Welcome to each of you.
00:00:59.96\00:01:01.76
It's good to see you always.
00:01:03.47\00:01:05.29
You're faces are
becoming familiar to me.
00:01:06.52\00:01:09.00
Becoming like family.
00:01:09.03\00:01:11.01
And if I were to look out
now and see some of you missing,
00:01:11.04\00:01:14.48
I would feel badly.
00:01:16.52\00:01:17.87
So don't let me down, alright?
00:01:17.90\00:01:19.92
Tonight's travel
is very, very special.
00:01:20.66\00:01:22.46
I want you to
fasten your seatbelts while
00:01:22.49\00:01:23.87
the lights go down.
00:01:23.90\00:01:24.87
We're going to go
together to Masada.
00:01:24.88\00:01:26.97
It's a rock down on
the shores of the Dead Sea.
00:01:28.21\00:01:31.42
We're, from the top of
the rock, looking down now
00:01:33.82\00:01:36.47
upon the Dead Sea.
00:01:36.50\00:01:37.82
In distance, we're only about
30 miles, perhaps a little less
00:01:37.85\00:01:41.84
than that from Jerusalem.
00:01:41.87\00:01:43.45
We are a bit to the east
and a fair bit to the south.
00:01:43.48\00:01:47.40
The waters of the
Dead Sea, by the way,
00:01:47.80\00:01:50.42
are some of the most
interesting in all of the world.
00:01:51.10\00:01:54.79
There is so much salt, saline,
and other kinds of chemicals
00:01:55.00\00:02:00.94
I guess, in the water
that you easily float.
00:02:00.97\00:02:05.63
Folks go down there to swim
and because you don't have to
00:02:05.66\00:02:09.21
worry about putting those
little water wings on the kids.
00:02:09.24\00:02:11.92
Everybody floats.
00:02:11.95\00:02:13.63
And the fascinating thing is
that if you have a fair amount
00:02:13.66\00:02:18.40
of body fat, you float
higher and higher still.
00:02:18.43\00:02:21.91
Curious the way..
00:02:22.31\00:02:23.36
I got in there and
didn't even get wet.
00:02:23.39\00:02:25.84
Now here we are from
the shore of the Dead Sea
00:02:29.04\00:02:32.72
looking at Masada.
00:02:32.75\00:02:34.60
And I want you to
notice something here
00:02:34.63\00:02:37.42
from this vantage point.
00:02:37.45\00:02:38.78
I'm going to use my pointer.
00:02:38.81\00:02:40.30
Right in the middle of
the screen, there you'll see
00:02:40.33\00:02:43.24
a zigzag trail.
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That's called the snake
trail, ladies and gentlemen.
00:02:44.65\00:02:47.20
And for hundreds of years, that
was the only way up to the top.
00:02:47.23\00:02:51.47
There was a ladder
that allowed you to
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make the last 20 or 30 feet.
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How big is the thing?
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Well, it's 1400
feet high, this rock
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that juts up out of the desert.
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And the top is
flat and it's about
00:03:04.56\00:03:08.22
2000 feet in length at the top.
00:03:08.25\00:03:12.08
And the shape is very much like
the flat iron that we use to
00:03:12.11\00:03:15.94
heat to iron the clothes with.
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Anybody old
enough to remember that?
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No? Alright.
00:03:19.65\00:03:21.27
Well in any event, 150
years before the birth of Jesus,
00:03:21.30\00:03:26.71
a Jew by the name of Jonathan
went up there and built a fort,
00:03:28.16\00:03:33.95
because it was a place of
refuge for Jewish warriors
00:03:34.93\00:03:38.73
who were fighting against
the Syrians at the time of
00:03:38.76\00:03:42.48
the Hasmonean Revolt.
00:03:42.51\00:03:44.50
They built a
wall around the place.
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How did they do that?
00:03:46.88\00:03:47.85
Well, they went over the
side and quarried back in to the
00:03:47.86\00:03:53.48
earth that is much stone like.
00:03:53.51\00:03:55.64
And then they brought those
blocks up over and placed them
00:03:55.67\00:03:59.73
in a perimeter
around the top of it.
00:03:59.76\00:04:02.58
Well, after the
Hasmonean Revolt, it was used
00:04:02.61\00:04:06.59
really as just kind
of a place of resort.
00:04:06.62\00:04:09.69
A place to go up
and have a nice view.
00:04:09.72\00:04:11.97
A place to give you some
good exercise if you climbed
00:04:12.00\00:04:15.32
from the bottom
up toward the top.
00:04:15.35\00:04:16.95
You had a wonderful view
then of the Valley of Zin
00:04:16.98\00:04:20.40
and the Dead Sea.
00:04:20.43\00:04:21.74
And you could, on a clear
day, see to the north up to the
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beautiful mountains of snow at
the north end of the Dead Sea.
00:04:25.32\00:04:30.39
But this place began to take
on an air of serious importance
00:04:31.50\00:04:36.87
when about 60 before
Christ the Romans took the place
00:04:36.90\00:04:44.57
and continued to hold it
until Herod, Herod the Great,
00:04:45.19\00:04:51.03
decided that he would
go up there and make it
00:04:51.06\00:04:53.51
a winter palace
and a winter resort.
00:04:53.54\00:04:55.27
And that he did.
00:04:55.30\00:04:56.27
He built two great palaces
up on the top of the place.
00:04:56.28\00:04:59.60
And it was very safe.
00:04:59.63\00:05:00.73
Any enemy would have
to do the zigzag thing
00:05:00.76\00:05:04.17
to try to get up there.
00:05:04.20\00:05:05.26
And then once they were near
the top, they'd have to climb
00:05:05.29\00:05:08.38
the ladder to gain entry.
00:05:08.41\00:05:09.45
And it'd be pretty
easy to push them back over.
00:05:09.48\00:05:11.47
So Herod built a great
palace with wonderful views.
00:05:11.50\00:05:14.80
Two palaces, both of them
with wonderful, wonderful views.
00:05:14.83\00:05:18.28
Now, we're going to move forward
in time and in importance.
00:05:18.31\00:05:22.78
In 66 AD, a revolt among
the Jews against the Romans
00:05:24.03\00:05:29.52
who were ruling
the world, broke out.
00:05:29.55\00:05:31.20
Titus Vespasian, Rome's most
able general, initially sent
00:05:35.23\00:05:40.18
his general, Silva,
over to the Holy Land
00:05:40.21\00:05:44.19
to put down the
Jewish rebellion.
00:05:44.22\00:05:46.49
Up north from Jerusalem
at a village called Jotapata,
00:05:47.85\00:05:50.86
the Jews had built a wall around
the city and were on the inside
00:05:50.89\00:05:54.97
laughing at the Romans.
00:05:55.00\00:05:56.45
Silva went around a hill and
out of site and had his soldiers
00:05:56.48\00:06:00.54
build a battering ram.
00:06:00.57\00:06:02.66
And then they brought
the battering ram around the
00:06:03.35\00:06:05.97
corner of the hill and the folks
on the inside stopped laughing.
00:06:06.00\00:06:09.63
They rolled that huge war
machine up against the wall.
00:06:09.66\00:06:13.30
And on the third strike
of the ram, the wall caved in
00:06:13.33\00:06:18.18
and the Romans moved in
and destroyed the place.
00:06:18.21\00:06:21.48
Down in Jerusalem, the folks
heard what had been happening
00:06:23.86\00:06:28.01
up north in Jotapata.
00:06:28.04\00:06:29.40
And they decided
they would reinforce
00:06:30.10\00:06:32.95
their wall in Jerusalem.
00:06:32.98\00:06:34.79
And that they did.
00:06:34.82\00:06:36.02
Titus Vespasian himself, decided
it was time to join the battle
00:06:37.22\00:06:40.41
because Silva was going to have
a tough fight down at Jerusalem.
00:06:40.44\00:06:44.59
And so he came down and instead
of building a battering ram,
00:06:44.62\00:06:48.53
instead of trying
to knock down the wall,
00:06:48.56\00:06:50.38
he simply played
the waiting game.
00:06:50.41\00:06:52.65
He put the Roman
legions in a perimeter around
00:06:52.68\00:06:56.04
the city of Jerusalem.
00:06:56.07\00:06:57.62
He knew that on the
inside they had sufficient water
00:06:57.65\00:07:00.62
to last for days
and days and days.
00:07:00.65\00:07:02.71
But he also knew that
they did not have enough food
00:07:02.74\00:07:06.69
to last for more
than a couple of months.
00:07:06.72\00:07:11.19
By the 82nd day of the
siege, the folks inside
00:07:12.70\00:07:17.02
were cannibalizing their dead.
00:07:17.05\00:07:19.52
Babies were dying and the
old and the sick were dying.
00:07:19.55\00:07:23.02
And the Jews were
cannibalizing them.
00:07:23.05\00:07:26.76
And a group of them,
under the cover of darkness,
00:07:26.79\00:07:29.36
decided it was
time to get out of town.
00:07:29.39\00:07:31.42
And so, about 1000 of them
made their way, slipped out of
00:07:31.45\00:07:35.55
the city and made their
way over to the Dead Sea area
00:07:35.58\00:07:39.49
and went up the
snake trail and got inside.
00:07:39.52\00:07:43.30
960 to be exact.
00:07:43.70\00:07:46.69
That included men
and women and children.
00:07:46.72\00:07:49.79
Now there's an aerial
view of the top of the place.
00:07:49.83\00:07:51.65
You see it's not
unlike the shape of an iron.
00:07:51.68\00:07:53.96
And if you look down
around the base, by the way,
00:07:53.99\00:07:56.58
you can see some
of the stones still,
00:07:56.61\00:07:58.87
some of the foundation stones
of the camps that the Romans
00:07:58.90\00:08:04.46
placed there when they came to
take this thing back in 73 AD.
00:08:04.49\00:08:10.01
To get there today, you
can get aboard this tram.
00:08:10.04\00:08:14.89
You see the folks going, but
still at the very top of it all,
00:08:14.92\00:08:18.29
you have to climb a ladder.
00:08:18.32\00:08:19.92
There it is.
00:08:19.95\00:08:20.92
The tram doesn't go
all of the way to the top.
00:08:20.93\00:08:22.60
So you climb the
ladder the last 30 or 40 feet
00:08:22.63\00:08:26.25
to gain an entrance to the top.
00:08:26.28\00:08:28.39
Now, let's talk together
about what happened in 73 AD.
00:08:28.42\00:08:35.87
Generals Silva
and Titus Vespasian,
00:08:37.31\00:08:40.37
who was soon to become
the Emperor of all of Rome,
00:08:40.40\00:08:42.89
moved in on this place.
00:08:42.92\00:08:45.77
They had taken Jerusalem
and all of the other wild fires
00:08:45.80\00:08:50.58
of Jewish revolt in
the surrounding areas
00:08:50.61\00:08:53.49
and they moved the armies here.
00:08:53.52\00:08:55.53
And up on the top, the
Jews began to laugh at them.
00:08:55.56\00:09:00.83
Laughing, "Ha ha, do your
best. Catch us if you can. "
00:09:00.86\00:09:04.22
That was the idea.
00:09:04.25\00:09:05.58
A man by the name
of Eleazar ben Jair
00:09:06.89\00:09:10.17
was the leader of
the Jewish zealots.
00:09:10.20\00:09:13.30
And he led them in their
clapping and in their hooting
00:09:13.33\00:09:16.27
and their howling.
00:09:16.30\00:09:17.27
So Silva decided that
they would build a ramp on the
00:09:18.29\00:09:24.94
west side of this mountain.
00:09:24.97\00:09:26.83
And so he put the legions
of Rome to work gathering rocks
00:09:26.86\00:09:30.69
and gathering dirt in
wheel barrel like affairs,
00:09:30.72\00:09:33.64
and in bushel
baskets and in sacks.
00:09:33.67\00:09:35.65
They began to carry
earth to build a ramp.
00:09:35.68\00:09:38.54
And the Jews up inside
laughed more loudly than ever.
00:09:38.57\00:09:43.36
"Even if they came up on that
ramp, they'd never be able to
00:09:43.39\00:09:46.01
breach the wall.
00:09:46.04\00:09:47.01
They don't have
a chance at all. "
00:09:47.02\00:09:49.21
Now as you look up
there, you see the remains
00:09:50.29\00:09:53.43
of one of the palaces that
was built by Herod the Great.
00:09:53.46\00:09:57.97
You can imagine spending the
winter time up there, can't you.
00:09:58.00\00:10:00.87
There is plenty of forced
labor to bring him everything
00:10:00.90\00:10:03.85
that his heart desired.
00:10:03.88\00:10:05.08
There is plenty of water for
they would fill those cavities,
00:10:05.11\00:10:09.05
those caves from which
they had taken the stone
00:10:09.08\00:10:12.47
to build the wall
and to build the palace,
00:10:12.50\00:10:14.62
filled them up with water.
00:10:14.65\00:10:16.31
And you can
imagine the chore that was.
00:10:16.34\00:10:18.50
Going to the Jordan with
horses and wagons and some other
00:10:18.53\00:10:22.51
devices perhaps, and getting
fresh water and bringing it here
00:10:22.54\00:10:25.72
and then laboriously taking it
up snake trail, up to the top.
00:10:25.75\00:10:30.28
But if you have enough
men, it doesn't really matter.
00:10:30.31\00:10:33.81
If you have all that power.
00:10:33.84\00:10:35.40
And now we're up near the
top and we're looking back down.
00:10:37.46\00:10:40.45
Imagine the Roman
soldiers with spades.
00:10:41.66\00:10:45.51
Not good shovels like we
have today, but really crude
00:10:45.54\00:10:49.06
instruments digging up the
dirt and putting a few rocks
00:10:49.09\00:10:52.88
in a bag or in a basket
and carrying them over and
00:10:52.91\00:10:56.41
putting them and
then tamping them down,
00:10:56.44\00:10:58.93
and tamping them down.
00:10:58.96\00:11:00.22
Months and months
and months went by.
00:11:00.25\00:11:04.06
And the ramp grew and grew.
00:11:05.84\00:11:08.37
But still on the inside
the Jews laughed out loud.
00:11:08.40\00:11:12.07
Now we're going to take
a look at some of the ruins
00:11:12.10\00:11:15.70
that date back to the
time of Herod the Great.
00:11:15.73\00:11:18.25
Well, you see
those great stones?
00:11:18.28\00:11:19.90
Those stones are the drums,
or sections, from the Greek
00:11:19.93\00:11:24.44
style pillars of the
temple and the palace.
00:11:24.47\00:11:27.52
And you can see that
they had carvings in them
00:11:27.55\00:11:30.13
to make them very lovely.
00:11:30.16\00:11:31.22
And after they were all
finished and put together,
00:11:31.25\00:11:35.11
then the craftsmen
striated them and painted them
00:11:35.14\00:11:39.89
so that from a distance
they looked like marble.
00:11:39.92\00:11:42.76
They looked like something that
had certainly come from Greece
00:11:42.79\00:11:45.46
or maybe from Rome itself.
00:11:45.49\00:11:47.23
And they were living
the good life up here.
00:11:47.26\00:11:49.58
Having a good
time. Plenty to eat.
00:11:49.61\00:11:51.95
Plenty of fresh water.
00:11:51.98\00:11:53.53
Now, hold the
revolt of 73 in your minds
00:11:54.72\00:11:59.29
and let me bring
you to modern time.
00:11:59.32\00:12:02.09
In 1971-72, an archaeologist
and a brilliant political mind,
00:12:02.12\00:12:11.82
a man by the name
of Dr. Yigael Yadin
00:12:11.85\00:12:14.26
who would teach archaeology
and Hebrew history at
00:12:14.29\00:12:18.43
Hebrew University in the
city of Jerusalem, came here
00:12:18.46\00:12:21.23
and began an archaeological dig.
00:12:21.26\00:12:23.24
And he found armaments,
pieces of armor and weaponry
00:12:23.27\00:12:27.86
that dated back to
the times before Jesus.
00:12:27.89\00:12:31.13
A 100 years before
Jesus in the Hasmonean revolt.
00:12:31.16\00:12:33.74
And then he found the
absolute proof of the palaces
00:12:33.77\00:12:37.61
of Herod the Great.
00:12:37.64\00:12:39.20
And some of the other things.
00:12:39.23\00:12:40.51
There are lines that go
through these stone walls
00:12:40.54\00:12:43.53
that they have
put back together.
00:12:43.56\00:12:44.81
Sometimes we can see them pretty
well and other times we can't.
00:12:44.84\00:12:48.20
But below that black
line, that we may see soon,
00:12:48.23\00:12:52.57
the stones that are
standing there are original.
00:12:52.60\00:12:56.24
They date back
to the time of Herod
00:12:56.27\00:12:58.24
and the final revolt in 73.
00:12:58.27\00:13:00.19
And the stones above that
were placed there in 1973.
00:13:00.22\00:13:03.77
Now this is one of the
water tunnels, one of the holes,
00:13:03.80\00:13:07.14
one of the mines if you please,
from which they took that
00:13:07.17\00:13:10.13
building material and
then filled it up with water
00:13:10.16\00:13:14.11
to make it to
become a reservoir.
00:13:14.14\00:13:16.60
We're walking in and
amongst the ruins now
00:13:17.01\00:13:20.00
that date back to the time...
00:13:20.03\00:13:21.29
There's one of
those black lines.
00:13:21.32\00:13:22.50
Right in the very center
of the picture is that kind of
00:13:22.53\00:13:25.21
crooked black line.
00:13:25.24\00:13:26.90
Everything
beneath that is original.
00:13:26.93\00:13:28.79
It dates back to the
time of Herod the Great.
00:13:28.82\00:13:31.15
And everything
above it has been replaced
00:13:31.18\00:13:33.91
since the time of
the archaeological digs.
00:13:33.94\00:13:38.44
Some of the buildings have been
put back intact and we could
00:13:38.47\00:13:41.94
go inside to discover the
nice lifestyle that many lived.
00:13:41.97\00:13:46.25
For they had hot and
cold water treatments here.
00:13:46.28\00:13:48.99
And they had steam baths.
00:13:49.02\00:13:51.38
Yes, here it is. The bath house.
00:13:51.41\00:13:53.75
Can you imagine, again,
carrying the water up there.
00:13:53.78\00:13:57.05
That was a chore.
00:13:57.08\00:13:58.65
In the floor there, you see the
results of where the fire burned
00:13:58.68\00:14:02.85
and where once the tiles were.
00:14:02.88\00:14:04.68
Here is the well or the cistern.
00:14:07.74\00:14:09.62
Now you can imagine,
the Roman soldiers that are
00:14:09.65\00:14:13.25
working down below.
00:14:13.28\00:14:14.54
And they have to send details
miles and miles and miles away
00:14:14.57\00:14:19.08
to get fresh water.
00:14:19.11\00:14:20.58
And it's a constant
job and a constant worry.
00:14:20.61\00:14:22.94
And you're allowed only just
a few ounces every few hours.
00:14:22.97\00:14:26.92
And up here the Jews, on
the other hand, are going
00:14:26.95\00:14:30.49
back in there cistern and
bringing out gallons and gallons
00:14:30.52\00:14:34.11
and gallons of drinking water.
00:14:34.14\00:14:35.67
And on occasion, from up on
the wall they would throw over
00:14:35.70\00:14:39.23
a gallon or two.
00:14:39.28\00:14:40.28
And the Roman soldiers
that are building that ramp
00:14:40.61\00:14:44.18
up near the top, would
run to try to lap it up.
00:14:44.21\00:14:47.00
But of course, it would become
mud before they could get to it.
00:14:47.03\00:14:50.58
Coming out of
the bath house there.
00:14:50.61\00:14:52.76
Now here, ladies
and gentlemen, today
00:14:54.68\00:14:56.98
is the evidence of that ramp.
00:14:57.01\00:14:58.75
The engineers of the Roman
legions, every so many yards
00:15:00.63\00:15:05.53
put in a great tree trunk.
00:15:05.56\00:15:08.83
They buried the thing down 15
or 18 feet, and left standing up
00:15:08.86\00:15:13.45
a stomp about 5 feet.
00:15:13.48\00:15:15.76
And up inside,
the Jews wondered why.
00:15:15.79\00:15:19.06
"What's going on, what
do they think they're doing?
00:15:19.09\00:15:20.63
What a joke.
00:15:20.66\00:15:21.70
Do they think
it's going to grow?"
00:15:21.73\00:15:23.05
But the Romans had a plan.
00:15:24.07\00:15:26.00
They continued to build the ramp
00:15:26.40\00:15:28.31
and build the ramp
until they had it right up
00:15:28.34\00:15:31.97
to the base of the wall.
00:15:32.00\00:15:34.49
And the Roman soldiers
could march up to the top.
00:15:34.52\00:15:37.65
But on the inside,
the zealous Jews would
00:15:37.68\00:15:41.42
laugh at them the more
and throw rocks down at them.
00:15:41.45\00:15:44.90
What the Jews did
not know was that again
00:15:46.14\00:15:48.75
a big battering ram
around the hill and out of site
00:15:48.78\00:15:52.58
was being built.
00:15:52.61\00:15:53.71
What was the purpose
of those tree trunks?
00:15:54.30\00:15:57.32
Well, that was to give
leverage to the pulleys
00:15:57.35\00:16:00.04
to wench that big battering ram
up to the top of the mountain.
00:16:00.07\00:16:04.19
And when the battering ram
was lifted up, raised up and
00:16:04.22\00:16:09.03
brought around the corner,
the zealots up on the top
00:16:09.06\00:16:12.87
stopped their laughing.
00:16:12.90\00:16:14.34
They knew it was
only a matter of time now.
00:16:14.37\00:16:17.44
And they would
wench and push and pull,
00:16:17.47\00:16:20.00
and would block and tackle,
move a few yard every day
00:16:20.03\00:16:23.51
that great battering ram.
00:16:23.54\00:16:25.42
When the Romans got
the ram up to the top,
00:16:27.32\00:16:30.82
they cocked it and struck
against the wall and the wall
00:16:33.41\00:16:36.29
shuttered but
it did not give in.
00:16:36.32\00:16:38.29
For on the inside, they had
lined this area behind the ramp
00:16:38.32\00:16:43.17
and above the ramp
with great timbers.
00:16:43.20\00:16:46.71
They had dismantled some of the
temple work of Herod the Great
00:16:46.74\00:16:49.92
and reinforced the wall
until it was strong enough to
00:16:49.95\00:16:54.38
withstand, I
suppose, a blast of dynamite.
00:16:54.41\00:16:56.79
Or at least that
was the thinking of the
00:16:56.82\00:16:58.28
folks on the inside.
00:16:58.31\00:16:59.51
They cocked the ram
and struck it again.
00:16:59.54\00:17:01.78
And the earth, the rock
earth began to crumble some.
00:17:01.81\00:17:06.09
And they did it
again and again and again.
00:17:06.12\00:17:08.42
And the rocks crumbled away.
00:17:08.45\00:17:11.22
Now, there were
the reinforced timbers.
00:17:11.92\00:17:15.20
"What now do we do?"
00:17:15.23\00:17:17.02
Someone got an idea.
00:17:17.05\00:17:18.93
Let's burn our way through.
00:17:19.33\00:17:21.32
The timbers were pitchy.
00:17:21.35\00:17:23.46
On the inside, it
was time for a meeting.
00:17:24.75\00:17:29.73
And so the leader, of whom
I've already spoken, Eleazar,
00:17:30.71\00:17:34.53
gathered the men
together and he said to them,
00:17:34.56\00:17:37.88
"If the Romans break in,
they're going to desecrate
00:17:37.91\00:17:42.42
our women and our children.
00:17:42.45\00:17:43.91
It's going to be ugly,
it's going to be nasty.
00:17:45.34\00:17:47.27
And then they're going
to destroy every one of us.
00:17:47.30\00:17:49.82
And I, personally, am not
willing to die by their hands. "
00:17:51.29\00:17:54.99
He said, "I have a plan. "
00:17:57.01\00:17:58.70
"My plan is this, that
when we go to bed tonight,
00:18:00.28\00:18:04.56
because tomorrow
they're going to start the fire.
00:18:04.59\00:18:07.96
And in just a short
while it will burn through.
00:18:07.99\00:18:10.67
When we go to bed tonight,
we sleep together with our
00:18:11.59\00:18:16.67
families, love our
children, hold them in our arms.
00:18:16.70\00:18:19.45
And after the families are
asleep and the children and
00:18:20.34\00:18:22.59
the women know
nothing of what's going on,
00:18:22.62\00:18:24.98
a death guard will
go through the camp
00:18:27.63\00:18:30.16
and will kill everybody.
00:18:32.14\00:18:33.93
And when he has killed
everybody, this man will
00:18:36.91\00:18:40.85
fall upon his own sword
and will take his own life.
00:18:40.88\00:18:45.71
Do you agree?"
00:18:45.74\00:18:46.78
And they voted,
and it was unanimous.
00:18:46.81\00:18:48.73
And the men went back to their
home, back to their places,
00:18:49.96\00:18:52.52
back to their families,
and as if nothing was wrong
00:18:52.55\00:18:55.29
they shared the last
evening meal together.
00:18:55.69\00:18:58.35
And then they went
to their places of rest.
00:18:58.95\00:19:01.63
And on the outside of
the wall, the Roman soldiers
00:19:03.65\00:19:06.83
went up the battering ram,
used it as a final approach
00:19:06.86\00:19:11.35
to the timbers, threw burning
material upon the timbers.
00:19:11.38\00:19:15.99
Tar and pitch like
substances, rosins.
00:19:16.02\00:19:19.51
And then put the torch to them.
00:19:19.54\00:19:21.60
And it happened that the
wind was blowing in just the
00:19:22.10\00:19:24.73
right direction and it
began to act like a blow torch.
00:19:24.76\00:19:28.34
And within about 12
hours, 10 to 12 hours,
00:19:29.57\00:19:33.21
a hole was burned through.
00:19:33.24\00:19:35.87
And the Roman soldiers now
began to douse the flames and
00:19:35.90\00:19:39.80
beat against them
with dampened sacks.
00:19:39.83\00:19:42.91
Then the general
asked, "Are you ready?
00:19:44.72\00:19:47.67
Are you men ready?"
00:19:47.70\00:19:49.06
"Yes, we're ready. "
00:19:49.09\00:19:50.22
They had their
weapons in their hands.
00:19:50.25\00:19:52.95
And they lined up,
with two abreast, they went
00:19:52.98\00:19:55.36
across the battering ram.
00:19:55.39\00:19:57.24
And they jumped
through the burned hole inside.
00:19:57.27\00:20:00.07
And they shouted the charge.
00:20:00.10\00:20:02.58
And they were sure now
that the Jews would come out of
00:20:02.61\00:20:04.84
wherever they were hiding.
00:20:04.87\00:20:06.21
But nothing happened.
00:20:07.18\00:20:08.82
And their echoes fell
back upon their own ears.
00:20:08.85\00:20:13.00
They decided it's a trick.
00:20:13.71\00:20:15.18
And so, they went back
out through the burned hole
00:20:15.21\00:20:18.19
and regathered around
the ram and replanned.
00:20:18.22\00:20:22.88
And then they
made another charge.
00:20:22.91\00:20:25.87
And when about 150
soldiers had gotten through,
00:20:25.90\00:20:28.66
they gave the word,
"There's no one here.
00:20:28.69\00:20:31.40
It seems there's no one here. "
00:20:31.43\00:20:32.59
And so the rest of the
army, hundreds, went through
00:20:32.62\00:20:35.33
the burned opening.
00:20:35.36\00:20:36.55
And they began to
go into the houses.
00:20:36.58\00:20:41.01
And there they saw the carnage.
00:20:41.04\00:20:43.25
All were gone.
00:20:43.82\00:20:46.01
In a remote corner
and in a bit of a hole,
00:20:48.93\00:20:53.22
there they found two
ladies and five little children
00:20:54.59\00:20:59.56
who had caught, somehow,
word of what was going to happen
00:20:59.59\00:21:03.03
and decided they did
not want to die in that way.
00:21:03.06\00:21:06.29
They were the only
survivors of this great tragedy
00:21:06.32\00:21:10.29
atop the mountain of Masada.
00:21:10.32\00:21:13.14
Today, many
many, hundreds in fact,
00:21:14.69\00:21:19.04
of the young Jewish
boys are taken to the top
00:21:19.07\00:21:23.04
of the mountain,
they relive the story,
00:21:23.14\00:21:26.53
and there they
are given bar mitzvah
00:21:26.56\00:21:29.88
and welcomed into
the religious circle.
00:21:30.64\00:21:32.92
But more importantly, I
think, the Jewish officers,
00:21:32.95\00:21:38.26
and for the last 50 years the
Jewish army has been the most
00:21:38.29\00:21:43.47
powerful army in
all of the Middle East.
00:21:43.50\00:21:45.25
We've talked about
that on prior evenings.
00:21:45.28\00:21:48.16
And one of the reasons they're
so very powerful, of course, is
00:21:48.19\00:21:51.44
that they have been
trained by American servicemen.
00:21:51.47\00:21:55.32
And they have the weapons
that have been made here.
00:21:55.35\00:21:58.25
With a few exceptions
of their own automatic
00:21:58.28\00:22:00.70
machine guns and so forth.
00:22:00.73\00:22:02.85
The pilots have
been trained here.
00:22:02.88\00:22:04.92
But, the officers climb the
snake trail and up the ladder
00:22:04.95\00:22:11.77
and over the top.
00:22:11.80\00:22:13.07
And there they are commissioned,
and there they take their vow,
00:22:13.10\00:22:18.02
"Never again. "
00:22:18.62\00:22:20.33
"Never again. "
00:22:21.62\00:22:23.16
And I think it is the history of
the era and the story of Masada
00:22:24.05\00:22:30.47
that has made the army
of Israel one of the finest
00:22:30.50\00:22:34.93
fighting machines
in all this world.
00:22:34.96\00:22:38.04
I thank you for
traveling with me.
00:22:38.07\00:22:39.86
Our subject tonight
that we've entitled,
00:22:44.62\00:22:46.40
"Here I come, ready or not"
00:22:46.43\00:22:48.18
is built around the
second coming of Jesus.
00:22:49.97\00:22:52.31
I'm going to be sharing
some things this evening
00:22:54.17\00:22:56.34
that are going to touch a
raw nerve in my own heart.
00:22:59.00\00:23:03.32
It's going to be
difficult for me.
00:23:04.28\00:23:06.06
So I ask for your
indulgence, please.
00:23:07.70\00:23:10.76
Open your Bibles to
Revelation chapter 1.
00:23:11.89\00:23:14.36
Revelation
00:23:14.76\00:23:15.73
The last book for those
who live in the very last days
00:23:16.09\00:23:18.24
just before Jesus comes again.
00:23:18.27\00:23:20.21
Revelation chapter 1.
00:23:20.24\00:23:22.07
We read from
Revelation chapter 1 last night.
00:23:22.10\00:23:24.89
And we shall again this evening.
00:23:24.92\00:23:27.90
We're going to read the
scripture that is really
00:23:27.93\00:23:29.88
the theme of not only chapter
1, but of the whole of the
00:23:29.91\00:23:32.80
rest of the book.
00:23:32.83\00:23:33.88
It is the fulcrum, if
you please, the balance point
00:23:33.91\00:23:37.12
for the rest of
the book of Revelation.
00:23:37.15\00:23:39.55
Revelation chapter 1 verse 7.
00:23:39.58\00:23:41.77
I'm going to ask you to follow
very carefully while I read,
00:23:42.24\00:23:44.56
if you will please.
00:23:44.59\00:23:45.77
It says, "Behold,
He comes with clouds,
00:23:45.80\00:23:49.36
and a few of the folks are
going to be able to see Him. "
00:23:49.39\00:23:52.69
Is that the way
your Bible reads?
00:23:52.72\00:23:54.03
No? How many then?
00:23:54.06\00:23:55.65
".. every eye shall
see Him, including also
00:23:55.68\00:23:58.56
those who pierced Him. "
00:23:58.59\00:24:00.25
You remember when Jesus was
standing before the Sanhedrin
00:24:00.95\00:24:04.72
at that farce of a trial?
00:24:04.75\00:24:06.26
And He said nothing.
00:24:06.66\00:24:08.96
And the High Priest
said, "Why don't You answer?"
00:24:09.36\00:24:11.59
And Jesus said nothing.
00:24:11.62\00:24:12.59
And finally, the High
Priest put Jesus under oath.
00:24:12.60\00:24:15.43
He said, "I adjure
Thee by the living God.
00:24:15.46\00:24:18.57
Are You the
Messiah or are You not?"
00:24:18.60\00:24:20.67
And the High Priest had
done the same thing that in the
00:24:20.70\00:24:23.55
court of law we do today
when we say to a witness,
00:24:23.58\00:24:26.63
"You place your
hand upon the Bible.
00:24:26.66\00:24:28.48
Now do you solemnly
swear to tell the truth,
00:24:28.51\00:24:30.82
the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth so help you God?"
00:24:30.85\00:24:34.69
The High Priest has put Jesus
under the same kind of an oath.
00:24:34.72\00:24:38.88
"I adjure Thee
by the living God.
00:24:38.91\00:24:41.34
Are You the Messiah?"
00:24:41.37\00:24:42.73
Now Jesus respected the
oath and He answered and said,
00:24:42.76\00:24:46.58
as it reads in the
King James, "Thou saith. "
00:24:46.61\00:24:49.62
Other translations
say, "You said it correctly.
00:24:49.65\00:24:52.13
Indeed I am. "
00:24:52.16\00:24:53.31
And then He went on.
00:24:53.34\00:24:55.04
He said, "I tell you here
after, you're going to see the
00:24:55.07\00:24:58.75
Son of Man coming
in the clouds of glory
00:24:58.78\00:25:01.27
seated at the
right hand of Power. "
00:25:01.30\00:25:03.08
And so Jesus, in a
courtroom and under oath, said
00:25:03.11\00:25:07.89
and promised He
would come again.
00:25:07.92\00:25:10.13
And now, here then is the
evidence of the revelation.
00:25:10.63\00:25:14.68
Jesus said, "You evil vile
men who have taken My life.
00:25:14.71\00:25:18.26
You who have plotted and
planned and schemed against Me,
00:25:18.29\00:25:20.92
are going to be made
alive to see Me when I come. "
00:25:20.95\00:25:24.26
And so we read here in
Revelation chapter 1 verse 7,
00:25:24.29\00:25:26.94
"Every eye shall
see Him, including also
00:25:26.97\00:25:29.08
those who pierced Him. "
00:25:29.11\00:25:30.24
Going to be made alive
in a special resurrection
00:25:30.27\00:25:32.66
to see Him coming back.
00:25:32.69\00:25:34.35
And then he goes on to say,
"And all kindred's of the earth
00:25:34.38\00:25:37.23
shall wail because
of Him. Even so, amen. "
00:25:37.26\00:25:41.80
Truly, you can
take it to the bank.
00:25:41.83\00:25:44.54
When I was
married, my wife Peggy,
00:25:49.56\00:25:51.82
I worked for 6 years for
her daddy who was a logging
00:25:51.85\00:25:55.91
contractor out of
Baker City, Oregon.
00:25:55.94\00:25:58.17
Back then in the old
timey days, it was simply Baker.
00:25:58.20\00:26:02.22
But now, of course, it's
become much more sophisticated.
00:26:02.25\00:26:05.59
A lot of Idahoans have moved
in and now it's Baker City.
00:26:05.62\00:26:08.90
You're right, it did. Yeah.
00:26:16.43\00:26:18.14
It started out
originally as a mining camp.
00:26:18.17\00:26:20.27
Baker City.
00:26:20.30\00:26:21.27
But at any event, I
worked for him for 6 years.
00:26:21.28\00:26:23.61
And my job was to load the
trucks that hauled the logs
00:26:23.64\00:26:26.85
down to the saw mill.
00:26:26.88\00:26:28.09
And then we felt the call of God
to go to Walla Walla University
00:26:28.12\00:26:32.75
to take and study Theology.
00:26:32.78\00:26:35.02
And that we did.
00:26:35.05\00:26:36.20
But during the summers, I
would go back and run a machine
00:26:36.23\00:26:40.65
for Peggy's dad loading logs.
00:26:40.68\00:26:42.41
I'd just finished my
sophomore year and had gone back
00:26:42.44\00:26:46.26
to work in the logging camps.
00:26:46.29\00:26:48.46
I'd been working for
Peggy's dad for one week.
00:26:48.49\00:26:51.01
One week exactly.
00:26:51.04\00:26:52.92
On a Sunday morning,
early, he got up and said,
00:26:52.95\00:26:56.35
"I'm going to go
out to the job site
00:26:56.38\00:26:58.04
and build some skid trails. "
00:26:58.07\00:26:59.92
I didn't know exactly where he'd
be, but he drew a map for us.
00:26:59.95\00:27:05.54
And he said, "You
guys and the kids,"
00:27:05.57\00:27:07.65
my wife's daddy's grandkids
whom he loved so, who are
00:27:07.68\00:27:13.22
now about ages 7 and 8.
00:27:13.25\00:27:15.51
"You come out and
meet me and we'll have a
00:27:15.54\00:27:18.05
picnic lunch together. "
00:27:18.08\00:27:19.55
So just about noon, Peggy
and I and her mother and sister
00:27:21.78\00:27:26.79
went to the place
that we were to meet.
00:27:26.82\00:27:28.91
And her daddy was not there.
00:27:29.65\00:27:31.49
I could see where
caterpillar tracks had gone over
00:27:35.75\00:27:38.16
this side of the road
and down into the brush.
00:27:38.19\00:27:42.20
And I took my little
kids, one in each hand, and we
00:27:43.19\00:27:45.85
walked down there, I
suppose 200 or 300 yards.
00:27:45.88\00:27:50.91
The further we went, the
more steep became the ground.
00:27:51.51\00:27:56.79
Until finally it was so
steep that you hardly needed to
00:27:56.82\00:28:01.14
bend over to tie your shoes.
00:28:01.17\00:28:03.11
We stopped and sat on some
logs and listened and we could
00:28:03.71\00:28:07.55
hear nothing except,
way down in the canyon,
00:28:07.58\00:28:11.45
the bleating of some sheep.
00:28:11.48\00:28:13.29
We went back up to the
road and thought, perhaps
00:28:14.47\00:28:18.50
he's going to come in
his pickup and meet us.
00:28:18.53\00:28:21.92
We waited about an
hour and he did not show up.
00:28:21.95\00:28:24.96
And so we left after
eating the little lunch alone.
00:28:24.99\00:28:28.01
Went back home to Baker.
00:28:28.04\00:28:30.35
And he didn't come
in at the usual time.
00:28:31.63\00:28:34.01
Nor an hour later.
00:28:35.14\00:28:37.04
At about 3 hours later,
there came a phone call.
00:28:37.80\00:28:41.80
And whomever
answered motioned for me.
00:28:43.36\00:28:46.79
It happened to be one of Peggy's
dad's foremen on the phone.
00:28:46.82\00:28:52.02
And he asked,
"Are you sitting down?"
00:28:52.74\00:28:54.83
I said, "It's Oren, isn't it?"
00:28:56.60\00:28:58.21
"Yes," he said, "the
caterpillar tipped over and
00:28:59.31\00:29:01.77
crushed him to death. "
00:29:01.80\00:29:03.02
Peggy's dad may have been
the finest man I ever knew.
00:29:10.28\00:29:14.06
He was kind and gentle.
00:29:15.63\00:29:17.75
A combination of
humor and reality,
00:29:19.28\00:29:25.67
blended in a way
that everybody loved him.
00:29:26.19\00:29:28.49
I think, probably not a man that
had worked for him more than
00:29:28.52\00:29:32.60
just a few months, would
have at any time taken his place
00:29:32.63\00:29:36.26
to do the dirtiest job.
00:29:36.29\00:29:38.22
When we would come in,
in the afternoon, from the
00:29:38.25\00:29:40.85
logging camps, the
neighbor kids would come and
00:29:40.88\00:29:43.08
bring their little pets.
00:29:43.11\00:29:44.46
He would play with
them and tease them.
00:29:44.49\00:29:46.22
And everybody loved him.
00:29:46.25\00:29:47.86
After the crowds had left
the committal where we placed
00:29:53.29\00:29:56.07
his coffin in the
ground, Peggy and our two kids,
00:29:56.10\00:30:02.04
Tammy and Terry, and
Peggy's sister joined hands
00:30:02.07\00:30:07.44
over that fresh mound.
00:30:07.84\00:30:09.89
And we prayed that
God would keep us faithful
00:30:11.57\00:30:16.05
so we could meet Grandpa Oren on
the day of first resurrection.
00:30:17.63\00:30:23.03
A few months ago, Peggy
and I were working in meetings
00:30:30.67\00:30:32.98
just like these
in Lacey, Washington.
00:30:33.01\00:30:34.83
We'd opened on a Saturday
night just as we did here.
00:30:35.23\00:30:38.21
And we opened to a
full crowd, a full house.
00:30:38.24\00:30:41.24
Packed.
00:30:41.27\00:30:42.89
The next
morning, Sunday morning,
00:30:44.25\00:30:46.00
I was running an errand.
00:30:46.03\00:30:47.12
Somewhere around 10:30 or 11:00,
I had with me my cell phone,
00:30:47.15\00:30:50.50
it rang and I answered
and it was my daughter-in-law,
00:30:50.53\00:30:54.68
my son Terry's wife.
00:30:54.71\00:30:56.74
She said, "Lyle, Terry's
heart has stopped beating.
00:30:58.95\00:31:02.00
He's in the
emergency room and I don't know
00:31:05.57\00:31:08.25
what's going to happen. "
00:31:08.28\00:31:09.44
I said, "Well
keep us posted, please.
00:31:14.65\00:31:16.75
Minute by
minute, keep us posted. "
00:31:16.78\00:31:18.69
And she said, "I
promise you I will. "
00:31:18.72\00:31:20.61
And I turned around and I went
back to Peggy and I told her,
00:31:21.60\00:31:23.91
"Something terrible
has happened to Terry. "
00:31:23.94\00:31:26.28
She said, "What should we do?
Should we head to the hospital?"
00:31:30.04\00:31:32.57
And I said, "They
don't know enough about
00:31:32.60\00:31:34.49
what's going on yet.
00:31:34.52\00:31:35.49
They don't know what's caused
it and maybe it's premature. "
00:31:35.50\00:31:39.07
And I said,
"Besides that, I feel like I
00:31:39.10\00:31:40.68
can't leave the meeting.
00:31:40.71\00:31:41.79
We just started last
night and it's a huge crowd.
00:31:41.84\00:31:44.50
And I don't feel
like I can leave. "
00:31:44.53\00:31:46.11
A bit later, our daughter-in-law
called and said, "His heart
00:31:48.09\00:31:52.34
now has a natural rhythm
again and they have transferred
00:31:52.37\00:31:56.91
him to intensive care and
things are looking better. "
00:31:56.94\00:31:59.49
And so I said to Peggy,
"Let's have our meeting tonight.
00:31:59.52\00:32:04.15
I'll go and preach and
you sit in the car and pray.
00:32:04.18\00:32:07.34
And as soon as I'm finished,
we'll take off for Boise. "
00:32:07.37\00:32:10.59
And that we did.
00:32:10.62\00:32:12.44
In the event that I wouldn't
be back the following night,
00:32:13.15\00:32:15.44
I left them some
videos to play at the sermons
00:32:15.47\00:32:18.73
that I would have preached.
00:32:18.76\00:32:20.10
We drove through the night.
00:32:20.13\00:32:21.60
In the interim, our son
Troy, who's a nurse from
00:32:21.63\00:32:24.07
Medford Oregon, had left
his home several hours prior
00:32:24.10\00:32:27.44
and had arrived
at Boise ahead of us.
00:32:27.47\00:32:30.15
And we met him there at
about 5:30 in the morning
00:32:30.18\00:32:33.53
at the front entrance
of the St. Luke's hospital.
00:32:33.56\00:32:37.33
He said, "I need to prepare
you a little bit, mom and dad.
00:32:38.49\00:32:41.39
Firstly, he looks good.
00:32:41.79\00:32:44.02
He looks really good. "
00:32:44.42\00:32:46.43
"But," he said, "I'm
afraid it's very serious. "
00:32:47.82\00:32:50.54
We went up to his room,
00:32:53.94\00:32:55.93
the Intensive
Coronary Care Unit,
00:32:56.57\00:32:59.08
and he did look good.
00:32:59.98\00:33:01.51
His body was muscled.
00:33:03.04\00:33:04.86
Abs showed the
result of working out.
00:33:08.57\00:33:13.41
He was the picture of health.
00:33:13.44\00:33:14.96
And I always told him, "You got
all the looks in the family. "
00:33:16.84\00:33:19.76
Many folks had told
us at many times that he
00:33:20.16\00:33:23.51
looked like Tom Selleck.
00:33:23.54\00:33:24.53
But I always said, "Oh
no, he's so much better. "
00:33:24.56\00:33:26.70
So much better looking.
00:33:30.37\00:33:31.88
And the doctors would
come and go and they would say,
00:33:32.96\00:33:35.00
we're going to do this
test and we're doing this and
00:33:35.03\00:33:36.65
we're cooling his body down.
00:33:36.68\00:33:38.31
And in the interim, we
learned what had happened.
00:33:38.34\00:33:41.87
My boy had been in 6,
6 automobile accidents
00:33:42.49\00:33:48.97
in the prior 16 years.
00:33:49.00\00:33:50.89
None of them his
fault, curiously enough.
00:33:50.92\00:33:52.87
But one of them
had been really tragic.
00:33:53.63\00:33:55.72
He'd been driving one
Christmas morning, about
00:33:55.75\00:33:58.14
15 or 16 years ago now,
to take a Christmas card
00:33:58.17\00:34:02.40
to the lady for whom he
drove a big diesel truck.
00:34:02.43\00:34:05.33
And as he was driving his little
compact car down the highway,
00:34:05.74\00:34:08.99
two men in a full
sized pickup turned left
00:34:09.02\00:34:12.15
right in front of him.
00:34:12.18\00:34:13.17
Said they never saw him.
00:34:13.20\00:34:14.18
He didn't have
time to touch a brake.
00:34:14.21\00:34:16.15
And he went into the windshield
and the steering wheel
00:34:16.55\00:34:19.99
went into his chest.
00:34:20.02\00:34:21.24
And his feet were mashed
as the little car crumbled
00:34:21.27\00:34:25.51
beneath him and around him.
00:34:25.54\00:34:26.72
And his back was broken and
his right knee was shattered
00:34:26.75\00:34:30.34
and his leg was broken.
00:34:30.37\00:34:31.64
And he had a concussion and
he was bleeding from the head.
00:34:31.67\00:34:34.55
And the nurse called me
from the hospital and said,
00:34:34.58\00:34:37.67
"Your son has been
in a terrible accident
00:34:37.70\00:34:39.55
and we're not sure
that he's going to live. "
00:34:39.58\00:34:41.47
But he did live.
00:34:41.50\00:34:42.68
But he lived, after that,
with a great amount of pain.
00:34:43.15\00:34:46.08
Terrible, terrible pain.
00:34:46.11\00:34:48.56
He'd gone to a
number of doctors, including
00:34:50.13\00:34:52.01
some pain specialists.
00:34:52.04\00:34:53.12
And they really were
not able to help him a lot.
00:34:53.15\00:34:55.88
He didn't want to get hooked
on some of these powerful drugs.
00:34:55.91\00:34:59.18
He did everything
that he could including
00:34:59.21\00:35:00.92
very healthful
eating, exercising.
00:35:00.95\00:35:03.74
Two days prior to the
event that I'm now describing,
00:35:06.89\00:35:10.81
he'd gone to a
doctor in Ontario, Oregon.
00:35:10.84\00:35:13.20
And they doctor had given
him hope and had given him help.
00:35:13.23\00:35:16.07
He said, "I feel
better than I have in years
00:35:16.10\00:35:17.76
and years and years. "
00:35:17.79\00:35:18.85
And so he said, "Tomorrow,"
which was the Sabbath,
00:35:18.88\00:35:21.30
"let's load the dogs,"
for they had no children
00:35:21.33\00:35:24.00
but two German Shepherd
dogs that are worse than kids.
00:35:24.03\00:35:28.06
"Let's load the dogs in
the camper and we'll go down
00:35:28.09\00:35:30.60
to Boise and we'll
go through the park.
00:35:30.63\00:35:32.88
And after
sundown, we will eat at our
00:35:32.91\00:35:34.80
favorite Indian restaurant.
00:35:34.83\00:35:36.16
And then Sunday morning,
we'll go to the pet shop and
00:35:36.19\00:35:39.10
we'll get some special
things for the kids, the dogs. "
00:35:39.13\00:35:42.07
And so they did just that.
00:35:42.83\00:35:44.61
They went to the
Indian restaurant and ate.
00:35:44.98\00:35:48.56
And then Terry drove their
little RV to a commercial area
00:35:49.08\00:35:54.71
where he had delivered things
from his trucking business.
00:35:54.74\00:35:59.34
There was a man-made lake
and there was green grass.
00:36:00.34\00:36:04.87
And they played with the
dogs and threw the Frisbees
00:36:04.90\00:36:07.37
and the balls
and had a good time.
00:36:07.40\00:36:09.19
And then they went to bed with
a plan that they would sleep in.
00:36:09.22\00:36:13.17
And next morning at
leisure, they would get up
00:36:13.20\00:36:16.45
and go to the pet store.
00:36:16.48\00:36:17.45
And then go on
back to Baker, Oregon.
00:36:17.46\00:36:20.06
Somewhere around
9:00 the next morning,
00:36:22.14\00:36:24.44
his wife, Brenda, wakened.
00:36:24.47\00:36:26.47
And she could tell he
was breathing erratically.
00:36:26.50\00:36:30.50
And then she felt
for his pulse and it was
00:36:33.36\00:36:35.63
very faint and very erratic.
00:36:35.66\00:36:37.96
And she began to try
to help him to breathe
00:36:37.99\00:36:40.15
and at the same time
call on her cell phone 911.
00:36:40.18\00:36:44.14
And the folks at the 911 end
said, "Tell us where you are.
00:36:44.17\00:36:48.52
We'll send the ambulance.
Please tell us where you are. "
00:36:48.55\00:36:50.69
And Brenda said, "I
don't know where we are.
00:36:50.72\00:36:53.31
I don't have any idea,
we came in here in the dark
00:36:53.34\00:36:55.50
and I'm not from
here. I don't know. "
00:36:55.53\00:36:57.12
And the folks said, "You
must go find a street corner and
00:36:57.15\00:36:59.71
give us an address, please.
00:36:59.74\00:37:00.98
You'll have to
leave your husband. "
00:37:01.01\00:37:02.58
And so she left Terry and
went to the nearest corner.
00:37:02.61\00:37:05.82
Ran and got bearings and
ran back and called them again.
00:37:05.85\00:37:09.91
And in 3 minutes, they
were there because they were
00:37:09.94\00:37:12.64
less than a half mile from the
St. Luke's Hospital Meridian.
00:37:12.67\00:37:17.20
The doctor took
us aside and he said,
00:37:23.45\00:37:25.31
"I'm afraid there may be serious
brain damage, brain deficit,
00:37:25.34\00:37:30.32
because we don't know how
long he was without oxygen.
00:37:31.67\00:37:34.47
But the signs aren't good. "
00:37:35.47\00:37:37.28
"This evening however," he
said, "when things slow down
00:37:37.31\00:37:41.23
a bit, we're going
to do a brain scan. "
00:37:41.26\00:37:43.89
So we took our little
family and went to a restaurant
00:37:45.32\00:37:49.07
and prayed and ate.
00:37:49.10\00:37:50.85
Then went back to the hospital.
00:37:52.03\00:37:53.76
They brought Terry back up.
00:37:55.31\00:37:56.91
And I could see on
the faces of the nurses,
00:37:57.59\00:38:00.09
the bad news.
00:38:01.75\00:38:03.33
My son, who takes
care of patients who are in
00:38:06.40\00:38:09.47
exactly the same
condition as his brother, knew
00:38:09.50\00:38:12.64
what was going on.
00:38:12.67\00:38:13.64
He'd read the charts.
00:38:13.65\00:38:15.32
And so he went to the
charge nurse and he said,
00:38:15.72\00:38:18.40
"Give it to us
just like it is. "
00:38:18.43\00:38:20.67
And she did.
00:38:20.70\00:38:21.94
She said, "The result
of Terry's problem was a
00:38:23.59\00:38:27.22
hemorrhage from the brain. "
00:38:27.25\00:38:28.83
"And he is brain dead. "
00:38:33.65\00:38:35.65
We talked with Brenda.
00:38:47.40\00:38:49.13
Prayed.
00:38:49.73\00:38:51.19
Then called the nurse and said,
00:38:53.34\00:38:55.15
"We don't want
to prolong this. "
00:38:56.67\00:38:58.65
If ever there was one ready to
meet Jesus, it was my boy Terry.
00:39:01.49\00:39:04.79
Talked about Him, endlessly.
00:39:07.40\00:39:11.46
While he drove up and
down the freeways in his truck,
00:39:11.49\00:39:14.33
he listened to the Bible
on tapes and listened to other
00:39:14.36\00:39:17.98
Christian books and listened
to Christian music always.
00:39:18.01\00:39:20.34
And he'd come to visit you and
he talked so much about Jesus
00:39:20.37\00:39:23.72
and His love that
sometimes you wished he'd
00:39:23.75\00:39:26.60
talk about something else.
00:39:26.63\00:39:27.60
I'd give a million
dollars to hear him again.
00:39:27.61\00:39:29.52
Our son Troy said, "We can
do this one of several ways. "
00:39:40.41\00:39:45.32
Said, "The fastest way
to let him go is to turn off
00:39:45.35\00:39:50.55
his breathing machine. "
00:39:50.58\00:39:51.97
And he said, "It'll be
a matter of minutes only.
00:39:54.61\00:39:56.87
But the last few moments
are not going to be pretty.
00:39:58.43\00:40:00.87
He's probably
going to convulse. "
00:40:01.53\00:40:03.47
He said, "My suggestion
is that they turn off the
00:40:09.04\00:40:13.60
heart medicine machine.
00:40:13.63\00:40:15.52
It'll take a little while, but
his heart will just slow down
00:40:16.51\00:40:19.62
and slow down,
00:40:19.65\00:40:20.99
and then stop. "
00:40:22.91\00:40:24.62
And so we gathered, his
mother and I on one side,
00:40:26.67\00:40:29.15
his brother and
wife on the other.
00:40:31.00\00:40:32.93
And we held him and hugged him,
00:40:38.74\00:40:40.57
and kissed him.
00:40:42.62\00:40:44.13
In one hour
00:40:57.44\00:40:59.49
he'd gone to sleep in Jesus.
00:41:03.05\00:41:05.39
We took his cremains,
00:41:22.85\00:41:25.12
we, just the close family;
his brother, sister, nephews,
00:41:35.81\00:41:41.04
nieces, his mother,
00:41:41.07\00:41:44.15
put them in a little hole
00:41:47.08\00:41:48.94
atop his grandpa.
00:41:52.46\00:41:54.48
And his brother and
sister closed the grave.
00:42:01.90\00:42:04.65
Then the immediate
family gathered, again,
00:42:09.07\00:42:12.06
and prayed that same prayer.
00:42:16.91\00:42:19.02
"Keep us faithful, Lord.
00:42:23.91\00:42:25.81
Till we're caught up together.
00:42:30.13\00:42:32.19
Amen. "
00:42:37.23\00:42:39.02
When
Thanksgiving came, Peggy said,
00:42:48.53\00:42:50.21
"I don't want to stay home. "
00:42:50.24\00:42:51.75
Our home was the gathering
place for the kids and grandkids
00:42:51.78\00:42:54.83
and everybody,
Thanksgiving and Christmas.
00:42:54.86\00:42:56.46
She said, "I just
can't stand to be home. "
00:42:56.49\00:42:58.23
So our granddaughter,
who just had a new baby...
00:43:00.48\00:43:04.08
Peggy, by the way,
is a great grandmother.
00:43:04.11\00:43:07.59
Can you imagine that?
00:43:07.62\00:43:08.74
My Peggy is a great grandmother.
00:43:08.77\00:43:11.19
You know what that makes me.
00:43:11.78\00:43:13.48
Proud, by the way.
00:43:15.08\00:43:16.93
They said, "Come and
be with us in Austin.
00:43:17.91\00:43:19.86
Fly down and we'll
have Thanksgiving in Austin.
00:43:19.89\00:43:22.49
And we'll take you and show
you where Willie Nelson lives. "
00:43:22.52\00:43:24.59
And they did that.
00:43:24.62\00:43:25.59
And as we flew back,
00:43:30.62\00:43:32.21
from Austin to
Medford, and somewhere...
00:43:34.64\00:43:37.48
...somewhere at
40,000 feet above El Paso...
00:43:41.14\00:43:44.25
Does that not sound familiar?
00:43:44.28\00:43:46.21
...God gave me these words
00:43:48.89\00:43:50.81
for Terry.
00:43:54.02\00:43:55.36
"I guess, Lord,
00:44:00.55\00:44:02.28
that I've always known
about the Son You lost.
00:44:05.33\00:44:07.85
But I didn't fully
appreciate the awful cost.
00:44:10.19\00:44:12.82
You looked down
with a breaking heart
00:44:14.20\00:44:15.68
and watched Him as he died.
00:44:15.71\00:44:17.36
His mother stood
beside Him and softly cried.
00:44:19.05\00:44:23.63
Now I better
understand the pain You bore.
00:44:25.69\00:44:28.58
You knew this
coming tragedy long before.
00:44:29.33\00:44:32.32
Well, You said He was
eternally on the cross.
00:44:34.37\00:44:36.54
You suffered in anticipation
Your own Son's loss.
00:44:36.57\00:44:40.22
Not long ago, I held my son
00:44:41.93\00:44:46.19
and watched him die.
00:44:46.75\00:44:48.30
I heard his mother
weep and say goodbye.
00:44:50.74\00:44:54.66
We've soaked the pillow soft,
00:44:58.57\00:45:00.98
his mom and I,
00:45:03.62\00:45:05.06
recalling with pain
and joy those days gone by,
00:45:07.08\00:45:10.04
thankful for the
promised meeting in the sky.
00:45:10.07\00:45:13.19
So I better understand, I better
understand the pain You bore.
00:45:13.22\00:45:17.17
And I long for
the return of son's,
00:45:18.78\00:45:23.12
Yours and mine,
00:45:24.42\00:45:25.99
so much, much more. "
00:45:29.60\00:45:31.57
Would you open your
Bible, please, to Matthew 24.
00:45:31.60\00:45:34.62
Matthew chapter 24.
00:45:35.02\00:45:36.71
We've read from here before
and must do it again tonight
00:45:36.74\00:45:39.43
because it's vital
to our study together,
00:45:39.46\00:45:41.28
the second coming of Jesus.
00:45:41.31\00:45:42.77
The Blessed Hope toward which
all creation moves and longs.
00:45:42.80\00:45:46.97
Matthew chapter 24 and I'm going
to read for us several verses
00:45:47.00\00:45:51.65
beginning with the first.
00:45:51.68\00:45:52.72
Matthew chapter 24 and
I'll begin with verse 1.
00:45:52.75\00:45:57.09
And we shall see how
time allows as we begin
00:45:57.12\00:45:59.74
to read on down through.
00:45:59.77\00:46:00.94
You'll remember
now, the context.
00:46:00.97\00:46:02.45
Our Lord Jesus has
begun to answer the question
00:46:02.48\00:46:06.01
of His disciples, "Tell us
Lord, what will be the sign of
00:46:06.04\00:46:08.55
Your coming at
the end of the world?"
00:46:08.58\00:46:10.18
And Jesus said it'll be
like this and this and this.
00:46:10.21\00:46:12.95
So follow now while I read.
00:46:13.83\00:46:15.47
Matthew 24:1
00:46:15.50\00:46:17.19
Jesus then departed the temple
and His disciples came to Him
00:46:18.64\00:46:21.44
and said, "Look at
this beautiful temple. "
00:46:21.47\00:46:25.48
And Jesus said, "Take a
good look, but I tell you this.
00:46:25.51\00:46:28.87
There's not going to be
one stone left upon another
00:46:29.97\00:46:32.21
that will not be thrown down. "
00:46:32.24\00:46:33.82
Then while He sat on the
side of the Mount of Olives,
00:46:34.85\00:46:37.03
the disciples came to
Him privately and they said,
00:46:37.06\00:46:38.77
"Lord tell us, when shall these
things be and what shall be
00:46:38.80\00:46:41.74
the sign of thy coming
and of the end of the world?"
00:46:41.77\00:46:43.93
Now I want you to notice,
the disciples asked a two fold
00:46:43.96\00:46:46.88
question, but they really, in
their minds, had them together.
00:46:46.91\00:46:50.01
When is that temple
going to be knocked down?
00:46:50.56\00:46:52.42
Is it going to be the
very last day when You come
00:46:52.45\00:46:54.48
in Your second coming?
00:46:54.51\00:46:55.50
And Jesus, in
answer, gave them a prophecy
00:46:56.02\00:46:59.05
with a dual application.
00:46:59.08\00:47:00.32
It had an application
for the destruction of the
00:47:00.35\00:47:02.62
city of Jerusalem
and the temple in 70 AD.
00:47:02.65\00:47:04.97
But it had a fuller broader
application for the last days
00:47:05.00\00:47:08.12
when Jesus comes
in His second coming.
00:47:08.15\00:47:10.63
"Tell us," they said, "what will
be the signs of Your coming and
00:47:10.66\00:47:15.75
the destruction of the temple
and the end of the world?"
00:47:15.78\00:47:18.14
And Jesus said, "Take
heed that no one deceives you.
00:47:18.17\00:47:22.50
For there's going to come, a
lot of folks in My name saying,
00:47:22.53\00:47:24.77
'I am Christ,' and
will deceive very many.
00:47:24.87\00:47:26.54
You're going to hear
of war and rumors of wars.
00:47:26.57\00:47:28.77
But don't be troubled.
00:47:28.80\00:47:30.12
These things are going to come
to pass but the end isn't yet.
00:47:30.15\00:47:32.85
Nations are going to
rise against nations,
00:47:32.88\00:47:34.61
kingdom against kingdom.
00:47:34.64\00:47:35.61
And there are going to be
famines in different places,
00:47:35.62\00:47:37.53
and earthquakes in places where
they've never had them before. "
00:47:37.56\00:47:40.00
Oh, and by the way, did you
hear the world news tonight?
00:47:40.03\00:47:42.86
Did you happen to hear it?
00:47:42.89\00:47:44.23
You remember we talked
about the Cascadia Fault
00:47:44.26\00:47:46.28
about 2 nights ago?
00:47:46.31\00:47:47.77
Did you hear in the world
news tonight that just off the
00:47:47.80\00:47:50.51
Oregon coast, just out from
Bandon several miles, there was
00:47:50.54\00:47:54.71
an earthquake of over 5, I think
5.5 or something like that.
00:47:54.74\00:47:58.06
Yeah?
00:47:58.46\00:47:59.48
Amazing.
00:47:59.51\00:48:00.58
You know, we need to
keep our ear to the ground
00:48:00.61\00:48:03.12
for we're living
in the last days.
00:48:03.15\00:48:04.86
And then in verse 8 He
says, "These are but the
00:48:04.89\00:48:06.94
beginning of sorrows.
00:48:06.97\00:48:08.01
They're going to deliver
you up and you'll be afflicted
00:48:08.04\00:48:09.95
and they're going to kill you
and you're going to be hated by
00:48:09.98\00:48:12.63
everyone because of Me.
00:48:12.66\00:48:13.93
Then there are going to
be those that are offended
00:48:14.99\00:48:17.13
and some are going
to betray one another
00:48:17.16\00:48:18.83
and you'll see hate grow.
00:48:18.86\00:48:20.17
There'll be many false prophets
that will come and deceive many.
00:48:20.20\00:48:23.22
And because iniquity
abounds, the love of many
00:48:23.25\00:48:26.22
is going to wax cold.
00:48:26.25\00:48:27.50
But he that endures to the
end, the same shall be saved.
00:48:27.53\00:48:31.15
And then this gospel of
the kingdom has to be preached
00:48:31.65\00:48:33.65
into the whole world for
a witness unto all nations.
00:48:33.68\00:48:36.02
And then shall the end come. "
00:48:36.05\00:48:38.51
I'm going to pause
right there for a moment.
00:48:38.54\00:48:40.19
And we're going to get
into it and enlarge upon this
00:48:41.24\00:48:42.96
dual application business.
00:48:42.99\00:48:44.63
Our Lord Jesus said the
destruction of the city of
00:48:44.66\00:48:46.85
Jerusalem in 70 AD
would be an example.
00:48:46.88\00:48:49.23
It would be the paradigm for the
end time and the second coming.
00:48:49.26\00:48:53.46
In the meantime, He
said there's going to be
00:48:54.87\00:48:56.70
a lot of difficulties.
00:48:56.73\00:48:57.88
Now the city of Jerusalem
was a city of extreme beauty.
00:48:57.91\00:49:00.94
It really was an
ancient wonder of the world.
00:49:00.97\00:49:05.84
It was considered to be
the place of great pride.
00:49:05.87\00:49:09.42
And it was often referred to
by Jewish people as the glory,
00:49:09.45\00:49:12.90
the glory of Jerusalem.
00:49:12.93\00:49:14.33
But the city had rejected Jesus.
00:49:14.36\00:49:16.88
They disallowed Him to
preach inside the temple.
00:49:16.91\00:49:19.49
And so Jesus, in Matthew chapter
23 verses 37-38, you remember,
00:49:19.52\00:49:24.32
wept as he overlooked the city.
00:49:24.35\00:49:26.20
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem; how
often I would have gathered you
00:49:26.23\00:49:29.43
under My wings like a
mother hen does her chicks.
00:49:29.46\00:49:31.33
But you wouldn't let Me. "
00:49:31.36\00:49:33.06
And then He said,
"Your house is going to be
00:49:33.09\00:49:36.01
left unto you desolate. "
00:49:36.04\00:49:37.22
He was talking about the temple.
00:49:37.25\00:49:38.94
Now let's talk about
some of the parallels and the
00:49:38.97\00:49:41.86
destruction of Jerusalem
as it was a sign, a paradigm,
00:49:41.89\00:49:46.25
for the last days.
00:49:46.28\00:49:48.06
In Luke chapter 21, and I
want you to turn there with me,
00:49:48.72\00:49:51.45
we need to read
from verses 10 and 11.
00:49:51.48\00:49:54.62
Luke chapter 21,
reading verses 10 and 11.
00:49:55.31\00:49:58.65
The very same
subject matter now.
00:50:00.06\00:50:02.21
Jesus said unto them, "Nation
shall rise against nation,
00:50:02.68\00:50:05.28
kingdom against kingdom.
00:50:05.31\00:50:06.43
And there will be great
earthquakes in different places,
00:50:06.46\00:50:08.66
famines and
pestilences; and fearful sights
00:50:08.69\00:50:11.10
and great wonders
there shall be... "
00:50:11.13\00:50:13.75
Now you tell me what it says.
00:50:13.78\00:50:15.46
Where are the great
signs and wonders going to be?
00:50:15.49\00:50:17.29
"... in the heavens. "
00:50:17.32\00:50:19.03
Alright.
00:50:19.06\00:50:20.03
Great signs and wonders there
are going to be in the heavens.
00:50:20.04\00:50:24.22
Adventists. Adventists.
00:50:24.25\00:50:26.62
That means folks believe
in the second coming of Jesus.
00:50:26.65\00:50:28.81
It's one of their main tenants.
00:50:28.84\00:50:30.25
It is a teaching and a belief
toward which they move and long.
00:50:30.28\00:50:34.32
And I read not long ago about
an old guy by the name of Enoch.
00:50:34.35\00:50:38.91
He's spoken about in Jude,
that little one chapter book
00:50:38.94\00:50:41.89
before the
Revelation, in verse 14.
00:50:41.92\00:50:44.15
In Jude verse 14,
it says about Enoch,
00:50:44.18\00:50:48.04
"Behold, he saw
the Lord coming with
00:50:48.07\00:50:51.29
ten thousands of His saints. "
00:50:51.32\00:50:53.04
The hope of the second coming
was given to God's children
00:50:53.07\00:50:56.36
in the garden
at the time of sin.
00:50:56.39\00:50:58.40
In Genesis
chapter 3 and verse 15,
00:50:58.43\00:51:00.58
God promised, "He
will bruise thy head. "
00:51:00.61\00:51:03.75
And that's talking
about the ultimate victory
00:51:03.78\00:51:05.70
of our Lord Jesus.
00:51:05.73\00:51:06.86
The apostle Paul, from prison,
would write his last letters
00:51:06.89\00:51:10.10
to Timothy and to Titus.
00:51:10.13\00:51:11.87
And he would refer to the second
coming as "the blessed hope. "
00:51:11.90\00:51:14.69
I long for the glorious
appearing, the blessed hope.
00:51:14.72\00:51:17.47
I want to say to you and I
tonight, and all of our hearts,
00:51:17.50\00:51:20.23
it is not only just the blessed
hope, it is our only hope.
00:51:20.26\00:51:24.20
It's the only hope for
this troubled world of ours.
00:51:24.23\00:51:30.00
Get your kids ready.
00:51:31.88\00:51:33.30
Our Lord Himself said, "Let
not your hearts be troubled.
00:51:37.43\00:51:42.21
You believe in God,
believe also in Me. "
00:51:42.24\00:51:43.73
John 14
00:51:43.76\00:51:44.75
"In My Father's
house are many mansions.
00:51:44.78\00:51:46.72
If it weren't true
I would have told you.
00:51:46.75\00:51:48.48
I go to prepare a place for you.
00:51:48.51\00:51:50.35
And if I go, I
will come again. "
00:51:50.38\00:51:54.08
Now I want to underscore
something for you here.
00:51:54.11\00:51:56.17
And maybe you've never quite
thought about it in this light.
00:51:56.20\00:51:58.63
Jesus said, "Let not
your hearts be troubled. "
00:51:58.66\00:52:03.28
Your heart.
00:52:07.44\00:52:08.89
The atheist, alright,
let his heart be troubled.
00:52:09.99\00:52:12.16
The agnostic,
let him be troubled.
00:52:12.19\00:52:14.07
The infidel may be troubled.
00:52:14.10\00:52:15.38
The modernist may be troubled.
00:52:15.41\00:52:17.84
The heathenist and the
skeptic might be troubled.
00:52:17.87\00:52:20.09
And the secularist
is going to be troubled.
00:52:20.12\00:52:21.77
But let not your
heart be troubled
00:52:21.80\00:52:23.43
for Jesus is coming again.
00:52:23.46\00:52:25.54
And His coming is not
an allegory or a metaphor
00:52:25.57\00:52:27.78
or some kind of a parable.
00:52:27.81\00:52:29.04
It's real.
00:52:29.07\00:52:30.04
This same Jesus that ascended
up into the heavens in a cloud
00:52:30.05\00:52:33.70
is coming back.
00:52:33.73\00:52:34.70
The same Lord that walked
the weary miles, the same Jesus
00:52:34.71\00:52:37.25
that calmed the
seas, the same Lord.
00:52:37.28\00:52:39.68
To opened blinded eyes, this
same Jesus who was beaten bloody
00:52:41.68\00:52:45.41
and dragged the heavy
cross and died, and was buried
00:52:45.44\00:52:48.15
in the grave and rose
again, is coming again.
00:52:48.18\00:52:50.79
This same Jesus.
00:52:50.82\00:52:53.82
Hebrews chapter
4 and verse 14 says
00:52:56.15\00:52:58.11
in the interim, "He's
our great High Priest. "
00:52:58.14\00:53:00.15
Ever intercedes for us.
00:53:01.77\00:53:03.85
Philippians chapter
3 verse 20, Paul said,
00:53:04.26\00:53:06.58
"Let our minds
always be in heaven
00:53:06.61\00:53:08.92
from where also we
look for the coming of our
00:53:08.95\00:53:11.45
great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ. "
00:53:11.48\00:53:13.63
At the end of his own life and
ministry, he would write to the
00:53:13.66\00:53:16.37
young preacher Timothy in the
4th chapter of the second book
00:53:16.40\00:53:19.47
and the 7th verse, and he
said, "I fought a good fight,
00:53:19.50\00:53:22.13
and I've finished the
course, and I've kept the faith.
00:53:22.16\00:53:25.09
I've hung in there.
00:53:25.12\00:53:26.36
Henceforth there's laid up
for me, a crown of righteousness
00:53:26.39\00:53:29.63
which the Lord will
give me at His appearing.
00:53:31.17\00:53:33.07
And not to me
only, but to all those
00:53:33.10\00:53:35.96
who anxiously
long and look for it. "
00:53:35.99\00:53:38.81
Titus 2:13, the
glorious blessed hope of Jesus.
00:53:39.74\00:53:45.03
Revelation chapter 21
says just before He comes on a
00:53:45.43\00:53:50.36
rescue mission, the
final mission, He's going to
00:53:50.39\00:53:52.79
stand up from that heavenly
courtroom where He's been
00:53:52.82\00:53:55.03
our High Priest and He's going
to shout to the whole universe,
00:53:55.06\00:53:57.81
"It is done. "
00:53:57.84\00:54:01.27
It's done.
00:54:01.30\00:54:02.60
I've been asked
on several occasions,
00:54:03.00\00:54:04.54
"What does that mean, Lyle?"
00:54:04.57\00:54:05.61
I'll tell you
tonight what it means.
00:54:05.64\00:54:07.31
It means that rape
and riot and robbery
00:54:07.34\00:54:09.98
and rage and rust are over.
00:54:10.01\00:54:11.48
It's done, it's
finished. It's no more.
00:54:11.51\00:54:13.60
And pain and sorrow and
separation and sin are finished.
00:54:13.63\00:54:16.68
They're gone, it's no more.
00:54:16.71\00:54:18.31
And no longer will my sweet
little granddaughter cry bitter
00:54:18.34\00:54:22.39
tears because of the multiple
sclerosis that her mother has.
00:54:22.42\00:54:25.89
"It is done. "
00:54:26.43\00:54:28.46
My favorite preacher, my
dear friend Charles Brooks
00:54:29.81\00:54:34.43
said this, and I love it.
00:54:34.46\00:54:36.02
When he breaks
through the sky's,
00:54:36.96\00:54:39.13
He's going to tear
open the cemeteries.
00:54:40.05\00:54:42.63
Tear them up.
00:54:44.25\00:54:45.35
And the saints are going
to come out of their graves
00:54:49.26\00:54:52.82
like popcorn on
the top of a hot stove.
00:54:53.63\00:54:56.39
I like that, don't you?
00:54:56.42\00:54:57.77
And we shall be changed.
00:54:58.17\00:55:00.28
We'll be changed.
00:55:00.58\00:55:01.85
Then in 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4, verses 16 and 17,
00:55:01.88\00:55:06.13
"The Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout,
00:55:06.16\00:55:08.35
with the voice of the archangel
and the trumpet of God.
00:55:08.38\00:55:10.45
And the dead in
Christ will rise first.
00:55:10.48\00:55:12.43
Then we which are alive
and remain shall be... "
00:55:12.46\00:55:15.26
What now?
00:55:15.29\00:55:16.40
"... caught up
together with them. "
00:55:16.43\00:55:17.79
Raptured up, snatched up.
00:55:17.82\00:55:19.77
I'm going to fly, folks.
00:55:19.80\00:55:22.12
I took my first airplane
ride when I was 5 years old.
00:55:22.15\00:55:24.99
It was in one of those
open cockpit things and
00:55:25.02\00:55:27.13
the guy decided he'd do
some acrobatics up there.
00:55:27.16\00:55:29.92
And I have a problem with
motion sickness and it scared me
00:55:29.95\00:55:33.06
and I was really
cold besides all of that.
00:55:33.09\00:55:34.74
And from that time on, I
haven't really cared for flying.
00:55:34.77\00:55:37.91
Peggy loves it,
on the other hand.
00:55:37.94\00:55:39.60
My son Troy loves it.
00:55:39.63\00:55:40.98
They go together and fly
in helicopters and all kinds
00:55:41.01\00:55:44.19
of wonderful things.
00:55:44.22\00:55:45.31
I fly when I have to.
00:55:45.34\00:55:47.08
And you've heard
about white knuckle landers?
00:55:47.11\00:55:49.70
I'm white knuckle taker off'er
and everything in between.
00:55:49.73\00:55:52.83
And there comes a little
bit of a bump, and I jump.
00:55:52.86\00:55:54.86
And Peggy says,
"It's alright dear.
00:55:54.89\00:55:56.49
It's going to be alright. "
00:55:56.52\00:55:57.70
I've been asked on
occasions more than once,
00:55:57.73\00:56:00.34
"Are you afraid of flying?"
00:56:00.37\00:56:01.43
And I say, "No,
I'm not afraid to fly.
00:56:01.46\00:56:03.50
I'm not afraid of the fall.
00:56:04.04\00:56:05.86
It's that sudden stop
that bothers me, however. "
00:56:05.89\00:56:08.53
And besides that,
I read from my Jesus,
00:56:08.56\00:56:11.04
"Low... Low I'm
with you always. "
00:56:11.07\00:56:14.71
I'm going to fly.
00:56:20.17\00:56:21.76
I'm going to be snatched up
00:56:22.16\00:56:24.08
higher
00:56:29.70\00:56:30.77
and higher
00:56:32.56\00:56:33.99
until with my boy,
00:56:40.01\00:56:42.01
my father-in-law and my daddy,
00:56:44.88\00:56:46.74
you and your loved ones,
00:56:48.46\00:56:50.25
meet together in
the arms of Jesus.
00:56:54.91\00:56:57.14
One sat alone
00:57:04.70\00:57:06.89
beside the highway begging.
00:57:08.79\00:57:12.33
His eyes were blind,
the light he couldn't see.
00:57:12.36\00:57:14.94
He clutched his rags
and shivered in the shadows.
00:57:17.43\00:57:21.02
And then Jesus came
00:57:21.05\00:57:23.47
and set the captive free.
00:57:23.50\00:57:25.42
When Jesus comes, the
tempters power is broken.
00:57:25.45\00:57:28.82
When Jesus comes,
the tears are wiped away.
00:57:28.85\00:57:33.05
For He takes the gloom
and fills the life with glory.
00:57:33.08\00:57:37.28
And all is changed
00:57:37.31\00:57:39.77
when Jesus comes to stay.
00:57:39.80\00:57:42.52
Let's pray.
00:57:42.55\00:57:43.79
Thank You, dear
God, for Your promise.
00:57:44.98\00:57:47.14
Thank You, sweet Jesus,
00:57:47.17\00:57:48.86
for Your testimony given in a
courtroom, "I will come again. "
00:57:50.07\00:57:54.44
Your promise to your
friends in the upper room,
00:57:54.95\00:57:56.71
"I will come again. "
00:57:56.74\00:57:58.17
It's the blessed hope.
00:57:58.20\00:57:59.97
It's that promise
that gives us the courage
00:58:02.43\00:58:04.68
to leave the fresh mound
00:58:05.43\00:58:07.36
and face
tomorrow and the next day.
00:58:08.08\00:58:10.30
Even so,
00:58:11.45\00:58:12.86
come Lord Jesus.
00:58:14.78\00:58:16.55
Amen.
00:58:17.02\00:58:18.53