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Jëan Ross: Good
morning, friends.
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Welcome to "Sabbath School Study
Hour," coming to you from the
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Granite Bay
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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in Sacramento, California.
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We'd like to welcome all
of those joining us across the
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country and around the world,
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our extended
Sabbath school class.
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You know, a number of our
regular Sabbath school members
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here at Granite Bay are
joining us online as well,
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and we'd like to
greet all of you,
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and thank you for taking
the time to study with us.
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We have a very important lesson.
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We've been studying
through the book of Isaiah,
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and we've just
started our study.
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Today we're on
lesson number three.
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It's entitled "When Your
World is Falling Apart," very
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appropriate lesson for what's
happening in our world today.
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So, again, if you don't have
a copy of the lesson quarterly,
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just go to the
Amazing Facts website,
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and you click on "Sabbath
School," and you'll be able
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to download a copy of
the lesson and study with us.
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We do have a free offer
we'd like to tell you about,
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a book entitled, "The Final
Verdict," and this is free.
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We'll send it to
anyone in North America.
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To receive the book,
call the number 866-788-3966,
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and just ask for
Offer Number 162,
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and we'll send that to you,
or if you're outside of North
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America and would like a
digital copy of the book,
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you'll want to text the code
"SH078," to the number 40544,
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and you'll be able to get
a digital copy of the book,
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and you'll enjoy reading it.
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It's called "The Final Verdict,"
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and I think you'll
find that very informative.
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Let's bow our heads for prayer.
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Dear Father in heaven, what
a privilege to be able to come
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before You on this special day,
a day that You have set aside
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where we can look back at Your
work in Creation but not only
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Creation of our world
but re-creation of our hearts
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and our lives, and, Father,
we can rest in those everlasting
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arms, fearing not the future,
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for we know who
has guided us thus far.
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So, Lord, we want to invite
Your presence to be with us
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in a special way
in our study today.
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Be with Pastor Shawn
as he opens the Word,
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for we ask this in
Jesus's name, amen.
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Our lesson this morning is
going to be brought to us by
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our family life
pastor here at Granite Bay:
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Pastor Shawn Brummund.
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Shawn Brummund: Well,
good morning to you all.
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It's nice to be able to come
together to be able to continue
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to study as the Lord has blessed
us with one of the most powerful
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chapters that we can
find in the book of Isaiah,
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and because time is short and
we have lots to be able to cover
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here this morning, I want to
invite you to open your Bibles,
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if you have it with you,
to Isaiah, the 7th chapter.
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We're going to start with
the first two verses there.
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We're going to the
book of Isaiah, 7th chapter.
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For those of you who
were disciplined and diligent
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enough to be able to go through
this last Sabbath lesson study
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throughout the week, you know
that we are studying and have
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been studying throughout
the week Isaiah chapter 7,
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verses 1 through 14,
and so we're starting
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with verses 1 and 2.
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Isaiah chapter
7, in verse 1 and 2,
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it says, "Now it came to pass
in the days of Ahaz the son of
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Jotham, the son of
Uzziah, king of Judah,
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that Rezin king of Syria
and Pekah the son of Remaliah,
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king of Israel, went up to
Jerusalem to make war against
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it, but could not
prevail against it.
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And it was told to
the house of David,"
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that is, to the
family of Ahaz, the great-,
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great-, great-grandchild
of King David, "it was
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told to the house of David,
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saying, 'Syria's forces
are deployed in Ephraim.'
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And so his heart and the heart
of his people were moved as the
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trees of the woods
were moved with the wind."
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And so in order for us to be
able to understand both these
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verses and the verses that are
ahead of us here in our study
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today, I want to share with you
just some very helpful context
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in history to be able to
put it into its bigger picture.
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We need to back
up about 200 years,
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and as we back up 200 years,
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we come to one of the
most famous kings of Israel.
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His name was King Solomon.
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And when King Solomon came to
the end of his life and he left
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the throne to his son Rehoboam,
Rehoboam made some very
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horrible, foolish
decisions right from the get-go,
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and because of those
very foolish decisions,
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he turns the bulk
of Israel against him
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and against David's dynasty.
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And so we find that 10 of
the 12 tribes of Israel turn
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against him, and they
make another gentleman,
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by the name of Jeroboam,
the king of what now has--
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had, at that
point, I should say--
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had become the
northern king of Israel.
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And so Jeroboam, a
former servant of King Solomon,
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becomes this new king of, sadly,
the 12 tribes of Israel that
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made up the bulk of
the geography of Israel as
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well as obviously the
bulk of the tribes of Israel.
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And so there's
Rehoboam, the son of Solomon,
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sitting there on his
throne with only his own tribe,
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the tribe of Judah, and then we
also find that Benjamin kind of
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ended up siding on his
kingdom's side as well,
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and that makes up what we call
the southern kingdom of Judah.
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So we have the
southern kingdom of Judah,
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and now we also have the
northern kingdom of Israel.
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And sadly,
Jeroboam, who made up the--
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who was the first king over
the northern kingdom of Israel,
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immediately turns his
tribes to idolatry, just
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outright, open idolatry,
and whenever we turn to
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idolatry--the
ancients turned to idolatry--
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it always came with some
very perverted principles and
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practices that came with it, and
so, because of that, the moral
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and spiritual decline
of the northern kingdom
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was very rapid because of that.
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Now, we fast-forward 200
years to the time of Isaiah,
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the time of the chapter
in which we're looking at,
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which is Isaiah chapter 7, and
we find that there is a very bad
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apple that takes the
throne in the kingdom of Judah,
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and his name is Ahaz, and Ahaz
is part of the Davidic lineage.
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He is certainly a great-,
great-, great-, great-grandchild
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of King David, but sadly, he
had made some horrible choices,
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some choices that were very much
in line with the previous king
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of Israel that I
just talked about,
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which was Jeroboam
of 200 years previous.
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Now, by the way, 2 Kings
chapter 16 is a key chapter.
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If you haven't read it and
you want to get further insight,
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the most comprehensive biblical
record of the life and the
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character of King Ahaz
is found in that chapter,
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2 Kings chapters 16, and that's
referenced in your lesson study
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for this particular week.
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Assyria is rising up as a new
superpower of the known world
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back then, and as
superpowers like to do,
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they began to expand their
territory and began to conquer
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the nations that
were surrounding them,
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and, of course, this was a very
real and practical threat to the
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security and to the well-being
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of those nations
that surrounded them.
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As it turns out, and as
we just read in chapter 7,
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verses 1 and 2, the kings of
Syria and Israel to the north,
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they surmise that, if they
are to find themselves in a
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necessary partnership
and they were to use both of
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their military power to be able
to conquer this southern kingdom
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of Judah, remove King Ahaz
from his throne and establish
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a puppet ruler, why, then,
they would be able to have a
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three-kingdom coalition
and have a substantial increase
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in their military power to
be able to resist this rising
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superpower by
the name of Assyria.
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Well, they go ahead, and they
try with some success to be able
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to conquer the
southern kingdom of Judah.
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They conquer at
least one city and take it,
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and so on, but when they came to
the capital city of Jerusalem,
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as we have just read, we find
that their attempt had failed.
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They had failed in conquering
both Jerusalem and removing King
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Ahaz from his throne.
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Ahaz must now make a
key political decision,
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a political and
military decision.
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Now, if Ahaz was a wise and
righteous king as his great-,
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great-grandfather David was,
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he would've
immediately consulted God.
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He would've consulted God, and
he would've taken advantage of
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a man of God by the name
of Isaiah that had already
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established himself very
clearly as a prophet of God.
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And so Ahaz had all
the spiritual and military
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and political advantage that he
needed to be able to resist this
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power, not only in Assyria,
but now also from many of
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their fellow brethren, which is
the northern kingdom of Israel,
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who had partnered with Syria.
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But the problem was this:
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Ahaz had already rejected God as
his counselor and embraced some
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very foreign gods and
idols, along with their wicked
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principles and
their wicked practices.
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Now, we have to understand that,
when I say that he had embraced
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some very wicked,
idolatrous practices,
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this is far more
wicked than we here in America
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could ever imagine.
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Now, many of us are Christians,
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as well as the
Lord, we know as well,
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is very distressed over how
readily we are to be able to
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take the lives of our children
while they're still in the womb.
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Abortion is practiced according
to our free will across this
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country to the demise of many
innocent children within the
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womb of their
mothers, but back then,
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it was even
worse than it is now.
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You know,
there's an organization,
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a Christian organization, a
charity that we have here in
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America, and I
forget what it's called,
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but you can give, and they
actually pay for ultrasounds
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so that different young women
that are finding themselves with
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a baby in their womb and are
considering abortion can go in
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and get a free ultrasound,
and what we found and what this
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Christian
organization has found is that,
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when the young woman
sees that child and they hear
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the heartbeat of that child,
almost all of the time that
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they go through that experience,
they end up deciding to keep the
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child 'cause they
realize, "Wait a minute,
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this is not just an unfeeling,
unliving blob inside of me.
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No, this is already a precious
child with a heartbeat."
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Well, back in Ahaz's day, he had
embraced the worship of an idol,
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and I believe
his name was Moloch,
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and he was the
idol of the Moabites,
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if I remember
correctly, and so King Ahaz,
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just outside of the
ancient city walls of Jerusalem,
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in the Valley of
the son of Hinnom,
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as it came to be called,
is where he would set up this
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metal idol, this
large, larger-than-life,
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metal idol, this
idol named Moloch,
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and then he would take some
of his sons and his daughters,
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and he would encourage other
citizens that wanted to worship
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Moloch as well and to receive
Moloch's blessing to take a
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child that has
already been born--
00:11:51.41\00:11:54.21
so they didn't have to have an
ultrasound to be able see this
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precious life that
God has given to them.
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They are carrying this child.
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They are nursing this child.
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They are feeding--they are
changing its diapers already,
00:12:02.32\00:12:06.29
and they take that same
child, and as they heat up--
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as they called it "passing their
children through the fire,"
00:12:09.42\00:12:13.19
they would take that child, and
they would bring it out to the
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outstretched metallic,
red-hot hands of this idol,
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and they would lay the baby on
there and let it sear to death
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upon that idol.
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Now, friends, I just want us
to stop for a moment and just
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recognize how wicked and hard
your heart has to be to be able
00:12:29.91\00:12:36.08
to practice that.
00:12:36.12\00:12:38.12
So, friends, the only
reason I'm sharing this,
00:12:38.15\00:12:40.16
as gruesome as it is, is to
be able to help us to understand
00:12:40.19\00:12:42.62
the reality of how steeped into
immorality and into wickedness
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the kingdom of
Judah, in particular,
00:12:48.26\00:12:50.17
its king and his
influence upon the kingdom
00:12:50.20\00:12:53.10
was bringing upon his country.
00:12:53.13\00:12:55.74
This was not a man of God.
00:12:55.77\00:12:57.71
Ahaz did not have
the heart of David.
00:12:57.74\00:13:00.54
He had the genes of David.
00:13:00.58\00:13:03.18
He possessed the
genealogy of David,
00:13:03.21\00:13:05.41
but he did not
have the heart of David.
00:13:05.45\00:13:08.58
He had the heart of wickedness.
00:13:08.62\00:13:11.35
By the way, this is where--
00:13:11.39\00:13:12.69
the Valley of the son of Hinnom
is where we get the term in
00:13:12.72\00:13:14.76
Greek in the New Testament
"Gehenna," and many of you know
00:13:14.79\00:13:18.19
that "Gehenna" is
translated into "hell,"
00:13:18.23\00:13:21.56
and so Jesus was
taking this valley of--
00:13:21.60\00:13:26.33
with the heritage of wickedness,
both in passing the children of
00:13:26.37\00:13:30.01
the different worshipers
of Moloch through the fire and
00:13:30.04\00:13:32.64
searing and burning their
different children in sacrifice
00:13:32.67\00:13:35.54
to the God, and then later on
it was a dump of refuge in which
00:13:35.58\00:13:38.95
the different dead carcasses
and garbage, and so on, would be
00:13:38.98\00:13:42.32
burned just outside of the walls
of Jerusalem in Jesus's day.
00:13:42.35\00:13:49.16
Indeed, it was a place that
was literally hell on Earth in
00:13:49.19\00:13:52.43
different ways throughout its
history and rightly a fitting
00:13:52.46\00:13:55.63
symbol of the future judgment of
hell that God has in store for
00:13:55.66\00:13:58.63
the devil and his
angels and, sadly,
00:13:58.67\00:14:00.94
for any of us that reject the
mercy and the graciousness and
00:14:00.97\00:14:04.91
the love that God has for us.
00:14:04.94\00:14:10.45
Now, because Ahaz had already
rejected God as his counselor,
00:14:10.48\00:14:13.52
had embraced very deep and
steeped wickedness in his life
00:14:13.55\00:14:17.85
and in his heart, he
was already on the same page
00:14:17.89\00:14:20.59
as King Tiglath-Pileser.
00:14:20.62\00:14:23.26
Now, Tiglath-Pileser was the
king of the Assyrian superpower
00:14:23.29\00:14:26.83
that was rising up and
expanding his empire around him.
00:14:26.86\00:14:30.43
If you go to that key chapter
that I talked about earlier,
00:14:30.47\00:14:32.97
2 Kings chapter 16, it reveals
that King Ahaz obviously admired
00:14:33.00\00:14:37.81
Assyria, had admired
this king of Assyria,
00:14:37.84\00:14:41.24
Tiglath-Pileser,
for its great power,
00:14:41.28\00:14:44.05
for its great success
in expanding its empire.
00:14:44.08\00:14:48.78
In fact, if you
read that chapter,
00:14:48.82\00:14:50.12
it tells us that King Ahaz
had imitated the Assyrian king's
00:14:50.15\00:14:54.16
altar of sacrifices, and he
immediately had commissioned
00:14:54.19\00:14:57.33
the head priest in Jerusalem to
make a replica of the exact same
00:14:57.36\00:15:01.16
altar that this
pagan king had developed.
00:15:01.20\00:15:05.27
And now King Ahaz was bringing
his sacrifices before the altar
00:15:05.30\00:15:09.90
and before the
altar-- on the altar,
00:15:09.94\00:15:12.04
his newfound
altar, before the temple,
00:15:12.07\00:15:14.44
the Jewish temple of Jerusalem.
00:15:14.48\00:15:20.48
And so we can only imagine that
King Ahaz was more than happy to
00:15:25.95\00:15:29.76
approach this Assyrian
king and ask him for help.
00:15:29.79\00:15:33.06
This was a great
excuse, almost for certain,
00:15:33.09\00:15:35.36
in his mind, that he might
be able to partner up with this
00:15:35.40\00:15:38.00
most powerful man in the world.
00:15:38.03\00:15:41.87
Well, even though Ahaz wanted
nothing to do with the man of
00:15:41.90\00:15:44.07
God, he did not
approach the man of God,
00:15:44.11\00:15:45.97
Isaiah, he did not want anything
to do with God or the man of
00:15:46.01\00:15:48.81
God, the Bible tells us in
the later verses of chapter 7,
00:15:48.84\00:15:52.48
in the book of Isaiah, that God
had sent Isaiah to search out
00:15:52.51\00:15:55.45
for Ahaz with an offer to
encourage him and to help him.
00:15:55.48\00:16:00.59
Now, God knew that this
was critical for God's plan of
00:16:00.62\00:16:03.09
salvation and preserving the
tribe of Judah and preserving
00:16:03.12\00:16:06.83
David's dynasty.
00:16:06.86\00:16:09.53
If Judah were conquered, even as
the northern kingdom of Israel
00:16:09.56\00:16:13.44
eventually was by this
foreign power called Assyria,
00:16:13.47\00:16:17.17
Assyria would've taken the tribe
of Judah and did the same thing
00:16:17.21\00:16:20.51
that he did with the
northern tribes of Israel.
00:16:20.54\00:16:23.01
He would resettle and assimilate
them with foreigners even as
00:16:23.04\00:16:28.12
they did in the north.
00:16:28.15\00:16:30.55
This is why, even today, the ten
tribes that made up the northern
00:16:30.59\00:16:34.32
kingdom of Israel are referred
to as the "ten lost tribes."
00:16:34.36\00:16:38.06
Why?
00:16:38.09\00:16:39.39
Because they became so
intermarried and so blended
00:16:39.43\00:16:42.96
with the other foreign powers
that Assyria had purposely done
00:16:43.00\00:16:46.07
as they did with all
conquered nations that,
00:16:46.10\00:16:48.74
indeed, they
became the Samaritans.
00:16:48.77\00:16:51.17
Did they have Jewish blood?
00:16:51.21\00:16:52.51
Yes, but they also had the blood
and the genes of all kinds of
00:16:52.54\00:16:55.41
other different
foreign races and peoples.
00:16:55.44\00:16:57.95
And so there was
no more purebreds,
00:16:57.98\00:17:00.75
if we could call it that.
00:17:00.78\00:17:02.02
There was no more pure Jews that
remained by the time Jesus lived
00:17:02.05\00:17:05.52
on the earth.
00:17:05.55\00:17:08.56
Now, if this had taken place
and Assyria had conquered Judah,
00:17:08.59\00:17:12.06
they would've done
the same thing to Judah,
00:17:12.09\00:17:13.86
and, therefore, the lineage
of Jesus Christ would be lost,
00:17:13.90\00:17:17.40
and the Son of David,
the ultimate Son of David,
00:17:17.43\00:17:19.73
Jesus Christ
Himself, would not be able to
00:17:19.77\00:17:22.34
arrive as God had planned.
00:17:22.37\00:17:25.61
And by the way,
this is interesting.
00:17:25.64\00:17:26.98
This is the only reason
that Jesus and His stepdad,
00:17:27.01\00:17:30.95
if we can call him that, Joseph,
are the only ones in the New
00:17:30.98\00:17:34.42
Testament that can claim that
they are a pure Jew coming from
00:17:34.45\00:17:38.75
the pure tribe of
the tribe of Judah, why?
00:17:38.79\00:17:43.43
Because God had protected
them from being conquered
00:17:43.46\00:17:45.69
and assimilated
by the Assyrians.
00:17:45.73\00:17:47.76
They had protected
them from that threat.
00:17:47.83\00:17:50.17
This is why Paul could claim
that he was a purebred Jew,
00:17:50.20\00:17:55.47
a Hebrew of Hebrews, a
descendant of the tribe
00:17:55.50\00:17:58.27
of Benjamin, as
many of you know, okay?
00:17:58.31\00:18:02.34
The tribe of Benjamin.
00:18:02.38\00:18:03.81
And Benjamin was the only tribe
that partnered up with Judah and
00:18:03.85\00:18:07.55
remained with the
southern kingdom of Judah.
00:18:07.58\00:18:10.15
And so those were the only two
tribes that were preserved in
00:18:10.19\00:18:13.59
regards to its
lineage by the time Jesus
00:18:13.62\00:18:16.29
came along in this earth.
00:18:16.32\00:18:19.79
Now, it's true that Judah needed
to be punished eventually,
00:18:19.83\00:18:21.96
sometime about 100 years after
that of the northern kingdom of
00:18:22.00\00:18:25.53
Assyria--I mean, the
northern kingdom of Israel--
00:18:25.57\00:18:28.34
but they were taken captive by
a different superpower that rose
00:18:28.37\00:18:31.17
up a hundred years later,
00:18:31.21\00:18:32.51
and that was the
superpower of Babylon.
00:18:32.54\00:18:35.18
Now, Babylon handled its
captive nations much different
00:18:35.21\00:18:38.95
than Assyria did.
00:18:38.98\00:18:40.28
Rather than forcing this
assimilation between themselves,
00:18:40.32\00:18:43.15
these conquered peoples and the
Assyrians as well as many other
00:18:43.18\00:18:46.12
foreign peoples, the Babylonians
allowed you to become--
00:18:46.15\00:18:50.39
to remain separate and preserve
your particular lineage.
00:18:50.43\00:18:55.96
And so that's
exactly what happened.
00:18:56.00\00:18:58.70
So they were punished, but God
was still able to preserve the
00:18:58.73\00:19:02.14
lineage of David,
the tribe of Judah,
00:19:02.17\00:19:04.17
as well as the
tribe of Benjamin.
00:19:04.21\00:19:07.51
Well, Satan inevitably saw this,
and he inevitably had worked
00:19:07.54\00:19:10.91
through the Assyrian power,
hoping to be able to break
00:19:10.95\00:19:13.85
this pure lineage of
the dynasty of David,
00:19:13.88\00:19:17.52
and not only is the Bible record
very clear that Satan attempted
00:19:17.55\00:19:21.09
this during Ahaz's day, but
he also did through the Assyrian
00:19:21.12\00:19:24.13
power in Hezekiah's day, the one
that took the throne after King
00:19:24.16\00:19:28.46
Ahaz had died.
00:19:28.50\00:19:31.50
But Isaiah
chapter 14, in verse 24,
00:19:31.53\00:19:33.64
it tells us that the
Lord of hosts has sworn,
00:19:33.67\00:19:36.67
saying, "Surely,
as I have thought,
00:19:36.71\00:19:39.51
so it shall come to
pass and, as I have purposed,
00:19:39.54\00:19:42.88
so it shall stand."
00:19:42.91\00:19:46.15
And so when God makes a
purpose, when He has a goal,
00:19:46.18\00:19:48.98
when He knew that
Judah needed to be preserved,
00:19:49.02\00:19:52.25
He meant it, and that's where
we come to verses 3 through 9,
00:19:52.29\00:19:56.52
of the passage that
we're looking at here today.
00:19:56.56\00:19:58.53
Isaiah chapter 7,
verse 3, it goes on and says,
00:19:58.56\00:20:00.93
"Then the Lord said to Isaiah,
'Go out now to meet Ahaz,
00:20:00.96\00:20:04.33
you and
Shear-Jashub, your son--'"
00:20:04.37\00:20:08.04
what does "Shear-Jashub" mean?
00:20:08.07\00:20:09.44
It means "a
remnant shall return."
00:20:09.47\00:20:13.11
And the lesson study pointed out
some good insights on why God
00:20:13.14\00:20:16.38
had
prophetically named this son,
00:20:16.41\00:20:18.58
this first prophetic son
of Isaiah to be a sign to the
00:20:18.61\00:20:23.89
generation and to the
tribe of Judah and that of Ahaz.
00:20:23.92\00:20:28.52
"So don't go alone, Isaiah,
but bring your prophetic son,"
00:20:28.56\00:20:31.26
this sign that declares through
his name that a remnant shall
00:20:31.29\00:20:36.23
return, "at the end of the
aqueduct from the upper pool,
00:20:36.26\00:20:39.50
on the highway to
the Fuller's Field--"
00:20:39.53\00:20:41.07
apparently, the king was
checking out and inspecting
00:20:41.10\00:20:43.34
the water source because he knew
that there was an imminent siege
00:20:43.37\00:20:46.71
of the city of Jerusalem again,
00:20:46.74\00:20:49.11
and, of course, water sources
00:20:49.14\00:20:50.45
are key to being
able to survive the siege.
00:20:50.48\00:20:55.52
Verse 4, God goes on
and says, "and say to him,
00:20:55.55\00:20:57.85
'Take heed, and be quiet,'"
00:20:57.89\00:21:00.12
be calm, "do not fear or
be fainthearted for these two
00:21:00.16\00:21:04.53
stubs of smoking firebrands, for
the fierce anger of Rezin and
00:21:04.56\00:21:09.53
Syria, and also
the son of Remaliah,"
00:21:09.56\00:21:13.34
which is the king of Israel.
00:21:13.37\00:21:15.90
And so God doesn't
refer to them as "smoking,
00:21:15.94\00:21:18.61
fiery, threatening volcanos."
00:21:18.64\00:21:21.21
No, he refers to them
as "smoking firebrands."
00:21:21.24\00:21:24.95
In other words,
they're on their last straw.
00:21:24.98\00:21:26.65
They're taking some
of their last breaths.
00:21:26.68\00:21:28.62
There's just some
smoke that's remaining,
00:21:28.65\00:21:30.95
but the strength of the fire and
the burning power that they may
00:21:30.99\00:21:33.62
have had in the past is
now very quickly burning out.
00:21:33.66\00:21:38.59
"Because Syria, Ephraim--"
00:21:38.63\00:21:41.23
and that's another term that was
00:21:41.26\00:21:42.56
used for the
northern kingdom of Israel--
00:21:42.60\00:21:45.40
"'and the son of Remaliah
have plotted evil against you,
00:21:45.43\00:21:48.37
saying, "Let us go up
against Judah and trouble it,
00:21:48.40\00:21:51.31
and let us make a gap
in its wall for ourselves,
00:21:51.34\00:21:54.24
and set a king over them,
the son of Tabel," and thus says
00:21:54.28\00:21:58.35
the Lord God, "It shall
not stand, nor shall it come to
00:21:58.38\00:22:02.05
pass, for the head
of Syria is Damascus,
00:22:02.08\00:22:04.72
and the head of
Damascus is Rezin.
00:22:04.75\00:22:07.92
Within 65 years
Ephraim will be broken,
00:22:07.96\00:22:11.73
so that it will
not be a people."'"
00:22:11.76\00:22:14.13
Indeed, it was only 12 years
later that Assyria came in and
00:22:14.20\00:22:17.07
conquered Israel and
began to assimilate them and,
00:22:17.10\00:22:19.63
again, we find that, sadly,
those ten tribes very quickly
00:22:19.67\00:22:23.30
in the years ahead became
the lost ten tribes of Israel.
00:22:23.34\00:22:28.91
In verse 9, it says, "The
head of Ephraim is Samaria,
00:22:28.94\00:22:31.28
and the head of
Samaria is Remaliah's son.
00:22:31.31\00:22:34.15
If you will not
believe," God says,
00:22:34.18\00:22:37.22
"surely you shall
not be established."
00:22:37.25\00:22:41.76
And so here's this prophetic
message that the man of God,
00:22:41.79\00:22:44.63
Isaiah, brings to this
very wicked and rebellious king
00:22:44.66\00:22:49.40
by the name of Ahaz, and
God has made it very clear,
00:22:49.43\00:22:53.40
"Listen, I have
declared I am the sovereign one,
00:22:53.44\00:22:57.04
and I've declared, indeed,
that Assyria will not be able
00:22:57.07\00:23:01.34
to conquer you, and both Syria
and the coalition that they
00:23:01.38\00:23:05.58
entered in with the northern
tribe of Israel will not succeed
00:23:05.61\00:23:09.12
in conquering Jerusalem
and taking your throne."
00:23:09.15\00:23:16.02
Well, obviously, after
the first message is given,
00:23:16.06\00:23:18.23
well, God must've seen that Ahaz
was not convinced, because we
00:23:18.26\00:23:21.86
find that God continues on
in trying to convince Ahaz,
00:23:21.90\00:23:25.73
indeed, that
the Lord has spoken,
00:23:25.77\00:23:27.54
and, indeed, it will
come to pass as He said.
00:23:27.57\00:23:30.54
And that's when we come
to verses 10 through 12.
00:23:30.57\00:23:32.81
As we come to 10
through 12, it says,
00:23:32.84\00:23:34.24
"Moreover the Lord
spoke again to Ahaz,
00:23:34.28\00:23:36.34
saying, 'Ask a sign for
yourself from the Lord your God.
00:23:36.38\00:23:40.72
Ask it either in the
depth or in the height above.'
00:23:40.75\00:23:45.69
But Ahaz said, 'I will not
ask, nor will I test the Lord.'"
00:23:45.72\00:23:51.13
Now, friends, we could be
tempted to be able to read
00:23:51.16\00:23:53.16
that and think, "Well,
Ahaz was being, you know, pious.
00:23:53.19\00:23:56.70
He was being reverent
and respectful of God and did
00:23:56.73\00:23:59.30
not want to test him."
00:23:59.33\00:24:01.30
But all we have to do is go on
and read this very next verse,
00:24:01.34\00:24:03.67
and we realize that
there was no good motive,
00:24:03.71\00:24:05.74
no good reason in which Ahaz was
giving in his heart nor in his
00:24:05.77\00:24:08.94
words for such
declining God's offer.
00:24:08.98\00:24:13.25
In verse 13, it
says, "Then he said,
00:24:13.28\00:24:14.95
'Hear now, O house of David.
00:24:14.98\00:24:16.92
Is it a small thing
for you to weary men,
00:24:16.95\00:24:18.95
that you will
weary my God also?'"
00:24:18.99\00:24:24.56
Was Isaiah and God impressed
00:24:24.59\00:24:25.96
with the answer in
which Ahaz had given?
00:24:25.99\00:24:28.46
No.
00:24:28.50\00:24:29.80
You see, we have to remember the
heritage and the character and
00:24:29.83\00:24:32.67
the life of Ahaz, even as I gave
you a small glimpse but very
00:24:32.70\00:24:36.00
needful glimpse of the fact
that this man named Ahaz had
00:24:36.04\00:24:41.18
no respect or reverence for God.
00:24:41.21\00:24:44.81
This man had given himself fully
and completely over to complete
00:24:44.85\00:24:48.75
idolatrous wickedness, and so we
don't want to fall into any kind
00:24:48.78\00:24:52.69
of misunderstanding in regards
to the response of which Ahaz
00:24:52.72\00:24:55.72
gives, and, again,
verse 13 makes it very clear,
00:24:55.76\00:24:57.99
both the prophet Isaiah as well
as God is not impressed at all.
00:24:58.03\00:25:05.10
In fact, I'd like to
suggest that Ahaz could see the
00:25:05.13\00:25:07.60
possibility of a sign, a
supernatural sign that God
00:25:07.64\00:25:10.84
could give as an absolute threat
to his position of unbelief and
00:25:10.87\00:25:14.88
his love for sin.
00:25:14.91\00:25:17.08
He didn't want to threaten that.
00:25:17.11\00:25:19.98
The last thing
King Ahaz wanted to do
00:25:20.02\00:25:22.05
was confirm God's existence.
00:25:22.08\00:25:25.62
He didn't want to
confirm God's existence and ask
00:25:25.65\00:25:27.52
for a
supernatural, miraculous sign.
00:25:27.56\00:25:29.22
No, not at all.
00:25:29.26\00:25:30.56
Not only would it
confirm God's existence,
00:25:30.59\00:25:31.89
but a sign that is given
supernaturally at the offer
00:25:31.93\00:25:34.46
of God and at the request
of King Ahaz would also confirm
00:25:34.46\00:25:37.87
God's sovereignty.
00:25:37.90\00:25:40.74
And the last thing that somebody
is in rebelling against God
00:25:40.77\00:25:43.07
wants is to confirm
God's sovereignty because
00:25:43.10\00:25:46.21
if you go ahead and
confirm God's sovereignty,
00:25:46.24\00:25:48.84
which a miraculous
sign and miracle would do,
00:25:48.88\00:25:52.08
it would also then ultimately
confirm that God is the ultimate
00:25:52.11\00:25:55.08
Judge, and the last thing that
somebody that's in love with
00:25:55.12\00:26:00.16
sin and rebelling against
God wants is to be able to be
00:26:00.19\00:26:02.66
confirmed that, one day,
he will be held accountable
00:26:02.69\00:26:05.46
before the Almighty.
00:26:05.49\00:26:08.13
And so you can see why
Ahaz so readily and so quickly,
00:26:08.16\00:26:12.73
without hesitation,
had declined on this offer
00:26:12.77\00:26:15.47
that God had given to him.
00:26:15.50\00:26:21.48
Well, then we come to the punch
line of our lesson study here
00:26:21.51\00:26:24.78
today which is
chapter 7 and verse 14,
00:26:24.81\00:26:28.92
chapter 7 and verse 14.
00:26:28.95\00:26:33.09
And this is where I
want to park for most
00:26:33.12\00:26:34.79
of our time here together.
00:26:34.82\00:26:36.12
And so we kind of
moved pretty quickly through
00:26:36.16\00:26:38.06
the first
verses, but that's okay.
00:26:38.09\00:26:39.69
The lesson study covers
it very thoroughly and well.
00:26:39.73\00:26:44.83
We certainly looked at some
additional insights and such
00:26:44.87\00:26:46.87
that, I think, help us to be
able to understand the context
00:26:46.90\00:26:50.44
of what is taking
place when we make our way
00:26:50.47\00:26:52.11
to this very famous prophecy.
00:26:52.14\00:26:54.64
It's a prophecy in
which we are very familiar.
00:26:54.68\00:26:56.54
Some of us have
written and, you know,
00:26:56.58\00:26:58.51
have bought Christmas cards
in recent holiday season here,
00:26:58.55\00:27:01.45
and, you know, one of
my favorites that we used
00:27:01.48\00:27:03.45
to give out, you know,
said in big, nice gold letters,
00:27:03.49\00:27:05.72
"Immanuel, God with us."
00:27:05.75\00:27:11.56
Christ, the living
Christ, the Son of God,
00:27:11.59\00:27:14.46
clothed Himself in humanity when
He was conceived by the Holy
00:27:14.46\00:27:17.53
Spirit in the womb of a young
virgin by the name of Mary.
00:27:17.57\00:27:22.67
Now, friends, this is the heart
of the Christmas message and the
00:27:22.70\00:27:25.21
hope of the gospel and the
beginning of the hope of the
00:27:25.24\00:27:27.68
gospel that Jesus, who
had fulfilled His promise,
00:27:27.71\00:27:30.51
He had become one with humanity.
00:27:30.55\00:27:34.48
Verse 14, it says,
"Therefore the Lord Himself
00:27:34.52\00:27:38.15
will give you a sign."
00:27:38.19\00:27:40.26
Ahaz declines because his heart
and his motives are in a very
00:27:40.29\00:27:44.69
bad place, and so
the Lord says, "Listen,
00:27:44.73\00:27:47.13
whether you want it or not,
I'm going to give it to you.
00:27:47.13\00:27:50.67
I'm going to give you a sign.
00:27:50.70\00:27:52.10
I will decide
what that sign is."
00:27:52.13\00:27:53.80
What is that sign, Lord?
00:27:53.84\00:27:55.07
The sign is this: "Behold, the
virgin shall conceive and bear
00:27:55.10\00:27:58.94
a Son, and shall
call His name Immanuel."
00:27:58.97\00:28:05.51
Now, again, the Hebrew name and
term "Immanuel" literally means
00:28:05.55\00:28:08.75
"God is with us."
00:28:08.78\00:28:14.99
Now, friends, again, this
is likely the most famous,
00:28:15.02\00:28:17.79
well-known Old Testament
prophecy concerning Christ's
00:28:17.83\00:28:20.76
death, and when we go to
the gospel of record of Matthew
00:28:20.80\00:28:24.93
chapter 1, we find that Matthew
was the only one that was
00:28:24.97\00:28:27.40
inspired by God to be able to
record and confirm the ultimate,
00:28:27.44\00:28:32.07
the ultimate fulfillment
of this powerful prophecy,
00:28:32.11\00:28:36.08
not only was it a
prophecy but it was a promise.
00:28:36.11\00:28:40.28
In chapter 1, in
verses 18 through 25,
00:28:40.32\00:28:42.48
I read it here
together with you.
00:28:42.52\00:28:44.29
If you have your Bibles, I
invite you to open as we look
00:28:44.32\00:28:46.76
at that together.
00:28:46.79\00:28:48.09
It's Matthew chapter 1,
and verses 18 through 25.
00:28:48.12\00:28:51.56
It says, "Now the birth of
Jesus Christ was as follows:
00:28:51.59\00:28:54.96
After His mother Mary
was betrothed to Joseph,
00:28:55.00\00:28:58.50
before they came together,
she was found with child of
00:28:58.53\00:29:02.24
the Holy Spirit, and
then Joseph her husband,
00:29:02.27\00:29:06.98
being a just man, and not
wanting to make her a public
00:29:07.01\00:29:09.78
example, was minded to
put her away secretly."
00:29:09.81\00:29:13.78
Very obviously, Joseph was
not as convinced as Mary and the
00:29:13.82\00:29:16.35
others were that that in which
was conceived in her womb did
00:29:16.38\00:29:18.85
not come from having sexual
relationships with another man.
00:29:18.89\00:29:24.69
"But while he
thought about these things,
00:29:24.73\00:29:26.46
behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream,
00:29:26.49\00:29:29.66
saying, 'Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take to you
00:29:29.70\00:29:34.27
Mary your wife, for that which
00:29:34.30\00:29:36.00
is conceived in her
is of the Holy Spirit,'"
00:29:36.04\00:29:41.41
not another man
but of the Holy Spirit.
00:29:41.44\00:29:44.51
"And she will bring forth a Son,
00:29:44.55\00:29:46.72
and you shall
call His name Jesus--"
00:29:46.75\00:29:49.52
"Jesus"
literally means "Savior--"
00:29:49.55\00:29:51.99
"'for He will save His
people from their sins.'
00:29:52.02\00:29:56.42
So all this was done that
it might be fulfilled which was
00:29:56.46\00:29:58.93
spoken by the Lord
through the prophet--"
00:29:58.96\00:30:00.80
what prophet, friends?
00:30:00.83\00:30:02.63
The prophet Isaiah--
00:30:02.66\00:30:04.30
"which was spoken
through the prophet saying,
00:30:04.33\00:30:06.07
'Behold, the virgin
shall be with child,
00:30:06.10\00:30:09.80
and bear a Son, and they
shall call His name Immanuel,'
00:30:09.84\00:30:16.91
which is
translated, 'God with us.'"
00:30:16.95\00:30:21.82
Now, friends, many
people who read these verses,
00:30:21.85\00:30:26.09
coming back to Isaiah chapter
7, when we return back to Isaiah
00:30:26.12\00:30:29.92
chapter 7, even as we've
looked at the first 14 verses,
00:30:29.96\00:30:32.89
particularly verses 1 through 13
that makes its way up to that of
00:30:32.93\00:30:36.83
verse 14, but also including
the first half of verse 14,
00:30:36.87\00:30:41.27
many people are confused by
why a prophecy that is clearly
00:30:41.30\00:30:45.27
fulfilled in Isaiah's time
is now being applied 700 years
00:30:45.31\00:30:50.08
later to the arrival of Jesus.
00:30:50.11\00:30:54.08
Now, this is not
unusual confusion.
00:30:54.12\00:30:55.92
These are not unusual questions
that we ask when we first come
00:30:55.95\00:30:58.59
to read Isaiah.
00:30:58.62\00:30:59.92
When I first read through
the book of Isaiah and came
00:30:59.95\00:31:01.52
to chapter 7, and read
the verses that preceded that
00:31:01.56\00:31:04.69
of verse 14, as well as
the last, the two verses that
00:31:04.73\00:31:08.70
followed up with verse 14, made
it very clear to me that that
00:31:08.73\00:31:12.43
prophecy was fulfilled
in the generation of Isaiah,
00:31:12.47\00:31:15.84
and, yet I'd already read the
gospel of Matthew where God had
00:31:15.87\00:31:18.27
very clearly declared that
it also applied, or did apply,
00:31:18.31\00:31:21.34
to the virgin Mary and
the conception of Jesus.
00:31:21.38\00:31:26.48
Let's read verses 15 and 16.
00:31:26.51\00:31:30.05
Okay, we're going
to Isaiah chapter 7,
00:31:30.09\00:31:32.19
and we're looking at
the following verses.
00:31:32.22\00:31:34.42
Again, what is the
most important thing in
00:31:34.46\00:31:36.22
understanding any particular
verse in all of the Scripture?
00:31:36.26\00:31:40.73
Well, one of the most
important rules of safe,
00:31:40.76\00:31:43.26
reliable interpretation
of the Bible is context.
00:31:43.30\00:31:45.83
You know, in
real estate, they say,
00:31:45.87\00:31:47.50
"The number one golden
rule for real estate in choosing
00:31:47.54\00:31:50.81
real estate is location,
location, and location."
00:31:50.84\00:31:55.41
I guess, no, what's the saying?
00:31:55.44\00:31:56.98
"The top three rules of
real estate is location,
00:31:57.01\00:32:00.32
location, location."
00:32:00.35\00:32:01.88
And when it
comes to Bible study,
00:32:01.92\00:32:04.89
"context, context, context."
00:32:04.92\00:32:08.32
Context means
everything, friends.
00:32:08.36\00:32:10.03
Of course, the Holy
Spirit is number one,
00:32:10.06\00:32:11.46
but the second number one
rule that we have in reliable
00:32:11.49\00:32:14.46
interpretation is context.
00:32:14.50\00:32:17.03
Verse 15, goes on and says
as Isaiah continues and the Lord
00:32:17.07\00:32:20.14
continues, he says to King Ahaz,
"Curds and honey He," that is,
00:32:20.17\00:32:24.44
Immanuel, "shall eat, that He
may know to refuse the evil and
00:32:24.47\00:32:29.91
choose the good.
00:32:29.94\00:32:31.55
For before the Child shall know
to refuse the evil and choose
00:32:31.58\00:32:34.92
the good, the land that you
dread will be forsaken by both
00:32:34.95\00:32:38.79
her kings," the kings of
Israel and the king of Syria.
00:32:38.82\00:32:42.99
And so both the verses that
come up to the great prophecy,
00:32:43.02\00:32:46.06
this Christmas prophecy, or
prophecy of the birth of Christ,
00:32:46.09\00:32:48.56
as well as the verses
that follow make it very clear
00:32:48.60\00:32:52.30
that God had brought a Son, a
boy in the very near future of
00:32:52.33\00:32:56.87
Ahaz, that would
be named Immanuel.
00:32:56.91\00:33:01.48
Now, this is in perfect harmony
with the trend that God had
00:33:01.51\00:33:04.21
already began
through the prophet Isaiah,
00:33:04.25\00:33:06.25
for there is already a son
that Isaiah had given birth to,
00:33:06.28\00:33:08.82
and God had
chosen his name as well,
00:33:08.85\00:33:10.75
"I want you to name it
'a remnant shall return.'"
00:33:10.79\00:33:15.72
And now God is saying to King
Ahaz that there is another boy
00:33:15.76\00:33:19.03
that will be born.
00:33:19.06\00:33:20.36
His name will be
Immanuel, "God is with us."
00:33:20.40\00:33:24.77
And before He grows
old enough, in other words,
00:33:24.80\00:33:27.00
while He's still
in His toddler years,
00:33:27.04\00:33:30.97
you will find that these great
and threatening kingdoms from
00:33:31.01\00:33:33.64
the north will be squelched, and
they will no longer be a threat.
00:33:33.68\00:33:38.08
In other words,
God is saying, "Listen,
00:33:38.11\00:33:39.41
this is a sign to let
you know that I'm in charge.
00:33:39.45\00:33:41.88
I've got you covered."
00:33:41.92\00:33:47.89
Now, this is what
we need to understand.
00:33:47.92\00:33:49.62
We need to understand that the
prophecy that is found in Isaiah
00:33:49.66\00:33:52.09
chapter 7 and verse 14,
00:33:52.13\00:33:53.70
is what we call a
dual application prophecy.
00:33:53.73\00:33:57.20
And what do I mean by that?
00:33:57.23\00:33:58.53
Well, what I mean by that is
that there are two applications
00:33:58.57\00:34:01.40
to that prophecy.
00:34:01.44\00:34:02.87
There is a one that is
closer into the future.
00:34:02.90\00:34:06.01
They are both future prophecies.
00:34:06.04\00:34:07.64
For Immanuel, the
Son, of Isaiah's time,
00:34:07.68\00:34:09.44
had not yet come,
but there's two future--
00:34:09.48\00:34:12.21
there's two applications.
00:34:12.25\00:34:13.58
The first one was in
the more immediate future,
00:34:13.62\00:34:15.55
and then the next one was 700
years into the future in this
00:34:15.58\00:34:18.35
particular case, where it was
fulfilled, ultimately, in the
00:34:18.39\00:34:21.69
conception of Jesus
in the womb of Mary.
00:34:21.72\00:34:26.06
Now, this particular kind
of dual application of prophecy
00:34:26.09\00:34:28.63
is not alone.
00:34:28.66\00:34:29.96
One of the most
famous and well-known,
00:34:30.00\00:34:31.43
especially within the Adventist
church is we are very prolific
00:34:31.47\00:34:34.34
studiers of the
end-time prophesies that God has
00:34:34.37\00:34:37.17
given to us as this end-time
movement of the Seventh-day
00:34:37.21\00:34:40.64
Adventist church is bringing
the three angels' message to the
00:34:40.68\00:34:43.21
world, and the classic dual
prophecy that we have studied
00:34:43.24\00:34:47.62
and that we preach and share
with so many millions around
00:34:47.65\00:34:49.68
the world every single year
is that found in Matthew chapter
00:34:49.72\00:34:52.79
24, because in Matthew chapter
24, Jesus had referenced to a
00:34:52.82\00:34:57.56
statement that Daniel had
written some 500 years before
00:34:57.59\00:35:00.96
Jesus, in which he talked
00:35:01.00\00:35:02.80
about a coming
abomination of desolation.
00:35:02.83\00:35:06.50
Now, the gospel of Luke tells
us that the first application
00:35:06.53\00:35:09.17
of that abomination
of desolation that Jesus
00:35:09.20\00:35:11.61
warned his people about took
place in 70 A.D., when the pagan
00:35:11.64\00:35:15.94
Roman army surrounded
the holy city of Jerusalem.
00:35:15.98\00:35:19.25
They sacked and completely
leveled and burned the city,
00:35:19.28\00:35:22.52
but then, when
they came to the temple,
00:35:22.55\00:35:24.22
they did the same thing.
00:35:24.25\00:35:25.62
They leveled the temple.
00:35:25.65\00:35:26.96
As Jesus said, "Not one stone
will be left upon another."
00:35:26.99\00:35:31.39
Now, friends, that was the first
application of that prophecy,
00:35:31.43\00:35:33.73
was it not?
00:35:33.76\00:35:35.63
But that wasn't the last
application of the prophecy.
00:35:35.66\00:35:37.83
It was a dual application.
00:35:37.87\00:35:39.40
Now, the second application
was much more international,
00:35:39.43\00:35:42.27
much more widespread, even as it
is still being fulfilled today,
00:35:42.30\00:35:47.71
and that second application
of the abomination of desolation
00:35:47.74\00:35:50.55
is not the pagan Roman armies
that come in and trample around
00:35:50.58\00:35:54.65
a earthly temple, but it is the
Roman Church that comes in and
00:35:54.68\00:35:58.19
tramples upon a heavenly
sanctuary and temple where
00:35:58.22\00:36:02.22
Jesus is interceding for all
believers as our High Priest,
00:36:02.26\00:36:09.80
applying his sacrifice that he
made on the cross of Calvary for
00:36:09.83\00:36:14.17
the cleansing of our sins, that
we might have of hope of sinners
00:36:14.20\00:36:17.11
of growing and accepting
the salvation that comes through
00:36:17.14\00:36:20.21
Jesus Christ alone.
00:36:20.24\00:36:23.31
And so what happened was
the ultimate fulfillment of this
00:36:23.35\00:36:26.51
particular prophecy, the
abomination of desolation,
00:36:26.55\00:36:28.78
is that the Roman Church
then removed Christ's daily
00:36:28.82\00:36:32.35
intercession for us as our High
Priest and replaced it with an
00:36:32.39\00:36:36.83
earthly priesthood.
00:36:36.86\00:36:40.46
So rather than going to the
heavenly sanctuary and to the
00:36:40.50\00:36:43.70
heavenly eternal
priest, Jesus Christ Himself,
00:36:43.73\00:36:47.34
with my sins, for
cleansing for my guilt,
00:36:47.37\00:36:49.84
now I am sent to my local
church and my local priest,
00:36:49.87\00:36:54.38
and the Bible calls that the
ultimate spiritual fulfillment,
00:36:54.41\00:36:57.81
the second fulfillment of
this particular dual prophecy.
00:36:57.85\00:37:03.02
And so that's
one of the classic,
00:37:03.05\00:37:04.65
largest dual prophecies
that we find in the Bible.
00:37:04.69\00:37:10.33
Immanuel's first application
00:37:10.36\00:37:12.76
is found in the
generation of Isaiah.
00:37:12.79\00:37:17.80
Now, the evidence for this is
overwhelming in both chapter 7
00:37:17.83\00:37:20.70
and chapter 8, and the evidence
is overwhelming in favor of this
00:37:20.74\00:37:25.47
particular first Immanuel, this
first sign and prophetic child
00:37:25.51\00:37:29.98
to be born to a prophetess
by the name of Mrs. Isaiah.
00:37:30.01\00:37:37.19
And you could find that in
chapter 8, in verses 3 to 4.
00:37:37.22\00:37:39.95
Now, in verses 3 and
4, of the 8th chapter,
00:37:39.99\00:37:42.02
you'll find there that there is
a third prophetic son now that
00:37:42.06\00:37:44.83
is now born, and his
name is kind of long,
00:37:44.86\00:37:47.50
and if I spoke Aramaic
or something like that,
00:37:47.50\00:37:49.56
I think I could
pronounce it a whole lot better,
00:37:49.60\00:37:51.13
but when you go to those verses,
you'll find that God then
00:37:51.17\00:37:53.77
instructed Isaiah to have a
third prophetic child with a
00:37:53.80\00:37:58.51
prophetic name that was to be
a sign to the nation and to the
00:37:58.54\00:38:03.18
generation of Ahaz.
00:38:03.21\00:38:06.61
Now, many of us can
get very uncomfortable when
00:38:06.65\00:38:08.58
we are confronted with the idea
that the original application of
00:38:08.62\00:38:11.39
this particular prophecy
included a young married woman
00:38:11.42\00:38:14.62
of childbearing age but
wasn't really a literal virgin.
00:38:14.66\00:38:20.33
In fact, if you go
to the original Hebrew,
00:38:20.36\00:38:22.10
there are two words that
are used to describe young women
00:38:22.13\00:38:24.53
of childbearing age
that are also marriageable,
00:38:24.57\00:38:27.24
and one of them refers to one
that is already married and has
00:38:27.27\00:38:31.24
been with a man, and the other
refers to a woman that is a
00:38:31.27\00:38:33.71
virgin that has
never been with a man.
00:38:33.74\00:38:35.68
As it turns out, the Hebrew that
is used by Isaiah and by the
00:38:35.71\00:38:38.68
Lord in Isaiah
chapter 7, in verse 14,
00:38:38.71\00:38:41.42
is the word that is not referred
to a literal virgin but a woman
00:38:41.45\00:38:44.42
that is of childbearing age that
is marriageable that is already
00:38:44.45\00:38:48.16
having sexual
relations with a man.
00:38:48.19\00:38:52.63
Now, the Bible's commentary,
as the Seventh-day Adventist
00:38:52.66\00:38:54.76
commentary as I found, explains
this in a very first-class way,
00:38:54.83\00:38:58.20
and so I just don't have time
to be able to run over all the
00:38:58.23\00:39:01.37
details of which they shared,
but if you want to study this
00:39:01.40\00:39:05.21
more thoroughly, I highly
recommend that you go to the
00:39:05.24\00:39:07.54
Seventh-day
Adventist commentaries.
00:39:07.58\00:39:09.08
Look up this particular verse,
and they spend several pages
00:39:09.11\00:39:13.52
explaining this in a
very first-class way.
00:39:13.55\00:39:17.59
Now, of course, if
this is a dual prophecy,
00:39:17.62\00:39:20.16
and the first prophecy is
fulfilled through a boy named
00:39:20.19\00:39:22.49
Immanuel in Isaiah's day, we
don't want that woman to be a
00:39:22.52\00:39:25.76
virgin because,
if she is a virgin,
00:39:25.79\00:39:29.56
we run into some very quickly--
00:39:29.60\00:39:31.53
we very quickly run into
some very real theological
00:39:31.57\00:39:34.97
problems because, if
she's a literal virgin that is
00:39:35.00\00:39:38.17
supernaturally conceived by
the Holy Spirit, even as Jesus
00:39:38.21\00:39:40.84
was through Mary, now
we have two divine beings
00:39:40.88\00:39:43.88
that arrived in history.
00:39:43.91\00:39:45.58
We have one that arrives
in Isaiah's day and the second
00:39:45.61\00:39:47.72
one that arrives in Christ's
day, in Mary's day, and,
00:39:47.75\00:39:51.19
of course, we
don't want that, do we?
00:39:51.22\00:39:53.79
No, that raises a
much larger problem
00:39:53.82\00:39:56.76
for us to be able to handle.
00:39:56.79\00:40:00.23
And so I know that this
brings us to the million-dollar
00:40:00.26\00:40:02.23
question, and I know
that I'm speaking if--
00:40:02.26\00:40:06.30
to a number of different
conservative, very sincere
00:40:06.33\00:40:08.70
Christians and some scholars
in the different circles of very
00:40:08.74\00:40:13.61
sincere Christians have done all
kinds of gymnastics trying to
00:40:13.64\00:40:16.38
demonstrate that the--
00:40:16.41\00:40:17.71
and prove that the
original virgin that's spoken
00:40:17.75\00:40:19.91
of in Isaiah's day
was a literal virgin.
00:40:19.95\00:40:23.12
And friends, we get into
a whole lot more problems.
00:40:23.15\00:40:25.19
We dig ourselves into a very
big hole that actually makes
00:40:25.22\00:40:29.92
the Bible more illegitimate and
more difficult for us to accept
00:40:29.96\00:40:33.83
as the infallible record
of the Word of God because,
00:40:33.86\00:40:37.93
again, we don't want the first
woman that bears Immanuel to be
00:40:37.97\00:40:40.94
a virgin that is conceived
supernaturally because then
00:40:40.97\00:40:43.81
we get into some
very real problems.
00:40:43.84\00:40:46.88
And so the
million-dollar question is this:
00:40:46.91\00:40:48.51
"Does the first application
and fulfillment of this prophecy
00:40:48.54\00:40:52.15
through a naturally born son in
Isaiah's day negate its second
00:40:52.18\00:40:56.45
application to a marriageable
virgin woman who has a
00:40:56.48\00:41:00.62
supernatural
conception by the Holy Spirit?
00:41:00.66\00:41:05.56
No, not at all, friends.
00:41:05.59\00:41:07.60
It does not put itself at odds.
00:41:07.60\00:41:09.20
I think some of us have
mistakenly come to believe
00:41:09.23\00:41:11.47
and understand
somehow that it does.
00:41:11.50\00:41:15.47
God's infallible, inspired,
prophetic Word declares in the
00:41:15.50\00:41:20.71
prophetic book of
Matthew that, indeed,
00:41:20.74\00:41:24.75
Mary and Jesus found themselves
being conceived supernaturally
00:41:24.78\00:41:30.32
by the Holy Spirit Himself
within the very womb of the
00:41:30.35\00:41:35.26
woman named Mary.
00:41:35.29\00:41:38.33
Friends, it's absolutely
completely clear when we
00:41:38.36\00:41:40.96
come to the Word of
God in Matthew chapter 1,
00:41:41.00\00:41:43.50
even as we have just read.
00:41:43.53\00:41:45.97
And so God has made
it crystal clear that the
00:41:46.00\00:41:48.14
ultimate application in terms
and in the context of Mary is
00:41:48.17\00:41:52.61
that she was a literal
woman that had never had sexual
00:41:52.64\00:41:54.98
relations with any man, both
before she conceived Jesus in
00:41:55.01\00:41:59.78
her womb through the
Holy Spirit, as well as
00:41:59.81\00:42:02.08
throughout her entire pregnancy.
00:42:02.12\00:42:06.35
Now, friends, we know that it's
not unusual for a couple that
00:42:06.39\00:42:09.46
is married, even
after the woman is married,
00:42:09.49\00:42:11.39
to continue to
have sexual relations,
00:42:11.43\00:42:13.66
but as you read the gospel
record of Matthew chapter 1,
00:42:13.70\00:42:17.27
we find that God had inspired
and confirmed to that of Joseph
00:42:17.30\00:42:21.27
that he is to determine
both with himself and with Mary
00:42:21.30\00:42:24.77
that they would not have sexual
relationships even after they
00:42:24.81\00:42:28.14
went to the wedding
altar until Jesus was born.
00:42:28.18\00:42:34.52
Now, of course, this
confirmed without a doubt that
00:42:34.55\00:42:38.29
when Jesus was born,
it was a miraculous birth.
00:42:38.32\00:42:42.56
It was a supernatural birth.
00:42:42.59\00:42:46.56
It was the birth that
saved all of sinful mankind.
00:42:46.59\00:42:53.87
Now, this is most certainly why
God had directed Isaiah not to
00:42:53.90\00:42:57.04
record the details of
Immanuel's birth in his day.
00:42:57.07\00:42:59.77
It's fascinating, but I think
it's also on purpose that we
00:42:59.81\00:43:02.61
can find the details of
the first prophetic boy and son
00:43:02.64\00:43:06.15
of Isaiah being born, which
means "a remnant shall return,"
00:43:06.18\00:43:09.38
and God records the details of
the third prophetic boy that is
00:43:09.42\00:43:13.42
named "speed the prey," and
"speed the booty" or the loot,
00:43:13.46\00:43:18.26
and so on, again, referring
to the eventual conquering and
00:43:18.29\00:43:21.00
judgment of Israel by
Assyria and Judah if they're not
00:43:21.03\00:43:26.50
careful, which eventually it did
00:43:26.53\00:43:28.14
take place in
the days of Babylon.
00:43:28.17\00:43:30.77
But God then purposely inspires
Isaiah to leave out the details
00:43:30.81\00:43:36.38
concerning and surrounding the
birth of what is most likely his
00:43:36.41\00:43:39.75
second prophetic Son, which is
that of the boy named Immanuel,
00:43:39.78\00:43:43.32
"God is with us."
00:43:43.35\00:43:44.65
He will bring us through
this hard time in Isaiah's day.
00:43:44.69\00:43:50.06
Now, this is not the first
time that God had done this.
00:43:50.09\00:43:52.06
He inspired Moses not to record
the details in the birth and the
00:43:52.09\00:43:55.00
life of an ancient king
and priest in Abraham's time.
00:43:55.03\00:43:58.17
His name was Melchizedek.
00:43:58.20\00:44:00.80
Now, Melchizedek was
a fascinating figure.
00:44:00.84\00:44:02.77
He was the king of Salem, which
eventually became Jerusalem,
00:44:02.80\00:44:06.37
and he was also a
priest of the Most High God.
00:44:06.41\00:44:10.51
It is confirmed for
us in Hebrews chapter 7,
00:44:10.55\00:44:12.48
verses 1 through
3, where it says,
00:44:12.51\00:44:14.08
"This same
Melchizedek, the king of Salem,
00:44:14.12\00:44:17.19
the priest of
the Most High God,"
00:44:17.22\00:44:19.12
who is without
father-- later on, in verse 3,
00:44:19.15\00:44:21.36
it says, "without
father, without mother, without
00:44:21.39\00:44:23.43
genealogy, having neither
beginning of the days or end
00:44:23.46\00:44:26.13
of life, but made like the
Son of God, remains a priest
00:44:26.16\00:44:29.66
continually." Now,
friends, I ask the question,
00:44:29.70\00:44:34.10
"Did Melchizedek literally
have no father or mother?
00:44:34.14\00:44:36.81
Did he literally
have no beginning or end?
00:44:36.84\00:44:40.48
No, of course,
he had a beginning.
00:44:40.51\00:44:41.98
Of course, he had an end.
00:44:42.01\00:44:43.31
Of course, he had a mother.
00:44:43.35\00:44:44.68
Of course, he had a father.
00:44:44.71\00:44:46.01
But what Paul is inspired to do
when he is writing and penning
00:44:46.05\00:44:47.98
the words of Hebrews chapter
7, is he's trying to use that,
00:44:48.02\00:44:51.49
or God--he is purposely using
something that God had inspired
00:44:51.52\00:44:54.19
Moses to leave out of
these different details of
00:44:54.22\00:44:56.69
Melchizedek's life so that God
can then use that as a fitting
00:44:56.73\00:45:00.76
figure and prophecy, a symbol
through Melchizedek of the
00:45:00.80\00:45:05.17
coming King and
Priest, Jesus Christ Himself.
00:45:05.20\00:45:09.07
Now, Paul understood that Jesus
is the only being that has no
00:45:09.10\00:45:12.14
beginning or end, that has
no earthly mother or father,
00:45:12.17\00:45:18.15
but God is using Melchizedek
because those details are not
00:45:18.18\00:45:21.52
in the sacred record
to be able to use him
00:45:21.55\00:45:23.79
in a very powerful way.
00:45:23.82\00:45:26.82
The lack of the details
adds to the mystery of the
00:45:26.86\00:45:29.19
original Melchizedek, and it
makes it more effective in using
00:45:29.22\00:45:33.16
him to prophetically point
to the ultimate Melchizedek,
00:45:33.19\00:45:36.87
which is Jesus Christ.
00:45:36.90\00:45:40.10
Even Moses was used
prophetically to represent
00:45:40.14\00:45:42.17
and prefigure Christ.
00:45:42.20\00:45:44.21
In Deuteronomy
chapter 18, in verse 15--
00:45:44.24\00:45:46.37
and this is our
last verse for today--
00:45:46.41\00:45:48.21
it says, "The Lord your God will
raise up for you a Prophet,"
00:45:48.24\00:45:51.05
with a capital "P," if you
look in the New King James,
00:45:51.08\00:45:53.21
"a Prophet like me from
your midst, from your brethren.
00:45:53.25\00:45:57.49
Him you shall hear."
00:45:57.52\00:45:59.62
And so, again, we find here that
God is using Moses in a very
00:45:59.65\00:46:02.92
fitting way as a historical
figure to symbolize the ultimate
00:46:02.96\00:46:07.13
Moses, which is Jesus Christ.
00:46:07.20\00:46:10.57
Now, did Moses have
a beginning and an end?
00:46:10.60\00:46:13.17
Did he have a
mother and a father?
00:46:13.20\00:46:15.00
Sure, he did. Was Moses perfect?
00:46:15.04\00:46:17.67
No.
00:46:17.71\00:46:19.04
Okay, so there's a lot of things
that Moses didn't have that was
00:46:19.07\00:46:21.71
like Christ, but there
was a lot of things that did,
00:46:21.74\00:46:23.91
and there was enough that did
that God was able to use Moses
00:46:23.95\00:46:26.68
as a prefigure, as a prophetic
figure to look forward to the
00:46:26.72\00:46:30.35
ultimate Moses, Jesus Christ.
00:46:30.39\00:46:32.92
And so he says, "There was going
to be a Prophet that is much
00:46:32.95\00:46:35.49
greater and bigger than myself,
but He is very much like me."
00:46:35.52\00:46:40.46
Did Moses lead God's people out
of captivity and sin into the
00:46:40.50\00:46:43.30
liberty and Promised Land and
righteousness of Jesus Christ
00:46:43.33\00:46:46.84
in the land of Canaan?
00:46:46.87\00:46:48.20
Sure, he did.
00:46:48.24\00:46:49.54
Did Jesus deliver you and I from
sin and captivity and slavery
00:46:49.57\00:46:53.04
and to liberty and
righteousness and holiness?
00:46:53.07\00:46:55.81
Sure He did.
00:46:55.84\00:46:57.15
See, you see the
parallel there, friends?
00:46:57.18\00:46:58.61
There's a powerful
parallel between the two,
00:46:58.65\00:47:00.82
and God is simply using the same
00:47:00.85\00:47:02.32
in Isaiah
chapter 7 and verse 14.
00:47:02.35\00:47:05.12
So I hope that was enough time
and enough words to be able to
00:47:05.15\00:47:07.59
help explain and navigate
through what is most commonly
00:47:07.62\00:47:11.23
one of the most misunderstood
prophecies in the Bible,
00:47:11.26\00:47:14.20
and understand that God
knew what He was doing from the
00:47:14.23\00:47:16.83
very beginning, and He was
using it in a very powerful way
00:47:16.87\00:47:19.10
for you and me.
00:47:19.13\00:47:21.34
All right, my friends,
we need to be able to close.
00:47:21.37\00:47:23.27
Don't forget to take advantage
of the free offer that we have
00:47:23.30\00:47:25.97
here today as Pastor
Jëan earlier had offered.
00:47:26.01\00:47:28.94
It's "The Final Verdict,"
and you can go ahead and
00:47:28.98\00:47:31.48
ask for--you can go
ahead and dial 1-866-788-3966.
00:47:31.51\00:47:36.79
Again, that's 1-866-788-3966,
and ask for Offer Number 162,
00:47:36.82\00:47:42.76
and we'll be happy to be
able to get that out to you,
00:47:42.79\00:47:45.09
and until then,
let's close with prayer.
00:47:45.13\00:47:50.17
Father in heaven, we want
to pray that you will bless us
00:47:50.20\00:47:52.00
and keep us, and help each and
every one of us as we continue
00:47:52.03\00:47:54.60
to worship you
and learn your Word,
00:47:54.64\00:47:56.40
in Jesus's name we pray, amen.
00:47:56.44\00:48:01.04
male announcer: Don't
forget to request today's
00:48:01.08\00:48:02.38
life-changing free resource.
00:48:02.41\00:48:04.48
Not only can you receive
this free gift in the mail,
00:48:04.51\00:48:06.58
you can download a digital
copy straight to your computer
00:48:06.61\00:48:09.12
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00:48:09.15\00:48:10.45
To get your digital
copy of today's free gift,
00:48:10.49\00:48:13.25
simply text the keyword
on your screen to 40544,
00:48:13.29\00:48:17.39
or visit the web
address shown on your screen,
00:48:17.43\00:48:20.20
and be sure to select
the digital download option
00:48:20.23\00:48:22.46
on the request page.
00:48:22.50\00:48:23.90
It's now easier than ever
for you to study God's Word with
00:48:23.93\00:48:27.07
Amazing Facts,
wherever and whenever you want,
00:48:27.10\00:48:30.34
and most important,
to share it with others.
00:48:30.37\00:48:34.31
¤¤¤
00:48:34.34\00:48:37.18
male announcer:
Amazing Facts, Changed Lives.
00:48:37.21\00:48:45.19
Charlie Green: My
life was in turmoil.
00:48:45.22\00:48:47.59
My wife and I were
fighting all the time.
00:48:47.62\00:48:49.62
I got away from
everything and everybody.
00:48:49.66\00:48:52.36
I don't know.
00:48:52.39\00:48:53.70
It just--I always had
this emptiness in my heart.
00:48:53.73\00:48:55.80
I want it filled.
00:48:55.83\00:48:57.20
I just felt like I
went my whole life,
00:48:57.23\00:48:59.17
you know, just
searching for something.
00:48:59.20\00:49:02.20
And my father died,
and that ruined me a lot.
00:49:02.24\00:49:05.24
My father didn't
believe in suicide,
00:49:05.27\00:49:07.11
and I didn't want to live,
but rather than disrespect him,
00:49:07.14\00:49:11.05
I decided I would just become so
mean that someone else would do
00:49:11.08\00:49:14.02
it to me, and I
wouldn't have to.
00:49:14.05\00:49:15.38
So I joined the Army, thinking,
00:49:15.42\00:49:17.02
"What better place to
get killed than in the Army?"
00:49:17.05\00:49:19.65
And while I was in the
Army, my daughter got injured.
00:49:19.69\00:49:22.59
She was in an accident, and
she was blind and paraplegic,
00:49:22.62\00:49:28.23
and it's just like
I felt the whole world
00:49:28.26\00:49:30.77
was coming down on me.
00:49:30.80\00:49:32.13
One morning, I
just really got mad,
00:49:32.17\00:49:34.74
and I gave God a cussing
like you wouldn't believe.
00:49:34.77\00:49:37.67
I said, "I'm not Moses.
00:49:37.71\00:49:39.21
I'm not Abraham."
00:49:39.24\00:49:40.54
You know, I don't--
00:49:40.58\00:49:42.38
but I put my sandals on just
like they do, and I'm a man.
00:49:42.41\00:49:45.41
I don't want to know
why this is happening to me.
00:49:45.45\00:49:47.85
I just want to know that
it's happening for a reason.
00:49:47.88\00:49:50.99
If You tell me right now that
this is all for a reason and
00:49:51.02\00:49:53.76
You can stack it on me
from here to the end of time--
00:49:53.79\00:49:57.39
and I will
never complain again."
00:49:57.43\00:50:00.70
And that little TV came on.
00:50:00.73\00:50:03.26
It'd been sitting there
just static all night long,
00:50:03.30\00:50:06.40
and there was this minister.
00:50:06.43\00:50:07.74
Well, he pops up, and he says,
00:50:07.77\00:50:09.34
"Today's lesson is
from the book of Job.
00:50:09.37\00:50:11.07
God only lets those
suffer that He loves the most."
00:50:11.11\00:50:14.64
And I said, "Well, that's
all you have to say, Lord.
00:50:14.68\00:50:16.11
I appreciate it greatly.
00:50:16.14\00:50:17.45
From that day forward, I knew
that He was there and He was in
00:50:17.48\00:50:20.22
my life and that
He would help me.
00:50:20.25\00:50:23.82
I went to prison just
almost immediately after that.
00:50:23.85\00:50:27.96
I was in prison
for aggravated assault.
00:50:27.99\00:50:30.06
I was in one of
the worst prisons
00:50:30.09\00:50:32.09
in the state of Tennessee.
00:50:32.13\00:50:33.43
It was full of gang activity.
00:50:33.46\00:50:35.56
I got my throat
cut-- 52 stitches.
00:50:35.60\00:50:39.40
Man, like, I could take those
fingers and stick them all the
00:50:39.43\00:50:41.34
way through, out my mouth.
00:50:41.37\00:50:42.94
I'd gone to the library that day
because it was really about the
00:50:42.97\00:50:46.31
only thing to do.
00:50:46.34\00:50:47.84
But I ran across
this little book called
00:50:47.88\00:50:49.64
"The Richest Caveman."
00:50:49.68\00:50:51.21
This book is
hilarious, but it is great.
00:50:51.25\00:50:55.02
I'm sitting there
with this big beard.
00:50:55.05\00:50:56.58
I'm thinking, "Hey, I know
what it's like to look like
00:50:56.62\00:50:58.35
a caveman, but--"
00:50:58.39\00:51:00.52
I'm not an educated
person, I guess you'd say,
00:51:00.56\00:51:02.82
but I'm a simple guy.
00:51:02.86\00:51:04.63
I'm just really a simple guy.
00:51:04.66\00:51:06.29
That's what I loved about Doug
Batchelor because this guy is
00:51:06.33\00:51:10.87
just straight
out as you can get.
00:51:10.90\00:51:13.40
And my wife and I, we've kept
contact through all these years,
00:51:13.44\00:51:17.64
and so much is
going on, and I told her,
00:51:17.67\00:51:22.58
I said, "Listen, this is the
center of my world right now,"
00:51:22.61\00:51:27.68
and I said, "I really want you
to be involved in it with me.
00:51:27.72\00:51:30.95
I need it," and I said, "You
will too if you ever just take
00:51:30.99\00:51:34.09
hold of it."
00:51:34.12\00:51:35.42
I told my wife, I said, "Listen,
I've got this Amazing Facts
00:51:35.46\00:51:37.69
Bible study going here, and this
is the best way for you to get
00:51:37.73\00:51:42.16
this
information, I think," I said,
00:51:42.20\00:51:45.00
"because it's broken down, and
they give you questions and--
00:51:45.03\00:51:51.34
to make you look for
these things, you know.
00:51:51.37\00:51:54.54
So it's not anyone telling you.
00:51:54.58\00:51:56.58
You find it on your own,
00:51:56.61\00:51:57.91
and they teach you to
actually use the Bible."
00:51:57.95\00:52:00.75
She was there faithfully every
Wednesday until we decided,
00:52:00.78\00:52:05.02
you know, she
wanted to be baptized also.
00:52:05.05\00:52:08.69
She saw it coming around.
00:52:08.72\00:52:10.93
The choice was
made, and October the 4th,
00:52:10.96\00:52:14.50
2014, my wife and I, we were
baptized in the water at the
00:52:14.56\00:52:18.17
same time, and we
started our walk together,
00:52:18.20\00:52:23.77
I guess you'd say.
00:52:23.81\00:52:25.41
I went through everything that
a man could possibly go through,
00:52:25.44\00:52:28.38
I guess, from marital
trouble, loss of family members,
00:52:28.41\00:52:34.55
death in my family,
my children were harmed,
00:52:34.58\00:52:37.32
and my daughter is
handicapped for life.
00:52:37.35\00:52:40.89
I went to prison, but still,
00:52:40.92\00:52:43.96
I kept my word to God that He
could stack it on me as much as
00:52:43.99\00:52:48.36
He wanted, and I'd
never question Him again,
00:52:48.40\00:52:50.70
and I didn't.
00:52:50.73\00:52:52.73
But I can say this much:
00:52:52.77\00:52:54.60
He never put nothing on me that
I couldn't handle, and He walked
00:52:54.64\00:52:58.61
with me through it all.
00:52:58.64\00:53:00.74
And I'd like to say that--
00:53:00.78\00:53:02.21
to anyone who is in
prison, not to give up.
00:53:02.24\00:53:07.48
Don't lose hope.
00:53:07.52\00:53:08.95
Put your faith in
the Lord and study,
00:53:08.98\00:53:12.45
and seek Him,
and He will seek you.
00:53:12.49\00:53:14.56
And my name is Charlie Green,
and I want you to know that you
00:53:14.59\00:53:17.63
and Amazing Facts
have changed my life.
00:53:17.66\00:53:21.00
¤¤¤
00:53:21.03\00:53:31.04
male announcer:
Amazing Facts, Changed Lives.
00:53:38.95\00:53:42.52
¤¤¤
00:53:42.55\00:53:47.09
female: Well,
my conversion story
00:53:47.12\00:53:49.52
is when I was
in the Philippines.
00:53:49.56\00:53:52.66
I just graduated as a
nurse, and afterwards,
00:53:52.69\00:53:56.56
I did not have any religion, and
one time I found myself inside a
00:53:56.60\00:54:02.10
small church, Catholic Church in
Manila and before a big cross,
00:54:02.14\00:54:10.15
and I was kneeling before, and
I could hear Jesus telling me to
00:54:10.18\00:54:15.52
enter the convent, save
myself and also my family,
00:54:15.55\00:54:20.19
and I said, "Lord, I would
like to follow You all the way."
00:54:20.22\00:54:23.29
At that point, I
seemed to be happy externally,
00:54:23.32\00:54:27.56
but because inside the
convent we don't read the Bible,
00:54:27.60\00:54:31.63
we don't study
about the Word of God,
00:54:31.67\00:54:34.14
we pray the rosaries,
we also, at the same time,
00:54:34.17\00:54:37.71
study the lives of the saints
and also our founders and the
00:54:37.74\00:54:42.11
encyclicals of the
Pope and the Virgin Mary,
00:54:42.14\00:54:46.28
and so I do not know the
truth, and I had this torture
00:54:46.31\00:54:49.58
of conscience, the
guilty feelings that cannot be
00:54:49.62\00:54:53.25
resolved, so I will confess to
the priests in the confessional
00:54:53.29\00:54:56.89
box, saying,
"Father, forgive me.
00:54:56.93\00:55:00.46
Since my last confession
was last week, since then,
00:55:00.50\00:55:03.90
I have committed
the following sin,
00:55:03.93\00:55:06.43
including the root cause,
why am I falling and falling in
00:55:06.47\00:55:10.37
that same sin
over and over again?"
00:55:10.41\00:55:13.41
And still, for 21 long years,
00:55:13.44\00:55:16.34
I struggle and I
struggle, and I struggle.
00:55:16.38\00:55:20.38
I realized that I
was totally empty.
00:55:20.42\00:55:24.22
I was totally helpless
and hopeless and so depressed
00:55:24.25\00:55:28.52
and so desperate that I would
like already to end my life.
00:55:28.56\00:55:33.43
I was working for five years
as dean of the University of San
00:55:33.46\00:55:38.10
Agustin College of
Nursing in Iloilo City,
00:55:38.13\00:55:41.34
one of the islands
in the Philippines.
00:55:41.37\00:55:44.27
After five years, I received
a commission from my parents to
00:55:44.31\00:55:49.88
help my sister who was
being a battered woman.
00:55:49.91\00:55:53.98
This is one of the reasons why
I came over to United States.
00:55:54.02\00:55:59.29
It is because my
sister needs my help.
00:55:59.32\00:56:03.06
As I was working in
the hospital in New York,
00:56:03.09\00:56:06.09
my boss--a thing that was
so gracious enough to give me
00:56:06.13\00:56:09.56
an invitation to the
"Millennium Prophecy."
00:56:09.60\00:56:12.90
As I was listening to Pastor
Doug Batchelor's presentation,
00:56:12.93\00:56:17.77
my heart really was
beating so fast, and my mind--
00:56:17.81\00:56:21.94
I'm able to grasp the
truth that this is the truth
00:56:21.98\00:56:27.42
that I've been longing to hear
all my life that I have been
00:56:27.45\00:56:31.02
seeking for so long.
00:56:31.05\00:56:33.99
My personal
relationship with Jesus,
00:56:34.02\00:56:36.96
I can see Jesus as
my personal Savior.
00:56:36.99\00:56:40.76
He is not only the
Savior of the whole world,
00:56:40.80\00:56:43.26
but He is my personal Savior.
00:56:43.30\00:56:46.84
He was the one who delivered me
mightily from the depths of sin
00:56:46.87\00:56:52.51
from the miry clay.
00:56:52.54\00:56:54.44
Pastor Doug
Batchelor has been used by
00:56:54.48\00:56:57.31
the Lord in my conversion.
00:56:57.35\00:56:59.55
The Amazing
Facts, I owe to them.
00:56:59.58\00:57:03.49
The Lord really
blessed this ministry,
00:57:03.52\00:57:07.06
and I'm so proud that
I was able to attend this
00:57:07.09\00:57:10.29
"Millennium Prophecy."
00:57:10.33\00:57:11.83
My life has never been the same.
00:57:11.86\00:57:14.93
It has given me that
peace, the joy that never--
00:57:14.93\00:57:19.90
I have never tasted in my life,
and now I'm set free to be able
00:57:19.93\00:57:26.07
to work for him
and to follow him.
00:57:26.11\00:57:28.91
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