Good evening.
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Welcome to each of you.
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Are you ready to travel?
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Well, I am as well.
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Now, if you'll fasten
your seatbelts and relax,
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we shall be on our
way to the city of Rome.
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We're going to be visiting
Rome on several occasions.
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We've said, on more
than one occasion we visited
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other cities, that the
major cities of the world are
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built on the banks of a river.
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And it's true here.
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The river that runs through
the city of Rome is the Tiber.
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Now we're going to get
in a helicopter and lift up
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from the banks of the Tiber
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and have a
panoramic view of the city.
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And we see the many,
many domes of the various
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Roman Catholic cathedrals.
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I've forgotten
how many there are.
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There was a time, a long while
back, that there was a necessity
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of cathedrals because
every Cardinal that makes up the
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College of Cardinals,
the governing body of the
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church beneath the Pope himself,
every Cardinal had to be a
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pastor, ex officio or in name
only, of one of the cathedrals
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inside the city of Rome.
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Well, now the College
of Cardinals has outgrown
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the number of cathedrals.
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But we're going to look
at some in a close-up tonight
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beginning with the Cathedral
of St. Paul outside the gate.
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The apostle Paul spent his last
days here in the city of Rome
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down in a hole
called the Mamertine.
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He was left in there to
die, but they couldn't wait
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for his demise.
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They took him out and brought
him over and beheaded him.
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And in the early part of
the fourth century, they built
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a church on the supposed site of
the death of the apostle Paul.
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And a few years later
then, they tore that one down
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and replaced it with
this one that's been standing
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for such a long, long time.
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By the way, the facade up there
contains the largest mosaic
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piece of art in the world.
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At least that is the claim.
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I think we've said on
prior occasions that during the
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dark ages, the Bibles were
chained to monastery desks.
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They were for the
private interpretation of
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church leadership.
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Therefore, in order to teach
the folks the Bible stories
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they would decorate the
cathedrals with Bible art.
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Maybe a
sculpting, maybe a painting,
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maybe a stained glass window.
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And here on the exterior, it
happens to be this huge mosaic
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that is covered
with Bible story.
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Now, the style of architecture
that we're going to see
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largely tonight is Romanesque.
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Several evenings ago,
we went inside a cathedral
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over in London.
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And we said that the
style there was Gothic.
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Gothic is delicate and
slender and spaghetti thin.
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And Romanesque is
just the reverse of that.
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It is bold and stout and
big pillars and broad arches.
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And so this is
the Romanesque style.
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A true cathedral had to be
built in the shape of a cross.
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And if this auditorium were
a cathedral, where you folks
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are seated would be the nave.
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The main nave, traditionally.
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And then at the point of
the high altar, there is an arm
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that goes out in
either direction.
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And that is called the transept.
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And behind that, behind
the high altar, a little alcove
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called the apse to symbolize
the head part of a cross.
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So nave, transept, and apse.
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And we're standing to
take this picture, of course,
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at the end of the nave looking
down toward the high altar.
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We look up into the ceiling,
we see that it's hand carved
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out of beautiful hardwood.
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And then it is
covered over with gold leaf.
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And in the very center of
the ceiling is the coat of arms
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of the Pope that was reigning
at the time of the dedication.
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A papal coat of arms.
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Mass is about to begin.
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We look up above the
high altar and we see again
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paintings and mosaics
telling the Bible story.
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They're telling about
Jesus discipling His followers;
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Peter, James,
John, Andrew, the others.
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That means
teaching them, discipling.
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And then beneath
that He is apostling them.
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Sending them out to
share what He has taught.
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This is a marble statue after
whom the cathedral is named,
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the apostle Paul.
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Paul called himself the
apostle to the Gentiles.
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He believed that it was his
mission to take the good news
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of Jesus now beyond Judaism and
out to the rest of the world.
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And so he would go on mission
journeys all through Asia Minor
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and as far away as Rome.
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And you remember from
his last letter he said,
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"If I can get out of
here," talking about jail.
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"If I get out of this situation,
I have Spain in mind. "
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And I'll tell you what.
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I've been to 62 countries
of the world and I've preached
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in many and I've been to about
all of the states to preach.
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And if Jesus doesn't hurry
back, I have Spain in mind.
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How about you?
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Now we're going to
take the gospel everywhere.
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We must do that.
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Now, I've taken you outside
to show you something that
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gives this cathedral
its real personality.
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I didn't bring you here to
the rose garden to show you
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the flowers,
though they are lovely.
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I've brought you here
to show you the colonnade.
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I've forgotten how many columns
and arches there are, and
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that's really unimportant.
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What I do well remember
is, each of those columns is
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different from every other one.
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Some are round, some are
square, some are octagonal,
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some are serpentine.
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But each one is
different from the other.
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We're now standing with
our backs to the Tiber River.
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And in the very center of
our picture is the dome of the
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largest cathedral in the world.
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That is St.
Peter's inside the Vatican.
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We shall not go in
there tonight, but we shall on
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two subsequent evenings.
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But I wanted you to
notice this building that's over
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on the extreme right.
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It has two names.
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It's known as the
Castle of the Holy Angel
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and way up at the top, there
you see a bronze of an angel.
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We're going to
stand up there soon.
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But it's also known
as the tomb of Hadrian.
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Roman Emperor Hadrian wanted
to be buried inside this place.
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He'd ordered its construction.
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It was built as a safe
house, ladies and gentlemen.
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And it was
defended at every level.
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You look at that building and
you look at its construction,
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and you see that at each
tower, there is a cantilever
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with an arch.
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And that, as we've talked
on other evenings, was for the
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purpose of pouring
down hot oil upon anyone
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trying to break inside.
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And there were other ancient
weapons, as we're going to
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notice as we go
higher and higher.
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And so, the Emperor Hadrian
who, by the way, was really an
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enemy of Jesus
and of Christianity.
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He may have been, well,
along with a madman by the name
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of Nero, he may have been the
worst enemy of the church that
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history has ever known.
00:08:08.53\00:08:09.89
So let's move across the
bridge and have a close-up.
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Look at the
various levels there,
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and all of them
have that overhang.
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And we're going to then,
pay our fee and go inside.
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From the second level, we look
back down into the courtyard
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and we see cannon.
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And that tells us that
this was used as a fort.
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At a much later date
than Hadrian's, of course.
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A time of modern weaponry.
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And then we go
further still and we look up
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and there's our buddy.
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And there's that cantilever.
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And where he's standing,
there is one of the openings.
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At every level, it could
be defended by throwing things
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down through, or by pouring
down hot water or hot oil
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upon anyone trying to break in.
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Now we see an ancient
relic, an old war machine.
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There is a catapult.
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And you'll see a
stack of those great big
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watermelon sized stones.
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And it has two in the ladle.
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And that thing was cocked
and it would throw those rocks
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out over to the
outside against any army that
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might be gathered there.
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In addition, there was
a whole room filled with
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grapefruit sized balls for
the purpose of throwing by hand.
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Hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds of these stones
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perfectly rounded so that
they could have fair accuracy.
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And then thrown by hand.
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I've thought about
it, ladies and gentlemen.
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You know, if you got
hit with one of those,
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you're going to need
one of those aspirins
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like they show on TV.
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About like that.
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An aspirin sandwich at least.
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Well, we're up near the top now.
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And we're looking over
the wall inside the Vatican.
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Vatican is 110 acres
inside the city of Rome.
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And as I've
mentioned, we shall visit there
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on subsequent evenings.
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I'm going to put the
camera out through that opening
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and put on the wide angle lens
and give you a view of something
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that I find fascinating.
00:10:04.36\00:10:05.98
There is an
interesting sidewalk.
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It's about 25 feet
above the street level.
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There you see it.
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And I'm going to trace it across
from the bottom right-hand
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of the screen.
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You begin there.
00:10:16.79\00:10:17.76
And that is
inside this castle now,
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inside this place of safety.
00:10:20.08\00:10:22.39
And it goes all the way, through
the wall, inside the Vatican,
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and all the way
over to the Pope's house.
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How about that.
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If the Pope's life was
in danger, this you know,
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after the empire of
the Caesars and during the
00:10:36.90\00:10:39.03
holy Roman time and
later the empire of the papacy.
00:10:39.06\00:10:42.63
If the Pope's life
was in danger, he could
00:10:42.66\00:10:44.97
leave his house without walking
down in the streets where
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enemies might be, he could
find safety by running over here
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inside this place of Hadrian.
00:10:52.38\00:10:55.23
Well, there are
many other things to see.
00:10:55.26\00:10:57.61
And so we're, from the very top,
standing beneath the holy angel,
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going to bid adieu
and move across town.
00:11:00.72\00:11:03.84
This building, ladies and
gentlemen, is the Pantheon.
00:11:07.48\00:11:11.10
And I want to tell you a
little bit about that name.
00:11:11.13\00:11:14.10
The name Pantheon is taken
from two New Testament words
00:11:16.43\00:11:20.56
or Greek words.
00:11:20.59\00:11:21.56
"Pan" means all.
00:11:21.57\00:11:23.38
Pan America
Airlines, the airline that flew
00:11:23.41\00:11:26.16
across all the Americas.
00:11:26.19\00:11:27.50
"Pan", all.
00:11:27.53\00:11:29.23
And then "theon" or
"theos" is the word for God.
00:11:29.26\00:11:33.13
The Greek word for God.
00:11:33.16\00:11:34.25
This, for hundreds of years,
folk, was the place where the
00:11:34.28\00:11:38.01
pagans came to worship the
gods of the sun and the moon
00:11:38.04\00:11:42.04
and the stars, and
Mercury the messenger god
00:11:42.07\00:11:44.45
and a host of others.
00:11:44.48\00:11:45.75
The place of worshiping
all of the pagan gods.
00:11:45.78\00:11:48.89
Christianity, born over in
Jerusalem at the time of Jesus
00:11:51.35\00:11:57.89
and the disciples, began, by
the second and third century,
00:11:57.92\00:12:00.84
to sweep across the Roman
world like fire in dry brush.
00:12:00.87\00:12:04.71
And one by one, pagan temples
became Christian churches.
00:12:04.74\00:12:09.39
And this is one example.
00:12:09.42\00:12:10.84
Today, you see out in
front of it this obelisk.
00:12:10.87\00:12:14.57
And that is from
Heliopolis, the north of the
00:12:14.60\00:12:17.64
continent of Africa.
00:12:17.67\00:12:18.88
Helios is one of the
pagan names of the sun god.
00:12:18.92\00:12:22.29
And there we see a big
gold ball to symbolize the sun.
00:12:22.32\00:12:25.20
And atop that we see a cross,
00:12:25.23\00:12:27.69
to give further
evidence, archeological evidence
00:12:27.72\00:12:31.25
and historical proof,
of the melding together
00:12:31.28\00:12:36.45
of Christianity with elements of
the religion that was prior to
00:12:36.48\00:12:40.77
Christianity to
the large degree.
00:12:40.80\00:12:42.45
And that was paganism.
00:12:42.48\00:12:43.98
We're going to go inside
and we're going to see something
00:12:44.48\00:12:47.82
immediately at the roof top.
00:12:47.85\00:12:49.60
By the way, this building
was built in the 6th century.
00:12:49.63\00:12:53.53
And it is, for you
carpenters sake, you builders,
00:12:53.56\00:12:56.47
this was one of the very
earliest uses of concrete.
00:12:56.50\00:13:00.65
And they had a pretty
good mix, didn't they.
00:13:00.68\00:13:03.59
I don't know if it was a 5 or
6 bag mix, but it held up well.
00:13:03.62\00:13:07.16
That's for certain.
00:13:07.19\00:13:08.32
Yeah, concrete dome.
And the thing is huge.
00:13:09.10\00:13:12.49
And nearly all of the
great domes in the world today
00:13:12.52\00:13:15.56
are fashioned after
the design of this one.
00:13:15.59\00:13:18.79
And some of them still
are made out of concrete.
00:13:18.82\00:13:21.18
Well, you will notice
a hole in the ceiling.
00:13:21.21\00:13:23.00
That hole is about 30 feet in
diameter, ladies and gentlemen.
00:13:23.03\00:13:25.83
And that was so that at
certain times of the year,
00:13:25.86\00:13:28.63
they could see the sun
or the moon or the stars
00:13:28.66\00:13:31.78
and enjoy that in
their worship of paganism.
00:13:31.81\00:13:34.62
Now if you're wondering
what happens when it rains,
00:13:34.65\00:13:36.28
the answer is very simple.
00:13:36.31\00:13:37.50
The rain water came right
in, but beneath that opening
00:13:37.53\00:13:40.89
there are holes
drilled in the floor.
00:13:40.92\00:13:43.27
And the very center of
the floor is slightly concave,
00:13:43.30\00:13:46.27
it's saucered, and the
rain water drains right down
00:13:46.30\00:13:50.38
through the holes and into the
drainage system down beneath.
00:13:50.41\00:13:54.35
There is a pipe organ in
here, set back amidst those
00:13:55.16\00:14:00.00
beautiful,
beautiful marble pillars.
00:14:00.03\00:14:02.37
And when I was here on one
occasion, the maestro played.
00:14:02.40\00:14:05.57
And when those notes
reverberated off of that
00:14:05.60\00:14:08.90
round marble
building, it was indeed magic.
00:14:08.93\00:14:12.84
We're going to pause very
briefly at the tomb of Raphael.
00:14:12.87\00:14:16.27
Raphael is buried right there.
00:14:16.30\00:14:20.37
Well, we've moved
now to another cathedral.
00:14:20.97\00:14:23.71
And this one, again,
is very obviously of the
00:14:23.74\00:14:26.48
Romanesque style.
00:14:26.51\00:14:27.86
Big columns and
wide and broad arches.
00:14:27.89\00:14:31.85
And there is the high altar.
00:14:31.88\00:14:33.44
This, ladies and
gentlemen, is the Cathedral of
00:14:33.47\00:14:35.89
San Pietro in Vincoli.
00:14:35.92\00:14:37.58
Or we, perhaps, would
say St. Peter in Chains.
00:14:37.61\00:14:41.73
The apostle Paul came
to Rome and was martyred.
00:14:41.76\00:14:45.39
He was beheaded.
00:14:45.42\00:14:46.45
The apostle Peter came to Rome.
00:14:46.48\00:14:48.56
And some early historians
say that he was kept also in the
00:14:48.59\00:14:51.52
Mamertine hole or the
Mamertine prison cave.
00:14:51.55\00:14:55.37
We can't be certain of that but
we are quite certain Paul was.
00:14:55.40\00:14:58.72
But at any event, Peter was
taken and executed on a cross.
00:14:58.75\00:15:04.20
And he said, "I don't
deserve to die like my Lord. "
00:15:04.73\00:15:06.99
They said, "Fine then. "
00:15:07.02\00:15:07.99
And so they hung him
on an inverted cross.
00:15:08.00\00:15:10.30
Hung him upside down and left
him to die in that position.
00:15:10.33\00:15:15.36
And so, they show you all kinds
of relics here like this one
00:15:15.96\00:15:20.79
inside the bronze case,
this old, old link chain.
00:15:20.82\00:15:25.66
And they'll tell you
here that this is the chain,
00:15:25.69\00:15:28.27
the very absolute chain,
that Peter was chained with
00:15:28.30\00:15:31.62
when he was a prisoner
here in the city of Rome.
00:15:31.65\00:15:34.64
I think that some of these
ideas, we have to take with
00:15:35.30\00:15:39.63
more than a grain of salt.
00:15:39.66\00:15:41.46
Yes, maybe a teaspoon or two.
00:15:41.49\00:15:44.97
But they're put here for
the purpose of reminding folks
00:15:45.00\00:15:48.63
of the mission of the church.
00:15:48.66\00:15:50.66
And I have no problem with
being reminded of the mission
00:15:50.69\00:15:54.15
of the church as
far as that's concerned.
00:15:54.18\00:15:56.14
As long as folks don't begin
to worship those kinds of things
00:15:56.17\00:15:59.90
or any such as that.
00:15:59.93\00:16:01.03
Well, nearby there is a nail.
00:16:01.06\00:16:04.26
And they will tell you that this
old spike was the one that was
00:16:04.29\00:16:08.12
driven through the feet of Jesus
when He was nailed to the cross.
00:16:08.15\00:16:12.27
The Cathedral of
San Pietro in Vincoli,
00:16:12.30\00:16:14.86
St. Peter in Chains.
00:16:14.89\00:16:16.32
Here then is a
statue in this cathedral
00:16:16.92\00:16:20.32
of the first of the
Roman Emperors to claim
00:16:20.35\00:16:23.45
to be a Christian.
00:16:23.48\00:16:24.45
This, of
course, was Constantine.
00:16:24.46\00:16:26.57
Constantine was a Christian as
a result of political necessity.
00:16:26.60\00:16:32.47
I think that's the fairest
and most honest way to say it.
00:16:32.50\00:16:35.80
To think that he was born again
would be more than a misnomer,
00:16:35.83\00:16:39.69
a mistaken idea.
00:16:39.72\00:16:41.08
When Constantine came to
power, he inherited an empire
00:16:41.11\00:16:46.69
that was divided
right down the center.
00:16:46.72\00:16:49.34
Paganism had been the
religion of the masses for
00:16:49.37\00:16:52.38
hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds of years.
00:16:52.41\00:16:54.53
But in recent
times, Christianity was
00:16:54.56\00:16:57.03
born in Jerusalem and spread
like a wild fire driven by a
00:16:57.06\00:17:01.62
fierce Santa Ana wind.
00:17:01.65\00:17:03.89
He saw the possibility,
yes the probability,
00:17:04.73\00:17:07.69
of the empire being split.
00:17:07.72\00:17:09.95
And being politically
savvy, Constantine went down
00:17:09.98\00:17:13.82
to a cathedral that
we're going to visit,
00:17:13.85\00:17:16.04
and said to the pastor,
"I want to be a Christian.
00:17:16.07\00:17:18.93
I want to be baptized. "
00:17:18.96\00:17:20.10
And so the pastor, unable I
suppose to say no to the emperor
00:17:20.13\00:17:24.70
took him into the baptistery and
immersed him beneath the water.
00:17:24.73\00:17:28.48
Now when Constantine
came up out of the water,
00:17:28.51\00:17:30.96
he did not come up a born
again Christian, but really
00:17:30.99\00:17:33.69
a barely diluted,
barely watered down pagan.
00:17:33.72\00:17:37.55
But from that point on, he
began to promote Christianity.
00:17:38.31\00:17:41.11
He said, "I'm a Christian and if
any of you do a Christian harm,
00:17:41.14\00:17:44.92
I'm going to take it personally.
00:17:44.95\00:17:46.25
If I hear that anyone has
taken the life of a Christian,
00:17:46.28\00:17:50.90
I'm going to react in the
same way as if you'd tried
00:17:50.93\00:17:53.12
to take my own life.
00:17:53.15\00:17:54.66
I am a Christian, I want
everyone to be Christian. "
00:17:54.69\00:17:58.37
But then, he said at
a great church meeting,
00:17:58.40\00:18:01.68
"Christians, we
can't have it all our way.
00:18:03.50\00:18:06.07
The basic teaching of
Christianity is to love everyone
00:18:07.37\00:18:10.63
and to be open minded. "
00:18:11.65\00:18:13.21
And so he said, "We're
going to meet the pagans
00:18:13.24\00:18:16.34
in the middle of the road. "
00:18:16.37\00:18:18.21
And he, at this great
church counsel, brought into the
00:18:18.24\00:18:22.58
Christian church many,
many teachings and practices
00:18:22.61\00:18:25.86
that had been used by the
pagans in the prior centuries.
00:18:25.89\00:18:30.38
And as a result of the influence
of the baptism of Constantine,
00:18:30.41\00:18:34.75
a great deal of paganism
was brought into the church.
00:18:34.78\00:18:37.89
And a lot of it is
still around today,
00:18:37.92\00:18:40.32
as we've
mentioned on other evenings
00:18:40.35\00:18:42.07
and we'll continue to
do so as we study further.
00:18:42.10\00:18:45.56
The statue of Constantine.
00:18:46.42\00:18:48.28
And I think it's rightly placed.
00:18:48.31\00:18:50.94
Now we've come to the cathedral
that is the church of the Pope.
00:18:51.97\00:18:57.94
And I say that again
with the idea of ex officio.
00:18:57.97\00:19:03.04
We would traditionally think
that St. Peter's inside the
00:19:03.07\00:19:06.47
Vatican is the Pope's
church, but that's not the case.
00:19:06.50\00:19:10.25
St. Peter's is only
ever Peter's church.
00:19:10.28\00:19:13.90
This is the
Cathedral of St. John Lateran.
00:19:13.93\00:19:16.79
And it is this cathedral
that the Pope is pastor of.
00:19:16.82\00:19:20.19
But again, in name only.
00:19:20.22\00:19:22.17
Again, the architecture
inside is Romanesque.
00:19:22.20\00:19:26.38
So we'll step inside and have a
little view down the main nave.
00:19:26.41\00:19:30.41
The high altar is
unique in all of the world
00:19:30.44\00:19:32.77
because it has
two statues in it.
00:19:32.80\00:19:35.11
And so we're going to go down
toward them and I'm going to use
00:19:35.14\00:19:38.05
my pointer and I'm going
to show you right up there.
00:19:38.08\00:19:41.34
There they are.
00:19:41.37\00:19:42.34
They're made out of brass.
00:19:42.35\00:19:44.27
And they claim here that inside
these statues are the remains
00:19:45.97\00:19:51.52
of the bodies of Peter and Paul.
00:19:51.55\00:19:54.63
Now over inside the Vatican,
they say, "No, Peter is buried
00:19:55.13\00:19:58.78
beneath the high altar here. "
00:19:58.81\00:20:00.34
But the folks
over here disagree.
00:20:00.37\00:20:02.16
I think God only
knows where Peter sleeps.
00:20:02.19\00:20:04.39
But this is a
beautiful, beautiful cathedral.
00:20:04.42\00:20:07.08
More lovely in many
ways than some of the others
00:20:07.11\00:20:09.52
that we have looked at.
00:20:09.55\00:20:11.25
And you just again, have to
be impressed, deeply impressed,
00:20:11.28\00:20:15.83
by the beauty of
the architecture.
00:20:15.86\00:20:18.13
And be reminded that
this was done by men with
00:20:18.16\00:20:21.21
crude and ancient tools
by our standards of today.
00:20:21.24\00:20:24.94
Now separate and apart from
the church, but a part of the
00:20:24.97\00:20:27.50
church complex
is the baptistery.
00:20:27.53\00:20:29.89
And this is it,
I'm standing in it.
00:20:29.92\00:20:32.37
And it was down in the center
where Constantine was baptized.
00:20:32.40\00:20:37.33
We're going to talk
tomorrow evening about baptism
00:20:37.36\00:20:39.47
and it's place and it's
importance in the church.
00:20:39.50\00:20:41.52
So be sure that
you're here to travel with me
00:20:41.55\00:20:44.07
when we go to Pisa.
00:20:44.10\00:20:45.37
You may recall that last night
I gave you a bit of a warning.
00:20:46.39\00:20:49.58
I said that tonight, we
were going to go to cathedrals
00:20:49.61\00:20:53.99
and we were also
going to go into a church
00:20:54.02\00:20:57.21
where it's a little scary.
00:20:57.24\00:20:59.16
You recall that?
00:20:59.19\00:21:00.28
Remember I told you I'd give
you fair warning that if you
00:21:00.31\00:21:03.10
had a problem with
nightmares or bad dreams or
00:21:03.13\00:21:06.38
any such thing, I'd tell
you when to close your eyes?
00:21:06.41\00:21:09.16
Well, the time is now.
00:21:09.19\00:21:11.15
Alright?
00:21:11.18\00:21:12.16
And by the way,
don't do it this way.
00:21:12.19\00:21:13.86
I've seen folk, it doesn't work.
00:21:13.89\00:21:15.18
I've seen folks do that.
00:21:15.21\00:21:16.57
This, ladies and
gentlemen, is the mother church
00:21:19.67\00:21:22.32
of the Capuchin Order.
00:21:22.35\00:21:24.08
And over here,
they say, "cappuccini".
00:21:25.47\00:21:28.70
Does that sound like
anything that we know about here
00:21:28.73\00:21:31.99
in our environment?
00:21:32.02\00:21:33.67
You go into
Starbuck's and for $5 you can
00:21:33.70\00:21:36.70
buy yourself a cup of...
00:21:36.73\00:21:37.97
...cappuccino.
00:21:38.94\00:21:41.16
Where did
cappuccino get its name?
00:21:41.19\00:21:43.25
Well, they say it was taken
from the color of the robes
00:21:43.28\00:21:47.96
of the cappuccine monks.
00:21:47.99\00:21:49.89
And we're going to see
some of that in a little bit.
00:21:49.92\00:21:51.97
Now, it's not what's up on
the main floor in the main nave,
00:21:52.00\00:21:55.32
that we want to see, but
rather what's in the basement.
00:21:55.35\00:21:57.60
So, if you have your courage up,
go into the basement with me.
00:21:57.63\00:22:02.26
When the cappuccine monks,
the monks who serve here, die
00:22:03.85\00:22:06.94
their remains are
immediately cleaned up,
00:22:06.97\00:22:10.66
their bones are
scraped, and they're stacked
00:22:10.69\00:22:13.09
with the leg bones in
one area and the backbones
00:22:13.12\00:22:16.92
in another area, and certain
other bones in another area.
00:22:16.95\00:22:20.28
And skull bones...
00:22:20.31\00:22:24.20
When you visit here,
you're going to want to go
00:22:24.81\00:22:26.78
in the day
light, I'm sure of that.
00:22:26.81\00:22:28.35
And every time I
look at this picture,
00:22:29.76\00:22:31.52
I'm reminded of Mark Twain.
00:22:31.55\00:22:33.52
He was such a
character. Samuel Clemens.
00:22:35.09\00:22:38.21
His nom de plume or his pen
name, of course, was Mark Twain.
00:22:38.24\00:22:42.25
He was working for the St. Louis
Dispatch newspaper at the time
00:22:43.82\00:22:48.90
of the first steam powered
crossing of the Atlantic ocean.
00:22:48.93\00:22:51.96
And his newspaper said to him,
"Mr. Twain, we will pay your way
00:22:51.99\00:22:57.58
and buy your food and all,
we'll send you on this crossing
00:22:57.61\00:23:01.98
on this big side paddle
wheeler across the Atlantic.
00:23:02.01\00:23:05.58
And you write back,
you write us letters and
00:23:05.61\00:23:07.66
we'll print the letters. "
00:23:07.69\00:23:08.74
And so he took
them up on that bargain.
00:23:08.77\00:23:11.06
And those letters now
are in a book entitled,
00:23:11.09\00:23:14.60
"Innocence Abroad. "
00:23:14.63\00:23:16.25
And Mark Twain came to Rome
and he went into the basement
00:23:16.28\00:23:20.33
of this church and he
stood where we're standing now.
00:23:20.36\00:23:24.23
And then he wrote back and said,
00:23:24.26\00:23:26.50
"Not a place I care
to be, I think, when
00:23:27.87\00:23:29.58
Gabriel blows his horn.
00:23:29.61\00:23:31.13
And the knee
connected to the thigh bone,
00:23:31.16\00:23:33.47
and the thigh bone
connected to the hip bone. "
00:23:33.50\00:23:35.03
You can see it in
your mind, can't you.
00:23:35.06\00:23:37.06
He was just a crazy
guy, that Mark Twain.
00:23:37.09\00:23:40.62
Well, we must hurry now.
00:23:40.65\00:23:42.60
Our final church is this one.
00:23:42.63\00:23:45.03
If it's not the oldest church
in the city, it is second.
00:23:45.06\00:23:48.18
There is some
dispute about all of that.
00:23:48.21\00:23:50.47
That's not
important to us tonight.
00:23:50.50\00:23:52.50
This is the church of St.
Clement dating back to the
00:23:52.53\00:23:56.26
earliest records of Christianity
in the city of Rome.
00:23:56.29\00:23:59.59
And again, it's not what's
here in the worship area that
00:23:59.62\00:24:01.90
we want to see, but
rather what's in the basement.
00:24:01.93\00:24:04.37
In the basement,
we see stone benches.
00:24:04.40\00:24:06.51
And in the middle of that,
we see a statue with a carving
00:24:06.54\00:24:10.71
in the marble of the god Mithra.
00:24:10.74\00:24:13.30
Mithra was part and parcel of
sun worship and Sunday keeping.
00:24:14.54\00:24:21.04
Here, ladies and
gentlemen, we have a church,
00:24:23.14\00:24:25.64
one of the oldest
in the city of Rome,
00:24:26.16\00:24:28.79
that was built up over
the theological seminary,
00:24:28.82\00:24:34.19
if you please, of
pagan sun worship.
00:24:34.22\00:24:37.89
And so when we say that Sunday
observance and going to church
00:24:37.92\00:24:42.29
on Sunday had its roots
in paganism, it's not an
00:24:42.32\00:24:46.51
unkind criticism.
00:24:46.54\00:24:48.15
It's simply an archeological
and historical fact.
00:24:48.18\00:24:51.89
That is really what happened.
00:24:51.92\00:24:54.64
The highest god worshipped
by the pagans was the sun.
00:24:54.67\00:24:58.59
It was the sun that warmed
the earth in the spring time and
00:24:58.62\00:25:01.73
caused the grass to turn
green again, caused fertility.
00:25:01.76\00:25:06.52
And so along with that would
come the worship of the moon,
00:25:06.55\00:25:10.90
the moon goddess, Ishtar,
00:25:10.93\00:25:13.27
and Easter rabbits
and Easter bunnies.
00:25:13.30\00:25:15.65
Someone asked me just
last night, "How do we decide
00:25:15.68\00:25:19.10
each year which
Sunday is Easter Sunday?"
00:25:19.13\00:25:22.30
And the answer is very simple.
00:25:22.33\00:25:25.02
It's always, since its origin,
the first Sunday after the
00:25:25.05\00:25:29.88
first full moon of
the vernal equinox.
00:25:29.91\00:25:33.39
The first Sunday after the
first full moon of the spring.
00:25:33.42\00:25:37.16
Did you ever wonder
what connection the little
00:25:37.19\00:25:41.06
Easter bunny and Easter eggs
had with Jesus and the church?
00:25:41.09\00:25:44.09
Fertility rights.
00:25:45.73\00:25:47.43
The worshipping of the sexual
powers of that little animal,
00:25:47.46\00:25:50.37
and the egg or the ovum.
00:25:50.40\00:25:52.10
And so it's quite
obvious there are things in the
00:25:52.13\00:25:55.78
Christian church not placed
there by Jesus or any disciples.
00:25:55.81\00:25:59.27
I want to thank you
now for travelling with me.
00:25:59.30\00:26:01.27
A few evenings back, I
told you about going to work for
00:26:06.05\00:26:11.64
Peggy's daddy in
the logging camps
00:26:11.67\00:26:14.15
when Peggy and I were newlyweds.
00:26:14.18\00:26:16.39
Her daddy had a logging
partner who was a Roman Catholic
00:26:17.94\00:26:23.36
Christian and one of the finest
gentlemen I have every know.
00:26:23.39\00:26:26.38
He was a wonderful man, a good
example, and lived his belief.
00:26:29.39\00:26:35.37
He was generous, he
was honest to a fault,
00:26:35.40\00:26:39.56
he was a hard worker,
he was a wonderful husband,
00:26:39.59\00:26:42.73
he was a wonderful father,
and one of the best friends
00:26:42.76\00:26:46.45
I ever had.
00:26:46.48\00:26:47.69
Not very long ago, he
died in the Catholic hospital
00:26:49.91\00:26:55.15
in Baker City, Oregon.
00:26:55.18\00:26:56.77
I happened to be holding
meetings similar to these
00:26:56.80\00:26:59.34
in La Grande.
00:26:59.37\00:27:00.51
And so, I would go every
afternoon to visit Uncle Mickey.
00:27:00.54\00:27:04.28
And in the last days, I went to
visit him morning and evening.
00:27:05.35\00:27:10.40
I partook of the emblems of the
broken body of Jesus with him.
00:27:11.84\00:27:16.24
I prayed with him
the "Our Father. "
00:27:16.27\00:27:18.83
I talked to him about
righteousness in Jesus
00:27:19.90\00:27:22.66
and assured him of
his place in heaven.
00:27:22.69\00:27:25.37
When Uncle Mickey died
they asked me, and I understand
00:27:30.21\00:27:35.89
it was his request, that I
have a part in his funeral.
00:27:35.92\00:27:40.45
It, of course, was in
the Catholic cathedral
00:27:41.37\00:27:43.60
in Baker, Oregon.
00:27:43.63\00:27:45.07
I was told later that it was
the first time that a Protestant
00:27:46.94\00:27:53.51
ever had stood and spoken at
the high altar of the cathedral
00:27:53.54\00:27:59.32
in Baker City, Oregon.
00:27:59.35\00:28:01.09
Now I tell you that
story for this reason.
00:28:01.59\00:28:04.20
God has his children
in all of the churches.
00:28:05.20\00:28:07.99
I've said that on
many prior occasions.
00:28:09.36\00:28:11.97
And I mean that to include
the Roman Catholic church.
00:28:12.00\00:28:15.99
I plan to see Uncle
Mickey in God's kingdom.
00:28:16.67\00:28:20.45
If he followed all the
truth that he understood,
00:28:20.48\00:28:23.18
I know he will be there
and I believe he did that.
00:28:23.21\00:28:25.89
Having said that, I want to
say further that, theologically,
00:28:26.98\00:28:33.50
I have many, many differences
with my Catholic Christian
00:28:33.53\00:28:37.50
friends and family.
00:28:37.53\00:28:38.87
That doesn't mean that
I'm better, they're worse.
00:28:38.90\00:28:41.11
It means that we are different.
00:28:41.14\00:28:43.29
I have on occasion
asked folks, "What is your
00:28:43.32\00:28:46.67
Christian background?"
00:28:46.70\00:28:47.79
And from time to
time, folks will say to me,
00:28:47.82\00:28:49.29
"Well, we're Protestant. "
00:28:49.32\00:28:50.70
And sometimes I have asked them,
00:28:50.73\00:28:51.95
"Could you tell
me what that means. "
00:28:51.98\00:28:53.49
And sometimes they say to
me, "Well that simply means,
00:28:53.52\00:28:55.89
you know, that there
are Catholics and there
00:28:55.92\00:28:57.35
are Protestants,
and we're Protestants. "
00:28:57.38\00:29:00.02
Luther and Calvin and
Knox and Huss and Gerome and a
00:29:00.87\00:29:03.97
host of others were given
the name "protestor" because
00:29:04.00\00:29:08.89
they were teaching and preaching
against certain false teachings
00:29:08.92\00:29:13.17
of the church of Rome.
00:29:13.20\00:29:14.55
They were protestors and their
followers and their disciples
00:29:14.58\00:29:18.05
became known as Protestants.
00:29:18.08\00:29:20.66
Protestants, at the
outset, went by two rules.
00:29:20.69\00:29:24.87
The Bible and the Bible only as
our rule of faith and practice.
00:29:24.90\00:29:27.47
And salvation by
faith in the atoning merits
00:29:27.50\00:29:30.60
of Jesus Christ alone.
00:29:30.63\00:29:32.25
Sola Scriptura. Sola Fide.
00:29:32.28\00:29:34.54
The Bible only, and
salvation by grace only.
00:29:34.57\00:29:38.59
Last night we learned that
in the Bible the Lord's Day
00:29:39.89\00:29:44.63
is not Sunday, but
rather it is Saturday.
00:29:44.66\00:29:47.40
That the word Sabbath in
the Bible, both Old and New
00:29:47.43\00:29:49.78
Testament, always without
exception, means Saturday.
00:29:49.81\00:29:53.56
To my mind at least, the
Bible teaching of the Sabbath,
00:29:54.43\00:29:58.53
or Saturday, is as clear
as is the plan of salvation
00:29:58.56\00:30:02.49
or the plan of
righteousness by faith.
00:30:02.52\00:30:04.74
And a good while back,
this thought came to me.
00:30:04.77\00:30:07.60
What if, ladies and gentlemen,
we were marooned, individually,
00:30:07.63\00:30:12.72
on a desert island?
00:30:12.75\00:30:14.05
And we had no
background of any religion.
00:30:14.75\00:30:17.48
No Muslim, no
Buddhism, no Christianity,
00:30:17.51\00:30:20.90
no
Protestantism, no Catholicism.
00:30:20.93\00:30:23.05
Nothing at all.
00:30:23.08\00:30:24.58
We are on an island alone.
00:30:24.61\00:30:27.05
And then one day, there comes
in the flotsam the strongbox.
00:30:27.08\00:30:32.05
It's water tight and we open it
up and inside that box we find
00:30:32.08\00:30:36.75
the captain's Bible.
00:30:36.78\00:30:38.38
And we begin to read, out of
our sheer boredom at the outset,
00:30:38.41\00:30:42.27
from the Bible.
00:30:42.30\00:30:44.14
And then we fall
in love with the story
00:30:45.91\00:30:48.98
and the plan of salvation
and the author of salvation,
00:30:49.01\00:30:52.30
our Lord Jesus.
00:30:52.33\00:30:53.45
Would we believe
that righteousness is
00:30:54.75\00:30:57.65
by faith in Jesus?
00:30:57.68\00:30:59.56
Surely we would.
00:30:59.86\00:31:01.08
Would we believe that
Jesus was coming back again?
00:31:01.11\00:31:04.15
Absolutely we would.
00:31:04.18\00:31:06.13
And which day would we
believe was the Sabbath day?
00:31:06.16\00:31:09.09
Which day?
00:31:09.52\00:31:10.49
I'll tell you, ladies
and gentlemen, you couldn't
00:31:10.50\00:31:12.69
arrive at any
other conclusion except
00:31:12.72\00:31:15.28
the Lord's Day is Saturday.
00:31:15.31\00:31:17.69
You couldn't believe
anything different from that.
00:31:17.72\00:31:21.30
It is so very, very clear.
00:31:22.40\00:31:24.51
I'm going to read
you, at the outset tonight,
00:31:25.99\00:31:28.27
a quotation and then we'll
have a little bit of some talk,
00:31:28.30\00:31:32.46
and then we're going to
talk about other quotations,
00:31:32.49\00:31:35.16
share other quotations.
00:31:35.19\00:31:36.35
You'll forgive me for
reading, because these things
00:31:36.38\00:31:39.19
are in quotations
that are exact and precise.
00:31:39.22\00:31:42.53
And I must be
careful in that regard.
00:31:42.56\00:31:44.81
I'm giving you a quotation
now from St. Catherine's Parrish
00:31:44.84\00:31:48.45
newsletter from May 21, 1995.
00:31:48.48\00:31:51.65
Listen.
00:31:51.68\00:31:52.70
"Perhaps the boldest thing
and the most revolutionary thing
00:31:53.11\00:31:56.66
that the Catholic church ever
did happened in the 1st century.
00:31:56.69\00:32:00.12
The holy day, the
Sabbath or Saturday, was changed
00:32:00.15\00:32:03.85
from Saturday into
Sunday, the Day of the Lord,
00:32:03.88\00:32:06.52
or dies domini.
00:32:06.55\00:32:07.85
It was chosen, not from
any direction noted in the
00:32:08.79\00:32:11.39
scripture, but rather from the
churches sense of its own power.
00:32:11.42\00:32:15.56
People who think the scriptures
ought be the sole authority
00:32:15.59\00:32:19.42
should logically become
Seventh-Day Adventists. "
00:32:19.45\00:32:21.77
And that's a direct quotation.
00:32:21.80\00:32:23.55
There was a man who a
while back wrote a book
00:32:24.86\00:32:27.42
that he entitled,
"The Protestant Dilemma. "
00:32:27.45\00:32:30.03
And I'm going to
give you the short course.
00:32:30.06\00:32:32.15
Just a brief
summation of this book.
00:32:32.18\00:32:35.20
The thesis was this.
00:32:35.23\00:32:37.06
We protestants say and
have always said we go by the
00:32:38.01\00:32:40.56
Bible only, believe in salvation
by grace and faith alone.
00:32:40.59\00:32:43.71
But when it comes to
the observance of a day
00:32:44.41\00:32:47.01
and the going to church
upon a day, we go on Sunday.
00:32:47.04\00:32:51.83
A day about which there
is nothing in the Bible.
00:32:51.86\00:32:54.99
And when confronted, we have to
make all kinds of lame excuses
00:32:55.02\00:32:59.04
and give theological discussion
that are really without merit
00:32:59.07\00:33:03.74
and without base.
00:33:03.77\00:33:05.20
And he said, when it
comes then to this issue,
00:33:05.23\00:33:08.62
it becomes this
Protestant dilemma.
00:33:08.65\00:33:11.65
It becomes this embarrassment
because really, in this area
00:33:11.68\00:33:15.03
particularly, we're not going
by the Bible and the Bible only.
00:33:15.06\00:33:19.28
Now another quotation or two.
00:33:19.31\00:33:21.63
This one from Henry Cardinal
Newman, Archbishop of Baltimore.
00:33:21.66\00:33:24.99
He says this, "In the
course of the 4th century,
00:33:25.02\00:33:28.00
two new developments came
across the face of Christendom.
00:33:28.03\00:33:30.68
In order to recommend the
new Christian religion to the
00:33:30.71\00:33:33.15
heathen, there was transferred
to Christianity the outward
00:33:33.18\00:33:36.16
ornaments to which the
pagans had been accustomed.
00:33:36.19\00:33:38.69
Incense, lamps, candles,
votive offerings, holy water,
00:33:39.39\00:33:44.77
the use of
images, and statues. "
00:33:44.80\00:33:46.79
All of these, he
says, are of pagan origin.
00:33:46.82\00:33:49.12
And he's exactly right.
00:33:49.15\00:33:50.46
Any honest historian, whether
Catholic, Protestant, or infidel
00:33:50.49\00:33:53.88
would tell you that same thing.
00:33:53.91\00:33:56.24
As we noted during
the travel log, the pagans
00:33:57.31\00:34:00.13
for hundreds and hundreds
of years had worshiped the
00:34:00.16\00:34:03.20
objects in the heavens; the
sun, the moon, and the stars.
00:34:03.23\00:34:06.25
There was
Mercury, the messenger god.
00:34:06.28\00:34:08.34
There was Ceres,
the god of crops.
00:34:08.37\00:34:10.48
And by the way, it's from that
word we get our word cereal.
00:34:10.51\00:34:13.49
And you remember that
when in the morning you eat
00:34:13.52\00:34:14.93
your Cheerios, won't you now.
00:34:14.96\00:34:17.25
Of course you will.
00:34:17.28\00:34:18.65
And then there was
Vulcan, the god of fire.
00:34:18.68\00:34:21.37
And from that idea and
from that word, we have
00:34:21.40\00:34:22.90
our word vulcanize and volcano.
00:34:22.93\00:34:25.62
My daughter called me from
over the Big Island of Hawaii
00:34:25.65\00:34:28.67
just this afternoon.
00:34:28.70\00:34:29.85
And by the way, that
girl has called Peggy and me
00:34:29.88\00:34:31.89
every day since
her brother died.
00:34:31.92\00:34:33.50
Every day.
00:34:33.53\00:34:34.84
"I just want to
tell you I love you. "
00:34:42.21\00:34:43.82
And today, she'd been
looking at the great volcano
00:34:46.15\00:34:50.15
and its pouring its
molten lava into the sea again.
00:34:50.18\00:34:54.36
Volcano, vulcanize
from the god Vulcan.
00:34:54.39\00:34:57.37
And a host of gods, but
the largest body worshipped
00:34:57.40\00:35:00.56
by the pagans was the
sun, where was the largest body
00:35:00.59\00:35:03.84
to be seen with the
naked eye, of course.
00:35:03.87\00:35:06.45
And some have
wondered, where have the names
00:35:06.48\00:35:10.35
of the days come from?
00:35:10.38\00:35:12.08
How did they originate?
00:35:12.11\00:35:13.23
And the answer to
that is very simple.
00:35:13.26\00:35:14.92
During the time of the Roman
era the Caesar commanded a group
00:35:14.95\00:35:20.53
to name the days of the
week because up until that time,
00:35:20.56\00:35:23.15
all through Bible
times, they had been numbered.
00:35:23.18\00:35:24.94
1st day, 2nd day, 3rd day,
4th day, 5th day, 6th day...
00:35:24.97\00:35:27.20
The sixth day sometimes
called the Day of Preparation.
00:35:27.23\00:35:30.03
The day to get ready
for the 7th day which is
00:35:30.06\00:35:32.29
the Sabbath, of course.
00:35:32.32\00:35:34.32
But during the Roman era,
they wanted names for them.
00:35:34.35\00:35:36.83
And so, this group
was commissioned and they
00:35:36.86\00:35:39.63
decided that they would
name the days of the week
00:35:39.66\00:35:42.90
in a descending order
from the heavenly bodies
00:35:42.93\00:35:46.95
seen with the naked eye.
00:35:46.98\00:35:48.61
Beginning with the
largest heavenly body,
00:35:48.64\00:35:50.60
they would name the
first day of the week.
00:35:50.63\00:35:52.03
And that, of course, is sun.
00:35:52.06\00:35:54.31
And what's the second
largest heavenly body we see
00:35:54.34\00:35:56.07
with the naked eye?
00:35:56.10\00:35:57.07
The moon, moon day, and right
on down the line to Saturn day.
00:35:57.08\00:36:02.78
Saturday.
00:36:03.34\00:36:04.92
I'm going to read you
one more quotation quickly.
00:36:09.65\00:36:11.68
"You may read the Bible
from Genesis to Revelation,
00:36:12.72\00:36:15.59
you won't find a
single line authorizing the
00:36:15.62\00:36:17.69
sanctification of Sunday.
00:36:17.72\00:36:19.30
The Bible endorses the religious
observance of Saturday,
00:36:19.33\00:36:22.60
a day that we
Catholics never sanctify. "
00:36:22.63\00:36:25.73
Cardinal Gibbons, "Faith
of our Fathers," page 111.
00:36:25.76\00:36:30.27
Another one,
briefly, from the same source.
00:36:31.13\00:36:33.38
"Of course the Catholic
church claims that the change
00:36:33.41\00:36:35.73
from Saturday to
Sunday was her act.
00:36:35.83\00:36:37.60
It couldn't have been otherwise
as no one in those days and time
00:36:38.59\00:36:42.08
would have thought of doing
anything in matters religious
00:36:42.11\00:36:44.66
or ecclesiastic without her.
00:36:44.69\00:36:46.37
And this change is a mark
of our ecclesiastical power and
00:36:46.40\00:36:50.25
authority in these
religious matters. "
00:36:50.28\00:36:52.98
End of quotation.
00:36:53.01\00:36:54.29
I was working in the deep
south and I'd preached about
00:36:56.86\00:36:59.69
the Lord's Day being Saturday.
00:36:59.72\00:37:01.40
And coming to my
meeting was a young family
00:37:01.43\00:37:04.78
new to Jesus' faith, new to
Christianity and really on fire.
00:37:04.81\00:37:08.78
And so after hearing
this sermon, they went to
00:37:09.77\00:37:12.54
their pastor and
asked him about it.
00:37:12.57\00:37:15.39
And you remember,
we've mentioned that.
00:37:15.42\00:37:16.94
I've had a lot of
folks do that in the interim.
00:37:16.97\00:37:19.06
Well, I'm going to go ask my
preacher what he thinks about
00:37:19.09\00:37:22.20
what you've said.
00:37:22.23\00:37:23.25
And instead of
asking the preacher about,
00:37:23.28\00:37:26.10
instead of checking the Bible
out by the preacher, we ought
00:37:26.13\00:37:28.51
to check the
preacher out by the Bible.
00:37:28.54\00:37:30.22
That's what we ought to do.
00:37:30.25\00:37:31.88
But at any event, they
came back with 2 or 3 scriptures
00:37:31.91\00:37:35.61
and like it was
brand new light, you know.
00:37:35.64\00:37:38.44
And then I said, "Well,
I've seen those before. "
00:37:38.47\00:37:41.92
So, they wrote to one of the
most prominent televangelists,
00:37:41.95\00:37:44.58
who shall at this
point remain nameless.
00:37:44.61\00:37:47.01
You know, you can hardly
say anything anymore without
00:37:47.47\00:37:49.72
getting sued.
00:37:49.75\00:37:50.72
Did you know that?
00:37:50.73\00:37:51.70
Did you ladies and gentlemen
know that preachers are now
00:37:51.71\00:37:54.26
being sued just like
doctors for malpractice?
00:37:54.29\00:37:57.50
Yea, someone will come and say,
"Pastor, I need to talk to you.
00:37:58.56\00:38:01.74
I'm having a little
problem with my wife, you know.
00:38:01.77\00:38:04.62
She this or that... "
00:38:04.65\00:38:06.60
And preachers end up in court
charged with malpractice for
00:38:06.63\00:38:12.04
alienation of affection and all
other kinds of strange things.
00:38:12.07\00:38:16.23
Well, Christians
wouldn't do that to one another.
00:38:16.26\00:38:21.43
But at any event, this was
a scripture that I confronted
00:38:21.46\00:38:25.41
early in my ministry.
00:38:25.44\00:38:26.79
And I want you to turn
with me, if you will please,
00:38:26.82\00:38:28.83
to Acts chapter 20.
00:38:28.86\00:38:30.03
And we're going to notice
several of these passages now
00:38:30.06\00:38:32.56
that have been used through
the years in really kind of a
00:38:32.59\00:38:35.78
feeble effort to try
to show Sunday sacredness
00:38:35.81\00:38:38.81
or Sunday holiness or the early
church worshipping on Sunday.
00:38:38.84\00:38:43.19
Alright?
00:38:43.22\00:38:44.19
I'm going to begin
to read now at verse 7.
00:38:44.20\00:38:46.09
Acts chapter 20 and we
shall read down through
00:38:46.12\00:38:49.61
to the end of verse 14.
00:38:49.64\00:38:51.02
Acts chapter 20
beginning with verse 7.
00:38:51.05\00:38:54.16
"Upon the first day of the
week, when the disciples came
00:38:54.19\00:38:56.96
together to break
bread, Paul preached to them,
00:38:56.99\00:38:59.47
ready to leave the next morning,
and he continued his preaching
00:38:59.50\00:39:03.66
until midnight. "
00:39:03.69\00:39:04.69
And by the way, there have been
those who've felt I have the
00:39:04.72\00:39:07.08
same problem as apostle Paul.
00:39:07.11\00:39:08.89
I preach too long
sometimes. You must forgive me.
00:39:08.92\00:39:12.00
Someone said
preachers oft times fall in love
00:39:12.20\00:39:14.04
with the sounding
of their own voices.
00:39:14.07\00:39:15.59
And dear old HMS Richards,
whom I shall love as long as I
00:39:16.90\00:39:19.75
have a mind, said to
me early in my ministry,
00:39:19.78\00:39:22.23
"Remember Lyle, a
sermon doesn't have to be
00:39:22.26\00:39:24.71
eternal to be immortal. "
00:39:24.74\00:39:26.41
And Paul was long in preaching.
00:39:27.63\00:39:29.76
"He continued to
preach until midnight.
00:39:29.79\00:39:31.60
There were lights in
the upper chamber where they
00:39:31.63\00:39:33.48
were gathered together.
00:39:33.51\00:39:34.48
And there was sitting in
the window a certain young man
00:39:34.49\00:39:36.26
by the name of Eutychus, he
was fallen into a deep sleep
00:39:36.29\00:39:38.77
because of the long preaching.
00:39:38.80\00:39:39.96
And he was sunk down with
sleep and he fell down from the
00:39:39.99\00:39:42.21
third loft and was killed.
00:39:42.24\00:39:44.18
Paul went down and fell upon
him and embraced him and said,
00:39:44.21\00:39:46.37
'Trouble no
yourself, his life is in him. '
00:39:46.40\00:39:48.57
And when he, therefore, was come
up again and had broken bread
00:39:48.60\00:39:50.98
again and eaten and
talked for a long while,
00:39:51.01\00:39:53.35
even until the
break of day, he departed.
00:39:53.38\00:39:55.29
And they brought the young
man up alive and weren't just
00:39:55.32\00:39:58.38
a little comforted. "
00:39:58.41\00:39:59.61
And then the 13th verse.
00:39:59.64\00:40:01.46
"Then we went with him down
to the ship and sailed around
00:40:01.49\00:40:07.56
to Assos
intending there to meet Paul
00:40:07.59\00:40:09.64
for he had decided to walk.
00:40:09.67\00:40:12.07
And he met us there in Assos
and we came together again. "
00:40:12.11\00:40:16.88
Now this is the context.
00:40:16.91\00:40:18.86
Paul is preaching and
he preaches until midnight.
00:40:19.91\00:40:22.15
And the room was
lighted, the lights were all on,
00:40:25.15\00:40:29.55
on the first day of the week.
00:40:29.58\00:40:31.53
Now I'm not trying to deny
in any sense that this is not
00:40:33.06\00:40:37.20
a Sunday meeting.
00:40:37.23\00:40:38.63
It is, indeed it is.
00:40:38.66\00:40:40.42
The context is abundantly clear.
00:40:40.45\00:40:42.31
And now let me ask you a
question before we go further.
00:40:43.33\00:40:45.93
In the Bible, one day
begins and the other ends when?
00:40:45.96\00:40:49.06
At midnight? No that
came from the Romans.
00:40:49.09\00:40:51.49
From sunset to sunset.
00:40:51.52\00:40:53.56
Leviticus chapter 23
verse 32, "from sunset to sunset
00:40:53.59\00:40:57.38
shall ye
celebrate your Sabbath. "
00:40:57.41\00:40:58.78
Mark chapter 1 and verse
30, I believe it is or 32,
00:40:58.81\00:41:01.91
"At even, when
the sun did set. "
00:41:01.94\00:41:03.92
In the very
beginning, Genesis 1.
00:41:03.95\00:41:05.68
"The evening and the
morning were the first day"
00:41:05.71\00:41:08.49
Evening and the
morning were the second day.
00:41:08.52\00:41:09.90
So in the Bible, one day
begins and the other day ends
00:41:09.93\00:41:13.24
at sunset, not at midnight.
00:41:13.27\00:41:15.20
Now this, ladies and
gentlemen, is according to
00:41:15.23\00:41:17.72
our calendar, Saturday.
00:41:17.75\00:41:19.59
But when the sun set here
in the western sky, what day
00:41:19.62\00:41:22.89
is it now
according to the Bible?
00:41:22.92\00:41:24.67
What day is it right
now according to the Bible?
00:41:24.70\00:41:27.36
This is Sunday. Alright?
00:41:27.39\00:41:29.42
Instead of a Saturday night
meeting, according to the Bible,
00:41:29.45\00:41:32.33
this is a Sunday meeting.
00:41:32.36\00:41:34.25
Are you with me?
00:41:34.28\00:41:35.32
Now, the point is this.
00:41:35.35\00:41:36.80
You would assume that if
the folks were meeting in honor
00:41:36.83\00:41:39.71
of the resurrection, if
they were meeting because
00:41:39.74\00:41:41.80
there'd been a change
from Saturday to Sunday
00:41:41.83\00:41:43.69
you would have expected they
would have met in the morning
00:41:43.72\00:41:46.61
at the time of the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus,
00:41:46.64\00:41:49.19
or a morning worship.
00:41:49.22\00:41:50.22
No so.
00:41:50.25\00:41:51.52
But others have
further said, "Well, they're
00:41:51.55\00:41:53.64
breaking bread together.
00:41:53.67\00:41:54.76
That means that they're
celebrating the Lord's Supper. "
00:41:54.79\00:41:57.19
We don't have time to do
it, but I want you folks to put
00:41:58.38\00:42:00.73
down in your notes, please,
Acts chapter 2 down at the end
00:42:00.76\00:42:04.22
of the chapter around
verse 40 and following there.
00:42:04.25\00:42:06.55
It says that the early Christian
church, that they met together
00:42:06.58\00:42:09.91
and broke bread
together every single day.
00:42:09.94\00:42:12.99
Now folk, if breaking
bread makes a day holy,
00:42:13.02\00:42:15.66
how many days of
the week are holy days?
00:42:15.69\00:42:17.43
Every one of them.
00:42:17.46\00:42:18.93
They, in the Middle
East, still today don't have...
00:42:18.96\00:42:21.66
You know, we have a saying,
"It's the most popular thing
00:42:21.69\00:42:24.60
since sliced bread. "
00:42:24.63\00:42:25.71
Well, they don't think
sliced bread is so popular
00:42:25.74\00:42:27.97
over in the Middle East.
00:42:28.00\00:42:28.97
Their bread, still
today, is like a pancake.
00:42:28.98\00:42:31.50
Pita bread, we
often times call it.
00:42:31.53\00:42:33.87
And still today, the host of
the meal rips the bread apart
00:42:33.90\00:42:38.37
and passes it around.
00:42:38.40\00:42:39.53
It's called breaking bread.
00:42:39.56\00:42:41.51
And so instead of having
communion in church on Sunday,
00:42:42.11\00:42:45.53
the context is quite
clear that they were having
00:42:45.56\00:42:48.50
a fellowship lunch.
00:42:48.53\00:42:49.94
And Paul continued to
preach and it was breakfast time
00:42:49.97\00:42:53.12
and they now had
fellowship breakfast.
00:42:53.15\00:42:55.34
And by the way, that's the way
I really prefer to refer to it
00:42:55.74\00:42:58.02
when we eat together
at church and everyone
00:42:58.05\00:42:59.81
brings a covered dish.
00:42:59.84\00:43:00.95
Please, please
don't call it potluck.
00:43:00.98\00:43:03.72
That sounds to me a little
bit like gambling at the casino.
00:43:03.75\00:43:06.17
You're taking some kind
of a chance on ptomaine.
00:43:06.20\00:43:08.51
Fellowship lunch.
00:43:11.77\00:43:13.19
Candles were lighted
and they ate together.
00:43:15.21\00:43:17.87
And then when the daylight
came, instead of worshipping
00:43:17.90\00:43:21.14
Paul took off
and hiked to Assos.
00:43:21.17\00:43:24.11
Ladies and gentlemen,
that is a distance of 18 miles.
00:43:24.14\00:43:27.10
I have been there.
00:43:27.13\00:43:28.33
And the other folks weren't
as well up on their jogging
00:43:28.36\00:43:30.96
and so they said, "You
know, we got on the boat and
00:43:30.99\00:43:32.94
rowed over and
there we met Paul. "
00:43:32.97\00:43:34.91
When the sun came
up on Sunday morning,
00:43:34.94\00:43:36.76
Paul got up and went to work.
00:43:36.79\00:43:39.05
From time to time,
some folk will ask me,
00:43:39.08\00:43:41.81
"Well, Lyle, why do
you work on Sunday?"
00:43:41.84\00:43:44.34
And by the way, when I
live in and around the cities,
00:43:44.37\00:43:47.06
I'm in the cities,
I'm very careful not to go
00:43:47.09\00:43:49.58
out of my way to work.
00:43:49.61\00:43:50.58
I don't mow the lawn or start
a chain saw when my neighbors
00:43:50.59\00:43:55.04
are either studying
or in a church nearby me.
00:43:55.07\00:43:58.31
I respect their feelings.
00:43:58.34\00:44:01.17
I try to do that.
00:44:01.20\00:44:02.97
But sometimes when they ask,
"Why do you work on Sunday?"
00:44:03.00\00:44:05.61
I'll reply by saying to
them, "Because Jesus did,
00:44:05.64\00:44:08.42
and He's my example. "
00:44:08.45\00:44:09.75
In the beginning
He's our Creator,
00:44:09.78\00:44:11.37
we said that last night.
00:44:11.40\00:44:12.71
The evening and the
morning were the first day.
00:44:12.74\00:44:14.45
He started the week, He
began His job on Sunday.
00:44:14.48\00:44:17.60
Jesus, my
Creator, worked on Sunday.
00:44:18.60\00:44:21.81
And then He came to
the time of redemption.
00:44:21.84\00:44:24.75
And He was crucified on
Friday and He rested in the tomb
00:44:24.78\00:44:28.98
on the Sabbath day.
00:44:29.01\00:44:30.20
And on Sunday morning, He
got up and went back to work.
00:44:30.23\00:44:33.59
How about that.
00:44:34.23\00:44:35.51
So sometimes, I simply answer
by saying, "I work on Sunday
00:44:36.30\00:44:39.47
because Jesus did. "
00:44:39.50\00:44:42.30
Well, folks have said
to me, "Seems to me though
00:44:42.60\00:44:45.65
that the apostles,
they changed the day,
00:44:45.68\00:44:47.29
they must have
changed the day. "
00:44:47.32\00:44:48.67
You know, we alluded to it
last night and are going to
00:44:48.70\00:44:50.99
do it again tonight.
00:44:51.02\00:44:51.99
Hebrews chapter 4 and
verse 8, it says there
00:44:52.00\00:44:55.21
when Jesus gave them rest...
00:44:55.24\00:44:56.70
And I'm
paraphrasing for you now.
00:44:56.73\00:44:58.50
You go home and read it
carefully in your Bibles.
00:44:58.53\00:45:00.75
It says, "When Jesus gave
them rest, wouldn't He not have
00:45:00.78\00:45:03.24
afterwards
spoken of another day?"
00:45:03.27\00:45:04.84
You read that in verse 9.
00:45:05.47\00:45:07.00
"There remains,
therefore, this day of rest. "
00:45:07.03\00:45:08.88
Talking about the
Saturday Sabbath and using it
00:45:08.91\00:45:11.12
as an example of the peace
that we find when we come into
00:45:11.15\00:45:14.03
fellowship with our
Lord and with His people.
00:45:14.06\00:45:16.01
Now, while this one passage from
Acts chapter 20 has been used
00:45:16.04\00:45:20.67
again and again and again to
try to show folks worshipping on
00:45:20.70\00:45:23.81
Sunday, we're going to
look at the actual record and
00:45:23.84\00:45:26.86
we're going to do that
beginning in chapter 13
00:45:26.89\00:45:29.11
of the book of Acts.
00:45:29.14\00:45:30.11
So find your way there if
you will please, right now.
00:45:30.12\00:45:33.14
Acts chapter 13 and we're going
to begin at the 14th verse.
00:45:33.84\00:45:38.55
Now, while we're
turning to Acts, this passage
00:45:38.58\00:45:43.86
chapter 13, please, ladies and
gentlemen, let me tell you that
00:45:43.89\00:45:47.81
the book of Acts is a history.
00:45:47.84\00:45:49.93
It's the history of the first 40
years of the Christian church.
00:45:50.70\00:45:55.11
Yea a little less, but the first
30 years to be more precise.
00:45:56.19\00:45:58.79
A history of the first
30 years of Christianity.
00:45:58.82\00:46:02.07
And so, this one passage
from chapter 20 has been used
00:46:02.10\00:46:05.61
to try to show
Paul as keeping Sunday.
00:46:05.64\00:46:07.21
Let's look at the actual record.
00:46:07.24\00:46:09.04
Chapter 13 verse 14.
00:46:09.07\00:46:11.23
It says, "When we left that
place, we went over into Antioch
00:46:11.26\00:46:13.93
in Pisidia and there we
went into the synagogue... "
00:46:13.96\00:46:16.21
on which day?
00:46:16.24\00:46:17.67
"... on the
Sabbath day. " Alright?
00:46:17.70\00:46:19.55
Now let's notice at verse 42.
00:46:19.58\00:46:22.17
"When the Jews
were gone out... "
00:46:22.20\00:46:23.38
Oh, let me pause
here for just a moment.
00:46:23.41\00:46:25.57
There have been many who said,
"Well sure, Paul went into the
00:46:25.60\00:46:28.03
synagogue on Saturday.
00:46:28.06\00:46:29.94
Sure he went in there, he
was the apostle to the Gentiles
00:46:29.97\00:46:33.39
but he also had a
burden for the Jews.
00:46:33.42\00:46:36.03
And so he would go into
the synagogue on the Sabbath
00:46:36.06\00:46:38.64
to try to tell them to come
to church the next morning. "
00:46:38.67\00:46:41.08
Thin soup, isn't it?
00:46:44.18\00:46:45.60
Yeah.
00:46:46.18\00:46:47.47
Ah, let's read again. Verse 42.
00:46:47.50\00:46:50.15
"When the Jews had left the
synagogue, the Gentiles asked
00:46:51.18\00:46:54.70
that these same
words might be preached
00:46:54.73\00:46:56.04
to them the next Sabbath. "
00:46:56.07\00:46:57.04
And then you
drop down to verse 44.
00:46:57.05\00:46:58.59
"And the next Sabbath,
the whole city came together
00:46:58.62\00:47:01.62
to hear the word of God. "
00:47:01.65\00:47:02.62
Jews, Gentiles, everybody.
00:47:02.63\00:47:04.30
We find the apostle Paul keeping
the Saturday Sabbath here.
00:47:04.33\00:47:07.22
Now we go over to chapter
15 and we notice verse 21.
00:47:07.25\00:47:10.46
Chapter 15:21.
00:47:10.49\00:47:11.86
"Moses, of old time,
has in every city those that
00:47:11.89\00:47:15.41
preach him, being read in the
synagogue every Sabbath day. "
00:47:15.44\00:47:19.83
Now, chapter 17 verse 2.
00:47:19.86\00:47:21.82
Chapter 17, the book
of Acts, and verse...
00:47:21.85\00:47:24.24
Well, let's back
up to chapter 16.
00:47:24.27\00:47:26.27
Shall we do that? Verse
13 of chapter 16, firstly.
00:47:26.30\00:47:29.16
Alright, chapter 16 verse 13.
00:47:29.19\00:47:31.71
"And on the Sabbath day, we went
out by the side of the river,
00:47:31.74\00:47:35.29
where prayer was being made,
and we sat down and we spoke
00:47:35.32\00:47:38.78
with the women who
were gathered there. "
00:47:38.81\00:47:40.30
It seems obvious, according
to the context, that where
00:47:40.33\00:47:42.21
there was no church Paul
would worship out in nature.
00:47:42.24\00:47:45.73
And some of you folks
enjoy that in the summer time.
00:47:45.76\00:47:48.15
And maybe in the
winter time as well.
00:47:48.25\00:47:50.37
It's great to get out
into nature on the Sabbath day.
00:47:50.40\00:47:52.96
Chapter 17 and verse 2.
00:47:52.99\00:47:54.35
"Paul, as his manner was,
went in to them three Sabbaths
00:47:54.38\00:47:57.65
and reasoned with them
out of the scriptures. "
00:47:57.68\00:47:59.65
Let's go further
shall we. Chapter 18.
00:47:59.68\00:48:02.75
Acts chapter 18
and the 4th verse.
00:48:02.78\00:48:04.92
About the apostle Paul,
"He reasoned in the synagogue
00:48:04.95\00:48:07.45
every Sabbath and persuaded
both Jews and Greeks. "
00:48:07.48\00:48:11.66
And you drop down there
to about verse 11, it says,
00:48:11.69\00:48:14.49
"He continued to there
for a year and six months,
00:48:14.52\00:48:16.91
preaching the word of God. "
00:48:16.94\00:48:17.91
Every Sabbath in that one
place for a year and a half,
00:48:17.92\00:48:21.05
the apostle Paul
kept the Sabbath.
00:48:21.08\00:48:22.65
Now we're going to go,
you and I, over to chapter 24.
00:48:22.68\00:48:27.64
And here, it really gets good.
00:48:28.24\00:48:29.71
Chapter 24 and verse 14.
00:48:29.74\00:48:32.40
Acts chapter 24 and verse 14.
00:48:32.43\00:48:37.24
"I confess to you... ", by the
way, this is the apostle Paul
00:48:39.91\00:48:42.56
defending himself
before Tertullus, the orator.
00:48:42.59\00:48:45.52
He's giving
answer for his faith.
00:48:45.55\00:48:47.40
"I confess unto you, that by
the Way that some call heresy,
00:48:47.43\00:48:50.85
so also I worship the God of my
fathers believing all the things
00:48:50.88\00:48:54.48
that are written in the
Law and in the Prophets. "
00:48:54.51\00:48:57.75
Now Paul couldn't say that at
the end of his life if he were
00:48:57.78\00:49:00.87
keeping Sunday or
suggesting others do it.
00:49:00.90\00:49:03.36
He said, "I still practice
everything that's written
00:49:03.39\00:49:05.76
in the Law and in
the Prophets as well. "
00:49:05.79\00:49:08.34
And then finally,
chapter 28 and the 17th verse.
00:49:08.37\00:49:10.93
Just hours,
probably, before his own death
00:49:10.96\00:49:13.73
he makes this statement.
00:49:13.76\00:49:14.94
Chapter 28 and verse 17.
00:49:14.97\00:49:17.58
Acts chapter 28 verse 17.
00:49:17.61\00:49:19.64
"It came to pass that
after 3 days, Paul called
00:49:19.67\00:49:22.66
the chief of the Jews together.
00:49:22.69\00:49:24.08
And when they were come
together, he said unto them,
00:49:24.11\00:49:25.84
"Men and brethren, though I
have committed nothing against
00:49:25.87\00:49:28.30
the people or the customs of our
fathers, yet I was delivered a
00:49:28.33\00:49:31.29
prisoner from Jerusalem
into the hands of the Romans. "
00:49:31.32\00:49:33.86
"I've done nothing," he said,
"against the teachings and the
00:49:33.89\00:49:36.57
customs of the
Jewish forefathers. "
00:49:36.60\00:49:38.68
He couldn't say that if he
were somehow promoting Sunday,
00:49:38.71\00:49:42.82
keeping Sunday worship.
00:49:42.85\00:49:44.35
Next, 1 Corinthians.
00:49:44.38\00:49:46.50
1 Corinthians, ladies
and gentlemen, chapter 16.
00:49:47.66\00:49:51.01
And it's been used again,
over and over and over by folks,
00:49:51.04\00:49:54.80
preachers, televangelists,
who try to defend this idea
00:49:54.83\00:49:58.43
of the early
church keeping Sunday.
00:49:58.46\00:50:00.28
And we're going to see that it
just is not theologically sound.
00:50:00.31\00:50:04.35
1 Corinthians chapter
16, we're going to begin
00:50:04.38\00:50:06.08
at the very 1st verse.
00:50:06.11\00:50:07.38
And while you're
turning there, let me give you
00:50:07.41\00:50:09.15
a little bit of the context.
00:50:09.18\00:50:10.26
What is happing is
that there is a famine over
00:50:10.29\00:50:13.98
in the area of Jerusalem.
00:50:14.01\00:50:15.59
These folks over
there are starving to death.
00:50:15.62\00:50:17.88
And Paul is on a
mission journey in Asia Minor.
00:50:17.91\00:50:20.74
And word comes to
the apostle Paul about
00:50:20.77\00:50:22.91
the plight of Christians.
00:50:22.94\00:50:24.41
And so he sends runners ahead,
down the main highway from
00:50:24.44\00:50:29.06
here in Asia Minor over to
Jerusalem and they're carrying
00:50:29.09\00:50:32.21
a message with them and
they're stopping at the churches
00:50:32.24\00:50:35.00
that Paul has raised up.
00:50:35.03\00:50:36.35
And they're saying,
"Look, Paul is coming.
00:50:36.38\00:50:39.20
There's a crisis in Jerusalem,
the saints are starving.
00:50:39.23\00:50:42.45
Paul is going to be taking up
a purse and when he gets here,
00:50:42.49\00:50:47.23
he doesn't have time to
do a fundraising campaign.
00:50:47.26\00:50:49.74
He can't go
around knocking on doors.
00:50:49.77\00:50:51.37
Look, you have that
done so that when he arrives,
00:50:51.40\00:50:54.27
he'll be able to just
take the money and hurry
00:50:54.30\00:50:56.79
on over to Jerusalem. "
00:50:56.82\00:50:58.28
Chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians,
beginning with the 1st verse.
00:50:58.31\00:51:01.55
"Now concerning the collection
for the saints, as I have given
00:51:04.33\00:51:08.61
orders to the church of
Galatia, you do as well.
00:51:08.64\00:51:10.93
Upon the first day of the
week, let everyone of you lay by
00:51:10.96\00:51:13.53
him in store as God has
prospered so there be no
00:51:13.56\00:51:16.15
gatherings when I come.
00:51:16.18\00:51:17.34
And when I come, whomsoever
you approve by your letters,
00:51:17.37\00:51:19.80
them I may bring with me
to take your liberalities
00:51:19.83\00:51:23.58
on to Jerusalem.
00:51:23.61\00:51:24.58
And if it be right that
they go, they may go with me.
00:51:24.59\00:51:27.95
Now I'm going to be
passing through Macedonia. "
00:51:27.98\00:51:30.11
And so forth.
00:51:30.14\00:51:31.24
Paul said, "Look,
lay some money aside. "
00:51:33.26\00:51:37.04
Now to try to use this
passage to show folks in church
00:51:37.07\00:51:39.99
passing the offering plates
down the pews is ridiculous.
00:51:40.02\00:51:44.57
Absolutely ridiculous.
00:51:45.32\00:51:46.45
I challenge you, ladies
and gentlemen, if you have any
00:51:46.48\00:51:49.39
scholarly background at all,
I challenge you to go to the
00:51:49.42\00:51:52.61
original language, or
even to some of the more
00:51:52.64\00:51:55.52
modern translations,
and read this passage there.
00:51:55.55\00:51:58.50
And some of them
are this explicit.
00:51:58.53\00:52:00.27
The apostle Paul is saying,
"Let each of you set aside
00:52:00.30\00:52:03.37
something at home,
in the storehouse. "
00:52:03.40\00:52:06.81
I was holding meetings
in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
00:52:06.84\00:52:08.86
We had a little bit
of a question and answer
00:52:09.26\00:52:11.04
session one
night after the meeting
00:52:11.07\00:52:12.74
and this passage came up.
00:52:12.77\00:52:14.09
And there was a young man in a
remote corner that waved his arm
00:52:14.12\00:52:17.66
and eventually I recognized him.
00:52:17.69\00:52:19.78
And he stood up and he said,
"I am from the Middle East. "
00:52:19.81\00:52:25.69
And he said, "I would like
to share with you what I think
00:52:28.00\00:52:30.48
Paul may be saying. "
00:52:30.51\00:52:31.60
Now I want to go on
record to say to you folks,
00:52:31.63\00:52:33.93
this isn't from the Bible
but this is from a young man
00:52:33.96\00:52:37.01
who's roots went back
hundreds and hundreds of years
00:52:37.04\00:52:39.95
into the customs and the
practices of the Holy Land,
00:52:39.98\00:52:42.46
the Bible land.
00:52:42.49\00:52:43.46
He said, over in the Bible
land and in the areas that Paul
00:52:44.24\00:52:48.39
was passing through, a
person worked a week and then
00:52:48.42\00:52:52.72
the first day of the
following week, he was paid for
00:52:52.75\00:52:55.98
the past weeks work.
00:52:56.01\00:52:57.90
He said, "What I
think Paul may be saying is
00:52:57.93\00:53:00.52
that as soon as you get
your check, take out something
00:53:00.55\00:53:03.74
and set it aside. "
00:53:03.77\00:53:05.69
Now again, the
Bible doesn't say that.
00:53:05.72\00:53:08.05
But at the same time,
it certainly doesn't say
00:53:08.08\00:53:10.26
the folks were in
church passing offering plates.
00:53:10.29\00:53:13.08
Not at all.
00:53:13.11\00:53:14.95
Revelation
chapter 12 and verse 17,
00:53:18.50\00:53:21.85
and we need to
turn there, folks.
00:53:21.88\00:53:23.14
We alluded to it last
night but it's of necessity that
00:53:23.17\00:53:26.48
tonight we take the time
to read some of these verses.
00:53:26.51\00:53:30.15
Revelation chapter 12 and
the last verse of that chapter,
00:53:30.18\00:53:34.16
the 17th verse.
00:53:34.19\00:53:35.22
Revelation 12:17,
this is the passage about
00:53:35.25\00:53:38.11
the great red dragon that
does violence to God's people
00:53:38.14\00:53:41.32
and tries to destroy
Jesus Christ as soon as he comes
00:53:41.35\00:53:45.03
to planet earth as a baby.
00:53:45.06\00:53:46.68
It says in the last verse
there, "The dragon was angry
00:53:46.71\00:53:50.08
against the
woman," or the church,
00:53:50.11\00:53:51.57
"and he went to make war
with the remnant of her seed. "
00:53:51.60\00:53:54.29
And then it tells
us why he's so upset,
00:53:54.32\00:53:56.99
what angers him so.
00:53:57.02\00:53:58.24
It says, "Because they
keep the commandments of God
00:53:58.27\00:54:02.61
and have also the
testimony of Jesus Christ. "
00:54:02.64\00:54:06.11
Now, we're going
over to chapter 14.
00:54:06.14\00:54:08.62
Revelation chapter 14 and
we're going to read verse 12.
00:54:09.27\00:54:12.05
In the verses prior,
as we alluded last night,
00:54:12.08\00:54:14.49
you find those who've
received the mark of the beast
00:54:14.52\00:54:17.26
because of their
choices, because of their
00:54:17.29\00:54:20.76
decision to follow
this authority instead of
00:54:20.79\00:54:23.84
the authority
of God and His word
00:54:23.87\00:54:25.48
and they receive
the mark of the beast.
00:54:25.51\00:54:26.90
And then, in sudden
contrast, you find God's people
00:54:26.93\00:54:30.73
and they're described
in verse 12, chapter 14.
00:54:30.76\00:54:32.99
"Here are the saints, here are
they that keep the commandments
00:54:33.02\00:54:35.71
of God and have also
the faith of Jesus Christ. "
00:54:35.74\00:54:38.63
And then we go to the
last chapter of the last book.
00:54:38.66\00:54:40.98
It's not the last book
by accident, of course.
00:54:41.01\00:54:43.39
It's for those who
live in the very last days.
00:54:43.42\00:54:45.22
And we're going
to read verse 14.
00:54:45.25\00:54:47.07
Revelation
chapter 22 and verse 14.
00:54:47.10\00:54:51.56
"Blessed are they
that do the commandments,
00:54:51.59\00:54:54.68
that they may have
right to the tree of life
00:54:54.71\00:54:56.25
and enter in through
the gates inside the city. "
00:54:56.28\00:54:59.10
And so we find these three
passages where those that are
00:54:59.13\00:55:03.00
alive to meet Jesus in
peace are found as keeping all
00:55:03.03\00:55:07.03
10 of the commandments.
00:55:07.06\00:55:08.43
They're not satisfied
with the discounted Decalogue.
00:55:08.46\00:55:10.66
They don't want
90% of God's will,
00:55:10.69\00:55:14.31
they want it all.
00:55:14.34\00:55:15.31
In the first of Genesis,
we find a world perfect and
00:55:17.62\00:55:21.16
beautiful and lovely.
00:55:21.19\00:55:22.49
In the middle of this
perfect planet is a garden.
00:55:25.02\00:55:28.48
Plants and flowers and
trees and shrubs and animals.
00:55:30.22\00:55:33.62
And in the middle of the
garden, we find our parents,
00:55:33.65\00:55:37.34
Adam and Eve.
00:55:37.37\00:55:38.45
God says, "This is
to be your eternal home.
00:55:38.48\00:55:41.03
Live it up, train the
vines, name the animals
00:55:41.06\00:55:44.66
I'll come by and
visit with you. "
00:55:44.69\00:55:46.32
Then you come to chapter 3
and you find our old enemy,
00:55:48.12\00:55:50.45
the devil, coming and he
tempts our parents and they
00:55:50.48\00:55:52.62
fail the test and they have
to be driven from the garden.
00:55:52.65\00:55:55.56
And where once they're invited
to eat freely of the fruit
00:55:55.86\00:55:58.59
of the tree of life; for
the healing of the nations,
00:55:58.62\00:56:01.12
for their continued well-being,
00:56:01.15\00:56:03.71
now they're prevented from even
entering the garden, let alone
00:56:04.41\00:56:07.05
eating from the fruit.
00:56:07.08\00:56:08.27
They've lost it all and
death becomes a reality.
00:56:08.30\00:56:11.80
Then we move through the Bible
to Revelation, the last book.
00:56:12.30\00:56:15.74
And we move through the last
book to the last 3 chapters.
00:56:15.77\00:56:18.56
And what do we find?
00:56:18.59\00:56:19.57
God is re-creating planet earth
as it was in its Edenic beauty.
00:56:19.60\00:56:24.10
Perhaps even more lovely.
00:56:24.13\00:56:25.68
"The meek," promised
Jesus in Matthew 5 and verse 5,
00:56:25.71\00:56:28.06
"shall inherit the
earth," once made new.
00:56:28.09\00:56:30.86
And there is the garden
and in the middle of the garden
00:56:30.89\00:56:33.45
there is the tree of life.
00:56:33.48\00:56:35.84
And where folks were
forbidden in Genesis from
00:56:36.04\00:56:38.21
coming to eat,
now they're welcomed.
00:56:38.24\00:56:40.56
Welcome home,
children. Eat and live forever.
00:56:40.59\00:56:44.69
Everything that is lost in
the first 3 chapters of Genesis
00:56:45.30\00:56:49.19
because of sin is
restored in the last 3 chapters
00:56:49.22\00:56:52.49
of Revelation because of grace.
00:56:52.52\00:56:54.77
Thank God for Jesus.
00:56:55.94\00:56:57.80
The nails in His hands.
00:56:59.51\00:57:00.74
Could His law be set
aside, He need not have died.
00:57:00.77\00:57:04.64
But because His law was
perfect and just and righteous,
00:57:05.99\00:57:10.66
He paid the
price, He took our place.
00:57:10.69\00:57:14.39
"I," said the poet,
"should have been crucified.
00:57:15.59\00:57:18.55
I should have suffered
and died and I should have
00:57:18.58\00:57:21.88
hung on the cross in disgrace.
00:57:21.91\00:57:23.17
But Jesus, God's
Son, took my place. "
00:57:23.20\00:57:26.71
If you love Him,
keep His commandments.
00:57:28.41\00:57:32.80
Let's pray.
00:57:32.83\00:57:33.92
Thank you, Lord Jesus,
for the clarity of Your word.
00:57:34.72\00:57:37.31
You love us so very
much that You, long ago,
00:57:40.72\00:57:43.19
made provision for our
frailties and our faults.
00:57:43.22\00:57:46.92
Because our parents slipped
and fell, you came and lived
00:57:48.93\00:57:52.82
the perfect life in our place.
00:57:52.85\00:57:54.65
On a life we never
lived, on a death we never died,
00:57:55.86\00:57:58.36
on a resurrection
that we did not deserve,
00:57:58.39\00:58:00.45
we hang our only
hope of eternity.
00:58:00.48\00:58:02.92
Thank you, dear Jesus.
00:58:03.32\00:58:05.99
In Your name, amen.
00:58:07.13\00:58:10.64