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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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Thanks for joining us today.
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We are on a 13-week journey
through an incredible subject,
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how to study Bible prophecy.
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If you happen to have
missed previous episodes,
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be sure to go back
and take a look at them.
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You can find them
on itiswritten.tv.
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Also, you can find
them on our YouTube channel.
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Just look for the It
Is Written channel there.
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Today, we're going to
take a look at Ruth and Esther.
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This is an exciting
subject-- or exciting subjects--
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as we take a look at the concept
of the bride in the Bible,
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especially in Bible prophecy.
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You're going to be
blessed by today's study.
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Let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we thank You
for being with us today
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as You have been in the past,
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and we
anticipate that, once again,
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You're going to open
our eyes, our hearts,
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our minds to
significant and deep themes
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in the study of Bible prophecy.
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We ask Your blessing
upon us, and we thank You,
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in Jesus' name, amen.
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Well, with us today to
guide us through our study
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is the author of this quarter's
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"Sabbath School"
lesson, and that is
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Pastor Shawn Boonstra.
Shawn, we're glad you're here.
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>>Shawn Boonstra:
Thanks for having me back.
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It's always nice to get a
return invitation, a repeat.
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>>Eric: And we've still
got a couple weeks left,
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so we still have options
of not--of disinviting you.
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>>Shawn: I can
still be canceled.
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>>Eric: You can still
be canceled. I don't think
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it's going to happen,
but we'll see how today goes.
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>>Shawn: I'll see what I can
do to get canceled. [both laugh]
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>>Eric: We're
looking at Ruth and Esther,
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Ruth and Esther here.
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This concept, the
biblical metaphor of a bride,
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why is this
something that you're
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particularly interested in?
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>>Shawn: Well, all right.
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There's a, there's a
personal level of engagement.
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I grew up in a
predominantly male house,
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so just, here's Shawn.
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And now I've been
married to this incredible woman
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for 32-plus
years, had two daughters,
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and got quite an
education along the way.
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A house full of
boys is not the same
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as a house full of girls.
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There are some differences,
and here's what I know.
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I thought I was in love
with my wife the day I met her.
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I mean, I was
just, I was gushing.
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I told her I loved her
like almost right away,
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and I was just
like head over heels.
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But I had no
idea how much stronger
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that would get as
the years went by,
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and I know for a fact I
would do anything for her.
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I would throw
myself on a grenade
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to make sure she lives.
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And I started to
think about that.
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It's like, that appears to
be hardwired into a lot of guys,
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and I understand that today
people are saying, "No, no, no,
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there's no hardwiring of
male and female in the brain."
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It's like, yeah,
there absolutely is,
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there really is. And
while there's overlap,
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there are, you know,
males that tend to have
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some female-typical
traits and vice versa.
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Generally speaking, there
are patterns to our behavior.
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And for guys, yeah, we
want to defend our wife,
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we want to protect our wife,
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and I'm thinking,
well, no wonder, you know,
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it's more than, "Oh, I love you"
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and soft feelings when
Jesus says, "You are my bride."
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I think in marriage
we can learn something
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about how He feels about us.
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Jesus would throw
Himself on a grenade for me?
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Well, yeah,
figuratively speaking.
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But literally speaking,
He went to a cross for me
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to make sure I would survive.
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He is the heavenly husband.
We are the heavenly bride.
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And so, when I see the
bride show up in prophecy,
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I'm thinking, this is
ripe for understanding.
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And we're going to look
at a couple of famous brides
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in Scripture.
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And I know that we're not going
to have time in half an hour
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to even get close.
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I guess what I'm
hoping is that you'll take
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a few seed thoughts into
your "Sabbath School" class
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or that you'll spend
some time in the Word digging
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so that you come to your
class with a real awareness
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of some of the prophetic themes
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you find in
these two famous brides
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and what we might learn about
what's coming down the pike.
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>>Eric: So we've got Ruth and
Esther that we're going to try
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to cover this week.
Let's start with Ruth.
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>>Shawn: Okay, all right,
the story begins with tragedy,
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kind of like the
whole human story.
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There's death, there's famine,
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and, and again, we
want to be really careful
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that when bad things happen,
sometimes it's our fault.
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You know, with Israel, we know
for a fact when Assyria was able
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to come into the northern
tribes, Babylon was able
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to come in,
that was their fault.
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But we have to be really careful
when we look at a situation
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like the story of Ruth.
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One of the first
things we can learn is,
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is she at fault for
all of the hardship?
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No, no, and we see examples
of that elsewhere, like Job.
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Job is afflicted,
and it's not his fault.
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So that also happens.
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It's one of the first
things that, that I see.
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Now, when the
entire land of Israel
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is going through famine,
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there's a pretty good chance
that something was remiss.
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Leviticus 26, this is
verse 3, God says to Israel,
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"If you walk [on] my statutes
and observe my commandments
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"and do them, then I
will give you your rains
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"in their season,...the
land shall yield its increase,
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...the trees of the
field shall yield their fruit."
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God said, "If you stay
in the covenant with me,
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the land will be abundant."
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In this story, the
land's undergoing famine.
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There's a lot of hardship.
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And the point
that God's illustrating
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is it didn't
have to be like this,
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"It's not me so
much lashing out at you
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"as you let go of my hand.
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"And the only way this works
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"is if I'm running the
show, and I'm not going
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to force myself on you,"
so they let go of God's hand,
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and, and they went the same way
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every other nation does, so--
there's other details in here.
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>>Eric: So walk us
through this story of Ruth.
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Ruth talks about
a kinsman-redeemer.
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What do we learn
from this concept
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of a kinsman-redeemer?
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>>Shawn: So much, so much.
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God instituted laws
to take care of the poor.
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If you go back
and look, you know,
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in the medieval
period, well, a little later,
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1600s, 1700s, a lot
of Western Christians
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were starting to
refer to the system
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that the Hebrews lived
under as the Hebrew Republic.
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It had a lot of features
that were very republic-like,
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and God had woven in all
kinds of things to help people,
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including mandates that
would take care of the poor.
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You're not allowed
to forget the needy.
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And we still see
that in last-day events.
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God--Jesus says in Matthew 25,
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"I was hungry.
You didn't feed me."
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"Well, where did
we see You, Lord?"
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"You didn't feed the hungry.
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I expected that of you."
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So there was a law
that provided for gleaning.
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You weren't allowed to take
everything off your own field.
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You had to leave some
on the edges for the poor,
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for dispossessed
people, like Ruth is.
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Ruth is a dispossessed
bride, which is what we all are,
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which should ring a bell.
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Wait a minute, so
there's a bride in Revelation.
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Was she once dispossessed?
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Yeah, yeah, we handed
the keys to this planet
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over to a fallen angel.
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We gave up what was our
inheritance through Christ,
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and Christ wins it back for us.
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And we're--repossessed
is the wrong word, but,
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you know, we're no longer
dispossessed from the land.
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And the kinsman-redeemer
is another provision God made.
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In that structure, a
widow was in big trouble.
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She didn't have land, she
didn't have an inheritance,
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and so on,
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and there's a
remedy for that as well.
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A near relative was to take
you in and take care of you,
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and so you're in
the inheritance again.
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And I look at that,
and I'm thinking, well,
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isn't Jesus a near relative?
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He not only
made us in His image,
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we know Jesus is the Creator
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from John 1,
Colossians 1, Hebrews 1.
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Not only did He
make us in His image,
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making us related to Him,
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He identifies with
us from Eden all the way
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to the Exodus, He's
present in the cloud,
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He becomes one of
us, God in human flesh,
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and then He takes
our penalty on Himself.
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We are quite literally
saved by a kinsman-redeemer,
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Somebody who is a near
relative, who is one of us.
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>>Eric: So
that's, that's powerful.
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And not only is this,
this kinsman-redeemer--
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there's an expectation that this
kinsman-redeemer would step in.
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But in the story
of Boaz and Ruth,
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not only is he expected
to do so, he wants to do so.
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He intentionally
does so with his heart.
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So walk us through that.
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>>Shawn: Yeah, and
here's what's interesting.
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In the story of Boaz and Ruth,
you don't have somebody saying,
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"All right, you
see the poor girl
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on the edge of the field, Boaz?
You know what your duty is?"
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"No, what's my duty?"
"Well, take a look at the laws."
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"Ahhh, I guess I'd better."
It's not like that at all.
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This reflects God's
attitude toward you.
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This is how
Jesus feels about you.
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Ruth 2, verse 8:
"Then Boaz said to Ruth,
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'Now, listen, my daughter'"--
it's on his own initiative--
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"'do not go to
glean in another field
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"'or leave this one
[alone], but keep close
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to my young women.'"
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He sees her. He's
smitten. He's like, "Okay."
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That's the way
I felt about Jean.
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The first I ever saw
her, I was talking to her dad
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in his living room. The
poor guy brought me home.
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And, you know, why would you
ever bring a 19-year-old male
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into your house if
you've got daughters?
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It's like that's--
but I saw a picture
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on the sofa table behind him,
and it was a picture of Jean.
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And I stopped the
conversation at one point:
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"Is that your daughter?
I need to meet this girl."
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This is Boaz. That girl there--
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"Don't go glean somewhere else."
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She could have--
She could have gone
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to another
wealthy person's field
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and taken
the--"No, stay here with me."
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That's how God feels about you.
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You might be dispossessed,
you might be broken,
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but He looks
down into this world,
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He sees you, and He says,
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"Don't go somewhere else,
don't go. You belong with me."
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>>Eric: That's pretty
powerful, beautiful parallel.
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You also do something
interesting on Tuesday's lesson.
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You tug--you bring in
the investigative judgment
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into this. How does that fit in?
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>>Shawn: It's
absolutely in there,
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and these are the
details that blow my mind.
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It's when you keep finding
prophetic themes woven through
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the stories in anticipation
of what's going to happen.
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You know you're
on the right track.
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So, Boaz wants to marry Ruth,
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and he's a near relative.
He's a kinsman-redeemer.
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But what does he
discover in the process
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of "I want this girl"?
There's a closer relative.
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There's a closer relative
with a bigger claim on the girl.
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Ruth 12, he decides he wants
her. He has to sort this out.
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This is Ruth 3 and
verse 12, I should say:
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"And now it is true that
I am a redeemer," he says.
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"Yet there is a
redeemer nearer than I."
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Do we have somebody that we
are more closely aligned with
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that has a claim on this
planet than we are to Jesus?
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Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer,
but does somebody
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have a prior claim on us?
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>>Eric: It's a bit of
an illegitimate claim,
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but he claims to have it.
>>Shawn: We gave him the keys.
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He believes he owns the place.
He says in Job, chapter 1,
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"I've been just walking
to and fro on the earth."
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He's not saying,
"I went for a stroll."
00:10:59.72\00:11:01.56
Feet on the earth is a
symbol of ownership, right?
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He comes to Jesus and says,
"If you just bow down to me,
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I'll just give this all back."
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He claims that he owns
this. He claims that he owns us.
00:11:08.60\00:11:11.73
And to an extent,
there's some truth
00:11:11.77\00:11:13.74
in that because we
willingly put us under--
00:11:13.77\00:11:16.00
ourselves under his dominion.
00:11:16.04\00:11:19.17
And does he have
a legitimate claim
00:11:19.21\00:11:22.31
on us as human
beings? Yeah, we're sinners.
00:11:22.34\00:11:25.75
Do we rightfully
on our own belong
00:11:25.78\00:11:27.42
in the kingdom of
heaven? No. So in some ways,
00:11:27.45\00:11:30.29
this fallen angel
is a closer relative
00:11:30.32\00:11:33.56
because our
personality, our character
00:11:33.59\00:11:35.36
is more closely
aligned with him.
00:11:35.39\00:11:39.19
He even disputes
about the body of Moses.
00:11:39.23\00:11:40.90
Moses gets raised from the dead,
00:11:40.93\00:11:42.20
we see in Jude.
00:11:42.23\00:11:43.57
The devil's saying, "No
fair, you can't do that. Mine!"
00:11:43.60\00:11:46.57
Closer relative. So
what does Boaz have to do?
00:11:46.60\00:11:49.40
He has to meet with the elders
00:11:49.44\00:11:51.94
to get a decision that
he can be the redeemer.
00:11:51.97\00:11:54.74
They meet at the
gate of the city,
00:11:54.78\00:11:56.61
which is where the
elders gathered for judgment.
00:11:56.64\00:12:01.18
That's where the
judgment was held.
00:12:01.22\00:12:04.42
Boaz has to earn the
right to have the bride.
00:12:04.45\00:12:08.56
And at the end of that
story, a shoe changes hands.
00:12:08.59\00:12:11.13
It's a symbol of the
transfer of who you belong to,
00:12:11.16\00:12:14.20
of ownership.
00:12:14.20\00:12:15.80
So we have Jesus who said,
"Look, I'm going to go away,
00:12:15.83\00:12:19.17
and I will come again."
00:12:19.20\00:12:20.74
And we know prophetically
that before Jesus returns
00:12:20.77\00:12:24.04
in Daniel, chapter 7,
00:12:24.07\00:12:25.37
the books of judgment are open.
00:12:25.41\00:12:26.71
They declare, "Yes,
You are the Son of Man.
00:12:26.74\00:12:29.58
The world belongs to You.
Every nation belongs to You.
00:12:29.61\00:12:32.08
You're the new rightful King."
00:12:32.11\00:12:33.78
He goes away, and
once the judgment is held,
00:12:33.82\00:12:36.38
He comes back
and gets His bride.
00:12:36.42\00:12:38.05
The New Jerusalem comes down
00:12:38.09\00:12:39.39
as a bride out of heaven.
00:12:39.42\00:12:40.72
We have the
wedding supper of the Lamb.
00:12:40.76\00:12:42.76
But it's after He
goes away to the judgment,
00:12:42.79\00:12:46.80
and it's determined that yes,
00:12:46.83\00:12:48.43
You are the
rightful kinsman-redeemer.
00:12:48.46\00:12:51.80
>>Eric: Beautiful
picture there. >>Shawn: Yeah.
00:12:51.83\00:12:54.04
>>Eric: There's more to
this story than we can fit
00:12:54.07\00:12:56.60
in the lesson. Tell us
about the companion book.
00:12:56.64\00:12:58.61
>>Shawn: The companion
book, I think they called it
00:12:58.64\00:13:00.61
"How to Study Prophecy."
00:13:00.64\00:13:01.94
I've never titled
anything in my whole life.
00:13:01.98\00:13:03.75
Somebody else
put a title on that.
00:13:03.78\00:13:05.98
But it is true.
00:13:06.01\00:13:07.32
And again, it's not going
to be an exegetical guide,
00:13:07.35\00:13:09.35
here's principle
one, two, and three.
00:13:09.38\00:13:11.39
We're just looking at key themes
in the Psalms and in the stories
00:13:11.42\00:13:14.62
of the Old Testament, saying,
"What does this do to inform us
00:13:14.66\00:13:18.46
when we're reading a
book like Revelation?"
00:13:18.49\00:13:20.33
And there's material in
there that we're not going
00:13:20.36\00:13:22.36
to cover in the show today
and is not in the quarterly.
00:13:22.40\00:13:24.97
You probably want to
add that to your study.
00:13:25.00\00:13:26.57
>>Eric: Absolutely.
00:13:26.60\00:13:27.90
If you'd like to do
that, you can find the book
00:13:27.94\00:13:29.70
at itiswritten.shop.
00:13:29.74\00:13:31.51
Again, that's at
itiswritten.shop.
00:13:31.54\00:13:33.71
Just look for the
companion book to this quarter's
00:13:33.74\00:13:36.38
"Sabbath School" lesson.
00:13:36.41\00:13:37.71
Pick it up, read it, study it,
00:13:37.75\00:13:39.71
share it with people in class,
00:13:39.75\00:13:41.15
share it with people
that you know in church
00:13:41.18\00:13:44.05
or around the community.
00:13:44.09\00:13:45.49
Give them some encouragement,
give them some hope,
00:13:45.52\00:13:47.39
give them some things to chew on
00:13:47.42\00:13:48.86
and to think about,
and they will be blessed
00:13:48.89\00:13:51.29
as much as you.
00:13:51.33\00:13:52.76
We're going to be
back in just a moment
00:13:52.79\00:13:54.10
as we look at
the story of Esther
00:13:54.10\00:13:56.26
and what we can learn
from the story of Esther
00:13:56.30\00:13:58.07
about end-time Bible prophecy.
00:13:58.10\00:13:59.87
We'll be right back.
00:13:59.90\00:14:01.37
¤¤¤
00:14:01.40\00:14:03.41
>>John Bradshaw: There's
something I wanna tell you about
00:14:05.64\00:14:07.44
that is so important.
00:14:07.48\00:14:09.24
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Jesus, It Is Written's ministry
00:14:09.28\00:14:13.95
to children.
00:14:13.98\00:14:15.28
Take the children you care
about to myplacewithjesus.com.
00:14:15.32\00:14:20.16
At My Place With
Jesus, you'll find so much
00:14:20.19\00:14:22.89
that will bless your children
00:14:22.92\00:14:24.49
or grandchildren
or great-grandchildren
00:14:24.53\00:14:27.13
or the children at church.
00:14:27.20\00:14:29.46
There are the My Place
with Jesus Bible Guides,
00:14:29.50\00:14:33.27
21 studies that will take
the children you care about
00:14:33.30\00:14:36.54
into the Word of God.
00:14:36.57\00:14:38.41
They'll learn
the important things,
00:14:38.44\00:14:40.61
especially the love
of God and the sacrifice
00:14:40.64\00:14:43.88
Jesus made for them.
00:14:43.91\00:14:45.91
As well, take your children
to Journey Through the Bible.
00:14:45.95\00:14:49.18
It's there at
myplacewithjesus.com.
00:14:49.22\00:14:51.69
It's a special Bible-reading
program that will get children
00:14:51.72\00:14:55.62
into the habit of
reading their Bible daily
00:14:55.66\00:14:58.03
and connecting
with God regularly.
00:14:58.06\00:15:00.26
So don't forget
myplacewithjesus.com
00:15:00.30\00:15:03.20
from It Is Written.
00:15:03.23\00:15:04.73
¤¤¤
00:15:05.97\00:15:09.94
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:15:09.97\00:15:11.67
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:15:11.71\00:15:13.01
We're looking at the
stories of Ruth and Esther
00:15:13.04\00:15:16.28
as we compare them
to events that are going
00:15:16.31\00:15:18.95
to be happening
in the near future,
00:15:18.98\00:15:21.05
as far as Bible
prophecy is concerned,
00:15:21.08\00:15:22.98
learning some
interesting things.
00:15:23.02\00:15:24.95
Shawn, we looked at
Ruth in the first half
00:15:24.99\00:15:27.06
of today's
episode. Let's shift gears.
00:15:27.09\00:15:29.96
Wednesday, you talk about Esther
00:15:29.99\00:15:32.76
and kind of an
interesting parallel
00:15:32.79\00:15:34.10
between Haman and Satan.
>>Shawn: Yeah, I know. And like,
00:15:34.10\00:15:37.23
let's go right for the
most sort of exciting bit.
00:15:37.27\00:15:42.57
Yeah, it's true, Haman
is a pretty evil character.
00:15:42.60\00:15:45.27
Who is Haman? He's an Agagite.
00:15:45.31\00:15:47.71
That's how he's introduced.
00:15:47.74\00:15:49.04
Well, who are Agagites?
00:15:49.08\00:15:50.78
Well, the Amalekites
had a king named Agag
00:15:50.81\00:15:54.08
in 1 Samuel, chapter 15.
00:15:54.12\00:15:56.42
Saul is told, you've
got to get rid of Agag.
00:15:56.45\00:16:00.42
You've got to get rid of him.
00:16:00.46\00:16:02.49
And, of course,
he second-guesses.
00:16:02.52\00:16:03.93
He applies human
reason: Well, God's too nice,
00:16:03.96\00:16:06.13
and maybe we shouldn't,
and that can't be accurate.
00:16:06.16\00:16:10.27
And that's where we find
out that God really knows
00:16:10.30\00:16:12.80
what He's doing. Had
Agag been eliminated--
00:16:12.83\00:16:16.10
there was no hope for
Agag; we can trust God on that.
00:16:16.14\00:16:18.61
At that point,
there is no more hope.
00:16:18.64\00:16:20.98
Agag's a notorious
enemy of God's people.
00:16:21.01\00:16:23.18
He's a serious problem.
00:16:23.21\00:16:24.51
And you start going
down his family line,
00:16:24.55\00:16:26.15
and who becomes
the serious problem
00:16:26.18\00:16:28.65
in Persia for the
Jews? It's Haman the Agagite.
00:16:28.68\00:16:32.89
So maybe God knows what
He's doing when He says,
00:16:32.92\00:16:35.16
"I'm sorry, but that segment
00:16:35.19\00:16:37.09
of the population
needs to go away."
00:16:37.13\00:16:39.83
Maybe there is no more hope.
00:16:39.86\00:16:41.13
Maybe there is a problem,
a much bigger problem coming
00:16:41.16\00:16:43.87
if we're not
listening to what God does.
00:16:43.90\00:16:46.33
We don't want to
second-guess God.
00:16:46.37\00:16:48.40
And I agree, I don't
like the fact that God says,
00:16:48.44\00:16:50.77
"Yeah, nobody can
survive this one."
00:16:50.81\00:16:52.91
Okay, that makes me squirm a
little. I wouldn't like that.
00:16:52.94\00:16:56.41
But as you continue to
study prophecy in detail,
00:16:56.44\00:16:58.88
you start to find out, well,
00:16:58.91\00:17:00.28
maybe God knew
something we didn't because
00:17:00.32\00:17:01.95
maybe this is the
apogee-- the apex of evil,
00:17:01.98\00:17:07.06
and maybe it only
gets worse from here,
00:17:07.09\00:17:09.29
and maybe God is
trying to stop worse problems.
00:17:09.32\00:17:12.36
So, we get to Haman
in the book of Esther,
00:17:12.39\00:17:14.60
and what does he have?
00:17:14.63\00:17:15.93
He occupies the highest position
00:17:15.96\00:17:18.63
in the land outside
the royal family itself.
00:17:18.67\00:17:22.37
He stands right
next to the throne,
00:17:22.40\00:17:23.84
in other words. He
gets his house near it.
00:17:23.87\00:17:26.17
Where was Lucifer's
position before he fell?
00:17:26.21\00:17:29.14
Covering cherub next
to the throne of God,
00:17:29.18\00:17:31.75
the most exalted
position you could have
00:17:31.78\00:17:34.42
outside of the Godhead itself,
outside of the royal family.
00:17:34.45\00:17:38.22
Haman, Haman has everything.
Here's what I find interesting.
00:17:38.25\00:17:42.46
But Haman isn't happy with
everything because Mordecai
00:17:42.49\00:17:45.43
will not
acknowledge how great he is.
00:17:45.46\00:17:48.63
Esther 5, verse 9 tells
us that Mordecai the Jew
00:17:48.66\00:17:53.20
would not bow down to Haman,
no matter how great he is,
00:17:53.23\00:17:56.44
and he goes home and has
a party with his friends.
00:17:56.47\00:17:58.77
"Man, I am something else.
00:17:58.81\00:18:00.04
Have you seen? And
the king said this."
00:18:00.08\00:18:01.71
He's name-dropping,
"And wow, I'm important."
00:18:01.74\00:18:04.05
But his wife pulls
him aside and says,
00:18:04.08\00:18:05.71
"You seem
really, really unhappy.
00:18:05.75\00:18:07.78
After everything you've
achieved, you seem unhappy."
00:18:07.82\00:18:10.29
He says, "Well, I
don't like my promotion,
00:18:10.32\00:18:11.89
not if Mordecai
won't acknowledge it."
00:18:11.92\00:18:14.06
What's the lesson there?
00:18:14.09\00:18:15.76
There's no satisfaction in sin.
00:18:15.79\00:18:17.99
Pride is a bottomless
pit, and the more you feed it,
00:18:18.03\00:18:22.00
the bigger that monster
gets, and there's no end to it.
00:18:22.03\00:18:25.07
You will never find
contentment in sin, ever.
00:18:25.10\00:18:30.67
You will always
be looking for more.
00:18:30.71\00:18:32.84
In Christ, we have
absolute contentment.
00:18:32.87\00:18:35.71
Paul said, "I've
learned to be content
00:18:35.74\00:18:37.08
in whatever condition I'm in."
00:18:37.11\00:18:38.91
Haman can't be
happy, not in sin,
00:18:38.95\00:18:41.35
not when you're
motivated by pride.
00:18:41.38\00:18:43.45
So what does he
do? His wife says,
00:18:43.49\00:18:44.79
"You know what you ought to do?
00:18:44.82\00:18:46.12
Put up a gallows.
Let's hang the guy."
00:18:46.15\00:18:48.02
And the gallows, I
believe, are about 75 feet high.
00:18:48.06\00:18:50.46
We're going to do this
right so the whole town
00:18:50.49\00:18:52.06
can see that you
have to bow down to Haman
00:18:52.09\00:18:54.30
or you're going to
dangle up at 75 feet.
00:18:54.36\00:18:57.83
However, in the story,
Haman ends up being hoisted
00:18:57.87\00:19:02.27
by his own petard.
00:19:02.30\00:19:04.14
I think I got that.
Hoisted by his own--
00:19:04.17\00:19:06.01
however the phrase goes.
00:19:06.04\00:19:07.34
Basically, the guy
who plants a door bomb
00:19:07.38\00:19:09.24
and doesn't get out in
time, and it kills him.
00:19:09.28\00:19:11.55
Haman ends up on
the gallows himself.
00:19:11.58\00:19:14.22
What happens with Satan?
00:19:14.25\00:19:15.82
He offers Jesus the world,
"There's a shortcut here, Lord."
00:19:15.85\00:19:19.09
Well, he doesn't call Him Lord,
"Jesus, there's a shortcut,
00:19:19.12\00:19:22.56
and all You have to
do is bow down to me,
00:19:22.59\00:19:24.19
"acknowledge I'm
the king of this world,
00:19:24.23\00:19:25.53
and I'll just
hand it back to You,"
00:19:25.56\00:19:26.86
because all he ever really
wanted was to be worshiped.
00:19:26.90\00:19:28.50
He wanted to be a
little higher than he was.
00:19:28.53\00:19:32.60
He ends up dying in
this world in the very end
00:19:32.63\00:19:36.50
and reaps the consequence
00:19:36.54\00:19:38.17
that he's trying
to heap on Jesus.
00:19:38.21\00:19:41.31
Haman, when he's
dead, his signet ring
00:19:41.34\00:19:45.58
goes to Mordecai, a
symbol of authority.
00:19:45.61\00:19:48.72
Mordecai gets his
house, which is remarkable.
00:19:48.75\00:19:53.52
Satan says, "This world's
mine. It all belongs to me."
00:19:53.56\00:19:57.53
And in the end, Jesus moves in,
00:19:57.56\00:19:58.86
"No, no, it's my house."
00:19:58.89\00:20:01.26
The parallels are
really pretty remarkable,
00:20:01.30\00:20:03.67
really pretty remarkable.
00:20:03.70\00:20:04.93
>>Eric: There's some additional
parallels that you draw
00:20:04.97\00:20:06.94
our attention to between
Esther 3 and Revelation 12.
00:20:06.97\00:20:10.47
>>Shawn: Yeah.
00:20:10.51\00:20:11.81
>>Eric: Walk us
through these parallels here.
00:20:11.84\00:20:13.17
>>Shawn: In the time we
have, yeah, let's do it.
00:20:13.21\00:20:15.48
This is from Esther, chapter 3,
and I think we're about verse 8.
00:20:15.51\00:20:19.08
Listen to this: "Then
Haman said to King Ahasuerus,
00:20:19.11\00:20:22.55
"'There is a certain
people scattered abroad
00:20:22.58\00:20:24.92
"'and dispersed
among the peoples
00:20:24.95\00:20:26.42
in all the
provinces of your kingdom.'"
00:20:26.45\00:20:28.19
Where are God's people
working in the last days,
00:20:28.22\00:20:30.13
every nation,
kindred, tongue, and people?
00:20:30.16\00:20:31.76
They are scattered worldwide.
We know that from Revelation 14.
00:20:31.79\00:20:37.40
Here's Haman's
description of God's people
00:20:37.43\00:20:40.40
scattered around the
provinces of the kingdom.
00:20:40.44\00:20:42.80
There's 127 provinces. The
Jews are living everywhere.
00:20:42.84\00:20:46.01
"Their laws are
different from those
00:20:46.04\00:20:48.98
of every other people."
00:20:49.01\00:20:52.41
Israel was
different than the nations.
00:20:52.45\00:20:54.68
They had human-made
laws. Israel had God's laws.
00:20:54.72\00:20:58.49
These people,
Haman acknowledges,
00:20:58.52\00:21:01.09
"Their laws are different
from...every other people,
00:21:01.12\00:21:02.56
"...they do not
keep the king's laws,
00:21:02.59\00:21:03.89
so that it is not to the
king's profit to tolerate them."
00:21:03.93\00:21:06.93
They're held out as
potentially treasonous--
00:21:06.96\00:21:09.33
"These people aren't
really with you, Ahasuerus.
00:21:09.36\00:21:11.57
They're not really with you."
00:21:11.60\00:21:13.57
And you find that happening
to God's people all the time.
00:21:13.60\00:21:16.10
That happened in
the Roman Empire--
00:21:16.14\00:21:18.04
"These people are a threat
to the stability of the empire."
00:21:18.07\00:21:20.91
The very earliest
Christian apologists
00:21:20.94\00:21:23.01
spent all their
time not debating
00:21:23.04\00:21:24.71
the existence of God
but trying to demonstrate
00:21:24.75\00:21:26.68
to the emperors,
"We're decent citizens.
00:21:26.72\00:21:28.92
"What you're
being told isn't true.
00:21:28.95\00:21:32.05
We live by a
different set of laws."
00:21:32.09\00:21:33.69
Then when you
get to Revelation 12,
00:21:33.72\00:21:35.09
you find the same
issue in the last days,
00:21:35.12\00:21:37.59
not even just the
last days--historically,
00:21:37.63\00:21:39.29
throughout Christianity.
00:21:39.33\00:21:40.63
We want to be careful, but
not everything in Revelation
00:21:40.66\00:21:42.43
is just the
last gasp of history.
00:21:42.46\00:21:45.03
It says, "Then the dragon"--
we know who that is, Satan;
00:21:45.07\00:21:48.90
it says so
earlier in the chapter--
00:21:48.94\00:21:50.97
"Then the dragon became
furious with the woman"--
00:21:51.01\00:21:53.74
God's people, the bride--
"and went off to make war
00:21:53.78\00:21:56.91
[with] the rest
of her offspring"--
00:21:56.95\00:21:58.85
the remnant of her seed--
00:21:58.88\00:22:00.95
"on those who keep
the commandments of God."
00:22:00.98\00:22:05.69
Why is the devil angry?
00:22:05.72\00:22:07.02
They live by God's
laws, not by the systems
00:22:07.06\00:22:09.92
that the devil has
built in this world,
00:22:09.96\00:22:11.93
not by the laws of
the nations which are
00:22:11.96\00:22:13.73
self-serving, and
power-grabbing and prideful.
00:22:13.76\00:22:17.73
No, these people live
by a different set of laws,
00:22:17.77\00:22:20.14
and that's what
infuriates the devil,
00:22:20.17\00:22:21.97
and that's what
infuriated Haman.
00:22:22.00\00:22:24.64
>>Eric: Powerful
parallels between the two.
00:22:24.67\00:22:26.91
Is there more here?
00:22:26.94\00:22:28.28
>>Shawn: Oh, oh yeah,
yeah, yeah, there really is.
00:22:28.31\00:22:30.91
You'll notice in the story
Haman can't get to Mordecai.
00:22:30.95\00:22:33.21
He ends up having to
lead him around on a horse.
00:22:33.25\00:22:35.42
What does he do
after that point?
00:22:35.45\00:22:37.22
Goes after everybody,
goes after Mordecai's people.
00:22:37.25\00:22:40.39
In Revelation 12, we find
the devil going after Jesus.
00:22:40.42\00:22:44.16
When the child is
born, tries to devour Him,
00:22:44.19\00:22:46.70
doesn't succeed.
00:22:46.73\00:22:48.06
Jesus is caught
back up into heaven.
00:22:48.10\00:22:50.20
In verse 17, what
does he do instead?
00:22:50.23\00:22:52.07
"I can't get to
Christ, I'm going after
00:22:52.10\00:22:53.84
"the thing He loves most.
00:22:53.87\00:22:55.00
I'm going after
all of His people."
00:22:55.04\00:22:58.21
And then, of course,
we have a death decree
00:22:58.24\00:23:00.64
that goes out for
a precise time in,
00:23:00.68\00:23:03.58
set time: "It's free
rein on God's people.
00:23:03.61\00:23:06.58
When we blow the
whistle, go kill some Jews."
00:23:06.61\00:23:09.68
And in Revelation 13,
ultimately when God's people
00:23:09.72\00:23:12.35
won't bow down to the
system the devil has built,
00:23:12.39\00:23:16.22
really Revelation 13 is the apex
00:23:16.26\00:23:17.96
of all these worldly kingdoms.
00:23:17.99\00:23:19.46
It's the final manifestation
of it, a death decree goes out,
00:23:19.49\00:23:22.93
"Okay, fine, I
can't win you over,
00:23:22.96\00:23:24.90
I can't force you
over, I'll kill you."
00:23:24.93\00:23:27.60
The parallels really runs deep.
00:23:27.64\00:23:29.57
>>Eric:
Incredible parallels here.
00:23:29.60\00:23:31.21
You make a really
important point on Thursday
00:23:31.24\00:23:33.61
that Bible
prophecy is not really meant
00:23:33.64\00:23:35.81
to scare us or to discourage
us but to give us hope.
00:23:35.84\00:23:39.01
How do we get past
some of the scary bits
00:23:39.05\00:23:42.95
to get to the hope-filled stuff?
00:23:42.98\00:23:45.59
>>Shawn: Yeah, and you know
what, I see a lot of people--
00:23:45.62\00:23:48.29
it's actually one of
the emotional reasons
00:23:48.32\00:23:49.92
some people will try to cling to
00:23:49.96\00:23:52.06
the secret rapture theory--
"But I'm gonna be out of here
00:23:52.09\00:23:54.20
when all the bad stuff happens."
00:23:54.23\00:23:55.70
No, you're not. You're
not gonna be out of here.
00:23:55.73\00:23:58.63
God's people were never removed.
Noah went through the Flood.
00:23:58.67\00:24:01.70
Israel went through
the Red Sea, the persecu--
00:24:01.74\00:24:04.21
God has never spared us
from having to be there.
00:24:04.24\00:24:08.01
Here's the way Bible
prophecy is structured.
00:24:08.04\00:24:10.08
God doesn't sugarcoat
what's going on in this world.
00:24:10.11\00:24:12.65
He says, here is the blank re--
00:24:12.68\00:24:14.85
the bare reality
of what you've done
00:24:14.88\00:24:16.62
to this place, and He
holds up a mirror to us.
00:24:16.65\00:24:18.95
That's the hard
parts, that's Haman,
00:24:18.99\00:24:21.69
that's Revelation
12 and 13. We did this.
00:24:21.72\00:24:25.76
We created this prime-- and
remember, the biggest problem
00:24:25.79\00:24:28.73
described in Revelation
is inside Christianity,
00:24:28.76\00:24:31.30
not outside, right?
00:24:31.33\00:24:32.97
We have an unfaithful
wife who is the biggest problem
00:24:33.00\00:24:36.34
in the book of Revelation,
the harlot of Revelation 17,
00:24:36.37\00:24:39.87
the beast power of
Revelation, chapter 13.
00:24:39.91\00:24:43.88
And we're the big problem,
and God holds up a mirror,
00:24:43.91\00:24:46.78
but He always holds up a mirror
00:24:46.82\00:24:51.12
and then says, "But
here's my solution for it."
00:24:51.15\00:24:54.12
You got to live in the solution.
00:24:54.16\00:24:55.79
The problems we made--
none of us are strangers
00:24:55.82\00:24:58.73
to the fact that
this life is hard,
00:24:58.76\00:25:01.46
that there's pain,
that there's disappointment,
00:25:01.50\00:25:04.63
and you're going to die.
00:25:04.67\00:25:06.23
So I always put that
in the ledger as, okay,
00:25:06.27\00:25:08.40
that's the way it is,
it's going to be hard.
00:25:08.44\00:25:10.51
Jesus didn't get
spared from all of that.
00:25:10.54\00:25:12.57
He was lonely, He was
hungry, He suffered pain,
00:25:12.61\00:25:15.18
He died in, you know,
the most humiliating death
00:25:15.21\00:25:18.01
we could arrange for Him.
00:25:18.05\00:25:20.18
So that's a given. In this
world, that's the way it is.
00:25:20.22\00:25:22.85
What I have--everybody's
there, whether you're a believer
00:25:22.88\00:25:25.52
or not,
everybody's in that column.
00:25:25.55\00:25:27.49
It gets a little more
intense against believers
00:25:27.52\00:25:29.56
in the end
because the devil's angry.
00:25:29.59\00:25:31.69
But what the
unbelieving world doesn't have
00:25:31.73\00:25:33.76
is the hope I have in Christ,
that last part of the story.
00:25:33.80\00:25:37.13
I mean, it doesn't end
with "and the world fell apart."
00:25:37.17\00:25:40.20
It ends with God saying,
"I'll wipe away every tear,
00:25:40.24\00:25:42.84
all sorrow, all pain."
00:25:42.87\00:25:44.51
Jesus, you know, "Why do
you have fear in your heart?"
00:25:44.54\00:25:47.38
He says that over and
over: "Why are you afraid?"
00:25:47.41\00:25:49.91
Well, Lord, we're
afraid of what's coming.
00:25:49.94\00:25:52.15
I find it remarkable
that everybody, you know,
00:25:52.18\00:25:54.58
all the disciples, except
one, died a martyrs death,
00:25:54.62\00:25:58.82
and we don't have
their stories in the Bible,
00:25:58.85\00:26:00.52
but we have some records
that are fairly accurate.
00:26:00.56\00:26:04.29
And what's
remarkable to me is Peter.
00:26:04.33\00:26:06.33
Peter's going to be
crucified in the city of Rome,
00:26:06.36\00:26:08.63
outside, actually,
where the garbage dump was,
00:26:08.66\00:26:11.10
and when he sees
they're going to crucify him,
00:26:11.13\00:26:12.70
history tells us the
Christians who were there say,
00:26:12.73\00:26:15.00
"Oh no, that's too good for me.
00:26:15.04\00:26:16.34
That's how Jesus
died. I'm not worth that."
00:26:16.37\00:26:17.77
So they said, "Fine,
we'll arrange upside down,"
00:26:17.81\00:26:19.77
so he goes out that way.
00:26:19.81\00:26:22.44
I look at all
those martyr stories,
00:26:22.48\00:26:26.11
and I ask myself,
"Could I do that?"
00:26:26.15\00:26:27.55
And then I remember, Charles
Spurgeon was asked that once,
00:26:27.58\00:26:29.88
"Could you be," you know,
"put to death for your faith?"
00:26:29.92\00:26:31.92
He goes, "No, absolutely not."
00:26:31.95\00:26:34.16
I mean, really, who
wants to be tortured?
00:26:34.19\00:26:36.02
He said, "But when the
moment comes, it'll be fine.
00:26:36.06\00:26:37.83
God will handle it."
00:26:37.86\00:26:39.23
And that's the story we see.
00:26:39.26\00:26:40.56
We see martyrs in the 1300s,
1400s singing in the flames.
00:26:40.60\00:26:44.23
It's like, you know what,
this will pass in a moment.
00:26:44.27\00:26:46.53
I'll be back, I'll be back.
00:26:46.57\00:26:48.90
And so, yeah, you're
going to die somehow.
00:26:48.94\00:26:50.77
I'd rather die for
Jesus than hopeless.
00:26:50.81\00:26:53.24
Yeah, it just
doesn't bother me that much.
00:26:53.27\00:26:55.74
>>Eric: So, so a great
deal of this is perspective.
00:26:55.78\00:26:58.38
>>Shawn: Oh yeah.
>>Eric: And being able to see
00:26:58.41\00:27:00.05
what's beyond the current,
00:27:00.08\00:27:02.12
maybe difficult,
challenging, trying existence
00:27:02.15\00:27:05.65
that we find ourselves
in and looking beyond that
00:27:05.69\00:27:08.32
to what God has in store for us.
00:27:08.36\00:27:11.56
And the truth is God
has incredible things
00:27:11.59\00:27:13.56
in store for you.
00:27:13.60\00:27:15.33
He wants you to be ready.
00:27:15.36\00:27:16.67
You can be ready.
00:27:16.70\00:27:18.10
In fact, this is
something that you can
00:27:18.13\00:27:19.80
and should be
looking forward to.
00:27:19.83\00:27:22.34
And it's as we study these
stories in the Old Testament
00:27:22.37\00:27:25.87
and understand them
in light of what we find
00:27:25.91\00:27:28.04
over in the book of Revelation
00:27:28.08\00:27:29.38
in the New Testament, the
fulfillment of these prophecies,
00:27:29.41\00:27:31.71
that we can have hope.
00:27:31.75\00:27:33.75
In fact, let's make that
a little bit more personal:
00:27:33.78\00:27:36.22
You can have hope.
00:27:36.25\00:27:38.49
We're going to
continue studying,
00:27:38.52\00:27:39.82
looking at these
stories so that we can find
00:27:39.85\00:27:42.16
more and more
hope as we understand
00:27:42.19\00:27:44.96
the prophecies of the Bible.
00:27:44.99\00:27:46.29
We'll be back again next
time here on "Sabbath School,"
00:27:46.33\00:27:48.23
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:48.26\00:27:50.47
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00:27:50.50\00:27:54.50
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