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Jëan Ross: Good morning.
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We'd like to welcome you again
to "Sabbath School Study Hour,"
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coming to you here from
the Granite Bay Seventh-day
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Adventist Church in
Sacramento, California.
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We'd like to welcome our online
members and our friends who are
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joining us across the country
and literally around the world.
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Our extended
Sabbath School class,
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if you've been joining
us for the last few weeks,
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you know that we've
been studying through the Old
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Testament book of Isaiah.
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Today, we are on
lesson number six.
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It's got the title "Playing
God," and we'll see what the
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Bible has to say
about that subject.
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That's lesson number
six in our lesson quarterly.
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We also have a free offer
entitled "The Surrender of
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Self," and we'll be
happy to send this to anyone
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in North America.
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If you'd like to
receive the book,
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the number to call is
866-788-3966, and just ask
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for offer number 153.
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We'll get that in the
mail and send it to you.
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You can also request a
digital download of the book,
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and to do so, you just need
to text the code "SH087" to the
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number 40544 and you'll
get a digital copy of the book,
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"The Surrender of Self."
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Well, before we get to
our lesson this morning,
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we're going to be having a
special musical item from the
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Milson family.
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¤¤¤
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¤¤¤
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¤ Lord, let Your light, ¤
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¤ light of Your
face shine on us. ¤
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¤ Lord, let Your light, ¤
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¤ light of Your
face shine on us, ¤
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¤ that we may be saved, ¤
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¤ that we may have life ¤
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¤ to find a way ¤
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¤ in the darkest night. ¤
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¤ Let Your light shine on us. ¤
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¤¤¤
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¤¤¤
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¤ Lord, let Your grace, ¤
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¤ grace from Your
hand fall on us. ¤
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¤ Lord, let Your grace, ¤
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¤ grace from Your
hand fall on us, ¤
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¤ that we may be saved, ¤
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¤ that we may have life ¤
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¤ to find a way ¤
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¤ in the darkest night. ¤
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¤ Let Your grace fall on us. ¤
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¤ Lord, let Your love, ¤
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¤ love with no
end come over us. ¤
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¤ Lord, let Your love, ¤
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¤ love with no
end come over us, ¤
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¤ that we may be saved, ¤
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¤ that we may have life ¤
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¤ to find a way ¤
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¤ in the darkest night. ¤
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¤ Let Your love come over us. ¤
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¤ Let Your light shine on us. ¤
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Jëan: Let us bow our
heads for a word of prayer.
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Dear Father in heaven, how
grateful we are then that we
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can turn to You,
that You're always there.
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In the midst of joy or
sorrow or trials or victories,
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you are there to
guide, sustain, comfort.
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And Lord, as we
open up Your Word,
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we want to ask Your
Spirit to be with us.
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Be with us here in this place,
but also with those who are
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joining us, wherever
they might be, in their home.
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We pray, Lord, that Your Spirit
speak to their hearts as well.
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And we commit this time in Your
keeping, in Jesus's name, amen.
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Our lesson today is going to
be brought to our family life
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pastor here at Granite
Bay: Pastor Shawn Brummund.
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Shawn Brummund: Well,
good morning to everyone.
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It's nice to have you join us
here as we continue to worship
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the Lord from
Sabbath to Sabbath,
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and we're not going to
let any pandemic get in the
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way of that, amen?
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We continue to worship,
either in person in different
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capacities as the restrictions
have lifted in the Greater
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Sacramento region
just recently, as well as,
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of course, online as many people
are continuing to choose to
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stream from their
homes; in their living rooms,
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their kitchens, wherever it
is, their cars, their phones,
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wherever they're located.
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You want to
continue to worship the Lord.
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And so we come
together to study,
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and today we're
looking at the Book of Isaiah.
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And you know, this is the second
time I've had the privilege of
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being able to teach from
the Book of Isaiah during this
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particular quarter, and I have
to say that after going through
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this particular week, it
reminds me what terrible,
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cruel treatment we have given to
Dr. Roy Gane as we asked him to
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author this particular quarter
and have asked him to cover the
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Book of Isaiah in
just three months.
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And friends, very
quickly, it doesn't very--
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take very long to be able to
start to recognize that he can
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only just but touch on some
of the great themes of truth.
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The Book of
Isaiah is just so deep,
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so rich, so lengthy, and so
comprehensive in its message
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that, really, it is
an impossibility to cover
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the entire Book of
Isaiah in three months.
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In fact, I got a good
dose of my own medicine--
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of that same medicine, I should
say, over the last week as I was
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preparing for today's lesson
study, and many of you as you
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look through it
because we are asked to look
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at six entire chapters.
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And in some of those chapters,
one chapter alone could take
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two or three
sessions on its own.
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And so there's just--
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it's going to be impossible to
be able to cover so many of the
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deep truths that God
reveals in those six chapters.
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But by God's grace, we're going
to look at some of them and see
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if God can continue to open our
minds and understand how much He
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is involved in this world,
how much He loves us, and,
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friends, the great rewards
that are found in the Book
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of Isaiah.
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I also hope that
this inspires us,
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motivates us to be able to open
up the Book of Isaiah in later
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times after this particular
quarter is over, or even during
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it, if you have the time, to be
able to spend those extra hours
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looking at the other chapters,
digging them a little bit
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deeper, looking at
the SDA commentaries
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and Ellen White's commentaries
and others that give us such
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rich insight and understanding,
because the rewards are there,
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much more rewards that
we could even find just
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in the quarterly alone.
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So we're looking at some very
important details to start off
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with this particular week
in Isaiah's chapter 13 and 14,
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and in those two
chapters we find,
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again, just a load of
gold and treasures that concern
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to prophetic truth, the
principles, and involvement
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of God in the world.
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Sunday's lesson points out that
these two particular chapters
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are the first of 11 chapters;
that is, from chapters 13 to 23,
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and in that particular section
in which this one week is kind
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of trying to
encompass plus three more.
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You know, it's just
impossible to cover it all.
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But in those 11 chapters and in
the first initial chapters of 13
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and 14, it proclaims
God's judgments on several
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different nations.
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Now, if you read through
Isaiah before, in the past,
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this is something that
probably jumped out to you--
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at you just like it did with me.
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I still recall very clearly when
I was reading through the Book
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of Isaiah for the
first time many years ago,
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and when I was doing that
I had discovered that God had
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all these
prophecies not only for Israel
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but for multiple nations
surrounding Israel in that
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region of the world.
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And so I started to read
in the Book of Isaiah in these
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two particular chapters and the
chapters following as God was
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addressing several nations,
and it revealed to me that,
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very clearly, at that
point onward that God is an
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international God, that God
is not only working through the
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nation of Israel.
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Now, Israel is obviously a key
nation and we're going to talk
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about its place in the nations,
but it only is holding one
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place--one of the
nations of the world.
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God has been working through and
has been working in and about
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the royal palaces, the different
democracies and republics that
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have risen and fallen throughout
Earth's history on all
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continents, in all the world.
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And I think this
is one of the rich,
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important themes that Isaiah,
among all the prophets, brings
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out more clear, more extensively
than any other prophet.
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Yes, and those chapters in
Isaiah that we looked at this
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week, God addresses
Babylon, He addresses Assyria,
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He addresses Moab,
He addresses Syria,
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He addresses Ethiopia, He
addresses one of the strongest,
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mightiest cities on the
Mediterranean by the name
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of Tyre.
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That is T-Y-R-E.
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Yeah, God has messages
for more than just Israel,
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and this is an important
truth that jumped out at me,
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and I hope it has-- or
if it hasn't in the past,
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that it jumped out to you
over the last week because
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that helped me to be able
to understand that God has not
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just developed in Israel
this kind of exclusive club,
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this kind of--you know, kind
of exclusive club that if you're
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fortunate enough to be born into
it or maybe you're a neighbor of
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it and you're fortunate
to be able to plug into that,
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then that's all that
God's really interested in.
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He just kind of has
His favorite people,
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and that's the really only
ones that are important to Him.
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No, not at all.
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You know, now
for-- unfortunately,
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the generation that came and
had developed up to the point
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of Jesus's life on Earth, that
was the case and the mind of
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most Jewish people, that was the
case and the mind of the rabbis
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and the priesthood and so
on, that that God looked upon
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everybody that was fortunate
to be born a Jew and then they--
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you know, they were born into
the Kingdom, they were born into
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eternity, they were born into
the worship of the true God and
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the true revelation of God
in the Scriptures and so on,
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the true religion.
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But really, the rest
of all peoples were dogs.
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You know, they were
just unclean, common people.
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They were the inferior ones that
God wasn't all that interested
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in, but that's
not the case at all,
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and Isaiah brings
that out loud and clear.
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And so Israel had no excuse
by the time Jesus came along and
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tried to have--you know, did
his best to be able to try to
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straighten that out,
and sometimes I think he has
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to straighten it out for us
as Christians and as a church at
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times as well.
00:13:01.18\00:13:03.24
Daniel said it best in his
book in chapter 2 and verse 21,
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where he makes that very famous
and very powerful statement.
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He says, "And
He," that is the Lord,
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"changes times and seasons.
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He removes kings
and raises up kings."
00:13:15.06\00:13:18.53
Many of you are familiar
with that important verse.
00:13:18.56\00:13:21.46
This is an important theological
statement concerning God's
00:13:21.50\00:13:24.13
involvement in the world.
00:13:24.17\00:13:26.90
God does not call us
into an agnostic faith.
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God does not call us into an
exclusive club within the church
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or within Israel.
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God is working
through all nations,
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and He is the one that is
deciding not only who will
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be king in Israel or who will be
president of the United States,
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but He's also deciding who will
be the next president or king
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over in Somalia or
over in China and so on.
00:13:43.89\00:13:48.06
You know, God is the one
that really is watching over the
00:13:48.09\00:13:50.86
boundaries of all nations.
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God is an international God, and
I think that we forget that too
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quickly and maybe some
of us have never really
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comprehended that.
00:13:58.63\00:14:00.34
God makes it very clear from
the beginning of all nations.
00:14:00.37\00:14:02.67
After all, through one blood--
00:14:02.70\00:14:04.27
Paul says, all people, all
nations, and all races have
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come from one
blood, from Adam and Eve.
00:14:08.58\00:14:10.25
We all share the same
grandparent and the same
00:14:10.28\00:14:12.45
grandfather and
the same grandmother.
00:14:12.48\00:14:15.88
And so naturally God is
interested in all nations,
00:14:15.92\00:14:18.15
naturally God is involved
in every single people group,
00:14:18.19\00:14:21.32
every nation, tribe, tongue,
and people around the world.
00:14:21.36\00:14:25.83
And God decides
when their iniquity--
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their cup of iniquity, as the
prophets put it in the symbolic
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way, when their evil reaches a
point where they cross that line
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in the sand where God
says, "This far and no farther,"
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that God then allows
that king, and quite often
00:14:39.11\00:14:41.84
that kingdom, to fall.
00:14:41.88\00:14:46.05
And so God pronounces that
judgment not only on Israel
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as he did, sadly, so many
times, but on all nations,
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and He always has.
00:14:51.69\00:14:53.15
And Isaiah, again, opens our
mind to that grander scale of
00:14:53.19\00:14:56.89
truth that God wants us
to be able to understand.
00:14:56.93\00:15:01.53
Now, the
fascinating thing is that 100--
00:15:01.56\00:15:04.73
over 100 years before Daniel
came along, over 100 years
00:15:04.77\00:15:08.50
before a couple of Babylonian
kings came along during Daniel's
00:15:08.54\00:15:12.07
lifetime, God had revealed
through Isaiah that one of
00:15:12.11\00:15:16.48
those two kings would
be removed from his throne.
00:15:16.51\00:15:19.31
He would be
slaughtered by an enemy force,
00:15:19.35\00:15:22.75
and He names one of those forces
in the same chapter of Isaiah
00:15:22.78\00:15:25.52
chapter 13, and that is
found in Isaiah 13 and verse 17.
00:15:25.55\00:15:30.93
He names the Medes,
and He says, "Listen,
00:15:30.96\00:15:33.09
one of the enemy forces
that will remove that king--"
00:15:33.13\00:15:36.03
even as Daniel had proclaimed
earlier in Daniel chapter 2
00:15:36.06\00:15:38.50
that it's God who lifts up kings
and places them on the throne.
00:15:38.53\00:15:41.54
He's the one who decides when
they are removed from the throne
00:15:41.57\00:15:43.74
as well.
00:15:43.77\00:15:47.41
And so Isaiah names it over 100
years beforehand and says the
00:15:47.44\00:15:50.98
Medes will be one of the
key forces that will remove and
00:15:51.01\00:15:54.05
slaughter the final king of
the great Babylonian Empire.
00:15:54.08\00:15:57.82
And of course, we
know that to be Belshazzar.
00:15:57.85\00:16:01.99
We can find that
detailed in Daniel chapter 5,
00:16:02.02\00:16:04.39
how he was removed and some
of the powerful details that
00:16:04.43\00:16:07.30
surrounded that particular
circumstance that caused God
00:16:07.30\00:16:11.07
to be able to
draw that line and say,
00:16:11.10\00:16:13.44
"This far and no further."
00:16:13.47\00:16:16.14
But not only the--
are the Medes mentioned--
00:16:16.17\00:16:18.51
in this case, the Medes
are mentioned in Isaiah 13.
00:16:18.54\00:16:21.14
But the Persians really were the
most powerful of that alliance,
00:16:21.18\00:16:25.58
as we could say, because it was
not just the Medes over in what
00:16:25.61\00:16:29.42
we call modern Iraq--
00:16:29.45\00:16:30.82
or not Iraq, but Iran today.
00:16:30.85\00:16:32.89
And the Medes lived more in what
we call Northern Iran today,
00:16:32.92\00:16:36.29
and then the Persians lived
more in the southern section
00:16:36.32\00:16:39.09
of modern Iran today.
00:16:39.13\00:16:40.43
And they were somewhat
related and so on, but--
00:16:40.46\00:16:43.83
and so they had
some similar blood,
00:16:43.87\00:16:45.10
but they were always battling
and at heads with each other.
00:16:45.13\00:16:47.27
And sometimes the Medes were the
ones that were ruling and kind
00:16:47.30\00:16:50.64
of making the Persians subject
to them and sometimes the other
00:16:50.67\00:16:53.74
way around.
00:16:53.78\00:16:55.11
Well, the time that
the Babylonian Empire was
00:16:55.14\00:16:57.58
destroyed and conquered, it
was actually the Medes that were
00:16:57.61\00:17:00.12
subject to the Persians.
00:17:00.15\00:17:01.68
The Persians were
ruling the roost at that time.
00:17:01.72\00:17:03.95
And so the Persians actually
were led by a key king by the
00:17:03.99\00:17:07.86
name of Cyrus, historically
coming to be known as Cyrus
00:17:07.89\00:17:11.23
the Great, and he was a Persian.
00:17:11.26\00:17:14.40
And he's labeled later
on in Isaiah chapter 45,
00:17:14.46\00:17:17.13
and you can find that
in verses 1 and verses 13,
00:17:17.17\00:17:21.64
two fascinating verses--
amongst the fascinating--
00:17:21.67\00:17:24.44
one of the most fascinating
chapters you can find in all
00:17:24.47\00:17:27.38
the Scripture are on Isaiah 45.
00:17:27.41\00:17:30.71
And again it's labeling there,
that the Persians actually be
00:17:30.75\00:17:33.38
the key leading force
that'll remove Babylon and the
00:17:33.42\00:17:36.02
Babylonian king, but
the Medes would be intricate
00:17:36.05\00:17:38.25
in that as well.
00:17:38.29\00:17:40.66
Now, one of the fascinating
things about Isaiah chapter 45
00:17:40.69\00:17:43.29
and verse 1 is where it labels,
and even names, King Cyrus over
00:17:43.32\00:17:46.59
100 years before
he was ever conceived.
00:17:46.63\00:17:50.53
God looking
forward into the future,
00:17:50.57\00:17:52.03
knowing the beginning from
the end as He declare so often
00:17:52.07\00:17:55.07
through the prophet Isaiah
indeed declares for us here
00:17:55.10\00:17:58.94
that the first king--the
key king, the Persian king that
00:17:58.97\00:18:02.84
would actually mastermind
the breakdown and the conquering
00:18:02.88\00:18:07.15
of this--what was known as the
unconquerable city of Babylon,
00:18:07.18\00:18:10.85
and then his forces--the Persian
forces along with the Median
00:18:10.89\00:18:14.59
forces would actually conquer
Babylon in one swift moment in
00:18:14.62\00:18:19.79
one night, and
indeed Belshazzar,
00:18:19.83\00:18:22.76
the last Babylonian king,
was slaughtered that night.
00:18:22.80\00:18:26.84
And--so fascinating chapter.
00:18:26.87\00:18:28.40
King Cyrus the Great, the
great deliverer of Israel--
00:18:28.44\00:18:31.97
Israel had been in
captivity to this enemy of God,
00:18:32.01\00:18:35.34
the enemy of true religion,
the enemy of God's people,
00:18:35.38\00:18:38.81
and God's people, Israel, had
been in captivity there for 70
00:18:38.85\00:18:42.48
years now, and Cyrus was the key
figure that turned the key and
00:18:42.52\00:18:47.52
allowed--and opened the door
and allowed the Israelites to
00:18:47.56\00:18:50.96
be able to return
to their homeland,
00:18:50.99\00:18:52.46
rebuild Jerusalem, rebuild
the holy temple and continue
00:18:52.49\00:18:55.80
to proclaim the coming Messiah
through the temple services,
00:18:55.83\00:18:59.70
the salvation of the world.
00:18:59.73\00:19:02.50
In fact, in 45,
verse 1 in Isaiah,
00:19:02.54\00:19:04.84
God actually
not only named Cyrus
00:19:04.87\00:19:06.71
but then He calls
Cyrus His anointed one.
00:19:06.74\00:19:09.78
Now, I find this
fascinating, friends.
00:19:09.81\00:19:12.11
He calls him His anointed one.
00:19:12.15\00:19:13.62
Now, anointed
one means "messiah."
00:19:13.65\00:19:15.82
This is--the
Hebrew term "messiah"
00:19:15.85\00:19:17.15
literally means "anointed one."
00:19:17.19\00:19:18.82
"Christ" is the Greek equivalent
to the same word and title "the
00:19:18.85\00:19:23.16
anointed one."
00:19:23.19\00:19:24.76
Now, God had a number of
anointed one throughout history.
00:19:24.79\00:19:27.23
He had David the Anointed One.
00:19:27.30\00:19:28.73
David, several times, referred
to his father-in-law Saul--
00:19:28.76\00:19:31.53
King Saul, the first king of
Israel, as God's anointed one.
00:19:31.57\00:19:35.54
And whenever a king in Israel
was anointed as a king, well,
00:19:35.57\00:19:39.97
they would kneel down
and the priest or the prophet
00:19:40.01\00:19:42.08
would pour some oil
over their head as a symbol,
00:19:42.11\00:19:45.65
as an initiation into this
great responsibility of king
00:19:45.68\00:19:49.08
of Israel.
00:19:49.12\00:19:51.02
But of course, Jesus
never received that oil, did he?
00:19:51.05\00:19:53.99
He was called the Anointed
One because the Gospel of Luke--
00:19:54.02\00:19:56.29
Luke writes for us and says that
he was not anointed with oil
00:19:56.32\00:19:58.86
but he was anointed with
the Holy Spirit on the day that
00:19:58.89\00:20:01.33
he was baptized.
00:20:01.36\00:20:04.37
The only other figure in all
of history that God refers to as
00:20:04.40\00:20:07.40
the anointed one that was never
anointed with literal oil like
00:20:07.44\00:20:10.31
the other kings was King Cyrus.
00:20:10.34\00:20:16.08
And so King Cyrus is clearly
used by God as a figure--
00:20:16.11\00:20:20.98
a symbolic figure of the final
and ultimate divine Messiah and
00:20:21.02\00:20:25.59
Anointed One:
Jesus Christ himself.
00:20:25.62\00:20:28.36
And so we find here a very
fitting figure because it was
00:20:28.39\00:20:31.16
King Cyrus that was the key one
that came in and delivered and
00:20:31.19\00:20:34.86
freed God's people
from Babylonian captivity,
00:20:34.93\00:20:38.23
not only physical captivity but
spiritual and moral captivity as
00:20:38.27\00:20:42.07
well because the influences and
the practices that were taking
00:20:42.10\00:20:44.94
place in Babylon were extremely
strainful upon those who wanted
00:20:44.97\00:20:49.11
to remain faithful to God.
00:20:49.14\00:20:51.65
Just ask Daniel.
00:20:51.68\00:20:54.55
Just ask Daniel's three friends.
00:20:54.58\00:20:56.55
They're very much acquainted
with a very hot fire in a very
00:20:56.58\00:20:59.45
hot furnace.
00:20:59.49\00:21:00.92
David was very much acquainted
with sleeping with lions that
00:21:00.96\00:21:03.32
were very hungry.
00:21:03.36\00:21:05.63
And so it was very difficult.
00:21:05.66\00:21:07.30
It was very difficult during
those captive years to be able
00:21:07.30\00:21:10.40
to stay faithful to God.
00:21:10.43\00:21:15.34
Cyrus was a
symbol of the coming--
00:21:15.37\00:21:17.71
Messiah to come, who would
deliver New Testament Israel,
00:21:17.74\00:21:21.04
the holy church, God's true
people, from the New Testament
00:21:21.08\00:21:25.78
Babylon, and we're going to
expand upon this as we continue
00:21:25.81\00:21:28.25
to go through our
lesson study here today.
00:21:28.28\00:21:30.79
And so we have a powerful
figurative figure in the--
00:21:30.82\00:21:34.52
in that of King
Cyrus but also his armies,
00:21:34.56\00:21:36.73
his forces, and then the
task that God had accomplished
00:21:36.76\00:21:41.53
through him as His
anointed one, again,
00:21:41.56\00:21:43.50
which is to deliver
God's people, Israel.
00:21:43.53\00:21:49.57
And so God has revealed He's
working through and with all
00:21:49.60\00:21:52.27
nations as best as He--
00:21:52.31\00:21:53.78
as possible with as many as
possible to bring as many as
00:21:53.81\00:21:56.44
possible to the truth and the
gospel of His eternal salvation.
00:21:56.48\00:22:02.02
And again, Isaiah by far writes
the most on this very critical
00:22:02.05\00:22:07.16
grand scale of truth.
00:22:07.19\00:22:11.53
Now, if we were to back
up to week number one of our
00:22:11.56\00:22:13.96
quarterly, we would discover
that there was a key chapter
00:22:14.00\00:22:16.90
that we had to skip.
00:22:16.93\00:22:18.27
Now, this is no sleight against
our author, Dr. Roy Gane,
00:22:18.30\00:22:21.34
because, again, he
was given a task that was
00:22:21.37\00:22:24.04
insurmountable as try to
cover all the key paths--
00:22:24.07\00:22:26.81
facets of
Isaiah in three months.
00:22:26.84\00:22:29.18
Impossible.
00:22:29.21\00:22:31.11
And so he was--found himself
compelled to be able to have
00:22:31.15\00:22:33.92
to skip over Isaiah chapter 2.
00:22:33.95\00:22:35.72
But there's a key there
in Isaiah chapter 2 that
00:22:35.75\00:22:38.12
is directly related to what
we're looking at in the chapters
00:22:38.15\00:22:40.76
of Isaiah chapter 13 through 23.
00:22:40.79\00:22:43.96
And friends, that is the fact
that God has a global agenda,
00:22:43.99\00:22:50.10
that God is involved
globally and internationally
00:22:50.13\00:22:52.77
in the world.
00:22:52.80\00:22:54.10
And so I want to
bring us to that,
00:22:54.14\00:22:55.44
Isaiah chapter 2
and verses 2 through 4.
00:22:55.47\00:22:57.54
If you have your Bibles open,
you can follow along with me.
00:22:57.57\00:23:00.41
Isaiah 2, verses 2 through 4.
00:23:00.44\00:23:03.35
God says
through Isaiah, He says,
00:23:03.38\00:23:04.75
"Now it shall come to pass
in the latter days," that is in
00:23:04.78\00:23:07.25
the future, "that the
mountain of the Lord's house--"
00:23:07.28\00:23:13.09
Now, when he's referring to the
mountain of the Lord's house,
00:23:13.12\00:23:14.96
He's referring to Mount Zion,
He's referring to Mount Moriah.
00:23:14.99\00:23:20.50
This is where Abraham was called
by God to sacrifice his son
00:23:20.53\00:23:24.97
Isaiah, in which God then
intervened with a substitute,
00:23:25.00\00:23:27.64
with a ram.
00:23:27.67\00:23:29.10
And it was upon that same
mountain in which God then
00:23:29.14\00:23:32.74
instructed God's
people to be able to--
00:23:32.77\00:23:34.74
the Israelites, to build
a permanent temple on top of
00:23:34.78\00:23:38.08
that small mountain that was the
tallest point in the Jerusalem
00:23:38.11\00:23:42.52
area, in the vicinity
of the city of Jerusalem.
00:23:42.55\00:23:45.79
"That the mountain,"
Mount Zion, Mount Moriah,
00:23:45.82\00:23:48.02
"of the Lord's house--"
00:23:48.06\00:23:49.39
The Lord's house is none other
than the holy temple of the
00:23:49.42\00:23:52.16
Jewish nation.
00:23:52.19\00:23:53.83
"Shall be established on the top
of the mountains and shall be
00:23:53.86\00:23:56.63
exalted above the hills."
00:23:56.67\00:23:59.00
God is saying--His ideal, His
plan for Israel was to exalt in
00:23:59.03\00:24:03.54
the minds and the hearts
of all nations the true God of
00:24:03.57\00:24:08.98
the universe, and come
and worship and see His gospel
00:24:09.01\00:24:12.51
being played out in the
great 3D lesson that He had
00:24:12.55\00:24:15.55
in the sanctuary service.
00:24:15.58\00:24:17.99
But my favorite verse or--
00:24:18.02\00:24:19.59
not verse, but statement is in
the last several words of that
00:24:19.62\00:24:22.76
same verse, verse 2.
00:24:22.79\00:24:24.09
And it says, "And all
nations shall flow to it."
00:24:24.13\00:24:28.53
Did you pick that up, friends?
00:24:28.56\00:24:29.86
How many nations?
00:24:29.90\00:24:31.20
All nations, it tells us.
00:24:31.23\00:24:32.53
"All nations shall flow to it."
00:24:32.57\00:24:35.20
What was God's plan for Israel?
00:24:35.24\00:24:38.17
God's plan for Israel--that
all nations would flow to it.
00:24:38.21\00:24:42.71
You see, Israel was not
to be some exclusive, kind of
00:24:42.74\00:24:45.35
favorite, club, some kind of
country club in which you had
00:24:45.38\00:24:47.98
to be born into
and privileged to have.
00:24:48.02\00:24:50.32
No, it was--if
you were born in--
00:24:50.35\00:24:51.82
as an Israelite, God is trying
to tell Israel that you were
00:24:51.85\00:24:55.36
born with the
greatest responsibility
00:24:55.39\00:24:57.03
on the entire planet.
00:24:57.06\00:25:00.53
"You have the greatest
responsibility to bring
00:25:00.56\00:25:02.90
My truth and true religion and
faith and knowledge of Me to all
00:25:02.93\00:25:06.74
the world."
00:25:06.77\00:25:08.67
Israel was intended by
God to be the headquarters--
00:25:08.70\00:25:11.64
the evangelistic headquarters,
the GC headquarters to bring the
00:25:11.67\00:25:17.21
gospel to every
nation upon the earth,
00:25:17.25\00:25:20.28
and that the Word would go
so powerfully that people would
00:25:20.32\00:25:22.65
flow for the Passover, flow to
Israel and Jerusalem for these
00:25:22.68\00:25:26.79
different feasts and different
ceremonies and so on, that were
00:25:26.82\00:25:30.13
all pointed by faith to
the ultimate Passover lamb:
00:25:30.16\00:25:32.69
Jesus Christ.
00:25:32.73\00:25:40.30
Verse 3, it goes on, Jesus says,
"Many people shall come and say,
00:25:40.34\00:25:44.04
'Come and let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord,
00:25:44.07\00:25:46.14
to the house of
the God of Jacob;
00:25:46.17\00:25:47.91
and He will teach us
His ways, and we shall walk
00:25:47.94\00:25:51.38
in His paths.'
00:25:51.41\00:25:52.98
For out of Zion
shall go forth the law."
00:25:53.01\00:25:56.92
This is the Law
of Moses, you know,
00:25:56.95\00:25:58.65
the first five books
of the Old Testament.
00:25:58.69\00:26:01.89
"And out of Zion shall go
forth the law and the Word,
00:26:01.92\00:26:05.53
the Word of the
Lord from Jerusalem."
00:26:05.56\00:26:08.40
This is the same Word
that you and I have, friends,
00:26:08.43\00:26:10.50
the Bible, as we call it today.
00:26:10.53\00:26:12.00
"And the Word of the
Lord from Jerusalem shall go
00:26:12.03\00:26:15.07
to all nations.
00:26:15.10\00:26:16.54
He shall judge between the
nations and rebuke many people.
00:26:16.57\00:26:20.18
They shall beat their swords
into plowshares and their spears
00:26:20.21\00:26:22.68
into pruning hooks.
00:26:22.71\00:26:24.05
Nation shall not lift
up sword against nation,
00:26:24.08\00:26:26.45
neither shall they
learn war anymore."
00:26:26.48\00:26:28.95
Friends, if this was fulfilled
as God gave that potential to
00:26:28.98\00:26:31.99
Israel and all nations
literally began to flow to it,
00:26:32.02\00:26:36.19
and there's only one window
that I'm aware of in all of
00:26:36.22\00:26:38.76
this sacred history of the Old
Testament where Israel started
00:26:38.79\00:26:41.66
to--just started to taste that
potential was during the first
00:26:41.70\00:26:44.97
years of King Solomon.
00:26:45.00\00:26:47.84
King David blew it in a
number of different ways,
00:26:47.87\00:26:49.80
but his heart was after
the God of the universe.
00:26:49.84\00:26:52.44
He was a man
after God's own heart,
00:26:52.47\00:26:54.08
and God lifted him up as one
of the most sincere and faithful
00:26:54.11\00:26:57.15
followers of Christ
throughout all the Bible.
00:26:57.18\00:27:00.65
But as David came to the
end of his life and he left all
00:27:00.68\00:27:02.58
the plans to build a permanent
sanctuary and temple before
00:27:02.62\00:27:05.69
his--for his son Solomon,
who then took the throne,
00:27:05.72\00:27:08.52
and Solomon and his sincere
faith and faithfulness to God
00:27:08.56\00:27:11.39
in those first years brought
to life this grand temple,
00:27:11.43\00:27:15.36
and it tells us that nations
around the world started to hear
00:27:15.40\00:27:19.07
word, they started to hear
these rumors of this great, tiny
00:27:19.10\00:27:23.24
nation and all of
its power and prosperity.
00:27:23.27\00:27:25.81
But even as queen--the
Queen of Sheba had said,
00:27:25.84\00:27:29.54
you know, "The
rumors that I heard,
00:27:29.58\00:27:30.88
the reports that I had
been given that drew me to this
00:27:30.91\00:27:33.38
particular nation doesn't even
hold a candle to the reality
00:27:33.42\00:27:38.05
that I have found when
I actually arrived here
00:27:38.09\00:27:39.89
and took the tour,
when I saw it for myself."
00:27:39.92\00:27:42.42
Yes, she was speaking
about material prosperity as God
00:27:42.46\00:27:45.19
has always intended
to bless Israel with,
00:27:45.23\00:27:50.03
but much more
importantly than that,
00:27:50.07\00:27:51.37
she says, "The mood and the
attitude and the happiness of
00:27:51.40\00:27:54.27
the people of Israel
is grander than I've ever
00:27:54.30\00:27:56.37
seen in any other nation," why?
00:27:56.40\00:27:59.57
Because the fruits
of the Spirit is what?
00:27:59.61\00:28:03.35
Joy. Love.
00:28:03.38\00:28:09.35
Friends, these are--
00:28:09.38\00:28:10.69
these were being shown and
fabricated into the very culture
00:28:10.72\00:28:14.29
and society of Israel when this
queen came from so far away.
00:28:14.32\00:28:20.56
But sadly, Israel had failed.
00:28:20.60\00:28:22.03
They had quickly declined.
00:28:22.06\00:28:23.50
Even Solomon didn't make
it through half his life,
00:28:23.53\00:28:26.17
as you know, and half
of his reign be started--
00:28:26.20\00:28:27.84
before he started to compromise
and he started to adapt some of
00:28:27.87\00:28:30.31
the different ways of
the world and built up--
00:28:30.34\00:28:32.91
was more interested in
building a harem than he
00:28:32.94\00:28:35.01
was in building Israel anymore.
00:28:35.04\00:28:38.18
And so we find that Israel
had quickly lost that sight,
00:28:38.21\00:28:41.15
but there was that small window
when the potential of these
00:28:41.18\00:28:44.12
prophecies of Isaiah
started to take place.
00:28:44.15\00:28:47.26
Now, of course,
Isaiah came after this,
00:28:47.29\00:28:50.46
but nevertheless, Isaiah
is still building on that and
00:28:50.49\00:28:53.23
reoffering it to Israel.
00:28:53.26\00:28:57.40
And he's saying
as a result of that,
00:28:57.43\00:28:58.73
when all nations did finally
flow to the nation of Israel
00:28:58.77\00:29:02.70
and worshiped God at His temple,
that peace would come among the
00:29:02.74\00:29:05.97
nations and we would no longer
have war being covered on the
00:29:06.01\00:29:08.41
news any longer.
00:29:08.44\00:29:10.85
There would be
peace among the peoples.
00:29:10.88\00:29:13.62
Isaiah chapter 56 and verse 6
00:29:13.65\00:29:15.52
and 7 tells us the
same powerful truth.
00:29:15.55\00:29:17.95
In Isaiah 56 and verses
6 through 7, it says this.
00:29:17.99\00:29:20.89
"Also the sons
of the foreigner--"
00:29:20.92\00:29:23.66
The sons of the what?
00:29:23.69\00:29:25.26
"The sons of the foreigner,
who join themselves to the Lord,
00:29:25.29\00:29:28.60
to serve Him, and to
love the name of the Lord,
00:29:28.63\00:29:31.33
to be His servants, everyone who
keeps from defiling the Sabbath
00:29:31.37\00:29:35.84
and holds fast My covenant, even
them I will bring to My holy
00:29:35.87\00:29:39.27
mountain and make them
joyful in My house of prayer.
00:29:39.31\00:29:43.31
Their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices will be accepted on
00:29:43.35\00:29:45.91
My altar, for My house shall
be called a house of prayer
00:29:45.95\00:29:49.15
for all nations."
00:29:49.18\00:29:52.92
And so God very clearly tells us
that God has always intended His
00:29:52.95\00:29:56.26
temple not just
to be for the Jews--
00:29:56.29\00:29:57.66
no, not at all.
00:29:57.69\00:29:58.99
The Jews were built and born
with the responsibility to be
00:29:59.03\00:30:01.56
able to bring the
temple worship to all nations,
00:30:01.60\00:30:06.77
that all people
groups would come and want to
00:30:06.80\00:30:08.77
pray and worship and fall
on their knees and spend their
00:30:08.80\00:30:11.84
time with the true
God of the universe.
00:30:11.87\00:30:16.11
Of course, we know that Jesus
had quoted this same passage as
00:30:16.14\00:30:20.32
Jesus looked upon his generation
and upon Israel in his time,
00:30:20.35\00:30:23.75
and he looked at
them and saw what
00:30:23.79\00:30:25.12
an exclusive-kind-of country
club and superiority-kind-of
00:30:25.15\00:30:28.52
complex they had developed.
00:30:28.56\00:30:30.46
He was disgusted with the state
of the mind of the religious
00:30:30.49\00:30:35.26
culture of his day.
00:30:35.30\00:30:40.40
And so God--as Jesus looked
around and He saw that they
00:30:40.44\00:30:43.17
had just totally
desecrated the temple.
00:30:43.20\00:30:44.67
Now there are people yelling
and trying to get customers'
00:30:44.71\00:30:47.21
attention as they were selling
different sacrificial animals
00:30:47.24\00:30:50.61
and exchanging the currencies
for the temple currencies so
00:30:50.65\00:30:54.22
that they could buy the
different sacrificial animals
00:30:54.25\00:30:56.42
and make their offerings
at the temple and so on,
00:30:56.45\00:30:58.59
Jesus cries out
and-- you know the story.
00:30:58.62\00:31:01.69
He's not a happy camper
that afternoon--or that morning.
00:31:01.72\00:31:06.23
No, not at all.
00:31:06.26\00:31:08.23
He cries out, "God has intended
this house to be a house of
00:31:08.26\00:31:10.93
prayer for all nations, but
you have turned it into a den
00:31:10.97\00:31:14.74
of thieves."
00:31:14.77\00:31:17.87
Jesus understood all along
because He's the one that's
00:31:17.91\00:31:19.91
speaking through Isaiah.
00:31:19.94\00:31:21.24
He's the one that's offering
this to Isaiah again before
00:31:21.28\00:31:23.45
Jesus ever arrived--hundreds
of years before he arrived.
00:31:23.48\00:31:26.15
He's saying, "Listen, the
potential is this, seize it.
00:31:26.18\00:31:30.59
Run with it. Fulfill it."
00:31:30.62\00:31:34.96
But of course, sadly,
we find that the potential
00:31:34.99\00:31:41.10
was never reached.
00:31:41.13\00:31:45.30
Well, after the
Persian king, Cyrus,
00:31:45.33\00:31:47.24
conquered Babylon--that
is ancient Babylon in 539 BC,
00:31:47.27\00:31:51.07
even as Isaiah had prophesied
over 100 years beforehand,
00:31:51.11\00:31:56.04
the city of Babylon forever lost
its independence and its great
00:31:56.08\00:31:59.08
power and its influence.
00:31:59.11\00:32:01.72
It faded off into obscurity,
it shrank in population,
00:32:01.75\00:32:04.82
and then, finally, it was
abandoned by the last several
00:32:04.85\00:32:06.65
hundred that lived
there about 100 AD.
00:32:06.69\00:32:10.36
And so Babylon never
regained its independence,
00:32:10.39\00:32:14.46
and eventually, as I
just shared with you,
00:32:14.46\00:32:16.46
it was abandoned.
00:32:16.50\00:32:18.17
It shrank in political
power, in military power,
00:32:18.20\00:32:22.50
and in population over the
hundreds of years that followed,
00:32:22.54\00:32:25.51
until, finally, 100 AD,
the last straggling residents,
00:32:25.54\00:32:29.84
or citizens, that were
there kind of disappeared.
00:32:29.88\00:32:32.48
And then the desert sand of what
we now call modern Iraq came
00:32:32.51\00:32:35.75
along and began to bury those
buildings and bury those ancient
00:32:35.78\00:32:40.49
temples, and we
never discovered them until
00:32:40.52\00:32:43.89
just in recent history.
00:32:43.93\00:32:45.99
And so now we
can find it in Iraq,
00:32:46.03\00:32:48.30
and we know where that place is.
00:32:48.33\00:32:49.70
And archaeologists have
found some very enlightening
00:32:49.73\00:32:53.84
discoveries there.
00:32:53.87\00:32:57.07
This was all
according to God's but judgment.
00:32:57.11\00:32:59.01
This is all
according to God's plan.
00:32:59.04\00:33:00.74
In Isaiah chapter 13
and verses 19 through 20--
00:33:00.78\00:33:04.41
and I'm going to open
my Bible for that one.
00:33:04.45\00:33:05.98
Isaiah chapter 13,
verses 19 through 20,
00:33:06.01\00:33:11.02
we read that fascinating
prophecy that God gave,
00:33:11.05\00:33:13.36
again, some 160
years beforehand.
00:33:13.39\00:33:18.63
And as God looks forward into
the future and judges Babylon
00:33:18.66\00:33:22.90
for its great wickedness
and rebellion against God,
00:33:22.93\00:33:24.87
it says, "And Babylon,
the glory of the kingdoms--"
00:33:24.90\00:33:28.14
And so God is pointing
out rightly that, you know,
00:33:28.17\00:33:30.81
Babylon was the superpower.
00:33:30.84\00:33:32.67
It was the golden city of the
ancient world during those years
00:33:32.71\00:33:36.24
of the 6th century BC.
00:33:36.28\00:33:38.11
"And Babylon, the
glory of the kingdoms,
00:33:38.15\00:33:40.18
the beauty of
the Chaldeans' pride,
00:33:40.22\00:33:42.55
will be as when God
overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:33:42.58\00:33:46.09
It will never be inhabited,
nor will it be settled from
00:33:46.12\00:33:48.49
generation to generation."
00:33:48.52\00:33:51.83
And history
attests to that very fact.
00:33:51.86\00:33:54.83
After it was finally
abandoned in about 100 AD,
00:33:54.86\00:33:58.27
again, never gained
its independence and then
00:33:58.30\00:34:00.20
began to be buried by the sand
and was forgotten for hundreds
00:34:00.24\00:34:03.34
of years until archaeologists,
again, just discovered it in
00:34:03.37\00:34:05.94
recent years.
00:34:05.97\00:34:07.31
But even today it's
an archaeological tell,
00:34:07.34\00:34:09.18
as we call it.
00:34:09.21\00:34:10.55
It is a place where we
can learn about history,
00:34:10.58\00:34:12.58
but it's certainly not a
settled and established city.
00:34:12.61\00:34:15.28
As God said, it never will
be until Jesus comes again.
00:34:15.32\00:34:19.72
And so another fascinating
prophecy that God revealed
00:34:19.75\00:34:22.42
so many hundreds of
years beforehand that has been
00:34:22.46\00:34:24.66
fulfilled in its
preciseness as God has given it.
00:34:24.69\00:34:29.70
And all this
history is used by God--
00:34:29.73\00:34:31.53
this is fascinating.
00:34:31.57\00:34:32.87
When it come to the
Book of Revelation--
00:34:32.90\00:34:34.14
all of this history is used
by God in the Book of Revelation
00:34:34.17\00:34:36.97
to represent a global grand
battle between Jerusalem and
00:34:37.01\00:34:42.21
Babylon, God's people, or
the church, and those in Satan's
00:34:42.24\00:34:46.15
camp, those who continue
to promote false religion
00:34:46.18\00:34:49.95
and false philosophies.
00:34:49.98\00:34:54.32
Now, the fascinating thing about
the ancient city of Babylon is
00:34:54.36\00:34:56.59
many people do not realize that
Babylon is not the name of--
00:34:56.62\00:35:00.73
that the kings and the citizens
of Babylon actually named it and
00:35:00.76\00:35:03.47
called it, which really makes
sense because Babylon means--
00:35:03.50\00:35:07.27
it means confusion.
00:35:07.30\00:35:08.60
So Babylon means confusion.
00:35:08.64\00:35:10.51
And so, you
know, I can't imagine,
00:35:10.54\00:35:12.61
you know, any king
that's establishing his city and
00:35:12.64\00:35:15.21
a kingdom and so on and--
00:35:15.24\00:35:16.54
saying, "Hey,
let's call our kingdom
00:35:16.58\00:35:17.88
and the capital confusion."
00:35:17.91\00:35:20.38
This is a derogatory term.
00:35:20.42\00:35:22.85
Actually, in the
original Babylonian language,
00:35:22.88\00:35:25.45
the kings of Babylon, starting
with Nabopolassar and maybe
00:35:25.49\00:35:29.49
before that,
had named it Babili,
00:35:29.52\00:35:32.86
and you can find that in your
quarterly lesson study, Babili.
00:35:32.89\00:35:36.20
And Babili is the Babylonian
name that they called it.
00:35:36.23\00:35:39.33
It literally meant
the gate of the gods,
00:35:39.37\00:35:43.07
the gate of the gods.
00:35:43.10\00:35:44.44
Now, that wouldn't be
much more fitting for what they
00:35:44.47\00:35:45.87
would choose to call
it because, of course,
00:35:45.91\00:35:48.54
they understood that Babylon
was the religious mecca of the
00:35:48.58\00:35:52.75
ancient world,
and really it was.
00:35:52.78\00:35:54.62
When it came to false religion,
Babylon was the centerpiece.
00:35:54.65\00:35:59.12
It was the
headquarters of false religion.
00:35:59.15\00:36:01.46
Now, the Assyrians and the Medes
and the Persians and others had
00:36:01.49\00:36:05.03
also developed a lot of
false philosophies and religion,
00:36:05.06\00:36:08.00
but Babylon was the king of it.
00:36:08.03\00:36:10.03
You know, you couldn't find more
idols and more temples and more
00:36:10.07\00:36:13.70
different forms of religion
that you could in the ancient
00:36:13.74\00:36:16.24
city of Babylon.
00:36:16.27\00:36:17.71
And so it was known
as the gate of the gods,
00:36:17.74\00:36:19.61
the gateway to the gods of
all divinity and all of the
00:36:19.64\00:36:22.44
different forms
that they had developed,
00:36:22.48\00:36:25.05
man-made false forms.
00:36:25.08\00:36:28.92
And so they called it something
much different than the
00:36:28.95\00:36:30.89
Babylon--than the Hebrew
prophets called it in what
00:36:30.92\00:36:34.39
we read in the Bible, and now--
00:36:34.42\00:36:36.36
which is most commonly known as.
00:36:36.39\00:36:38.99
And so, really, what the Old
Testament prophets were doing
00:36:39.03\00:36:42.00
was a wordplay.
00:36:42.03\00:36:43.43
And so they said, "Well, the
Babylonians, or the Chaldeans,
00:36:43.47\00:36:48.24
may want to call it Babili,
00:36:48.27\00:36:50.57
but we're going to
call it Bab-a-lon."
00:36:50.61\00:36:53.31
And they played on the--
00:36:53.34\00:36:54.64
probably on the original name
of what the Babylonians actually
00:36:54.68\00:36:57.28
called their city, as well
as the ancient Tower of Babel.
00:36:57.31\00:37:01.95
And so Babel, we
know it means "confusion,"
00:37:01.98\00:37:06.19
because God
confused their languages.
00:37:06.22\00:37:08.79
And so the Hebrew prophets under
inspiration of God labeled that
00:37:08.82\00:37:11.96
tower Babel because that was the
time in which God confused their
00:37:11.99\00:37:15.26
languages, that
they might not be able
00:37:15.30\00:37:16.60
to complete their project.
00:37:16.63\00:37:18.27
God stymied their project
on purpose through doing that.
00:37:18.30\00:37:21.27
And so the Hebrew prophet
said, "Well, you know what?
00:37:21.30\00:37:23.37
The city of Babylon is the
ultimate symbol of the ancient
00:37:23.41\00:37:27.11
tower of Babylon.
00:37:27.14\00:37:28.44
It is the ultimate headquarters
00:37:28.48\00:37:29.78
of religious
confusion and counterfeits,
00:37:29.81\00:37:32.55
and therefore we
weren't going to call it Babili.
00:37:32.58\00:37:34.78
We're going to call it Babylon."
00:37:34.82\00:37:40.46
And so Wednesday's lesson in
our study this last week draws
00:37:40.49\00:37:43.22
a fitting comparison between the
false religion of Babylon that
00:37:43.26\00:37:46.46
is based on proud
self-righteousness and
00:37:46.49\00:37:49.26
self-produced works and the
true religion that the quarterly
00:37:49.30\00:37:52.60
points out concerning Jacob.
00:37:52.63\00:37:55.17
And of course, his religious
experience and conversion
00:37:55.20\00:37:57.61
experience started at Bethel,
00:37:57.64\00:37:59.11
but it didn't end
at Bethel, did it?
00:37:59.14\00:38:01.21
He received the vision at the
beginning of his exile from home
00:38:01.24\00:38:04.31
and from the homeland in which
he was accustomed to in the land
00:38:04.35\00:38:07.12
of Canaan, and he received this
vision of a ladder that God had
00:38:07.15\00:38:10.79
developed with
angels going up and down.
00:38:10.82\00:38:12.72
But then several years later,
when he's returning with his
00:38:12.75\00:38:15.02
family and camp and so on,
he hears his brother is coming
00:38:15.06\00:38:18.33
with 400 armed men; and he knows
what his brother's intention
00:38:18.36\00:38:21.60
was, to kill him.
00:38:21.63\00:38:22.93
And so he wrestles
with the Lord that day.
00:38:22.96\00:38:24.93
But when he arrived at that spot
in which he wrestled with the
00:38:24.97\00:38:27.37
Lord, it tells us that angels
again appeared before Jacob.
00:38:27.40\00:38:31.41
And when those angels appeared,
Jacob then called that place
00:38:31.44\00:38:34.51
God's camp, or referred
to it as God's plant--camp.
00:38:34.54\00:38:40.28
He actually
named it double camp,
00:38:40.32\00:38:43.52
meaning that there's humans as
well as there's the population
00:38:43.55\00:38:46.35
of angels that
were present there.
00:38:46.39\00:38:48.72
And so it was a very
similar experience that he had.
00:38:48.76\00:38:51.13
And when he was
wrestling with God,
00:38:51.16\00:38:53.46
the angel of God, God
Himself, Jesus Christ--
00:38:53.50\00:38:56.40
it tells us that as he was doing
so, he finally cried out and he
00:38:56.43\00:39:01.10
said, "I will not
let you go unless you...
00:39:01.14\00:39:04.34
unless you bless me."
00:39:04.37\00:39:06.71
But there's something else that
he had also shared earlier on,
00:39:06.74\00:39:10.45
and it's in verse
10 of the same chapter,
00:39:10.48\00:39:13.11
Genesis chapter 32.
00:39:13.15\00:39:15.02
Now, we're all very much
accustomed to Genesis chapter
00:39:15.05\00:39:16.85
32, verse 26, and rightly so.
00:39:16.89\00:39:19.19
"I will not let you
go unless you bless me."
00:39:19.22\00:39:22.69
But before that, in
verse 10 of the same chapter,
00:39:22.72\00:39:25.79
he tells us this.
00:39:25.83\00:39:27.03
He says, "I am not worthy of the
least of all the mercies and of
00:39:27.10\00:39:29.80
all the truth in which
You have shown Your servant."
00:39:29.83\00:39:35.57
I am not worthy of the
least of all the mercies,
00:39:35.60\00:39:37.44
of all the truth which
You have shown Your servant.
00:39:37.47\00:39:39.54
Friends, this is a diametrical
completely different religious
00:39:39.57\00:39:42.58
experience and truth that Jake
is experiencing compared to that
00:39:42.61\00:39:46.75
of which Babylon offers.
00:39:46.78\00:39:51.55
The Bethel and
God's camp experience,
00:39:51.59\00:39:54.09
the Jacob experience is
one in where we must have--
00:39:54.12\00:39:56.62
we must humbly fall before a
holy God confessing our sins,
00:39:56.66\00:40:01.63
confessing our sinfulness,
confessing our selfishness,
00:40:01.66\00:40:04.83
confessing our
self-centeredness,
00:40:04.87\00:40:06.60
our self-serving motives;
asking God for grace and mercy,
00:40:06.63\00:40:10.21
that we might be
changed, that we might be saved,
00:40:10.24\00:40:12.71
and that we might be transformed
00:40:12.74\00:40:14.44
and brought into a
better light in life.
00:40:14.48\00:40:17.41
That's the true religion, amen?
00:40:17.45\00:40:20.88
The apostle Paul
said it this way.
00:40:20.92\00:40:22.35
He says, "This is a
faithful saying of worthy of all
00:40:22.38\00:40:24.59
acceptance, that Jesus Christ
came into the world to save
00:40:24.62\00:40:27.19
sinners of whom I am chief."
00:40:27.22\00:40:34.10
Paul humbled
himself before the--
00:40:34.13\00:40:35.90
before his Lord every day and
said, "Lord, have mercy upon me,
00:40:35.93\00:40:38.47
a sinner.
00:40:38.50\00:40:39.87
I am not worthy of all the
mercies and all the grace in
00:40:39.90\00:40:42.44
which You bestow upon me,
but please be in my heart.
00:40:42.47\00:40:45.11
Let me live faithfully as You
continue to work Your amazing
00:40:45.14\00:40:48.51
work through my
heart, through my life."
00:40:48.54\00:40:53.45
1 Timothy
chapter 1 and verse 15.
00:40:53.48\00:40:56.58
Then also Paul penned
in Ephesians chapter 2 and
00:40:56.62\00:40:58.82
verses 8 through 10, as
the quarterly points out,
00:40:58.85\00:41:00.72
"For by grace you have
been saved through faith,
00:41:00.76\00:41:04.13
and that not of yourselves.
00:41:04.16\00:41:07.40
It is a gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast.
00:41:07.46\00:41:11.07
For we are His workmanship,
00:41:11.10\00:41:12.77
created in Christ
Jesus for good works."
00:41:12.80\00:41:14.97
Did you catch that, friends?
00:41:15.00\00:41:16.30
We are saved by
grace through faith alone,
00:41:16.34\00:41:20.08
not of ourselves.
00:41:20.11\00:41:21.44
It's a gift
that God gives to us,
00:41:21.48\00:41:22.81
not of our works,
lest anyone should boast.
00:41:22.84\00:41:24.25
All other false religion,
including the religions that
00:41:24.28\00:41:26.78
Babylon had
offered in ancient times,
00:41:26.82\00:41:28.92
was designed to be able to
point ourselves to our self,
00:41:28.95\00:41:33.69
was designed to be
able to look to ourselves to
00:41:33.72\00:41:35.86
be able to, somehow, try
to save us and save ourselves,
00:41:35.89\00:41:39.43
even as they did back during
the times of the Tower of Babel.
00:41:39.46\00:41:44.83
And then we are His workmanship,
00:41:44.87\00:41:46.63
created in Christ
Jesus for good works.
00:41:46.67\00:41:48.80
God has created us for
good works to be certain,
00:41:48.84\00:41:50.74
and we need to cooperate that
if we dream of true and genuine
00:41:50.77\00:41:53.27
faith before us.
00:41:53.31\00:41:54.64
But friends, every good work
that He works through us is not
00:41:54.68\00:41:56.81
our own work.
00:41:56.85\00:41:58.15
Did you know that?
00:41:58.18\00:41:59.91
Every good work that you
and I work are not our works.
00:41:59.95\00:42:03.92
They're Christ's works, and
that leads us to another deep
00:42:03.95\00:42:06.72
statement that Paul himself had
penned in Galatians chapter 2
00:42:06.76\00:42:10.19
and verse 20.
00:42:10.23\00:42:11.63
"I have been crucified
with Christ," Paul says.
00:42:11.66\00:42:14.40
"It is no longer I
who live, but it is," who?
00:42:14.46\00:42:17.57
"But it is Christ
Jesus who lives in me,
00:42:17.60\00:42:21.17
and the life that I now live I
live by faith in the Son of God,
00:42:21.20\00:42:23.84
who loved me and
gave himself for me."
00:42:23.87\00:42:27.64
You see, Paul understood
that all his good works
00:42:27.68\00:42:29.61
were not his works.
00:42:29.64\00:42:30.98
Every good deed that he
did, every time he obeyed
00:42:31.01\00:42:33.05
the Sabbath, every time that
he resisted the temptation to be
00:42:33.08\00:42:36.55
dishonest, every time that he
would resist the temptation to
00:42:36.58\00:42:39.29
be dishonest to his wife--
00:42:39.32\00:42:40.66
whatever it was, friends,
any temptation that he faced,
00:42:40.69\00:42:43.63
any victory that he achieved,
every poor person that he
00:42:43.66\00:42:46.59
helped, every
hungry person that he fed,
00:42:46.63\00:42:49.13
he understood it wasn't
Paul that was doing that.
00:42:49.16\00:42:51.27
It was Jesus Christ, because he
understood that he was crucified
00:42:51.30\00:42:57.17
in Christ.
00:42:57.21\00:42:58.51
It is no longer Christ who--
00:42:58.54\00:42:59.84
it's Christ who lives
in me that's no longer--
00:42:59.87\00:43:01.31
I've been crucified.
00:43:01.34\00:43:03.88
That's why Paul
also said, "I die daily."
00:43:03.91\00:43:06.78
Because if you
don't die daily, friends,
00:43:06.82\00:43:08.25
you're living today.
00:43:08.28\00:43:10.85
But if you die and you
invite Christ into your life,
00:43:10.89\00:43:13.76
now Christ is living in you.
00:43:13.79\00:43:18.23
That's what God
wants in our life.
00:43:18.26\00:43:20.93
That's what God wanted Israel to
bring to the world in opposition
00:43:20.96\00:43:24.53
to that of Babylon, and so you
have these two great archenemies
00:43:24.57\00:43:28.07
in ancient times.
00:43:28.10\00:43:29.44
You have ancient Jerusalem and
Israel in which God had bestowed
00:43:29.47\00:43:34.74
the holy words of Isaiah, that
they might understand that they
00:43:34.78\00:43:38.41
are not some
exclusive country club.
00:43:38.45\00:43:40.35
They have been given the highest
responsibility of all the
00:43:40.38\00:43:42.62
planet, to bring the truth to
all the rest of the world that
00:43:42.65\00:43:46.79
all nations might flow into it.
00:43:46.82\00:43:48.26
And in opposition to that, Satan
raises up an ancient city by the
00:43:48.29\00:43:51.96
name of Babylon and develops a
great empire that surrounds it,
00:43:51.99\00:43:56.33
and he does everything he can
to be able to propagate every
00:43:56.36\00:43:59.50
possible counterfeit that would
keep us from looking to God for
00:43:59.53\00:44:02.44
good works and look to
ourselves for good works.
00:44:02.47\00:44:06.27
Self-righteousness is at
the heart of all false religion
00:44:06.31\00:44:10.11
in which the devil
brings to this world.
00:44:10.15\00:44:12.65
Now, the New
Testament Babylon is something
00:44:12.68\00:44:14.38
that's much different.
00:44:14.42\00:44:15.72
It's first known to be
the pagan city of capital,
00:44:15.75\00:44:17.45
because the New
Testament authors were--
00:44:17.49\00:44:19.25
now, we have to remember by the
time the New Testament authors
00:44:19.29\00:44:21.36
were coming along,
Babylon-- the ancient literal
00:44:21.39\00:44:23.69
city of Babylon was starting
to be buried by the sand.
00:44:23.73\00:44:27.60
It was becoming
and had become history.
00:44:27.66\00:44:30.87
It was no longer relevant.
00:44:30.90\00:44:32.27
It was no longer existing.
00:44:32.30\00:44:34.77
And so when Peter refers
to the city of Rome and says,
00:44:34.80\00:44:37.21
"She greets you from Rome--"
00:44:37.24\00:44:39.47
not from Rome but from Babylon.
00:44:39.51\00:44:41.64
The Christian church and the
00:44:41.68\00:44:43.04
apostles leading the way under
God's inspiration were starting
00:44:43.08\00:44:46.35
to refer to the ancient pagan
city of Rome as the new Babylon
00:44:46.38\00:44:49.85
of the New Testament era.
00:44:49.88\00:44:52.45
And indeed, it was the
great archenemy of God's people,
00:44:52.49\00:44:54.86
was it not?
00:44:54.89\00:44:56.19
Now, Jerusalem was the key
persecutor in the first years,
00:44:56.22\00:44:57.89
but Rome very quickly
surpassed that and became
00:44:57.93\00:45:00.43
the longstanding--for
300 years, the city of Rome,
00:45:00.46\00:45:03.87
pagan Rome, persecuted
God's people and persecuted
00:45:03.90\00:45:06.40
His church.
00:45:06.43\00:45:07.80
In fact, Peter, who
referred to Rome as Babylon,
00:45:07.84\00:45:10.24
was one of the ones that met his
end in the vicinity and in the
00:45:10.27\00:45:14.21
city of Babel--I
mean, the city of Babylon,
00:45:14.24\00:45:16.21
or ancient Rome.
00:45:16.24\00:45:19.11
Peter was crucified upside
down in the city of Rome--
00:45:19.15\00:45:21.32
the great apostle to
the Jews, as he was labeled
00:45:21.35\00:45:23.59
in the New Testament.
00:45:23.62\00:45:24.92
The other instrumental--
00:45:24.95\00:45:26.25
the second most instrumental
apostle of all the apostles was
00:45:26.29\00:45:28.42
the apostle Paul, who was also
labeled as the apostle to the...
00:45:28.46\00:45:32.53
to the Gentiles.
00:45:32.56\00:45:33.90
Peter was the--labeled
as the apostle to the Jews,
00:45:33.93\00:45:36.16
met his end in modern
New Testament Babylon,
00:45:36.20\00:45:38.67
the city of Rome.
00:45:38.70\00:45:40.04
And then we also have the
other instrumental apostle,
00:45:40.07\00:45:44.07
which is the apostle Paul, who
was the apostle to the Gentiles,
00:45:44.11\00:45:48.08
who also found himself
losing his head at the head--
00:45:48.11\00:45:51.38
at the hands of the Roman
authorities in the city of Rome,
00:45:51.41\00:45:55.48
Babylon, the new archenemy
of God and everything that
00:45:55.52\00:46:00.29
represents God, the new
headquarters of propagating
00:46:00.32\00:46:06.83
everything that opposes
the true religion of the Bible.
00:46:06.86\00:46:11.97
Now, pagan Rome, as we know,
as we look at history and as
00:46:12.00\00:46:14.14
Revelation picks up as he works
his--as Revelation reveals the
00:46:14.17\00:46:17.31
very last years of Earth's
history and the last centuries,
00:46:17.34\00:46:20.14
in some ways, of
Earth's history, that pagan Rome
00:46:20.18\00:46:23.95
quickly was
surpassed by pagan Rome--
00:46:23.98\00:46:26.15
I mean, papal Rome, and so
starting with the 300s, 400s AD,
00:46:26.18\00:46:31.65
we find that, indeed, by
the time we come to 538 AD,
00:46:31.69\00:46:34.36
the bishop of Rome is the
most powerful figure in all
00:46:34.39\00:46:36.42
of Western Europe.
00:46:36.46\00:46:39.13
And so Rome was
to continue to remain
00:46:39.16\00:46:41.80
to be the New Testament Babylon.
00:46:41.83\00:46:43.60
It was replaced by the
figurative and symbolic
00:46:43.63\00:46:46.20
ancient Babylon, which indeed
was a very real and ongoing
00:46:46.23\00:46:50.17
threat to all that is
true and all that is God.
00:46:50.21\00:46:53.61
But it is replaced now in the
New Testament era first by pagan
00:46:53.64\00:46:56.34
Rome, and then as it
transformed into papal Rome,
00:46:56.38\00:46:59.85
the papacy, the
Vatican, the seat of the pope.
00:46:59.88\00:47:06.35
The same city would eventually
leave what is overt idolatry
00:47:06.39\00:47:09.72
behind and then introduce
much of the same idolatry
00:47:09.76\00:47:12.99
and paganism in the
form of Christianity.
00:47:13.03\00:47:15.40
It simply left idolatry and then
adopted the same realities and
00:47:15.43\00:47:20.67
same false teachings and same
false religion and same false
00:47:20.70\00:47:24.51
gospel into the
Christian church.
00:47:24.54\00:47:29.04
And so right from the get
go, right during the life of the
00:47:29.08\00:47:32.68
apostles, Rome is lifted up
as the new Babylon right through
00:47:32.71\00:47:36.08
to the second
coming of Jesus Christ.
00:47:36.12\00:47:37.62
Do you see that, friends?
00:47:37.65\00:47:40.06
This is important
for us to understand.
00:47:40.09\00:47:41.49
And I see that we're down
to our last minute and a half.
00:47:41.52\00:47:46.13
And indeed, it introduced
and compromised the church,
00:47:46.16\00:47:49.60
and that same church
would proceed to imprison,
00:47:49.63\00:47:52.17
torture, and kill millions of
God's people simply for living
00:47:52.20\00:47:55.77
by Bible religion and teaching
the same to those around them,
00:47:55.80\00:48:01.98
the exact same thing that
ancient Babylon did to ancient
00:48:02.01\00:48:04.95
Israel, modern New Testament
Babylon and Rome has done and
00:48:04.98\00:48:08.52
continues to do at every fullest
capacity that it can find,
00:48:08.55\00:48:12.45
an authority that it can grab on
to to do the exact same thing,
00:48:12.49\00:48:16.52
to oppose everything that is God
and is true and oppose all those
00:48:16.56\00:48:19.33
who insist and give--
00:48:19.36\00:48:20.66
have given their hearts
to Jesus, those who are truly
00:48:20.70\00:48:22.60
born again and are
falling after the true religion
00:48:22.63\00:48:25.30
of the true Bible.
00:48:25.33\00:48:26.67
Well, friends,
we're out of time.
00:48:26.70\00:48:29.14
And I'm glad that we were
able to look at most of it.
00:48:29.17\00:48:31.47
Unfortunately, we're unable
to look at Isaiah chapter 14.
00:48:31.51\00:48:34.11
We have in recent quarters,
so it's not something that
00:48:34.14\00:48:36.31
we haven't touched upon
over the last year or so.
00:48:36.34\00:48:38.88
But Isaiah 14, of course, also
reveals Lucifer who is behind
00:48:38.91\00:48:41.98
Belshazzar and
the kings of Babylon,
00:48:42.02\00:48:44.55
and that is Satan himself.
00:48:44.59\00:48:46.49
And even as he is
behind Rome, modern Babylon,
00:48:46.52\00:48:49.06
New Testament
Babylon even today.
00:48:49.09\00:48:51.86
And so, friends, I hope that
opened up some very important,
00:48:51.89\00:48:54.36
grand themes that God intended
to bring and open up for us both
00:48:54.36\00:48:58.30
in the Book of Isaiah as
well as Revelation chapter 14,
00:48:58.33\00:49:01.50
16, 17, and 18.
00:49:01.54\00:49:03.14
We find Babylon is
lifted up as the new Babylon--
00:49:03.17\00:49:06.27
as the new Rome, or
the New Testament Babylon,
00:49:06.31\00:49:09.54
which is what we literally call
Rome and will be the enemy of
00:49:09.58\00:49:13.35
all that is God and
truth until Jesus comes.
00:49:13.38\00:49:16.48
announcer: Don't forget to
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00:49:18.52\00:49:20.62
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Amazing Facts
wherever and whenever you want,
00:49:44.65\00:49:47.78
and most important,
to share it with others.
00:49:47.82\00:49:51.92
Andrew: When I
was eight years old,
00:49:58.36\00:50:00.23
I brought home a
5-foot rattlesnake,
00:50:00.26\00:50:02.53
and it's gone
downhill ever since.
00:50:02.56\00:50:04.33
Rattlesnakes, sharks,
cliff diving, free-diving.
00:50:04.37\00:50:07.97
I wouldn't call
myself an adrenaline junkie.
00:50:08.00\00:50:09.87
I just realized that the closest
that I've ever been to being
00:50:09.90\00:50:13.38
alive is when I'm
so close to death.
00:50:13.41\00:50:16.51
I was raised in the
northern mountains in Mexico.
00:50:16.54\00:50:19.78
I learned English because there
was missionary groups that were
00:50:19.81\00:50:22.35
coming from Colorado and then
going to the northern mountains
00:50:22.38\00:50:24.92
of Mexico, and they were
all changed in this short-term
00:50:24.95\00:50:29.29
mission trips and they had these
unbelievable experiences in
00:50:29.32\00:50:32.76
their close
encounters with God and I would
00:50:32.79\00:50:35.26
share their testimony.
00:50:35.30\00:50:36.67
I would translate for them.
00:50:36.70\00:50:39.00
And I was jealous, I
was jealous because I didn't
00:50:39.03\00:50:43.67
have a testimony.
00:50:43.71\00:50:45.07
I didn't have
something like that.
00:50:45.11\00:50:46.44
I didn't have that
life-changing experience,
00:50:46.47\00:50:48.54
that close encounter with God.
00:50:48.58\00:50:51.15
I knew He was there, I just--
00:50:51.18\00:50:54.58
I couldn't understand Him and
I didn't really want anything to
00:50:54.62\00:50:56.75
do with Him, and part of me
wanted Him not to want anything
00:50:56.79\00:51:01.69
to do with me.
00:51:01.72\00:51:03.29
I felt like I was
unworthy of God's love.
00:51:03.32\00:51:07.50
I left Mexico
to come to college.
00:51:07.50\00:51:12.13
Once I got to college,
00:51:12.17\00:51:13.47
I realized how
expensive college was.
00:51:13.50\00:51:15.70
And so in order
to pay for college,
00:51:15.74\00:51:18.14
I became a commercial
salmon fisherman in Alaska.
00:51:18.17\00:51:21.58
And the first time
that I stepped on a boat,
00:51:21.61\00:51:23.71
I knew I was going to
be a fisherman for the rest
00:51:23.75\00:51:25.35
of my life.
00:51:25.38\00:51:27.15
I met this man in
Tennessee in one of the rivers,
00:51:27.18\00:51:30.39
and I found out that he
had an orphanage in Honduras.
00:51:30.42\00:51:34.02
And he said, you know,
"You can come down to Honduras.
00:51:34.06\00:51:36.19
You can help us put a
support video together."
00:51:36.22\00:51:38.66
And you know, he was like,
"Maybe you can get some college
00:51:38.69\00:51:41.56
credits out of it."
00:51:41.60\00:51:43.03
I said, "You know,
that would be great.
00:51:43.06\00:51:44.43
I would do that.
00:51:44.47\00:51:45.80
I would love to do that."
00:51:45.83\00:51:47.17
And so I flew down to Honduras.
00:51:47.20\00:51:48.54
And one of the conversations
that we had during dinner--
00:51:48.57\00:51:52.01
we were talking about this and
that and somehow I brought up
00:51:52.04\00:51:54.81
Rapture, and they said, "Well,
find us a place in Scripture
00:51:54.84\00:51:57.75
where it talks about Rapture."
00:51:57.78\00:51:59.61
And I said, "It's
all over the Bible."
00:51:59.65\00:52:01.68
They said, "Is
it really, though?"
00:52:01.72\00:52:03.89
So they gave me a DVD
that said "Amazing Facts."
00:52:03.92\00:52:05.82
And I remember coming back to
America and I started watching.
00:52:05.85\00:52:11.06
It said, "Amazing Facts
Presents," and Doug Batchelor
00:52:11.09\00:52:14.56
started talking.
00:52:14.56\00:52:15.90
One of the things that he said
is that the word Rapture wasn't
00:52:15.93\00:52:18.23
in Scripture, and that was the
first time that I actually heard
00:52:18.27\00:52:22.37
Pastor Batchelor speak.
00:52:22.40\00:52:24.27
And then I run into YouTube,
a video series called "Prophecy
00:52:24.31\00:52:30.21
Code," and I said, "Oh, this
is going to be good, sweet."
00:52:30.25\00:52:35.08
But it was just torture because
everything I knew it was just
00:52:35.12\00:52:38.72
getting tossed out the window.
00:52:38.75\00:52:40.62
He was just using Scripture
after Scripture to take away
00:52:40.66\00:52:46.53
everything and all--everything
that I thought was normal and
00:52:46.56\00:52:49.13
everything that I knew
about the book of "Apocalypses."
00:52:49.16\00:52:53.80
Ever since, I've learned
scriptural truth and I've
00:52:53.84\00:52:55.77
seen the light.
00:52:55.80\00:52:57.64
I feel like there's been a
fire rekindled in my heart,
00:52:57.67\00:53:01.54
and I have this knowledge that
I want to share with people.
00:53:01.58\00:53:05.21
It brings me peace, and I think
that it does that for other
00:53:05.25\00:53:09.78
people we've
managed to share with.
00:53:09.82\00:53:12.69
My name is Andrew.
00:53:12.72\00:53:14.09
I am a fisherman and a dreamer.
00:53:14.12\00:53:17.19
I want to thank you
for changing my life.
00:53:17.23\00:53:20.20
Ashley: I grew up
in northern New Jersey,
00:53:36.28\00:53:38.51
just about 35
minutes out of New York City,
00:53:38.55\00:53:41.82
and I grew up
in a famous family.
00:53:41.85\00:53:44.52
So my father played for the
New York Giants for nine years.
00:53:44.55\00:53:48.72
That's how we
ended up where we were.
00:53:48.76\00:53:50.89
He also played for
the San Francisco 49ers,
00:53:50.93\00:53:53.66
and he was in the Pro Bowl.
00:53:53.70\00:53:56.26
He won two Super Bowls.
00:53:56.30\00:53:58.70
And I also had
an older brother who
00:53:58.73\00:54:02.00
played professional baseball.
00:54:02.04\00:54:04.31
So I had a lot to live up to.
00:54:04.34\00:54:06.17
Everything we did
was based around sports.
00:54:06.21\00:54:08.81
That was my life and I
loved it, but inside I was--
00:54:08.84\00:54:12.31
I struggled daily with
insecurity, lacking confidence.
00:54:12.35\00:54:16.92
You know, I would look at
myself in the mirror and not--
00:54:16.95\00:54:20.99
and would not see
good things about myself.
00:54:21.02\00:54:23.06
I started to put all
my energy into soccer,
00:54:23.09\00:54:27.50
and I decided that I was
going to go far with that.
00:54:27.56\00:54:34.30
So I ended up
getting a scholarship to play
00:54:34.34\00:54:38.74
in the University of Miami.
00:54:38.77\00:54:40.51
I was being
pulled in these, like,
00:54:40.54\00:54:41.84
two directions of, you
know, wanting to live this party
00:54:41.88\00:54:45.38
lifestyle with my teammates and
I was so engulfed in soccer and
00:54:45.41\00:54:51.59
school, but I
also had this, like,
00:54:51.62\00:54:53.99
strong, yearning
desire to serve God.
00:54:54.02\00:54:58.63
And I was just struggling to
figure out the balance and how
00:54:58.66\00:55:01.23
to do that.
00:55:01.26\00:55:02.60
I was in Sin City in
Miami and I couldn't--
00:55:02.63\00:55:06.30
I felt like I was swimming
upstream, and I just felt
00:55:06.33\00:55:09.24
like I couldn't breathe.
00:55:09.27\00:55:10.74
I had everything
everyone would have wanted.
00:55:10.77\00:55:13.07
I had everything.
00:55:13.11\00:55:14.41
I had a
scholarship to pay for school.
00:55:14.44\00:55:16.38
I was playing a sport.
00:55:16.41\00:55:17.71
I was the captain of my team.
00:55:17.75\00:55:19.05
I was in Miami.
00:55:19.08\00:55:20.58
I was--I had a great
family, I had a lot of friends,
00:55:20.62\00:55:26.32
but where was God?
00:55:26.35\00:55:27.69
It was--all of that is
meaningless unless I had Him.
00:55:27.72\00:55:32.73
And the lifeline that He gave me
was this soft whisper in my ear
00:55:32.76\00:55:39.83
saying, "Go."
00:55:39.87\00:55:41.17
I sure remember, "Go."
00:55:41.20\00:55:42.57
So I decided to go.
00:55:42.60\00:55:43.97
And I spent two months in
Kenya and two months in Uganda,
00:55:44.01\00:55:48.08
and God was saving
me by sending me there.
00:55:48.11\00:55:50.58
It was God's prescription
for my life, for my existence.
00:55:50.61\00:55:54.25
When I returned from
Africa, I went back to school.
00:55:54.28\00:55:57.72
I finished
school, finished soccer.
00:55:57.75\00:56:01.76
I went to the University of
Tennessee to get my master's,
00:56:01.79\00:56:06.63
and I met my husband.
00:56:06.66\00:56:08.53
Our motto in life was we wanted
to live in reckless abandon for
00:56:08.56\00:56:11.47
our Creator and--
whatever that was,
00:56:11.50\00:56:15.14
whatever that looked like.
00:56:15.17\00:56:16.47
And you know, we've traveled
and we've done mission work,
00:56:16.50\00:56:19.97
but we've mostly
been in Tennessee.
00:56:20.01\00:56:22.28
And when we were--we spent
the summer apart a year after
00:56:22.31\00:56:26.98
that--we were married,
and it was the summer of 2015.
00:56:27.02\00:56:31.09
When we came back
together, he's like,
00:56:31.12\00:56:33.66
"I have some things I
want to share with you.
00:56:33.69\00:56:36.93
I want you to listen to this."
00:56:36.96\00:56:38.96
And we were on a 14-hour car
ride and he just started playing
00:56:38.99\00:56:44.17
this Prophecy Code all
the way back from 2005,
00:56:44.20\00:56:47.40
and it was so clear and I just
was comprehending it so well.
00:56:47.44\00:56:52.37
You know, after a
couple, like three or four,
00:56:52.41\00:56:54.31
I was like, "I need a break.
00:56:54.34\00:56:55.71
My mind is going to,
like, explode from all this,
00:56:55.74\00:56:58.51
like, information overload."
00:56:58.55\00:57:00.05
And everything that I thought
I had known about the Bible and
00:57:00.08\00:57:05.12
about Scripture is
just completely different.
00:57:05.15\00:57:10.13
I was in shock.
00:57:10.16\00:57:12.06
Everything that I was
hearing was, like, Scripture is
00:57:12.09\00:57:14.40
proving Scripture
is proving Scripture.
00:57:14.46\00:57:16.53
My heart was, like, changing in
that car ride because it's like
00:57:16.56\00:57:20.94
learning more about God
than I ever have before.
00:57:20.97\00:57:24.31
After that car ride and after
listening the whole "Prophecy
00:57:24.34\00:57:26.94
Code," my life was
completely changed.
00:57:26.98\00:57:30.38
He's become more real to us
than he ever has been before,
00:57:30.41\00:57:33.72
and that has pushed us to
disciple and to minister to
00:57:33.75\00:57:38.42
others and share
with them what we know.
00:57:38.45\00:57:42.76
My name is Ashley, and I want to
thank you for changing my life.
00:57:42.79\00:57:46.83
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00:57:55.44\00:58:05.35
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