Hello, friends,
and welcome again
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to Sabbath School Study Hour
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here at the Granite Bay
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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in Sacramento, California.
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I'd like to welcome our friends
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who are joining
us across the country
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and around the world.
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I know we have a
number of online members
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who tune in every week
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to participate
in our Bible study.
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And again, welcome to you
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also those watching on
the various TV networks,
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thank you for being a
part of our study time today.
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I'd like to welcome
our regular members,
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our Sabbath School
members as well as the visitors
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who are joining us today.
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We're delighted
that you're here.
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We have a very important subject
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that we're going to
be studying this morning
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on the Book of Revelation.
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I think many of you know,
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we're studying
through our lesson
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quarterly entitled,
"The Book of Revelation."
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We've had a great study so far
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dealing with some
very important subjects,
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but today we're going to be
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looking at the
seven seals of Revelation.
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The prime passage
of study for today
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is Revelation Chapter 6.
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So we'll be
looking at the seven seals.
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But before we get to our study,
we'd like to have friends know
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who are watching us about
a free offer that we have,
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a study guide entitled
"Saved from Certain Death."
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And this is our
free offer today.
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If you'd like to
receive this study guide,
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all you need to
do is give us a call.
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Our resource phone
line is 866-788-3966
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and you can ask
for offer number 109.
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And we'll be happy
to send it to anyone
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who calls and asks
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or if you like,
you can send us a text,
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and we'll be able to send
you a digital copy of the study.
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All you have to do
is text the code "SH060"
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to the number 40544,
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and you'll be
able to get a link,
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and you'll be able
to download and study,
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the study guide called
"Saved from Certain Death."
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Well, before we get to
our study this morning,
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we need to ask God's guidance
whenever we open up His Word.
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So let's bow our
heads for prayer.
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Dear Father, once
again, we are grateful
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that we have this opportunity
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to open up and study
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this very important
passage of scripture
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found in the last
book of the Bible,
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the Book of Revelation.
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Father, we pray that
You give us understanding.
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Sometimes it can be
challenging studying this book,
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so we need the Holy
Spirit to guide our thoughts,
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our hearts, lead us
into a clear understanding
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of what You're
telling us and teaching us,
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for we ask this
in Jesus' name, amen.
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Our lesson today is going to
be brought to us by Pastor Doug.
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Thank you, Pastor
Ross, and welcome everybody.
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Glad to see you at our
Sabbath School Study Hour.
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This is my...
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I think it's my
first opportunity
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in 2019 to be teaching,
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and I'm
especially looking forward
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to getting into our study today
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dealing with the seven seals.
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Now, that's actually a misnomer
because we're going to be
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focusing on Chapter
6 of Revelation today
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which goes through
six of the seven seals.
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It's kind of interesting,
you got a whole chapter
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in Revelation between
seal six and seal seven.
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Sounds like
military terms, right?
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Seal six.
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But so we're going to do
our best to get into that.
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And we have a
memory verse to begin with.
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The memory verses
from Revelation 5:9 and 10,
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here in your lesson that's out
of the New King James Version.
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You want to say that
with me, that'd be great.
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Revelation 5:9
and 10, are you ready?
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"You are worthy
to take the scroll,
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and to open its seals,
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for You were slain,
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and You have redeemed us to God
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by Your blood
out of every tribe,
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and tongue, and
people, and nation,
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and have made us kings
and priests to our God,
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and we shall reign on earth."
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By the way, if you're
wondering where the righteous
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will ultimately live,
it tells you right there.
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Blessed are the meek,
they will inherit, heaven?
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No, inherit the earth.
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So the New Jerusalem comes down,
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and we'll be here on earth.
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And another point it says,
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"You have made us
kings and priests."
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That's a term that is
quoted from the Old Testament
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where God told the
children of Israel,
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I've called you to be a
nation of kings and priests.
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And so, so much of Revelation
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you're going to find
in the Old Testament.
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Well, let's dive
right into our lesson
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and find out
about the seven seals,
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what do they mean,
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and what can we
learn about them.
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Now, I thought it
would be appropriate
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before we get very
deep into the seven seals,
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and Pastor Ross may have talked
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about this a little
in the prior lesson,
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to talk about what are seals.
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We're getting
ready to understand
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what the seven seals are.
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You remember in
earlier passages,
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there's this
conundrum in heaven.
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There's this scroll
that's got seven seals,
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and nobody can open it.
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There's much
weeping, and they're saying,
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"Who's going to open this?"
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And finally, it points
to this lamb that was slain,
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very strange lamb,
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it had seven
horns, and seven eyes,
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and, of course, this
is all symbolic here,
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but it's talking
about Christ and the gospel,
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and it's only the lamb
that can open the seals.
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So what are the seals?
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Now, whenever you want
to understand Revelation,
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first thing you
need to do is what?
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Well, pray, go to
the Old Testament,
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find similar passages.
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Revelation is
something of a kaleidoscope
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of other Old
Testament prophecies and books.
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So can you find a
place in the Old Testament
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where there is one
document with many seals?
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The Book of Nehemiah.
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If you go to the book
Of Nehemiah Chapter 9,
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the people of God had
kind of drifted from God.
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They've been
carried off to Babylon,
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coming back under
the leadership of Ezra
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and Nehemiah,
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they're wanting to
renew the covenant,
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not to make the
mistakes they've made before.
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And they said, "Look,
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let's be serious
about our commitment to God
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to embrace the
gospel, to obey the covenant."
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And you read in Nehemiah 9:38,
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it's the last verse
of Nehemiah Chapter 9.
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"And because of all this,
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we make a sure
covenant, and write it.
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Our leaders are Levites,
and our priests seal it.
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Then go to 10:1,
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"Now those who place
their seal on the document
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were: Nehemiah the
governor, the son of Hacaliah,
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and Zedekiah," and
then it goes through,
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and I'm not going to
read them all for you
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because I don't
think I can pronounce them.
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Then it goes through 44 names,
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and I think
there's like 21 priests,
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they've got
Levites, there's leaders,
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and the leaders of the people
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that had come back
from captivity said,
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"Let's make a
covenant with God."
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And now did they
dream up a new covenant?
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What was the
covenant that they made?
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Go to the Book of
Nehemiah Chapter 10,
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and let me see
where I would start
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because here you got an
example of a one document
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with several people
affixing their seals to it,
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and you go to,
let's see Nehemiah 10,
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and if you go to verse 29,
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"These joined
with their brethren,
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their nobles, and
entered into a curse
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and an oath to
walk in God's law,
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which He had given by Moses."
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So are they coming
up with a new covenant,
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or they renewing
the old covenant?
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"The servant of God to observe
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and do all the
commandments of the Lord,
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our God, and His ordinances,
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and His statutes
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that we would not
give our daughters."
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Now they get specific
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with some problems they've made.
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"We'll not give
our daughters as wives
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to the people of the land
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or take their
daughters for our sons.
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And if the people of the land
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bring wares or any
grain to sell on the Sabbath,
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that we would not buy
it from them on the Sabbath
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or on a holy day,
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and we would forego the
seventh year's produce."
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Now it's very interesting,
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in this covenant
they're renewing,
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they're specifying areas
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where they had been
compromising in the old law.
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The old law said, "They
should let the land rest
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every seventh year."
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The old law said,
"You shouldn't buy
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and sell on the Sabbath."
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But it's interesting,
they're highlighting things
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where they've
been making compromise,
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let's renew the covenant,
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and let's be serious about it.
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And you can read
through everything there.
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They're not
dreaming up a new covenant,
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they're basically
renewing the things
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that God had given Moses.
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So you've got this
document that 44 people sealed.
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It's a document
with 44 seals on it.
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Think, we got a few pictures,
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they may have
put them up already
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of what a scroll might look like
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with seven seals.
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Marsh, I don't know if
you've got that handy there
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in the studio,
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but there's a
couple of examples.
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There's one, that's Revelation.
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This now, in this case,
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and these are
just artist's concepts,
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every time you open a
seal, it opens a new chapter.
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And then
there's another example,
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I think we're going
to put up on the seal
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where you've got one document,
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but it's sealed seven times
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like it's got seven
different authorities
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that are preventing
you from opening it.
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And so we're not exactly sure,
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you know, what
they have in mind here.
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But we know that as
each seal is broken,
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a new page seems to be opened
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that gives more information.
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Isaiah 8:16,
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"Bind the testimony,
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seal the law
among my disciples."
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Now, is a seal a good thing?
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What did the lost
have in the last days?
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The what of the beast?
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The mark of the beast.
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And what do the saved have?
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The seal of God, so
seal's a good thing there.
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A seal was...
00:10:04.17\00:10:08.50
An official, a king, a
general would send some orders,
00:10:08.50\00:10:11.87
and nobody could open it
except the appropriate person.
00:10:11.87\00:10:14.34
If you try to open a seal
without the right authority,
00:10:14.34\00:10:17.08
you could be executed.
00:10:17.08\00:10:18.38
One case I'll give
you, for example is David,
00:10:18.38\00:10:23.12
when he had that
affair with Bathsheba,
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he sent orders to Joab
00:10:25.95\00:10:27.62
the general by
Uriah of all people.
00:10:27.62\00:10:31.23
And in the orders
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it's basically the
death warrant of Uriah,
00:10:32.29\00:10:34.36
it says, "Put him at the
front of the hottest battle
00:10:34.36\00:10:37.03
and then
retreat, don't cover him,
00:10:37.03\00:10:38.63
that he's smitten and he dies."
00:10:38.63\00:10:40.94
Now David knows he
can trust Uriah so much
00:10:40.94\00:10:43.27
that Uriah will not
peek at that document
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because it's been sealed
00:10:45.17\00:10:46.21
and only Joab the
general can open it.
00:10:46.21\00:10:48.64
So he carries this document
00:10:48.64\00:10:50.85
that's got his
death warrant in it,
00:10:50.85\00:10:53.31
and he will not break that seal
00:10:53.31\00:10:54.88
because he doesn't
have the authority.
00:10:54.88\00:10:56.89
And that's why it'd say
nobody had the authority
00:10:56.89\00:11:00.26
to open this document
00:11:00.26\00:11:02.02
in heaven except for lamb.
00:11:02.02\00:11:04.23
Some have said,
"Well, this book,
00:11:04.23\00:11:05.33
it's the book of life."
00:11:05.33\00:11:06.39
It's really the gospel,
00:11:06.39\00:11:07.46
which the book of
life is contained in it,
00:11:07.46\00:11:10.53
and it tells the
history of the church.
00:11:10.53\00:11:12.33
So as we begin to
open up the seals,
00:11:12.33\00:11:14.20
we'll see that.
00:11:14.20\00:11:16.30
All right, so we go
now into Sunday study.
00:11:16.30\00:11:18.91
It's the first study,
and it's the first seal.
00:11:18.91\00:11:21.71
And if you read in
Revelation 6:1 and 2,
00:11:21.71\00:11:25.51
"Now I saw when the
lamb opened one of the seals,
00:11:25.51\00:11:29.42
and I heard the
four living creatures,"
00:11:29.42\00:11:31.45
these are earlier
described around the throne,
00:11:31.45\00:11:34.12
"saying, with a
voice like thunder,
00:11:34.12\00:11:36.29
'Come and see,'" in unison,
00:11:36.29\00:11:37.79
these creatures are
saying, come and see.
00:11:37.79\00:11:39.56
So John now has
taken off in vision,
00:11:39.56\00:11:41.26
and he shown
00:11:41.26\00:11:42.66
what's revealed
through this first seal.
00:11:42.66\00:11:44.80
"I looked, and
behold a white horse,
00:11:44.80\00:11:48.14
and he who sat on it had a bow,
and a crown was given to him,
00:11:48.14\00:11:52.34
and he went forth
conquering, and to conquer."
00:11:52.34\00:11:55.54
Now, you've probably heard
00:11:55.54\00:11:56.68
about the Four
Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
00:11:56.68\00:12:01.22
Everyone's here had
heard of the Four Horsemen,
00:12:01.22\00:12:04.25
and Four Horsemen
of the Apocalypse.
00:12:04.25\00:12:05.79
It's kind of interesting,
00:12:05.79\00:12:07.06
people think the four horsemen
are sort of a vision by itself.
00:12:07.06\00:12:09.59
The four horsemen
00:12:09.59\00:12:10.79
are really the first
four of the seven seals.
00:12:10.79\00:12:15.46
They are part
of the seven seals.
00:12:15.46\00:12:19.00
And everyone always
thinks about the four horsemen
00:12:19.00\00:12:21.00
riding off together to
wreck havoc on the earth,
00:12:21.00\00:12:24.81
but they come in stages at
different times in history.
00:12:24.81\00:12:28.81
Why four, and why horsemen,
00:12:28.81\00:12:33.08
before I get into
what the first one means.
00:12:33.08\00:12:35.98
If you want to
understand Revelation,
00:12:35.98\00:12:37.65
what do you do?
00:12:37.65\00:12:40.16
Go somewhere else
in the Bible, okay?
00:12:40.16\00:12:43.53
Look in the Book of Zachariah.
00:12:43.53\00:12:45.89
Who are these horses,
00:12:45.89\00:12:46.96
we're going to
read about four horses
00:12:46.96\00:12:48.26
in just a minute.
00:12:48.26\00:12:49.33
So before I
explain the first one,
00:12:49.33\00:12:50.70
let's find out what horses mean.
00:12:50.70\00:12:52.87
Zachariah 1:8 starts
with a vision of horses,
00:12:52.87\00:12:57.37
"And I saw by night,
00:12:57.37\00:12:58.41
and behold a man
riding a red horse."
00:12:58.41\00:13:00.64
Tells the color of the horse.
00:13:00.64\00:13:02.11
"It stood among the
myrtle trees in a hollow,
00:13:02.11\00:13:04.55
and behind him were
horses red, and sorrel,"
00:13:04.55\00:13:07.38
that's like brown, "and white.
00:13:07.38\00:13:09.68
Then I said, 'My
Lord, what are these?'
00:13:09.68\00:13:13.09
So the angel who
talked with me said,
00:13:13.09\00:13:15.19
'I will show you
what these are.'"
00:13:15.19\00:13:16.69
You know something
interesting happening here?
00:13:16.69\00:13:19.39
A prophet having
a symbolic vision
00:13:19.39\00:13:22.56
with horses of different colors,
00:13:22.56\00:13:25.23
and he asked the
angel, what does it mean?
00:13:25.23\00:13:27.74
This is what's
happening in Revelation.
00:13:27.74\00:13:29.37
John, a prophet, has a vision
00:13:29.37\00:13:31.07
in some symbolic
language with horses,
00:13:31.07\00:13:33.24
different colors, and
he asks what it means.
00:13:33.24\00:13:35.51
That doesn't happen that often,
00:13:35.51\00:13:36.81
there must be a
connection, right?
00:13:36.81\00:13:38.81
Who are they?
00:13:38.81\00:13:39.85
"These are the
ones whom the Lord
00:13:39.85\00:13:41.32
has sent to walk to and
fro throughout the earth."
00:13:41.32\00:13:44.82
Now the number four in the Bible
00:13:44.82\00:13:46.55
typically designates
00:13:46.55\00:13:48.46
the four corners of the compass.
00:13:48.46\00:13:51.49
Bible says, "The
Lord will send His angels
00:13:51.49\00:13:53.80
to the four corners of the earth
00:13:53.80\00:13:55.86
to gather together His elect,
north, south, east and west."
00:13:55.86\00:14:00.20
So it's talking about
the spread of the church.
00:14:00.20\00:14:03.84
And now let me give
you another one here.
00:14:03.84\00:14:05.57
If you go to Zachariah 6:1,
00:14:05.57\00:14:10.88
it says, "I turned,
and I raised my eyes,
00:14:10.88\00:14:13.38
and looked, and behold,
00:14:13.38\00:14:14.65
four chariots
00:14:14.65\00:14:16.35
coming from
between the mountains,
00:14:16.35\00:14:18.15
and the
mountains were of bronze.
00:14:18.15\00:14:20.49
With the first
chariot were red horses,
00:14:20.49\00:14:22.66
the second
chariot, black horses,
00:14:22.66\00:14:24.79
the third chariot, white horses,
00:14:24.79\00:14:26.86
and the fourth
chariot, dappled horses."
00:14:26.86\00:14:29.13
Now this is very similar
except Revelation has one horse,
00:14:29.13\00:14:34.47
here it's got two
horses per chariot.
00:14:34.47\00:14:37.17
In Revelation, it's got...
00:14:37.17\00:14:39.47
You've got the black,
and you've got the red,
00:14:39.47\00:14:42.28
and you've got the
white, and then you have a pale.
00:14:42.28\00:14:45.45
The last one here is
spotted, it's not pale.
00:14:45.45\00:14:48.85
So you'll notice
that you go back and forth
00:14:48.85\00:14:51.19
between the Old Testament,
00:14:51.19\00:14:52.22
Revelation, some
of the visions are...
00:14:52.22\00:14:54.89
It's a little different.
00:14:54.89\00:14:56.79
But the horses are representing.
00:14:56.79\00:14:59.59
And what does he
say? He asks then.
00:14:59.59\00:15:01.30
You go to verse
4, Zachariah 6:4,
00:15:01.30\00:15:05.07
"I answered and
said to the angel
00:15:05.07\00:15:06.47
who talked with me,
00:15:06.47\00:15:07.67
'What are these, my Lord?'
00:15:07.67\00:15:09.54
And the angel said, 'These
are the four spirits of heaven
00:15:09.54\00:15:11.94
who go forth from their station
00:15:11.94\00:15:14.04
before the Lord
of all the earth.'"
00:15:14.04\00:15:16.44
And so it's like
messengers that are going out.
00:15:16.44\00:15:20.35
Now you find other places
00:15:20.35\00:15:21.48
where you find
chariots in the Bible?
00:15:21.48\00:15:25.45
Someone's going
to read this for me.
00:15:25.45\00:15:27.16
Hoftis, I didn't
give you much warning,
00:15:27.16\00:15:28.56
but go ahead and let's
get a camera over here.
00:15:28.56\00:15:30.56
You go ahead and
read for me 2 Kings 2,
00:15:30.56\00:15:33.86
and I think it's verse 11.
00:15:33.86\00:15:35.40
2 Kings 2:11,
00:15:35.40\00:15:37.97
"Then it happened as it
continued on and talked,
00:15:37.97\00:15:41.44
that suddenly a chariot of fire
appeared with horses of fire,
00:15:41.44\00:15:45.54
and separated the two of them,
00:15:45.54\00:15:47.58
and Elijah went up by
a whirlwind into heaven."
00:15:47.58\00:15:52.28
So when we read in the Bible
00:15:52.28\00:15:53.58
that a chariot
of fire came down,
00:15:53.58\00:15:57.29
it's like that spiritual,
00:15:57.29\00:15:59.29
I looked over Jordan,
00:15:59.29\00:16:00.39
and what did I see
coming forth to carry me home?
00:16:00.39\00:16:02.66
A band full of
angels coming after me.
00:16:02.66\00:16:04.76
But it's described in the Bible
as chariots and horses of fire.
00:16:04.76\00:16:08.73
Does the Lord get
around in heaven in chariots?
00:16:08.73\00:16:13.27
Or does the Lord use that term
00:16:13.27\00:16:14.70
because there were
several thousand years
00:16:14.70\00:16:17.64
where chariots were the
way that people got around?
00:16:17.64\00:16:21.58
And so I don't know that
God has to wait for next chariot
00:16:21.58\00:16:25.08
before He can go
anywhere in heaven.
00:16:25.08\00:16:28.18
I think that it's
talking about the power of God,
00:16:28.18\00:16:31.82
the armies of God.
00:16:31.82\00:16:34.92
When Elijah went to heaven,
00:16:34.92\00:16:39.23
Elijah said, "My
Father, my Father,
00:16:39.23\00:16:41.33
the chariot of
Israel and its horsemen."
00:16:41.33\00:16:46.40
King Solomon was told, and...
00:16:46.40\00:16:48.57
No, the all the
kings of Israel were told.
00:16:48.57\00:16:50.27
When you come into power,
00:16:50.27\00:16:51.57
don't be sending
down to Egypt for horses.
00:16:51.57\00:16:53.41
Your trust is not in
the horse and the chariot.
00:16:53.41\00:16:55.74
That was their word,
the supreme tank back then.
00:16:55.74\00:16:59.11
They didn't have aircraft,
it was all the chariot.
00:16:59.11\00:17:02.15
And when Elisha died,
00:17:02.15\00:17:05.39
the king came, and
he wept over Elisha,
00:17:05.39\00:17:07.39
he said, "My father, my father,
00:17:07.39\00:17:09.19
the chariot of Israel
and its horseman there of."
00:17:09.19\00:17:12.59
And so those chariots
00:17:12.59\00:17:13.96
and those horses
represented the power of God,
00:17:13.96\00:17:17.73
the armies of God.
00:17:17.73\00:17:19.43
And so one thing
I want you to notice
00:17:19.43\00:17:21.57
as we look at
this first horseman,
00:17:21.57\00:17:23.81
it's talking about
00:17:23.81\00:17:25.01
a conquering
force that goes out.
00:17:25.01\00:17:27.81
What color is the
first horse? White.
00:17:27.81\00:17:30.78
What does Revelation
tell us white is a symbol of?
00:17:30.78\00:17:34.38
Superiority and righteousness.
00:17:34.38\00:17:37.99
And it says, "This first ride,
it goes forth on a white horse,
00:17:37.99\00:17:42.19
and this really
represents the church
00:17:42.19\00:17:44.73
going forth in its
infancy there from Pentecost,
00:17:44.73\00:17:48.83
from about 31 AD to the
death of the last apostle,
00:17:48.83\00:17:52.90
John, which
would be about 100 AD,
00:17:52.90\00:17:55.50
and they went forth
conquering, and to conquer,
00:17:55.50\00:17:57.71
and the gospel
went almost everywhere
00:17:57.71\00:18:00.68
in that first generation.
00:18:00.68\00:18:02.81
You know, you can read
00:18:02.81\00:18:03.81
where the Bible says
that in the first generation,
00:18:03.81\00:18:07.05
it says that the gospel
had gone into all the world,
00:18:07.05\00:18:10.72
and to every
creature under heaven.
00:18:10.72\00:18:12.22
That doesn't
mean the whole planet,
00:18:12.22\00:18:13.82
that means the then
known civilized world
00:18:13.82\00:18:15.99
as far as the ships
and the commerce took them,
00:18:15.99\00:18:18.46
the gospel was going.
00:18:18.46\00:18:20.33
And so this is the
gospel in its purity.
00:18:20.33\00:18:24.63
That time is, like I said,
from about 31 AD to 100 AD,
00:18:24.63\00:18:29.80
it corresponds
with the first church,
00:18:29.80\00:18:32.24
the Church of Ephesus.
00:18:32.24\00:18:34.38
Now, if you look in Psalm 45:3,
00:18:34.38\00:18:38.51
again, comparing Revelation
with the Old Testament.
00:18:38.51\00:18:43.22
Here the psalm says, Psalm 45:3,
00:18:43.22\00:18:46.05
"Gird your
sword upon your thigh,
00:18:46.05\00:18:47.89
O Mighty One,
00:18:47.89\00:18:49.62
with your glory
and your Majesty,
00:18:49.62\00:18:51.93
and in your
majesty ride prosperously."
00:18:51.93\00:18:54.66
So here's a picture of
a king riding on a horse,
00:18:54.66\00:18:57.23
"Because of truth,
humility, and righteousness,
00:18:57.23\00:19:01.77
and in your right hand
00:19:01.77\00:19:02.90
shall teach you awesome things."
00:19:02.90\00:19:05.31
It's talking about
teaching, righteousness.
00:19:05.31\00:19:07.78
It is portrayed as a
rider, a king on a horse,
00:19:07.78\00:19:10.21
"your arrows are sharp," again,
the bow in Revelation here,
00:19:10.21\00:19:13.88
it's got arrows are sharp,
00:19:13.88\00:19:15.58
"in the heart of
the king's enemies,
00:19:15.58\00:19:17.49
the people fall under you."
00:19:17.49\00:19:19.09
So in the first century
was the church to go forth,
00:19:19.09\00:19:21.72
and try to kill unbelievers?
00:19:21.72\00:19:23.73
Or were they to kill
falsehood with truth?
00:19:23.73\00:19:28.40
And in the armor of God,
00:19:28.40\00:19:31.30
does it talk
about a bow of strength
00:19:31.30\00:19:34.10
or actually, it's...
00:19:34.10\00:19:35.14
The bow is a
symbol of the strength,
00:19:35.14\00:19:36.57
it talks about that in Jonathan.
00:19:36.57\00:19:37.84
So this was something
00:19:37.84\00:19:39.17
where you'd fire
your, the arrows of truth,
00:19:39.17\00:19:41.31
the devil fires darts
or arrows of temptation.
00:19:41.31\00:19:45.35
That's in Ephesians there.
00:19:45.35\00:19:46.95
All right, first horse,
00:19:46.95\00:19:49.42
early church
riding forth impurity.
00:19:49.42\00:19:51.79
Go to Monday,
second seal is open.
00:19:51.79\00:19:55.62
And this is talking
about conflict on the earth.
00:19:55.62\00:19:59.53
Let me read it to you now.
00:19:59.53\00:20:00.83
Revelation 6:3-4,
00:20:00.83\00:20:04.17
we're going to do our best
00:20:04.17\00:20:05.13
to get through all
six of these seals today.
00:20:05.13\00:20:09.34
"When He opened the second seal,
00:20:09.34\00:20:11.41
I heard the second
living creature say,
00:20:11.41\00:20:14.11
'Come and see.'"
00:20:14.11\00:20:15.18
Now, how many
living creatures are there?
00:20:15.18\00:20:16.78
There's four living creatures,
00:20:20.28\00:20:22.28
and you've got
how many horsemen?
00:20:22.28\00:20:25.12
You have four horsemen.
00:20:25.12\00:20:26.25
All right, so here now the
second living creature says,
00:20:26.25\00:20:28.46
"Come and see.'
00:20:28.46\00:20:29.86
And another horse,
fiery red went out.
00:20:29.86\00:20:33.43
And it was granted to the one
00:20:33.43\00:20:35.60
who sat on it to
take peace from the earth,
00:20:35.60\00:20:38.10
and that people
should kill one another.
00:20:38.10\00:20:40.37
And there was given
to him a great sword.'"
00:20:40.37\00:20:43.47
Jesus said, "I
came not to send peace,
00:20:43.47\00:20:45.31
but a sword."
00:20:45.31\00:20:47.48
And as the church
went forth prospering
00:20:47.48\00:20:49.78
in that first 100 years or so,
00:20:49.78\00:20:53.58
then the devil, what did he do?
00:20:53.58\00:20:56.89
He stirred up persecution.
00:20:56.89\00:20:59.02
So this corresponds
00:20:59.02\00:21:00.39
with the age of
the Church of Smyrna.
00:21:00.39\00:21:02.59
I should probably
stop here and say something
00:21:02.59\00:21:04.59
that bears repeating many times
when you're studying prophecy.
00:21:04.59\00:21:08.43
In the prophecies
such as Revelation,
00:21:08.43\00:21:11.23
Zachariah, Daniel,
00:21:11.23\00:21:12.83
and some of the other
apocalyptic prophecies
00:21:12.83\00:21:14.67
that use images and pictures,
00:21:14.67\00:21:17.07
what they do is they
take a particular truth.
00:21:17.07\00:21:19.64
Here's your truth, okay?
00:21:19.64\00:21:22.24
And they look at it
from different angles.
00:21:22.24\00:21:25.28
For instance, in Daniel,
00:21:25.28\00:21:26.55
what is the central
truth in the Book of Daniel?
00:21:26.55\00:21:29.38
What's going to be the
history of God's kingdom?
00:21:29.38\00:21:32.45
God's kingdom is
going to be at war
00:21:32.45\00:21:33.76
with all these pagan kingdoms.
00:21:33.76\00:21:34.92
So firstly, they
got this metal image,
00:21:34.92\00:21:37.16
and it's got Babylon,
00:21:37.16\00:21:38.56
and Medo-Persia,
and Greece, and Rome,
00:21:38.56\00:21:41.53
and the divisions of Rome,
00:21:41.53\00:21:42.60
and it's given
them the metal image.
00:21:42.60\00:21:43.93
Then you come over here,
00:21:43.93\00:21:45.43
it's the same
battle about the kingdoms,
00:21:45.43\00:21:47.44
but it's in, it's
given in the lion,
00:21:47.44\00:21:48.90
and the leopard,
and the bear, I'm sorry.
00:21:48.90\00:21:50.44
Lion, and bear, and leopard,
and then the strange beast,
00:21:50.44\00:21:53.21
then you come over here,
00:21:53.21\00:21:54.28
it's got the same truth
00:21:54.28\00:21:55.51
about those
struggling God's kingdoms,
00:21:55.51\00:21:57.28
gives more detail every time.
00:21:57.28\00:21:59.41
But now it's got
the goat, and the ram,
00:21:59.41\00:22:02.78
and the divisions of
the horns that happen.
00:22:02.78\00:22:05.02
See what's happening?
00:22:05.02\00:22:06.12
Then by the time you
get into Chapter 10 and 11,
00:22:06.12\00:22:08.52
the detail is
becoming very precise.
00:22:08.52\00:22:11.63
And it's barely even using
any symbolism at that point.
00:22:11.63\00:22:14.76
In Revelation,
00:22:14.76\00:22:16.46
giving the
history of the church now,
00:22:16.46\00:22:17.70
not just the kingdom,
00:22:17.70\00:22:18.77
but more
specifically the church.
00:22:18.77\00:22:20.44
We've looked now
at the seven churches
00:22:20.44\00:22:23.47
in Revelation 2 and 3.
00:22:23.47\00:22:24.97
Now we're going
through the seven seals,
00:22:24.97\00:22:26.34
and you're going to end up
00:22:26.34\00:22:27.38
then going through
the seven trumpets,
00:22:27.38\00:22:28.58
and they're all
giving different perspectives
00:22:28.58\00:22:31.48
on the same truth.
00:22:31.48\00:22:32.71
Revelation 12 and
13 do the same thing.
00:22:32.71\00:22:36.35
So God doesn't
want us to miss it,
00:22:36.35\00:22:38.72
and He's showing it
to us different ways.
00:22:38.72\00:22:41.72
Okay,
00:22:41.72\00:22:43.22
so here the second
church is the Church of Smyrna.
00:22:43.22\00:22:46.19
The red church is
a symbol of blood.
00:22:46.19\00:22:50.03
There's great persecution
that happens during that time.
00:22:50.03\00:22:53.07
The rider has a sword,
00:22:53.07\00:22:54.27
he's allowed to take
peace from the earth,
00:22:54.27\00:22:56.47
which opens a way for
people to kill one another.
00:22:56.47\00:22:59.07
So this is a
time of persecution,
00:22:59.07\00:23:01.31
we learned,
00:23:01.31\00:23:04.21
during the Church of Smyrna.
00:23:04.21\00:23:06.18
It's drawn from the word, mur,
00:23:06.18\00:23:08.58
which means
incense or sacrifice.
00:23:08.58\00:23:11.29
And so here you've
got your red horse.
00:23:11.29\00:23:14.29
Oh, then you go,
now under Monday,
00:23:14.29\00:23:15.79
you've got two seals.
00:23:15.79\00:23:16.96
You see, the writer of
the lesson had a challenge,
00:23:16.96\00:23:19.56
he had to cover
six seals in five days,
00:23:19.56\00:23:21.40
so he had to
double up on one of them.
00:23:21.40\00:23:23.50
So you've also
got the third seal,
00:23:23.50\00:23:25.97
and let's read it together,
00:23:25.97\00:23:27.00
Revelation 6:5 and 6,
00:23:27.00\00:23:30.57
"When He opened the third seal,
00:23:30.57\00:23:32.47
I heard the third
living creature say,
00:23:32.47\00:23:34.94
'Come and see.'
00:23:34.94\00:23:36.64
So I looked and
behold a black horse.
00:23:36.64\00:23:39.45
And he who sat on it
00:23:39.45\00:23:40.55
had a pair of
scales in his hand.
00:23:40.55\00:23:43.02
And I heard a voice in the midst
00:23:43.02\00:23:44.45
of the four
living creatures say,
00:23:44.45\00:23:46.79
'A quart of
wheat for a denarius,
00:23:46.79\00:23:48.56
and three quarts of
barley for a denarius,
00:23:48.56\00:23:51.89
and do not hurt
the oil and the wine.'"
00:23:51.89\00:23:55.66
It's talking about a scarcity.
00:23:55.66\00:23:56.97
Now this is what's
happening to the church
00:23:56.97\00:23:59.27
from roughly 313 to 538.
00:23:59.27\00:24:02.94
I want to remind
everybody that what we do is,
00:24:02.94\00:24:06.07
we'll post my lessons that
I'm reading from right now,
00:24:06.07\00:24:08.68
it's a summary, an overview.
00:24:08.68\00:24:10.95
We'll be posting those
at the Amazing Facts website
00:24:10.95\00:24:13.45
where you see Sabbath School,
00:24:13.45\00:24:14.55
you'll see a little
place you can click for
00:24:14.55\00:24:16.45
to download the lesson notes
00:24:16.45\00:24:18.15
'cause you may not
remember all of the dates.
00:24:18.15\00:24:21.09
But what happened
between 313 and 538?
00:24:21.09\00:24:25.96
Well, first 100
years of the church,
00:24:25.96\00:24:28.86
the apostles were alive,
00:24:28.86\00:24:30.87
you know, about
100 AD, I should say.
00:24:30.87\00:24:34.07
Paul had been killed by Nero.
00:24:34.07\00:24:36.87
Peter had been killed by Nero.
00:24:36.87\00:24:38.27
There's great persecution,
but under the persecution,
00:24:38.27\00:24:40.48
the church was
faithful, it was righteous,
00:24:40.48\00:24:42.08
it went forth,
00:24:42.08\00:24:43.28
their risk of
losing their first love,
00:24:43.28\00:24:45.25
but they were
faithful to the word.
00:24:45.25\00:24:47.38
But then after the
last of the apostles died,
00:24:47.38\00:24:49.95
then a great
persecution, a lot of bloodshed,
00:24:49.95\00:24:52.59
and that took
place until about 313.
00:24:52.59\00:24:54.46
Matter of fact,
00:24:54.46\00:24:55.49
there was a very
intense persecution
00:24:55.49\00:24:57.86
from 303 to 313.
00:24:57.86\00:25:00.33
You remember reading
in Revelation Chapter 3
00:25:00.33\00:25:02.90
or Chapter 2, it said,
00:25:02.90\00:25:04.60
"You will have a
great trial of 10 days."
00:25:04.60\00:25:06.60
During the 10 years
or Diocletian's rule,
00:25:06.60\00:25:10.27
he sought to
exterminate Christians.
00:25:10.27\00:25:13.27
But then with a
conversion of Constantine,
00:25:13.27\00:25:16.61
which happens shortly after 313,
00:25:16.61\00:25:20.25
now the church
00:25:20.25\00:25:22.42
has started to
become the in thing.
00:25:22.42\00:25:24.85
Now, when the
devil can't destroy
00:25:24.85\00:25:26.12
the church from the outside,
00:25:26.12\00:25:27.09
he destroys it from
the inside by joining it.
00:25:27.09\00:25:30.09
The church became
institutionalized.
00:25:30.09\00:25:33.83
Are we ever at risk of that?
00:25:33.83\00:25:36.03
Instead of having
the passion of a message,
00:25:36.03\00:25:37.83
it just becomes an institution.
00:25:37.83\00:25:42.87
And so it was a
time of great scarcity.
00:25:42.87\00:25:46.88
And so when he says,
he's got scales in his hand,
00:25:46.88\00:25:50.18
and he says that a
quart of wheat for a denarius,
00:25:50.18\00:25:53.18
that's a great price,
and three quarts of barley,
00:25:53.18\00:25:55.82
barley was the food
00:25:55.82\00:25:57.45
that you fed the
animals for a denarius,
00:25:57.45\00:26:00.12
and do not hurt
the oil and wine.
00:26:00.12\00:26:01.79
He says even though
there'd be great scarcity.
00:26:01.79\00:26:04.93
What does the oil represent?
00:26:04.93\00:26:07.40
Holy Spirit, and the
wine, the blood of the covenant.
00:26:07.40\00:26:12.10
And so in spite
of this scarcity,
00:26:12.10\00:26:14.10
in spite of the compromise
that they lost their fervor,
00:26:14.10\00:26:17.71
and that becomes
sort of a government
00:26:17.71\00:26:19.21
accepted church institution,
00:26:19.21\00:26:23.11
the gospel would still be
held by faithful in its group,
00:26:23.11\00:26:27.42
even during every
time of the church history,
00:26:27.42\00:26:30.12
the oil and the
wine, the gospel,
00:26:30.12\00:26:31.52
it's still
there doing this work.
00:26:31.52\00:26:33.89
It was not
affected by this compromise.
00:26:33.89\00:26:36.49
So this is the church
00:26:36.49\00:26:38.13
similar to the time of Pergamum,
00:26:38.13\00:26:40.76
the church third
seal time of scarcity,
00:26:40.76\00:26:43.80
and this is the black horse.
00:26:43.80\00:26:46.80
Now moving on, if
you go on to Tuesday,
00:26:46.80\00:26:50.31
it opens the fourth seal.
00:26:50.31\00:26:53.01
And this is a time where
there is widespread death,
00:26:53.01\00:26:57.31
538, roughly it
covers from 1517.
00:26:57.31\00:27:01.98
And, you know,
some of these dates
00:27:01.98\00:27:03.12
might just float a little bit,
00:27:03.12\00:27:04.25
but this is
roughly the time period.
00:27:04.25\00:27:06.25
I don't think there was an angel
00:27:06.25\00:27:07.96
that pulled a page
off the calendar and said,
00:27:07.96\00:27:09.89
"Now we begin the
time of the gray horse."
00:27:09.89\00:27:13.66
So it's just talking
about stages of history.
00:27:13.66\00:27:16.83
And you can't always
draw hard lines in history.
00:27:16.83\00:27:22.14
So he opens the fourth seal,
00:27:22.14\00:27:24.44
and I heard the voice
00:27:24.44\00:27:26.14
of the fourth
living creature saying,
00:27:26.14\00:27:28.31
you know, you get
the first, second,
00:27:28.31\00:27:29.41
third, fourth living creatures.
00:27:29.41\00:27:30.68
These are
creatures around the throne.
00:27:30.68\00:27:32.18
You remember what
these creatures look like?
00:27:32.18\00:27:34.85
And you find them
repeated in Ezekiel also.
00:27:34.85\00:27:38.09
One is like lion, an
eagle, calf, and a man,
00:27:38.09\00:27:43.96
you've got faces, and many eyes,
00:27:43.96\00:27:45.66
and there are symbols
of the different attributes
00:27:45.66\00:27:48.36
of God's character.
00:27:48.36\00:27:50.87
And so then another
of these creatures said,
00:27:50.87\00:27:53.13
when he opens, "Come and see.'
00:27:53.13\00:27:55.64
So I looked and
behold a pale horse.'"
00:27:55.64\00:27:59.14
Now, the word pale,
00:27:59.14\00:28:01.51
it probably helps for us
to explain that a little bit.
00:28:01.51\00:28:04.75
It's an interesting color.
00:28:04.75\00:28:06.65
In the original Greek,
00:28:06.65\00:28:07.75
it describes
something that is tepid,
00:28:07.75\00:28:10.65
it's like the color of...
00:28:10.65\00:28:14.12
Any of you ever
put potatoes down
00:28:14.12\00:28:16.32
somewhere cool,
and forget it there.
00:28:16.32\00:28:18.96
And you come and you
look at the potatoes.
00:28:18.96\00:28:20.53
And if there's any
light hitting the potatoes,
00:28:20.53\00:28:22.50
they start to put
out these pale stalks,
00:28:22.50\00:28:25.83
you know, what
I'm talking about?
00:28:25.83\00:28:26.90
Little shoots start coming out,
00:28:26.90\00:28:28.57
and they're sort
of translucent gray,
00:28:28.57\00:28:32.97
they're not
getting any sunshine,
00:28:32.97\00:28:35.28
so there's like no chlorophyll
00:28:35.28\00:28:36.78
and you can
almost see through them.
00:28:36.78\00:28:38.21
That's what that word means.
00:28:38.21\00:28:40.25
It's also identified
with the color of a corpse
00:28:40.25\00:28:43.15
when the blood is drained out.
00:28:43.15\00:28:45.82
It's often called
the Angel of Death
00:28:45.82\00:28:48.22
on the fourth horse
00:28:48.22\00:28:50.39
because it was a
time of great death.
00:28:50.39\00:28:51.79
But it's also talking
about like a plant with no life.
00:28:51.79\00:28:55.56
It's struggling to
live like a potato stalk,
00:28:55.56\00:28:58.67
but it can't find the light.
00:28:58.67\00:29:00.90
And this is what
happened during this time.
00:29:00.90\00:29:03.30
You've heard of the Dark Ages.
00:29:03.30\00:29:05.91
Do you know why the
Dark Ages were dark?
00:29:05.91\00:29:07.31
"Thy word is a
lamp unto my feet,
00:29:10.71\00:29:14.22
and a light unto my path."
00:29:14.22\00:29:16.25
What happened during
this age of the church
00:29:16.25\00:29:18.29
is they said that only
the clergy has a right,
00:29:18.29\00:29:21.26
and not even all the clergy,
00:29:21.26\00:29:22.59
but certain high ranking clergy
00:29:22.59\00:29:24.03
have the right to
access the scriptures.
00:29:24.03\00:29:27.13
The Bibles were
taken away from the people,
00:29:27.13\00:29:29.13
a lot of tradition
came to substitute.
00:29:29.13\00:29:31.63
There was great spiritual
death and lifelessness.
00:29:31.63\00:29:35.77
But these
plagues and descriptions
00:29:35.77\00:29:38.11
often describe real
things that happened as well.
00:29:38.11\00:29:41.51
For example, during
this time of the church,
00:29:41.51\00:29:45.41
it says, it was a pale horse,
00:29:45.41\00:29:48.32
this deathly looking color,
00:29:48.32\00:29:50.49
and the name of him
00:29:50.49\00:29:51.52
who sat on it
was Death and Hades.
00:29:51.52\00:29:53.59
Now, what does
the word Hades mean?
00:29:53.59\00:29:56.49
It's like the grave.
00:29:56.49\00:29:58.09
It doesn't mean, you know,
00:29:58.09\00:29:59.36
when you tell
someone to go to Hades,
00:29:59.36\00:30:00.76
I hope you don't
tell anybody that,
00:30:00.76\00:30:02.43
you know,
00:30:02.43\00:30:03.40
you're thinking about
this place of torment.
00:30:03.40\00:30:05.73
Biblically, the name
Hades is like a Greek,
00:30:05.73\00:30:09.00
it's a New
Testament way of saying Sheol,
00:30:09.00\00:30:11.11
and Sheol was the grave.
00:30:11.11\00:30:12.94
So it's talking about
death and the grave followed,
00:30:12.94\00:30:15.94
wherever this writer goes.
00:30:15.94\00:30:17.85
You've probably
seen or heard stories
00:30:17.85\00:30:20.88
and illustrations
of the angel of death.
00:30:20.88\00:30:24.35
You know, this is this
ominous looking creature,
00:30:24.35\00:30:26.79
he's wearing a black cape
00:30:26.79\00:30:28.26
and usually has no
face to kind of see through,
00:30:28.26\00:30:30.76
and he carries a
big scythe in his hand.
00:30:30.76\00:30:33.36
He's going to harvest souls.
00:30:33.36\00:30:35.53
And all of that is
drawn from this fourth writer
00:30:35.53\00:30:38.87
on the fourth verse.
00:30:38.87\00:30:39.93
And many times,
you'll see artists, when...
00:30:39.93\00:30:41.97
I should have put
a picture up there,
00:30:41.97\00:30:43.07
some of the different
artists' concepts for writers,
00:30:43.07\00:30:46.61
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,
00:30:46.61\00:30:48.34
the fourth writer's
often this black cloaked
00:30:48.34\00:30:52.21
being who has got this...
00:30:52.21\00:30:54.15
He's called the Angel of Death.
00:30:54.15\00:30:55.75
He's got the scythe
00:30:55.75\00:30:56.85
going through
because death follows.
00:30:56.85\00:30:58.62
Well, one reason it's portrayed
as a time of great death,
00:30:58.62\00:31:02.16
this church age is from 538
to about 517, as I mentioned.
00:31:02.16\00:31:07.73
Guess what happened then.
00:31:07.73\00:31:09.80
It said here, "Death
and hell followed him,
00:31:09.80\00:31:11.70
and power was given them over
a fourth of the earth," a 25%,
00:31:11.70\00:31:17.01
"to kill with sword,
with hunger, with death,
00:31:17.01\00:31:21.38
and beasts of the earth."
00:31:21.38\00:31:24.18
Now we know what
happened during this time,
00:31:24.18\00:31:26.68
you had two of
the greatest scourges
00:31:26.68\00:31:30.32
that went through
history principally in Europe
00:31:30.32\00:31:32.22
'cause this is where the church
was rooted during this time.
00:31:32.22\00:31:35.26
You've got the great famine
00:31:35.26\00:31:36.73
that took place from
1315 to 1320 in Europe.
00:31:36.73\00:31:41.20
Do you know what they believe
00:31:41.20\00:31:42.23
brought about that great famine?
00:31:42.23\00:31:45.20
A volcanic eruption,
I heard someone say it,
00:31:45.20\00:31:47.37
in New Zealand
00:31:47.37\00:31:49.47
that created an
artificial winter
00:31:49.47\00:31:51.47
that messed up
the season so much
00:31:51.47\00:31:54.08
that the crops just
did not sprout in time
00:31:54.08\00:31:56.71
or they planted them too early,
00:31:56.71\00:31:58.41
and there was late snows
00:31:58.41\00:32:00.15
and it just
caused terrible famine
00:32:00.15\00:32:02.38
in which millions died,
00:32:02.38\00:32:04.55
one of the greatest
famines that happened
00:32:04.55\00:32:06.25
during that time,
and the black death,
00:32:06.25\00:32:10.43
you know, the black death
00:32:10.43\00:32:12.03
is better known
as the Bubonic plague
00:32:12.03\00:32:14.40
that took place between,
00:32:14.40\00:32:15.70
roughly, the worst
was 1343 through 1400.
00:32:15.70\00:32:20.30
And then not only
happened in Europe,
00:32:20.30\00:32:21.67
but because ships were going
to the Orient and other places,
00:32:21.67\00:32:25.41
the Bubonic plague
was really happening
00:32:25.41\00:32:27.41
in any port around the world.
00:32:27.41\00:32:29.48
It happened in ports in Africa,
00:32:29.48\00:32:31.38
in Asia,
00:32:31.38\00:32:34.08
and all throughout Europe.
00:32:34.08\00:32:36.85
They say...
00:32:36.85\00:32:37.92
they estimate that up
to one-third of Europe died
00:32:37.92\00:32:43.26
during the time
of the black plague.
00:32:43.26\00:32:45.73
That's in
encyclopedia, you can read that.
00:32:45.73\00:32:48.03
Can you imagine that?
00:32:48.03\00:32:49.26
I mean, what would that do
like our country right now,
00:32:49.26\00:32:51.93
one out of three people died.
00:32:51.93\00:32:54.74
And, you know, we
have a plane go down,
00:32:54.74\00:32:58.01
50 people die,
00:32:58.01\00:32:59.04
it's national,
it's headline news.
00:32:59.04\00:33:02.48
You and I can't comprehend it,
00:33:02.48\00:33:03.98
and they didn't
understand what spread it,
00:33:03.98\00:33:06.65
so a lot of people
00:33:06.65\00:33:07.88
that were then
taking care of the dead
00:33:07.88\00:33:09.75
and the dying were
then contracting it,
00:33:09.75\00:33:12.85
and it just kept...
00:33:12.85\00:33:14.76
Do you know how
they finally found a cure
00:33:14.76\00:33:16.22
for the black plague
00:33:16.22\00:33:17.26
or they brought
it to under control?
00:33:17.26\00:33:21.96
They read in Leviticus,
00:33:21.96\00:33:25.30
what the Bible
said about contagion
00:33:25.30\00:33:27.60
and separation from
contaminated individuals,
00:33:27.60\00:33:31.24
they began to do
that, they began to burn
00:33:31.24\00:33:33.68
instead of burying the bodies,
00:33:33.68\00:33:34.71
they began to burn the
clothes, and the bodies,
00:33:34.71\00:33:36.31
and everybody that was infected,
00:33:36.31\00:33:37.58
they maintained separation,
00:33:37.58\00:33:38.88
they tried to
practice some sanitation,
00:33:38.88\00:33:41.08
they finally
brought it under control,
00:33:41.08\00:33:43.02
even though there
were periodic outbreaks
00:33:43.02\00:33:44.79
because the Bubonic plague
00:33:44.79\00:33:46.35
comes from a flea
00:33:46.35\00:33:48.86
that's found on rats.
00:33:48.86\00:33:51.36
And one
interesting fact of history
00:33:51.36\00:33:56.80
is in Italy,
00:33:56.80\00:33:57.87
some of the churches
00:33:57.87\00:33:58.93
began to teach that cats
were connected with witches
00:33:58.93\00:34:02.30
and were of the devil.
00:34:02.30\00:34:03.87
So they began to exterminate
all the cats in Italy.
00:34:03.87\00:34:06.37
There are a lot
of ports in Italy
00:34:06.37\00:34:07.48
that went to
other places in Europe.
00:34:07.48\00:34:09.34
When the cat's
away, what will happen?
00:34:09.34\00:34:12.35
The rats proliferated.
00:34:12.35\00:34:15.08
And the plague
just really spread.
00:34:15.08\00:34:18.39
You know
somewhere in North America,
00:34:18.39\00:34:19.59
where they got a plague of rats?
00:34:19.59\00:34:22.89
New York City,
00:34:22.89\00:34:25.59
they have been trying
everything in the book
00:34:25.59\00:34:27.93
to get rid of the
rats in New York City,
00:34:27.93\00:34:29.63
but there is a
literal plague of rats,
00:34:29.63\00:34:32.00
there's much
underground in New York City
00:34:32.00\00:34:34.10
and so much
garbage out on the streets,
00:34:34.10\00:34:35.67
they're just everywhere.
00:34:35.67\00:34:38.07
Anyway, and believe it or not,
00:34:38.07\00:34:40.61
there are
people in New York City
00:34:40.61\00:34:43.21
that are so concerned
about the welfare of the rats
00:34:43.21\00:34:48.28
that they won't let the
exterminators do their job,
00:34:48.28\00:34:50.39
they think it's inhumane.
00:34:50.39\00:34:52.49
So there are people
campaigning for rat rights.
00:34:52.49\00:34:54.89
So I probably
made some of you mad
00:34:58.23\00:34:59.79
listening right now
because you think that's right,
00:34:59.79\00:35:01.70
they should have rights too.
00:35:01.70\00:35:03.37
Anyway, all right,
that drifted a little bit,
00:35:03.37\00:35:05.97
but it was interesting.
00:35:05.97\00:35:07.47
Going under Wednesday,
opening the fifth seal,
00:35:07.47\00:35:11.71
now here you've got
the cry of the martyrs,
00:35:11.71\00:35:13.71
and this is one we'll
take a little time with.
00:35:13.71\00:35:15.91
Let's read it
together, Revelation Chapter...
00:35:15.91\00:35:19.21
Someone's going to get
ready in a minute to read...
00:35:19.21\00:35:21.52
Yeah, you'll be doing Genesis,
and someone else will do Luke.
00:35:21.52\00:35:24.92
In Revelation 6:9-11,
00:35:24.92\00:35:28.02
"When He opened the fifth seal,
00:35:28.02\00:35:29.29
I saw under the
altar the souls of those,"
00:35:29.29\00:35:32.73
now you notice something?
00:35:32.73\00:35:34.20
During the first Four Horsemen,
the first four, it says,
00:35:34.20\00:35:38.20
"One of the
living creatures said,
00:35:38.20\00:35:39.80
one of the
living creature said,"
00:35:39.80\00:35:41.00
'cause there's only
four living creatures.
00:35:41.00\00:35:42.17
Now they stopped that.
00:35:42.17\00:35:44.31
Now it says, "He
opened the fifth seal,
00:35:44.31\00:35:45.71
and I saw under
the all the altar,
00:35:45.71\00:35:47.58
the souls of those
00:35:47.58\00:35:48.61
who had been slain
for the Word of God
00:35:48.61\00:35:50.08
and for the
testimony which they held,
00:35:50.08\00:35:52.38
and they cried
with a loud voice,
00:35:52.38\00:35:53.98
saying, 'How long,
O Lord, holy and true,
00:35:53.98\00:35:57.55
until you judge
and avenge our blood
00:35:57.55\00:36:00.12
on those who
dwell on the earth,'
00:36:00.12\00:36:02.52
then a white robe was
given to each of them.
00:36:02.52\00:36:04.99
And it was said to them,
00:36:04.99\00:36:06.03
they should rest a
little while longer
00:36:06.03\00:36:07.66
until both the number
00:36:07.66\00:36:10.30
of their fellow
servants and their brethren,
00:36:10.30\00:36:12.37
who would be killed as
they were is completed."
00:36:12.37\00:36:15.44
So it's in the midst of
this terrible persecution.
00:36:15.44\00:36:18.91
All right, now is this a symbol?
00:36:18.91\00:36:20.54
Are there really souls
that are under an altar
00:36:20.54\00:36:25.01
that are crying in heaven?
00:36:25.01\00:36:26.78
So far, everything we're reading
00:36:26.78\00:36:27.82
is pretty symbolic.
00:36:27.82\00:36:28.92
Yet, you'd be surprised
how many pastors read this,
00:36:28.92\00:36:31.89
and they say, "This is proof
that the dead are conscious
00:36:31.89\00:36:36.02
after they die."
00:36:36.02\00:36:37.79
Well, first of all,
00:36:37.79\00:36:38.83
who here would want to be a soul
00:36:38.83\00:36:41.03
under the altar crying?
00:36:41.03\00:36:43.37
And these are the saved.
00:36:43.37\00:36:45.87
And so
obviously, this is a symbol.
00:36:45.87\00:36:47.87
Now what does it mean?
00:36:47.87\00:36:50.14
Look in Revelation 11:18,
00:36:50.14\00:36:53.91
"The nations were angry,
00:36:53.91\00:36:55.51
and your wrath has come,
00:36:55.51\00:36:56.78
and the time of the dead
that they should be judged,
00:36:56.78\00:37:00.18
and that you should reward
your servants, and prophets,
00:37:00.18\00:37:02.28
and the saints,
00:37:02.28\00:37:03.45
and those who fear your
name is small and great,
00:37:03.45\00:37:05.45
and destroy those
who destroy the earth."
00:37:05.45\00:37:07.76
It says there's
a time of judgment,
00:37:07.76\00:37:09.36
that would come
00:37:09.36\00:37:10.63
when this
vindication would happen.
00:37:10.63\00:37:12.43
So here you've got these souls
00:37:12.43\00:37:14.03
that are crying out for justice.
00:37:14.03\00:37:16.03
If you want to
understand Revelation,
00:37:16.03\00:37:17.50
what do you do?
00:37:17.50\00:37:19.30
I've asked you
three times now. Go where?
00:37:19.30\00:37:21.50
Go to the Old Testament.
00:37:21.50\00:37:22.54
Okay, go ahead and
read your verse for us.
00:37:22.54\00:37:24.67
Genesis 4:10,
00:37:24.67\00:37:26.78
"And He said,
'What have you done?
00:37:26.78\00:37:29.28
The voice of
your brother's blood
00:37:29.28\00:37:30.68
cries out to Me
from the ground.'"
00:37:30.68\00:37:33.18
Remember when Cain killed Abel,
00:37:33.18\00:37:36.45
and God says,
00:37:36.45\00:37:37.49
"The voice of your
brother's blood cries."
00:37:37.49\00:37:40.39
Were the little blood cells
there in the Garden of Eden
00:37:40.39\00:37:42.89
crying out or is
that symbolic language
00:37:42.89\00:37:47.23
that whenever
innocent blood was shed,
00:37:47.23\00:37:50.80
it was crying out for justice.
00:37:50.80\00:37:53.67
And so here, it's
talking about a symbol.
00:37:53.67\00:37:57.07
Now where was Abel slain?
00:37:57.07\00:37:59.27
What was the argument
between Cain and Abel?
00:37:59.27\00:38:02.74
About worship.
00:38:02.74\00:38:03.81
They built two
altars, am I right?
00:38:03.81\00:38:06.98
One offered his way,
the other offered God's way.
00:38:06.98\00:38:11.02
And when Abel tried
to appeal to his brother,
00:38:11.02\00:38:14.29
probably standing by
an altar, and saying,
00:38:14.29\00:38:18.16
you know, you
need to follow God,
00:38:18.16\00:38:19.59
and He'll bless and
receive your offering.
00:38:19.59\00:38:21.80
Cain got mad, killed Abel,
00:38:21.80\00:38:24.67
and there you've
got this dead brother
00:38:24.67\00:38:27.04
with the blood by the altar.
00:38:27.04\00:38:28.67
So when it talks
about souls under the altar,
00:38:28.67\00:38:31.87
that's a little clue.
00:38:31.87\00:38:33.78
Look, for
instance, in Hebrews 12:24.
00:38:33.78\00:38:38.55
"To Jesus, the
mediator of the New Covenant
00:38:38.55\00:38:41.45
and to the blood of sprinkling
00:38:41.45\00:38:43.75
that speaks better
things than that of Abel."
00:38:43.75\00:38:47.92
Abel's blood
spoke, and here it says,
00:38:47.92\00:38:50.36
the blood of Christ
speaks better things.
00:38:50.36\00:38:52.73
Isn't this obviously a metaphor?
00:38:52.73\00:38:54.73
The blood doesn't
talk, it's talking about...
00:38:54.73\00:38:56.90
It speaks the righteousness
of the blood of Christ.
00:38:56.90\00:39:00.07
Let me give you another one.
00:39:00.07\00:39:01.84
Matthew 23:35,
00:39:01.84\00:39:04.84
Christ when He
walked down to the temple,
00:39:04.84\00:39:06.41
He pronounces a
curse on the false leaders.
00:39:06.41\00:39:10.15
And He said, "That on
you and on this generation,"
00:39:10.15\00:39:13.85
that He was
talking to back then,
00:39:13.85\00:39:15.45
"may come all of the righteous
bloodshed on the earth,
00:39:15.45\00:39:19.72
from the blood of righteous Abel
00:39:19.72\00:39:22.36
to the blood of
Zechariah, the son of Berechiah,
00:39:22.36\00:39:25.19
whom you murdered between
the temple and the altar."
00:39:25.19\00:39:29.73
So here again,
we're talking about souls
00:39:29.73\00:39:31.33
under the altar,
just people killed.
00:39:31.33\00:39:35.74
Now you may not
know the story off hand,
00:39:35.74\00:39:40.18
the one that Jesus
is referring to here.
00:39:40.18\00:39:42.68
There was a high priest
by the name of Jehoiada,
00:39:42.68\00:39:45.25
the matter of fact,
00:39:45.25\00:39:46.31
he's the longest
living individual
00:39:46.31\00:39:48.35
from the time of Moses onward.
00:39:48.35\00:39:50.02
Moses lived how long?
Hundred and twenty years.
00:39:50.02\00:39:53.05
But during the
time of King Joash,
00:39:53.05\00:39:57.49
Jehoiada the
priest, lived 130 years.
00:39:57.49\00:40:02.26
That was a super duper record.
00:40:02.26\00:40:04.23
He's a very godly priest.
00:40:04.23\00:40:05.33
And as long as
Jehoiada was alive
00:40:05.33\00:40:07.14
and advising the young king,
00:40:07.14\00:40:08.30
remember, he was a boy king,
00:40:08.30\00:40:09.37
seven years old,
00:40:09.37\00:40:10.51
his youth was very good,
00:40:10.51\00:40:12.51
but after Jehoiada died,
00:40:12.51\00:40:14.21
Joash went bad.
00:40:14.21\00:40:15.58
He started to
listen to bad counselors,
00:40:15.58\00:40:17.48
he started to
persecute the prophets,
00:40:17.48\00:40:19.55
he even persecuted
the sons of Jehoiada
00:40:19.55\00:40:22.72
that had saved his life.
00:40:22.72\00:40:24.35
And Zechariah was
a son of Jehoiada,
00:40:24.35\00:40:29.12
who Joash had slain
between the porch and the altar.
00:40:29.12\00:40:34.50
And God said, "I saw that.
00:40:34.50\00:40:36.10
I made a note of that blood.
00:40:36.10\00:40:37.43
It's crying out for justice.
00:40:37.43\00:40:39.13
And on this generation,
00:40:39.13\00:40:40.34
that vengeance
is going to come."
00:40:40.34\00:40:42.10
When Jerusalem was
destroyed in 70 AD,
00:40:42.10\00:40:44.41
Jesus had said,
00:40:44.41\00:40:45.87
"All of the righteous blood
00:40:45.87\00:40:47.88
would be required
of that generation.
00:40:47.88\00:40:49.58
That was a
terrible judgment that came.
00:40:49.58\00:40:52.18
Well, there's
more righteous blood
00:40:52.18\00:40:53.21
that's going to be required
00:40:53.21\00:40:54.25
at the second coming
00:40:54.25\00:40:55.58
for the martyrs
who have perished.
00:40:55.58\00:40:57.29
God's very patient,
00:40:57.29\00:40:58.95
but a day of reckoning comes.
00:40:58.95\00:41:00.22
So is this talking about
the literal state of the dead
00:41:00.22\00:41:03.26
or is that a symbol?
00:41:03.26\00:41:04.86
Got another verse,
00:41:04.86\00:41:05.93
why don't you
read this verse, Bill?
00:41:05.93\00:41:07.10
I think it's Luke 18:7.
00:41:07.10\00:41:09.93
Luke 18:7,
00:41:09.93\00:41:12.17
"And shall not the
Lord avenge His own elect,
00:41:12.17\00:41:16.37
which cry day and night unto Him
00:41:16.37\00:41:18.84
that we bear along with them."
00:41:18.84\00:41:22.51
And it says, "Yes, He
will surely avenge them."
00:41:22.51\00:41:24.25
So you get these
souls onto the altar
00:41:24.25\00:41:26.05
that are crying out for justice.
00:41:26.05\00:41:28.92
And here God
says, God may bear long,
00:41:28.92\00:41:32.72
but there's going to be a time
00:41:32.72\00:41:34.02
when He, of
course, answers prayer,
00:41:34.02\00:41:35.39
and when He visits judgment.
00:41:35.39\00:41:38.19
And so here we've got the...
00:41:38.19\00:41:40.40
That is the fifth seal.
00:41:40.40\00:41:42.36
Now we're going to just
finish up the sixth seal.
00:41:42.36\00:41:44.57
This takes us
through verse 17, and this...
00:41:44.57\00:41:47.97
By the way, this
seal, I want to repeat,
00:41:47.97\00:41:49.47
covers from 517 to 1798.
00:41:49.47\00:41:54.34
This is a time where
there was, by the way,
00:41:54.34\00:41:57.55
Spanish inquisition was
going on during this time.
00:41:57.55\00:42:02.45
So there was a time,
00:42:02.45\00:42:03.59
it's the cry of the
martyrs taking place.
00:42:03.59\00:42:07.69
And, you know, there were
not only martyrs that died
00:42:07.69\00:42:10.06
under the persecution
of the Catholic Church,
00:42:10.06\00:42:13.13
there were martyrs that died
from Protestant persecution.
00:42:13.13\00:42:17.70
You know your history.
00:42:17.70\00:42:19.10
Even Calvin,
00:42:19.10\00:42:20.37
who was a great man of the word,
00:42:20.37\00:42:22.57
he was involved in
having Baptist killed,
00:42:22.57\00:42:27.08
who believed that
you shouldn't baptize
00:42:27.08\00:42:28.84
before you're an adult
00:42:28.84\00:42:30.45
or you shouldn't baptize babies.
00:42:30.45\00:42:31.61
He thought that was a heresy.
00:42:31.61\00:42:32.91
He approved their being killed.
00:42:32.91\00:42:34.62
The Church of the
England that broke away,
00:42:34.62\00:42:37.49
they were
persecuting and killing.
00:42:37.49\00:42:39.89
And you read the bloody
history in North America,
00:42:39.89\00:42:43.29
some of the
pilgrims, the early church,
00:42:43.29\00:42:45.39
it's Roger Williams
who fought against this,
00:42:45.39\00:42:47.50
people were
imprisoned, they were tortured,
00:42:47.50\00:42:49.40
they were killed, if
they were preaching heresy,
00:42:49.40\00:42:51.17
they bore through their tongues,
00:42:51.17\00:42:52.30
they cut off their
ears, it's terrible,
00:42:52.30\00:42:54.30
the stuff that happened.
00:42:54.30\00:42:56.67
And so yes, even up until 1798,
00:42:56.67\00:42:59.11
there was a time
of great persecution.
00:42:59.11\00:43:02.68
Now if you go to the last
seal, the Revelation 6:12,
00:43:02.68\00:43:05.55
"I looked in when He
opened the sixth seal,
00:43:05.55\00:43:08.28
behold there was
a great earthquake,
00:43:08.28\00:43:10.32
and the sun became
black as sackcloth of hair."
00:43:10.32\00:43:13.02
Let me just pause here.
00:43:13.02\00:43:14.42
Sackcloth can be
made out of burlap.
00:43:14.42\00:43:17.09
Anyone remember the
old burlap potato bags?
00:43:17.09\00:43:19.29
Now they're plastic.
00:43:19.29\00:43:22.96
You could see
through that burlap,
00:43:22.96\00:43:25.50
it's like a rough cord.
00:43:25.50\00:43:30.17
Sackcloth made of hair
was very tightly woven,
00:43:30.17\00:43:33.14
no light would get through.
00:43:33.14\00:43:35.44
And so it's telling us that
the sun is completely obscured,
00:43:35.44\00:43:39.25
and the moon became like blood.
00:43:39.25\00:43:40.55
I want to pause right here.
00:43:40.55\00:43:42.52
You'll see many times Joel,
several times in the Bible,
00:43:42.52\00:43:45.09
talks about sun
darkened moon blood,
00:43:45.09\00:43:46.59
sun darkened moon blood,
00:43:46.59\00:43:47.69
sun darkened moon blood,
that usually is a sign of war.
00:43:47.69\00:43:53.33
When cities were set on fire,
00:43:53.33\00:43:54.93
the skies went black with smoke.
00:43:54.93\00:43:57.77
How many of you remember this?
00:43:57.77\00:43:58.80
The Paradise fires this year,
00:43:58.80\00:44:00.94
we were just
enshrouded in smoke.
00:44:00.94\00:44:04.31
Karen and I got
to miss some of it
00:44:04.31\00:44:05.51
'cause we were in Canada
at that part of the time,
00:44:05.51\00:44:07.01
we came back we
couldn't believe it,
00:44:07.01\00:44:08.24
the sun was red,
00:44:08.24\00:44:10.05
the moon at night was red.
00:44:10.05\00:44:12.21
Sun was blocked
out during the day,
00:44:12.21\00:44:14.02
not as obscure as some of this,
00:44:14.02\00:44:16.92
but it was pretty serious.
00:44:16.92\00:44:19.62
And so this was
always a symbol for war.
00:44:19.62\00:44:21.29
But it's talking about
00:44:21.29\00:44:22.72
a great time of
persecution here.
00:44:22.72\00:44:25.16
And then it goes on to say,
00:44:25.16\00:44:26.19
"And the stars of
heaven fell to the earth
00:44:26.19\00:44:28.06
as a fig tree
drops its late figs
00:44:28.06\00:44:30.50
when shaken by a mighty wind."
00:44:30.50\00:44:32.13
They kind of pluck away.
00:44:32.13\00:44:35.77
"And the sky
receded as a scroll."
00:44:35.77\00:44:37.67
If you want to know
where we are in history,
00:44:37.67\00:44:39.17
we are living between
verse 13 and 14 right now
00:44:39.17\00:44:42.88
'cause that has not happened
00:44:42.88\00:44:44.11
where the sky
received it as a scroll.
00:44:44.11\00:44:46.45
"When it is rolled
up and every mountain
00:44:46.45\00:44:48.48
and island was
moved out of its place,
00:44:48.48\00:44:50.89
and the kings of the
earth, and the great men,
00:44:50.89\00:44:52.95
and the rich men,
and the commanders,
00:44:52.95\00:44:54.26
and the mighty
men, and every slave,
00:44:54.26\00:44:55.66
and every free man hid
themselves in the caves,
00:44:55.66\00:44:58.63
and the rocks,
and the mountains,
00:44:58.63\00:45:00.23
and said to the
rocks and the mountains,
00:45:00.23\00:45:02.03
'Fall on us, and hide us
00:45:02.03\00:45:03.30
from the face of Him
that sits on the throne,
00:45:03.30\00:45:06.17
and from the wrath of the Lamb,
00:45:06.17\00:45:08.10
for the great day
of His wrath has come,
00:45:08.10\00:45:10.77
and who is able to stand?'"
00:45:10.77\00:45:13.24
Now when you get to chapter
7, it answers the question.
00:45:13.24\00:45:16.44
Who is able to stand?
00:45:16.44\00:45:17.65
There's a pause right there,
and it introduces the 144,000.
00:45:17.65\00:45:21.55
That's our subject next week.
00:45:21.55\00:45:22.92
You don't get
to the seventh seal
00:45:22.92\00:45:24.92
until you get to
the end of chapter 7
00:45:24.92\00:45:27.16
and into chapter 8.
00:45:27.16\00:45:28.96
And then it says, and
then seventh seal is opened,
00:45:28.96\00:45:31.66
and then it goes
into the seven trumpets.
00:45:31.66\00:45:34.23
And Pastor Ross
gets to deal with that.
00:45:34.23\00:45:37.07
Then what does it mean here
00:45:37.07\00:45:38.80
when it talks
about a great earthquake?
00:45:38.80\00:45:42.10
First of all,
the sun going dark,
00:45:42.10\00:45:44.41
the moon turning to blood,
the stars falling from heaven,
00:45:44.41\00:45:47.24
the heavens being
rolled back as a scroll,
00:45:47.24\00:45:49.18
and a great earthquake,
00:45:49.18\00:45:50.55
those things will
happen in quick succession
00:45:50.55\00:45:53.65
at the second coming.
00:45:53.65\00:45:56.48
But they have happened
historically over time.
00:45:56.48\00:46:01.99
You ought to read
the records of this
00:46:01.99\00:46:03.86
in The Great Controversy.
00:46:03.86\00:46:04.96
The great earthquake
00:46:04.96\00:46:05.99
it's talking about that
affected the regions here
00:46:05.99\00:46:08.66
where the gospel
was being proclaimed
00:46:08.66\00:46:10.57
and the
persecution was happening,
00:46:10.57\00:46:12.47
it's probably the
Lisbon earthquake,
00:46:12.47\00:46:14.27
1755, 20,000 people were killed.
00:46:14.27\00:46:18.34
It wasn't as deadly
as some, but it was felt.
00:46:18.34\00:46:22.74
North Africa, across
Europe, even in the Atlantic
00:46:22.74\00:46:26.01
'cause, of course,
there are people...
00:46:26.01\00:46:29.32
Excuse me, there are
people in 1755 in North America,
00:46:29.32\00:46:32.72
New England.
00:46:32.72\00:46:35.16
The Encyclopedia
Americana states,
00:46:35.16\00:46:37.43
it extended from
Greenland to Africa to America.
00:46:37.43\00:46:40.96
That's a big earthquake.
00:46:40.96\00:46:42.83
You know, we have an
earthquake in Eureka,
00:46:42.83\00:46:44.13
you won't feel it in Sacramento.
00:46:44.13\00:46:47.44
They can have tremors.
00:46:47.44\00:46:48.94
I remember we felt one here,
00:46:48.94\00:46:50.64
but they had over in
Reno couple of years ago.
00:46:50.64\00:46:54.41
But for it to go
across the ocean like that,
00:46:54.41\00:46:56.61
that was massive.
00:46:56.61\00:46:57.65
Probably the Lisbon earthquake.
00:46:57.65\00:46:58.81
Then it says a sun became black.
00:46:58.81\00:47:00.65
This is a great
dark day of history
00:47:00.65\00:47:02.18
that was May 19, 1780.
00:47:02.18\00:47:05.25
When they woke
up in the morning,
00:47:05.25\00:47:06.76
there's not a cloud in the sky.
00:47:06.76\00:47:08.46
It wasn't smoke from any
fires that they could find,
00:47:08.46\00:47:11.06
it's just the sun
just started going dark.
00:47:11.06\00:47:13.60
And they've never been able
00:47:13.60\00:47:14.76
to find a good
explanation for that.
00:47:14.76\00:47:17.87
And chickens went
back into the pen to roost,
00:47:17.87\00:47:22.20
the cows went back to the barn,
00:47:22.20\00:47:24.91
they could not see outdoors
without artificial light.
00:47:24.91\00:47:28.48
It was just the
most uncanny thing
00:47:28.48\00:47:29.88
that had happened
across New England.
00:47:29.88\00:47:31.95
Now you notice what happens,
00:47:31.95\00:47:32.98
these signs seem to follow
00:47:32.98\00:47:34.75
the centers of
where the gospel is.
00:47:34.75\00:47:37.95
Because in Europe,
00:47:37.95\00:47:39.02
that's when the
earthquake happened,
00:47:39.02\00:47:40.26
now you're in the Americas.
00:47:40.26\00:47:41.56
By the way, you
know, I won't say that yet.
00:47:41.56\00:47:46.49
Yeah, the Dark Day in 1780,
00:47:46.49\00:47:49.83
John Adams and some
others comment on this.
00:47:49.83\00:47:54.17
A lot of the
founding fathers, they...
00:47:54.17\00:47:55.47
It was a phenomenon that is...
00:47:55.47\00:47:57.17
they just...
00:47:57.17\00:47:58.21
They thought the
world was ending.
00:47:58.21\00:48:00.04
That night when
the moon came up,
00:48:00.04\00:48:02.98
it was blood red.
00:48:02.98\00:48:04.55
Many took this as a harbinger
00:48:04.55\00:48:06.05
that the end of
the world had arrived.
00:48:06.05\00:48:10.35
Then you got the
stars falling from heaven.
00:48:10.35\00:48:12.59
Now this happened in 1833.
00:48:12.59\00:48:14.72
It's better known as
the Leonid meteorite shower.
00:48:14.72\00:48:19.59
And you could
stand out in the sky,
00:48:19.59\00:48:22.66
the eastern seaboard of the US,
00:48:22.66\00:48:25.07
and it was a constant barrage.
00:48:25.07\00:48:27.27
It's like planet Earth
00:48:27.27\00:48:28.37
had gone through
an asteroid belt.
00:48:28.37\00:48:31.14
And it was just...
00:48:31.14\00:48:32.74
many thought again,
the world was ending.
00:48:32.74\00:48:35.21
I remember one little
statement where Abraham Lincoln,
00:48:35.21\00:48:37.71
someone woke him up,
00:48:37.71\00:48:39.48
and they said, "Abe,
00:48:39.48\00:48:40.75
the world is ending,
come and look at this."
00:48:40.75\00:48:42.28
And he went outside,
and he looked for a while,
00:48:42.28\00:48:44.12
and he said,
00:48:44.12\00:48:45.15
"No, I don't
think the world's ending
00:48:45.15\00:48:46.25
because I can see
behind the shower of stars,
00:48:46.25\00:48:50.46
the great constellations
00:48:50.46\00:48:52.06
are still fixed in their places,
00:48:52.06\00:48:54.03
which means God is
still on the throne,"
00:48:54.03\00:48:55.76
And he went back
in, and went to sleep
00:48:55.76\00:48:57.07
after watching it for a while.
00:48:57.07\00:48:59.53
But so many people
commented on this, it was...
00:48:59.53\00:49:02.24
So these things seem
to happen historically,
00:49:02.24\00:49:04.21
so God could get our attention
00:49:04.21\00:49:06.07
and tell us where we
are on the track of time.
00:49:06.07\00:49:09.81
Do we all know that God,
00:49:09.81\00:49:11.85
that the wheel of
prophecy sometimes moves slowly,
00:49:11.85\00:49:15.25
but it moves surely.
00:49:15.25\00:49:16.28
A day with the
Lord is as 1,000 years
00:49:16.28\00:49:19.99
in 1,000 years as a day.
00:49:19.99\00:49:22.49
And so but we can see
over the course of time
00:49:22.49\00:49:24.79
that we're nearing the end.
00:49:24.79\00:49:25.83
And all you've got to
do is look at the signs
00:49:25.83\00:49:29.06
of what's going on
in the world today.
00:49:29.06\00:49:31.90
The knowledge is increased.
00:49:31.90\00:49:33.90
And then, of course,
00:49:33.90\00:49:34.94
we haven't seen the
heavens depart as a scroll,
00:49:34.94\00:49:36.91
when the Lord
comes, these things happen.
00:49:36.91\00:49:39.11
The great men of the
earth will call for the rocks
00:49:39.11\00:49:41.71
and mountains to hide them
00:49:41.71\00:49:43.01
from the face of Him
that sits on the throne
00:49:43.01\00:49:45.31
that is actually happening
in the context of Jesus coming.
00:49:45.31\00:49:48.52
They're seeing His
coming, and the Christ said,
00:49:48.52\00:49:52.72
all the tribes of
the earth will mourn,
00:49:52.72\00:49:54.82
then they will
see the Son of Man
00:49:54.82\00:49:56.52
coming in the clouds of heaven,
00:49:56.52\00:49:58.09
and this describes
the two final classes.
00:49:58.09\00:50:00.53
One that says,
"Lo, this is our God.
00:50:00.53\00:50:02.96
We've waited for
Him, and He will save us."
00:50:02.96\00:50:04.80
And the other that
runs from His coming.
00:50:04.80\00:50:07.70
Anyway, friends,
we've gotten where we...
00:50:07.70\00:50:09.37
I think we've got through
most of chapter 6 of Revelation
00:50:09.37\00:50:14.38
talking about the seals.
00:50:14.38\00:50:15.68
I want to remind you
that we do have a free offer.
00:50:15.68\00:50:18.18
If you did not catch this
00:50:18.18\00:50:19.41
at the beginning
of the broadcast,
00:50:19.41\00:50:20.92
it's a great study
guide, beautifully illustrated
00:50:20.92\00:50:23.05
called Saved from Certain Death.
00:50:23.05\00:50:25.15
And you can simply
call and ask for it
00:50:25.15\00:50:27.36
by calling 866-788-3966
00:50:27.36\00:50:31.43
or you can text and
look at it on your phone,
00:50:31.43\00:50:34.00
download it, by
texting, "SH060,"
00:50:34.00\00:50:38.83
and you text that to 40544.
00:50:38.83\00:50:42.14
More and more
people are doing things
00:50:42.14\00:50:43.74
on their phone
right now when they study.
00:50:43.74\00:50:46.11
And if you want
us to mail, well,
00:50:46.11\00:50:47.51
that's just for North
America and its territories.
00:50:47.51\00:50:49.98
God bless you, friends.
00:50:49.98\00:50:51.08
We have an interesting
study next week on the 144,000.
00:50:51.08\00:50:54.82
Don't forget to request
00:50:54.82\00:50:55.92
today's life
changing free resource.
00:50:55.92\00:50:58.35
Not only can you receive
this free gift in the mail,
00:50:58.35\00:51:00.62
you can download a digital
copy straight to your computer
00:51:00.62\00:51:03.22
or mobile device.
00:51:03.22\00:51:04.49
To get your digital
copy of today's free gift,
00:51:04.49\00:51:07.23
simply text the keyword
00:51:07.23\00:51:08.53
on your screen to 40544
00:51:08.53\00:51:11.30
or visit the web
address shown on your screen
00:51:11.30\00:51:14.10
and be sure to select
the digital download option
00:51:14.10\00:51:16.54
on the request page.
00:51:16.54\00:51:17.84
It's now easier
than ever for you
00:51:17.84\00:51:19.74
to study God's
Word with Amazing Facts
00:51:19.74\00:51:22.21
wherever and whenever you want,
00:51:22.21\00:51:24.18
and most important,
to share it with others.
00:51:24.18\00:51:26.82
My name is Diana Dixon.
00:51:32.09\00:51:34.02
I'm a professional truck driver.
00:51:34.02\00:51:35.79
On August the 4th, 2011,
00:51:35.79\00:51:38.16
I stopped to
help in an accident.
00:51:38.16\00:51:39.86
Diana Dixon also tried to help.
00:51:39.86\00:51:41.93
She parked her semi, jumped out,
00:51:41.93\00:51:44.03
and headed toward the pickup,
00:51:44.03\00:51:45.83
that's when she saw
vehicles barreling toward her,
00:51:45.83\00:51:48.64
so she reacted by
jumping off 475 to a road below.
00:51:48.64\00:51:53.14
Well, pick up clipped to semi,
00:51:53.14\00:51:55.24
and I stopped to help,
00:51:55.24\00:51:56.31
and I saw a
mirror, so I walked back.
00:51:56.31\00:51:57.98
Gentleman told me, he says,
00:51:57.98\00:51:59.18
"Hey, you know,
everything's okay."
00:51:59.18\00:52:00.35
They called 911.
00:52:00.35\00:52:01.65
And I looked over at the pickup,
00:52:01.65\00:52:03.82
and there was a
black pickup over there,
00:52:03.82\00:52:05.15
and he was okay.
00:52:05.15\00:52:06.22
At about that time, I
don't know how far I walked.
00:52:06.22\00:52:08.59
But I walked far
enough and a semi hit him,
00:52:08.59\00:52:11.99
and it imploded.
00:52:11.99\00:52:14.00
I knew it was going to hit me.
00:52:14.00\00:52:15.16
I had 30 seconds to decide.
00:52:15.16\00:52:17.67
And I decided to jump.
00:52:17.67\00:52:18.93
You know, I
jumped off the bridge.
00:52:18.93\00:52:21.20
My back is broke.
00:52:21.20\00:52:23.97
Where are you at?
00:52:23.97\00:52:25.34
I don't know.
00:52:25.34\00:52:27.44
Fractured my
pelvis in 24 places,
00:52:27.44\00:52:29.74
5 broken ribs,
00:52:29.74\00:52:30.95
C5 neck fracture, I
had a collapsed lung,
00:52:30.95\00:52:34.62
I had a lacerated bladder,
I was bleeding internally.
00:52:34.62\00:52:37.95
I had no marks on
the outside of me at all
00:52:37.95\00:52:40.16
but a scraped on my arm
and scraped the concrete.
00:52:40.16\00:52:42.76
From the chest
down, I was on fire.
00:52:42.76\00:52:45.26
I was a dispatcher for
a year after the accident.
00:52:45.26\00:52:48.63
And I went back,
finished my degree.
00:52:48.63\00:52:51.23
And I went to Pittsburgh
through a backpack on my back,
00:52:51.23\00:52:54.90
walked back like
all the other students,
00:52:54.90\00:52:57.07
I ran a marathon, and I'm...
00:52:57.07\00:52:59.64
Since then I've been
back to truck driving.
00:52:59.64\00:53:02.04
There was a
gentleman I worked with,
00:53:02.04\00:53:03.91
and one day he was walking
in, and he walked up to my desk,
00:53:03.91\00:53:07.12
and I was reading my Bible.
00:53:07.12\00:53:08.72
And he says,
"Are you a believer?"
00:53:08.72\00:53:11.25
And I said, "Yes."
00:53:11.25\00:53:12.65
And he gave me some
Amazing Facts study guides.
00:53:12.65\00:53:16.16
And it just...
00:53:16.16\00:53:17.43
It was an
eye-opening experience for me.
00:53:17.43\00:53:19.43
I mean, I started reading them.
00:53:19.43\00:53:20.56
And I had bunch of
questions to ask him,
00:53:20.56\00:53:22.20
so I got online.
00:53:22.20\00:53:23.60
And I got on the
Amazing Facts webpage.
00:53:23.60\00:53:27.40
And I just
found that information
00:53:27.40\00:53:29.94
just that I'd never known.
00:53:29.94\00:53:31.84
I went back to
work as a truck driver
00:53:31.84\00:53:33.54
because that was my ministry.
00:53:33.54\00:53:35.21
It was my ministry
before the accident.
00:53:35.21\00:53:37.55
And I was driving down the road,
00:53:37.55\00:53:39.71
and I just needed a connection.
00:53:39.71\00:53:41.62
And I was flipping through,
00:53:41.62\00:53:42.72
and somehow I
ended up on YouTube.
00:53:42.72\00:53:44.92
And next thing I
know, Amazing Facts,
00:53:44.92\00:53:47.49
one of those things
would come up during night,
00:53:47.49\00:53:49.29
and I'd listened to it.
00:53:49.29\00:53:50.36
I'm driving down the road.
00:53:50.36\00:53:51.43
I got 11 hours of driving.
00:53:51.43\00:53:54.10
So I listened to one, I
listened to another one,
00:53:54.10\00:53:57.23
and the more I listened to him,
00:53:57.23\00:53:58.50
everything that I
thought in my heart,
00:53:58.50\00:54:00.60
I just clicked on
the one on YouTube's,
00:54:00.60\00:54:02.44
and there he was
giving me the answer.
00:54:02.44\00:54:04.41
I walked in
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:54:04.41\00:54:05.91
for the first
time, and I felt at home.
00:54:05.91\00:54:09.21
I was baptized in the
Seventh-day Adventist church
00:54:09.21\00:54:12.18
because I had found the truth
that I just was searching for
00:54:12.18\00:54:16.52
and I've been praying about.
00:54:16.52\00:54:17.82
Amazing Facts has
been such an inspiration
00:54:17.82\00:54:20.96
and important
00:54:20.96\00:54:22.29
for my coming back into ministry
00:54:22.29\00:54:25.43
that I want to
be able to give back
00:54:25.43\00:54:26.53
to anyone that I can.
00:54:26.53\00:54:27.76
And Amazing Facts is
the backbone of my ministry.
00:54:27.76\00:54:33.57
My name is Diana Dixon.
00:54:33.57\00:54:35.57
Thank you for changing my life.
00:54:35.57\00:54:37.31
What can be more
irresistible than a kitten?
00:54:54.82\00:54:57.33
These guys might look cute now
00:54:57.33\00:54:58.93
but some of their ancestors
have grown into man-eaters.
00:54:58.93\00:55:01.86
We're here in a lion
park in South Africa now
00:55:06.74\00:55:08.94
where we can
view these creatures
00:55:08.94\00:55:10.41
in well of a
safety, but there's a reason
00:55:10.41\00:55:12.64
they're known as
the king of beasts.
00:55:12.64\00:55:15.34
So what is it that
people find so enchanting
00:55:15.34\00:55:17.31
and frightening about lions?
00:55:17.31\00:55:18.95
Is it their speed, their claws,
00:55:18.95\00:55:21.38
their sharp teeth
or all of the above?
00:55:21.38\00:55:23.92
Might also be
some of the stories
00:55:23.92\00:55:25.49
about man-eating lions,
00:55:25.49\00:55:27.19
like in 1898,
right here in Africa,
00:55:27.19\00:55:30.16
they were building a bridge
over the Tsavo River in Kenya,
00:55:30.16\00:55:33.60
and two brother lions
00:55:33.60\00:55:35.06
terrorized the
construction process
00:55:35.06\00:55:37.43
eating 135 workers.
00:55:37.43\00:55:41.74
Did you know lions
are mentioned in the Bible
00:55:41.74\00:55:43.64
over a hundred times?
00:55:43.64\00:55:44.97
And you can
find them all the way
00:55:44.97\00:55:46.47
from Genesis to Revelation.
00:55:46.47\00:55:48.38
It's usually in
reference to their ferocity
00:55:48.38\00:55:50.58
and how dangerous they are.
00:55:50.58\00:55:52.28
Of course, Samson killed
a lion with his bare hands,
00:55:52.28\00:55:55.05
David killed a lion,
00:55:55.05\00:55:56.48
there are
man-eating lions in the Bible.
00:55:56.48\00:55:58.65
The way that
they punish criminals
00:55:58.65\00:56:00.36
was by throwing
them in the lion's den.
00:56:00.36\00:56:02.69
And early Christians
were even fed to Lions.
00:56:02.69\00:56:05.89
But amazingly,
00:56:05.89\00:56:07.03
as the Bible mentions not
all lions are to be feared,
00:56:07.03\00:56:10.10
there had been a few
friendly lions in history.
00:56:10.10\00:56:12.87
For example, in the 1950s,
00:56:12.87\00:56:15.40
a couple, George
and Margaret Westbeau,
00:56:15.40\00:56:18.11
who lived up at a ranch
near Seattle, Washington,
00:56:18.11\00:56:21.11
adopted an abandoned lion cub.
00:56:21.11\00:56:23.91
They named it Little Tyke
'cause they felt sorry for it.
00:56:23.91\00:56:26.82
But they discovered as
they tried to feed her,
00:56:26.82\00:56:29.52
she refused to
eat any meat at all.
00:56:29.52\00:56:32.65
They were concerned thinking
00:56:32.65\00:56:33.72
there was no hope
00:56:33.72\00:56:34.76
for this little
lioness to survive,
00:56:34.76\00:56:36.32
and everybody told them the same
00:56:36.32\00:56:38.13
because we know in the wild,
00:56:38.13\00:56:39.59
lions survive on
almost entirely meat diet.
00:56:39.59\00:56:43.16
Then someone
showed the Westbeaus
00:56:43.16\00:56:44.87
that verse in the Bible
that talks about in heaven,
00:56:44.87\00:56:47.77
the animals are vegetarians,
00:56:47.77\00:56:49.47
and the lion will
eat straw like the ox.
00:56:49.47\00:56:52.91
That encouraged them,
00:56:52.91\00:56:54.21
and so they began
to feed Little Tyke
00:56:54.21\00:56:56.31
a purely vegetarian diet.
00:56:56.31\00:56:58.61
Not only did she survive,
00:56:58.61\00:57:00.38
she thrived growing into a lion
00:57:00.38\00:57:02.68
that was over 352
pounds and over 10 feet long.
00:57:02.68\00:57:07.66
In fact, zoologists
that examined Little Tyke
00:57:07.66\00:57:09.96
when she was full grown said,
00:57:09.96\00:57:11.06
they had never seen
00:57:11.06\00:57:12.33
such a perfect specimen
of a lioness in their life,
00:57:12.33\00:57:15.90
a pure vegetarian.
00:57:15.90\00:57:18.00
You know, when we
hear incredible stories
00:57:18.00\00:57:19.67
about that of Little Tyke,
00:57:19.67\00:57:21.37
it reminds us that
God's original plan
00:57:21.37\00:57:23.67
was to make a
world of total peace.
00:57:23.67\00:57:26.24
It describes it here in
the Bible on Isaiah 11:6,
00:57:26.24\00:57:29.94
"The wolf also will
dwell with the lamb,
00:57:29.94\00:57:32.61
the leopard will lie
down with the young goat.
00:57:32.61\00:57:34.92
The calf and the young
lion and the fatling together,
00:57:34.92\00:57:37.75
and a little
child will lead them."
00:57:37.75\00:57:40.02
Nothing is going to hurt
and destroy in the new heavens
00:57:40.02\00:57:42.69
and the new earth that
God is going to create.
00:57:42.69\00:57:44.79
Wouldn't you like
to live in a kingdom
00:57:44.79\00:57:46.23
with His perfect peace
00:57:46.23\00:57:47.40
where there's no more
death or killing or pain?
00:57:47.40\00:57:50.80
God says that He
wants you in that kingdom.
00:57:50.80\00:57:53.54
The Lamb of God
made it possible for you
00:57:53.54\00:57:56.40
to have an encounter
00:57:56.40\00:57:57.71
with the lion of
the tribe of Judah.
00:57:57.71\00:57:59.64
Wouldn't you like
to meet Him today?
00:57:59.64\00:58:01.08