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Shawn Brummund: Hello and
welcome to the "Sabbath School
00:00:35.80\00:00:38.30
Study Hour."
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It's so good to be able to have
you here, joining us as we come
00:00:39.60\00:00:42.47
together to be able to study one
of my favorite books, which is
00:00:42.50\00:00:45.27
the book of Daniel.
00:00:45.31\00:00:47.34
And we're going to continue to
look at that as we look at one
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of the most complex and
interesting prophecies and
00:00:50.05\00:00:53.95
chapters that we have which is
Daniel chapter 11 and the study
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guide or study lesson that we're
looking at is "From North to
00:00:57.99\00:01:01.66
South to the Beautiful Land."
00:01:01.69\00:01:04.36
And so we're going to be able to
unpack that as Pastor Luccas is
00:01:04.39\00:01:07.30
going to be
teaching for us here today.
00:01:07.36\00:01:09.40
It's always good to be able to
have all those who are watching
00:01:09.43\00:01:11.80
online as well as different
television stations as we
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continue to study
this very important book.
00:01:15.80\00:01:19.51
Now, before we get into our
study and we get into our song
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service, I want to take an
opportunity to invite you to
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take advantage of a free offer
that we have and we always like
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to give out a free gift offer
each and every time we come
00:01:28.35\00:01:31.32
and study, and today it
is called "The Final Events."
00:01:31.35\00:01:34.66
"The Final Events
of Bible Prophecy."
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And so please
take advantage of that.
00:01:37.73\00:01:39.56
Just go and--ahead and dial into
1-866-788-3966 and ask for the
00:01:39.59\00:01:46.90
free offer number 856.
00:01:46.94\00:01:50.67
Now for those of you who may be
interested in a personal digital
00:01:50.71\00:01:55.48
download, we also offer that for
free and you can get--you can
00:01:55.51\00:01:58.88
actually access that on the
Internet from anywhere in the
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world, unlike the actual
physical copy which we will
00:02:01.45\00:02:04.39
offer to those who
live in North America.
00:02:04.42\00:02:07.26
So if you have a phone, go
ahead and text the code "SH057."
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You want to text
that to the number 40544.
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And I know that you will be
blessed if you go ahead and take
00:02:18.30\00:02:20.40
advantage of that free offer.
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So before we get into our lesson
study here today, we're going to
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invite our singers to come
forward as we praise the Lord
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in song.
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¤¤¤
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¤ Be still, my soul ¤
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¤ The Lord is ¤
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¤ On thy side ¤
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¤ With patience bear ¤
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¤ The cross of grief ¤
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¤ Or pain ¤
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¤ Leave to thy God ¤
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¤ To order ¤
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¤ And provide ¤
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¤ In ev'ry change ¤
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¤ He faithful ¤
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¤ Will remain ¤
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¤ Be still, my soul ¤
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¤ Thy heav'nly Friend ¤
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¤ Will lead ¤
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¤ To a joyful end ¤
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¤¤¤
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¤ Be still, my soul ¤
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¤ Thy God ¤
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¤ Doth undertake ¤
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¤ To guide the future ¤
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¤ As He has ¤
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¤ The past ¤
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¤ Thy hope, thy confidence ¤
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¤ Let nothing shake ¤
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¤ All now mysterious ¤
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¤ Shall be bright at last ¤
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¤¤¤
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¤ When disappointment ¤
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¤ Grief, and fear are gone ¤
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¤ Sorrow forgot ¤
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¤ Love's purest joys restored ¤
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¤¤¤
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¤ Be still, my soul ¤
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¤ When change ¤
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¤ And tears are past ¤
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¤ We shall meet ¤
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¤ At last ¤
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¤¤¤
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Shawn: What a blessing, amen?
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Let's pray.
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Father in heaven, we are so
privileged to be able to come
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here together to worship You.
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We thank You so
much for Your Bible.
00:08:00.24\00:08:02.18
We thank You for the prophecies
that You have revealed through
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Your servant Daniel.
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And, Lord, we are thankful that,
again, as we study this lesson
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and this chapter that we're
reminded that You are sovereign,
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that You are in control of all
things, that You are the Alpha
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and the Omega, You know
the beginning from the end.
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And, Lord, that You are working
all things together for good for
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the salvation of as
many of us as possible.
00:08:21.76\00:08:25.00
And, Lord, as we look at this
today, we want to pray that You
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will bless our teacher, Pastor
Luccas, as he leads out in this
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study and, God, that You will
guide each and every one of us,
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both those here in Granite
Bay Church and those who are
00:08:33.48\00:08:36.01
watching online on
different television networks.
00:08:36.04\00:08:38.18
Lord, that You will bless us and
guide us with Your Spirit and
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teach us and lead
us into all truth.
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In Jesus' name
we pray, God, amen.
00:08:43.72\00:08:46.89
This morning we are privileged
to be able to have our youth
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pastor, Pastor Luccas, as
he teaches our lesson study.
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God bless you, Luccas.
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Luccas Rodor: Happy Sabbath.
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It is an honor and a privilege
to be here with you today and we
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have a very interesting
study planned out for today.
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I'll admit
something to you guys.
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I was very humbled this week as
I studied this lesson for a few
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different reasons.
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Daniel chapter 11 has been one
of the most challenging chapters
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to study prophetically
and historically for a number
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of reasons, and in my personal
opinion, it's among two--
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the two most difficult
chapters to be understood
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in the whole Bible.
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So we have Daniel 11 in the
Old Testament and then we have
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Revelation chapter 17 in
the New Testament that are quite
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challenging for a few reasons.
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But, as I studied this
week, there was one thing that
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resonated again and again and
again in my mind as I studied
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this, is that overall, after all
the details, after all the kings
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and the battles and the
controversies and the political
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plots and all of that, there's
one thing that we can be certain
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of: God is always in control.
00:10:02.06\00:10:07.30
God is always in control.
00:10:07.34\00:10:09.20
If there's one thing that
emerges by the study of this
00:10:09.24\00:10:11.51
chapter, is that God
is always in control.
00:10:11.54\00:10:14.78
Now, when it comes to chapter
11, it becomes very easy to lose
00:10:14.81\00:10:18.41
the forest for the trees, if
you understand what I'm saying.
00:10:18.45\00:10:22.75
Because there's just so many
details and there's just so much
00:10:22.78\00:10:25.32
history packed into 45 verses
that if we take too long on one
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or two or even ten verses, we're
going to lose our whole study.
00:10:29.56\00:10:33.96
So today, don't be disappointed
if we jump over major sections
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of history because
there's two options.
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Either we spend an hour talking
about 2 verses or we spend the
00:10:40.84\00:10:45.54
40 minutes that we have talking
about 45, and that's what we're
00:10:45.57\00:10:48.84
going to do.
00:10:48.88\00:10:50.51
So don't be disappointed if
we jump over a few sections of
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history here because many of
these sections, they are easily
00:10:52.71\00:10:57.72
traceable and you can easily
study them in history books
00:10:57.75\00:11:01.72
for yourself.
00:11:01.76\00:11:03.86
All you have to do is open up
Scripture, open up history, and
00:11:03.89\00:11:05.89
you'll see that there are--that
it becomes fairly easy for you
00:11:05.93\00:11:08.80
to at least up to verse 39
you can easily accompany history
00:11:08.83\00:11:13.90
through the Bible and so
you can do that yourself.
00:11:13.94\00:11:17.24
But, from the get-go, I want
to make two things very clear.
00:11:17.27\00:11:21.74
First of all, Daniel's vision
in chapter 11, it's part of a
00:11:21.78\00:11:28.15
bigger section.
00:11:28.18\00:11:31.92
When it comes to the last vision
of the book of Daniel, you can't
00:11:31.95\00:11:34.32
isolate chapter 11 because
chapter 11 is the middle, it's
00:11:34.36\00:11:38.59
the body of the vision that
begins in chapter 10 and that
00:11:38.63\00:11:42.43
ends in chapter 12.
00:11:42.46\00:11:45.23
So chapter 10 is the
introduction or the prolog.
00:11:45.27\00:11:48.04
Chapter 11 is the
body of this vision.
00:11:48.07\00:11:51.47
And then chapter 12 is the
epilog or the conclusion of
00:11:51.51\00:11:53.68
the vision, so
keep that in mind.
00:11:53.71\00:11:56.28
We already began this
study last week with chapter 10.
00:11:56.31\00:11:58.85
Today, we're going to get the
full body, the content of the
00:11:58.88\00:12:01.28
vision, and then in chapter 12,
you'll have the conclusion with
00:12:01.32\00:12:04.69
Michael standing up.
00:12:04.72\00:12:07.62
And so that's going to be
a very exciting study also.
00:12:07.66\00:12:10.93
The second thing that we can
make that becomes very clear is
00:12:10.96\00:12:14.36
that chapter 11 is
parallel to other major visions.
00:12:14.40\00:12:19.00
So this is very important.
00:12:19.03\00:12:21.97
When you understand that
chapter 11, it's not isolated.
00:12:22.00\00:12:25.54
The historical content, the
details, they're not isolated
00:12:25.57\00:12:28.81
inside of that vision itself,
but you find major parallels
00:12:28.84\00:12:32.55
inside of the other prophetic
visions and the other prophetic
00:12:32.58\00:12:35.55
chapters of Daniel.
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So you'll find a lot of parallel
within verse 2 with Daniel--with
00:12:37.32\00:12:40.29
Daniel 8:20, with Daniel 8:21.
00:12:40.32\00:12:43.86
So Daniel 8 and Daniel 9 have
many parallels with chapter 11.
00:12:43.89\00:12:49.26
So when you understand
that, it becomes a lot easier to
00:12:49.30\00:12:51.47
interpret chapter 11 because if
I can get the details from that
00:12:51.50\00:12:54.80
chapter and compare it with the
previous chapters that cover the
00:12:54.84\00:12:58.37
same period of time, although
through different perspectives,
00:12:58.41\00:13:03.08
it becomes easier to
identify what's going on.
00:13:03.11\00:13:06.01
Does that make sense?
00:13:06.05\00:13:07.95
So you've got
the previous visions.
00:13:07.98\00:13:10.52
You see what
they're talking about.
00:13:10.55\00:13:11.92
You go to chapter 11,
that's a bit more complicated
00:13:11.95\00:13:13.32
and confusing.
00:13:13.36\00:13:14.72
You compare that to
the previous chapters.
00:13:14.76\00:13:16.52
Then you can have a
clear understanding of what's
00:13:16.56\00:13:18.39
happening, of what's going on.
00:13:18.43\00:13:21.30
Also, and here's a really
interesting thing, each chapter,
00:13:21.33\00:13:23.73
each prophetic chapter, their
outline reaches its culmination
00:13:23.77\00:13:29.04
in the fact that God the Most
High, Yahweh, He is in control
00:13:29.07\00:13:34.01
of history.
00:13:34.04\00:13:35.94
He is in control
as we already stated.
00:13:35.98\00:13:38.61
So for example, in
chapter 2, what happens?
00:13:38.65\00:13:40.55
How does God emerge?
00:13:40.58\00:13:42.22
He is the rock that smashes
the feet of history, right?
00:13:42.25\00:13:45.39
In chapter 7, He is the Son of
man that receives the kingdom.
00:13:45.42\00:13:49.29
In chapter 8 and 9, He is the
one that cleanses the sanctuary.
00:13:49.32\00:13:53.16
So if there's one thing that
emerges as a pattern in Daniel
00:13:53.19\00:13:56.10
is that God is in control, is
that the climax, the closing of
00:13:56.13\00:14:00.54
history, is done by
none other than God.
00:14:00.57\00:14:03.24
No one else has that power.
00:14:03.27\00:14:04.57
No one else has that authority.
00:14:04.61\00:14:05.97
God is always in control.
00:14:06.01\00:14:08.11
Now, while the lesson does give
us a good breakdown of these
00:14:08.14\00:14:11.28
sections, another thing
to understand here from the
00:14:11.31\00:14:13.48
beginning is that the whole
chapter, chapter 11, can be
00:14:13.52\00:14:16.75
divided in two major arcs,
two major divisions of history.
00:14:16.79\00:14:20.72
So you get from chapter 11,
verse 1 through 22, that is the
00:14:20.76\00:14:24.89
first arc, the first
division, of the chapter.
00:14:24.93\00:14:27.50
And then from verse 23
through 45 is the second.
00:14:27.50\00:14:31.00
Now, of course, inside of these
major divisions, these major
00:14:31.03\00:14:34.17
sections, these arcs, there are
subdivisions but, basically, you
00:14:34.20\00:14:41.14
can--you could divide the
chapter in these two parts and
00:14:41.18\00:14:43.68
the reason for that is because
from 1 to 22, everything that
00:14:43.71\00:14:46.68
happens, happens BC, before the
Prince of the Covenant appears,
00:14:46.72\00:14:52.19
and then from 23 all the way
through 45, that is after the
00:14:52.22\00:14:55.82
Prince of the Covenant.
00:14:55.86\00:14:57.96
So in the same way in which
the Bible is divided between Old
00:14:57.99\00:15:00.50
Testament and New Testament,
this chapter can be divided
00:15:00.53\00:15:03.06
between what happens
before Jesus and what happens
00:15:03.10\00:15:06.57
after Jesus.
00:15:06.60\00:15:08.57
So let's keep that in mind.
00:15:08.60\00:15:11.01
So we won't be able
to cover everything.
00:15:11.04\00:15:12.67
It'll be enough for us to
have a main outline of what is
00:15:12.71\00:15:14.81
going on.
00:15:14.84\00:15:17.45
The chapter begins describing
the transition--the transition
00:15:17.48\00:15:22.22
from the Medo-Persian
empire to the Greek empire.
00:15:22.25\00:15:26.32
Okay, that's what we find here.
00:15:26.35\00:15:28.32
And this is the reason for
verses 1 and 2, for us to see
00:15:28.36\00:15:30.73
the transition that goes
from Medo-Persia and we find
00:15:30.76\00:15:33.36
this already.
00:15:33.40\00:15:35.86
In chapter 2 we found that the
succession of kingdoms goes from
00:15:35.90\00:15:37.93
Babylon to
Medo-Persia to Greece to Rome.
00:15:37.97\00:15:40.30
In chapter 7 you find
the same kind of outline.
00:15:40.34\00:15:42.40
In--with the animals,
the four animals that emerge.
00:15:42.44\00:15:44.61
In chapter 8 you find that with
the ram with two horns and the
00:15:44.64\00:15:47.61
goat, so this
is a parallel here.
00:15:47.64\00:15:49.61
And in verse 2--actually 1
through 4, we find this outline
00:15:49.64\00:15:53.78
where Daniel, he receives
this vision of Medo-Persia
00:15:53.82\00:15:57.42
transitioning into Greece.
00:15:57.45\00:16:02.89
Verse 1 and verse 2,
they give us some information.
00:16:02.92\00:16:05.53
We're not going to read them but
we find some information here
00:16:05.56\00:16:08.56
about these kings that emerge.
00:16:08.60\00:16:10.60
It mentions three kings and then
a fourth one that is very rich.
00:16:10.63\00:16:13.74
Now, the first text,
I'm going to read it for us.
00:16:13.77\00:16:17.77
It'll be--it'll become easier.
00:16:17.81\00:16:20.18
It says here in verse 2: "And
now I will tell you the truth:
00:16:20.21\00:16:22.81
Behold, three more kings will
arise in Persia, and the fourth
00:16:22.84\00:16:26.78
shall be far richer than them
all; by his strength, through
00:16:26.82\00:16:30.62
his riches, he shall stir up
all against the realm of Greece.
00:16:30.65\00:16:35.12
Then a mighty king shall
arise, who shall rule with great
00:16:35.16\00:16:38.56
dominion, and do
according to his will.
00:16:38.59\00:16:40.93
And when he has arisen, his
kingdom shall be broken up and
00:16:40.96\00:16:43.67
divided toward the four
heavens--the four winds of
00:16:43.70\00:16:46.47
heaven, but not among his
posterity nor according to his
00:16:46.50\00:16:49.94
dominion with which he
ruled; for his kingdom shall be
00:16:49.97\00:16:52.91
uprooted, even for others
beside these--besides these."
00:16:52.94\00:16:58.41
So here we have a reference
to these three kings, three
00:16:58.45\00:17:01.08
mysterious kings that emerge in
the chapter, then a fourth very
00:17:01.12\00:17:04.55
rich king.
00:17:04.59\00:17:06.39
And the sequence that we
find in history is exactly this.
00:17:06.42\00:17:08.22
This vision is given to Daniel.
00:17:08.26\00:17:10.09
Beginning in Daniel chapter 10,
you'll find that the king that
00:17:10.13\00:17:12.69
is in command is who?
00:17:12.73\00:17:14.66
Cyrus.
00:17:14.73\00:17:16.13
He is the king in charge.
00:17:16.16\00:17:18.13
But the succession of history
gives us three kings: Cambyses,
00:17:18.17\00:17:20.64
the false
Smerdis, and then Darius I.
00:17:20.67\00:17:24.04
These three kings, it's really
interesting when you study
00:17:24.07\00:17:27.31
their life.
00:17:27.34\00:17:29.68
Cambyses, he arises.
00:17:29.71\00:17:31.45
He has a lot of stuff going on.
00:17:31.48\00:17:33.18
He kills his brother, Smerdis.
00:17:33.21\00:17:34.95
He then goes on
to campaign in Egypt.
00:17:34.98\00:17:37.25
While he's there, this false
king, the false Smerdis, he
00:17:37.29\00:17:40.82
arises and then Cambyses
takes--he takes notice of this.
00:17:40.86\00:17:43.69
He hears about this, and he's on
his way back to the capital to
00:17:43.73\00:17:46.26
take care of this problem
and on this way back he dies.
00:17:46.29\00:17:50.87
Now, many say that
he committed suicide.
00:17:50.90\00:17:53.17
Others say that
it was an accident.
00:17:53.20\00:17:55.17
But what we do know is
that Cambyses dies and then this
00:17:55.20\00:17:58.14
false Smerdis, he also doesn't
last that long on the throne.
00:17:58.17\00:18:01.61
King Darius, who wasn't a direct
line to the throne, he takes up
00:18:01.64\00:18:05.31
power through his
military conquests and so that's
00:18:05.35\00:18:09.05
basically what
happens in this time period.
00:18:09.08\00:18:12.12
The following king that appears
in verse 2 is none other than
00:18:12.15\00:18:15.99
Xerxes, and Xerxes, he is the
same king that we find in the
00:18:16.02\00:18:19.13
book of Esther,
that's the same Xerxes.
00:18:19.16\00:18:21.53
He is a very wealthy king and he
is mentioned here because he is
00:18:21.56\00:18:24.07
the king that battles,
that takes war into Greece.
00:18:24.10\00:18:28.54
He is one of the only two kings
in Medo-Persian history that
00:18:28.57\00:18:32.14
fights or that invades Greece.
00:18:32.17\00:18:36.08
Now, the Greeks, they
can't do anything immediately.
00:18:36.11\00:18:38.71
They cannot
retaliate immediately.
00:18:38.75\00:18:40.45
They're not strong enough
so over a century later, over a
00:18:40.48\00:18:43.15
century later, they do invade
Medo-Persia and that happens
00:18:43.18\00:18:48.09
under Alexander the Great, the
Great King, Alexander Magnum as
00:18:48.12\00:18:51.39
many call him.
00:18:51.43\00:18:53.50
And all of this
happens under him.
00:18:53.53\00:18:56.26
He invades the Medo-Persian
empire and we find here in these
00:18:56.30\00:18:59.73
few verses, in these two
or three verses, we find that
00:18:59.77\00:19:02.70
Alexander the Great, he conquers
the known world in a very short
00:19:02.74\00:19:06.37
period of time.
00:19:06.41\00:19:08.14
And again, this draws a parallel
to the other chapters where we
00:19:08.18\00:19:10.31
find the
leopard with four wings.
00:19:10.35\00:19:13.15
Remember that?
00:19:13.18\00:19:14.68
The leopard with four wings in
chapter 7, and then in chapter
00:19:14.72\00:19:16.92
8, we have the goat that runs so
fast that he doesn't even touch
00:19:16.95\00:19:19.59
the ground.
00:19:19.62\00:19:21.26
And that represents Alexander
the Great, the first great Greek
00:19:21.29\00:19:23.83
king that conquers the known
world in a very short period of
00:19:23.86\00:19:26.66
time, but at the height of his
power when he's 32 years old,
00:19:26.70\00:19:29.96
he also falls, he dies,
and his kingdom is then divided
00:19:30.00\00:19:33.37
among his four generals.
00:19:33.40\00:19:35.77
What's interesting is that
Alexander, he did have a young
00:19:35.80\00:19:38.57
son but his young son, as the
prophecy foretold, this young
00:19:38.61\00:19:42.51
boy, he doesn't inherit any of
his father's lands or power or
00:19:42.54\00:19:45.98
any of that, and the land
is then divided, the empire is
00:19:46.01\00:19:48.62
divided, among the four
kings, so--the four generals.
00:19:48.65\00:19:53.76
So what we find here is that the
general, Seleucus, he has--he is
00:19:53.79\00:19:59.16
in command of
Syria and Mesopotamia.
00:19:59.19\00:20:01.50
This is the great lighter
green portion right here.
00:20:01.53\00:20:04.67
We have Ptolemy down
in the South with Egypt.
00:20:04.70\00:20:07.20
We have Lysimachus in Thrace and
parts of Asia Minor right there,
00:20:07.24\00:20:11.01
up there in the Northwest.
00:20:11.04\00:20:13.27
And then in the West over there,
we have the last of his generals
00:20:13.31\00:20:18.58
which was Cassander with
Macedonia and with Greece.
00:20:18.61\00:20:22.55
So that's the
main map that we have.
00:20:22.58\00:20:24.89
Now, from verses 5 through
15 and if it seems that I'm
00:20:24.92\00:20:28.26
rushing, I am because I
want to get to a certain part of
00:20:28.29\00:20:31.13
history here.
00:20:31.16\00:20:33.70
This, we already mostly studied.
00:20:33.73\00:20:35.70
If you accompany chapter 7,
chapter 8, then you already know
00:20:35.73\00:20:37.37
about this.
00:20:37.40\00:20:39.57
But from verse 5 through 15
of Daniel 11, what we find is an
00:20:39.60\00:20:44.71
outline of the battles of
two of these dynasties, the two
00:20:44.74\00:20:49.38
prominent ones and the
two most important ones.
00:20:49.41\00:20:52.45
We find the battles of
the northern king and the
00:20:52.48\00:20:54.75
southern king.
00:20:54.78\00:20:56.25
Now, these two generals,
Seleucus and Ptolemy, they were
00:20:56.28\00:20:59.95
the ones who amassed
most power, most dominion.
00:21:00.06\00:21:02.79
They were the ones that if you
take a look and this is why this
00:21:02.82\00:21:06.33
is so important.
00:21:06.36\00:21:08.20
So, if you take a look at the
map, you'll find that the king
00:21:08.23\00:21:12.17
of the North in this area and
the king of the South in this
00:21:12.20\00:21:15.10
area, what do
they have between them?
00:21:15.14\00:21:17.27
They have Judea.
00:21:17.31\00:21:20.54
So that's why we have so much
information about the king of
00:21:20.58\00:21:23.45
the North and the king of the
South, first because they were
00:21:23.48\00:21:25.95
the two generals that
emerge as the most powerful.
00:21:25.98\00:21:29.65
But second of all, it's because
they were the ones who were in a
00:21:29.68\00:21:32.49
position to oppress
the children of God.
00:21:32.52\00:21:34.66
Now, one of the main questions
that arises, that a lot of
00:21:34.69\00:21:37.39
people ask is,
"Well, you know what?
00:21:37.43\00:21:39.16
Prophecy is talking about an
outline of history but why does
00:21:39.19\00:21:41.93
it not mention other
great nations, such as China?
00:21:41.96\00:21:45.37
We know that China had
great dynasties, very powerful
00:21:45.40\00:21:48.50
dynasties.
00:21:48.54\00:21:49.84
What about the
Aztecs, here in South America?
00:21:49.87\00:21:52.37
Why doesn't prophecy mention
these empires, these kingdoms?"
00:21:52.41\00:21:55.51
It's very simple.
00:21:55.54\00:21:57.11
As powerful and as influent as
these nations were, they didn't
00:21:57.15\00:22:01.95
have a lot of relevance when
it comes to the children of God.
00:22:01.98\00:22:06.96
What we find in history, what we
find in prophecy, is that these
00:22:06.99\00:22:10.16
nations that are mentioned
in prophecy, they have direct
00:22:10.19\00:22:13.09
impact on Judea, on
the children of God.
00:22:13.13\00:22:16.00
So that's why we
find these mentioned.
00:22:16.03\00:22:17.93
At this time, these two nations,
they weren't even the most
00:22:17.97\00:22:20.44
powerful in the planet.
00:22:20.47\00:22:22.07
There were other
arising powers on the horizon.
00:22:22.10\00:22:26.01
Rome appears and we don't
get the beginning of Rome.
00:22:26.04\00:22:28.71
When Rome appears in this
story, it's already a power.
00:22:28.74\00:22:31.78
So you see that what the Bible's
mentioning here are empires or
00:22:31.81\00:22:35.48
countries, kings, powers, that
impacted directly the children
00:22:35.52\00:22:39.95
of God in Judea.
00:22:39.99\00:22:41.36
That's what we find here.
00:22:41.39\00:22:43.09
So here we have a great outline
of the battle of the kings of
00:22:43.12\00:22:46.03
the North and the
kings of the South.
00:22:46.06\00:22:47.83
Again, this is fairly simple
for you to research in history.
00:22:47.86\00:22:51.20
Here we have, basically, five
or six kings on each side that a
00:22:51.23\00:22:55.24
lot happens among them.
00:22:55.27\00:22:57.37
They battle, they fight.
00:22:57.41\00:22:59.27
Judea is going from one
to the other, constantly.
00:22:59.31\00:23:02.41
Not only do they battle,
but there is a lot of political
00:23:02.44\00:23:04.71
drama, all right,
political policies that happen.
00:23:04.75\00:23:10.22
They try to have alliances
through marriage and that
00:23:10.25\00:23:12.39
happens with Bernice but then
Bernice dies, you know, and so,
00:23:12.42\00:23:15.36
so much happens.
00:23:15.39\00:23:16.76
And it might seem that this
is a very long period of time.
00:23:16.79\00:23:19.59
Reading it, we tend to
assume that this happened
00:23:19.63\00:23:23.03
over centuries.
00:23:23.06\00:23:24.57
But when you look at history,
really, this is a period that
00:23:24.60\00:23:27.40
covers about 150 years.
00:23:27.44\00:23:29.50
It's not even a long time.
00:23:29.54\00:23:31.47
But this is basically what we
find from verses 5 through 15.
00:23:31.51\00:23:38.08
However, before we get to that,
there is a short period of time
00:23:38.11\00:23:41.78
there where Israel does battle,
does war, for independence and,
00:23:41.82\00:23:46.25
again, we can find this when we
research and we study about the
00:23:46.29\00:23:49.16
Maccabean Revolt.
00:23:49.19\00:23:51.26
And so, Israel, for a short
while, they did have their own
00:23:51.29\00:23:53.86
kings called the Maccabean
kings of the Hasmonean house.
00:23:53.90\00:23:56.93
And, again, if you're interested
in that, you can research and
00:23:56.97\00:23:59.37
very easily you'll find a lot
of information about that period
00:23:59.40\00:24:02.94
of time.
00:24:02.97\00:24:05.37
However, in verse 16--in
verse 16, a new power arises.
00:24:05.41\00:24:09.74
It tells us that he who
comes--we find that in verse 16,
00:24:09.78\00:24:13.21
"He who comes," and this he who
comes cannot be either the king
00:24:13.25\00:24:17.85
of the North or
the king of the South.
00:24:17.89\00:24:19.99
In verse 15, at the end of this
whole 150-year period of time,
00:24:20.02\00:24:23.79
the king of the North in the
person of Antiochus Epiphanes,
00:24:23.83\00:24:30.00
he emerges as victorious
at the end of verse 15.
00:24:30.03\00:24:34.50
And this was a terrible king.
00:24:34.54\00:24:35.87
This was a terrible--a terrible
king that--the king of the North
00:24:35.90\00:24:40.18
that dominated this
land, the children of Israel.
00:24:40.21\00:24:42.98
And one thing that I would like
to mention before we enter the
00:24:43.01\00:24:46.98
phase of Rome, is that
this Antiochus IV or Antiochus
00:24:47.02\00:24:50.69
Epiphanes, he is a--he is one of
those kings that a lot of--a lot
00:24:50.72\00:24:57.33
of interpreters imagine that he
fulfills a major role in chapter
00:24:57.36\00:25:02.70
11 of Daniel.
00:25:02.73\00:25:04.87
But we really believe that--I
really believe that, that is a
00:25:04.90\00:25:07.74
major stretch.
00:25:07.77\00:25:09.47
When you look at what he did and
you look at the timeline that
00:25:09.50\00:25:11.24
happens here, it seems that
it is a major stretch to assume
00:25:11.27\00:25:13.91
that Antiochus Epiphanes, he is
the fulfillment of many verses
00:25:13.94\00:25:18.91
or many timelines here in
Daniel 11, for many reasons.
00:25:18.95\00:25:22.52
First of all, the prophetic
statement in verse 14 implies
00:25:22.55\00:25:26.45
that these people, the people
that were with Antiochus, his
00:25:26.49\00:25:28.96
armies, his generals, that
they--this appears in verse 12
00:25:28.99\00:25:32.49
and 13, they will
be without success.
00:25:32.53\00:25:35.63
Now, the fulfillment of
what happens with Israel happens
00:25:35.66\00:25:40.84
under people who
did have success.
00:25:40.87\00:25:43.61
Rome did have success to--of
oppressing the children of
00:25:43.64\00:25:47.68
Israel for a very
long period of time.
00:25:47.71\00:25:49.38
Antiochus Epiphanes,
he didn't have that long.
00:25:49.41\00:25:51.81
Secondly, verse 16 tells us that
"this power will stand in the
00:25:51.85\00:25:55.75
beautiful land and all
of it will be in his hand."
00:25:55.78\00:25:59.42
Now, this again has no
conceivable application to
00:25:59.45\00:26:02.62
Antiochus Epiphanes because
Judea was already in his hand.
00:26:02.66\00:26:06.83
He didn't have to conquer it.
00:26:06.86\00:26:08.43
He didn't have to invade Judea.
00:26:08.46\00:26:10.47
He didn't have to conquer it.
00:26:10.50\00:26:12.33
It was given to him
as land from his father.
00:26:12.37\00:26:14.57
So it wouldn't make sense to
say that this is the great king
00:26:14.60\00:26:17.27
that, you know, that
came and conquered, oppressed,
00:26:17.31\00:26:19.81
persecuted, the children
of Israel because while he did
00:26:19.84\00:26:22.94
oppress and persecute them,
the land was already his, he
00:26:22.98\00:26:26.31
inherited it from his father.
00:26:26.35\00:26:28.12
It makes a lot more sense
to understand that the conquest
00:26:28.15\00:26:31.32
of this power that appears in
verse 16, it emerges with Rome
00:26:31.35\00:26:35.62
in the person of Pompeii when
he conquers Judea in the year
00:26:35.66\00:26:40.70
63 BC.
00:26:40.73\00:26:43.37
And finally, as we already
discussed before, there is an
00:26:43.40\00:26:45.50
immense amount of parallelism
between chapter 7 and 8.
00:26:45.53\00:26:49.50
The activities of the Little
Horn of Daniel with what happens
00:26:49.54\00:26:53.58
to the children of
Israel in chapter 11.
00:26:53.61\00:26:55.84
So the Little Horn in chapter
7 and 8 is never understood as
00:26:55.88\00:26:59.68
Antiochus Epiphanes.
00:26:59.71\00:27:01.52
It can't be because
it transverses time.
00:27:01.55\00:27:04.15
Its activities happen over
a span of thousands of years.
00:27:04.19\00:27:08.36
It could never be interpreted
as happening in the life of
00:27:08.39\00:27:10.79
one king.
00:27:10.83\00:27:12.83
So for all these reasons
and more, Antiochus Epiphanes,
00:27:12.86\00:27:14.96
at least in our study, he is not
interpreted as this great king
00:27:15.00\00:27:18.33
that had, you know, a big, a
huge, impact on the children of
00:27:18.37\00:27:22.44
Israel over a span of centuries.
00:27:22.47\00:27:25.51
In any case, in verse 16, who
emerges on the scene is Rome.
00:27:25.54\00:27:30.55
And here we have, again, in
the timeline of Rome, we have
00:27:30.58\00:27:33.85
basically three Caesars that
take the stage from verses 16
00:27:33.88\00:27:42.52
through 22.
00:27:42.56\00:27:44.83
And you can do the comparison
yourself, you can do the
00:27:44.86\00:27:46.73
study yourself.
00:27:46.76\00:27:48.93
We find in verse 17 through 19,
Julius Caesar and the actions
00:27:48.96\00:27:52.20
that he did, the things
that he did, appear in verse 17,
00:27:52.23\00:27:54.30
18, and 19.
00:27:54.34\00:27:56.74
We find Caesar Augustus in verse
20, the things that he did in
00:27:56.77\00:27:59.01
verse, again, in verse 20.
00:27:59.04\00:28:01.71
And then finally, Tiberius
Caesar and it is during the
00:28:01.74\00:28:04.75
reign of Tiberius Caesar that
the prince of the covenant would
00:28:04.78\00:28:07.95
be broken.
00:28:07.98\00:28:09.32
That's what we
find here in verse 22.
00:28:09.35\00:28:10.95
And that's a clear reference
to the Crucifixion of Jesus.
00:28:10.99\00:28:13.15
Jesus is killed in--during
the reign of Tiberius Caesar.
00:28:13.19\00:28:17.76
Jesus is also called
the Anointed in chapter 9.
00:28:17.79\00:28:21.00
In chapter--in Matthew 27, Jesus
is also called the Anointed One.
00:28:21.03\00:28:25.23
All of this happened during
the reign of Tiberius Caesar.
00:28:25.27\00:28:28.60
This reference of Jesus as the
prince of the covenant, while I
00:28:28.64\00:28:35.04
was doing my study,
I'll tell you something.
00:28:35.08\00:28:36.95
This gave me chills when
I was studying the prince of
00:28:36.98\00:28:39.11
the covenant.
00:28:39.15\00:28:41.32
Because it is an extraordinary
indicator that reveals the flow
00:28:41.35\00:28:45.32
of history.
00:28:45.35\00:28:47.29
The fact that God, years before,
was giving us the information or
00:28:47.32\00:28:51.83
was giving Daniel the
information of everything that
00:28:51.86\00:28:54.30
would take place, all the way
up to the Messiah, that is God
00:28:54.36\00:28:57.37
telling Daniel something.
00:28:57.40\00:28:59.10
He's saying, "Daniel, things
might appear to be chaotic,
00:28:59.13\00:29:01.40
things may appear to be
happening too fast or too slow
00:29:01.44\00:29:03.87
or not in the right time, but,
Daniel, I need you to understand
00:29:03.91\00:29:06.44
that I am in control, that I
have power over history, that I
00:29:06.47\00:29:11.75
know what is going to happen,
and I have provisions for things
00:29:11.78\00:29:14.75
that are going to happen."
00:29:14.78\00:29:16.99
So as I was studying this and I
found the emergence here of the
00:29:17.02\00:29:20.16
prince of the covenant, that
was then broken, that was just
00:29:20.19\00:29:23.53
something that gave me chills.
00:29:23.56\00:29:25.53
At this point, in verse 23, we
arrive at the second portion of
00:29:25.56\00:29:29.10
this chapter, the second great
arc or division, if you will.
00:29:29.13\00:29:32.30
Verse 23 is a transition point
in the prophecy of chapter 11.
00:29:32.33\00:29:36.84
Verses 1 through 22, they guide
the action from Daniel's day all
00:29:36.87\00:29:41.24
the way down to the Messiah, to
the prince of the covenant, and
00:29:41.28\00:29:44.31
that means that everything that
happens, the four kings of the
00:29:44.35\00:29:47.92
Medo-Persians, the Great King of
Greece, the four prominent ones
00:29:47.95\00:29:52.59
that come out of that kingdom,
all these wars with the kings of
00:29:52.62\00:29:56.02
the North and the South,
everything that happens, happens
00:29:56.06\00:29:58.96
in the first
half of that chapter.
00:29:58.99\00:30:02.66
Do you understand this?
00:30:02.70\00:30:04.03
There's just so many details.
00:30:04.07\00:30:05.70
Now, what's incredible to me is
that God, he successively gives
00:30:05.73\00:30:08.77
deeper visions about
the same period of time.
00:30:08.80\00:30:11.41
So in Daniel chapter 2 you
have a great outline of history.
00:30:11.44\00:30:14.28
In Daniel chapter 7 God
kind of zones in a little bit in
00:30:14.31\00:30:17.71
four--on the four kingdoms.
00:30:17.75\00:30:19.81
Then in chapter 8 He zones in
on two kingdoms and what happens
00:30:19.85\00:30:22.22
after the second
kingdom with the Little Horn.
00:30:22.25\00:30:24.52
But in chapter 11, God goes in.
00:30:24.55\00:30:26.99
He--it's like he puts history
under a microscope and God gives
00:30:27.02\00:30:30.03
just so many details that we
have packed here in this first
00:30:30.06\00:30:33.86
half of chapter 11.
00:30:33.90\00:30:36.43
But then the focus
shifts to something different.
00:30:36.46\00:30:40.84
From verse 23 through 39, Daniel
deals with another power, a
00:30:40.87\00:30:45.24
power that we interpret and we
understand for many reasons that
00:30:45.27\00:30:49.08
we're going to see
here as Ecclesiastical Rome.
00:30:49.11\00:30:52.21
You know that Rome
came in, in verse 16.
00:30:52.25\00:30:54.75
We have three Caesars but then
we find here, at the height--at
00:30:54.78\00:30:59.92
the height of the power of the
North king, Rome comes in with
00:30:59.95\00:31:03.19
Pompeii and they
take dominion over Judea.
00:31:03.22\00:31:06.39
And at that point we have the
prince being broken and one of
00:31:06.43\00:31:11.13
the questions that is most asked
at this point is, "Well, where
00:31:11.17\00:31:14.37
do we go from here?
00:31:14.40\00:31:16.00
Where do we go?
00:31:16.04\00:31:17.57
Do we interpret the
prophecy to be linear?
00:31:17.61\00:31:19.97
Is it, you know, are the events
that are described from verse 23
00:31:20.01\00:31:22.48
to 39, do they happen
immediately after verse 22 or is
00:31:22.51\00:31:26.21
there a gap in the
history of prophecy?
00:31:26.25\00:31:29.18
So couldn't it continue?
00:31:29.22\00:31:31.19
Couldn't verse 23 continue
with Imperial Rome for a
00:31:31.22\00:31:33.12
further stretch?
00:31:33.15\00:31:35.22
Why don't we
interpret it that way?
00:31:35.26\00:31:36.69
Why do we interpret it as being
Ecclesiastical papal Rome right
00:31:36.73\00:31:39.86
after in verse 23?"
00:31:39.89\00:31:42.13
Now, some believe that it is the
case that, you know, Imperial
00:31:42.16\00:31:45.53
Rome is just described from
verse 23 through 29, that we
00:31:45.57\00:31:48.17
have a repeat of the three
Caesars: Caesar--Julius Caesar,
00:31:48.20\00:31:52.67
Caesar Augustus,
and then Tiberius.
00:31:52.71\00:31:56.21
Some interpret it that way.
00:31:56.24\00:31:58.01
But it doesn't make much sense.
00:31:58.05\00:32:00.45
The--it's not very consecutive
if we interpret it that way.
00:32:00.48\00:32:03.42
The information that happens,
happens too quickly for it to be
00:32:03.45\00:32:06.92
seen as a Hebrew parallelism.
00:32:06.96\00:32:10.06
Other people believe that the
text beginning in verse 23 kind
00:32:10.09\00:32:12.69
of skips down to the time of the
Roman conquest in the year 70.
00:32:12.73\00:32:16.36
Some interpret it that
way, that 23 through 29, they
00:32:16.40\00:32:19.50
really--they're really covering
the period of the conquest of
00:32:19.53\00:32:24.11
Rome in the year 70.
00:32:24.14\00:32:26.44
And others yet believe that the
time of Constantine would make
00:32:26.47\00:32:28.91
sense due to the major
historical transition with the
00:32:28.94\00:32:32.65
conversion of the
Roman empire to Christianity.
00:32:32.68\00:32:35.62
But, again, Constantine, he
doesn't fit these few verses
00:32:35.65\00:32:38.59
very well.
00:32:38.62\00:32:40.36
So that way, verse 23 and--22
and 23, they jump over centuries
00:32:40.39\00:32:43.83
of time, which isn't the
immediate concern here anyway.
00:32:43.86\00:32:47.50
The chapter--the prophecy, it's
not interested in covering every
00:32:47.50\00:32:53.00
single minor event in history.
00:32:53.03\00:32:55.97
It's trying to tell us
something that God is in control
00:32:56.00\00:32:57.87
of history.
00:32:57.91\00:32:59.51
So when we understand it that
way, here, from 22 to 23, you
00:32:59.54\00:33:02.71
jump a few centuries in time.
00:33:02.74\00:33:05.38
The segment now is the emergence
of the second phase of Rome,
00:33:05.41\00:33:08.62
which goes from Imperial Rome
all the way to Ecclesiastical
00:33:08.65\00:33:12.75
Rome, papal Rome.
00:33:12.79\00:33:14.32
And most interpreters, they
understand that, that transition
00:33:14.36\00:33:17.26
happened around the 6th century.
00:33:17.29\00:33:20.63
And so here we find
Ecclesiastical Rome already in
00:33:20.66\00:33:23.77
the Middle Ages.
00:33:23.80\00:33:25.67
It's not Imperial Rome anymore.
00:33:25.70\00:33:27.67
It's religious, spiritual,
Ecclesiastical, or papal Rome.
00:33:27.70\00:33:32.17
So just to be clear, Daniel
11:23 deals with the activities
00:33:32.21\00:33:36.01
of Rome in its second phase, not
in its Imperial time anymore,
00:33:36.04\00:33:40.18
but in its spiritual condition.
00:33:40.22\00:33:43.05
The players change here.
00:33:43.08\00:33:45.62
We find that the king of the
North, he--in name, he doesn't
00:33:45.65\00:33:48.56
appear until verse 40 again.
00:33:48.59\00:33:50.49
And the king of the South,
it seems as though he takes a
00:33:50.53\00:33:52.19
step back.
00:33:52.23\00:33:54.46
The players change,
but the game is the same.
00:33:54.46\00:33:57.57
A question that does arise here
is, well, how did this happen?
00:33:57.60\00:34:01.17
How did this switch from
Imperial to Ecclesiastical
00:34:01.20\00:34:03.94
Rome happen?
00:34:03.97\00:34:06.07
And the answer is, well,
Constantine, he switches the
00:34:06.11\00:34:08.28
capital of Rome.
00:34:08.31\00:34:09.88
You guys remember how this
happens in the 4th century.
00:34:09.91\00:34:11.61
He switches the
capital of Rome to where?
00:34:11.65\00:34:13.95
Constantinople, which
was ancient Byzantine, and he
00:34:13.98\00:34:17.99
switches the capital there.
00:34:18.02\00:34:19.82
And what happens to Rome?
00:34:19.85\00:34:21.76
Rome--who is leading?
00:34:21.79\00:34:24.06
Who is--who has
power in the city of Rome?
00:34:24.09\00:34:26.49
The bishop of Rome.
00:34:26.53\00:34:28.16
He has the power.
00:34:28.20\00:34:30.17
So this transition from Imperial
Rome to Ecclesiastical Rome, it
00:34:30.20\00:34:33.03
happens--it starts happening
over there and from verse 23
00:34:33.07\00:34:37.21
through 39, we find--here we go.
00:34:37.24\00:34:40.48
We find many events that
characterize the activities of
00:34:40.51\00:34:45.85
the northern King now in
the person of Ecclesiastical or
00:34:45.88\00:34:50.55
papal Rome.
00:34:50.59\00:34:52.39
We find from verse 23
through 30, we have the military
00:34:52.42\00:34:54.86
campaigns, all the
wars that they fought.
00:34:54.89\00:34:57.09
There were nine Crusades that
were fought, especially from the
00:34:57.13\00:35:00.30
11th century
through the 13th century.
00:35:00.33\00:35:03.63
There might seem to be a gap.
00:35:03.67\00:35:05.70
So you're saying, "All right,
so we jump from the Messiah, who
00:35:05.73\00:35:08.57
was broken, in verse 22.
00:35:08.60\00:35:10.44
You jump to the 6th century
which is the transition from
00:35:10.47\00:35:12.61
Imperial Rome to Ecclesiastical
Rome, and then we jump again to
00:35:12.64\00:35:15.68
the Crusades to, you
know, five centuries later.
00:35:15.71\00:35:17.91
Yeah, there's no
problem with that.
00:35:17.95\00:35:20.48
We find that in
prophecy many times.
00:35:20.52\00:35:22.98
I'll give you
an example of this.
00:35:23.02\00:35:25.49
You remember--you remember how
Xerxes transitions from Xerxes
00:35:25.52\00:35:30.06
to Alexander the Great.
00:35:30.09\00:35:32.39
We saw that in verse 2.
00:35:32.43\00:35:34.10
We find this transition
from Xerxes in Medo-Persia to
00:35:34.10\00:35:36.36
Alexander the Great in Greece.
00:35:36.40\00:35:38.27
That was a
century of a transition.
00:35:38.30\00:35:41.37
Prophecy jumped 100 years and
it wasn't even preoccupied or
00:35:41.40\00:35:45.34
worried in explaining
what happened in the meantime.
00:35:45.37\00:35:47.91
This is something that happens
commonly in prophecy, especially
00:35:47.94\00:35:51.55
in Daniel 11.
00:35:51.58\00:35:54.22
Because the necessity isn't
to explain each minor detail but
00:35:54.25\00:35:56.95
every big figure, every relevant
figure, that has to do with the
00:35:56.99\00:36:00.82
people of God.
00:36:00.86\00:36:03.16
So again, this is
what happens here.
00:36:03.19\00:36:04.99
So the first activities of
this northern king or the small,
00:36:05.03\00:36:07.96
the Little Horn,
of Daniel chapter 8,
00:36:07.96\00:36:10.27
the activities begin
with military campaigns.
00:36:10.30\00:36:13.34
We find that in
verses 23 through 30.
00:36:13.37\00:36:15.47
Then we find in verse 31,
the subversion of the system
00:36:15.50\00:36:18.07
of salvation.
00:36:18.11\00:36:19.97
Do you remember how this Little
Horn or this another northern
00:36:20.01\00:36:22.34
kingdom, how they
subvert the system of salvation?
00:36:22.38\00:36:25.91
When the Bible says that
the temple was brought down low,
00:36:25.95\00:36:29.88
this is in Daniel chapter 8,
that the temple was brought down
00:36:29.92\00:36:33.15
low, when the Bible gives us
this piece of information, we
00:36:33.19\00:36:36.16
find that--we find that the
heaven being brought down low,
00:36:36.19\00:36:42.06
it doesn't mean that, you
know, this power, it brought
00:36:42.10\00:36:44.77
heaven down.
00:36:44.80\00:36:47.14
It doesn't mean that the
heavenly temple up in heaven was
00:36:47.17\00:36:49.47
brought down low.
00:36:49.50\00:36:51.34
What it truly means is that this
power, it placed itself in the
00:36:51.37\00:36:53.38
position of God.
00:36:53.41\00:36:55.04
It profaned, it
desecrated the temple.
00:36:55.08\00:36:56.85
These are the literal words that
are used in Daniel chapter 8.
00:36:56.88\00:37:00.65
It was profaned,
it was desecrated.
00:37:00.68\00:37:02.98
So this power, it desecrates
the temple up in heaven, how?
00:37:03.02\00:37:06.79
Well, it places itself in the
person or in the place of the
00:37:06.82\00:37:11.49
high priest of heaven, saying
that it can forgive sin, saying
00:37:11.53\00:37:14.20
that, well--and we all know the
big boasts of papal Rome in the
00:37:14.23\00:37:19.30
medieval times where it said
that it was God, that it sat on
00:37:19.33\00:37:22.87
the throne of God, and that, you
know, in ex cathedra, when it
00:37:22.90\00:37:27.34
was sitting down on its--on his
throne, he had the voice of God.
00:37:27.38\00:37:30.41
And that is the way that we find
the papal power bringing down
00:37:30.45\00:37:34.02
the temple in heaven.
00:37:34.05\00:37:37.82
The third activity that we find
this power developing is from
00:37:37.85\00:37:42.99
verse 32 through 35
and its persecution.
00:37:43.02\00:37:45.33
And here again, we
have many examples of this.
00:37:45.36\00:37:47.50
This is the only time in
verse--in chapter 11 that we
00:37:47.50\00:37:50.23
find a persecution.
00:37:50.27\00:37:52.03
It's the only time.
00:37:52.07\00:37:53.44
But it is mentioned in chapter
8, it's mentioned when Jesus
00:37:53.47\00:37:55.84
talks about the end of
days in Matthew chapter 24.
00:37:55.87\00:37:58.54
We find this persecution
happening and here we have many
00:37:58.57\00:38:01.91
references to this.
00:38:01.94\00:38:03.51
We have the--we have
the name--the Inquisition.
00:38:03.55\00:38:11.22
We have the Holy Inquisition
happening after following the
00:38:11.25\00:38:14.29
subsequent
centuries after the Crusades.
00:38:14.32\00:38:19.09
We find historically that this
rivalry against the papal power
00:38:19.13\00:38:23.30
and the children of God, it
leads to many deaths, bloodshed,
00:38:23.33\00:38:26.74
in the children of God.
00:38:26.77\00:38:28.17
So this is a further
activity, it's persecution.
00:38:28.20\00:38:30.07
The first one that we find,
again, is the military campaigns
00:38:30.11\00:38:33.07
described in those seven verses.
00:38:33.11\00:38:35.48
Then we have the subversion
of the system of salvation.
00:38:35.51\00:38:37.41
We have persecution
happening in those three verses.
00:38:37.45\00:38:39.58
And finally, we
have self-exaltation.
00:38:39.61\00:38:42.12
Daniel 11:36 says: "He shall
exalt and magnify himself above
00:38:42.15\00:38:46.76
every god, he shall speak
blasphemies against the God
00:38:46.79\00:38:50.16
of gods."
00:38:50.19\00:38:52.09
And here we find two charges:
self-exaltation and blasphemy.
00:38:52.13\00:38:55.86
Self-exaltation and blasphemy.
00:38:55.90\00:38:57.53
These two charges correspond
perfectly to the characteristics
00:38:57.57\00:39:00.60
of the Little Horn as revealed
in both Daniel 7:25, "He speaks
00:39:00.64\00:39:04.01
great words against the Most
High," and then Daniel chapter
00:39:04.04\00:39:07.08
8:10-11 where we read: "He grew
until it reached the host of
00:39:07.11\00:39:11.95
heavens; and set itself up
to be as great as the Prince
00:39:11.98\00:39:16.99
of hosts."
00:39:17.02\00:39:19.25
Now historically, this rivalry
against the God of heaven was
00:39:19.29\00:39:21.82
manifested by titles which
this earthly power assumed and
00:39:21.86\00:39:25.73
claimed for itself.
00:39:25.76\00:39:28.03
So these were the activities
of this Little Horn in 7, 8,
00:39:28.06\00:39:32.20
and 11.
00:39:32.23\00:39:34.67
Interestingly enough, the
activities of the Little Horn in
00:39:34.70\00:39:36.71
chapter 11, they--the last three
of them, they appear also in
00:39:36.74\00:39:40.24
chapter 8 and chapter 7; the
last two in chapter 7, the last
00:39:40.28\00:39:44.38
two in chapter 8.
00:39:44.41\00:39:46.25
And these are the events all the
way up to when this little--this
00:39:46.28\00:39:48.92
power, the horn, or the
king of the North, it is broken.
00:39:48.95\00:39:51.72
And finally, we arrive at Daniel
chapter 11, verse 40, where we
00:39:51.75\00:39:58.73
have a mention of
the time of the end.
00:39:58.76\00:40:01.93
Now, first we have to understand
that there's a difference
00:40:01.96\00:40:04.53
between the time of the
end and the end of times.
00:40:04.57\00:40:07.44
In prophecy, there's a big
difference between the time of
00:40:07.47\00:40:10.57
the end and the end of times.
00:40:10.61\00:40:12.47
The time of the end is a period
of time, it's a segment of
00:40:12.51\00:40:15.74
history, in which
certain events will happen.
00:40:15.78\00:40:18.05
Those are the events that we
find in these first--in these
00:40:18.08\00:40:21.62
last five chapters--five
verses of chapter 11.
00:40:21.65\00:40:24.59
Now, the end of
time is a point in time.
00:40:24.62\00:40:28.09
It's a moment in time.
00:40:28.12\00:40:30.36
It is the end of
human history as we know it.
00:40:30.39\00:40:33.26
So this section is perhaps
the most difficult passage to
00:40:33.29\00:40:36.80
interpret prophetically because
it's in the future, it hasn't
00:40:36.83\00:40:39.87
happened yet.
00:40:39.90\00:40:41.27
There are many of these events
that have not happened yet.
00:40:41.30\00:40:43.00
At this point, we are way beyond
the times of the Seleucid kings
00:40:43.04\00:40:45.34
or the Ptolemaic dynasties.
00:40:45.37\00:40:49.14
We're way beyond that time.
00:40:49.18\00:40:50.98
Now, we're dealing with new
powers that have taken their
00:40:51.01\00:40:53.62
place and the question
is who are these powers?
00:40:53.65\00:40:56.05
Many interpretations have been
given, many have been given.
00:40:56.08\00:41:00.26
Many have been suggested.
00:41:00.29\00:41:01.66
But there is no final answer
on this question that has been
00:41:01.69\00:41:04.49
ultimately given.
00:41:04.53\00:41:06.43
It's been hotly debated among
Adventist theologians, Adventist
00:41:06.46\00:41:10.27
pioneers in more modern times.
00:41:10.30\00:41:13.60
Maybe the best thing that we can
say is that since these events
00:41:13.64\00:41:16.74
are still in the future, we're
going to have to wait until they
00:41:16.77\00:41:19.21
happen, until we see them
so that we can truly understand
00:41:19.24\00:41:21.38
what happens.
00:41:21.41\00:41:23.21
Do you remember what is
the ultimate goal of prophecy?
00:41:23.24\00:41:25.38
What does Jesus say in
John chapter 14, verse 29?
00:41:25.41\00:41:27.28
That's where He gives us
the ultimate goal, the ultimate
00:41:27.32\00:41:31.09
purpose, of
prophecy in the Bible.
00:41:31.12\00:41:33.39
He says, "And now I have told
you before it comes to pass that
00:41:33.42\00:41:36.46
when it does come to
pass you may believe."
00:41:36.49\00:41:39.63
That's the purpose of prophecy.
00:41:39.66\00:41:41.63
You see that we can get very
confused in all these details
00:41:41.66\00:41:44.17
that happen but the purpose
of prophecy is that when it
00:41:44.20\00:41:46.43
happens, we may believe.
00:41:46.47\00:41:49.40
That our faith may be increased.
00:41:49.44\00:41:51.74
That's the purpose of prophecy.
00:41:51.77\00:41:54.91
This is what we find
at the end of chapter 11.
00:41:54.94\00:41:56.95
My dear friends, God
is always in control.
00:41:56.98\00:42:00.75
He always wins, and His
children--as His children, we
00:42:00.78\00:42:05.35
share that victory.
00:42:05.39\00:42:07.96
As we study this chapter,
chapter 11, and we see that
00:42:07.99\00:42:10.93
throughout history God has
always been taking care of His
00:42:10.96\00:42:14.10
people, you know
what that reassures me?
00:42:14.13\00:42:16.20
That He can still do it for me.
00:42:16.23\00:42:18.57
Just as He guided the children
of Israel through those turmoils
00:42:18.60\00:42:21.84
of the king of the North and the
king of the South, as He guided
00:42:21.87\00:42:24.37
His children through the Caesars
and through medieval history and
00:42:24.41\00:42:27.31
up to our days, I understand
that, you know what, God isn't
00:42:27.34\00:42:30.31
the God that is only interested
in history, world history.
00:42:30.35\00:42:35.78
He's interested in my history.
00:42:35.82\00:42:38.32
He's interested in my
yesterdays, in my battles, in my
00:42:38.35\00:42:41.59
losses, in my confusions
and doubts, in my failures.
00:42:41.62\00:42:44.59
He is interested in taking me, a
broken vessel, transforming me,
00:42:44.63\00:42:49.16
and helping me become His child
that will end and be victorious
00:42:49.20\00:42:54.27
over the dragon.
00:42:54.30\00:42:55.94
You know, Revelation says that
through the blood of the Lamb
00:42:55.97\00:42:58.97
they were able to be victorious,
they were able to win.
00:42:59.01\00:43:03.68
So may God bless you
as you study prophecy.
00:43:03.71\00:43:06.58
It's not always easy.
00:43:06.61\00:43:08.15
These are very difficult
chapters but the Lord, He didn't
00:43:08.18\00:43:10.69
reveal it for nothing.
00:43:10.72\00:43:12.79
He revealed it for a purpose,
which is for us to understand
00:43:12.82\00:43:14.96
and our faith be
believed--be increased.
00:43:14.99\00:43:18.46
May God bless you.
00:43:18.49\00:43:19.86
That was the lesson for today.
00:43:19.89\00:43:21.16
I hope that you can join us
again next Sabbath for another
00:43:21.20\00:43:23.87
Sabbath School Study Hour.
00:43:23.90\00:43:26.10
May God bless you.
00:43:26.13\00:43:27.47
male announcer: Don't forget
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00:43:31.97\00:43:33.58
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00:43:52.56\00:43:55.56
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00:43:55.60\00:43:59.07
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share it with others.
00:43:59.10\00:44:02.20
¤¤¤
00:44:02.24\00:44:10.48
Doug Batchelor: Port
Royal, here in Jamaica, was once
00:44:14.75\00:44:16.82
considered the most
wicked city in the world.
00:44:16.85\00:44:19.22
They had more bars and brothels
per square foot than any other
00:44:19.25\00:44:22.22
place on the planet.
00:44:22.26\00:44:23.96
It was said to be just full
of cutthroats and pirates but
00:44:23.99\00:44:26.76
during this time the king of
France, Louis XIV, he began to
00:44:26.80\00:44:31.13
persecute the Protestants and
the Huguenots in the kingdom and
00:44:31.17\00:44:34.37
many fled.
00:44:34.40\00:44:35.70
That's when Lewis Galdy
and his brother Laurent came
00:44:35.74\00:44:37.94
to Port Royal.
00:44:37.97\00:44:39.31
When Lewis Galdy arrived,
he was absolutely dumbfounded
00:44:41.48\00:44:44.75
at the unrestrained immorality,
violence, and extravagance that
00:44:44.78\00:44:47.88
filled Port Royal.
00:44:47.92\00:44:49.72
That's why nobody was surprised
when the judgment of God
00:44:49.75\00:44:52.45
finally happened.
00:44:52.49\00:44:53.96
Just before noon on June
7, 1692, there was a massive
00:44:53.99\00:44:57.39
earthquake that affected
the whole island, Port Royal
00:44:57.43\00:45:00.56
in particular.
00:45:00.60\00:45:02.03
Two-thirds of it
slid into the sea.
00:45:02.06\00:45:04.37
Then came a tsunami.
00:45:04.40\00:45:05.93
Thousands perished.
00:45:05.97\00:45:07.47
Unfortunately, even
Lewis Galdy was swallowed up in
00:45:07.50\00:45:10.14
the earthquake.
00:45:10.17\00:45:12.27
¤¤¤
00:45:12.31\00:45:15.18
You know, much of Jamaica is
rock but Port Royal was built on
00:45:15.21\00:45:18.21
the sand and so when the
earthquake struck, the sand
00:45:18.25\00:45:21.08
virtually liquefied, swallowing
much of the city and thousands
00:45:21.12\00:45:24.32
of people.
00:45:24.35\00:45:25.82
Lewis Galdy was buried alive,
but while underground he was
00:45:25.85\00:45:29.46
still conscious and he prayed.
00:45:29.49\00:45:32.23
He resigned himself to his fate,
prayed to the Lord, and then
00:45:32.26\00:45:35.40
another miracle happened.
00:45:35.43\00:45:37.23
There was an aftershock with
volcanic activity that exploded,
00:45:37.27\00:45:40.67
blowing Lewis Galdy out of the
earth, hundreds of yards, off
00:45:40.70\00:45:44.21
into the sea, where he had a
pretty hard landing but he was
00:45:44.24\00:45:47.64
able to swim
until he was rescued.
00:45:47.68\00:45:50.15
Lewis Galdy dedicated the
remaining 47 years of his life
00:45:50.18\00:45:53.01
to serving Jesus in this
island and he's even buried here
00:45:53.05\00:45:56.52
still today.
00:45:56.55\00:45:57.89
¤¤¤
00:45:58.65\00:46:01.62
Doug: You know, the Bible
tells us just before Jesus comes
00:46:01.66\00:46:03.59
back conditions in the world
will be very much like they were
00:46:03.63\00:46:07.03
in Sodom and Port Royal.
00:46:07.03\00:46:09.70
There's going to be a tremendous
earthquake and even islands will
00:46:09.73\00:46:12.37
be swallowed up.
00:46:12.40\00:46:14.04
But God's people
don't need to be afraid.
00:46:14.07\00:46:15.80
The same way that the Lord took
care of Lewis Galdy, He will
00:46:15.84\00:46:18.27
take care of you.
00:46:18.31\00:46:19.84
It says in Psalm 91 that you
might see 1000 fall at your side
00:46:19.87\00:46:23.08
or 10,000 at your right hand,
but only with your eyes will you
00:46:23.11\00:46:26.35
see and behold the
destruction of the wicked.
00:46:26.38\00:46:28.72
He can protect
you and resurrect you.
00:46:28.75\00:46:31.19
¤¤¤
00:46:31.22\00:46:37.33
announcer: "Amazing
Facts" Changed Lives.
00:46:42.06\00:46:50.37
Brittany: I was addicted to
all different types of things.
00:46:50.41\00:46:53.17
I finally hit rock bottom when I
got pulled over one night after
00:46:53.21\00:46:57.45
a heavy night of
partying with some friends.
00:46:57.48\00:47:01.18
I was drunk, high on ecstasy,
and I realized then that I had
00:47:01.22\00:47:06.72
to make a change.
00:47:06.76\00:47:08.66
Vince: I was in the military and
listening to very satanic music
00:47:08.69\00:47:11.09
every day, and heard
this whisper to carve "666" in
00:47:11.13\00:47:14.83
my knuckles.
00:47:14.83\00:47:17.13
Contemplated on it a while and I
was sitting there at my desk and
00:47:17.17\00:47:19.03
I had my knife on me.
00:47:19.07\00:47:23.07
And I started carving the
horizontal lines for the sixes
00:47:23.10\00:47:27.01
into my index finger first with
serrated edges and started to
00:47:27.04\00:47:33.75
enjoy it.
00:47:33.78\00:47:35.58
I wanted to make it known who I
wanted to follow, actually, and
00:47:35.62\00:47:39.52
not knowing I was
following Satan at the time.
00:47:39.55\00:47:42.42
Just, I thought it
was a cool thing to do.
00:47:42.46\00:47:44.93
Brittany: So I met this
guy online and that was my
00:47:44.96\00:47:47.30
husband, Vince.
00:47:47.30\00:47:48.93
And I noticed his ears.
00:47:48.96\00:47:52.17
And we started talking
and he was just adorable.
00:47:52.20\00:47:55.34
Vince: Flew down and actually
met her here in Arizona.
00:47:55.37\00:47:58.41
Brittany: And at that point,
I found out quickly after we met
00:47:58.44\00:48:02.58
that I was pregnant.
00:48:02.61\00:48:04.45
Vince: So shortly after our
daughter was born, it was a very
00:48:04.48\00:48:06.51
exciting moment, but the nurses
and doctors noticed something
00:48:06.55\00:48:08.85
right away, that she was
extremely orange with jaundice.
00:48:08.88\00:48:11.95
Brittany: And she ended up
in the hospital very sick and it
00:48:11.99\00:48:16.49
was extremely hard on us.
00:48:16.52\00:48:19.86
We were
teenagers, we were scared.
00:48:19.89\00:48:22.83
Our baby was sick.
00:48:22.86\00:48:25.27
I was with someone that was very
angry and, at that point, we
00:48:25.30\00:48:32.21
were in the hospital room and
I remember a chaplain coming in
00:48:32.24\00:48:37.05
and speaking with the people
since it was like a conjoined
00:48:37.08\00:48:40.35
room, we had a roommate.
00:48:40.38\00:48:42.75
And the chaplain had said, you
know, if he could pray for the
00:48:42.78\00:48:46.59
other family and that's when
I knew that there was my chance.
00:48:46.62\00:48:50.03
I had to take that opportunity
and I asked my husband, "Should
00:48:50.06\00:48:54.20
I go talk to him?"
00:48:54.23\00:48:55.90
Vince: And I said, "No way,"
I wanted nothing to do with God.
00:48:55.93\00:48:57.90
I wanted nothing to do
with talking to this chaplain.
00:48:57.93\00:49:00.97
Brittany: I decided that I
was going to get up anyway.
00:49:01.00\00:49:04.07
And I got up and you could tell
he was very angry that I decided
00:49:04.11\00:49:06.68
to walk over.
00:49:06.71\00:49:08.91
And I went to the chaplain and I
asked him to come over and speak
00:49:08.94\00:49:12.65
to us and he did.
00:49:12.68\00:49:14.35
Vince: He came in.
00:49:14.38\00:49:16.18
We asked him questions.
00:49:16.22\00:49:18.15
And he actually came to
visit us every single day.
00:49:18.19\00:49:20.49
Brittany: The chaplain that
we met with mentioned "Amazing
00:49:20.52\00:49:22.56
Facts" study guides
and just the ministries.
00:49:22.59\00:49:24.86
Vince: He showed us videos
and study guides from "Amazing
00:49:24.89\00:49:28.83
Facts" specifically.
00:49:28.86\00:49:30.90
It was on final
events and cosmic conflict.
00:49:30.93\00:49:33.30
And at that point, we had
transferred hospitals to an
00:49:33.34\00:49:35.80
outpatient hospital and we were
able to watch these videos, and
00:49:35.84\00:49:40.04
we were hooked on them.
00:49:40.08\00:49:41.81
Brittany: It
was a huge blessing.
00:49:41.84\00:49:43.85
We would watch Pastor Doug and
we would sit up late at night
00:49:43.88\00:49:48.85
watching sermons and
we were just teenagers.
00:49:48.88\00:49:52.62
Most kids our age were out doing
crazy things and here we are
00:49:52.65\00:49:56.39
home with popcorn and chocolate
bars, watching Pastor Doug.
00:49:56.42\00:50:00.16
Ben Lundquist: This young couple
came into the Camelback Church,
00:50:00.20\00:50:03.87
holding a beautiful little baby.
00:50:03.90\00:50:06.20
And this was one of the first
times that I had ever met Vince
00:50:06.23\00:50:08.44
and Brittany.
00:50:08.47\00:50:10.17
Vince: We needed somebody to
show us that they loved us, that
00:50:10.21\00:50:12.14
they supported us.
00:50:12.17\00:50:13.64
And Pastor Ben was there giving
us Bible studies on marriage
00:50:13.68\00:50:16.01
counseling as well as baptism.
00:50:16.04\00:50:17.71
Brittany: I was still smoking
and drinking lightly and a few
00:50:17.75\00:50:20.92
things along those lines and it
was one day when I woke up, on
00:50:20.95\00:50:26.25
February 15, 2011,
after watching many sermons on
00:50:26.29\00:50:32.06
"Amazing Facts" from Pastor Doug
and having a really solid church
00:50:32.09\00:50:36.00
family, that I was
able to say, "No more."
00:50:36.03\00:50:38.93
And from that day on, I
stopped all of my addictions.
00:50:38.97\00:50:42.97
Charles White: And ultimately,
their lives began to take on
00:50:43.00\00:50:46.07
just a new dimension of
congruity because Jesus was
00:50:46.11\00:50:49.41
there and He was the one
that was bringing that sense of
00:50:49.44\00:50:51.85
belonging and hope and help.
00:50:51.88\00:50:54.98
Brittany: And we decided
to get baptized and married.
00:50:55.02\00:50:57.69
And we got baptized one day and
married the next, and it was an
00:50:57.72\00:51:01.32
amazing experience.
00:51:01.36\00:51:03.06
Ben: We found a spot by the lake
and it was absolutely perfect.
00:51:03.09\00:51:06.56
The evening was coming to a
close, the sun was about ready
00:51:06.59\00:51:09.66
to go down.
00:51:09.70\00:51:11.37
Vince: We were standing in the
water with Pastor Ben and the
00:51:11.40\00:51:14.54
sky was such a deep red.
00:51:14.57\00:51:17.11
The reflections of the sky was
almost as if we were standing
00:51:17.14\00:51:20.28
in blood.
00:51:20.31\00:51:22.31
We were washed in
the blood of Jesus.
00:51:22.34\00:51:24.25
Ben: And that was the moment
that God painted the canvas of
00:51:24.28\00:51:26.01
the sky with the most beautiful
colors, signifying the journey
00:51:26.05\00:51:30.32
that He was going to be laying
out for Vince and Brittany.
00:51:30.35\00:51:33.72
Vince: Shortly after we were
baptized, about a month later,
00:51:33.76\00:51:36.52
we had realized
that my scars were gone.
00:51:36.56\00:51:40.73
I was completely healed
physically of not having the
00:51:40.76\00:51:43.00
"666" on my knuckles anymore.
00:51:43.03\00:51:45.20
And I struggled with that for so
long because of what I did and
00:51:45.23\00:51:49.50
He forgave me.
00:51:49.54\00:51:50.97
Malcolm Douglas: Many times when
we think of the way that we've
00:51:51.01\00:51:52.87
been led to Christ, we think
there's usually one individual
00:51:52.91\00:51:54.74
but, having been able to work
alongside Pastor Ben and Pastor
00:51:54.78\00:51:58.65
White, it's been great to see
how we've been able to work with
00:51:58.68\00:52:02.65
Brittany and Vincent and
seen them just really grow.
00:52:02.68\00:52:05.89
And this has really been
something that's been beneficial
00:52:05.92\00:52:08.32
to me, you know?
00:52:08.36\00:52:09.79
Sometimes I think about this and
the Bible says: "More blessed is
00:52:09.82\00:52:13.09
he who gives than receives," and
I feel many times more blessed
00:52:13.13\00:52:15.93
just seeing them and seeing
all the challenges they've gone
00:52:15.96\00:52:20.34
through, all the difficulties,
and seeing them overcome these
00:52:20.37\00:52:23.57
things.
00:52:23.61\00:52:24.91
It just--it amazes me.
00:52:24.94\00:52:26.94
Vince: As I reflect back on
everything I've done in my life,
00:52:26.98\00:52:29.04
completely going against God,
wanting nothing to do with Him,
00:52:29.08\00:52:34.92
He still tried so hard as if I
was the only one that was lost,
00:52:34.95\00:52:38.49
just as He promises.
00:52:38.52\00:52:41.02
He still went and found me, even
though I wanted nothing to do
00:52:41.06\00:52:44.13
with Him.
00:52:44.16\00:52:45.53
Brittany: Having "Amazing Facts"
and the pastors in our lives
00:52:45.56\00:52:48.10
help us so much, it's really
a blessing and I feel like now
00:52:48.13\00:52:53.10
we're happy and we have these
two healthy, beautiful little
00:52:53.13\00:52:57.47
girls and God
has truly blessed us.
00:52:57.51\00:53:01.11
And I just want to
share it with everyone.
00:53:01.14\00:53:03.61
I want to scream it.
00:53:03.65\00:53:05.25
I'm so excited and I feel
really blessed to even have this
00:53:05.28\00:53:08.65
opportunity to share my story.
00:53:08.68\00:53:11.75
¤¤¤
00:53:11.79\00:53:18.83
¤¤¤
00:53:21.40\00:53:29.67
Doug: Friends, are
you afraid of heights?
00:53:32.17\00:53:33.68
If so, you might want
to look away right now.
00:53:33.71\00:53:36.24
One of the most famous
attractions in the San Francisco
00:53:36.28\00:53:38.98
Bay Area is the
iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
00:53:39.01\00:53:42.52
While this world famous bridge
was named as one of the seven
00:53:42.55\00:53:45.75
wonders of the modern world,
few people know the story of the
00:53:45.79\00:53:48.62
brave men who were involved in
its construction and also known
00:53:48.66\00:53:52.06
as the Halfway to Hell Club.
00:53:52.09\00:53:54.23
Designed by a group of visionary
engineers, at 4200 feet from end
00:53:54.30\00:53:59.30
to end, the Golden Gate Bridge
was at one time the longest
00:53:59.33\00:54:02.64
suspension bridge in the world.
00:54:02.67\00:54:04.74
During its construction from
1933 to 1937, the Golden Gate
00:54:04.77\00:54:09.28
Bridge had one of the best
safety construction records of
00:54:09.31\00:54:12.71
any project during that time.
00:54:12.75\00:54:14.82
Keep in mind, they would factor
in and calculate that one man
00:54:14.85\00:54:18.19
would die for every
million dollars that were spent.
00:54:18.22\00:54:20.99
So with a budget of $35 million,
they knew that loss of life
00:54:21.02\00:54:24.53
would be unacceptable.
00:54:24.56\00:54:26.39
This is why the chief
engineer, Joseph B. Strauss,
00:54:26.43\00:54:28.96
was absolutely adamant
about using the most rigorous
00:54:29.00\00:54:31.87
safety precautions that had ever
been used in bridge building.
00:54:31.90\00:54:35.44
He had a local manufacturer of
safety equipment design special
00:54:35.47\00:54:39.01
headgear that he
insisted be worn on every job.
00:54:39.04\00:54:42.18
This became the prototype for
the modern hard hat, worn for
00:54:42.21\00:54:45.48
the first time ever, but
the safety precautions went
00:54:45.51\00:54:47.92
even farther.
00:54:47.95\00:54:49.42
Strauss provided a special hand
and face cream to protect the
00:54:49.45\00:54:52.49
skin from the cold biting
wind, and glare-free goggles to
00:54:52.52\00:54:56.02
protect their eyes.
00:54:56.06\00:54:57.63
In addition, they also ate a
special diet to help ward off
00:54:57.66\00:55:00.80
dizziness when they were
working at those epic heights.
00:55:00.83\00:55:03.77
But the most conspicuous safety
precaution was a gigantic net
00:55:03.80\00:55:07.74
that was suspended from
end to end under the entire
00:55:07.77\00:55:10.81
construction area of
the Golden Gate Bridge.
00:55:10.84\00:55:13.98
In fact, during construction,
this net saved the lives of 19
00:55:14.01\00:55:18.35
men who later became known
as the Halfway to Hell Club.
00:55:18.38\00:55:23.02
Now you need to keep in mind,
these were some of the most
00:55:23.05\00:55:26.05
dangerous construction
conditions you can imagine.
00:55:26.09\00:55:28.86
The wind was constantly blowing.
00:55:28.89\00:55:31.13
They were walking around on iron
that sometimes had ice from the
00:55:31.16\00:55:34.73
freezing fog.
00:55:34.73\00:55:36.80
In places, they were over
700 feet above the icy waters.
00:55:36.83\00:55:40.80
Yet the men, coming from all
walks of life, were willing to
00:55:40.84\00:55:44.64
take these risks because it was
during the Great Depression and
00:55:44.67\00:55:47.34
they would get paid up to
$11 a day which was a fortune
00:55:47.38\00:55:50.48
back then.
00:55:50.51\00:55:52.48
One of the other benefits of the
net was they discovered that the
00:55:52.51\00:55:55.82
men were much more courageous,
even though they were walking
00:55:55.85\00:55:58.62
high on those slippery surfaces,
because they knew there was a
00:55:58.65\00:56:01.82
mechanism to protect
them if they should fall.
00:56:01.86\00:56:04.89
This gave them the confidence
and the courage to press on and
00:56:04.93\00:56:07.50
get the bridge
built in record time.
00:56:07.50\00:56:09.80
You know, friends, as
Christians, we have a great work
00:56:09.83\00:56:12.40
to do.
00:56:12.43\00:56:13.84
The Bible tells us that we
get to participate with Jesus in
00:56:13.87\00:56:16.07
building a bridge that
connects heaven and earth.
00:56:16.10\00:56:19.61
And there are
dangers along the way.
00:56:19.64\00:56:21.78
The devil would like to paralyze
us with fear that we might fall
00:56:21.81\00:56:24.55
or make a mistake.
00:56:24.58\00:56:26.15
But we know that Jesus has
provided a safety net for us and
00:56:26.18\00:56:29.25
we don't have to be afraid.
00:56:29.28\00:56:30.85
We can press on with confidence
because it promises in the book
00:56:30.89\00:56:33.76
of Jude, verse 24, He is
able to keep us from falling.
00:56:33.79\00:56:37.29
But sometimes, we make mistakes.
00:56:37.33\00:56:39.76
Still don't be
discouraged, friends.
00:56:39.79\00:56:41.73
If you read in 1 John chapter
2, verse 1, the Bible says
00:56:41.76\00:56:45.90
if we fall, if we sin, we have
an advocate with the Father,
00:56:45.93\00:56:49.27
Jesus Christ.
00:56:49.30\00:56:50.77
So let's press on together and
build that bridge with Christ.
00:56:50.81\00:56:53.78
¤¤¤
00:56:53.81\00:56:59.65
announcer: Can't get enough
"Amazing Facts" Bible study?
00:57:01.55\00:57:03.65
You don't have to wait
until next week to enjoy more
00:57:03.69\00:57:05.79
truth-filled programming.
00:57:05.82\00:57:07.69
Visit the "Amazing Facts"
media library at AFTV.ORG.
00:57:07.72\00:57:13.03
At AFTV.ORG you can enjoy video
and audio presentations as well
00:57:13.06\00:57:18.20
as printed material all free of
charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days
00:57:18.23\00:57:22.64
a week, right from your
computer or mobile device.
00:57:22.67\00:57:25.87
Visit AFTV.ORG.
00:57:25.91\00:57:29.08
announcer: In six days
God created the heavens
00:57:30.61\00:57:33.52
and the earth.
00:57:33.55\00:57:34.98
For thousands of years man has
worshiped God on the seventh day
00:57:35.02\00:57:37.69
of the week.
00:57:37.72\00:57:39.12
Now, each week, millions of
people worship on the first day.
00:57:39.15\00:57:43.22
What happened?
00:57:43.26\00:57:44.59
Why did God
create a day of rest?
00:57:44.63\00:57:46.83
Does it really
matter what day we worship?
00:57:46.86\00:57:49.66
Who was behind this great shift?
00:57:49.70\00:57:51.70
Discover the truth behind God's
law and how it was changed.
00:57:51.73\00:57:55.57
Visit SabbathTruth.com.
00:57:55.60\00:57:58.27
¤¤¤
00:57:58.57\00:58:08.48