00\00:28:28.84