Welcome to each of you.
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We're going to
travel together now and
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I need to give you a
little bit of forewarning.
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This journey that we're
going to take is not pleasant.
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This will be the first, last,
and only time that we'll have
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such a travel log.
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But it's directly
related to the subject matter
00:01:17.86\00:01:20.76
we need to share
a few moments later.
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So if you will please,
relax and fasten your seatbelts
00:01:23.10\00:01:26.96
and we shall go to Dachau.
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We leave from the city of Munich
Germany and take the side rail
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only just 11 miles.
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And we arrive at
the village of Dachau.
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It was one of the extermination
camps of the Third Reich.
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It was one of
the torture chambers,
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one of the gas chambers.
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And continues to be
a very tragic reminder.
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We got off the train and
went across from the depot to
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buy some fruit for breakfast.
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And we asked the lady at the
fruit stand, "How, from here,
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may we find the
prison camp of Dachau?"
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And she said, "Nicht verstehen.
I don't understand no English. "
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But she'd understood
perfectly when we asked her,
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"How much are the bananas?"
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But at any event, we explained,
"We're not here to try to
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be judgmental or to be unkind.
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But we're here only in the hope
that this kind of thing will
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never happen again. "
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And I told her my name.
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And she said, "Well,
you're surely not Italian. "
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"Alright," she said,
"welcome you German. "
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And she said, "Take bus
number 7 to the last stop. "
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And that we did.
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And in just a few
moments, we were at the
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prison camp of Dachau.
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As soon as we got off the
bus, we could see that it was
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a place of maximum security.
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There was an
outer wall of concrete.
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There was an inner
wall of concertina wire.
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And inside of that
still, there was a mote
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filled with razor wire.
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And every 100 yards,
there was a machine gun tower
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with a guard waiting for
someone to come near the wall
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so he could use that as
an excuse to gun them down.
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There's a sign
board from which we're
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going to get our directions.
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And then we're going to
move out into the camp proper.
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I want to begin now by telling
you that you're going to be
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seeing three
different kinds of pictures.
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You're going to see
colored pictures like these that
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we shot with our cameras
of the camp as it is today.
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And then you're
going to be seeing some
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black and white pictures.
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Those are pictures of pictures
that hang in the museum wall.
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Pictures that were taken during
the time the camp was used
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as an extermination camp.
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And then the third type
of picture will be colored,
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but you'll immediately see
the coloration is different.
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Those colors were furnished
me by our war department
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when I returned from
this journey and wrote them
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and asked them if they would
share with me some pictures.
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And that they did.
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This whole camp was
built by forced labor.
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The majority were
Jewish, of course.
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But there were quite a
few Christians who suffered
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for their faith
during this time.
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Corrie Ten Boom, you may
remember, and her sister and
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several other
Christians were incarcerated.
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And many of her family members
died in one of these camps.
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But at any event, the prisoners
were required to dig up the soil
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and move it here and
there in wheel barrels
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and in bushel baskets.
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And then they were put to
work rolling down the soil
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and compacting it.
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They were harnessed
to great iron rollers
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that were filled with water.
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And they worked
like draft animals.
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And when the earth
was smooth and solidified,
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then they were put to
work digging the trenches.
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And by hand, mixing concrete for
the footings and foundations.
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And then building the buildings.
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Those concrete
foundations are all that remain
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of the old barracks at
the time that this was in use.
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In the foreground,
you'll see there a building.
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That is, today, the museum.
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And that's where we
shot a lot of pictures.
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That was the command center at
the time this place was in use.
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Now this obviously, is
one of the pictures furnished
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by the war department.
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This is life as it
was when it was used
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as an extermination camp.
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And you see lots of Jews here,
prisoners, in the foreground.
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They've not been
here too terribly long.
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We know that because they're
wearing their street clothing
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and they still have
some flesh on their bones.
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And then in the background,
you see the barracks.
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There are some windows,
but very few of the windows
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have glass in them.
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And they lived in conditions
we wouldn't keep animals in;
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spring, summer,
winter, fall, and always.
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Every morning,
there was roll call.
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Not to see if any had
escaped, but rather to see who
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had survived the night.
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And after you had been
here a few months, that really
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was the miracle.
00:05:51.84\00:05:53.06
And all across Europe,
the propaganda machinery of
00:05:53.09\00:05:55.71
the Third Reich was stirring up
hatred against people of color.
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"If you know of someone
with dark skin and dark eyes
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and dark hair, please tell
us where they are, who they are
00:06:02.20\00:06:05.60
so we may relocate them. "
00:06:05.63\00:06:07.78
And a similar thing
was happening down in Italy
00:06:07.81\00:06:10.24
under Mussolini.
00:06:10.27\00:06:11.52
Now this black and
white picture is a picture of
00:06:11.55\00:06:15.70
an original that
was made in 1820.
00:06:15.73\00:06:18.43
It's a picture of burning books.
00:06:18.46\00:06:20.36
In the very center of that
picture, you find a bonfire.
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And they're
burning Jewish books.
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And in 1820, poet Heinrich
Heine was more prophet than poet
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when he said of this,
"This was but a prelude
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where books are burnt, humans
will be burnt in the end. "
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And 120 plus years later, that's
exactly what was happening.
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Across Europe, the
officers of the Third Reich
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of the German Army
were gathering up men,
00:06:49.84\00:06:53.53
younger men, the
more able bodied,
00:06:53.56\00:06:56.54
those who were able to
work, and telling them,
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"We're going to relocate
you, we're going to take you
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to a place where
there are better jobs and
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better living conditions.
00:07:02.35\00:07:03.51
And soon we'll send
the wife and the kids. "
00:07:03.54\00:07:06.05
And with that promise in
mind, they were marched off
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to the railheads.
00:07:09.65\00:07:10.70
And there at gun point, they
were forced into cattle cars,
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standing up, no provision
made for their physical needs,
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no restroom facility.
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They were packed in, standing
up, and then when not room
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for one more was
available, they shut the door
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and it was locked.
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And they traveled
that way from 4 to 10 days.
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When one who had to
relieve himself or herself,
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they were passed head
over head to a corner.
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And that was the best
that they were able to do.
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After the young men were gone,
then the old and the infirmed
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and the women and children,
at gun point, were rounded up.
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And it was a part of the plan
of Hitler to divide and conquer.
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To send dad to
Auschwitz and mom to Birkenvau,
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and maybe the kids to Dachau.
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You can imagine those horrors.
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Here's a man in the
camp who sat down for lunch.
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He's put down his pick and
he has in his hand, a bowl.
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And in that bowl, there's a
little warm water in which some
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rice has been boiled.
00:08:13.58\00:08:14.61
If he's very
lucky, there may still be
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a kernel of rice or two.
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This man has been
here for a while as you,
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obviously, are able to see.
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So also, his
friends in the background.
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All kinds of
experimentation was done.
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If you wanted to know how
long a German Air Force pilot,
00:08:36.53\00:08:40.19
or luftwaffenpilot, could
survive if he was shot down
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over the waters of the
North Sea, you just take a Jew
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and put him in the
uniform of the pilot,
00:08:48.07\00:08:50.92
put him in a tank of ice water,
and see how long he survives.
00:08:50.95\00:08:55.44
And watch what he goes
through before he dies.
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If you want to know
how nerve gas works,
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you just take a Jew and put him
in the tank and open the gas.
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And again, watch the
various stages of horror
00:09:04.80\00:09:08.59
until finally, the
release of death comes.
00:09:08.62\00:09:12.16
If you want to know how
the human brain works...
00:09:12.19\00:09:14.94
Unbelievable.
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This is the interrogation room.
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If it was felt that
some prisoner was withholding
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information about a brother
or an uncle or someone else,
00:09:26.78\00:09:29.77
he was brought
here and interrogated.
00:09:29.80\00:09:32.21
And if he was not forthcoming,
then that bid mallet
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was used on his hands, knuckles,
and his knees and elbows.
00:09:35.19\00:09:39.68
And if still he wouldn't tell,
then he was hanged to death
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with his arms tied behind
him and his body suspended
00:09:44.19\00:09:47.89
from those tied arms.
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Here we see out in the
woods, some men who were hanged
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to death in exactly that way.
00:09:52.70\00:09:54.52
A medical doctor down in Georgia
described to me that when
00:09:54.55\00:09:57.57
one is hung in that
way, he dies of drowning.
00:09:57.60\00:10:00.88
For you cannot exhale
deeply enough to get the
00:10:01.27\00:10:03.77
fluid from your lungs.
00:10:03.80\00:10:05.49
And you drown in
your own body fluids.
00:10:05.52\00:10:09.20
When a train load of
prisoners would come in,
00:10:09.23\00:10:11.49
their decent street
clothing was taken from them
00:10:11.52\00:10:14.20
to give to the German people.
00:10:14.23\00:10:15.45
And the filthy old rags
from those who'd already been
00:10:15.48\00:10:18.47
through the system
were given to them.
00:10:18.50\00:10:20.92
This then, was the shower room.
00:10:21.33\00:10:23.26
After they were here for
months, or weeks perhaps only,
00:10:23.29\00:10:27.61
They were told, "We're
going to give you a nice shower.
00:10:27.64\00:10:30.44
We're going to give you
then a clean change of clothing.
00:10:30.47\00:10:34.04
They were stripped
naked, men, women, and children,
00:10:35.03\00:10:37.90
and all marched
together inside and told,
00:10:37.93\00:10:40.66
"Stand right
beneath the shower heads. "
00:10:40.69\00:10:43.93
And when the place was
packed, then the door was closed
00:10:44.37\00:10:48.66
and bolted shut and sealed.
00:10:48.69\00:10:50.83
The valves opened
and poison gas came.
00:10:50.86\00:10:54.27
And they died en masse.
00:10:54.30\00:10:56.75
Next door was the power
house for the prison camp.
00:10:57.00\00:11:00.11
It is also known as
the crematorium today.
00:11:02.74\00:11:06.08
For inside were
gas fired furnaces.
00:11:06.87\00:11:09.84
And they
accommodated those furnaces
00:11:11.57\00:11:14.87
with steel stretchers
that could be slide back.
00:11:17.59\00:11:20.38
And two or three emaciated
bodies strapped to them
00:11:20.78\00:11:23.29
and then shoved
back into the flame.
00:11:23.32\00:11:25.39
And in just a few
moments, there were few charred
00:11:25.79\00:11:29.97
remains left only.
00:11:30.00\00:11:31.81
The allies were getting nearer
and nearer and nearer by 1945.
00:11:35.63\00:11:39.79
And it was quite obvious that
they were not going to be able
00:11:39.82\00:11:43.36
to hide all of the
evidence by burning the bodies
00:11:43.39\00:11:47.06
in the furnaces.
00:11:47.09\00:11:48.76
And so they began, with great
earth movers and bulldozers,
00:11:48.79\00:11:52.28
to dig mass graves.
00:11:52.31\00:11:54.58
Perhaps you've seen the
news reels of those starved,
00:11:54.61\00:11:58.42
emaciated bodies thrown
over, like so much cordwood,
00:11:58.45\00:12:02.21
into the graves
and then buried under.
00:12:02.24\00:12:05.17
I have talked to
service men, two at least,
00:12:06.26\00:12:11.01
who helped to
liberate this camp.
00:12:11.04\00:12:12.76
They, by the way,
were paratroopers.
00:12:12.79\00:12:14.60
And they dropped in.
00:12:14.63\00:12:16.19
And these are among
the things they found.
00:12:16.22\00:12:19.17
And they both told me
that they were unable to
00:12:19.20\00:12:23.02
eat for weeks and weeks.
00:12:23.05\00:12:25.37
And unable, still, to
sleep without disturbed sleep,
00:12:25.40\00:12:31.46
without nightmares and
flashbacks, as you can imagine.
00:12:31.49\00:12:35.79
You know, ladies and gentlemen,
00:12:39.63\00:12:40.82
if this kind of
thing had happened
00:12:40.85\00:12:43.56
in some remote
corner of the world,
00:12:44.50\00:12:46.82
if this atrocity had
happened in some dark jungle
00:12:46.85\00:12:52.59
or some remote
mountaintop of ignorance,
00:12:52.62\00:12:57.13
we could have,
perhaps, better understood it.
00:12:57.16\00:12:59.89
But it did not happen
in the midst of paganism
00:13:00.32\00:13:04.44
or in some Godless
Christless society.
00:13:04.47\00:13:07.41
Rather, this
happened in Luther land.
00:13:07.44\00:13:11.37
This happened at the
birthplace of the reformation.
00:13:11.40\00:13:15.32
Still today,
ladies and gentlemen,
00:13:16.68\00:13:18.33
people are
dying for their faith.
00:13:18.36\00:13:21.13
It was said that in the
last 5 years, more Christians
00:13:22.01\00:13:26.80
have died for their faith than
died during the first 100 years
00:13:26.83\00:13:31.63
of Christianity under
the persecutions of Nero,
00:13:31.66\00:13:35.83
Hadrian, and Diocletian.
00:13:35.86\00:13:37.83
So this kind of
thing is still going on.
00:13:37.86\00:13:40.99
How long?
00:13:41.02\00:13:41.99
Every human heartache casts
a shadow upon the heart of God.
00:13:42.00\00:13:46.19
If God is all
powerful, as we believe He is,
00:13:46.59\00:13:50.42
why does He do this?
00:13:50.45\00:13:51.78
And if He doesn't do it,
why then, does He step back
00:13:51.81\00:13:54.42
and allow it?
00:13:54.62\00:13:55.59
If he is omniscient,
that means "all knowing,"
00:13:56.03\00:13:58.58
why didn't He make a
plan to prevent all of it?
00:13:58.61\00:14:01.75
God is to blame.
00:14:02.53\00:14:04.86
Tonight, during the lecture,
I stand as God's attorney.
00:14:04.89\00:14:09.99
I stand tonight, in
defense of the character of God.
00:14:10.89\00:14:14.44
I want to thank you
for traveling with me.
00:14:14.47\00:14:16.46
Just this morning, I
was asked this question.
00:14:18.87\00:14:21.25
"Lyle, do you believe
that God is punishing America
00:14:21.75\00:14:25.82
for her sins, for her
disregard of God's law,
00:14:25.85\00:14:29.68
for her immorality, adultery,
incest, and all of the rest?
00:14:29.71\00:14:35.36
Do you believe that the
collapse of the towers on 9/11
00:14:35.39\00:14:39.36
were the result of God's
punishing the children of earth?
00:14:39.39\00:14:44.10
Do you believe that the
tsunami's out in the far east
00:14:44.13\00:14:47.20
were part of God's retribution
upon a sinful mankind?
00:14:47.23\00:14:51.76
And what about Katrina, and
what about this morning's news
00:14:51.79\00:14:54.62
of the terrible tornadoes
that have gone through Atlanta?"
00:14:54.65\00:14:57.74
It seems hardly a day goes
by except there is some horror,
00:14:57.77\00:15:01.84
either man made;
murder, mayhem, rape, riot,
00:15:01.87\00:15:05.53
or some natural disaster,
that the insurance companies
00:15:05.56\00:15:10.47
often like to refer
to as the "act of God. "
00:15:10.50\00:15:13.35
It seems somehow God,
continuously, is blamed
00:15:13.38\00:15:16.25
for that which He did not
do, and really had little,
00:15:16.28\00:15:19.47
if anything at all, to do with.
00:15:19.50\00:15:20.94
I want you now, to open your
Bibles to our first scripture.
00:15:20.97\00:15:23.56
It's Revelation chapter
12, beginning at verse 7.
00:15:23.59\00:15:27.22
Revelation chapter 12,
beginning with verse 7.
00:15:27.25\00:15:30.07
And I hope that you "A" students
have something to write upon
00:15:30.10\00:15:32.66
because we're going to be
covering a lot of scriptures
00:15:32.69\00:15:34.90
without time to
read every single verse.
00:15:34.93\00:15:37.86
Revelation 12:7, and following.
00:15:37.89\00:15:39.89
"There was war in heaven and
Michael and his angels fought
00:15:39.92\00:15:42.82
against the dragon; and the
dragon fought with his angels.
00:15:42.85\00:15:45.47
And the dragon prevailed
not, neither was his place found
00:15:45.50\00:15:48.24
any more in heaven.
00:15:48.27\00:15:49.51
And the great dragon was kicked
out, the old serpent called
00:15:49.54\00:15:52.40
the Devil and Satan,
which deceives the whole world.
00:15:52.43\00:15:54.87
He was cast out into this earth
and so also were his angels
00:15:54.90\00:15:59.68
kicked out with him. "
00:15:59.71\00:16:00.90
My subject for this evening,
"God and Human Suffering. "
00:16:02.30\00:16:06.61
Within hours after our son Terry
died, Peggy and I were asked,
00:16:08.81\00:16:15.09
"Do you blame God?
00:16:15.12\00:16:16.69
Do you feel that
God is responsible?
00:16:17.92\00:16:19.53
Are you angry somehow with God?"
00:16:19.56\00:16:21.68
And I know that folks who
deal with grief counseling,
00:16:22.24\00:16:26.05
and all of this kind of
thing, are well intended.
00:16:26.08\00:16:28.73
And I don't throw stones at
psychologists or psychiatrists.
00:16:28.76\00:16:34.88
But I do sometimes feel
like the Australian, you know,
00:16:34.91\00:16:38.98
who asked, "What
is a psychiatrist?"
00:16:39.01\00:16:41.44
They said, "Well that's someone
that you pay to talk to. "
00:16:41.47\00:16:43.77
And he said, "What's the
matter, ain't you got no mates?"
00:16:43.80\00:16:45.94
Did I blame God
when my boy died?
00:16:49.40\00:16:50.97
No, no.
00:16:51.00\00:16:53.17
Did I see God allowing evil?
00:16:53.20\00:16:56.08
Not really. No.
00:16:56.11\00:16:58.93
Did I see terror?
00:16:58.96\00:17:00.78
No.
00:17:00.81\00:17:01.78
I'll tell you what was
manifested to both Peggy and me.
00:17:01.79\00:17:04.62
I saw in my neighbors, and in
my friends, and in my relatives,
00:17:04.65\00:17:10.07
the love of God.
00:17:10.10\00:17:11.69
That's what most impressed me.
00:17:11.72\00:17:13.71
Not evil, but so
very, very much good.
00:17:14.26\00:17:18.01
And I've been asked,
"How can God be so bad?"
00:17:18.04\00:17:20.99
And my question is, "How can
God, to we who turn our backs
00:17:21.02\00:17:25.70
on Him so often, be
so very, very good?"
00:17:25.73\00:17:29.13
I want to read something to
you because it was very helpful
00:17:29.16\00:17:32.07
to me when we had our
loss, and continues to be.
00:17:32.10\00:17:35.34
You listen now.
00:17:35.37\00:17:36.41
This is a quotation
from an article entitled,
00:17:36.90\00:17:39.30
"America: Superpower Prophecy. "
00:17:39.33\00:17:41.69
Listen now.
00:17:41.72\00:17:42.69
"The cross of Calvary,
while it declares the law
00:17:42.70\00:17:45.61
to be immutable, proclaims
to the universe that the
00:17:45.64\00:17:48.77
wages of sin is death.
00:17:48.80\00:17:51.18
In the Savior's
expiring cry, 'It is finished,'
00:17:51.21\00:17:55.04
the death knell
of Satan was rung.
00:17:55.07\00:17:57.09
The great controversy which
has so long been in progress
00:17:57.12\00:18:00.78
was then decided, and
the final eradication of evil
00:18:00.81\00:18:04.09
was made certain.
00:18:04.12\00:18:05.43
The Son of God passed
through the portals of the tomb,
00:18:05.46\00:18:09.49
that 'through death He might
destroy him that has the power
00:18:09.52\00:18:15.36
now over death; and
that is the devil. '"
00:18:15.39\00:18:18.61
And that last quotation, of
course, is from Hebrews 2:14.
00:18:18.64\00:18:23.48
It is the devil who now
has the power over death,
00:18:23.51\00:18:26.73
and those kinds of things.
00:18:26.76\00:18:28.00
And so we don't blame
God when we see tragedy
00:18:28.03\00:18:31.97
and when we know heartache.
00:18:32.00\00:18:33.42
A lady ministered to
me, really unknowingly, when
00:18:33.45\00:18:37.59
our boy died.
00:18:37.62\00:18:38.59
I've mentioned it before
but might again momentarily,
00:18:38.89\00:18:41.88
that when this happened, Peggy
and I had just opened meetings
00:18:41.91\00:18:45.99
over just south of
Olympia, Washington ten miles.
00:18:46.02\00:18:51.50
I missed two nights of meetings
because of the death of our son.
00:18:54.35\00:18:58.34
But I hurried back.
00:18:58.37\00:18:59.64
And on my first night
back, a lady gave to me a CD
00:19:01.31\00:19:06.96
of the hymns of Elvis Presley.
00:19:06.99\00:19:09.02
Many or most of them, I
think I had heard before.
00:19:09.97\00:19:12.37
But there was one, that while
I'd heard it from others prior,
00:19:12.40\00:19:16.81
I'd never heard it from Elvis.
00:19:16.84\00:19:19.31
I knew that it had
been written and sung and
00:19:19.34\00:19:21.13
recorded by Larry Gatlin.
00:19:21.16\00:19:22.79
But I didn't know
Elvis had immortalized it.
00:19:22.82\00:19:25.36
It's entitled, "Help Me. "
00:19:25.39\00:19:27.72
And I want to read to
you just a few of the words.
00:19:27.75\00:19:32.02
"Lord, help me walk another
mile, just one more mile.
00:19:33.12\00:19:41.00
I'm tired of walking all alone.
00:19:43.78\00:19:46.15
Lord, help me smile another
smile, just one more smile.
00:19:47.02\00:19:50.87
You know, I just
can't make it on my own.
00:19:50.90\00:19:53.87
I never thought I
needed help before.
00:19:55.03\00:19:57.05
I thought that I
could get by, by myself.
00:19:57.08\00:19:59.96
But now I know, I
just can't take it anymore.
00:19:59.99\00:20:03.01
With a humble
heart on bended knee,
00:20:03.04\00:20:06.77
I'm begging you, Lord help me.
00:20:06.80\00:20:10.44
Come down from your
throne to me Lord, just to me.
00:20:11.39\00:20:15.34
I need to feel the
touch of your scarred hands.
00:20:15.37\00:20:18.00
Remove the chains of
darkness and let me see, Lord.
00:20:18.03\00:20:21.61
Let me see just where I
fit into your master plan.
00:20:21.64\00:20:26.32
I never thought I
needed help before.
00:20:26.35\00:20:29.22
I thought that I
could get by, by myself.
00:20:29.62\00:20:32.30
But now I know, I
just can't take it anymore.
00:20:32.33\00:20:35.28
So with a humble
heart on bended knees,
00:20:35.31\00:20:40.01
I'm begging you
please, help me. "
00:20:40.79\00:20:45.07
I thought about our suffering,
and then I compared it
00:20:48.57\00:20:51.19
with that of others.
00:20:51.22\00:20:52.58
And I want to share with you now
00:20:53.60\00:20:55.38
a story of a few
days in a preachers life.
00:20:57.55\00:21:00.83
You think as to
whether or not it related to us
00:21:01.94\00:21:05.79
or to your own problems.
00:21:05.82\00:21:06.96
Listen now.
00:21:06.99\00:21:07.96
Over along our coast, a
pastor was called quickly
00:21:09.29\00:21:12.90
to the hospital because
there was a woman there who's
00:21:12.93\00:21:15.28
husband had suffered
a terrible heart attack.
00:21:15.31\00:21:19.15
He went there to pray with her
and went to visit the husband.
00:21:20.19\00:21:23.46
And it seemed that he was
getting better when they found
00:21:23.49\00:21:26.12
in his neck, a cancerous tumor.
00:21:26.15\00:21:29.17
His wife stayed by his
bedside day after day after day.
00:21:30.57\00:21:33.79
But after more than a
week, she collapsed with a
00:21:33.82\00:21:36.83
perforated and bleeding ulcer.
00:21:36.86\00:21:38.72
And then she got pneumonia.
00:21:39.12\00:21:40.76
And while she was suffering from
pneumonia in this same hospital,
00:21:40.79\00:21:44.26
her husband died.
00:21:44.29\00:21:45.92
In another hospital nearby,
was her daughter suffering
00:21:45.95\00:21:49.64
with a kidney infection.
00:21:49.67\00:21:51.60
And this lady, as you
might well guess, asked,
00:21:51.63\00:21:54.92
"Why is God punishing us?
00:21:54.95\00:21:57.17
What have we done?"
00:21:57.20\00:21:58.46
And I shall never forget
when I first heard this question
00:21:59.49\00:22:03.46
asked by parents of a little
baby girl, I was only just
00:22:03.49\00:22:07.48
weeks into my
ministry over in Central Idaho.
00:22:07.51\00:22:10.99
We went on a
campout, did our church.
00:22:11.02\00:22:13.12
We camped on the
banks of the Snake River.
00:22:13.15\00:22:15.38
Still in the
timber on the Idaho side.
00:22:15.41\00:22:17.33
And there came to our campout,
a young couple by the name of
00:22:17.73\00:22:21.09
Jack and Penny Delano.
00:22:21.12\00:22:23.44
They had with them a beautiful
little 5 year old daughter.
00:22:23.47\00:22:27.39
Blonde hair, blue eyes.
00:22:27.42\00:22:29.80
And I learned during those
few hours that we spent together
00:22:29.83\00:22:33.49
that they had just moved up
from the Bay Area of California.
00:22:33.52\00:22:37.08
An uncle had helped them
to move, had driven their
00:22:37.11\00:22:40.14
furniture up in a rental truck.
00:22:40.17\00:22:42.10
Helped them unload it
and settle in their new home
00:22:42.13\00:22:44.79
in Cambridge, Idaho.
00:22:44.82\00:22:45.96
And when he backed the truck
away to return it to California,
00:22:45.99\00:22:49.60
he backed over their 2 year
old blonde headed baby girl.
00:22:49.63\00:22:54.09
Jack and Penny were
asking that age old question,
00:22:54.49\00:22:57.66
"Why, why. If there is a
God, why do the innocent suffer?
00:22:57.69\00:23:02.09
Why my baby? Why?"
00:23:02.12\00:23:04.02
Why?
00:23:04.42\00:23:05.44
Sometimes, there
comes a larger question.
00:23:06.35\00:23:09.56
"God, what are You doing?"
00:23:10.16\00:23:12.50
And sometimes, we hear
from scripture those verses.
00:23:12.53\00:23:16.73
Deuteronomy 6, here's one.
00:23:16.76\00:23:18.35
Deuteronomy 6:24,
it raises a question.
00:23:18.38\00:23:21.26
God says, "What I do
is always for your good. "
00:23:21.29\00:23:25.23
That's what Moses
said, "What God does is
00:23:25.64\00:23:27.54
always for my good. "
00:23:27.57\00:23:28.68
Oh really now?
00:23:28.71\00:23:30.34
Sometimes we wonder.
00:23:30.37\00:23:31.79
Romans 8:28, this one is
more familiar to us, of course.
00:23:31.82\00:23:35.20
"All things work together
for good to those who love God
00:23:35.23\00:23:39.84
are called
according to His calling. "
00:23:39.87\00:23:43.16
So there, then, comes the
question, "Who is responsible?"
00:23:43.46\00:23:47.12
And we found the answer in
our first scripture, didn't we.
00:23:47.15\00:23:50.13
There was war in heaven.
00:23:50.16\00:23:52.73
When I first heard this,
it was hard for me to imagine.
00:23:52.76\00:23:55.11
War, maybe on some other
planet, maybe out on Pluto.
00:23:55.14\00:23:58.19
But surely not in heaven.
00:23:58.22\00:23:59.57
Nah, there was.
00:23:59.60\00:24:01.18
There was an angel,
honored above all of the others,
00:24:01.21\00:24:04.72
given position
higher above all the others,
00:24:04.75\00:24:07.31
more handsome
than all of the others,
00:24:07.34\00:24:08.78
and had a wonderful voice.
00:24:08.81\00:24:10.40
Says the old prophet.
00:24:10.43\00:24:11.93
But he was not
satisfied with what he had.
00:24:11.96\00:24:15.30
He wanted more.
00:24:15.33\00:24:16.46
He wanted to create,
he wanted to be like God.
00:24:16.49\00:24:18.74
He wanted, says the
Bible, to sit on the throne.
00:24:18.77\00:24:21.01
"I also will sit. "
00:24:21.04\00:24:22.92
Created beings cannot create.
00:24:22.95\00:24:25.64
So God called him
in and said to him,
00:24:25.67\00:24:27.16
"Lucifer, you're not My equal
nor are you Christ's equal. "
00:24:27.19\00:24:31.74
The Bible says about Christ that
when He finished His work here,
00:24:31.77\00:24:34.43
He went back to
heaven and He was sat down.
00:24:34.46\00:24:36.66
He was among equals.
00:24:36.69\00:24:38.13
He sits on a throne.
00:24:38.16\00:24:39.16
He is the
creator of this planet.
00:24:39.19\00:24:40.97
The Bible is
abundantly clear about that.
00:24:41.00\00:24:42.92
But this angel,
Lucifer, wanted to create.
00:24:42.95\00:24:45.25
"It is my turn. I
have the ambition.
00:24:45.28\00:24:46.82
I have the ability. Let me. "
00:24:46.85\00:24:48.80
And God called him in
and talked to him and said,
00:24:48.83\00:24:50.96
"No. Put it out of your
mind. Deny yourself this idea.
00:24:50.99\00:24:54.02
You cannot create. I've
not denied you anything.
00:24:54.05\00:24:56.56
You're nearest to the
throne, you're one of the
00:24:56.59\00:24:58.16
covering cherubs, and you
have this wonderful voice,
00:24:58.19\00:25:00.63
and you are
handsome beyond description.
00:25:00.66\00:25:02.76
But you cannot create,
you cannot sit on the throne.
00:25:02.79\00:25:06.22
You are not my equal,
you're not equal to Jesus. "
00:25:06.25\00:25:08.83
And instead of doing what
God had asked, humbling himself,
00:25:08.86\00:25:12.01
the devil threw a tantrum
and began a whispering campaign
00:25:12.04\00:25:15.74
amongst his buddies.
00:25:15.77\00:25:16.74
And as we
mentioned this morning,
00:25:16.75\00:25:17.99
he is the great divider.
00:25:18.02\00:25:19.42
And one third of the angels
joined him in his rebellion.
00:25:19.45\00:25:22.61
And it turned into open
war in the streets of gold.
00:25:22.64\00:25:25.95
Imagine that.
00:25:25.98\00:25:27.27
Jesus and God the Father, of
course, always are victorious.
00:25:28.14\00:25:31.20
And so the devil was kicked out.
00:25:31.23\00:25:34.36
And he transferred the
struggle, the controversy,
00:25:34.39\00:25:38.07
to planet earth.
00:25:38.10\00:25:40.03
For, you see, the controversy
had originally started
00:25:40.06\00:25:42.82
over the
creation of planet earth.
00:25:42.85\00:25:45.23
Our Lord Jesus was about to hang
this one, this beautiful orb
00:25:45.26\00:25:49.09
in that vacant space there.
00:25:49.12\00:25:51.58
And the devil says, "It's
my turn, I want to do it. "
00:25:51.61\00:25:53.68
And God said, "No. "
00:25:53.71\00:25:54.73
And so he said,
"Alright, I'll show You then.
00:25:54.76\00:25:57.30
I'll fix Your newly
created planet that You
00:25:57.33\00:25:59.17
wouldn't let me make. "
00:25:59.20\00:26:00.20
And he came here to planet
earth and the war transferred.
00:26:00.23\00:26:05.18
The angel that was
perfect in every way
00:26:05.21\00:26:09.59
was transformed,
transferred into a devil.
00:26:09.62\00:26:13.78
The apostle Paul, you may
or may not remember, said,
00:26:13.81\00:26:16.01
"I saw Satan fall from
heaven as an angel of light. "
00:26:16.04\00:26:22.75
An angel of light.
00:26:22.78\00:26:24.47
Well there comes
then, that question still.
00:26:24.79\00:26:27.31
"Is God now
punishing us for our sins?"
00:26:27.34\00:26:30.92
And it comes again
and again and again.
00:26:30.95\00:26:32.43
And by the way,
when the Twin Towers fell
00:26:32.46\00:26:35.62
and when the terrible storms,
Katrina and Edna and the others,
00:26:35.65\00:26:39.74
hit the southern coast,
there were televangelists,
00:26:39.77\00:26:42.31
who's names we'll not
use tonight, who were saying,
00:26:42.34\00:26:44.92
"Were paying now, this
is the retribution of God.
00:26:44.95\00:26:47.72
God is coming down on us
because we've turned our back,
00:26:47.75\00:26:50.87
we've taken the Bible and
the ten commandments out of
00:26:50.90\00:26:52.77
schools and out of courtrooms.
00:26:52.80\00:26:53.96
And now God is giving
it to us, He's giving us
00:26:53.99\00:26:57.06
what we deserve. "
00:26:57.09\00:26:58.22
And there is in the news today
even, if you have been watching
00:26:58.25\00:27:03.18
the last 2 or 3 days, another
man in a church in Chicago
00:27:03.21\00:27:08.29
who is becoming very
infamous right now for preaching
00:27:08.32\00:27:11.17
the very same kind of an idea.
00:27:11.20\00:27:13.00
And He's really blaming God.
00:27:13.03\00:27:15.18
You know the phrase,
don't ya, that's been used
00:27:15.21\00:27:19.03
in the last 2 or 3 days.
00:27:19.06\00:27:20.93
"Is God doing this, is
God causing human suffering?"
00:27:20.96\00:27:23.48
No, no, no.
00:27:23.51\00:27:25.66
And even the devils and
those who are behind the
00:27:25.69\00:27:28.34
human suffering and
tragedy know it very well.
00:27:28.37\00:27:30.89
And so I'm going to
refer us to some verses.
00:27:30.92\00:27:33.00
I want us to read
them together, Matthew 8.
00:27:33.03\00:27:35.52
Matthew chapter 8, and I want
us to read verses 28 and 29.
00:27:36.66\00:27:41.38
Matthew 8:28-29
00:27:42.60\00:27:46.98
And this I find most
comforting, most encouraging.
00:27:47.40\00:27:49.86
And by the way, I've
preached a sermon like this
00:27:49.89\00:27:52.76
many, many, many times.
00:27:52.79\00:27:53.98
But I have never quite
approached it in this way
00:27:54.01\00:27:56.40
for the simple reason that
I never quite understood it
00:27:56.43\00:27:59.66
like this until recently myself.
00:27:59.69\00:28:03.24
And I hope it will be
encouraging to some of you.
00:28:03.27\00:28:05.51
Matthew 8, beginning
to read at the 28th verse.
00:28:05.54\00:28:09.70
Matthew 8:28-29
00:28:11.84\00:28:16.05
"When Jesus had gone over
to the other side of the lake
00:28:20.23\00:28:23.85
and over to the
country of the Gadarenes,
00:28:23.88\00:28:27.24
there met Him two men
who were demon possessed.
00:28:27.27\00:28:31.18
They came out
from amongst the tombs,
00:28:31.21\00:28:33.42
they were exceedingly
fierce and wanted that no man
00:28:33.45\00:28:37.06
should pass by that way.
00:28:37.09\00:28:38.85
And when they saw Jesus, they
cried out to Him and they said,
00:28:38.88\00:28:41.50
'What have we to do with
you, Jesus, You Son of God?
00:28:41.53\00:28:45.53
Are You come here to... '"
00:28:45.56\00:28:47.41
Now tell me what it says next.
00:28:47.44\00:28:49.56
"Are You come
here to torment us... "
00:28:49.95\00:28:52.28
Come on.
00:28:52.31\00:28:53.81
"... before the time?"
00:28:55.22\00:28:56.48
You see the theology here?
00:28:56.51\00:28:58.12
"Are You come to
bring torment to us now?"
00:28:58.90\00:29:01.42
No, torment is to come
at the end of all judgment.
00:29:01.45\00:29:05.30
And even demons, those
demon possessed knew it.
00:29:05.33\00:29:08.16
"Are You come to torment us
ahead of time, before the time?"
00:29:08.19\00:29:10.96
No, no.
00:29:10.99\00:29:13.40
The time for
punishment is not yet.
00:29:13.43\00:29:15.42
I want us now to go
together to Job chapter 21.
00:29:15.45\00:29:19.60
Job, and then the Psalms
and the Proverbs, chapter 21.
00:29:20.57\00:29:24.58
And we shall read at verse 30.
00:29:24.61\00:29:28.11
Job 21:30
00:29:28.14\00:29:31.29
Here it says, "The
wicked are reserved to the
00:29:31.32\00:29:37.74
day of destruction, that
they shall be brought forth
00:29:37.77\00:29:40.75
to the day of wrath. "
00:29:40.78\00:29:42.76
When is the punishment?
00:29:42.79\00:29:44.39
At the end, at the
time of destruction.
00:29:44.42\00:29:46.97
Now there is a scripture
almost exactly like that
00:29:47.00\00:29:49.65
to be found in 2 Peter.
00:29:49.68\00:29:51.23
And so I want you to turn with
me there, if you will please.
00:29:51.26\00:29:53.73
Only just for a moment.
00:29:53.76\00:29:54.98
2 Peter carries on the
theme in chapter 3 and verse 7.
00:29:56.24\00:29:59.28
2 Peter 3:7
00:29:59.31\00:30:02.89
"But the heavens and the earth
which are now, by the same word
00:30:02.92\00:30:06.61
are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment
00:30:06.64\00:30:11.25
and the
perdition of ungodly men. "
00:30:11.28\00:30:13.66
And so it is abundantly clear,
both Old and New Testaments,
00:30:13.69\00:30:16.72
that this day and age is
not the time for punishment.
00:30:16.75\00:30:20.24
But that rather, that
is still in the future.
00:30:20.27\00:30:23.77
Now listen to me.
00:30:23.80\00:30:25.11
And follow this logic, or
lack thereof, as you choose.
00:30:25.14\00:30:28.49
If God were causing punishment,
if God was behind the dropping
00:30:28.52\00:30:33.44
of the Twin Towers, if
God brought the tsunami out
00:30:33.47\00:30:36.96
in the far east, if God brought
Katrina to destroy the homes
00:30:36.99\00:30:40.92
and the lives of so many
hundreds and hundreds of people,
00:30:40.95\00:30:43.64
wouldn't it be only just
the wicked who are suffering?
00:30:45.19\00:30:48.12
If God is punishing wickedness,
wouldn't it just fall
00:30:48.60\00:30:52.35
upon the wicked?
00:30:52.38\00:30:54.28
But the
righteous suffer as well.
00:30:55.07\00:30:57.93
And oft times, it seems to
me and a lot of other folks,
00:30:57.96\00:31:00.60
that the righteous suffer more
intensely than do the wicked.
00:31:00.63\00:31:03.86
Revelation
chapter 19 and verse 2.
00:31:03.89\00:31:06.66
"True and righteous are
Thy judgments, oh Lord. "
00:31:06.69\00:31:10.57
And there are a number of
other places in the Bible.
00:31:10.60\00:31:12.29
I'm going to give you
some references where it is
00:31:12.32\00:31:14.37
abundantly clear that,
now, the wicked are the ones
00:31:14.40\00:31:17.63
that are really prospering.
00:31:17.66\00:31:18.93
They're, to a large degree, the
ones that are getting wealthy
00:31:18.96\00:31:22.21
because they have no conscience
and they're willing to cheat
00:31:22.24\00:31:25.40
and steal and lie, and do
whatever it takes to get ahead.
00:31:25.43\00:31:28.34
They'll walk on the
back of any honest man
00:31:28.37\00:31:30.46
to get to the top of the heap.
00:31:30.49\00:31:31.82
Psalm 73:3
00:31:31.85\00:31:34.66
Here Psalm 73:3, David
said, "I was jealous of the
00:31:34.69\00:31:39.15
prosperity of the wicked. "
00:31:39.18\00:31:42.32
Alright?
00:31:42.35\00:31:43.38
And then in Psalm 73:12, he
said, "The ungodly are the ones
00:31:43.41\00:31:48.16
who now prosper. "
00:31:48.19\00:31:49.58
The ungodly prosper.
00:31:49.61\00:31:50.99
And then in Psalm 73:17,
he said, "I didn't understand
00:31:51.02\00:31:55.86
why the wicked were prospering
and God's children were so
00:31:55.89\00:31:59.92
terribly suffering, until I went
and studied the sanctuary. "
00:31:59.95\00:32:05.38
And there's another good reason,
my dears, for studying and
00:32:05.41\00:32:08.38
loving the sanctuary service.
00:32:08.41\00:32:10.75
He said, "I began to understand
why good people suffer
00:32:10.78\00:32:14.88
and why wicked people prosper
when I studied God's sanctuary.
00:32:14.91\00:32:20.11
I understood then the
prosperity of the wicked. "
00:32:20.14\00:32:23.03
In the time of Christ,
and for a long while before,
00:32:23.51\00:32:26.53
Jewish people believed
that if a man were sick,
00:32:26.56\00:32:29.77
that was a result
of God's punishment.
00:32:29.80\00:32:32.30
If a man is both sick
and diseased, God really
00:32:32.33\00:32:35.60
dislikes that
person, really despises him.
00:32:35.63\00:32:37.94
And the more sick he
is, the poorer he is,
00:32:37.97\00:32:40.36
the greater his
disease, the more God is showing
00:32:40.39\00:32:43.38
His disrespect and
really His distaste
00:32:43.41\00:32:48.09
for those kinds of people.
00:32:48.12\00:32:49.81
The disciples, because of their
Jewish background, believed
00:32:53.26\00:32:56.89
the very same kind of a thing.
00:32:56.92\00:32:59.43
In John chapter 9 and
the first three verses,
00:32:59.46\00:33:03.13
they express that idea.
00:33:03.16\00:33:04.94
And we want to read
it together now please.
00:33:04.97\00:33:06.65
John's gospel, chapter 9
and the first three verses.
00:33:06.68\00:33:11.81
Chapter 9 of St.
John, verses 1, 2, and 3.
00:33:13.73\00:33:20.78
"As Jesus passed by, He saw a
man who'd been blind from birth.
00:33:24.78\00:33:28.92
And the disciples said
to Him, 'Master, who sinned?
00:33:28.95\00:33:31.66
Was it this man or was
it his parents, the cause of
00:33:31.69\00:33:35.07
his being born blind?'
00:33:35.10\00:33:36.48
And Jesus said, 'Neither
this man nor his parents are to
00:33:36.51\00:33:40.42
blame, but rather the works
of God be made manifest. '"
00:33:40.45\00:33:44.09
And so, here we see that
very same idea very prevalent
00:33:44.12\00:33:47.26
amongst the disciples of Jesus.
00:33:47.29\00:33:49.31
In Luke chapter 13, and we
ought to, we have the time,
00:33:49.34\00:33:51.78
let's turn there as well.
00:33:51.81\00:33:53.36
Luke 13, and we're going to
notice the first five verses.
00:33:53.39\00:33:57.07
This, by the way, is
in the context of the
00:33:58.76\00:34:00.85
belief of the Pharisees.
00:34:00.88\00:34:02.25
And this is the way it reads.
00:34:03.20\00:34:04.91
Luke 13,
beginning with verse one.
00:34:04.94\00:34:07.71
"There were present at
that season, some of those who
00:34:09.37\00:34:14.51
told Him of Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled
00:34:14.54\00:34:19.27
with their sacrifices.
00:34:19.30\00:34:20.91
And Jesus... "
00:34:20.94\00:34:22.20
And, by the way, it's talking
about believers in Jesus.
00:34:22.23\00:34:24.70
Folks who'd been martyred for
their faith in God and Christ.
00:34:24.73\00:34:27.98
In verse 2 it says, "Jesus,
answering, said unto them,
00:34:28.01\00:34:32.45
'Suppose ye that the
Galileans were sinners greater
00:34:32.48\00:34:36.15
than others of Galilee?
00:34:36.18\00:34:37.77
My people, were they greater
sinners than other Galileans
00:34:37.80\00:34:40.71
because they suffered so?'"
00:34:40.74\00:34:42.25
And then in verse 3
He says, "I tell you, no.
00:34:42.28\00:34:45.34
That's not right,
but except you repent,
00:34:45.37\00:34:48.19
you'll perish likewise. "
00:34:48.22\00:34:50.98
And then He goes on, "Were
those eighteen folks upon whom
00:34:51.01\00:34:54.87
the tower of Siloam fell and
died, were they greater sinners,
00:34:54.90\00:34:59.62
sinners above all that
live in and around Jerusalem?"
00:34:59.65\00:35:02.70
"No," He says. "No. "
00:35:02.73\00:35:04.97
God is not punishing His saints.
00:35:05.00\00:35:07.65
But rather, this is
the result of the old enemy
00:35:07.68\00:35:10.94
who brings disease
and all of the rest,
00:35:10.97\00:35:14.10
the pain and the
suffering and the death.
00:35:14.13\00:35:16.42
Would a righteous
God... Now listen carefully.
00:35:16.45\00:35:19.78
Would a righteous and holy
God cripple some little boy
00:35:19.81\00:35:25.36
or little girl in
order to punish his dad?
00:35:25.39\00:35:28.58
Of course not.
00:35:29.86\00:35:31.35
Of course not.
00:35:32.67\00:35:33.93
We, parents,
wouldn't react in such a way.
00:35:34.33\00:35:37.61
And certainly God wouldn't.
00:35:38.11\00:35:39.92
We human judges
wouldn't react in that way.
00:35:40.69\00:35:43.31
Job 14:7, it says
there, "Shall mortal man
00:35:43.34\00:35:47.90
be more just than God?"
00:35:47.93\00:35:49.21
And the answer,
of course is "no. "
00:35:49.24\00:35:50.72
That's a rhetorical question.
00:35:50.75\00:35:51.81
Of course not.
00:35:51.84\00:35:53.06
God wouldn't cause harm to
someone just to get revenge
00:35:53.09\00:35:57.31
on his dad or upon
someone else who's doing wrong.
00:35:57.34\00:36:00.55
When the Twin Towers fell, they
fell on a lot of innocent folks.
00:36:00.58\00:36:04.46
You see?
00:36:04.66\00:36:05.79
God wasn't behind it at all.
00:36:06.27\00:36:08.16
You remember the story of Job.
00:36:08.19\00:36:10.32
Job loved and
served God so faithfully.
00:36:10.96\00:36:12.93
And the devil
said, "You let me at him.
00:36:12.97\00:36:14.91
The only reason he serves You
is that You give him everything.
00:36:14.94\00:36:17.43
He has everything going his way.
00:36:17.46\00:36:19.10
Look at his wealth and look
how prosperous are his children
00:36:19.13\00:36:22.46
and how happy are they all.
00:36:22.49\00:36:24.30
He serves You because
You give him everything. "
00:36:24.33\00:36:25.93
And God said, "It's not so. "
00:36:25.96\00:36:27.53
And the devil
said, "You let me at him.
00:36:28.26\00:36:30.19
I'll prove to You
he'll curse You. "
00:36:30.22\00:36:32.57
And God said, "Alright Satan,
you may do anything to him.
00:36:32.60\00:36:35.50
You can take the houses
and the land and the family and
00:36:35.53\00:36:38.07
all of the rest, but
you can't take his life.
00:36:38.10\00:36:41.11
There I draw the line. "
00:36:41.14\00:36:42.65
And so you
remember, he lost the ranch
00:36:42.68\00:36:45.42
and the cattle,
and he lost his kids.
00:36:45.45\00:36:47.76
And then he had
this terrible disease.
00:36:47.79\00:36:51.44
It covered from the top of his
head to the soles of his feet.
00:36:51.47\00:36:53.80
Like suppurating wounds,
someone said, or terrible boils.
00:36:53.83\00:36:56.90
And in verse 12
of Job chapter 1,
00:36:57.86\00:37:00.91
"The Lord said unto Satan,"
and this is after the devil has
00:37:00.94\00:37:04.68
tested him and Job
has remained faithful.
00:37:04.71\00:37:06.91
"The Lord said unto Satan, 'All
that Job has is in your power
00:37:06.94\00:37:12.48
and he is in your hands. '"
00:37:12.51\00:37:15.44
You see?
00:37:15.47\00:37:16.44
The devil is behind it.
00:37:17.23\00:37:18.77
Now, if sickness, disease,
heartache was as a result
00:37:18.80\00:37:25.64
of the judgments of God, what
right would a Christian have
00:37:25.67\00:37:31.29
to open a hospital?
00:37:32.97\00:37:34.34
What right would a
Christian nurse have to go
00:37:34.98\00:37:38.23
and minister to the sick?
00:37:38.26\00:37:39.76
What right would a Christian
doctor have to help those
00:37:39.79\00:37:43.25
in the surgery room
or to dispense medicine
00:37:43.28\00:37:45.61
for the better health?
00:37:45.64\00:37:46.61
What right would anyone have to
meddle in the punishment of God?
00:37:46.62\00:37:50.85
No, God has been
grossly misrepresented
00:37:51.71\00:37:54.42
all down through the ages.
00:37:54.45\00:37:56.81
Now, we must be very careful
to point out that we may have,
00:37:56.84\00:38:01.61
we have opportunity to have, and
too oft times we take advantage
00:38:01.64\00:38:05.76
of the opportunity; the
ability, that's the best way
00:38:05.79\00:38:11.35
to say it I guess, the
ability to help the devil out.
00:38:11.41\00:38:14.91
And I'm going to read you
some scriptures in that regard.
00:38:14.94\00:38:17.02
1 Corinthians
chapter 9, verse 25.
00:38:17.05\00:38:20.99
1 Corinthian 9:25
00:38:21.02\00:38:22.82
Here the apostle Paul
says, "Every man that strives
00:38:22.85\00:38:26.16
for the mastery is... "
00:38:26.19\00:38:28.21
What?
00:38:28.24\00:38:29.21
Lives a profligate life that
goes out and eats and drinks
00:38:29.44\00:38:32.88
and parties all
day and all night long?
00:38:32.91\00:38:34.85
No.
00:38:34.88\00:38:35.85
"Every man that strives
for the mastery is temperate
00:38:35.86\00:38:39.42
in all things. "
00:38:39.45\00:38:42.55
Are you over working?
00:38:42.58\00:38:43.95
You know, too much of a
good thing is a bad thing.
00:38:44.79\00:38:46.98
Am I overeating, am I
not exercising enough?
00:38:47.50\00:38:49.85
Am I being intemperate?
00:38:49.88\00:38:51.53
Temperance is the
law of life and health.
00:38:51.56\00:38:55.30
And we've had so many,
many illustrations of those who
00:38:55.33\00:38:59.89
live the other kind of life and
then pay with an early death.
00:38:59.92\00:39:02.90
And we could mention
names, not to be in judgment
00:39:02.93\00:39:05.19
of their souls, but I think
immediately of John Belushi
00:39:05.22\00:39:08.10
who snorted cocaine and
injected all kinds of things
00:39:08.13\00:39:11.61
and ate like there
would never be another meal.
00:39:11.64\00:39:14.08
And John Candy was another.
00:39:14.11\00:39:15.56
And Chris Farley still another.
00:39:15.59\00:39:17.48
Galatians chapter 6 and verse 7.
00:39:17.88\00:39:20.26
There, God through
the apostle Paul said,
00:39:20.29\00:39:22.35
"Be not deceived,
God is not mocked.
00:39:22.38\00:39:25.65
For whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. "
00:39:25.68\00:39:32.66
Not always in this life,
we're not always going to
00:39:33.24\00:39:35.82
reap the harvest in this life.
00:39:35.85\00:39:37.25
But one day,
00:39:37.28\00:39:38.35
one day.
00:39:38.77\00:39:39.87
Someone, in response to
the move amongst politicians
00:39:41.51\00:39:46.50
these days to guarantee
and provide total health,
00:39:46.53\00:39:50.26
and health and medical
insurance to all Americans,
00:39:50.29\00:39:53.14
cradle to the
grave, womb to the tomb,
00:39:53.17\00:39:54.47
infants to the very
end of the old man's life,
00:39:54.50\00:39:58.94
said this, and you ask
yourself if it makes sense.
00:39:58.97\00:40:03.21
"Why is it that we spend
our money when we're young
00:40:03.24\00:40:07.42
to ruin our health, and when
we're older we expect others
00:40:07.45\00:40:11.55
with their tax dollars, to
spend those hard earned dollars
00:40:11.58\00:40:15.44
in order to help us try
and get our health back?"
00:40:15.47\00:40:18.41
Uh-huh.
00:40:19.61\00:40:20.87
Proverbs 6:27-28
00:40:22.28\00:40:25.92
There God asks
another rhetorical question.
00:40:25.95\00:40:28.69
"Can a man take
fire into his bosom... "
00:40:28.72\00:40:31.71
And as soon as I read
that, I was thinking of course
00:40:32.49\00:40:34.61
about tobacco, smoking.
00:40:34.64\00:40:37.04
"Can a man take fire
into his bosom and his
00:40:37.07\00:40:39.16
clothes not be burned?
00:40:39.19\00:40:40.46
Can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be burned?"
00:40:40.49\00:40:43.88
And the answer,
of course is "no. "
00:40:43.91\00:40:46.01
"Whatever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap. "
00:40:46.41\00:40:50.91
We cannot continuously disobey
God openly and flagrantly,
00:40:51.87\00:40:56.47
and expect to
walk away unscathed.
00:40:56.50\00:40:59.83
John Greenleaf
Whittier said it in these words.
00:41:00.56\00:41:04.49
"We shape ourselves,
the joy or fear, of which
00:41:04.52\00:41:08.67
the coming life is made.
00:41:08.70\00:41:10.08
We fill our future atmosphere
with sunshine or with shade.
00:41:10.11\00:41:15.33
The tissue of the life to be,
we weave with colors of our own.
00:41:15.36\00:41:21.38
In the field of destiny,
we reap as we have sown. "
00:41:21.98\00:41:28.42
And that's what
God said as well.
00:41:28.62\00:41:30.92
Someone said to me not long ago,
00:41:30.95\00:41:32.89
"Well, I'm not sure I
agree with you in that regard.
00:41:32.92\00:41:35.37
For I read not very long ago,
'Whom God loves, He chastens. '"
00:41:35.40\00:41:41.09
You've heard it
as well, haven't you.
00:41:41.12\00:41:42.74
"Whomever God
loves, He chastens. "
00:41:42.77\00:41:44.99
With the idea He
beats up on them.
00:41:45.02\00:41:47.56
He gives them a really hard
spanking with a leather strap.
00:41:47.59\00:41:50.22
Well, I did some
word study in that area.
00:41:50.25\00:41:53.49
And I don't want
to come off ever as
00:41:53.52\00:41:55.85
a Biblical languages scholar.
00:41:55.88\00:41:57.13
I am not.
00:41:57.16\00:41:58.13
I do know how to use the
tools and do the research.
00:41:58.14\00:42:00.45
And I discovered, that
word that in the King James
00:42:00.48\00:42:03.17
is translated "chasten", "Whom
the Lord loves, He chastens,"
00:42:03.20\00:42:07.43
is better understood to mean,
"He instructs and He educates. "
00:42:07.46\00:42:13.70
How about that.
00:42:13.73\00:42:14.74
Whomever the Lord loves,
He instructs and He educates.
00:42:15.04\00:42:19.66
God allows human suffering,
but He's not the designer of it.
00:42:19.69\00:42:25.50
He's not the originator of it.
00:42:25.53\00:42:27.50
And He certainly
does not cause it.
00:42:27.53\00:42:30.78
God has promised to be
with us during the heartache
00:42:30.81\00:42:34.54
and during the difficult times.
00:42:34.57\00:42:36.51
And I think I've
said to you before,
00:42:36.54\00:42:38.48
I don't
understand, I can't understand
00:42:38.51\00:42:42.44
how folks without faith can
walk away from the fresh grave
00:42:42.47\00:42:49.50
of their loved one;
their child, their spouse.
00:42:49.53\00:42:51.78
I don't know how they survive.
00:42:51.81\00:42:53.95
I don't know.
00:42:53.98\00:42:55.60
I'm so thankful to God
for the faith He's given
00:42:58.05\00:43:01.19
to Peggy and me, and
for the hope for the future.
00:43:01.22\00:43:04.98
We know we're all
going to be together again.
00:43:05.01\00:43:08.10
We clung, Peggy and I,
and memorized once again
00:43:08.13\00:43:11.93
those promises of God.
00:43:11.96\00:43:13.15
"I won't allow you to
be suffered above what
00:43:13.18\00:43:15.39
you're able to bear. "
00:43:15.42\00:43:16.44
"I won't allow that. "
00:43:17.04\00:43:18.27
"My grace... "
2 Corinthians 12:9
00:43:18.30\00:43:20.99
"My grace is
sufficient for you. "
00:43:21.02\00:43:23.17
And I've claimed that
promise day after day after day.
00:43:23.20\00:43:25.96
"I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me. "
00:43:25.99\00:43:28.71
Philippians 4 and verse 13.
00:43:28.74\00:43:33.34
And in Philippians 4:19,
same passage a few verses down,
00:43:33.37\00:43:37.59
"My God will supply
all of your needs. "
00:43:37.62\00:43:42.04
Nahum 1:9, a favorite
promise of mine lately.
00:43:42.90\00:43:49.14
"Affliction and suffering shall
not arise the second time. "
00:43:49.17\00:43:55.27
That's good news, isn't it.
00:43:55.30\00:43:57.62
That is such wonderful good news
00:43:58.02\00:44:00.52
to those that are suffering
00:44:01.11\00:44:02.96
pain, loss,
heartache, disease, separation.
00:44:03.78\00:44:09.95
"I know not where His islands
lift their fronded palms in air.
00:44:11.55\00:44:15.37
I only know I cannot drift
beyond His love and care. "
00:44:15.40\00:44:21.47
On our second night together,
I shared with you in conclusion
00:44:22.26\00:44:26.83
a little story, a true story.
00:44:26.86\00:44:29.38
I'm going to repeat it tonight.
00:44:29.41\00:44:32.02
There was a lady who was senior,
nearing death and knew it.
00:44:33.61\00:44:39.01
A very faithful Christian lady.
00:44:39.51\00:44:41.41
And she called her pastor over.
00:44:41.91\00:44:43.90
And she said, "With
the legal authorities,
00:44:43.93\00:44:47.67
I have made my will.
00:44:47.70\00:44:49.27
Now I want, with you
pastor, to plan my funeral. "
00:44:49.30\00:44:52.49
"I've been to so many," she
said, "and it is traditional
00:44:53.25\00:44:56.65
that the one who lies in the
casket lies with hands folded
00:44:56.68\00:45:01.31
over the chest.
00:45:01.34\00:45:02.85
Not me, pastor.
00:45:02.88\00:45:04.63
Not me. "
00:45:05.09\00:45:06.48
"Now," she said,
"in my left hand,
00:45:06.88\00:45:08.53
I want to be holding my Bible.
00:45:08.56\00:45:11.39
And in my right hand, I want
to be holding a kitchen fork. "
00:45:12.43\00:45:18.13
And I'm sure the
preachers jaw dropped.
00:45:18.16\00:45:20.05
"What do you mean?
00:45:20.08\00:45:21.08
I can understand you wanting
your Bible buried with you.
00:45:21.11\00:45:23.18
What do you mean you
want to be holding your fork?"
00:45:23.21\00:45:25.42
And the lady said, "Pastor,
one of the things I love
00:45:25.45\00:45:29.02
about the fellowship
at church are the dinners.
00:45:29.05\00:45:31.90
One of the things I really
look forward to are the dinners.
00:45:31.93\00:45:34.68
And we have such
wonderful dinners.
00:45:34.71\00:45:37.00
But I always enjoy it most when
they're cleaning up the tables,
00:45:37.03\00:45:41.49
someone leans over to me and
says, 'Hang onto your fork. '
00:45:41.52\00:45:45.96
For I know
something better is coming.
00:45:49.80\00:45:52.21
I know the dessert
will soon be served. "
00:45:55.50\00:45:57.80
And so again, I
say to all of you,
00:46:00.58\00:46:03.82
and to my own heart,
00:46:04.22\00:46:05.64
and to Peggy's and our kids,
00:46:06.66\00:46:09.13
"Hang onto your fork. "
00:46:13.03\00:46:15.04
Now let's pray.
00:46:17.27\00:46:18.59
Forgive us, Lord, if
ever we have blamed You
00:46:20.89\00:46:25.36
for the pain and the sorrow,
the death and the disease.
00:46:26.78\00:46:30.15
We know that You
originally planned for life
00:46:33.18\00:46:36.67
that was full and
abundant and healthful.
00:46:38.02\00:46:41.95
We know that our
Lord Jesus promised,
00:46:43.27\00:46:45.08
"I am come that you
might have the abundant life. "
00:46:45.11\00:46:48.01
And so often, we've
turned away from Your lifestyle,
00:46:48.50\00:46:51.72
Your example, from Your diet.
00:46:51.75\00:46:54.79
So often times, we've
lived the life of the prodigal.
00:46:55.20\00:46:59.40
So often times, we've
taken in that which is
00:47:00.00\00:47:03.03
for our own destruction.
00:47:03.06\00:47:04.54
Forgive us.
00:47:04.94\00:47:06.43
Make us better
tomorrow than we are today.
00:47:06.83\00:47:09.59
Strengthen our weaknesses.
00:47:09.62\00:47:11.45
Help us follow
better our strengths.
00:47:13.38\00:47:15.81
In the meantime,
give us the courage
00:47:16.21\00:47:20.65
as we hang onto our forks.
00:47:22.31\00:47:24.05
In Jesus' name, we
praise You and thank You always.
00:47:24.08\00:47:27.13
Amen.
00:47:27.16\00:47:29.11
And I'm going to begin
with a question that was
00:47:31.05\00:47:34.08
just handed to
me a little bit ago.
00:47:34.11\00:47:36.00
Does the Bible call
our Father and Jesus
00:47:36.03\00:47:38.83
and the Holy Spirit all God?
00:47:38.86\00:47:40.60
And the answer
to that is "yes. "
00:47:40.63\00:47:42.01
The Bible does refer to the Holy
Father, and the Holy Son Jesus,
00:47:42.04\00:47:46.77
and the Holy Spirit all as God.
00:47:46.80\00:47:50.22
Now one night here, I
took only just a few minutes
00:47:50.25\00:47:53.38
to try to help one or two
understand the God family.
00:47:53.41\00:47:58.70
And I remember saying that the
name "God" is the family name.
00:47:59.64\00:48:03.57
And I likened it to our
family name "Albrecht. "
00:48:03.60\00:48:06.81
There is Lyle, there is Peggy.
00:48:06.84\00:48:10.52
There is our son Troy
and our daughter Tammy.
00:48:10.55\00:48:15.23
And we're different, yet
we're very alike in many ways.
00:48:15.26\00:48:19.20
But we share a
common family name.
00:48:19.23\00:48:22.83
"God" is the
family name in the Bible.
00:48:22.86\00:48:26.49
And it's made up of
three members of the family.
00:48:26.52\00:48:29.34
God, whom we now
refer to as the Holy Father.
00:48:29.37\00:48:32.49
God, whom we now refer
to as the Son, the Holy Son.
00:48:32.52\00:48:36.30
And God, whom we
refer to as the Holy Spirit.
00:48:36.33\00:48:39.05
Different distinct people.
00:48:39.08\00:48:42.07
When Jesus was here on earth,
John chapter 17, among other
00:48:42.10\00:48:45.87
places, He prayed, "Our
Father which art in heaven. "
00:48:45.90\00:48:50.92
You see.
00:48:50.95\00:48:52.03
And the Holy Spirit, in
the book of Acts you read,
00:48:52.06\00:48:56.37
He can be lied to.
00:48:56.40\00:48:57.63
You remember
Ananias and Sapphira?
00:48:57.66\00:48:59.77
You have lied
to the Holy Spirit.
00:48:59.80\00:49:03.16
He's different from the
Holy Father, from Jesus,
00:49:03.19\00:49:07.74
but one in purpose
and one in Their outreach.
00:49:07.77\00:49:15.33
One in Their desire for
salvation for everybody.
00:49:15.36\00:49:18.87
They have different jobs to do.
00:49:18.90\00:49:20.66
When Jesus was here
on earth He was a healer,
00:49:21.46\00:49:25.91
He was a teacher,
He was an example.
00:49:25.94\00:49:28.77
He discipled,
that means He taught.
00:49:28.80\00:49:31.83
And then He apostled,
that means He sent out
00:49:31.86\00:49:34.70
His students to
share what He had taught.
00:49:34.73\00:49:37.45
Shortly before He
ascended, and you find this in
00:49:38.70\00:49:41.30
John chapters 13, 14,
15, He said to His disciples,
00:49:41.33\00:49:45.83
"I won't' leave you helpless,
I won't leave you in a jam,
00:49:45.86\00:49:49.20
I won't leave you comfortless.
00:49:49.23\00:49:51.44
But I will send the
Comforter, the Holy Spirit. "
00:49:51.47\00:49:56.60
I have had folks who, on
occasion, have said to me,
00:49:58.66\00:50:02.04
"I know the Bible says this... "
00:50:03.04\00:50:04.49
It may be about
what happens at death,
00:50:04.52\00:50:06.96
it may be about how to eat,
00:50:06.99\00:50:08.99
it may be about the Sabbath
and which day to worship upon.
00:50:09.02\00:50:13.28
But I've had several who've
said to me during my 37 years
00:50:13.31\00:50:17.09
of ministry, "I know that's
what it says in the Bible,
00:50:17.12\00:50:19.93
but... "
00:50:19.96\00:50:21.67
And by the way, everything
after the "but" leads us
00:50:22.07\00:50:24.91
into trouble, generally.
00:50:24.94\00:50:26.48
"... but the Holy
Spirit hasn't impressed me that
00:50:26.96\00:50:31.00
it's important for me.
00:50:31.03\00:50:32.25
But the Holy Spirit has
said to me that doesn't apply.
00:50:33.35\00:50:37.97
But the Holy
Spirit has said to me,
00:50:38.00\00:50:40.66
'No, you do it
this other way. '"
00:50:40.69\00:50:43.72
Now listen very
carefully to this idea.
00:50:45.14\00:50:49.64
Jesus said in John 17:17,
00:50:51.76\00:50:54.93
"Sanctify them through Thy
truth; Thy word is truth. "
00:50:54.96\00:51:02.64
Alright?
00:51:02.67\00:51:03.64
Jesus said in John's
gospel chapters 14 and 15,
00:51:04.84\00:51:08.54
"When He, the Spirit of
truth is come, He will lead you
00:51:09.67\00:51:16.58
into all truth. "
00:51:16.61\00:51:18.11
By the statement of
our Lord Jesus, the Bible
00:51:19.70\00:51:23.42
is the word of
truth and the Holy Spirit
00:51:23.45\00:51:27.05
is the Spirit of truth.
00:51:27.08\00:51:29.01
Now, the bottom
line as we've come
00:51:29.41\00:51:33.13
to the end of the logic here.
00:51:33.16\00:51:34.88
The Bible, the word of
truth, and the Holy Spirit,
00:51:36.02\00:51:39.85
the Spirit of truth,
will always be in harmony.
00:51:39.88\00:51:43.70
You see.
00:51:44.38\00:51:45.57
The Holy Bible and the
Holy Spirit will always
00:51:47.29\00:51:50.61
say the same thing.
00:51:50.64\00:51:51.61
Our Bible came to us
from the Holy Spirit.
00:51:51.62\00:51:53.40
Holy men of God spoke as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost.
00:51:53.43\00:51:56.20
Do you remember?
00:51:56.23\00:51:57.20
And so, they'll
always be in agreement.
00:51:58.30\00:52:00.20
And if someone says, "Well,
I know that the Bible says
00:52:00.23\00:52:03.16
Saturday's the Sabbath,
but the Holy Spirit has told me
00:52:03.19\00:52:06.98
to do it otherwise," I
sometimes say to those folks,
00:52:07.01\00:52:10.32
if I don't verbalize, I
certainly am thinking it,
00:52:10.35\00:52:12.53
"No, the wrong spirit
has been talking to you. "
00:52:12.56\00:52:15.46
Not God's Spirit, the wrong
spirit has been talking to you.
00:52:16.64\00:52:21.04
Now, in the Bible there are
several names that are simply
00:52:21.74\00:52:26.07
translated as "God. "
00:52:26.10\00:52:27.95
There is
Elohim, there is Adonai,
00:52:28.81\00:52:31.71
there is Jehovah,
and there are others
00:52:31.74\00:52:35.06
all simply translated as "God. "
00:52:35.09\00:52:39.05
Among those names, there
is one that is considered
00:52:40.04\00:52:43.52
by the Bible writer
and by the children of God
00:52:43.55\00:52:48.65
early on in the Old
Testament times to be so holy
00:52:48.68\00:52:51.60
that it ought not
to even be verbalized.
00:52:51.63\00:52:54.60
And that is the name Jehovah.
00:52:54.63\00:52:57.24
The name Jehovah is, in it's
origin, only just four letters
00:52:59.82\00:53:06.24
without any vowels.
00:53:06.27\00:53:07.75
YHWH
00:53:07.78\00:53:13.39
And theologians and Bible
teachers refer to that today
00:53:13.42\00:53:17.73
as the tetragrammaton;
four letters, YHWH.
00:53:17.76\00:53:24.21
So that we can say it in word
form, we have added the vowels
00:53:24.24\00:53:29.19
E and A, and so forth, O.
00:53:29.22\00:53:32.83
Jehovah
00:53:32.86\00:53:34.25
Now the name "Jehovah"
that is translated as "God"
00:53:35.19\00:53:39.13
was used almost exclusively to
show the eternal nature of God.
00:53:39.16\00:53:45.74
At the burning bush
Moses asked, "Who are You?"
00:53:46.49\00:53:49.57
And the voice came back, "I AM."
00:53:50.28\00:53:53.43
"I AM"
00:53:53.46\00:53:55.10
That means that
God has always existed.
00:53:55.96\00:53:59.92
Way back before recorded
history, ever before there was
00:54:00.52\00:54:06.22
mankind on planet
earth, there was God.
00:54:06.25\00:54:10.57
Today, God is on the throne.
00:54:11.81\00:54:14.49
The God family.
00:54:15.47\00:54:16.97
And as long as
there shall be eternity,
00:54:17.00\00:54:20.84
there shall always be God.
00:54:20.87\00:54:22.72
Now I must be honest and say
to you that when I was a child
00:54:22.75\00:54:27.06
or a young teenager, that idea
of God's being there forever,
00:54:27.09\00:54:32.24
way before, I mean, my
mind sort of got lost in it.
00:54:32.27\00:54:36.06
The longer I live, the
more sense eternity makes.
00:54:36.77\00:54:40.81
Especially in the future,
it's going to take an eternity
00:54:40.84\00:54:43.84
to do all of the fun things
that God has planned for us.
00:54:43.87\00:54:46.73
Isn't it now?
00:54:46.76\00:54:47.86
But here is what
I'm moving toward now.
00:54:48.86\00:54:52.19
Jehovah, the
eternal nature of God.
00:54:52.22\00:54:55.53
There have been those who
have built whole churches around
00:54:55.56\00:54:59.61
the idea that
Jesus is not eternal,
00:54:59.64\00:55:02.87
that Jesus is created.
00:55:02.90\00:55:04.46
And they will take that passage
where it says, John 3:16,
00:55:04.49\00:55:09.34
that He is the only "begotten. "
00:55:09.37\00:55:13.29
Uh-huh.
00:55:13.32\00:55:14.82
"For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten... "
00:55:14.85\00:55:20.42
And they'll take that and
build a theology around it.
00:55:20.45\00:55:23.43
In the original, the word
"begotten" did not carry the
00:55:24.58\00:55:28.68
idea of one who was born,
or created, for that matter.
00:55:28.71\00:55:33.36
But rather it
meant, "one who is unique;
00:55:33.39\00:55:37.42
one like whom
there is no other. "
00:55:37.45\00:55:39.81
And that's what
it says about Jesus,
00:55:40.36\00:55:42.11
there was never
another like Him.
00:55:42.14\00:55:44.24
God sent His unique Son.
00:55:44.27\00:55:46.78
Not that He was born,
not that He was created.
00:55:46.81\00:55:49.54
But Jesus Christ is eternal,
Jesus Christ is Jehovah God.
00:55:49.57\00:55:55.06
And at the burning bush,
God said to Moses, "I AM."
00:55:55.09\00:56:00.19
"Who are You?"
asked Moses. "I AM."
00:56:00.22\00:56:02.50
"I always have been, I am
today, I always shall be. "
00:56:02.53\00:56:05.59
"I am eternal, I am Jehovah. "
00:56:05.62\00:56:08.18
Now, let's flash forward
to the ministry of Jesus.
00:56:08.21\00:56:11.56
Folks would ask
Him, "Who are You?"
00:56:13.09\00:56:15.26
And Jesus would respond with
an answer that almost without
00:56:15.29\00:56:19.84
exception
included two words, "I AM."
00:56:19.87\00:56:24.16
"I AM" "I AM"
00:56:24.19\00:56:27.07
And every time He said
that, He was claiming to be
00:56:27.10\00:56:30.63
eternal Jehovah God.
00:56:30.66\00:56:32.29
"I am the way, I am
the truth, I am the life,
00:56:32.32\00:56:37.63
I am the bread. "
00:56:37.66\00:56:41.26
"I AM", "I AM", "I AM"
00:56:41.29\00:56:43.80
You see?
00:56:44.24\00:56:45.49
"Before Abraham was, I AM."
00:56:45.69\00:56:47.86
Eternal Jehovah God.
00:56:48.43\00:56:49.94
Now, if someone should
come to you and say to you,
00:56:49.97\00:56:54.88
"I don't believe that
Jesus Christ is eternal God.
00:56:54.91\00:56:58.81
I don't believe
that He is Jehovah. "
00:56:58.84\00:57:01.45
you might respond
like often times I do.
00:57:01.48\00:57:05.75
You might then say,
"Then you're in real trouble. "
00:57:06.22\00:57:09.44
"You're in real
trouble if Jesus Christ is not
00:57:11.40\00:57:14.18
eternal Jehovah God. "
00:57:14.21\00:57:16.48
And when folks come knocking on
my door and want to come in and
00:57:16.84\00:57:20.71
study the Bible with me, this
is often where I will begin.
00:57:20.74\00:57:24.32
Because it is essential, it
is the primary building block
00:57:24.35\00:57:28.69
as far as I'm concerned,
of the Christian faith
00:57:28.72\00:57:31.40
and of the plan of salvation.
00:57:31.43\00:57:33.06