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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're glad that you
could join us this week
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as we continue delving
into a wonderful theme,
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a wonderful topic; that
is "The Great Controversy."
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This week we are
looking at lesson number six,
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"The Two Witnesses,"
a fascinating subject.
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Let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we want to thank You
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for being with us again
this week as You guide our study
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of "The Great Controversy,"
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those issues that
we have been living in
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throughout history and
continue to look forward to
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in the end of time.
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We ask that You will
bless us with an understanding
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of these issues so that we can
be ready for those times ahead,
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and we thank You in Jesus' name,
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amen. >>Mark Finley: Amen.
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>>Eric: Well, we're grateful
once again this week to have
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the author of this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson
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with us, Pastor Mark Finley.
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He's an international
author, speaker, evangelist,
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and a good, good
friend of It Is Written.
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Pastor Mark, welcome back.
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>>Mark: Well, again,
what a joy to be here.
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>>Eric: This lesson
is a fascinating one,
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"The Two Witnesses."
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There's a lot of
misunderstandings out there
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in the Christian world.
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It's not the easiest
subject, but once you understand
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a few things, it's not the
most difficult one, either.
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I wanna jump in
where you kind of jump in
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with this week's lesson.
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You share an interesting story
about the Bishop of Durham.
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Tell us a little
bit more about that,
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and that kind of gets us
going into this week's lesson.
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>>Mark: Well, William Tyndale,
the great Bible translator,
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translated the
Bible into English,
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was tried for his faith.
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During that trial, he was asked,
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"Who aided you most in
your Bible translation?"
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He thought for a
moment, and he said,
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"Well, the Bishop of Durham."
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Well, the magistrates
at the trial, you know,
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almost fell off their chair.
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They said, "What do you
mean, the Bishop of Durham?"
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He said, oh yeah, he said,
"We sold Bibles to the bishop."
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He bought them, actually bought
up these Bibles to burn them.
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But what he didn't know
is that he had bought them up
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at a much higher price.
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So, he bought the
Bibles at a higher price,
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the Bishop of Durham
did, burned the Bibles.
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And he said,
"Then we used the money
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"from the Bishop of
Durham to print many,
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"many more Bibles
that we scattered.
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So, who helped me
most? The Bishop of Durham."
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The point of that is this:
Truth crushed down rises again.
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You "can do
nothing against the truth,
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but for the truth."
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And I love that poem
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by James Russell
Lowell that says,
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"Truth forever on the scaffold,
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"Wrong forever on the throne,--
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"Yet that
scaffold sways the future,
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"and, behind the dim
unknown, [Stands] God...,
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keeping watch over his own."
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One of the
things that impressed me
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in studying for
this particular lesson
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on "The Two
Witnesses" that talk about
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the French revolution,
the truth being crushed,
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is that God's truth
crushed rises again.
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>>Eric: And that's powerful,
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because we live in
challenging times now
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where many people are
trying to crush God's truth.
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It hasn't been crushed yet,
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and it's not
going to be crushed.
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The subject of the two
witnesses is confusing to,
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well, a lot of people.
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What are some things
that we can understand?
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What are some characteristics
of the two witnesses
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that will help us to
understand it biblically,
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rather than some
of the other ideas
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that are
floating around out there?
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>>Mark: You know, I
think it would be helpful
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if you would read for us
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Revelation 11,
verses 2 through 6,
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and then I can make
some comments on that,
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and just, we can look
at the key characteristics
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of the true witnesses.
Often, if you let the Bible
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speak for itself, you can
see the explanations of it.
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So, go ahead and
read Revelation 11:2-6.
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>>Eric: "'But
leave out the court
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"'which is outside the
temple, and do not measure it,
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"'for it has been
given to the Gentiles.
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"'And they will
tread the holy city
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"'underfoot for
forty-two months.
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"'And I will give
power to my two witnesses,
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"'and they will prophesy
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"'one thousand two
hundred and sixty days,
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"clothed in sackcloth.'
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"These are the two olive
trees and the two lampstands
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"standing before
the God of the earth.
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"And if anyone
wants to harm them,
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"fire proceeds from their
mouth and devours their enemies.
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"And if anyone
wants to harm them,
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"he must be
killed in this manner.
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"These have
power to shut heaven,
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"so that no rain falls in
the days of their prophecy;
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"and they have power over waters
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"to turn them to blood,
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"and to strike the
earth with all plagues,
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as often as they desire."
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>>Mark: Well, thank you so much.
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Here are some
identifying characteristics
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of the two witnesses,
some things we know about them.
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One, when you read
that, you have an allusion
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to Zechariah, chapter 4,
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that talks about the olive trees
sending light to lampstands
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to illuminate the sanctuary.
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So, if indeed
these two witnesses
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have something to do
with these lampstands,
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Jesus, through David,
said in Psalm 119, verse 105,
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"Thy word is a
lamp unto my feet,
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and a light unto my path."
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So, that kind of
gives you a clue that
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this is the Holy Spirit speaking
through the Word of God.
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Then if you look
at the fact it says
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these are the anointed ones--
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God's Word is
anointed by the Spirit
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to communicate
light and truth to us,
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but then it says
these two witnesses
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have the ability to cause rain
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to come down from heaven
and then shut up the rain.
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They have the
ability to cause the plagues
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to fall on the earth.
When did that take place?
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Well, in the days of Elijah,
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by Elijah's very word
the rain ceased falling
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during that
three-and- a-half-year period.
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Then by Moses'
word, through God,
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the plagues came on Egypt.
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So, what we're seeing
here is the two witnesses,
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the identification,
it's always pointing back
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toward the Word of
God, the Word of God.
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The word
"witness" is "marturia,"
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similar to the word "martyr,"
and when Jesus is speaking
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about the Bible
in John 5, verse 39,
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particularly about the
Old Testament, He says,
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"You search the Scriptures;
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"[and] in them you
think you have eternal life;
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[but they] are they [that bear
testimony or witness] of me."
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So, the Scriptures
are a witness of Christ.
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So, when we think
about the two witnesses,
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we're thinking
about the Word of God,
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or the Old and New Testament.
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That is the very
clear identification
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as we look at this.
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If you look, for
example, in the Sunday's lesson
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in the second
paragraph where it starts out,
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"These two
witnesses"-- and would you read
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that second paragraph for us
there that starts, Eric, with,
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"These two
witnesses can prophesy
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and keep rain from falling"?
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>>Eric: "These two
witnesses can prophesy
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"and keep rain from falling
for as long as they predict.
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"They can turn water to blood
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"and smite the
earth with plagues.
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"By the word of God, Elijah said
no rain would fall on Israel,
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"and in answer to his prayer,
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"there was no rain for
three and a half years....
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"Then he prayed to
God, and rain returned
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"after the
false prophets of Baal
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"failed to end the drought....
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"Moses, through the Word of God,
brought plagues of all kinds
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"on the Egyptians, including
turning water to blood,
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because Pharaoh refused
to let God's people go free."
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>>Mark: So,
both Elijah and Moses
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by the word of the living God
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were able to not have rainfall
and plagues came on the earth.
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So, as we've mentioned,
it was the word of God;
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that was powerful.
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If you look at the
last paragraph, it says,
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"Who are these two witnesses?
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"In view of
these biblical points
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"and the characteristics given
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"in Revelation
11, we can conclude,
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"([but] not
dogmatically, however)
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"that the two
witnesses are the scriptures
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"of the Old and New Testaments,
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[containing] God's
light and truth to the world."
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>>Eric: So now we know
who the two witnesses are--
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not as fanciful as some
ideas that are out there,
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but much more solid
and much more encouraging,
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I think, than some of
the more fanciful ideas.
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There's another section here--
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and we touched on it here
lightly as we read through--
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about this 42
months or 1,260 years.
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Sometimes it's described as "a
time, times, and half a time."
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How does that figure
into our understanding
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of the two witnesses
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and the significance
of what we're looking at?
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>>Mark: You know, when we
read Revelation, chapter 11,
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as you go back to Revelation
11, we started with verse 2
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in Revelation 11, and
it talks about the fact
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that they would be tried in
the holy city for 42 months.
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When you compare that
to Revelation, chapter 12
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and verse 6: "[And] the
woman"-- and in Bible prophecy,
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of course, a woman
represents the church--
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"fled into the wilderness,
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"where she has a
place prepared by God,
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"that they should feed her there
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one thousand two
hundred and sixty days."
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It's always
interesting to notice
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that the church would
flee into the wilderness
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during this
period of 1,260 days.
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In the Bible prophecy, one
prophetic day based on Numbers
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and based on Ezekiel,
Numbers and Ezekiel indicate,
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Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:6,
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that one prophetic day
equals one literal year.
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And so, here you have
a prophecy of 1,260 years
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that the church
would be in a wilderness,
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but God has prepared a
place for her, interesting.
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In all times of persecution,
discouragement, disappointment,
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God prepares a place.
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But then we look
over at verse 14:
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"But the woman was given
two wings of a great eagle,
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"that she might fly into
the wilderness to her place,
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"where she is nourished
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for a
time...times and half a time"--
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the exact same time period--
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"from the
[face] of the serpent."
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So 42 months, 30
days in a prophetic month,
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1,260 years; time,
times, and half a time.
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Many translations say one time,
two times, and a half a time,
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or one year, two
years, and a half a year,
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three-and-a-half
prophetic years.
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Again, 1,260 days,
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and you have there
prophetic days, or 1,260 years.
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When you look at
Daniel's prophecy of Daniel 7,
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you have a time,
time, and half a times,
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when the little horn power,
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or the medieval
church, persecutes.
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Here in Revelation 12, the
church is in the wilderness
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because church
and state have united,
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and you have this persecution.
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Same thing in Revelation 11,
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in Revelation 11, the
church is being persecuted,
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and what has happened?
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Church and state have united,
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and the two witnesses
are in sackcloth and ashes.
00:11:28.62\00:11:33.89
Why in sackcloth and ashes?
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Because the medieval church has
dimmed the light of the gospel.
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It's set up an
earthly priesthood
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rather than a heavenly looking
to Jesus as our High Priest,
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the earthly
sacrifice of the mass
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rather than focusing
solely and exclusively
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on the sacrifice of Christ.
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Tradition has taken
the place of the Bible
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rather than sola scriptura.
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So what we're finding here
is that this period of time
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when the Bible is minimized,
and tradition in the church,
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prelates have exalted
their word above God's Word,
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we're finding that
the church has dominated
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over the
Scriptures, and the Scriptures
00:12:19.37\00:12:21.30
are now prophesying
in sackcloth and ashes
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during the Middle
Ages, 1,260 years.
00:12:23.81\00:12:26.37
>>Eric: So, this
gives us that idea
00:12:26.41\00:12:28.28
of when these
things are taking place.
00:12:28.31\00:12:31.78
Pastor Mark, we're
looking at some deep things,
00:12:31.81\00:12:34.88
some interesting
things, but we don't have time
00:12:34.92\00:12:37.85
to delve completely
into this in the quarterly
00:12:37.89\00:12:41.26
and the weekly lessons.
00:12:41.29\00:12:42.69
We do, however,
have a companion book.
00:12:42.72\00:12:44.63
Share with us a little
bit about that companion book.
00:12:44.66\00:12:46.80
>>Mark: Yeah, the
companion book is called
00:12:46.83\00:12:48.13
"The War Between Good and
Evil," and if you want to know
00:12:48.16\00:12:51.30
much, much more
about the two witnesses,
00:12:51.33\00:12:55.47
much more about
this 1,260-year period,
00:12:55.50\00:12:58.17
beginning in 538, ending in 1798
00:12:58.21\00:13:01.24
when the church and
state and the papacy united,
00:13:01.28\00:13:03.81
why 538, why 1798, the
companion book is for you.
00:13:03.85\00:13:08.25
If you want to understand
more clearly the definition
00:13:08.28\00:13:11.79
of these two witnesses,
00:13:11.82\00:13:14.59
look at the chapter
in the companion book.
00:13:14.62\00:13:16.59
But most of all,
the companion book
00:13:16.62\00:13:18.76
will take you through the entire
00:13:18.79\00:13:20.23
"Sabbath School"
lessons and give you
00:13:20.26\00:13:22.43
a wonderful
background to each lesson.
00:13:22.46\00:13:25.80
>>Eric: Thank you, Pastor Mark,
00:13:25.83\00:13:27.27
and if you'd like
to pick that book up,
00:13:27.30\00:13:28.60
it's very easy to do.
00:13:28.64\00:13:29.94
You can find it
at itiswritten.shop.
00:13:29.97\00:13:32.77
Again, that's itiswritten.shop.
00:13:32.81\00:13:35.28
We're going to be
back in just a moment
00:13:35.31\00:13:36.61
as we continue
looking at "The Two Witnesses"
00:13:36.64\00:13:39.45
in this week's lesson
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:13:39.48\00:13:42.35
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:13:42.38\00:13:43.95
¤¤¤
00:13:43.99\00:13:46.99
>>Announcer: If you'd like
to deepen your understanding
00:13:48.82\00:13:50.46
of the powerful themes
brought out in this program,
00:13:50.49\00:13:52.96
we invite you
to explore the book
00:13:52.99\00:13:54.76
"The Great Controversy."
00:13:54.83\00:13:56.26
For more information, simply
text the code "GC24" to 71392.
00:13:56.30\00:14:01.60
This book delves into
critical end-time themes,
00:14:01.64\00:14:04.21
offering profound
insights into historical events,
00:14:04.24\00:14:07.14
Bible prophecy,
00:14:07.18\00:14:08.54
and spiritual preparation
00:14:08.58\00:14:09.88
essential for
today's unique challenges.
00:14:09.91\00:14:12.88
Discover how "The
Great Controversy"
00:14:12.91\00:14:14.28
can illuminate your path
in these uncertain times.
00:14:14.32\00:14:17.32
>>John Bradshaw:
Hi, I'm John Bradshaw
00:14:18.65\00:14:19.95
from It Is Written,
00:14:19.99\00:14:21.29
inviting you to join me
00:14:21.32\00:14:22.79
for "Finishing Strong."
00:14:22.82\00:14:24.49
It's a four-part series designed
especially for students,
00:14:24.53\00:14:28.40
so grab all the students you
can and join us on the journey:
00:14:28.43\00:14:32.27
May 6, May 7, May 8, and May 9
00:14:32.30\00:14:36.00
at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
00:14:36.04\00:14:39.17
We'll dig into the
Bible, and we'll be inspired
00:14:39.21\00:14:42.11
to finish strong in
preparation for Jesus' return,
00:14:42.14\00:14:45.68
"Finishing Strong"
on It Is Written TV.
00:14:45.71\00:14:48.05
¤¤¤
00:14:48.98\00:14:53.62
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:14:53.66\00:14:55.12
brought to you by It Is Written,
00:14:55.16\00:14:56.76
as we are continuing our journey
00:14:56.79\00:14:58.26
through this
great controversy theme,
00:14:58.29\00:15:01.26
looking at lesson number
six, "The Two Witnesses."
00:15:01.30\00:15:04.67
Pastor Mark, when we
look at the two witnesses,
00:15:04.70\00:15:06.37
it says that they
are killed, and they lie
00:15:06.40\00:15:08.77
in the streets for
three and a half years.
00:15:08.80\00:15:11.67
If this is the Old and New
Testaments, the Word of God,
00:15:11.71\00:15:14.61
how can they be
killed and lie in the streets
00:15:14.64\00:15:17.38
for three and a half years?
00:15:17.41\00:15:18.71
>>Mark: Well, you know, the
Bible uses symbolic language,
00:15:18.75\00:15:20.95
particularly in
the book of Revelation.
00:15:20.98\00:15:22.62
You know, in Revelation,
say, 13, verse 1, we read,
00:15:22.65\00:15:26.62
"And I saw [another]
beast [rise] up out of the sea,
00:15:26.65\00:15:28.52
"having seven
heads and ten horns,
00:15:28.56\00:15:30.13
"and [upon] his horns ten
crowns, and [upon the crowns]
00:15:30.16\00:15:32.76
"[the] name [of
blasphemy]. [And] the beast
00:15:32.79\00:15:34.20
[that] I saw was like a leopard,
...a bear"--and so forth.
00:15:34.23\00:15:36.53
That's symbolic language,
same in Revelation, chapter 11.
00:15:36.56\00:15:40.24
The reason the Bible
uses symbolic language
00:15:40.27\00:15:42.60
is because somebody said
00:15:42.64\00:15:43.77
a picture is
worth a thousand words.
00:15:43.81\00:15:46.11
So, what we have here is
the Word of God being trampled
00:15:46.14\00:15:51.55
and crushed down,
and being destroyed
00:15:51.58\00:15:55.95
by civil powers at the
end of the 1,260-year period.
00:15:55.98\00:16:01.92
The 1,260 years
begins in 538 A.D.,
00:16:01.96\00:16:06.49
and we have a
note in the lesson,
00:16:06.53\00:16:08.63
under Tuesday's lesson--
do you want to just read
00:16:08.66\00:16:10.67
that first paragraph for us?
00:16:10.70\00:16:12.67
>>Eric: "By A.D. 538, the pagan
Roman Empire had collapsed.
00:16:12.70\00:16:16.47
"Justinian, the Roman
emperor, surrendered civil,
00:16:16.50\00:16:19.41
"political, and religious
authority to Pope Vigillis.
00:16:19.44\00:16:22.78
"The long period of the medieval
church's domination began.
00:16:22.81\00:16:26.21
"It continued until A.D. 1798.
00:16:26.25\00:16:29.25
"The French general Berthier,
on orders from Napoleon,
00:16:29.28\00:16:32.55
"marched unopposed into
Rome on February 10th, 1798.
00:16:32.59\00:16:37.39
"Pope Pius VI was taken captive
and brought back to France,
00:16:37.43\00:16:41.10
"where he died. This date marks
the prophetically predicted end
00:16:41.13\00:16:45.20
"of the Roman
Church's secular authority,
00:16:45.23\00:16:47.37
"the 1,260 days or
years as depicted in Daniel
00:16:47.40\00:16:51.01
and Revelation."
00:16:51.04\00:16:52.51
>>Mark: You know, so we have
that long period of 1,260 years,
00:16:52.54\00:16:55.64
but right at the
end of that period,
00:16:55.68\00:16:57.65
we have the French Revolution,
00:16:57.68\00:17:00.12
and in the French
Revolution that began in 1789,
00:17:00.15\00:17:05.15
by 1793, the Cult of
Reason was established,
00:17:05.19\00:17:11.66
a woman was marched
through the streets--
00:17:11.69\00:17:14.36
actually an
illegitimate prostitute woman--
00:17:14.36\00:17:16.63
was marched through
the streets of Paris,
00:17:16.67\00:17:21.80
the Bibles were
burned at the streets,
00:17:21.84\00:17:24.37
thousands are massacred,
00:17:24.41\00:17:26.47
and for that
three-and-a-half-year period,
00:17:26.51\00:17:30.28
the Cult of Reason dominated,
and churches were turned
00:17:30.31\00:17:34.72
into social centers
00:17:34.75\00:17:37.39
and amusement and
entertainment centers.
00:17:37.42\00:17:40.69
And when the Bible uses the
term "for three and a half days
00:17:40.72\00:17:45.53
in the streets," that's
the three and a half years
00:17:45.56\00:17:48.23
of the Cult of Reason
in the French Revolution.
00:17:48.26\00:17:51.57
And then the Bible
talks about Sodom and Egypt.
00:17:51.60\00:17:56.17
Sodom represented immorality.
00:17:56.20\00:17:59.07
Egypt--you remember
Pharaoh said, "Who is God?"
00:17:59.11\00:18:03.08
And so, although
they were polytheists,
00:18:03.11\00:18:05.71
they were totally
contrary to the true God,
00:18:05.75\00:18:09.32
and that's exactly
precisely what happened
00:18:09.35\00:18:11.52
in the French Revolution.
00:18:11.55\00:18:13.79
So, we see in
that French Revolution,
00:18:13.82\00:18:16.42
prophecies
fulfilled that were written
00:18:16.46\00:18:20.23
hundreds of years
before in Scripture.
00:18:20.26\00:18:25.43
>>Eric: So, what we
see happening in history
00:18:25.47\00:18:29.60
bears out the
identification that we've made
00:18:29.64\00:18:32.71
of these two
witnesses being the Word of God.
00:18:32.74\00:18:35.61
>>Mark: Exactly,
exactly, and, you know,
00:18:35.64\00:18:38.11
one of the other
things that I think, to me,
00:18:38.15\00:18:39.88
is quite interesting--
00:18:39.91\00:18:41.32
you see a society that
rejects the Word of God,
00:18:41.35\00:18:45.79
and you see the
godlessness, the immorality,
00:18:45.82\00:18:49.46
society riddled
with crime revolution.
00:18:49.49\00:18:53.13
And when I look at our
world today and I see a drift
00:18:53.16\00:18:58.07
and a departure
from the Word of God,
00:18:58.10\00:19:00.57
I see a society, particularly
in America and Western culture,
00:19:00.60\00:19:05.44
European society, that's
drifting from the Word of God.
00:19:05.47\00:19:10.11
If we drift
from the Word of God,
00:19:10.15\00:19:12.25
we erode the moral,
ethical values of society
00:19:12.28\00:19:16.15
and have no basis for that
morality, no basis for law,
00:19:16.18\00:19:21.06
and there is a chaos
and calamity that follows.
00:19:21.09\00:19:26.16
The Bible says
righteousness exalts a nation.
00:19:26.19\00:19:30.00
So, where this society is
headed is to moral collapse,
00:19:30.03\00:19:35.77
and when we as individuals
do not live in harmony
00:19:35.80\00:19:39.94
with the Word of
God by the grace of God,
00:19:39.97\00:19:42.31
we see as well
lives that go astray,
00:19:42.34\00:19:49.38
lives that collapse
morally or ethically.
00:19:49.42\00:19:53.66
>>Eric: In this
chapter also, Pastor Mark,
00:19:53.69\00:19:56.22
we read about Moses and Elijah.
00:19:56.26\00:20:00.13
Is this a
literal Moses and Elijah
00:20:00.16\00:20:03.03
that are being described here?
00:20:03.06\00:20:04.93
If we're talking about
symbolism in many other areas,
00:20:04.97\00:20:06.94
are we looking at a
symbolic Moses and Elijah?
00:20:06.97\00:20:09.94
Help us to understand who
these two individuals are.
00:20:09.97\00:20:12.97
>>Mark: Well, one thing we know
about Moses and Elijah is this,
00:20:13.01\00:20:17.01
that Moses and Elijah were both
faithful to the Word of God.
00:20:17.05\00:20:23.65
Moses, you remember,
led Israel out of Egypt
00:20:23.69\00:20:29.06
based on the Word of God.
00:20:29.09\00:20:31.63
God led him there.
00:20:31.66\00:20:33.50
Moses came to the sea,
and God opened up the Red Sea
00:20:33.53\00:20:39.33
based on the word of God.
00:20:39.37\00:20:42.27
God's word spoke.
00:20:42.30\00:20:43.84
So, Moses and Elijah
represent the solid foundation
00:20:43.87\00:20:51.01
of God's Word.
00:20:51.05\00:20:52.95
That's what Scripture says.
00:20:52.98\00:20:54.68
It says that they
spoke, they spoke,
00:20:54.72\00:20:58.39
and it didn't rain--Elijah
in the days of Ahab and Jezebel
00:20:58.42\00:21:03.06
and the Baal Carmel experience.
00:21:03.09\00:21:05.79
They spoke then, and--Elijah
spoke, and then rain fell.
00:21:05.83\00:21:10.23
Moses spoke, and plagues came.
00:21:10.27\00:21:13.40
Moses spoke, and
God told him to speak,
00:21:13.44\00:21:18.34
and water would
come out of the rock.
00:21:18.37\00:21:20.01
So, you look at
both Moses and Elijah
00:21:20.04\00:21:22.88
and they're
representing the spoken
00:21:22.91\00:21:25.25
and written word of God,
00:21:25.28\00:21:27.98
not a literal Moses or Elijah
that will return to earth.
00:21:28.02\00:21:32.52
>>Eric: So, this
chapter is helping us
00:21:32.55\00:21:34.09
to understand the
significance of the Word of God,
00:21:34.12\00:21:36.62
the importance
of the Word of God,
00:21:36.66\00:21:37.96
the durability
of the Word of God,
00:21:37.99\00:21:40.96
and hopefully the importance
of the Word of God to us today
00:21:40.96\00:21:45.23
living in the final
days of earth's history.
00:21:45.27\00:21:47.44
>>Mark: Right, right.
>>Eric: Revelation, chapter 11
00:21:47.47\00:21:50.77
comes to an end, of course,
00:21:50.81\00:21:52.77
before we dive into
Revelation, chapter 12.
00:21:52.81\00:21:55.04
How does Revelation end,
00:21:55.08\00:21:57.11
and why is the way
that it ends so significant?
00:21:57.15\00:22:01.65
>>Mark: Well, you know, it's
significant for this reason.
00:22:01.68\00:22:04.85
If you looked at
the French Revolution
00:22:04.89\00:22:06.69
and you saw the
persecution of believers
00:22:06.72\00:22:10.09
and the burning of
Bibles in the streets,
00:22:10.13\00:22:12.26
you would think that
truth would be crushed out.
00:22:12.29\00:22:15.43
But we come to the
end of this period called
00:22:15.46\00:22:18.50
the Dark Ages or
the Middle Ages in 1798,
00:22:18.53\00:22:21.84
and there's a
great mission movement.
00:22:21.87\00:22:24.34
Millions of Bibles are
now spread around the world.
00:22:24.37\00:22:30.38
I've made a quotation--
00:22:30.41\00:22:31.71
you know, you look at
Revelation 11, verse 11.
00:22:31.75\00:22:34.58
Go ahead and read
Revelation, verse 11,
00:22:34.62\00:22:36.82
and it's great prophecy.
00:22:36.85\00:22:38.99
>>Eric: "Now after
the three-and-a-half days
00:22:39.02\00:22:41.02
"the breath of life
from God entered them,
00:22:41.06\00:22:43.49
"and they stood on their feet,
00:22:43.53\00:22:45.13
and great fear fell
on those who saw them."
00:22:45.16\00:22:47.96
>>Mark: Yeah, so at the
end of this 1,260 years,
00:22:47.96\00:22:51.47
the Word of God rises again,
and Voltaire, the infidel,
00:22:51.50\00:22:56.57
boastingly makes a statement.
00:22:56.60\00:22:58.94
I've quoted Ellen White,
"Great Controversy," page 288.
00:22:58.97\00:23:04.11
Under Wednesday's lesson,
00:23:04.15\00:23:05.48
it's the last paragraph
just before the last question,
00:23:05.51\00:23:08.95
and it says, "The infidel
Voltaire once boastingly said:
00:23:08.98\00:23:12.12
"'I am weary of hearing
people repeat that twelve men
00:23:12.15\00:23:15.46
"'established the
Christian religion.
00:23:15.49\00:23:17.49
I will prove that one man
may suffice to overthrow it.'"
00:23:17.53\00:23:20.70
Well, "Generations
have passed since his death.
00:23:20.73\00:23:23.43
"[And] millions have joined
in the war upon the Bible.
00:23:23.47\00:23:26.13
"But [it's]...far
from being destroyed,
00:23:26.17\00:23:28.40
"that where there [are] a
hundred in Voltaire's time,
00:23:28.44\00:23:32.21
"there are now ten thousand,
yes, a hundred thousand copies
00:23:32.24\00:23:35.51
"of the book of God.
00:23:35.54\00:23:37.05
"In the words of
an early Reformer
00:23:37.08\00:23:38.78
"concerning the
Christian church,
00:23:38.81\00:23:40.12
"'The Bible is an
anvil that has worn out
00:23:40.15\00:23:42.58
many hammers.'"
00:23:42.62\00:23:44.12
You know, and I
read an interesting fact,
00:23:44.15\00:23:46.82
that Voltaire's old
house is now a Bible depository
00:23:46.86\00:23:52.73
where Bibles are printed,
at least it was for many years,
00:23:52.76\00:23:55.46
and they stored Bibles in
that very house, you know.
00:23:55.50\00:23:57.97
So, I think the key thing
here is that the Word of God
00:23:58.00\00:24:03.30
would triumph, and at
the end of the Dark Ages,
00:24:03.34\00:24:07.94
or the Middle
Ages, the late 1700s,
00:24:07.98\00:24:11.31
late 18th century, early 19th,
00:24:11.35\00:24:12.95
that's when you have the
great missionary movements.
00:24:12.98\00:24:16.38
You have the Bible
translation movements.
00:24:16.42\00:24:19.19
Bibles are being translated,
00:24:19.22\00:24:20.82
tens of thousands of copies are
going to the ends of the earth.
00:24:20.86\00:24:23.86
So again, truth
crushed down will rise again.
00:24:23.89\00:24:27.36
God's truth is gonna triumph,
00:24:27.40\00:24:29.10
and that
encourages us at the end time.
00:24:29.13\00:24:31.50
Because what happened
in the French Revolution is
00:24:31.53\00:24:34.34
a very microcosm of what
will happen at the end of time.
00:24:34.37\00:24:38.94
And at the end of time,
00:24:38.97\00:24:40.28
God's people once
again will be oppressed,
00:24:40.31\00:24:42.44
church and state
once again will be united,
00:24:42.48\00:24:44.71
once again people
won't be able to buy or sell,
00:24:44.75\00:24:47.32
and God's truth, apparently
crushed down, will triumph,
00:24:47.35\00:24:51.62
and the light of God's
truth will fill the earth,
00:24:51.65\00:24:55.19
as it says in
Revelation 18, verse 1.
00:24:55.22\00:24:58.63
It says, "I saw another
angel [descend] from heaven,
00:24:58.66\00:25:01.30
...and the earth was
lightened with [its] glory."
00:25:01.33\00:25:03.73
Habakkuk 2:14 says
that the glory of God
00:25:03.77\00:25:07.04
will cover the earth
"as...waters cover the sea."
00:25:07.07\00:25:09.94
So, God's Word is
going to triumph at end time.
00:25:09.97\00:25:14.28
>>Eric: So, if somebody
is watching this program,
00:25:14.31\00:25:16.64
and they're
studying, or they're listening,
00:25:16.68\00:25:17.95
or they're hearing this
for maybe the first time,
00:25:17.98\00:25:20.95
or they're
struggling with the Bible,
00:25:20.98\00:25:24.29
and they look around and they
see here in the Western world
00:25:24.32\00:25:26.96
Christianity is
shrinking; it is not growing.
00:25:26.99\00:25:29.99
We wish it was otherwise,
but that's the reality of it.
00:25:30.03\00:25:34.00
And there's so-called
evidence out there from science
00:25:34.00\00:25:37.43
and from history, as it
were, that the Bible is just a,
00:25:37.47\00:25:42.24
it's just a
book--it's not anything special.
00:25:42.27\00:25:46.57
What encouragement
would you give to someone
00:25:46.61\00:25:48.71
based on what we've
been looking at here
00:25:48.74\00:25:51.05
about the
longevity of the Word of God,
00:25:51.08\00:25:54.55
the authority
of the Word of God,
00:25:54.58\00:25:56.22
and the way that the
Word of God can indeed endure
00:25:56.25\00:25:59.22
and change a person's life?
00:25:59.25\00:26:01.06
>>Mark: You know, Pastor Eric,
00:26:01.09\00:26:03.12
I think what I
say to that person--
00:26:03.16\00:26:05.13
and you may be watching today
and wondering about the Bible.
00:26:05.16\00:26:08.56
Look, has any other book
been around for 2,000 years
00:26:08.60\00:26:15.34
and had the
ability-- when you look
00:26:15.37\00:26:17.74
at the Old and New Testaments
together, 2,000 years--
00:26:17.77\00:26:21.08
and has the
ability to change lives?
00:26:21.11\00:26:23.61
Think of the life-changing
power of the Bible.
00:26:23.65\00:26:26.25
Think of the
prophecies of the Bible.
00:26:26.28\00:26:28.72
I mean, the Bible has
minute, specific prophecies.
00:26:28.75\00:26:32.72
Think about the fact
that you have a Bible
00:26:32.75\00:26:35.66
with more than 40
different authors,
00:26:35.69\00:26:37.96
66 books, many of these
authors don't know one another,
00:26:37.99\00:26:41.63
but yet they agree;
there's this cohesive unity.
00:26:41.66\00:26:45.57
And think about the fact
of the life-changing power
00:26:45.60\00:26:49.54
of the Bible.
00:26:49.57\00:26:50.94
I would say to you,
give the Bible a chance.
00:26:50.97\00:26:52.94
Read it with an open heart.
Let the Holy Spirit touch you.
00:26:52.97\00:26:56.88
Let Christ transform
you, and you will find,
00:26:56.91\00:26:59.91
as tens of
thousands and millions have,
00:26:59.95\00:27:03.08
that this book, the Word of
God, has life-changing power.
00:27:03.12\00:27:08.12
>>Eric: Pastor Mark, thank
you once again for joining us
00:27:08.16\00:27:10.26
this week and helping us to
understand the two witnesses.
00:27:10.29\00:27:13.33
We want to thank you also
for joining us again this week,
00:27:13.36\00:27:16.80
and we want to encourage
you to join us again next week.
00:27:16.83\00:27:20.67
We are about
halfway through our study
00:27:20.70\00:27:24.07
of "The Great Controversy,"
00:27:24.11\00:27:25.87
this theme that runs
from Genesis to Revelation
00:27:25.91\00:27:29.48
that helps us understand
the days in which we live,
00:27:29.51\00:27:31.71
the days that are coming ahead
00:27:31.75\00:27:33.31
and gives us encouragement
and hope for those times.
00:27:33.35\00:27:36.58
So, we look forward to
seeing you again next time
00:27:36.62\00:27:39.05
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:39.09\00:27:40.56
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:40.59\00:27:42.89
¤¤¤
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¤¤¤
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