¤
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>> Well, hello, everyone and
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welcome to Pioneer Church,
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family, our worship this
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Sabbath.
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Down farther south, they say
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"feliz sábado."
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Right?
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And farther east, they say
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"shalom l'chaim."
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That's over in the Middle East.
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But anyhow, we say
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happy Sabbath and welcome.
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We're so glad you're here.
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And if you join us on the media,
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we really are pleased
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to welcome you that way.
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Anyhow, if you have not been
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greeted, I'll tell you what.
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Look and smile and wink
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at somebody near you,
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and you can greet them.
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Again, we're so glad you're
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here.
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Would you look on the screen
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or in the back of your bulletin
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for our call to worship?
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And we're going to do that as we
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transition now into worship.
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And if you would be good,
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please stand with me.
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And shall we pray?
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Father, we bow our hearts
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and our heads in your presence,
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and we pray that all that
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we do here would be
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a praising of your goodness,
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your greatness, your Godliness.
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Thank you.
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So, be here with us,
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and may we know by what we sense
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that You are here with us.
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We pray in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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>> Amen.
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[ "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is
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Mine" begins ]
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>> Remain standing as we sing
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"Blessed Assurance, Jesus is
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Mine," hymn number 462.
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>> One more time.
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>> Amen.
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>> Amen.
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>> I stand here today
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as an example that God
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is good and God is faithful.
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I stand here behind -- in front
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of some amazing
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and talented young people
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that have grouped themselves
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into the Deliverance Mass Choir.
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We have one song for you.
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It's a twist on the age-old tune
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"Great is Thy Faithfulness."
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Hope you're blessed.
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[ "Great is Thy Faithfulness"
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begins ]
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¤
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>> ¤ Great is Thy faithfulness
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¤ Lord, unto me
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¤ Great is Thy faithfulness
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¤ Great is Thy faithfulness
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¤ Morning by morning
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¤ By morning, by morning
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¤ By morning, by morning
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¤ New mercies I see
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>> ¤ See
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>> ¤ See
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>> ¤ All I have needed
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¤ Thy hand hath provide
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¤ Great is Thy faithfulness
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¤ Great is Thy faithfulness
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¤ Great is Thy faithfulness
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¤ Oh, Lord
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¤ Unto
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>> ¤ Me...
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>> ¤ Me-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee
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>> ¤ ...ee...
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>> ¤ Me-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee
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>> ¤ ...ee...
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>> ¤ Me-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee, too
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¤ Me
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[ Applause ]
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>> So I have made special
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arrangements today
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for the person next to you
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to give you a dollar
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for every minute that I go past
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1:00 PM.
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[ Laughter ]
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How long do you want me to go?
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Well, I'm going to go.
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I came here for many things,
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including to preach.
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So here we go.
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Welcome to the fourth
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and final installment
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of our series entitled
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"Why We Are Here."
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We have been on a quest.
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We have been hunting to discover
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the unique mission of the
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Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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Let me briefly tell you
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where we have been.
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We have said that the mission of
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the Seventh-day Adventist Church
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includes the Great Commission
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of Matthew 28:18-20,
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making disciples of Jesus
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who make disciples of Jesus.
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Absolutely.
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That is core to who we are.
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We've also said that we take
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the Great Commission and we take
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it one final step further.
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That's the Three Angels'
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Messages of Revelation 14:6-12.
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We went through those three
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angels.
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We summed up those messages
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with these words.
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Now, with that in mind,
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we've got the Great Commission,
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we've got the
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Three Angels' Messages,
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and there is one third
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and final factor
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that we need to understand
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if we are going to understand
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the unique mission of the
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Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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Now, to understand
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what this third factor is --
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because this is what we're going
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to be discussing here today --
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to understand what
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that third missing factor is,
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we need to ask and answer
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a simple but key question.
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Here it is.
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If you were the devil...
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and I trust that you're not,
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but if you were the devil
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and you knew
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that the Three Angels' Messages
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were God's last messages
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to a dying world, what would you
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spend your time doing?
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It's pretty straightforward,
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isn't it?
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I mean, if you have any history
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with the devil and temptation,
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et cetera, I mean,
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the answer is crystal clear.
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You would spend your time
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distracting and deceiving,
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distracting and deceiving.
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In other words, you would first
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try to distract people
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from ever hearing those messages
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in the first place, right?
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And secondly,
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if they did hear those messages,
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you would try to deceive people
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as to what they actually meant.
00:12:58.57\00:13:01.41
Now, this is
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standard operating procedure.
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You know, Ellen White had this
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to say, "Great Controversy,"
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page 186.
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Speaking of
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the Protestant Reformation,
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when Martin Luther's work
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was really hitting its stride.
00:13:09.72\00:13:11.12
She said,
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"But Satan was not idle.
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He now attempted what he has
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attempted in every other
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reformatory movement -- to
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deceive and destroy the people
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by palming off upon them
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a counterfeit" -- key word
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there -- "a counterfeit in place
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of the true work."
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So notice carefully the devil
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is not content to simply stand
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up and say, "God is wrong."
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The devil wants to counterfeit
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God's work.
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He wants to speak that
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which is false and promote
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that which is false
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while having it look like it
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is true.
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All the better to get
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more people to buy into it.
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And given that reality,
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the fact of the matter is that
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the Three Angels' Messages
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have more punch and power today
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than ever, because we live
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in a different time than when
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those words were first written.
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It's 2,000 years later.
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October 22nd, 1844, is now come.
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We indeed live in the last days,
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and the devil has ratcheted up
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the level of distraction
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and deception these days
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that it can be overwhelming
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for the average person.
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Unless...
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Unless someone reveals
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the deceptions.
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And the someone reveals
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the distraction,
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shows them for what they are,
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that people might see
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that which is true.
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If we can do that,
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if we can reveal the
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deception and the distraction,
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then perhaps my friends
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and yours and everybody else
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on the planet that needs to hear
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will be able to hear
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and potentially understand God's
00:14:46.25\00:14:47.48
last messages to them.
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So....
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Given that that's our ministry
00:14:52.12\00:14:53.36
context, I wonder what it might
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look like.
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What might it look like
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as we go out to share Jesus
00:14:58.56\00:15:01.03
and the Three Angels' Messages
00:15:01.13\00:15:02.10
with other people?
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Well, maybe we could think of it
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like this.
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Any dart players in the room?
00:15:08.04\00:15:09.27
Okay.
00:15:09.37\00:15:10.74
I know you don't do this
00:15:10.84\00:15:11.87
at a pub or a tavern
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or anything like that.
00:15:12.97\00:15:13.61
I'm sure it's in a nice,
00:15:13.71\00:15:14.64
quiet pastel environment.
00:15:14.74\00:15:16.14
Something like that, okay.
00:15:16.24\00:15:17.11
Darts. I'm not
00:15:17.21\00:15:18.05
a great dart player, right?
00:15:18.15\00:15:19.25
But the object, ideally, is to
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hit what on the dart board?
00:15:21.38\00:15:22.75
The bull's-eye.
00:15:22.85\00:15:23.62
Right. That little red dot
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right there in the middle.
00:15:25.02\00:15:25.75
And it looks -- I mean, to me
00:15:25.85\00:15:27.19
right now, it looks fairly big.
00:15:27.29\00:15:28.12
I could probably hit that one.
00:15:28.22\00:15:29.22
But in a real dart board,
00:15:29.32\00:15:30.49
you're 10, 15 feet back.
00:15:30.59\00:15:31.83
It's hard to hit, right?
00:15:31.93\00:15:33.33
Now, I want you to imagine
00:15:33.43\00:15:34.93
something, that you are forced
00:15:35.03\00:15:36.83
to play a game of darts, okay?
00:15:36.93\00:15:39.00
You can't not play.
00:15:39.10\00:15:39.93
You have to play.
00:15:40.04\00:15:41.34
And the penalty for missing
00:15:41.44\00:15:42.94
the bull's-eye is death.
00:15:43.04\00:15:44.87
[ Congregation murmurs ]
00:15:44.97\00:15:46.24
Yeah, right?
00:15:46.34\00:15:48.38
Moreover, the devil, in this
00:15:48.48\00:15:50.55
imaginary dart game here,
00:15:50.65\00:15:52.78
is actively standing
00:15:52.88\00:15:54.42
between you and the dart board,
00:15:54.52\00:15:56.12
and every time you throw a dart,
00:15:56.22\00:15:57.75
even if it's aiming right
00:15:57.85\00:15:58.92
at the bull's-eye,
00:15:59.02\00:16:00.29
the devil is standing there...
00:16:00.39\00:16:03.32
diverting your dart.
00:16:03.43\00:16:05.56
And here's the thing.
00:16:05.66\00:16:06.96
That bull's-eye is fairly small.
00:16:07.03\00:16:08.43
You don't have to divert it
00:16:08.53\00:16:09.96
very much in order for it
00:16:10.07\00:16:11.30
to miss the bull's-eye.
00:16:11.40\00:16:14.37
Still want to play?
00:16:14.47\00:16:17.41
Well, again, imagine that we
00:16:17.51\00:16:18.97
have no choice, that everyone
00:16:19.07\00:16:20.11
on the planet has to play.
00:16:20.21\00:16:24.48
Here's what that game
00:16:24.58\00:16:25.68
might look like.
00:16:25.78\00:16:27.45
And again, I'm going to say this
00:16:27.55\00:16:28.58
for the last time,
00:16:28.68\00:16:29.32
at least for this series,
00:16:29.42\00:16:30.22
this caveat -- I'm going to cut
00:16:30.32\00:16:31.45
some corners this morning.
00:16:31.55\00:16:32.59
We're going to drink
00:16:32.69\00:16:33.29
from a fire hydrant here
00:16:33.39\00:16:34.09
in the next few minutes.
00:16:34.19\00:16:35.26
And if you're a guest
00:16:35.36\00:16:36.02
with us today, we are so glad
00:16:36.12\00:16:36.93
that you are here.
00:16:37.03\00:16:37.96
If I say something, you're like,
00:16:38.06\00:16:39.03
you're scratching your --
00:16:39.13\00:16:39.86
"How in the world did he come up
00:16:39.96\00:16:40.33
with that?"
00:16:40.43\00:16:41.03
Come and see me afterwards.
00:16:41.13\00:16:41.96
I'd love to have a chance
00:16:42.06\00:16:42.86
to talk with you about these
00:16:42.96\00:16:44.17
very important things.
00:16:44.27\00:16:46.30
That said, ready, set, go.
00:16:46.40\00:16:49.90
So, a first deception that
00:16:50.01\00:16:52.47
the devil might use to keep us
00:16:52.57\00:16:53.71
from hitting the bull's-eye
00:16:53.81\00:16:54.64
is a false creation story.
00:16:54.74\00:16:56.21
And this has to do with
00:16:56.31\00:16:56.91
evolution here.
00:16:57.01\00:16:57.81
Darwinian evolution,
00:16:57.91\00:16:58.95
survival of the fittest,
00:16:59.05\00:17:00.12
you know, random mutations
00:17:00.22\00:17:01.22
over long periods of time,
00:17:01.32\00:17:02.42
et cetera.
00:17:02.52\00:17:03.42
This false creation story,
00:17:03.52\00:17:05.12
it's very interesting.
00:17:05.22\00:17:06.25
In July of 1844.
00:17:06.35\00:17:08.29
What year did I say?
00:17:08.39\00:17:10.49
In July of 1844,
00:17:10.59\00:17:12.63
Charles Darwin had turned
00:17:12.73\00:17:14.56
his original research on what
00:17:14.63\00:17:16.06
would become evolutionary theory
00:17:16.16\00:17:17.63
into a 230-page essay.
00:17:17.73\00:17:20.40
That's what he called it,
00:17:20.50\00:17:20.94
230 page essay,
00:17:21.04\00:17:22.47
to be expanded later with
00:17:22.57\00:17:24.04
research results and published
00:17:24.14\00:17:25.41
if he died prematurely.
00:17:25.51\00:17:26.91
In other words, this was
00:17:27.01\00:17:28.51
the first draft of
00:17:28.61\00:17:29.84
"The Origin of Species,"
00:17:29.94\00:17:32.38
and it came out in 1844.
00:17:32.48\00:17:34.45
Isn't it interesting? It appears
00:17:34.55\00:17:35.68
the devil reads his Bible, too.
00:17:35.78\00:17:38.55
Because in the same year that
00:17:38.65\00:17:40.92
a message comes to the forefront
00:17:41.02\00:17:42.56
trumpeting that God
00:17:42.66\00:17:43.93
is the creator of all things --
00:17:44.03\00:17:45.03
you remember the First
00:17:45.13\00:17:45.73
Angel's Message, right?
00:17:45.83\00:17:46.80
You know, worship Him who
00:17:46.90\00:17:47.96
made -- right? -- the Creator.
00:17:48.06\00:17:49.50
In that same year,
00:17:49.60\00:17:50.50
another message takes root
00:17:50.60\00:17:52.17
that would eventually trumpet
00:17:52.27\00:17:53.30
that God is not the creator
00:17:53.40\00:17:54.74
of all things.
00:17:54.84\00:17:57.97
Now, interestingly enough,
00:17:58.07\00:17:59.67
a majority of Americans
00:17:59.77\00:18:01.24
do not believe in the --
00:18:01.34\00:18:02.84
in Darwinian evolution.
00:18:02.94\00:18:04.41
A majority of academics do,
00:18:04.51\00:18:05.91
surveys tell us, but a majority
00:18:06.01\00:18:07.45
of Americans, they do not.
00:18:07.55\00:18:08.32
So you say, "Well,
00:18:08.42\00:18:09.25
why do you bring this up as
00:18:09.35\00:18:10.69
one of the deceptions of Satan?"
00:18:10.79\00:18:11.65
Well, social
00:18:11.75\00:18:13.79
Darwinism is alive and well.
00:18:13.89\00:18:16.59
People have debated,
00:18:16.69\00:18:17.96
well, does social Darwinism
00:18:18.06\00:18:18.93
actually come from,
00:18:19.03\00:18:20.23
you know, biological Darwinism?
00:18:20.33\00:18:21.46
Can you make that connection?
00:18:21.56\00:18:22.86
Whether it comes from there
00:18:22.96\00:18:24.13
or not, this idea, the idea
00:18:24.23\00:18:26.40
that, if I am stronger
00:18:26.50\00:18:27.74
than you, faster than you,
00:18:27.84\00:18:29.07
wealthier than you, et cetera,
00:18:29.17\00:18:30.31
then I can step on you
00:18:30.41\00:18:31.77
and crush you to advance
00:18:31.87\00:18:32.87
my cause.
00:18:32.97\00:18:34.28
Well, that idea is alive
00:18:34.38\00:18:36.01
and well in the world today.
00:18:36.11\00:18:37.15
Is that true?
00:18:37.25\00:18:38.65
Yes, it is, and it's not
00:18:38.75\00:18:39.61
just in capitalist America.
00:18:39.71\00:18:40.95
No, no, it's all over the world.
00:18:41.05\00:18:41.95
This is human nature writ large.
00:18:42.05\00:18:44.69
It's a powerful deception,
00:18:44.79\00:18:45.79
and the devil
00:18:45.89\00:18:46.82
is just getting started.
00:18:46.92\00:18:48.82
Secondly,
00:18:48.92\00:18:50.26
a false representation of Satan.
00:18:50.36\00:18:52.16
"Sin is good and does not exist.
00:18:52.26\00:18:55.96
Sin is good and does not exist."
00:18:56.06\00:18:58.83
Now, here the devil is trying
00:18:58.93\00:18:59.93
to burnish his reputation.
00:19:00.10\00:19:01.24
Right? This is classic
00:19:01.34\00:19:02.27
bad old sinful stuff.
00:19:02.37\00:19:04.07
It's been this way
00:19:04.17\00:19:04.81
for thousands of years,
00:19:04.91\00:19:06.07
but it kicks into high gear
00:19:06.17\00:19:07.11
at the end of time.
00:19:07.21\00:19:08.68
The first part there -- sin
00:19:08.78\00:19:09.91
is good.
00:19:10.01\00:19:11.15
Isn't this classic stuff all the
00:19:11.25\00:19:12.15
way?
00:19:12.25\00:19:12.91
You know, Eve in the Garden
00:19:13.01\00:19:14.25
of Eden, the devil said,
00:19:14.35\00:19:15.65
you know, "You'll be better off
00:19:15.75\00:19:17.02
if you eat this apple," right?
00:19:17.12\00:19:18.42
Whatever the fruit was,
00:19:18.52\00:19:19.25
you know, "If you eat this
00:19:19.35\00:19:20.76
fruit, you'll be better."
00:19:20.86\00:19:22.02
And to this day,
00:19:22.12\00:19:22.89
the devil is still painting sin
00:19:22.99\00:19:24.96
in these golden hues that just
00:19:25.06\00:19:26.63
make us want to do it, right?
00:19:26.73\00:19:28.10
"Sin is good."
00:19:28.20\00:19:30.77
And then comes the second part.
00:19:30.87\00:19:31.93
"And does not exist."
00:19:32.03\00:19:34.67
You know, the story is told of
00:19:34.77\00:19:36.30
a theology student that asked
00:19:36.40\00:19:38.17
his professor once, he said,
00:19:38.27\00:19:39.84
professor, can you think
00:19:39.94\00:19:41.28
of a compliment for the devil?
00:19:41.38\00:19:44.75
And the professor thought
00:19:44.85\00:19:45.51
for a moment and said,
00:19:45.61\00:19:46.58
"Well, he's a hard worker."
00:19:46.68\00:19:49.12
[ Laughter ]
00:19:49.22\00:19:51.29
And I would add to that,
00:19:51.39\00:19:52.52
unfortunately, sometimes
00:19:52.62\00:19:54.26
he's genius because, frankly,
00:19:54.36\00:19:56.56
"Sin is good.
00:19:56.66\00:19:58.43
And by the way,
00:19:58.53\00:19:59.39
there is no such thing.
00:19:59.49\00:20:00.90
Sin doesn't exist."
00:20:00.96\00:20:03.13
You know, these days,
00:20:03.23\00:20:04.47
popular culture very much
00:20:04.57\00:20:06.00
exemplifies this, right?
00:20:06.10\00:20:08.07
And postmodern philosophy --
00:20:08.17\00:20:09.34
This is not going to be
00:20:09.44\00:20:10.07
a discourse on philosophy.
00:20:10.17\00:20:10.84
I'll just
00:20:10.94\00:20:11.64
very briefly say postmodernism.
00:20:11.74\00:20:12.64
I know that people
00:20:12.74\00:20:13.44
have said postmodernism is dead.
00:20:13.54\00:20:14.54
It got post-postmodernism and
00:20:14.64\00:20:15.71
then post-post-postmodernism,
00:20:15.81\00:20:16.38
et cetera.
00:20:16.48\00:20:17.75
The idea is simply this, that
00:20:17.85\00:20:19.05
truth is relative to the
00:20:19.15\00:20:19.98
observer.
00:20:20.08\00:20:20.78
You may have your truth
00:20:20.88\00:20:21.85
and I'll have mine.
00:20:21.95\00:20:23.12
And even if they're 180 degrees
00:20:23.22\00:20:24.85
out from one another, that's
00:20:24.95\00:20:26.19
okay because we all "get to
00:20:26.29\00:20:27.66
decide our own truth."
00:20:27.76\00:20:30.06
In other words, postmodern
00:20:30.16\00:20:30.96
thought says -- and this
00:20:31.06\00:20:32.49
is still dominant today -- there
00:20:32.59\00:20:34.10
is no such thing as absolute
00:20:34.20\00:20:36.03
truth.
00:20:36.13\00:20:37.80
And that statement
00:20:37.90\00:20:39.03
is absolutely true.
00:20:39.13\00:20:43.30
I'll let you chew on that
00:20:43.41\00:20:44.11
over potluck.
00:20:44.21\00:20:44.87
You just talk about that
00:20:44.97\00:20:45.74
amongst yourselves, okay?
00:20:45.84\00:20:46.98
So, in other words,
00:20:47.08\00:20:47.61
it's inherently
00:20:47.71\00:20:48.34
self-contradictory.
00:20:48.44\00:20:49.38
It cannot stand, it always,
00:20:49.48\00:20:50.35
sooner or later,
00:20:50.45\00:20:51.25
implodes upon itself, all right?
00:20:51.35\00:20:52.58
And, yet, this still
00:20:52.68\00:20:54.08
is the order of the day,
00:20:54.18\00:20:55.45
particularly in popular culture,
00:20:55.55\00:20:56.79
Western culture,
00:20:56.89\00:20:57.62
around the world.
00:20:57.72\00:20:59.72
You know, these days, there's no
00:20:59.82\00:21:00.66
such thing as sin.
00:21:00.76\00:21:02.39
We just have preferences.
00:21:02.49\00:21:04.43
There's no such thing as sin,
00:21:04.53\00:21:05.53
we just have lifestyle choices.
00:21:05.63\00:21:06.66
People say,
00:21:06.76\00:21:07.50
well, it's not wrong.
00:21:07.60\00:21:09.56
It's just different.
00:21:09.66\00:21:11.57
"Sin is good
00:21:11.67\00:21:13.80
and it doesn't exist."
00:21:13.90\00:21:15.24
It's a powerful deception
00:21:15.34\00:21:16.37
and it kicks into high gear
00:21:16.47\00:21:17.47
at the end of time.
00:21:17.57\00:21:19.21
But again, the devil
00:21:19.31\00:21:20.68
is just getting started.
00:21:20.78\00:21:22.61
A false representation of God --
00:21:22.71\00:21:24.15
hell and eternal torment.
00:21:24.25\00:21:26.11
So the devil's got our
00:21:26.21\00:21:27.35
beginnings with evolution here.
00:21:27.45\00:21:28.68
He has his own reputation.
00:21:28.78\00:21:30.12
And then, he attacks
00:21:30.22\00:21:30.92
God's reputation.
00:21:31.02\00:21:32.05
A false representation of God --
00:21:32.15\00:21:33.52
hell and eternal torment.
00:21:33.62\00:21:34.99
Now, my guess is that many
00:21:35.09\00:21:37.23
of you know this idea
00:21:37.33\00:21:38.79
of an eternally burning hell.
00:21:38.89\00:21:39.93
Let me just briefly explain it
00:21:40.03\00:21:40.96
if you're not familiar with it.
00:21:41.06\00:21:42.36
The idea is simply this.
00:21:42.46\00:21:43.70
If you are an unrepentant
00:21:43.80\00:21:45.27
sinner that does not choose
00:21:45.37\00:21:46.80
Jesus, when you die,
00:21:46.90\00:21:48.84
you will go straight to a place
00:21:48.94\00:21:50.34
called hell.
00:21:50.44\00:21:51.41
In this rubric,
00:21:51.51\00:21:52.91
it is an actual place,
00:21:53.01\00:21:55.21
and the flames are real,
00:21:55.31\00:21:56.64
and you will burn forever
00:21:56.75\00:21:57.98
and ever and ever.
00:21:58.08\00:22:00.28
And it's like being burnt alive,
00:22:00.38\00:22:01.68
except that you never die.
00:22:01.78\00:22:02.88
So all the pain
00:22:02.98\00:22:03.62
and the discomfort
00:22:03.72\00:22:05.45
that you might imagine in that
00:22:05.55\00:22:06.52
environment is all there.
00:22:06.62\00:22:09.09
Now, here's the thing.
00:22:09.19\00:22:12.86
We can spend a lot of time
00:22:12.96\00:22:14.60
talking about how this
00:22:14.73\00:22:16.06
is not supported by the Bible.
00:22:16.16\00:22:17.93
I'm just going to give you two
00:22:18.03\00:22:18.73
quick texts here to look at.
00:22:18.83\00:22:20.60
Ezekiel 18:20.
00:22:20.70\00:22:22.54
"The soul that sins,
00:22:22.64\00:22:24.04
it shall" what?
00:22:24.14\00:22:25.11
>> Die.
00:22:25.21\00:22:25.94
>> Die. Okay.
00:22:26.04\00:22:26.61
That's very important.
00:22:26.71\00:22:27.34
"The soul that sins,
00:22:27.44\00:22:28.01
it shall die."
00:22:28.11\00:22:28.81
Romans 6:23.
00:22:28.91\00:22:30.18
"For the wages of sin is" what?
00:22:30.28\00:22:31.75
>> Death.
00:22:31.85\00:22:32.51
>> Death. Okay.
00:22:32.61\00:22:33.45
So death there again.
00:22:33.55\00:22:34.35
"But the gift of God
00:22:34.45\00:22:35.65
is eternal life."
00:22:35.75\00:22:36.95
What kind of life?
00:22:37.05\00:22:38.15
Eternal life
00:22:38.25\00:22:39.85
"through Jesus Christ our Lord."
00:22:39.95\00:22:41.46
Who alone gets to live forever?
00:22:41.56\00:22:45.06
The righteous. Exactly.
00:22:45.16\00:22:46.06
The righteous do.
00:22:46.16\00:22:46.66
Only those
00:22:46.76\00:22:47.50
that have chosen Jesus.
00:22:47.60\00:22:48.33
They're the only ones
00:22:48.43\00:22:49.43
that get to live forever.
00:22:49.53\00:22:50.73
Therefore, you cannot live
00:22:50.83\00:22:51.70
forever in the flames.
00:22:51.80\00:22:54.07
Sinners don't get
00:22:54.17\00:22:54.74
to live forever.
00:22:54.84\00:22:55.67
Only the righteous get to live
00:22:55.77\00:22:56.64
forever.
00:22:56.74\00:22:58.07
So there is no eternally
00:22:58.17\00:22:58.97
burning hell.
00:22:59.07\00:23:00.78
By the way,
00:23:00.88\00:23:01.88
Seventh-day Adventists,
00:23:01.98\00:23:02.68
we do believe in hellfire.
00:23:02.78\00:23:04.78
We do believe in hell.
00:23:04.88\00:23:06.61
It's the biblical hell,
00:23:06.72\00:23:07.62
and it's a lot more efficient
00:23:07.72\00:23:08.92
than the mythical hell.
00:23:09.02\00:23:10.92
Because it actually
00:23:11.02\00:23:11.62
finishes the job.
00:23:11.72\00:23:13.92
At the end of time, sinners that
00:23:14.02\00:23:15.36
want to hang on to their sin,
00:23:15.46\00:23:16.69
indeed there will be hellfire.
00:23:16.79\00:23:18.29
But when the sin is burnt up,
00:23:18.39\00:23:19.59
the fire goes out.
00:23:19.69\00:23:21.70
They do not live forever
00:23:21.80\00:23:22.73
and ever writhing in the flames.
00:23:22.83\00:23:23.60
Can you imagine?
00:23:23.70\00:23:24.37
Heaven would be hell,
00:23:24.47\00:23:25.60
if you're looking over the wall
00:23:25.70\00:23:26.50
constantly, saying,
00:23:26.60\00:23:27.30
"Oh, look, there's grandma."
00:23:27.40\00:23:28.97
I'm serious. I'm dead se--
00:23:29.07\00:23:31.11
I mean, heaven would be hellish
00:23:31.21\00:23:33.01
to have that constantly.
00:23:33.11\00:23:34.54
Praise the Lord
00:23:34.64\00:23:35.28
the Bible doesn't say that
00:23:35.38\00:23:36.44
that is the case.
00:23:36.54\00:23:37.18
Now, here's the thing.
00:23:37.28\00:23:38.68
Many an Adventist looks at this
00:23:38.78\00:23:40.88
and they say, "Okay, fine.
00:23:40.98\00:23:42.58
I mean, what's the big deal?
00:23:42.68\00:23:43.85
I grew up in the church.
00:23:43.95\00:23:44.89
I've heard that there's no such
00:23:44.99\00:23:45.99
thing as an everlasting hell
00:23:46.09\00:23:47.26
from the time that I was knee
00:23:47.36\00:23:48.42
high to a haystack.
00:23:48.52\00:23:49.46
What's the big deal?"
00:23:49.56\00:23:51.83
And the big deal is this.
00:23:51.93\00:23:54.63
"Great Controversy," page 536.
00:23:54.73\00:23:55.96
She says...
00:23:56.06\00:23:57.30
This is huge.
00:24:30.30\00:24:31.40
This is a real deal.
00:24:31.50\00:24:32.60
There are millions of people
00:24:32.70\00:24:34.20
that are afraid to even crack
00:24:34.30\00:24:35.67
the Bible open,
00:24:35.77\00:24:37.64
for fear that they will discover
00:24:37.74\00:24:38.91
that this kind of God
00:24:39.01\00:24:39.94
is correct.
00:24:40.04\00:24:41.98
I tell you what,
00:24:42.08\00:24:42.68
it is profoundly sad.
00:24:42.78\00:24:43.95
You know, I've done many series
00:24:44.05\00:24:45.65
of meetings over the years,
00:24:45.75\00:24:46.88
and when we talk
00:24:46.98\00:24:47.75
about this topic,
00:24:47.85\00:24:48.65
this eternally burning hell,
00:24:48.75\00:24:49.95
when we show from Scripture that
00:24:50.05\00:24:51.29
there is no such thing.
00:24:51.39\00:24:52.55
Yes, there is hell,
00:24:52.65\00:24:53.46
but it's much more efficient
00:24:53.56\00:24:54.52
and it doesn't last forever.
00:24:54.62\00:24:57.06
People feel purposeless
00:24:57.16\00:24:58.46
afterwards.
00:24:58.56\00:25:01.40
Because they realize
00:25:01.50\00:25:02.76
that their reason for falling --
00:25:02.86\00:25:04.60
for following God was simply
00:25:04.70\00:25:06.50
to escape the fires of hell.
00:25:06.60\00:25:09.14
They didn't follow Him
00:25:09.24\00:25:10.37
because they loved Him.
00:25:10.47\00:25:11.41
They followed him because
00:25:11.51\00:25:12.34
they were terrified of Him.
00:25:12.44\00:25:14.41
Now, praise the Lord,
00:25:14.51\00:25:15.11
that's not how we finish
00:25:15.21\00:25:15.98
the series of meetings.
00:25:16.08\00:25:16.71
We don't just say
00:25:16.81\00:25:17.38
good night and go away.
00:25:17.48\00:25:18.25
We talk about Jesus.
00:25:18.35\00:25:19.18
The real Jesus is here.
00:25:19.28\00:25:20.38
He's much better than the one
00:25:20.48\00:25:21.42
that you were thinking about.
00:25:21.52\00:25:22.72
He loves you. He cares for you.
00:25:22.82\00:25:23.49
He's not going to burn you
00:25:23.59\00:25:24.09
forever and ever.
00:25:24.19\00:25:24.82
You know, all of that,
00:25:24.92\00:25:25.99
so it's good.
00:25:26.09\00:25:27.39
There are millions of people
00:25:27.49\00:25:28.69
that the devil has used this
00:25:28.79\00:25:29.96
deception and distraction upon.
00:25:30.06\00:25:31.26
It's very effective.
00:25:31.36\00:25:35.20
And then we come to the first
00:25:35.30\00:25:37.40
two sides of Babylon.
00:25:37.50\00:25:39.70
Notice these right here.
00:25:39.80\00:25:41.24
False way of salvation -- works.
00:25:41.34\00:25:43.00
Earning your way into salvation.
00:25:43.10\00:25:45.01
And the second side of Babylon.
00:25:45.11\00:25:46.37
A false way of knowing God --
00:25:46.47\00:25:47.91
the law is gone,
00:25:48.01\00:25:49.18
law has been done away with or
00:25:49.28\00:25:50.35
it has been altered in some way.
00:25:50.45\00:25:52.18
Now, we talked about this
00:25:52.28\00:25:53.11
in part three.
00:25:53.21\00:25:54.82
We looked at Ephesians 2:8-9,
00:25:54.92\00:25:57.09
and we saw clearly that we are
00:25:57.19\00:25:58.62
saved by grace, not by works.
00:25:58.72\00:26:00.86
And then we read Ephesians 2:10,
00:26:00.96\00:26:01.79
you recall.
00:26:01.89\00:26:03.73
That shows that we were created
00:26:03.83\00:26:04.96
for, among other reasons,
00:26:05.06\00:26:06.29
to do good works,
00:26:06.39\00:26:07.66
not to be saved,
00:26:07.76\00:26:09.90
but because we have been saved,
00:26:10.00\00:26:12.07
because the great change inside
00:26:12.17\00:26:13.30
of us has begun.
00:26:13.40\00:26:15.47
Now, this is what's known
00:26:15.57\00:26:16.34
as growth in grace
00:26:16.44\00:26:17.47
or righteousness by faith.
00:26:17.57\00:26:19.21
Righteousness by faith
00:26:19.31\00:26:20.41
is the core message
00:26:20.51\00:26:21.88
of the Three Angels.
00:26:21.98\00:26:23.08
It's the core of it.
00:26:23.18\00:26:24.51
And so prominent
00:26:24.61\00:26:25.78
is righteousness by faith,
00:26:25.88\00:26:27.28
this idea of growing in grace,
00:26:27.38\00:26:29.55
so prominently is connected
00:26:29.65\00:26:30.89
with the Three Angels' Messages
00:26:30.99\00:26:32.25
that it actually concludes
00:26:32.35\00:26:33.42
with it.
00:26:33.52\00:26:35.06
Turn in your Bibles, please,
00:26:35.16\00:26:36.06
to Revelation 14:12
00:26:36.16\00:26:40.03
Revelation 14:12,
00:26:40.13\00:26:41.43
page 830 in your red pew Bible.
00:26:41.53\00:26:44.00
Page 830.
00:26:44.10\00:26:44.93
Revelation 14:12.
00:26:45.03\00:26:47.50
This is the only verse
00:26:47.60\00:26:48.90
of the Three Angels' Messages
00:26:49.00\00:26:49.87
that we didn't read.
00:26:49.97\00:26:51.81
We went through, you know,
00:26:51.91\00:26:52.91
verses 6 through 11,
00:26:53.01\00:26:54.58
and we looked in detail
00:26:54.68\00:26:55.48
at many of those things.
00:26:55.58\00:26:56.61
But we left off
00:26:56.71\00:26:57.91
verse 12 because here's
00:26:58.01\00:27:00.05
where it makes its appearance.
00:27:00.15\00:27:02.25
We looked at the First Angel,
00:27:02.35\00:27:03.25
Second Angel,
00:27:03.35\00:27:04.12
"Fallen, fallen is Babylon,"
00:27:04.22\00:27:05.42
the Third Angel talking about
00:27:05.52\00:27:07.22
the mark of the beast,
00:27:07.32\00:27:08.09
et cetera.
00:27:08.19\00:27:08.86
Then comes verse 12.
00:27:08.96\00:27:10.93
All of this, the Three Angels'
00:27:11.03\00:27:11.99
Messages, what they imply,
00:27:12.09\00:27:12.89
et cetera.
00:27:12.99\00:27:13.80
"This calls for
00:27:13.90\00:27:14.93
patient endurance
00:27:15.00\00:27:16.16
on the part of the saints
00:27:16.26\00:27:18.60
who obey God's commandments
00:27:18.70\00:27:20.94
and remain faithful to Jesus."
00:27:21.04\00:27:23.37
I'll read it one more time.
00:27:23.47\00:27:24.07
"This calls for patient
00:27:24.17\00:27:25.14
endurance on the part of the
00:27:25.24\00:27:26.24
saints who obey God's
00:27:26.34\00:27:27.64
commandments
00:27:27.74\00:27:28.78
and remain faithful to Jesus."
00:27:28.88\00:27:32.55
Ladies and gentlemen, to me,
00:27:32.65\00:27:33.48
it could not be more clear.
00:27:33.58\00:27:34.85
It's crystal clear.
00:27:34.95\00:27:36.08
God's last day,
00:27:36.18\00:27:37.35
people are explicitly identified
00:27:37.45\00:27:39.42
as those
00:27:39.52\00:27:40.29
who keep His commandments.
00:27:40.39\00:27:41.69
Again, not to be saved, but
00:27:41.79\00:27:44.09
because they have been saved.
00:27:44.19\00:27:47.00
In fact, let me put these up
00:27:47.10\00:27:48.00
that we saw here last week.
00:27:48.10\00:27:49.23
Okay, if you're so inclined,
00:27:53.44\00:27:54.17
would you say
00:27:54.27\00:27:54.97
that phrase with me, please?
00:27:55.07\00:27:55.80
One, two, three.
00:27:55.90\00:27:57.17
Okay? And we finished
00:28:01.78\00:28:03.08
with this conclusion.
00:28:03.18\00:28:04.25
Then the devil really
00:28:10.65\00:28:11.85
kicks things into high gear.
00:28:11.95\00:28:14.36
A sixth deception here.
00:28:14.46\00:28:15.99
Whoop.
00:28:16.09\00:28:18.16
A false revival --
00:28:18.26\00:28:19.69
unity without the Word of God.
00:28:19.79\00:28:22.13
False revival --
00:28:22.23\00:28:23.60
unity without the Word of God.
00:28:23.70\00:28:27.74
Now, what do I mean by this?
00:28:27.84\00:28:29.64
Jesus said this. John 8:31-32.
00:28:29.74\00:28:32.64
Said...
00:28:32.74\00:28:34.38
Powerful words
00:28:44.72\00:28:45.62
that Jesus has here.
00:28:45.72\00:28:46.55
One of my favorite texts
00:28:46.65\00:28:47.49
in the Book of John.
00:28:47.59\00:28:49.26
Notice carefully
00:28:49.36\00:28:50.09
what it's saying here.
00:28:50.19\00:28:51.13
True freedom --
00:28:51.23\00:28:53.73
True freedom can only be found
00:28:53.83\00:28:56.13
in actual truth.
00:28:56.23\00:28:58.73
That is in God's Word, because
00:28:58.83\00:29:01.60
that's what's being referred to.
00:29:01.70\00:29:02.70
"If you hold to my teachings,
00:29:02.80\00:29:03.81
you're really my disciples.
00:29:03.91\00:29:04.77
Then you will know the truth,
00:29:04.87\00:29:05.57
and the truth will set you
00:29:05.67\00:29:06.47
free."
00:29:06.57\00:29:07.14
The teachings of God
00:29:07.24\00:29:08.98
are found in His Word.
00:29:09.08\00:29:10.61
Okay? So true freedom can only
00:29:10.71\00:29:12.81
be found in actual truth,
00:29:12.91\00:29:14.25
that is in God's Word,
00:29:14.35\00:29:15.52
in His teaching.
00:29:15.62\00:29:17.55
Furthermore,
00:29:17.65\00:29:18.42
true Christian -- key word --
00:29:18.52\00:29:20.46
true Christian unity
00:29:20.56\00:29:23.22
can also only be found
00:29:23.32\00:29:25.39
in the truth of God's Word,
00:29:25.49\00:29:28.36
for it is only in God's Word
00:29:28.46\00:29:30.53
that we find accurately
00:29:30.63\00:29:31.83
what can show us what we are
00:29:31.93\00:29:33.27
to be unified around
00:29:33.37\00:29:35.37
and in what way.
00:29:35.47\00:29:38.37
True unity is therefore
00:29:38.47\00:29:39.97
unswervingly faithful to Christ
00:29:40.08\00:29:41.88
and His Word, the Bible.
00:29:41.98\00:29:43.28
And if unity or revival
00:29:43.38\00:29:45.45
among Christians is attempted
00:29:45.55\00:29:47.25
without this
00:29:47.35\00:29:49.15
full faithfulness to Scripture,
00:29:49.25\00:29:52.55
we should have no part of it.
00:29:52.65\00:29:57.19
You know, these days...
00:29:57.29\00:29:59.59
actually, for a long time,
00:29:59.69\00:30:01.10
but particularly in these days,
00:30:01.20\00:30:03.37
there's something called
00:30:03.47\00:30:04.03
the ecumenical movement,
00:30:04.13\00:30:06.43
which has sought to unite
00:30:06.53\00:30:09.24
all of Christianity
00:30:09.34\00:30:10.51
under one umbrella.
00:30:10.61\00:30:12.97
Now, I'm a fan of unity.
00:30:13.07\00:30:14.44
I think it would be great.
00:30:14.54\00:30:15.64
Today, if you go online
00:30:15.74\00:30:16.81
and you type in "church,"
00:30:16.91\00:30:17.98
I mean, you get, you know,
00:30:18.08\00:30:18.78
1,552 different flavors
00:30:18.88\00:30:20.82
that you could choose from
00:30:20.92\00:30:21.82
in any given state, right?
00:30:21.92\00:30:23.08
And go and worship, and each one
00:30:23.18\00:30:24.39
of those fellowships and
00:30:24.49\00:30:25.62
denominations believes something
00:30:25.72\00:30:26.89
a little bit different.
00:30:26.99\00:30:28.39
Wouldn't it be great
00:30:28.49\00:30:29.36
if someone who was seeking
00:30:29.46\00:30:30.49
for God could go online
00:30:30.59\00:30:31.93
and just one church
00:30:32.03\00:30:32.89
would come up, right?
00:30:32.99\00:30:34.00
One Bible-based,
00:30:34.10\00:30:35.33
Christ-centered scripturally
00:30:35.43\00:30:37.33
faithful church?
00:30:37.43\00:30:38.43
That would be awesome, right?
00:30:38.53\00:30:41.20
But the struggle is that so many
00:30:41.30\00:30:43.71
of these pushes for unity
00:30:43.81\00:30:46.31
are not based upon
00:30:46.41\00:30:47.14
the Word of God.
00:30:47.24\00:30:49.84
As we discussed early on
00:30:49.94\00:30:51.05
in my time here,
00:30:51.15\00:30:52.35
unity on its own is neutral.
00:30:52.45\00:30:55.85
Unity is not inherently
00:30:55.95\00:30:57.25
a good thing.
00:30:57.35\00:30:59.25
The Nazi Party had
00:30:59.35\00:31:00.42
a lot of unity, okay?
00:31:00.52\00:31:03.36
But what they did was heinous.
00:31:03.46\00:31:05.23
It was awful.
00:31:05.33\00:31:07.76
So if there's going to be unity
00:31:07.86\00:31:09.06
in the body of Christ,
00:31:09.16\00:31:09.86
it has to be focused
00:31:09.96\00:31:11.77
on the Word of God
00:31:11.87\00:31:13.03
and faithful to the Word of God.
00:31:13.13\00:31:14.60
You know, these days there's
00:31:14.70\00:31:15.87
the World Council of Churches.
00:31:15.97\00:31:16.97
There is certainly,
00:31:17.07\00:31:18.61
our Catholic friends,
00:31:18.71\00:31:19.67
they are also very active
00:31:19.77\00:31:20.81
in the ecumenical movement.
00:31:20.91\00:31:21.64
Most of the popes
00:31:21.74\00:31:22.78
of recent memory have spent
00:31:22.88\00:31:24.38
a great deal of time and energy
00:31:24.48\00:31:25.91
and money and resources
00:31:26.01\00:31:27.25
in seeking to bring
00:31:27.35\00:31:29.78
departed sister churches back.
00:31:29.88\00:31:31.95
Roman Catholic theology
00:31:32.05\00:31:33.15
is very clear.
00:31:33.25\00:31:33.86
They are the true
00:31:33.96\00:31:34.66
Church of Christ.
00:31:34.76\00:31:36.06
And Protestantism, for instance,
00:31:36.16\00:31:37.53
while having some truth in it,
00:31:37.63\00:31:39.79
some elements of truth in it,
00:31:39.89\00:31:41.73
they want to bring them back
00:31:41.83\00:31:43.53
into Roman Catholicism.
00:31:43.63\00:31:45.17
Now, this is not me saying this.
00:31:45.27\00:31:46.47
You can read, you know, any of
00:31:46.57\00:31:48.74
their writings, and this is just
00:31:48.84\00:31:49.97
basic things there.
00:31:50.07\00:31:51.37
The difficulty is, is that
00:31:51.47\00:31:52.74
there are significant deviations
00:31:52.84\00:31:54.38
from the Word of God
00:31:54.48\00:31:55.44
in this push for unity.
00:31:55.54\00:31:57.75
And as such,
00:31:57.85\00:31:59.31
we cannot have a part in it.
00:31:59.41\00:32:01.72
We must treat other
00:32:01.82\00:32:02.92
denominations with respect.
00:32:03.02\00:32:04.22
We must treat them
00:32:04.32\00:32:05.02
as Jesus would if he were
00:32:05.12\00:32:06.05
standing there in our shoes.
00:32:06.15\00:32:07.36
All of that is absolutely true,
00:32:07.46\00:32:08.99
and we cannot have full
00:32:09.09\00:32:10.86
communion fellowship with them.
00:32:10.96\00:32:13.50
Because there are gaps,
00:32:13.60\00:32:14.93
the things that they leave out
00:32:15.03\00:32:16.06
from the Word of God.
00:32:16.16\00:32:18.97
And here's the kicker.
00:32:19.07\00:32:21.70
At the end of time, my Bible
00:32:21.80\00:32:23.00
tells me, there
00:32:23.10\00:32:25.07
will be great unity.
00:32:25.17\00:32:29.38
Great unity.
00:32:29.48\00:32:31.58
Worldwide, religious, political,
00:32:31.68\00:32:33.11
one church umbrella
00:32:33.21\00:32:35.15
all, quote, "working together."
00:32:35.25\00:32:37.15
But it will not be a unity
00:32:37.25\00:32:38.69
based upon the Word of God.
00:32:38.79\00:32:40.99
We are to have no part in it.
00:32:41.09\00:32:42.72
No part.
00:32:42.82\00:32:44.53
But millions of people will.
00:32:44.63\00:32:45.56
Probably billions.
00:32:45.66\00:32:48.33
It's a powerful deception
00:32:48.43\00:32:49.83
and it will keep some people,
00:32:49.93\00:32:50.87
a lot of them, from hitting
00:32:50.97\00:32:51.60
the bull's-eye.
00:32:51.70\00:32:54.14
Now...
00:32:54.24\00:32:57.27
the devil continues.
00:32:57.37\00:32:59.61
False witnesses.
00:32:59.71\00:33:01.81
This one's important.
00:33:01.91\00:33:03.08
Follow me carefully, please.
00:33:03.18\00:33:05.95
1 Timothy 4:1 says this.
00:33:06.05\00:33:07.48
Now, a little Greek lesson here.
00:33:15.32\00:33:16.76
Greek is helpful.
00:33:16.86\00:33:17.83
If you don't know Greek or
00:33:17.93\00:33:19.23
Hebrew at all, that's totally
00:33:19.33\00:33:19.69
fine.
00:33:19.79\00:33:20.46
Most of the time, you can lay
00:33:20.56\00:33:21.03
out a whole bunch
00:33:21.13\00:33:21.73
of English translations,
00:33:21.83\00:33:22.70
and you will know if there are
00:33:22.80\00:33:23.93
differences or vagaries in the
00:33:24.03\00:33:25.17
original languages, et cetera.
00:33:25.27\00:33:26.60
Every now and then, the language
00:33:26.70\00:33:27.94
helps you to see some
00:33:28.04\00:33:28.97
subtleties.
00:33:29.07\00:33:29.64
So I went and I did some
00:33:29.74\00:33:30.81
word studies here in the Greek.
00:33:30.91\00:33:31.94
And here's what this text
00:33:32.04\00:33:32.84
actually says.
00:33:32.94\00:33:34.24
Did you see what I did there?
00:33:47.06\00:33:49.52
In other words, that
00:33:49.62\00:33:50.73
actually is what the text says.
00:33:50.83\00:33:53.06
That's exactly what it says.
00:33:53.16\00:33:54.66
"The Spirit clearly says,
00:33:54.76\00:33:55.63
in later times" --
00:33:55.73\00:33:57.07
the latter days, the end times,
00:33:57.17\00:33:58.70
the days we live in --
00:33:58.80\00:33:59.60
"some will abandon the faith."
00:33:59.70\00:34:00.57
At one time,
00:34:00.67\00:34:01.40
they will have been a true part
00:34:01.50\00:34:02.80
of the bride of Christ.
00:34:02.90\00:34:04.04
Like we talked about previously.
00:34:04.14\00:34:05.44
They "will abandon the faith
00:34:05.54\00:34:06.61
and follow deceiving spirits
00:34:06.71\00:34:07.84
and things taught by demons."
00:34:07.94\00:34:09.01
Now, here's why I bring this up.
00:34:09.11\00:34:12.35
You know, we Adventists
00:34:12.45\00:34:13.48
are a little bit odd,
00:34:13.58\00:34:14.52
demographically speaking.
00:34:14.62\00:34:15.98
For instance, we tend --
00:34:16.08\00:34:17.32
in North American Adventism,
00:34:17.42\00:34:18.45
we tend to make more money
00:34:18.55\00:34:19.69
than the average person does.
00:34:19.79\00:34:22.26
Do you know why that is?
00:34:22.36\00:34:26.36
Where are we sitting right now?
00:34:26.46\00:34:29.23
We're on a university campus,
00:34:29.33\00:34:30.27
aren't we?
00:34:30.37\00:34:31.57
Yeah, we take education
00:34:31.67\00:34:32.60
seriously.
00:34:32.70\00:34:33.44
We have the largest Protestant
00:34:33.54\00:34:34.54
school system in the world,
00:34:34.64\00:34:35.34
right?
00:34:35.44\00:34:36.04
And that tends to lead
00:34:36.14\00:34:36.97
to bigger paychecks later on.
00:34:37.07\00:34:37.77
So, you know,
00:34:37.87\00:34:38.44
small silver lining here
00:34:38.54\00:34:39.77
to all the other abundant
00:34:39.87\00:34:41.18
blessings that come from that.
00:34:41.28\00:34:42.41
But here's the thing
00:34:42.51\00:34:44.18
I have found over the years
00:34:44.28\00:34:45.35
that sometimes,
00:34:45.45\00:34:46.31
when we get smarter,
00:34:46.41\00:34:48.68
we tend to discount
00:34:48.78\00:34:49.88
the supernatural.
00:34:49.98\00:34:52.89
You know, if it's not
00:34:52.99\00:34:53.92
empirically verifiable,
00:34:54.02\00:34:55.09
if we can't, you know,
00:34:55.19\00:34:55.89
subject it to whatever rigors or
00:34:55.99\00:34:57.89
standards, then we kind of try
00:34:57.99\00:34:58.69
to pooh-pooh it.
00:34:58.79\00:34:59.96
So let me be clear.
00:35:00.13\00:35:00.93
I am not suggesting
00:35:01.00\00:35:01.96
that we become obsessed
00:35:02.06\00:35:03.20
with the supernatural here.
00:35:03.30\00:35:04.30
I'm not suggesting that at all.
00:35:04.40\00:35:05.43
If you come and tell me
00:35:05.53\00:35:06.17
the devil
00:35:06.27\00:35:06.97
made me do it, I will say, no,
00:35:07.07\00:35:08.30
it was your responsibility.
00:35:08.40\00:35:09.50
Okay? That's not what
00:35:09.60\00:35:10.71
we're talking about.
00:35:10.81\00:35:11.41
What I am saying is that
00:35:11.51\00:35:12.61
we need to have a balanced
00:35:12.71\00:35:14.01
and healthy understanding
00:35:14.11\00:35:15.54
of what the Bible says.
00:35:15.64\00:35:16.71
And what does the Bible say?
00:35:16.81\00:35:18.45
The Bible says we do not fight
00:35:18.55\00:35:19.81
against flesh and blood,
00:35:19.91\00:35:20.98
but against what?
00:35:21.08\00:35:22.95
Principalities, the rulers
00:35:23.05\00:35:24.42
of the air, the rulers of
00:35:24.52\00:35:25.95
the dark kingdoms out there,
00:35:26.05\00:35:27.79
against spiritual forces.
00:35:27.89\00:35:30.09
No matter how smart we become,
00:35:30.19\00:35:32.49
let us never forget that we have
00:35:32.59\00:35:34.03
a real leader, Jesus Christ,
00:35:34.13\00:35:36.53
that he has actual angels,
00:35:36.63\00:35:38.17
supernatural beings
00:35:38.27\00:35:39.47
that work for Him,
00:35:39.57\00:35:40.97
that the other side
00:35:41.07\00:35:41.84
also has a leader.
00:35:41.94\00:35:42.94
His name is Satan.
00:35:43.04\00:35:43.91
He's a real being and that
00:35:44.01\00:35:45.64
he has helpers, angels, as well.
00:35:45.74\00:35:47.24
We call them demons.
00:35:47.34\00:35:48.08
They are real.
00:35:48.18\00:35:49.71
They are real out there and we
00:35:49.81\00:35:50.88
cannot afford to just imagine
00:35:50.98\00:35:52.28
that they're not present,
00:35:52.38\00:35:53.38
because the devil
00:35:53.48\00:35:54.18
certainly is not.
00:35:54.28\00:35:57.42
Short story.
00:35:57.52\00:36:00.36
Many years ago, a friend of mine
00:36:00.46\00:36:02.19
told me this story.
00:36:02.29\00:36:03.32
I don't remember
00:36:03.43\00:36:03.96
all the details, but I
00:36:04.06\00:36:04.96
do remember the substance of it.
00:36:05.06\00:36:06.73
It was in the evening.
00:36:06.83\00:36:09.03
They had had a family meal there
00:36:09.13\00:36:10.03
in the dining room.
00:36:10.13\00:36:11.23
He apparently drew
00:36:11.33\00:36:13.20
the short end of the stick,
00:36:13.30\00:36:14.10
and he was the one that was
00:36:14.20\00:36:15.17
washing the dishes that evening.
00:36:15.27\00:36:16.91
So you picture him there.
00:36:17.01\00:36:17.67
He's washing dishes there
00:36:17.77\00:36:18.51
at the sink
00:36:18.61\00:36:20.34
when he hears a conversation
00:36:20.44\00:36:23.38
taking place in the living room.
00:36:23.48\00:36:26.61
And the hair on the back
00:36:26.72\00:36:27.42
of his neck stands up
00:36:27.52\00:36:29.15
and he drops
00:36:29.25\00:36:29.88
the dishes in the sink,
00:36:29.98\00:36:30.99
and he rushes out
00:36:31.09\00:36:31.82
to the living room.
00:36:31.92\00:36:34.09
And there he sees his brother
00:36:34.19\00:36:35.82
sitting in a chair
00:36:35.92\00:36:36.62
in the living room.
00:36:36.73\00:36:38.89
And my friend says
00:36:38.99\00:36:39.69
to his brother,
00:36:39.79\00:36:41.50
"Who are you talking to?"
00:36:41.60\00:36:45.53
And his brother pointed
00:36:45.63\00:36:46.57
to the couch.
00:36:46.67\00:36:49.77
And he said, "Well, to mom."
00:36:49.87\00:36:54.51
And the trouble was,
00:36:54.61\00:36:56.28
is that the couch was empty
00:36:56.38\00:36:58.48
and their mother had passed away
00:36:58.58\00:36:59.65
some time earlier.
00:36:59.75\00:37:02.48
She was in the grave.
00:37:02.58\00:37:06.35
And I prayed that the story
00:37:06.45\00:37:07.66
ended differently
00:37:07.76\00:37:08.69
than the part of it that I know.
00:37:08.79\00:37:09.92
But I do know that not long
00:37:10.03\00:37:11.43
after that, my friend's brother
00:37:11.53\00:37:13.23
left the Adventist Church
00:37:13.33\00:37:15.63
because he said,
00:37:15.73\00:37:17.07
"What you all teach about what
00:37:17.17\00:37:19.23
happens after you die is wrong."
00:37:19.33\00:37:22.04
You know, Ecclesiastes 9:5-6,
00:37:22.14\00:37:23.64
"For the living know that they
00:37:23.74\00:37:24.84
will die, but the dead know"...
00:37:24.94\00:37:26.11
>> Nothing.
00:37:26.21\00:37:26.94
>> Nothing, zero, zip.
00:37:27.04\00:37:27.64
Never again will they have any
00:37:27.74\00:37:28.58
part in anything that happens
00:37:28.68\00:37:29.31
under the sun.
00:37:29.41\00:37:30.25
He said, "I know that that's
00:37:30.35\00:37:31.51
wrong because I saw her, I saw
00:37:31.61\00:37:34.68
mom, I saw her with my own two
00:37:34.78\00:37:37.12
eyes, I heard her with my own
00:37:37.22\00:37:38.25
two ears. It was mom.
00:37:38.35\00:37:39.55
And I know you're wrong."
00:37:39.65\00:37:42.16
And he chose to believe
00:37:42.26\00:37:42.86
his five senses
00:37:42.96\00:37:44.03
rather than the Word of God.
00:37:44.13\00:37:45.16
Ellen White had this to say.
00:37:49.36\00:37:50.47
"Great Controversy," page 560.
00:37:50.57\00:37:52.53
She says, "Many will be
00:37:52.63\00:37:53.57
confronted" -- speaking of
00:37:53.67\00:37:54.60
the last days, the days that we
00:37:54.70\00:37:55.57
live in -- by the spirits"...
00:37:55.67\00:37:56.91
[ Chuckles ]
00:38:15.39\00:38:17.29
You know, it's fascinating.
00:38:17.39\00:38:20.33
The State of the Dead may be one
00:38:20.43\00:38:21.63
of the most important doctrines
00:38:21.73\00:38:23.03
that the Adventist Church
00:38:23.13\00:38:24.40
teaches in these last days.
00:38:24.50\00:38:26.74
This is key stuff here.
00:38:26.84\00:38:27.77
And to me,
00:38:27.87\00:38:28.57
this is one of the lowest blows
00:38:28.67\00:38:29.84
that the devil does
00:38:29.94\00:38:31.64
because we've all lost people.
00:38:31.74\00:38:33.01
Almost all of us have lost
00:38:33.11\00:38:34.11
people that we love, right?
00:38:34.21\00:38:35.68
And if we could snap our fingers
00:38:35.78\00:38:37.11
in a biblically faithful way
00:38:37.21\00:38:38.55
and have them back, we would.
00:38:38.65\00:38:40.48
And then, the devil,
00:38:40.58\00:38:41.42
the scoundrel, shows up
00:38:41.52\00:38:45.29
and plays on our sympathies
00:38:45.39\00:38:47.59
and pretends that he is the one
00:38:47.69\00:38:49.32
that we loved.
00:38:49.42\00:38:50.89
It's a cruel turn,
00:38:50.99\00:38:51.96
ladies and gentlemen.
00:38:52.06\00:38:52.63
It's a cruel turn.
00:38:52.73\00:38:53.80
And, boy, if you don't know the
00:38:53.90\00:38:55.20
truth, it'll get your attention,
00:38:55.30\00:38:56.33
won't it?
00:38:56.43\00:38:58.23
And by the way,
00:38:58.33\00:39:00.04
isn't it interesting?
00:39:00.14\00:39:01.14
Have you heard of the Fox
00:39:01.24\00:39:01.74
sisters?
00:39:01.84\00:39:04.21
In the late 1840s.
00:39:04.31\00:39:06.64
When did I say? Late 1840s,
00:39:06.74\00:39:10.58
they started a massive
00:39:10.68\00:39:12.95
popularization of spiritualism
00:39:13.05\00:39:14.65
in this country.
00:39:14.75\00:39:16.58
1844 seems to be a pivot point,
00:39:16.69\00:39:18.29
doesn't it? Huh?
00:39:18.39\00:39:19.85
Interesting.
00:39:19.95\00:39:21.69
Yeah, I'm going to make a brief
00:39:21.79\00:39:22.82
appeal here, and I realize this
00:39:22.92\00:39:24.09
appeal may not apply to many of
00:39:24.19\00:39:25.73
you, so just sit back and pray
00:39:25.83\00:39:27.13
for just a moment here.
00:39:27.23\00:39:27.96
But somebody listening right
00:39:28.03\00:39:29.13
now, you may need to hear
00:39:29.23\00:39:31.00
what I'm going to say next here.
00:39:31.10\00:39:34.10
Please do not get involved
00:39:34.20\00:39:35.97
with witchcraft, spells,
00:39:36.07\00:39:39.01
seances, Ouija boards,
00:39:39.11\00:39:41.04
et cetera.
00:39:41.14\00:39:42.71
Don't do it.
00:39:42.81\00:39:44.91
In nearly 30 years of ministry,
00:39:45.01\00:39:46.18
there have been too many times
00:39:46.28\00:39:47.15
when I have had to,
00:39:47.25\00:39:48.22
by the grace of God, intervene
00:39:48.32\00:39:49.72
with other godly people
00:39:49.82\00:39:51.05
to try to help people
00:39:51.15\00:39:52.39
be set free from the occult
00:39:52.49\00:39:53.72
and from spiritualism.
00:39:53.82\00:39:55.39
It is not easy sometimes.
00:39:55.49\00:39:57.59
Once you get in, it's hard to
00:39:57.69\00:39:58.46
get out.
00:39:58.56\00:39:59.83
You see, if Jesus
00:39:59.93\00:40:01.06
is on your side,
00:40:01.16\00:40:02.43
the devil is a beaten foe.
00:40:02.53\00:40:03.93
Okay? But if Jesus
00:40:04.03\00:40:05.47
is not on your side,
00:40:05.57\00:40:06.84
the devil wants you
00:40:06.94\00:40:07.57
to serve him.
00:40:07.67\00:40:08.50
That's his first desire.
00:40:08.60\00:40:09.47
He wants to use you, okay?
00:40:09.57\00:40:10.94
He's not going to serve you.
00:40:11.04\00:40:12.14
He wants you to serve him.
00:40:12.24\00:40:13.54
But if you will not serve him,
00:40:13.64\00:40:15.21
the next best thing he wants
00:40:15.31\00:40:16.58
from you is for you to be dead.
00:40:16.68\00:40:18.85
That's just the truth.
00:40:18.95\00:40:20.85
So if you are dabbling
00:40:20.95\00:40:21.88
with the occult, get out.
00:40:21.98\00:40:24.05
If you're listening to music
00:40:24.15\00:40:25.12
that has spiritualistic
00:40:25.22\00:40:26.96
overtones, stop listening.
00:40:27.06\00:40:29.16
If you need
00:40:29.26\00:40:29.92
to talk to a Christian friend
00:40:30.03\00:40:31.03
or a teacher or a pastor, get
00:40:31.13\00:40:32.26
the help you need and get out.
00:40:32.36\00:40:33.60
If you know somebody
00:40:33.70\00:40:35.16
that is dabbling in the occult,
00:40:35.26\00:40:36.43
your secrecy may cost them
00:40:36.53\00:40:37.97
their eternal life.
00:40:38.07\00:40:39.33
Tell someone. Get them the help
00:40:39.43\00:40:40.90
that they need.
00:40:41.00\00:40:42.44
Because if you get into
00:40:42.54\00:40:43.44
spiritualism and you stay there,
00:40:43.54\00:40:46.07
it is unfailingly
00:40:46.17\00:40:47.61
spiritually deadly
00:40:47.71\00:40:49.31
if you stay in it.
00:40:49.41\00:40:52.15
And let's be honest.
00:40:52.25\00:40:54.12
Most of the world is wide open
00:40:54.22\00:40:56.55
to this deception.
00:40:56.65\00:40:58.35
The overwhelming majority
00:40:58.45\00:41:00.59
of the planet, Christian or not,
00:41:00.69\00:41:02.72
believes that, when you die,
00:41:02.82\00:41:04.29
it's not the end.
00:41:04.39\00:41:06.53
You continue on
00:41:06.63\00:41:07.60
in some other form.
00:41:07.66\00:41:09.33
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:41:09.43\00:41:10.13
I think that the devil is going
00:41:10.23\00:41:11.43
to use this to maximum impact.
00:41:11.53\00:41:13.17
If you're on the Washington, DC,
00:41:13.27\00:41:14.37
mall and you're looking
00:41:14.47\00:41:14.97
at the monuments
00:41:15.07\00:41:15.74
and the Apostle Peter
00:41:15.84\00:41:16.87
shows up on the steps, I tell
00:41:16.97\00:41:19.31
you, there's billions of people
00:41:19.41\00:41:20.58
that are going to stop
00:41:20.68\00:41:21.48
everything and listen to
00:41:21.58\00:41:23.21
exactly what "Peter" has to say.
00:41:23.31\00:41:27.98
Devil saves some of his best
00:41:28.08\00:41:29.08
tricks for last.
00:41:29.18\00:41:30.09
Number eight.
00:41:30.19\00:41:32.49
A false second coming.
00:41:32.59\00:41:34.69
A false second coming.
00:41:34.79\00:41:35.72
You say, "What's that about?"
00:41:35.82\00:41:36.83
Well, two things at least.
00:41:36.93\00:41:37.83
Number one, secret Rapture.
00:41:37.93\00:41:39.86
The secret Rapture.
00:41:39.96\00:41:40.80
For those of you who don't know,
00:41:40.90\00:41:41.63
the idea is essentially this --
00:41:41.73\00:41:43.06
that Jesus will actually
00:41:43.16\00:41:44.47
end up coming to this Earth
00:41:44.57\00:41:45.27
three times.
00:41:45.37\00:41:46.77
That the first time was back
00:41:46.87\00:41:48.04
when he was born, et cetera,
00:41:48.14\00:41:49.20
lived, died, rose again,
00:41:49.30\00:41:50.01
et cetera.
00:41:50.11\00:41:50.71
That the second time
00:41:50.81\00:41:51.67
will be with the secret Rapture,
00:41:51.77\00:41:52.87
the third time will be sometime
00:41:52.97\00:41:53.71
after that.
00:41:53.81\00:41:55.01
The secret Rapture is that there
00:41:55.11\00:41:56.91
will be this secret event that
00:41:57.01\00:41:59.18
will soon become quite known.
00:41:59.28\00:42:00.88
Maybe you remember seeing
00:42:00.98\00:42:02.02
the "Left Behind" series
00:42:02.12\00:42:03.15
popularized in books
00:42:03.25\00:42:04.32
and movies, et cetera,
00:42:04.42\00:42:05.49
where pilots are flying a plane
00:42:05.59\00:42:07.59
and suddenly the plane crashes
00:42:07.69\00:42:08.59
to the ground
00:42:08.69\00:42:09.82
because the bodies of the pilots
00:42:09.92\00:42:11.23
were taken to heaven by Christ
00:42:11.33\00:42:12.99
and just their clothes are left
00:42:13.09\00:42:13.93
and a plane crashes
00:42:14.00\00:42:14.73
into the ground.
00:42:14.83\00:42:16.13
The idea is that if you miss
00:42:16.23\00:42:18.57
this Rapture, the secret
00:42:18.67\00:42:21.07
Rapture, then a few years will
00:42:21.17\00:42:23.37
pass, there'll be persecution,
00:42:23.47\00:42:24.57
Antichrist, et cetera, and then
00:42:24.67\00:42:26.14
you get a second chance.
00:42:26.24\00:42:28.14
You can try again.
00:42:28.24\00:42:29.28
If you missed it this time
00:42:29.38\00:42:30.48
around, you can wait
00:42:30.58\00:42:31.48
for the third one and then
00:42:31.58\00:42:33.15
Jesus can take you back.
00:42:33.25\00:42:35.72
Now, interestingly enough,
00:42:35.82\00:42:36.92
this is part of something
00:42:37.02\00:42:38.15
called dispensationalism.
00:42:38.25\00:42:39.39
And you'll never believe when
00:42:39.49\00:42:40.62
dispensationalism really came
00:42:40.72\00:42:41.79
to the fore.
00:42:41.89\00:42:43.53
It was in the 19th century.
00:42:43.63\00:42:45.13
And you'll never guess when the
00:42:45.23\00:42:46.46
secret Rapture specifically rose
00:42:46.56\00:42:48.66
to marked public consciousness.
00:42:48.76\00:42:50.50
It was in the 1830s,
00:42:50.60\00:42:53.03
within just a few years
00:42:53.13\00:42:54.17
of which year?
00:42:54.27\00:42:55.74
1844.
00:42:55.84\00:42:57.61
I'm telling you, friends,
00:42:57.71\00:42:58.51
the devil reads his Bible.
00:42:58.61\00:43:00.31
He knows what's going on.
00:43:00.41\00:43:03.85
In 2022,
00:43:03.95\00:43:05.28
the the Pew Research Center
00:43:05.38\00:43:06.88
did a study, and they found
00:43:06.98\00:43:08.38
that almost 2 in 5 Americans,
00:43:08.48\00:43:10.19
that's 39%, 39% agree,
00:43:10.29\00:43:13.25
quote, "We are living
00:43:13.36\00:43:14.56
in the end times."
00:43:14.66\00:43:16.73
Let that sink in.
00:43:16.83\00:43:17.93
There's about 340 or so million
00:43:18.03\00:43:19.16
Americans.
00:43:19.26\00:43:19.89
That means that there's more
00:43:20.00\00:43:20.96
than 130 million Americans,
00:43:21.03\00:43:23.43
not just Christians,
00:43:23.53\00:43:24.90
but but Americans in general
00:43:25.00\00:43:26.50
that believe, quote, "We are
00:43:26.60\00:43:27.90
living in the end times."
00:43:28.00\00:43:30.44
This is why, when people tell
00:43:30.54\00:43:31.74
me, "Oh, you know, in Adventism,
00:43:31.84\00:43:33.31
we shouldn't talk about Bible
00:43:33.41\00:43:34.44
prophecy."
00:43:34.54\00:43:35.24
I'm like, "Why not?
00:43:35.34\00:43:35.91
Everybody else is."
00:43:36.01\00:43:37.48
There's 130 million people out
00:43:37.58\00:43:38.51
there.
00:43:38.61\00:43:39.41
Adventism has never been more
00:43:39.51\00:43:40.88
relevant than it is right now.
00:43:40.98\00:43:42.58
Right?
00:43:42.68\00:43:44.79
And a decade earlier than that,
00:43:44.89\00:43:45.89
6 in 10 evangelical
00:43:45.99\00:43:47.49
leaders said they believe
00:43:47.59\00:43:48.49
in the secret Rapture.
00:43:48.59\00:43:50.36
Now there's a survey that was
00:43:50.46\00:43:51.13
done at the Lucerne Congress.
00:43:51.23\00:43:52.66
It's a large
00:43:52.76\00:43:53.76
gathering of religious leaders
00:43:53.86\00:43:54.63
from all over the world.
00:43:54.73\00:43:55.83
And these evangelical leaders,
00:43:55.93\00:43:57.30
six out of ten of them,
00:43:57.40\00:43:58.00
said they believe
00:43:58.10\00:43:58.77
in the secret Rapture.
00:43:58.87\00:44:00.10
There are millions upon millions
00:44:00.20\00:44:01.77
of people that believe in this.
00:44:01.87\00:44:03.10
And yet, sadly,
00:44:03.20\00:44:04.37
it is not a biblical belief.
00:44:04.47\00:44:08.14
Now there's much
00:44:08.24\00:44:08.88
that can be said about this.
00:44:08.98\00:44:09.58
I'll be very brief.
00:44:09.68\00:44:10.91
The Bible nowhere speaks
00:44:11.01\00:44:13.05
of a secret coming of Christ.
00:44:13.15\00:44:15.38
Nowhere.
00:44:15.48\00:44:16.95
In fact, in Matthew 24:26-27,
00:44:17.05\00:44:19.99
Jesus specifically warned us
00:44:20.09\00:44:21.49
against believing
00:44:21.59\00:44:22.96
in a secret coming of Christ.
00:44:23.06\00:44:25.06
Jesus' words were this.
00:44:25.16\00:44:26.16
"So if anyone tells you," quote,
00:44:26.26\00:44:28.36
"here He" -- the Messiah -- "is
00:44:28.46\00:44:30.00
in the inner rooms" --
00:44:30.10\00:44:32.00
that is in some secret place
00:44:32.10\00:44:33.50
in a secretive way --
00:44:33.60\00:44:35.40
Jesus said, "Do not believe it.
00:44:35.50\00:44:38.01
For as lightning that comes
00:44:38.11\00:44:39.11
from the east is visible
00:44:39.21\00:44:40.34
even in the in the"...
00:44:40.44\00:44:41.71
"in the west,
00:44:41.81\00:44:42.84
so will be the coming
00:44:42.94\00:44:44.08
of the Son of Man."
00:44:44.18\00:44:44.98
Listen, if somebody has to
00:44:45.08\00:44:46.72
tell you that Jesus has come,
00:44:46.82\00:44:48.35
he hasn't.
00:44:48.45\00:44:51.39
Because you'll know it.
00:44:51.49\00:44:54.32
No one will miss it.
00:44:54.42\00:44:55.32
No one will have to tell you.
00:44:55.42\00:44:56.32
Oh, by the way, Jesus came back.
00:44:56.42\00:44:57.23
No, no, no, no, no.
00:44:57.33\00:44:58.19
Everyone will see it.
00:44:58.29\00:44:59.03
Everyone will hear it.
00:44:59.13\00:44:59.69
Every eye will see it.
00:44:59.79\00:45:00.86
All will notice this.
00:45:00.96\00:45:03.67
And there is no second chance
00:45:03.77\00:45:04.70
after that.
00:45:04.80\00:45:07.10
There is no second chance.
00:45:07.20\00:45:08.00
When Jesus comes back
00:45:08.10\00:45:08.90
the second time, that's it.
00:45:09.00\00:45:10.67
So choose now. Choose now.
00:45:10.77\00:45:12.71
Jesus is coming soon
00:45:12.81\00:45:14.21
and everyone will know it.
00:45:14.31\00:45:17.05
A second part of this false
00:45:17.15\00:45:18.65
second coming is when Satan
00:45:18.75\00:45:20.05
himself will impersonate Christ.
00:45:20.15\00:45:23.22
Now, Adventism at times
00:45:23.32\00:45:24.32
has been accused of saying,
00:45:24.42\00:45:25.39
"Well, you guys made that up.
00:45:25.49\00:45:26.55
That's an Ellen White thing,
00:45:26.65\00:45:27.69
this idea
00:45:27.79\00:45:28.52
that Satan will impersonate
00:45:28.62\00:45:29.56
the second coming of Jesus."
00:45:29.66\00:45:30.96
I would simply say no, nothing
00:45:31.06\00:45:32.86
could be further from the truth
00:45:32.96\00:45:33.73
because the Bible actually
00:45:33.83\00:45:35.03
speaks about this.
00:45:35.13\00:45:36.26
Let me show
00:45:36.36\00:45:37.03
you just two texts here.
00:45:37.13\00:45:38.50
2 Corinthians 11: 13-14.
00:45:38.60\00:45:41.47
Paul here is speaking
00:45:41.57\00:45:42.54
of those that are opposing
00:45:42.64\00:45:43.87
his ministry and pretending
00:45:43.97\00:45:44.91
to be on his side.
00:45:45.01\00:45:46.41
Says, "For such men are false
00:45:46.51\00:45:48.04
apostles, deceitful workmen
00:45:48.14\00:45:49.94
masquerading
00:45:50.05\00:45:51.08
as apostles of Christ."
00:45:51.18\00:45:52.51
So they're not really apostles
00:45:52.61\00:45:53.18
of Christ,
00:45:53.28\00:45:53.98
but they're pretending to be.
00:45:54.08\00:45:55.05
And he says, "And no wonder,
00:45:55.15\00:45:56.82
for Satan himself masquerades
00:45:56.92\00:45:59.49
as an angel of light."
00:45:59.59\00:46:02.12
Now, let that sink in for a
00:46:02.22\00:46:03.16
moment.
00:46:03.26\00:46:03.93
The devil, the embodiment
00:46:04.03\00:46:05.89
of all evil, the worst, most
00:46:05.99\00:46:09.86
sinful, dark, diabolical being
00:46:09.96\00:46:12.83
in the universe
00:46:12.93\00:46:16.27
can flip a switch and pass
00:46:16.37\00:46:17.51
himself off as one of God's own.
00:46:17.61\00:46:20.71
Now, I don't know about you,
00:46:20.81\00:46:21.84
but that's a pretty high level
00:46:21.94\00:46:22.98
of deception, wouldn't you say?
00:46:23.08\00:46:24.95
Now, let's take this.
00:46:25.05\00:46:25.85
Let's take this fact,
00:46:25.95\00:46:27.32
this nugget, and look now
00:46:27.42\00:46:28.82
at 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9.
00:46:28.92\00:46:32.32
Now, if we read earlier
00:46:32.42\00:46:34.32
in 2 Thessalonians,
00:46:34.42\00:46:36.16
the book there, we would find
00:46:36.26\00:46:37.19
that Paul introduces
00:46:37.29\00:46:38.36
this concept of the man
00:46:38.46\00:46:39.79
of sin or the lawless one.
00:46:39.89\00:46:41.86
I'm going to cut a corner.
00:46:41.96\00:46:43.47
This is the Antichrist power
00:46:43.57\00:46:44.93
at the end of time. Okay?
00:46:45.03\00:46:46.70
And notice what Paul here says
00:46:46.80\00:46:48.34
in chapter 2, verses 8 and 9.
00:46:48.44\00:46:50.01
Says, "And then the lawless
00:46:50.11\00:46:51.34
one" -- this Antichrist power --
00:46:51.44\00:46:52.77
"will be revealed whom the Lord
00:46:52.87\00:46:55.11
Jesus will overthrow with the
00:46:55.21\00:46:56.75
breath of his mouth and destroy
00:46:56.85\00:46:58.68
by the splendor of his coming."
00:46:58.78\00:47:00.05
So, pause right there.
00:47:00.15\00:47:01.85
Antichrist power will not stand.
00:47:01.95\00:47:03.25
It will have this global
00:47:03.35\00:47:04.35
dominion at the end, et cetera.
00:47:04.45\00:47:05.49
It will look like it's making
00:47:05.59\00:47:06.79
huge progress.
00:47:06.89\00:47:07.82
But Jesus, the Second Coming,
00:47:07.92\00:47:09.06
will intervene and the
00:47:09.16\00:47:10.16
brightness of Christ
00:47:10.26\00:47:11.06
coming destroys it.
00:47:11.16\00:47:12.29
Next sentence.
00:47:12.39\00:47:13.40
"The coming of the lawless
00:47:13.50\00:47:14.86
one will be in accordance
00:47:14.96\00:47:16.30
with the work of Satan,
00:47:16.40\00:47:17.60
displayed in all kinds
00:47:17.70\00:47:18.97
of counterfeit miracles,
00:47:19.07\00:47:19.83
signs, and wonders."
00:47:19.93\00:47:20.87
So now we've gone back in time.
00:47:20.97\00:47:24.11
Because this is before
00:47:24.21\00:47:26.14
the Second Coming of Jesus.
00:47:26.24\00:47:27.84
The coming of the lawless one
00:47:27.94\00:47:28.54
is before
00:47:28.64\00:47:30.11
the Second Coming of Jesus.
00:47:30.21\00:47:31.08
How do we know? Because
00:47:31.18\00:47:32.11
the Second Coming ends it all.
00:47:32.21\00:47:33.28
There's no more human history
00:47:33.38\00:47:34.28
on this planet after that, okay?
00:47:34.38\00:47:36.55
At least as far as sin
00:47:36.65\00:47:37.39
is concerned.
00:47:37.49\00:47:38.45
Now, let me just show you
00:47:38.55\00:47:39.19
something here
00:47:39.29\00:47:39.89
in the original language.
00:47:39.99\00:47:40.89
Again, most of the time, you'll
00:47:40.99\00:47:41.96
find what you need in English
00:47:42.06\00:47:42.76
translations.
00:47:42.86\00:47:43.63
Every now and then,
00:47:43.73\00:47:44.83
the Greek can be helpful here.
00:47:44.93\00:47:47.00
Same verse. "The Lord Jesus
00:47:47.10\00:47:48.70
will overthrow the lawless one
00:47:48.80\00:47:50.23
with the breath of his mouth,
00:47:50.33\00:47:50.97
and destroy
00:47:51.07\00:47:51.97
by the splendor of his coming."
00:47:52.07\00:47:53.17
The Greek word
00:47:53.27\00:47:53.80
there is parousia.
00:47:53.90\00:47:55.77
Parousia.
00:47:55.87\00:47:57.37
And parousia is important
00:47:57.47\00:47:59.67
because, prior to the Christian
00:47:59.77\00:48:01.01
era, it was a generic word that
00:48:01.11\00:48:02.44
meant exactly what's translated,
00:48:02.54\00:48:03.85
here, you know, coming into a
00:48:03.95\00:48:04.51
place, et cetera.
00:48:04.61\00:48:05.85
But by the Christians,
00:48:05.95\00:48:07.18
Christians came to regard
00:48:07.28\00:48:09.18
parousia as a technical term
00:48:09.28\00:48:11.25
referring precisely
00:48:11.35\00:48:13.52
to the Second Coming of Jesus.
00:48:13.62\00:48:16.52
Now let that sink in.
00:48:16.62\00:48:17.76
It became a technical term
00:48:17.86\00:48:18.93
used by Christians
00:48:19.03\00:48:20.20
to refer precisely
00:48:20.30\00:48:21.56
to the Second Coming of Jesus.
00:48:21.66\00:48:24.07
Why is that important?
00:48:24.17\00:48:25.50
Notice what happens next here
00:48:25.60\00:48:26.47
in the Greek.
00:48:26.57\00:48:28.50
"The coming of the lawless one."
00:48:28.60\00:48:31.81
Parousia. It's the same word.
00:48:31.91\00:48:35.64
Translation -- the devil
00:48:35.74\00:48:37.48
has a second coming, as well.
00:48:37.58\00:48:40.32
It's right here
00:48:40.42\00:48:41.58
in the Word of God.
00:48:41.68\00:48:43.62
And this is why Ellen White
00:48:43.72\00:48:44.59
could write this.
00:48:44.69\00:48:46.15
"Great Controversy," page 624.
00:48:46.25\00:48:47.96
I'll tell you what.
00:50:21.58\00:50:23.75
You know, we think we've seen
00:50:23.85\00:50:25.52
some pretty amazing stuff.
00:50:25.62\00:50:27.29
We've got Hollywood. I mean,
00:50:27.39\00:50:28.56
look at all the special effects.
00:50:28.66\00:50:29.76
We've seen all kinds
00:50:29.86\00:50:31.06
of amazing things happen.
00:50:31.16\00:50:32.76
And then it happens
00:50:32.86\00:50:33.83
in real life.
00:50:33.93\00:50:36.10
And did you see what she said?
00:50:36.20\00:50:37.60
Better, more dazzling than
00:50:37.70\00:50:38.93
anything that anybody has ever
00:50:39.03\00:50:40.90
seen ever, anywhere.
00:50:41.00\00:50:42.67
The devil pulls out all the
00:50:42.77\00:50:44.04
stops, he knows this is for all
00:50:44.14\00:50:45.44
the marbles, he's going for --
00:50:45.54\00:50:46.64
This is do or die.
00:50:46.74\00:50:48.14
And, so, he puts on
00:50:48.24\00:50:49.31
this grand display
00:50:49.41\00:50:51.45
and he sounds like Jesus,
00:50:51.55\00:50:53.15
and he looks like Jesus,
00:50:53.25\00:50:54.48
and he quotes Scripture,
00:50:54.58\00:50:55.85
and he heals people.
00:50:55.95\00:50:57.55
[ Chuckles ]
00:50:57.65\00:50:59.55
And then he says,
00:50:59.65\00:51:02.42
"Now about those Sabbath
00:51:02.52\00:51:03.66
keepers, time to make a change."
00:51:03.76\00:51:08.26
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:51:08.36\00:51:09.96
this is a powerful thing.
00:51:10.07\00:51:11.43
And the Devils been building up
00:51:11.53\00:51:13.60
towards this
00:51:13.70\00:51:15.74
for a very long time.
00:51:15.84\00:51:20.38
Now, sadly, he's not done.
00:51:20.48\00:51:22.38
There's at least one more,
00:51:22.48\00:51:24.01
and I would call it really
00:51:24.11\00:51:25.21
the last lie.
00:51:25.31\00:51:26.92
The last lie
00:51:27.02\00:51:28.05
is the mark of the beast.
00:51:28.15\00:51:29.75
He's been building to this.
00:51:29.85\00:51:30.79
This is his great desire.
00:51:30.89\00:51:32.75
And by the way, this is
00:51:32.85\00:51:33.49
the third side of Babylon.
00:51:33.59\00:51:35.16
You know, we saw the first two
00:51:35.26\00:51:36.59
sides there, this idea that
00:51:36.69\00:51:38.06
you can earn your salvation.
00:51:38.16\00:51:39.26
Second side was setting
00:51:39.36\00:51:40.63
aside God's law or altering it.
00:51:40.73\00:51:41.90
That won't work.
00:51:42.00\00:51:43.43
And then, the third side
00:51:43.53\00:51:44.37
of Babylon is right here.
00:51:44.47\00:51:45.70
It's the combining of church
00:51:45.80\00:51:47.10
and state.
00:51:47.20\00:51:49.27
It is the use of civil power
00:51:49.37\00:51:51.31
to enforce religion
00:51:51.41\00:51:52.57
on the people.
00:51:52.67\00:51:54.48
And that's certainly what
00:51:54.58\00:51:55.28
the mark of the beast is about.
00:51:55.38\00:51:56.31
Now, I could spend a lot of time
00:51:56.41\00:51:57.71
talking about the mark of the
00:51:57.81\00:51:58.81
beast, but I don't have
00:51:58.91\00:51:59.35
that time today.
00:51:59.45\00:52:00.18
We'll do it another time.
00:52:00.28\00:52:01.52
I'll simply say this.
00:52:01.62\00:52:03.08
The Book of Revelation
00:52:03.18\00:52:04.82
essentially asks one question.
00:52:04.92\00:52:07.42
Who will you worship?
00:52:07.52\00:52:09.89
Who will you worship?
00:52:09.99\00:52:12.29
And indeed it will come down
00:52:12.39\00:52:13.60
to, will you worship
00:52:13.70\00:52:15.83
Jesus on His day and in His way?
00:52:15.93\00:52:20.50
Or will you worship the beast
00:52:20.60\00:52:22.14
power and Satan
00:52:22.24\00:52:23.87
on his day in his way?
00:52:23.97\00:52:28.18
And of course, the deeper issue
00:52:28.28\00:52:29.24
than all of that
00:52:29.34\00:52:32.08
is, who has your heart?
00:52:32.18\00:52:35.32
Who has your heart.
00:52:35.42\00:52:37.99
You know, at the end of time,
00:52:38.09\00:52:40.59
walking through the right door
00:52:40.69\00:52:41.52
on a Saturday
00:52:41.62\00:52:42.89
isn't going to help you
00:52:42.99\00:52:43.96
avoid the mark of the beast.
00:52:44.06\00:52:46.83
It's who has your heart.
00:52:46.93\00:52:50.23
It's quite a package, isn't it?
00:52:54.97\00:52:57.71
The devil seems to be very,
00:52:57.81\00:52:59.14
very concerned
00:52:59.24\00:53:01.44
that we not hit the bull's-eye.
00:53:01.54\00:53:05.01
And what is the bull's-eye?
00:53:05.11\00:53:06.68
What is he so worried about
00:53:06.78\00:53:08.38
that he does his best so that
00:53:08.48\00:53:10.49
we don't hit the bull's-eye?
00:53:10.59\00:53:12.15
Well, my guess is probably most
00:53:12.25\00:53:13.96
of you already know what it is.
00:53:14.06\00:53:15.62
It's knowing Jesus.
00:53:15.72\00:53:18.36
That's the bull's-eye.
00:53:18.46\00:53:21.60
Jesus said,
00:53:21.70\00:53:23.00
as I've said many times,
00:53:23.10\00:53:23.97
I'm going to say it again in
00:53:24.07\00:53:25.07
the future as well as right now.
00:53:25.17\00:53:26.10
John 17:3. Jesus said,
00:53:26.20\00:53:27.57
"And this is eternal life,
00:53:27.67\00:53:29.14
that they may know you, the one
00:53:29.24\00:53:30.41
true God, as Father in heaven,
00:53:30.51\00:53:31.54
and Jesus Christ,
00:53:31.64\00:53:32.61
whom You have sent."
00:53:32.71\00:53:33.91
Salvation is knowing Jesus.
00:53:34.01\00:53:35.68
What an honor,
00:53:35.78\00:53:36.51
what a privilege that we have.
00:53:36.61\00:53:38.11
Jesus died to give us
00:53:38.21\00:53:39.05
this privilege,
00:53:39.15\00:53:40.08
and he offers it to us freely.
00:53:40.18\00:53:43.28
That's the bull's-eye.
00:53:43.39\00:53:45.12
And at long last,
00:53:45.22\00:53:46.29
we are now ready to see
00:53:46.39\00:53:47.39
what the unique mission of the
00:53:47.49\00:53:48.69
Seventh-day Adventist Church is.
00:53:48.79\00:53:51.06
The mission of the Seventh-day
00:53:51.16\00:53:52.19
Adventist Church, we said,
00:53:52.29\00:53:53.03
is the Great Commission
00:53:53.13\00:53:53.76
of Matthew 28,
00:53:53.86\00:53:55.00
together with the Three Angels'
00:53:55.10\00:53:56.13
Messages of Revelation 14:6-12.
00:53:56.23\00:53:58.43
Combined now with this third
00:53:58.53\00:53:59.87
factor, the context of our
00:54:00.04\00:54:01.97
times -- widespread deception.
00:54:02.07\00:54:04.04
Widespread deception.
00:54:04.14\00:54:05.61
We put these things together
00:54:05.71\00:54:07.04
and we can begin
00:54:07.14\00:54:08.11
to sum some things up.
00:54:08.21\00:54:09.41
And what I'm going to
00:54:09.51\00:54:10.31
put on the screen here now,
00:54:10.41\00:54:11.21
these are my words.
00:54:11.31\00:54:12.65
That's the context part there.
00:54:38.81\00:54:41.58
And then we see that our mission
00:54:41.68\00:54:43.24
is directly built
00:54:43.35\00:54:44.28
on our message.
00:54:44.38\00:54:45.45
This is the best way, at this
00:54:45.55\00:54:46.68
time, I know how to sum it up.
00:54:46.78\00:54:47.78
Our message,
00:54:47.88\00:54:49.45
the unique message of
00:54:49.55\00:54:50.59
the Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:54:50.69\00:54:51.82
is that Jesus is coming soon --
00:54:51.92\00:54:54.32
this is the overall apocalyptic
00:54:54.42\00:54:55.69
context of our time --
00:54:55.79\00:54:57.43
that evil will soon be ended --
00:54:57.53\00:54:58.79
that's the investigative
00:54:58.89\00:54:59.83
judgment -- that the final
00:54:59.93\00:55:01.10
deceptions of Satan have
00:55:01.20\00:55:02.33
begun -- this is the mark of the
00:55:02.43\00:55:03.67
beast, mentioning of the Third
00:55:03.77\00:55:04.77
Angel, and all the deceptions
00:55:04.87\00:55:06.20
that are bent towards building
00:55:06.30\00:55:07.37
that up to completion --
00:55:07.47\00:55:08.87
and that Jesus is our Savior
00:55:08.97\00:55:10.51
and the solution
00:55:10.61\00:55:11.31
to those deceptions.
00:55:11.41\00:55:12.47
>> Amen.
00:55:12.57\00:55:13.48
>> And that means that our
00:55:13.58\00:55:14.18
mission --
00:55:14.28\00:55:14.84
And now this next one,
00:55:14.94\00:55:15.68
these are not my words.
00:55:15.78\00:55:16.71
These are the words of the voted
00:55:16.81\00:55:18.45
worldwide Seventh-day
00:55:18.55\00:55:19.61
Adventist Church.
00:55:19.71\00:55:20.78
Our mission, the mission of the
00:55:20.88\00:55:22.08
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:55:22.18\00:55:23.45
is to make disciples
00:55:23.55\00:55:24.69
of Jesus Christ, who live
00:55:24.79\00:55:25.99
as his loving witnesses --
00:55:26.09\00:55:27.32
that's Matthew 28,
00:55:27.42\00:55:28.66
Great Commission -- and proclaim
00:55:28.76\00:55:30.39
to all people the everlasting
00:55:30.49\00:55:32.13
gospel of the Three Angels'
00:55:32.23\00:55:33.46
Messages in preparation
00:55:33.56\00:55:35.10
for His soon return.
00:55:35.20\00:55:38.03
That is why we are here,
00:55:38.13\00:55:43.74
and everything that we do in our
00:55:43.84\00:55:46.88
churches, in our in our schools,
00:55:46.98\00:55:48.34
in our hospitals,
00:55:48.44\00:55:49.51
in our mission outposts,
00:55:49.61\00:55:50.91
in our personal lives,
00:55:51.01\00:55:52.11
everything that we do needs
00:55:52.21\00:55:53.42
to be filtered through
00:55:53.52\00:55:55.12
this unique message and mission,
00:55:55.22\00:55:57.32
because this is what
00:55:57.42\00:55:58.29
God has asked us to do.
00:55:58.39\00:56:01.29
There are untold billions of
00:56:01.39\00:56:03.43
people right now on this planet
00:56:03.53\00:56:05.29
who cannot afford to miss
00:56:05.39\00:56:07.46
the bull's-eye.
00:56:07.56\00:56:09.30
And in your hands,
00:56:09.40\00:56:11.40
you have the keys to help them
00:56:11.50\00:56:13.67
to see Jesus.
00:56:13.77\00:56:15.24
>> Amen.
00:56:15.34\00:56:16.94
>> May God abundantly guide us
00:56:17.04\00:56:18.11
in proclaiming his end time
00:56:18.21\00:56:19.21
message.
00:56:19.31\00:56:20.44
May His Spirit empower us
00:56:20.54\00:56:21.94
to fulfill His mission,
00:56:22.04\00:56:23.71
and may the proclamation
00:56:23.81\00:56:24.98
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
00:56:25.08\00:56:26.61
in His Three Angels' Messages
00:56:26.72\00:56:28.48
saturate the planet soon.
00:56:28.58\00:56:31.32
Amen.
00:56:31.42\00:56:32.39
>> Amen.
00:56:32.49\00:56:35.42
[ Applause ]
00:56:35.52\00:56:37.26
>> Thank you for joining us
00:56:47.27\00:56:47.64
today.
00:56:47.74\00:56:48.70
You know, our goal
00:56:48.80\00:56:50.04
with every worship service
00:56:50.14\00:56:51.44
at Pioneer Memorial is that
00:56:51.54\00:56:52.97
our listeners will come to know
00:56:53.07\00:56:54.24
Jesus Christ as their personal
00:56:54.34\00:56:55.54
friend and Savior.
00:56:55.64\00:56:57.35
Have you taken
00:56:57.45\00:56:58.01
this step in your life?
00:56:58.11\00:56:59.68
Or would you like to know more
00:56:59.78\00:57:00.85
about what this step looks like?
00:57:00.95\00:57:02.95
If so, I have a special gift
00:57:03.05\00:57:04.65
that I would love
00:57:04.75\00:57:05.45
to put in your hands.
00:57:05.55\00:57:07.02
It's this little book called
00:57:07.12\00:57:08.32
"Steps to Christ."
00:57:08.42\00:57:10.46
Now, it's not a very long book.
00:57:10.56\00:57:11.89
As you can see,
00:57:11.99\00:57:12.59
it's only this thick.
00:57:12.69\00:57:14.73
But don't let the size fool you.
00:57:14.83\00:57:16.40
This is one powerful book.
00:57:16.50\00:57:18.77
In fact, this book is so
00:57:18.87\00:57:20.17
powerful, so life-transforming,
00:57:20.27\00:57:22.14
that it's become a favorite
00:57:22.24\00:57:23.20
for millions all over the world,
00:57:23.30\00:57:24.87
making it one of the most
00:57:24.97\00:57:25.77
translated and most published
00:57:25.87\00:57:27.04
books in history.
00:57:27.14\00:57:28.58
It can be yours for free
00:57:28.68\00:57:30.55
by calling the number
00:57:30.65\00:57:31.48
on your screen -- 877-HIS-WILL.
00:57:31.58\00:57:34.28
That's 877, the two words
00:57:34.38\00:57:36.05
"HIS WILL."
00:57:36.15\00:57:37.55
Call today.
00:57:37.65\00:57:38.85
You can also download
00:57:38.95\00:57:39.72
a free copy at
00:57:39.82\00:57:41.09
pmchurch.org/stepstochrist.
00:57:41.19\00:57:43.83
That's
00:57:43.93\00:57:44.66
pmchurch.org/stepstochrist.
00:57:44.76\00:57:47.76
Don't wait. Get your copy today.
00:57:47.86\00:57:50.03
A forever friendship with Jesus
00:57:50.13\00:57:51.70
is waiting for you.
00:57:51.80\00:57:53.20
¤
00:58:00.11\00:58:08.92
¤
00:58:09.02\00:58:17.63
¤
00:58:17.73\00:58:26.03