¤¤ 00:00:00.30\00:00:09.04 ¤¤ 00:00:15.71\00:00:25.72 Jean Ross: Good morning, friends. 00:00:35.83\00:00:37.30 Welcome once again to "Sabbath School Study Hour," 00:00:37.33\00:00:39.63 coming to you here from the Granite Bay Seventh-day 00:00:39.67\00:00:41.70 Adventist Church in Sacramento, California. 00:00:41.74\00:00:44.31 We'd like to welcome those who are joining us online across the 00:00:44.34\00:00:47.24 country and around the world. 00:00:47.28\00:00:49.38 Also those who will be viewing this in the various television 00:00:49.41\00:00:51.91 networks, very warm welcome. 00:00:51.95\00:00:54.62 But also I'd like to welcome those who are here in person for 00:00:54.65\00:00:56.85 Sabbath School. 00:00:56.89\00:00:58.49 It's kind of nice to be able to gather together again, and sing 00:00:58.52\00:01:00.99 a few songs, and come and study the Word. 00:01:01.02\00:01:03.29 So we praise God for that. 00:01:03.32\00:01:05.19 As many of you know, we've been studying through 00:01:05.23\00:01:06.80 the Book of Isaiah. 00:01:06.83\00:01:08.30 This has been our lesson over the past 13 weeks--well, 00:01:08.33\00:01:10.40 12 weeks. 00:01:10.43\00:01:11.83 Today we'll be finishing our study in Isaiah, lesson number 00:01:11.87\00:01:15.67 13 which is entitled "Rebirth of the Planet--Rebirth 00:01:15.70\00:01:19.77 of the Planet Earth." 00:01:19.81\00:01:21.78 But next week--we want to tell you about the new lesson 00:01:21.81\00:01:24.38 quarterly that we'll start. 00:01:24.41\00:01:25.85 I'm looking so forward to this. 00:01:25.88\00:01:27.25 It's entitled "The Promise, God's Everlasting Covenant," 00:01:27.28\00:01:30.35 and this is going to be our study. 00:01:30.39\00:01:32.32 We'll start with lesson number one next week. 00:01:32.35\00:01:34.49 So make sure--for those of you who are here in person, be sure 00:01:34.52\00:01:37.46 to pick up the lesson quarterly and you'll study 00:01:37.49\00:01:39.86 that for next Sabbath. 00:01:39.89\00:01:42.26 We have a free offer that we'd like to tell you about. 00:01:42.30\00:01:44.30 It's a book entitled "Heaven, Is It for Real?" 00:01:44.33\00:01:48.34 And we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks. 00:01:48.37\00:01:51.31 The number for that is 866-788-3966, and ask for offer 00:01:51.34\00:01:56.68 number 189 and we'll get that in the mail and send it to you 00:01:56.71\00:02:00.58 anywhere in North America. 00:02:00.62\00:02:03.18 If you're outside of North America or you just like 00:02:03.22\00:02:05.32 a digital copy of the book, all you have to do is text 00:02:05.35\00:02:09.29 the code SH033 to the number 40544. 00:02:09.32\00:02:16.20 Now, I mentioned if you'd like to get the digital copy and 00:02:16.23\00:02:18.67 you're outside of North America, it might be a challenge for you 00:02:18.70\00:02:21.20 to be able to text the code. 00:02:21.24\00:02:23.04 So you can go to the Amazing Facts' website and you can just 00:02:23.07\00:02:26.04 click on the free library, type in the title, "Heaven, Is It for 00:02:26.07\00:02:29.21 Real," and you'll be able to read the book 00:02:29.24\00:02:31.21 right there online. 00:02:31.25\00:02:33.18 Well, before we get to our study today we have a wonderful 00:02:33.21\00:02:35.95 special music, and we'll bring that at this point. 00:02:35.98\00:02:39.59 ¤¤ 00:02:41.72\00:02:51.70 ¤¤ 00:03:48.42\00:03:58.40 ¤ When I fear my faith will fail, ¤ 00:04:12.55\00:04:17.59 ¤ Christ will hold me fast. ¤ 00:04:17.62\00:04:21.92 ¤ When the tempter would prevail, ¤ 00:04:21.96\00:04:27.56 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:04:27.60\00:04:31.97 ¤ I could never keep my hold ¤ 00:04:32.00\00:04:37.67 ¤ through thy fearful path. ¤ 00:04:37.71\00:04:42.34 ¤ For my love is often cold, ¤ 00:04:42.38\00:04:47.95 ¤ He must hold me fast. ¤ 00:04:47.98\00:04:51.49 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:04:54.52\00:04:58.79 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:04:58.83\00:05:03.63 ¤ For my Savior loves me so, ¤ 00:05:03.67\00:05:09.10 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:05:09.14\00:05:14.28 ¤ Those He saves are His delight, ¤ 00:05:23.95\00:05:29.39 ¤ Christ will hold me fast. ¤ 00:05:29.42\00:05:33.70 ¤ Precious in His holy side, ¤ 00:05:33.73\00:05:39.20 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:05:39.23\00:05:43.81 ¤ He'll not let my soul be lost, ¤ 00:05:43.84\00:05:49.38 ¤ His promises shall last. ¤ 00:05:49.41\00:05:53.95 ¤ But by Him at such a cost, ¤ 00:05:53.98\00:05:58.95 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:05:58.99\00:06:03.32 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:06:06.36\00:06:10.40 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:06:11.33\00:06:14.77 ¤ For my Savior loves me so, ¤ 00:06:14.80\00:06:20.31 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:06:20.34\00:06:26.11 ¤ For my life he bled and died, ¤ 00:06:35.86\00:06:41.16 ¤ Christ will hold me fast. ¤ 00:06:41.20\00:06:45.50 ¤ Justice has been satisfied, ¤ 00:06:45.53\00:06:51.04 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:06:51.07\00:06:55.64 ¤ Raised with Him to endless life, ¤ 00:06:55.68\00:07:01.25 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:07:01.28\00:07:06.29 ¤ Till our faith is turned to sight when he comes at last, ¤ 00:07:06.32\00:07:16.30 ¤ He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:07:20.40\00:07:28.18 ¤ For my Savior loves me so, ¤ 00:07:28.21\00:07:34.22 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:07:34.25\00:07:38.25 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:07:41.99\00:07:45.76 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:07:46.39\00:07:50.83 ¤ For my Savior loves me so, ¤ 00:07:50.87\00:07:57.67 ¤ He will hold me fast. ¤ 00:07:57.71\00:08:06.35 Jean: Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer. 00:08:23.73\00:08:25.40 Dear Father, we are indeed so grateful for this beautiful 00:08:25.43\00:08:27.60 Sabbath, blue skies outside, a wonderful place to gather 00:08:27.64\00:08:31.04 and to worship You and to study Your Word. 00:08:31.07\00:08:32.71 And, Lord, as we always do, we want to invite Your presence 00:08:32.74\00:08:35.28 to be with us. 00:08:35.31\00:08:36.81 We're going to be looking at the great hope of the Christian 00:08:36.85\00:08:39.21 today that earth made new, the fulfillment of the promise made 00:08:39.25\00:08:42.02 back--way back to Abraham and his descendants. 00:08:42.05\00:08:46.05 And, Lord, we ask for Your Spirit. 00:08:46.09\00:08:47.62 Come guide our minds, our hearts. 00:08:47.66\00:08:49.06 Be with Pastor Doug as he teaches today. 00:08:49.09\00:08:50.99 We ask this in Jesus's name. 00:08:51.03\00:08:52.56 Amen. 00:08:52.59\00:08:54.23 Our lesson today will be brought to us by our senior pastor, 00:08:54.30\00:08:56.67 Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:08:56.70\00:08:59.37 Doug Batchelor: Well, we've come to the last lesson in 00:09:00.84\00:09:03.14 Isaiah, and the good news is that Jesus wins in the end. 00:09:03.17\00:09:09.34 The story has a happy ending, you might say. 00:09:09.38\00:09:12.55 And Isaiah does take us all the way through the--just the highs 00:09:12.58\00:09:16.42 and lows of Scripture. 00:09:16.45\00:09:18.39 Talks about God's people going through some really tough times 00:09:18.42\00:09:23.09 in captivity, and then it talks about them being triumphant in 00:09:23.12\00:09:27.56 the kingdom, talks about Jerusalem destroyed and 00:09:27.60\00:09:30.50 Jerusalem restored, and most of all, Isaiah talks about Jesus. 00:09:30.53\00:09:36.34 I want to welcome everybody, those who are here studying with 00:09:36.37\00:09:38.67 us at the Granite Bay hilltop church. 00:09:38.71\00:09:40.84 And we know we have a lot of friends and family, some of our 00:09:40.88\00:09:43.04 online members who are studying with us different parts 00:09:43.08\00:09:46.18 of the globe, different parts of North America. 00:09:46.21\00:09:49.12 As I mentioned, we're in our last lesson now, lesson number 00:09:49.15\00:09:51.79 13, and the title is the "Rebirth of Planet Earth." 00:09:51.82\00:09:57.66 I guess it rhymes a little bit. 00:09:57.69\00:09:59.89 And we have a memory verse. 00:09:59.93\00:10:01.86 The memory verse is from Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 65:17, and this is 00:10:01.90\00:10:07.14 in the New King James Version. 00:10:07.17\00:10:09.80 You can say it with me. 00:10:09.84\00:10:11.17 "For behold I create a new heavens and a new earth, and the 00:10:11.21\00:10:15.91 former shall not be remembered or come into mind." 00:10:15.94\00:10:20.72 I think we're all looking forward to that new heavens 00:10:20.75\00:10:23.85 and that new earth. 00:10:23.89\00:10:25.45 Now our mission today, we're going to finish out 00:10:25.49\00:10:28.46 the Book of Isaiah. 00:10:28.49\00:10:30.06 We're going to take up Isaiah 65, verse 17 and read through 00:10:30.09\00:10:33.29 the end of the book, which is chapter 66. 00:10:33.33\00:10:36.13 I don't know if we'll get through it all, 00:10:36.16\00:10:38.53 but I'm going to do my best. 00:10:38.57\00:10:40.57 And it's sometimes tough to know how to--you know, if I speed 00:10:40.60\00:10:43.67 up--only thing worse than going long is running out of material 00:10:43.71\00:10:48.28 and then just being in a holding pattern. 00:10:48.31\00:10:49.91 You ever see a pastor who's in a holding pattern in a sermon, 00:10:49.94\00:10:52.71 keep saying the same thing over and over again? 00:10:52.75\00:10:54.35 It's really pathetic. 00:10:54.38\00:10:55.82 So I'm going to--I bit off more than I can chew to make sure 00:10:55.85\00:10:58.42 that doesn't happen. 00:10:58.45\00:11:00.22 But turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 65, verse 17, 00:11:00.26\00:11:04.39 and we will start here. 00:11:04.43\00:11:08.00 And it begins with these beautiful words: "For behold I 00:11:08.03\00:11:12.57 create a new heavens and a new earth, and the former 00:11:12.60\00:11:16.54 will not be remembered nor come into mind." 00:11:16.57\00:11:20.64 All right, you got to stop right there. 00:11:20.68\00:11:22.24 We got a lot to talk about. A new heavens and a new earth. 00:11:22.28\00:11:24.95 First of all, why does he say a new heaven? 00:11:24.98\00:11:28.75 I mean, we all can understand why God would make a new earth, 00:11:28.78\00:11:31.25 but we thought that, you know, heaven is a dwelling place of 00:11:31.29\00:11:33.29 God and everything there would be perfect. 00:11:33.32\00:11:36.26 And why would He need a new heaven? 00:11:36.29\00:11:38.83 It doesn't mean a new heaven where God dwells, 00:11:38.86\00:11:41.46 it means a new atmosphere. 00:11:41.50\00:11:43.73 The Jews had three words or three terms 00:11:43.77\00:11:47.64 or three levels for heaven. 00:11:47.67\00:11:49.87 You had the first heaven, second heaven, third heaven. 00:11:49.90\00:11:52.17 You can read where Paul says, "I knew a man who was caught up 00:11:52.21\00:11:55.34 to the third heaven." 00:11:55.38\00:11:58.05 And he's talking about--in vision when he was taken up into 00:11:58.08\00:12:01.78 paradise and he saw the dwelling place of God and heard things 00:12:01.82\00:12:05.09 that cannot be repeated. 00:12:05.12\00:12:07.02 It's why he kind of tells the story in the second hand. 00:12:07.06\00:12:10.53 How many of you have read the verse talks 00:12:10.56\00:12:12.33 about the seventh heaven? 00:12:12.36\00:12:14.63 There is no seventh heaven in the Bible. 00:12:14.66\00:12:16.90 Doesn't say that anywhere. 00:12:16.93\00:12:18.27 A lot of sevens in Revelation, but it doesn't say 00:12:18.30\00:12:19.77 seventh heaven. 00:12:19.80\00:12:21.60 But, you know, some girl will kiss Mr. Tall, dark, and 00:12:21.64\00:12:23.87 handsome and she'll say, "I was in seventh heaven." 00:12:23.91\00:12:26.37 But that's not in the Bible. 00:12:26.41\00:12:28.01 But just talk about the third heaven. 00:12:28.04\00:12:30.45 God does not have heaven divided in levels where you've got 00:12:30.48\00:12:34.42 heaven for, you know, the really good people and then you get 00:12:34.45\00:12:38.69 sort of some different levels below that. 00:12:38.72\00:12:41.26 And when it says third heaven, it's talking about 00:12:41.29\00:12:44.93 the dwelling place of God. 00:12:44.96\00:12:46.63 First heaven was the atmosphere around the world. 00:12:46.66\00:12:50.37 You know, in the beginning when it says God separated the waters 00:12:50.40\00:12:53.07 above from the waters below the heaven, it's talking about the 00:12:53.10\00:12:56.24 atmosphere; the clouds above the atmosphere and then you have 00:12:56.27\00:12:59.57 the waters below, and it meant the place where the clouds float 00:12:59.61\00:13:04.15 and the birds fly. 00:13:04.18\00:13:06.61 Is our atmosphere today in the world polluted? 00:13:06.65\00:13:10.15 It is. 00:13:10.19\00:13:11.49 So when He says He's making it--and what happens to the 00:13:11.52\00:13:13.89 atmosphere when Jesus comes? 00:13:13.92\00:13:15.62 The heavens will dissolve with a great noise, and the elements 00:13:15.66\00:13:17.63 will melt with fervent heat. 00:13:17.66\00:13:19.66 It's all going to burn. 00:13:19.69\00:13:20.96 The heavens, the atmosphere, and the earth are going to burn. 00:13:21.00\00:13:23.13 So they naturally are promising a new heavens and a new earth. 00:13:23.16\00:13:27.80 And then it tells us that--well, first of all, let me read you 00:13:27.84\00:13:30.07 a few verses. 00:13:30.11\00:13:31.47 This is not the only place you find that in the Bible. 00:13:31.51\00:13:33.81 If you look in Revelation 21, verse 1, "Now I saw a new heaven 00:13:33.84\00:13:39.31 and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth 00:13:39.35\00:13:42.38 had passed away." 00:13:42.42\00:13:44.05 Oh, I never did tell you what is the second heaven. 00:13:44.09\00:13:45.79 That's the place in space where the stars and the planets are. 00:13:45.82\00:13:53.23 That's called the second heavens. 00:13:53.26\00:13:55.06 The third heaven is the one you cannot see, the dwelling place 00:13:55.10\00:13:57.30 of God, paradise. 00:13:57.33\00:13:59.33 So you got first heaven, atmosphere; second heaven, 00:13:59.37\00:14:02.70 sun, moon, stars; third heaven, dwelling place of God 00:14:02.74\00:14:05.94 or paradise. 00:14:05.97\00:14:08.38 "So I create a new heavens and a new earth. 00:14:08.41\00:14:10.31 The former will not be remembered." 00:14:10.35\00:14:11.95 Now, does that mean we're not going to remember that Jesus 00:14:11.98\00:14:13.92 died for our sins here? 00:14:13.95\00:14:17.35 How do we know we will always remember Jesus died 00:14:17.39\00:14:19.15 for our sins? 00:14:19.19\00:14:21.96 Yeah. 00:14:21.99\00:14:23.89 Didn't Jesus have scars in his hands and in his feet 00:14:23.93\00:14:25.86 after the resurrection? 00:14:25.89\00:14:27.30 We'll always know that. 00:14:27.30\00:14:28.76 So it doesn't mean that we're going to get a little amnesia 00:14:28.80\00:14:31.57 or dementia in heaven so we just don't remember 00:14:31.60\00:14:33.64 what happened here. 00:14:33.67\00:14:35.30 No. 00:14:35.34\00:14:36.87 I think it's telling us really that the painful memories 00:14:36.91\00:14:39.21 of this life will be so overshadowed and eclipsed 00:14:39.24\00:14:42.98 by the glory of the new world and eternity 00:14:43.01\00:14:45.91 stretched out before us 00:14:45.95\00:14:48.12 that we will not even be looking back, even in this life. 00:14:48.15\00:14:52.02 The Bible admonishes us forgetting those things 00:14:52.05\00:14:54.42 that are behind. 00:14:54.46\00:14:56.83 That doesn't mean don't forget important lessons you've 00:14:56.86\00:14:58.56 learned, it means forgetting the painful memories, 00:14:58.59\00:15:00.43 forgetting your mistakes. 00:15:00.46\00:15:02.93 I don't know about you, but sometimes I think about things 00:15:02.96\00:15:04.77 I've said and done in my life and I groan. 00:15:04.80\00:15:06.84 Even though I've asked God to forgive me, I think 00:15:06.87\00:15:08.74 and I go, "Oh." 00:15:08.77\00:15:11.11 You won't have that in heaven. 00:15:11.14\00:15:12.94 You won't look back to earth. 00:15:12.97\00:15:14.64 You'll be looking forward. 00:15:14.68\00:15:15.98 You'll know and believe you're forgiven. 00:15:16.01\00:15:17.71 All those painful memories are forgotten. 00:15:17.75\00:15:20.42 They will not be remembered or come into mind. 00:15:20.45\00:15:22.75 "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create." 00:15:22.78\00:15:28.92 All right, let's talk about forever. 00:15:28.96\00:15:31.59 You just think about it, and Bible is promising us eternity. 00:15:31.63\00:15:35.50 How long is eternity? 00:15:35.53\00:15:39.07 You can read in Titus 1, verse 2. 00:15:39.10\00:15:43.44 "In hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, 00:15:43.47\00:15:48.38 promised before time began." 00:15:48.41\00:15:51.28 So time--when was that before time began? 00:15:51.31\00:15:53.52 God's--from everlasting to everlasting. 00:15:53.55\00:15:58.52 I think Ellen White says a few different places that we will 00:15:58.55\00:16:01.46 have a life that measures with the life of God because we will 00:16:01.49\00:16:06.66 have eternal life, and we will go on into eternity with God. 00:16:06.70\00:16:12.23 You can't--do you realize eternity never gets off 00:16:12.27\00:16:15.27 the starting line? 00:16:15.30\00:16:17.91 After a billion years go by, you haven't even started. 00:16:17.94\00:16:20.98 Because compared with what's in front of you, you never can even 00:16:21.01\00:16:25.35 get a fraction of the beginning. 00:16:25.38\00:16:27.92 I remember hearing this pastor trying to tell a room full of 00:16:27.95\00:16:30.22 youth what eternity was, and he said, "Picture, if you will, 00:16:30.25\00:16:34.06 a little bird that goes to Yosemite and it lands on 00:16:34.09\00:16:38.33 the granite rock Half Dome." 00:16:38.36\00:16:39.76 Now, we're in California here. 00:16:39.79\00:16:41.23 How many of you here know what Half Dome is? 00:16:41.26\00:16:42.83 You know, it looks like a big massive rock. 00:16:42.86\00:16:45.47 And those watching, you can get a picture online. 00:16:45.50\00:16:48.77 Big massive granite rock that rises up thousands of feet 00:16:48.80\00:16:51.91 out of the ground. 00:16:51.94\00:16:53.68 "And a little sparrow sharpens his beak and then flies away. 00:16:53.71\00:16:58.88 A thousand years later, another sparrow lands on Half Dome 00:16:58.91\00:17:02.18 and sharpens his beak." 00:17:02.22\00:17:04.79 And the pastor went on repeating that several times until it got 00:17:04.82\00:17:08.66 boring, and then he said, "After the sparrows have worn away 00:17:08.69\00:17:15.16 Half Dome, eternity will have begun." 00:17:15.20\00:17:20.40 So there's a lot of creative ways evangelists try to help 00:17:20.44\00:17:23.74 people visualize eternity, but you never can really capture it, 00:17:23.77\00:17:27.01 that God is going to give us a life like that. 00:17:27.04\00:17:28.98 Now, how many of you have had days that felt like eternity and 00:17:29.01\00:17:32.61 you couldn't wait for it to end? 00:17:32.65\00:17:34.25 But the eternity God's promising us is not going to be 00:17:34.28\00:17:36.89 a bad eternity. 00:17:36.92\00:17:39.02 It is just going to get better to--and better and better, and 00:17:39.05\00:17:43.12 just continually new and fresh waves of glory it's hard 00:17:43.16\00:17:46.66 for us to comprehend. 00:17:46.70\00:17:49.10 Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God 00:17:49.13\00:17:53.50 is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." 00:17:53.54\00:17:57.64 1 John 2:25, "And this is the promise that He's promised us: 00:17:57.67\00:18:01.54 eternal life." 00:18:01.58\00:18:04.15 Mark 10:29, "Assuredly I say to you," Jesus is speaking, "There 00:18:04.18\00:18:08.75 is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, 00:18:08.78\00:18:12.09 or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my sake and the 00:18:12.12\00:18:14.42 gospels who will not receive a hundredfold more now in this 00:18:14.46\00:18:18.39 time houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, 00:18:18.43\00:18:21.13 and children, and lands with persecution and in the age 00:18:21.16\00:18:25.40 to come eternal life." 00:18:25.43\00:18:28.94 And of course John 3:16, "For God so loved the world He gave 00:18:28.97\00:18:34.34 His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him 00:18:34.38\00:18:37.58 should not perish--" That means forever. 00:18:37.61\00:18:41.42 "Should not perish, but have eternal life." 00:18:41.45\00:18:43.79 This is what God is promising us. 00:18:43.82\00:18:45.92 So moving on in Isaiah chapter 65, "But they will glad and 00:18:45.95\00:18:51.86 rejoice forever in what I create; for behold I create 00:18:51.89\00:18:56.13 Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy, and I will rejoice 00:18:56.16\00:19:02.70 in Jerusalem and joy in My people." 00:19:02.74\00:19:06.44 In Zephaniah you find one of the only places in the Bible where 00:19:06.47\00:19:09.68 it talks about God singing, other than where it says that 00:19:09.71\00:19:13.45 Jesus sang at the Last Supper when they went out. 00:19:13.48\00:19:19.42 And it says, "I will rejoice over her with singing, 00:19:19.45\00:19:22.72 and Jerusalem a joy." 00:19:22.76\00:19:24.06 Now, this is especially precious when Isaiah wrote it because, 00:19:24.09\00:19:26.90 you know, Jerusalem--once they had been conquered by the 00:19:26.93\00:19:33.44 Egyptians following the time of Solomon, Rehoboam was conquered 00:19:33.47\00:19:38.07 by the Egyptians, they just had continually gone back and forth 00:19:38.11\00:19:41.44 from independence to conquest, independence to conquest. 00:19:41.48\00:19:45.21 Even during the time of Judges, they were oppressed by the 00:19:45.25\00:19:47.52 Edomites and they were oppressed by the Assyrians, 00:19:47.55\00:19:49.68 and there's just constant oppression. 00:19:49.72\00:19:52.62 To finally know that Jerusalem would have unending peace 00:19:52.65\00:19:56.22 and joy was a great promise. 00:19:56.26\00:19:59.76 Look in Revelation 21, verse 2. 00:19:59.79\00:20:02.50 "Then I, John, saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming 00:20:02.53\00:20:07.24 down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned 00:20:07.27\00:20:10.84 for her husband." 00:20:10.87\00:20:12.64 Now, when it talks about a bride adorned for her husband, 00:20:12.67\00:20:15.44 is Jerusalem talking about a city or who lives in this city? 00:20:15.48\00:20:21.52 What's important to God? 00:20:21.55\00:20:23.32 Is He a city builder, or is He a people builder? 00:20:23.35\00:20:26.09 Yeah, it says He's prepared for them a city. 00:20:26.12\00:20:27.99 But when it talks about them being like the bride, 00:20:28.02\00:20:31.63 that's really speaking of her being--the people in the city, 00:20:31.66\00:20:35.66 the church, and it's talking about being invited 00:20:35.70\00:20:38.27 to the wedding supper of the lamb. 00:20:38.30\00:20:41.40 And it says, you can read on here, "And I will wipe away 00:20:41.44\00:20:45.97 every tear from their eyes." 00:20:46.01\00:20:47.91 This is Revelation 21:4. 00:20:47.94\00:20:49.94 "There'll be no more death nor sorrow nor crying, neither 00:20:49.98\00:20:53.55 will be--there'll be any more pain, for the former things 00:20:53.58\00:20:55.98 have passed away." 00:20:56.02\00:20:58.79 And we can read here in Isaiah chapter 65, "And the former 00:20:58.82\00:21:02.69 shall not be remembered." 00:21:02.72\00:21:04.83 And it says in verse 19, "And I will rejoice in Jerusalem 00:21:04.86\00:21:09.10 and joy in My people. 00:21:09.13\00:21:10.73 The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her." 00:21:10.77\00:21:15.50 Can you say, "Amen?" 00:21:15.54\00:21:17.04 "Nor the voice of crying." 00:21:17.07\00:21:19.37 Now, here are some difficult verses. 00:21:19.41\00:21:21.44 If you've got your Bibles--I hope your Bibles are open 'cause 00:21:21.48\00:21:23.24 we're just going to try and read on through this last chapter 00:21:23.28\00:21:26.28 and a half of Isaiah. 00:21:26.31\00:21:28.12 It says, "No more shall an infant from there live 00:21:28.15\00:21:31.49 but a few days." 00:21:31.52\00:21:33.39 You know, one of the most dangerous times in your life 00:21:33.42\00:21:38.26 statistically is a child in the first 3 months, as a lot of 00:21:38.29\00:21:43.30 children die from diseases or birth defects or infections, 00:21:43.33\00:21:47.24 you know, in their infancy. 00:21:47.27\00:21:49.17 Sudden Death Syndrome, and that was especially prevalent, 00:21:49.20\00:21:53.64 you know, before they had some of the modern medicine. 00:21:53.68\00:21:56.44 A lot of people would bring forth children. 00:21:56.48\00:21:58.71 Karen and I, we're just finishing a book 00:21:58.75\00:22:00.42 on Adoniram Judson 00:22:00.45\00:22:03.02 and it was heartbreaking how many of these missionary wives 00:22:03.05\00:22:05.72 had stillborn children because their lives were so difficult. 00:22:05.75\00:22:09.99 And you--to carry a child for, you know, 8 or 9 months and then 00:22:10.03\00:22:14.56 you got all this hope and then realize that the child is gone, 00:22:14.56\00:22:18.50 and that used to happen a lot in Bible times. 00:22:18.53\00:22:22.10 And it says that will not happen again. 00:22:22.14\00:22:24.34 "Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days." 00:22:24.37\00:22:28.04 You know, sometimes people died prematurely and their days were 00:22:28.08\00:22:32.81 not fulfilled, and that's tragic. 00:22:32.85\00:22:36.32 Now, this is the part that people struggle with. 00:22:36.35\00:22:40.56 "For the child will die 100 years old--" 00:22:40.59\00:22:44.33 Okay, wait a second. 00:22:44.36\00:22:45.86 Aren't we in the new heaven now, and don't we have 00:22:45.89\00:22:48.16 eternal life now? 00:22:48.20\00:22:50.40 Why will the child die 100 years old? 00:22:50.43\00:22:54.10 Now, first of all, that doesn't mean children will die. 00:22:54.14\00:22:57.01 How do we know that? 00:22:57.04\00:22:58.54 Didn't we just read there's no more weeping? 00:22:58.57\00:23:01.24 So you read the prior verses and you say, "No, that just 00:23:01.28\00:23:03.18 can't be possible." 00:23:03.21\00:23:05.11 So this is a verse that's often been difficult. 00:23:05.15\00:23:08.05 It's basically saying that child will not die from being a child. 00:23:08.08\00:23:12.89 You can use the word cease from being a child until it is 100. 00:23:12.92\00:23:18.03 Notice, if you look in your Bible--something here. 00:23:18.06\00:23:20.56 I don't know if you caught this before, but you go to 00:23:20.60\00:23:21.96 Genesis chapter 5, verse 6. 00:23:22.00\00:23:26.84 "And Seth lived 105 years and he begot Enosh." 00:23:26.87\00:23:33.01 Now, how many of you when you plan on starting your families 00:23:33.04\00:23:36.21 are going to try and start at 105? 00:23:36.24\00:23:39.95 How many of you with young adult children are going to wait--hope 00:23:39.98\00:23:42.98 they wait until they're 105 before they get married? 00:23:43.02\00:23:46.32 Look at the ages of the patriarchs from the time 00:23:46.35\00:23:49.69 of Seth and those after. 00:23:49.72\00:23:53.13 They're not even getting married until they're 80 and 90, 00:23:53.16\00:23:55.86 some 60 years of age. 00:23:55.90\00:23:57.83 Do you know how old--Jacob was, I think, 65 or 70 00:23:57.87\00:24:03.17 when he finally got married. 00:24:03.20\00:24:06.17 Isaac was 40 when he got married, and I don't think that 00:24:06.21\00:24:08.68 Rebecca had children for 20 years. 00:24:08.71\00:24:10.41 That's why he was praying about her barrenness. 00:24:10.45\00:24:12.81 They lived longer, and it's saying that in eternity--will 00:24:12.85\00:24:16.35 there be children in heaven? 00:24:16.38\00:24:19.19 Yeah. 00:24:19.22\00:24:20.72 Talked about the child playing on the hole of the venomous 00:24:20.76\00:24:22.66 serpent, child leading the wolf and the lamb in the woods. 00:24:22.69\00:24:24.86 Yes, there's definitely children in heaven. 00:24:24.89\00:24:26.73 It says they shall go forth and grow up as calves 00:24:26.76\00:24:29.90 of the stall in Malachi. 00:24:29.93\00:24:32.00 And so there are children in heaven, at least to begin with, 00:24:32.03\00:24:36.10 but they'll grow up. 00:24:36.14\00:24:37.71 But will they grow as quickly or will they grow more like they 00:24:37.74\00:24:39.97 grew in the Garden of Eden? 00:24:40.01\00:24:42.84 It's going to be a lot slower. 00:24:42.88\00:24:44.31 The child will not even cease being a child until it is 100. 00:24:44.35\00:24:49.62 But even after 100 years, the sinner will be accursed. 00:24:49.65\00:24:54.96 There's not going to be sinners there. 00:24:54.99\00:24:56.59 It's basically saying the name of the sinner is accursed. 00:24:56.62\00:24:59.73 If you look in Daniel chapter 12 when it talks about Michael 00:24:59.76\00:25:03.67 standing up and there'll be a time of trouble such as there 00:25:03.70\00:25:05.97 never was, ever since there was a nation even at that same 00:25:06.00\00:25:08.40 time--and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth 00:25:08.44\00:25:11.67 will awake; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and 00:25:11.71\00:25:16.14 everlasting contempt. 00:25:16.18\00:25:18.68 What is everlasting contempt? 00:25:18.71\00:25:20.65 That means their names, the sinners is covered with contempt 00:25:20.68\00:25:24.52 forever. 00:25:24.55\00:25:26.35 And so it's not saying that there's going to be sinners or 00:25:26.39\00:25:29.22 there's going to be death, it's just making--and Isaiah speaks 00:25:29.26\00:25:31.83 in poetic terms. 00:25:31.86\00:25:33.26 You've probably pick that up in the last quarter, that sometimes 00:25:33.29\00:25:35.96 he uses some hyperbole to emphasize points. 00:25:36.00\00:25:39.33 Child would not even stop being a child until it's 100 years of 00:25:39.37\00:25:41.94 age, but the sinner at 100 years of age will be accursed even 00:25:41.97\00:25:46.74 after 100 years. 00:25:46.78\00:25:50.18 And remember we read the verses above. 00:25:50.21\00:25:51.85 There is no more weeping, no more crying, no more death. 00:25:51.88\00:25:56.85 And so no, children are not dying, children will cease to be 00:25:56.89\00:26:00.86 children, and--but the sinners are accursed. 00:26:00.89\00:26:05.23 If you look--another example for that is Ecclesiastes 8, 00:26:05.26\00:26:08.06 verse 12. 00:26:08.10\00:26:09.56 "Though a sinner do evil 100 times and his days be prolonged, 00:26:09.60\00:26:13.54 yet I know that it will be well with them that fear God with 00:26:13.57\00:26:17.31 fear before Him, but it will not be well with the wicked, the 00:26:17.34\00:26:20.91 sinner; neither shall He prolong his days, which are but a shadow 00:26:20.94\00:26:24.55 because he fears not God." 00:26:24.58\00:26:27.08 And even 100 years is but a shadow. 00:26:27.12\00:26:30.39 And so Isaiah is just basically talking about, you know, God's 00:26:30.42\00:26:34.59 children are going to be blessed, no more sorrow, 00:26:34.62\00:26:36.83 Jerusalem's rejoicing; the sinner will forever be accursed, 00:26:36.86\00:26:41.06 meaning there are no sinners in the city. 00:26:41.10\00:26:43.87 All right, going back to our verse here. 00:26:43.90\00:26:48.44 And it says, "They will build houses--" 00:26:48.47\00:26:50.37 I'm in verse 21, Isaiah 65. 00:26:50.41\00:26:52.54 "They will build houses and inhabit them. 00:26:52.57\00:26:55.34 They will plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. 00:26:55.38\00:26:58.91 They will not build and another inhabit. 00:26:58.95\00:27:01.08 They will not plant and another eat." 00:27:01.12\00:27:03.79 All right, let's pause there. What is that talking about? 00:27:03.82\00:27:06.15 Look in Amos chapter 9, verse 14. 00:27:06.19\00:27:09.62 "'I will bring back the captives of My people, Israel. 00:27:09.66\00:27:12.59 They will build the waste cities and inhabit them. 00:27:12.63\00:27:14.96 They will plant vineyards and drink wine from them. 00:27:15.00\00:27:17.70 They will also make gardens and eat fruit from them. 00:27:17.73\00:27:20.57 I will plant them in the land. 00:27:20.60\00:27:22.30 No longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given 00:27:22.34\00:27:25.01 them,' says the Lord." 00:27:25.04\00:27:26.57 You look at the history of Israel--you read the Book of 00:27:26.61\00:27:29.41 Gideon, for instance--it's not the book of Gideon, the Book of 00:27:29.44\00:27:31.61 Judges, the story of Gideon, and it says that as soon as the 00:27:31.65\00:27:35.18 children of Israel planted, that the Midianites came like locusts 00:27:35.22\00:27:40.29 and they ate everything they planted. 00:27:40.32\00:27:42.66 Well, the children of Israel had planted and they were carried 00:27:42.69\00:27:45.66 away captive, and other people ate the things they planted. 00:27:45.69\00:27:49.96 And I've had that experience a few times. 00:27:50.00\00:27:51.97 Karen and I have had a home 40 years up in the hills. 00:27:52.00\00:27:54.14 And sometimes we try to put in a garden and we have to go off and 00:27:54.17\00:27:56.97 do an evangelistic meeting or a mission trip, and our neighbors 00:27:57.01\00:27:59.41 take care of the garden. 00:27:59.44\00:28:00.84 They eat the fruit. We don't even get to eat it. 00:28:00.88\00:28:03.65 And it'll be really nice in heaven to be able to plant 00:28:03.68\00:28:06.35 and eat. 00:28:06.38\00:28:07.72 You're not carried away by another enemy in power. 00:28:07.75\00:28:10.19 You're not having another enemy alien army come 00:28:10.22\00:28:13.09 and eat your produce. 00:28:13.12\00:28:14.79 See what He's talking about here? 00:28:14.82\00:28:16.42 My elect will long enjoy the good of the hand--the land. 00:28:16.46\00:28:20.83 And then you read in verse--I mean, verse 22 of Isaiah 66, you 00:28:20.86\00:28:26.20 read in the second half of that verse, "For as the days of a 00:28:26.23\00:28:29.57 tree, so shall be the days of My people." 00:28:29.60\00:28:33.84 Now, this is an example of Isaiah hyperbole. 00:28:33.88\00:28:36.51 Does he mean we will be trees? 00:28:36.54\00:28:39.31 Does a tree eventually grow old and die? 00:28:39.35\00:28:41.95 Yeah, in this world. 00:28:41.98\00:28:44.59 In heaven they won't, but--so don't start taking the tree, 00:28:44.62\00:28:48.36 thinks, "What kind of tree?" 00:28:48.39\00:28:50.93 Some trees don't live very long. 00:28:50.96\00:28:52.79 Longest living tree we know of is the Methuselah pines that 00:28:52.83\00:28:56.70 they've got--not Methuselah. 00:28:56.73\00:28:58.37 Sorry. 00:28:58.40\00:28:59.77 The Bristlecone pines, they got one called Methuselah, that's in 00:28:59.80\00:29:02.14 the White Mountains of California. 00:29:02.17\00:29:04.14 You know, the tallest trees and the oldest trees are both in 00:29:04.17\00:29:06.04 California, the redwoods. 00:29:06.07\00:29:09.41 And they go thousands of years, but, you know, they eventually 00:29:09.44\00:29:12.38 get old and die. 00:29:12.41\00:29:15.68 The oldest fruit tree that was planted in the United States is 00:29:15.72\00:29:20.82 the Endicott pear tree that was planted by a governor in--near 00:29:20.86\00:29:28.16 Massachusetts, and it's over 300 years old and it is still 00:29:28.20\00:29:31.30 bearing pears. 00:29:31.33\00:29:33.10 Can you imagine that? 00:29:33.13\00:29:34.77 It's amazing to arborists because even trees die, and 00:29:34.80\00:29:37.14 that's very long for a pear tree. 00:29:37.17\00:29:41.21 Karen and I have some pear trees in our front yard in Covelo that 00:29:41.24\00:29:44.11 were planted by a family that owned the land before us over 00:29:44.15\00:29:46.41 100 years ago. 00:29:46.45\00:29:48.32 And there are still apples and pears, and they're still bearing 00:29:48.35\00:29:51.02 fruit even after the bears have ravaged them every year 00:29:51.05\00:29:55.46 for 100 years. 00:29:55.49\00:29:56.79 It's amazing. 00:29:56.83\00:29:58.36 They're all gnarly and ugly, but they're still alive. 00:29:58.39\00:30:00.63 So he says as the days of a tree. 00:30:00.66\00:30:02.60 You don't have a birthday party for trees. 00:30:02.63\00:30:05.13 You just figure they're going to keep on living. 00:30:05.17\00:30:06.80 Have you noticed that in the Bible that sometimes, especially 00:30:06.84\00:30:09.97 during the time of Abraham through King Saul, it will say 00:30:10.01\00:30:13.27 that Abraham was dwelling by the oak tree in Bashan, and you 00:30:13.31\00:30:17.18 think, "That was his address, the oak tree in Bashan?" 00:30:17.21\00:30:19.75 Well, they must have had some pretty substantial trees so that 00:30:19.78\00:30:22.88 it became a landmark, and it was historical. 00:30:22.92\00:30:25.45 They figured it'd be there for generations. 00:30:25.49\00:30:27.86 And Saul, he was sitting under a tree and the tree kind of became 00:30:27.89\00:30:32.19 a legend and it was a landmark. 00:30:32.23\00:30:34.20 And so it's saying, "As the days of a tree, so are the days 00:30:34.23\00:30:38.53 of My people." 00:30:38.57\00:30:40.07 We just go on and on, is what He's promising. 00:30:40.10\00:30:43.91 "They will not bring forth--" 00:30:43.94\00:30:45.54 Verse 23, "They'll not labor in vain 00:30:45.57\00:30:47.98 or bring forth children for trouble, for they shall be 00:30:48.01\00:30:51.58 the descendants of the blessed of the Lord and their 00:30:51.61\00:30:54.65 offspring with them. 00:30:54.68\00:30:57.32 It will come to pass that before they call I will answer." 00:30:57.35\00:31:00.49 Isn't this a wonderful promise? 00:31:00.52\00:31:02.69 "And while they're still speaking, I will hear." 00:31:02.72\00:31:04.86 God is so close. 00:31:04.89\00:31:06.90 "And the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will 00:31:06.93\00:31:10.50 eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent's food, and 00:31:10.53\00:31:15.97 they will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain," 00:31:16.00\00:31:19.21 meaning--it says--remember, in Daniel tells us that stone that 00:31:19.24\00:31:22.14 struck the image grew into a great mountain and filled the 00:31:22.18\00:31:24.55 whole earth. 00:31:24.58\00:31:25.95 So when it talks about the holy mountain, it's talking about the 00:31:25.98\00:31:27.98 kingdom of God that now fills the world is that 00:31:28.02\00:31:30.95 new holy mountain. 00:31:30.99\00:31:32.39 There is no death. There's no dying. 00:31:32.42\00:31:34.62 Did the animals kill? 00:31:34.66\00:31:36.39 Every animal is a vegetarian. 00:31:36.42\00:31:38.36 Mosquitoes are going to eat fruit. 00:31:38.39\00:31:39.89 I don't know what they're going to eat. 00:31:39.93\00:31:41.73 Maybe they won't be there. I won't mind. 00:31:41.76\00:31:43.80 But everything's a vegetarian. 00:31:43.83\00:31:47.70 How many of you--I think most of you here probably know the story 00:31:47.74\00:31:50.37 of Little Tyke, but there's maybe some watching or 00:31:50.41\00:31:55.28 listening--this is true story. 00:31:55.31\00:31:58.51 Little Tyke is a female African lion born and raised in America. 00:31:58.55\00:32:02.58 Lived her entire lifetime without ever eating meat. 00:32:02.62\00:32:06.12 In fact, the owners, George and Margaret Westbeaus, alarmed at 00:32:06.15\00:32:10.99 the lion's dislike of meat went to great lengths to try and coax 00:32:11.03\00:32:14.00 her to eat meat. 00:32:14.03\00:32:15.76 And they ended up adopting this baby lion. 00:32:15.80\00:32:17.73 They had a bunch of exotic animals at their farm in 00:32:17.77\00:32:20.47 Washington, and there was this one cub the mother had 00:32:20.50\00:32:25.67 killed--she had two cubs. 00:32:25.71\00:32:27.41 She killed the first one, and the keepers of the zoo took the 00:32:27.44\00:32:30.21 other one out thinking that she was going to kill the other one. 00:32:30.25\00:32:32.95 And they said poor Little Tyke, that's how it got its name, it 00:32:32.98\00:32:36.35 had already been injured by the mother. 00:32:36.38\00:32:39.29 But they nursed it back to health. 00:32:39.32\00:32:40.56 But they tried to get it to eat meat and it would not eat meat. 00:32:40.59\00:32:44.19 Had no taste for it. 00:32:44.23\00:32:45.96 They even advertised a cash reward for anybody who could 00:32:45.99\00:32:48.66 devise a formula containing a meat formula that the lioness 00:32:48.70\00:32:53.30 would like. 00:32:53.34\00:32:54.77 Nobody was able to claim the prize. 00:32:54.80\00:32:56.34 The curator of the New York Zoo advised the Westbeaus that 00:32:56.37\00:32:59.31 putting a few drops of blood in the lion's milk would help the 00:32:59.34\00:33:02.11 lioness, but she refused to drink the milk. 00:33:02.14\00:33:04.95 Even with one drop of blood had been added to the milk, she 00:33:04.98\00:33:07.78 would not eat it. 00:33:07.82\00:33:09.55 Meanwhile, Little Tyke continued to do extremely well on a daily 00:33:09.58\00:33:13.15 diet of cooked grain, raw eggs, and milk. 00:33:13.19\00:33:17.19 By 4 years of age, she was a fully-grown, weighed 352 pounds. 00:33:17.23\00:33:23.23 To condition her teeth and gums, 00:33:23.26\00:33:26.17 she wouldn't gnaw on bones. 00:33:26.20\00:33:28.10 So they gave her rubber boots, and she went through 00:33:28.14\00:33:30.17 a boot a week. 00:33:30.21\00:33:32.47 The lioness not only survived on a vegetarian diet, she thrived, 00:33:32.51\00:33:37.05 and one of America's most amiable zoo curators said that 00:33:37.08\00:33:40.18 the lioness was the best of her species he had ever seen. 00:33:40.22\00:33:44.12 Never ate meat. 00:33:44.15\00:33:45.72 That was not God's original plan. 00:33:45.75\00:33:47.89 And some people say, "Well, they were designed to eat meat 'cause 00:33:47.92\00:33:49.62 they get these teeth for ripping and tearing." 00:33:49.66\00:33:51.49 Well, you know, hippos and elephants and gorillas have very 00:33:51.53\00:33:53.96 big teeth and they're all vegetarians. 00:33:54.00\00:33:56.10 And so in heaven the animals will all be peaceful. 00:33:56.13\00:34:00.67 Wouldn't that be wonderful? 00:34:00.70\00:34:02.14 They will not hurt or destroy. 00:34:02.17\00:34:03.77 I think I had another verse in here I was going to share. 00:34:03.81\00:34:05.51 Yeah, Isaiah 11. 00:34:05.54\00:34:07.04 He said something similar here. 00:34:07.08\00:34:08.78 Isaiah 11, verse 6, "The wolf will dwell with the lamb. 00:34:08.81\00:34:13.21 The leopard will lie down with a young goat." 00:34:13.25\00:34:15.48 He adds leopards and goats. 00:34:15.52\00:34:16.99 "The calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a 00:34:17.02\00:34:20.09 little child will lead them." 00:34:20.12\00:34:22.49 Can you imagine that in heaven you'll tell your kids, "Can you 00:34:22.52\00:34:24.93 go out and play with the lions and the leopards, lions and 00:34:24.96\00:34:27.50 tigers and bears?" 00:34:27.50\00:34:28.96 And they won't hurt. 00:34:29.00\00:34:34.34 All right, chapter 66 Isaiah. 00:34:34.37\00:34:38.71 "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. 00:34:38.74\00:34:42.24 Where is the house that you will build for Me, and where is the 00:34:42.28\00:34:44.85 place of My rest?" 00:34:44.88\00:34:46.72 Where does God ultimately move His capital? 00:34:46.75\00:34:50.49 To earth. 00:34:50.52\00:34:52.25 "God Himself will be with them and be their God, and we will 00:34:52.29\00:34:54.59 see His face." 00:34:54.62\00:34:56.73 Isn't that amazing when you think about it? 00:34:56.76\00:34:58.73 Here, Isaiah is quoting from Solomon's dedication prayer. 00:34:58.76\00:35:02.40 When Solomon dedicates the temple, he said, you know, "This 00:35:02.43\00:35:05.20 house we built--no house can contain You. 00:35:05.23\00:35:08.17 The heavens of heavens cannot contain You." 00:35:08.20\00:35:12.81 "'For all those things My hand has made, and all those things 00:35:12.84\00:35:16.21 exists,' says the Lord. 00:35:16.24\00:35:17.81 But on this one I will look, on him who is of a poor and a 00:35:17.85\00:35:22.72 contrite spirit." 00:35:22.75\00:35:24.19 This is who God is going to be--who's going to be 00:35:24.22\00:35:26.42 in the kingdom. 00:35:26.45\00:35:27.99 "One who is of a contrite spirit, who trembles 00:35:28.02\00:35:31.33 at My Word." 00:35:31.36\00:35:32.79 You remember reading in Psalm 51 where he says, "A contrite heart 00:35:32.83\00:35:35.93 You will not despise, oh God." 00:35:35.96\00:35:38.37 What does contrite mean? 00:35:38.40\00:35:40.80 You feel remorse over sin, meek, humble. 00:35:40.84\00:35:48.38 And he says--yeah, in verse 3--a contrite spirit. 00:35:48.41\00:35:53.78 "He who trembles at My Word." 00:35:53.82\00:35:56.95 And some of you might be thinking, "Well, tremble must 00:35:56.99\00:35:58.82 not mean tremble there." 00:35:58.85\00:36:00.89 No, tremble means tremble. 00:36:00.92\00:36:02.72 It means that you--when God speaks, 00:36:02.76\00:36:05.93 you take it very seriously. 00:36:05.96\00:36:07.86 You don't say, "Oh, well, you know, that's what they said. 00:36:07.86\00:36:09.50 We don't know if it really meant that." 00:36:09.53\00:36:11.53 The Bible says work out your salvation with 00:36:11.57\00:36:14.00 fear and trembling. 00:36:14.04\00:36:16.47 "Oh, it must not mean tremble." 00:36:16.50\00:36:17.87 Oh, it means tremble. 00:36:17.91\00:36:19.44 It means we ought to take our eternal life very seriously, and 00:36:19.47\00:36:22.28 we should fear to sin against God. 00:36:22.31\00:36:26.45 And I remember this man, one of the best Christians I knew. 00:36:26.48\00:36:30.79 And when he prayed, his voice would quiver just the idea he 00:36:30.82\00:36:34.02 was talking to God. 00:36:34.06\00:36:35.49 He just knew that he knew God, and there was always this 00:36:35.52\00:36:37.66 reverence in his voice. 00:36:37.69\00:36:40.76 And I don't think he was pretending, he just really 00:36:40.80\00:36:42.30 revered the Lord. 00:36:42.33\00:36:44.63 And then here's an interesting passage. 00:36:44.67\00:36:46.37 Verse 3--Isaiah 66, verse 3, "He who kills a bull as if he slays 00:36:46.40\00:36:51.11 a man, and he who sacrifices a lamb as if he breaks a dog's 00:36:51.14\00:36:55.88 neck, and he who offers a grain offering as if he offers swine's 00:36:55.91\00:37:00.82 blood, he who burns incense as if he blesses an idol; just as 00:37:00.85\00:37:05.92 they have chosen their own ways and their soul delights in their 00:37:05.95\00:37:09.02 abominations." 00:37:09.06\00:37:10.59 So he's saying there are people that were going through 00:37:10.63\00:37:12.86 religious services and they're sacrificing bulls or offering 00:37:12.89\00:37:16.56 lambs, but he said it's like you're committing murder because 00:37:16.60\00:37:19.30 your heart is not right. 00:37:19.33\00:37:21.24 It's like breaking a dog's neck, an unclean animal. 00:37:21.27\00:37:24.21 Like, he who offers a grain offering, he's offering 00:37:24.24\00:37:27.41 pig's blood. 00:37:27.44\00:37:29.34 God says if we're living lives of sin and we're going through a 00:37:29.38\00:37:32.01 religious facade, Jesus says you're like whited sepulchers. 00:37:32.05\00:37:36.99 The strongest denunciations that Christ had was against 00:37:37.02\00:37:39.99 self-deluded hypocrisy, that we could go through the form of 00:37:40.02\00:37:43.12 religion and not have the power of God's Spirit. 00:37:43.16\00:37:46.29 And God said, "It's unclean to Me." 00:37:46.33\00:37:48.23 It's like offering swine's blood, and nothing was more 00:37:48.26\00:37:50.60 unclean than that. 00:37:50.63\00:37:53.07 "He who burns incense as if he blesses an idol--" 00:37:53.10\00:37:55.94 Idolatry was forbidden. 00:37:55.97\00:37:58.61 "Just as they've chosen their own ways and their soul delights 00:37:58.64\00:38:01.81 in abominations, so I will choose their delusions." 00:38:01.84\00:38:05.98 You know, the Bible says that if we receive not a love of the 00:38:06.01\00:38:08.45 truth, God will send strong delusion that we 00:38:08.48\00:38:11.72 should believe a lie. 00:38:11.75\00:38:13.89 And so because they did not love the truth and believe--"I will 00:38:13.92\00:38:17.06 choose their delusions and bring their fears on them because when 00:38:17.09\00:38:20.50 I called no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear, but 00:38:20.53\00:38:24.07 they did evil before My eyes and they chose that in which 00:38:24.10\00:38:27.17 I do not delight. 00:38:27.20\00:38:29.67 Hear the Word of the Lord, you who tremble at His Word." 00:38:29.70\00:38:32.37 There it is again. 00:38:32.41\00:38:33.91 "Your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for My name's 00:38:33.94\00:38:36.95 sake--let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy. 00:38:36.98\00:38:40.92 But they will be ashamed." 00:38:40.95\00:38:42.45 So what's he doing here? 00:38:42.48\00:38:44.02 Isaiah is contrasting. 00:38:44.05\00:38:45.62 He's speaking to God's people. 00:38:45.65\00:38:47.46 He's saying we've got the sincere who are going to be 00:38:47.49\00:38:50.46 separated from the hypocrites. 00:38:50.49\00:38:52.86 "We've got those who are going through the religious motions, 00:38:52.89\00:38:56.06 and I despise what they're doing. 00:38:56.10\00:38:58.23 And then we've got those who have contrite hearts that 00:38:58.27\00:38:59.83 tremble at My Word." 00:38:59.87\00:39:02.14 One is going to be ashamed, one will see joy. 00:39:02.17\00:39:05.34 Then he says in verse 6, "The sound of noise from the city, a 00:39:05.37\00:39:08.84 voice from the temple, a voice from the Lord." 00:39:08.88\00:39:12.38 You know, it tells us that when the Lord rises up and leaves His 00:39:12.41\00:39:14.98 temple, He's coming then. 00:39:15.02\00:39:17.55 Silence in heaven, He's coming then to redeem the--to save the 00:39:17.59\00:39:22.89 redeemed from earth. 00:39:22.92\00:39:26.29 "Who fully repays His enemies. 00:39:26.33\00:39:28.50 Before she was in labor, she gave birth. 00:39:28.53\00:39:30.57 Before her pain came, she delivered a male child. 00:39:30.60\00:39:33.94 Who has heard such a thing, and who has seen such a thing? 00:39:33.97\00:39:37.61 Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day, or shall a 00:39:37.64\00:39:41.21 nation be born at once? 00:39:41.24\00:39:43.01 For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth 00:39:43.04\00:39:44.95 to her children." 00:39:44.98\00:39:46.48 It's saying that God said, "Look, I brought you up 00:39:46.51\00:39:48.05 out of Egypt." 00:39:48.08\00:39:49.38 And they gave birth to a nation. 00:39:49.42\00:39:50.92 You did not grow up slowly, but you became a nation that day of 00:39:50.95\00:39:53.05 the exodus. 00:39:53.09\00:39:54.62 They had the whole calendar, religious ceremony. 00:39:54.66\00:39:58.49 "Shall I bring to the time of birth and not cause delivery?" 00:39:58.53\00:40:00.86 God's saying, "I will not raise you up as a nation and not 00:40:00.90\00:40:03.30 ultimately deliver You." 00:40:03.33\00:40:06.60 "'Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?' 00:40:06.63\00:40:08.64 says the Lord God. 00:40:08.67\00:40:10.27 Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her all you 00:40:10.31\00:40:12.91 who love her. 00:40:12.94\00:40:14.38 Rejoice for joy with her all you who mourn for her, that you may 00:40:14.41\00:40:18.35 feed and be satisfied with the consolation of her bosom. 00:40:18.38\00:40:21.85 You may drink deeply and be delighted with the abundance of 00:40:21.88\00:40:24.32 her glory." 00:40:24.35\00:40:25.85 And he's got the picture here of a mother nursing its child. 00:40:25.89\00:40:27.89 God's saying, "I will not forget you." 00:40:27.92\00:40:29.52 "For thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will extend peace 00:40:29.56\00:40:32.56 to her like a river.'" 00:40:32.59\00:40:34.30 Do you know that song "I've got peace like 00:40:34.30\00:40:35.83 a river in my soul?" 00:40:35.86\00:40:38.03 "I will extend peace to her like a river." 00:40:38.07\00:40:40.64 It's not talking about the--you know, a river with rapids. 00:40:40.67\00:40:43.64 It's talking about a wide river. 00:40:43.67\00:40:45.17 It's shimmering. 00:40:45.21\00:40:47.68 "And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. 00:40:47.71\00:40:50.98 Then you will feed on her sides, and you will be carried, and 00:40:51.01\00:40:54.18 you'll be dandled on her knees." 00:40:54.22\00:40:55.95 You've seen mother and fathers kind of holding little children 00:40:55.98\00:40:58.72 on their knees and--as they're giggling. 00:40:58.75\00:41:01.56 "As one whom his mother comfort, so will I comfort you, and you 00:41:01.59\00:41:04.63 will be comforted in Jerusalem." 00:41:04.66\00:41:07.76 And he's going back and forth. 00:41:07.76\00:41:09.43 Go to verse 14. 00:41:09.46\00:41:11.37 "When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones 00:41:11.40\00:41:14.40 will flourish like the grass. 00:41:14.44\00:41:16.71 The hand of the Lord will be known to His servants, and His 00:41:16.74\00:41:19.31 indignation to His enemies." 00:41:19.34\00:41:21.61 God is going to separate the wheat from the chaff 00:41:21.64\00:41:23.61 when He comes. 00:41:23.65\00:41:25.21 "For behold, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots 00:41:25.25\00:41:29.25 like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury and His rebuke 00:41:29.28\00:41:33.99 with flames of fire." 00:41:34.02\00:41:36.56 Does that sound like it's a secret rapture? 00:41:36.59\00:41:39.83 He's coming with fury when He comes. 00:41:39.86\00:41:43.23 He's rebuked with flames of fire. 00:41:43.26\00:41:44.80 It says the wicked are destroyed by the brightness of His coming. 00:41:44.83\00:41:48.10 A devouring fire will issue before Him. 00:41:48.14\00:41:53.34 "For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge all flesh." 00:41:53.38\00:41:57.38 Now, that's still true today. 00:41:57.41\00:41:59.25 It's by His Word, and it's by the Spirit--power of the Spirit. 00:41:59.28\00:42:04.65 All flesh will be judged. 00:42:04.69\00:42:07.69 And it says, "The Lord--" I'm in verse 16. 00:42:07.72\00:42:09.82 "The Lord will judge all flesh, and the slain of the Lord 00:42:09.86\00:42:12.69 will be many." 00:42:12.73\00:42:14.13 Now, you can read where it tells us in Isaiah that the slain of 00:42:14.20\00:42:17.37 the Lord in that day cover the earth from one end to the other 00:42:17.40\00:42:19.37 with no one to lament or to mourn them, and no one 00:42:19.40\00:42:22.70 to bury them. 00:42:22.74\00:42:24.31 And it talks about that also in Jeremiah chapter 4, verse 23. 00:42:24.34\00:42:27.74 All the cities are broken down at the presence of the Lord 00:42:27.78\00:42:30.08 by His fierce anger. 00:42:30.11\00:42:31.85 So when the Lord comes and He catches up, you can use the word 00:42:31.88\00:42:36.08 rapture there, those who are alive and remain will be caught 00:42:36.12\00:42:38.49 up to meet Him in the air. 00:42:38.52\00:42:40.66 The righteous are resurrected. 00:42:40.69\00:42:42.86 It says they come forth from their graves at 00:42:42.89\00:42:44.33 the second coming. 00:42:44.36\00:42:45.66 They are taken back to the mansions that Christ 00:42:45.69\00:42:48.26 has prepared. 00:42:48.30\00:42:49.76 That day, the slain of the Lord will cover the earth from one 00:42:49.80\00:42:52.70 end to another. 00:42:52.73\00:42:54.64 And then he makes an interesting statement here. 00:42:54.67\00:42:58.27 "Those--" Verse 17, "Those who sanctify themselves," they're 00:42:58.31\00:43:01.64 not being sanctified by the Lord, "they purify themselves. 00:43:01.68\00:43:04.61 They go to the gardens." 00:43:04.65\00:43:06.15 That's where they have their idols. 00:43:06.18\00:43:07.72 "After an idol in the midst, eating swine's flesh 00:43:07.75\00:43:11.95 and the abomination--" 00:43:11.99\00:43:14.56 Anything wrong with eating swine's flesh? 00:43:14.59\00:43:17.03 The Bible says it's forbidden. 00:43:17.06\00:43:18.96 Now, is it just forbidden for Jews, or is it talking about 00:43:18.99\00:43:20.93 anyone who's doing that before the Lord comes? 00:43:20.96\00:43:23.73 And nobody--it's what he compares with. 00:43:23.77\00:43:25.10 "Eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse." 00:43:25.13\00:43:28.17 So if you're going to make a defense for eating swine, I want 00:43:28.20\00:43:30.47 you to also make the same defense for eating rats. 00:43:30.51\00:43:35.44 "'Eating swine's flesh and the abomination and the mouse shall 00:43:35.48\00:43:38.81 be consumed together,' says the Lord." 00:43:38.85\00:43:42.38 They burn forever and ever, what happens? 00:43:42.42\00:43:45.19 They're consumed. 00:43:45.22\00:43:46.96 "For I know their works and their thoughts. 00:43:46.99\00:43:49.72 It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues, and 00:43:49.76\00:43:53.09 they will come and see My glory. 00:43:53.13\00:43:55.16 And I will set a sign among them; and among those who 00:43:55.20\00:43:57.87 escape, and I will send to the nations of Tarshish--" 00:43:57.90\00:44:01.80 That was my mother's maiden name. 00:44:01.84\00:44:03.67 Tarshish was Spain. 00:44:03.71\00:44:06.57 It was like the farthest you could go in the Mediterranean 00:44:06.61\00:44:09.48 back then. 00:44:09.51\00:44:10.98 "And Pul--" They believe that was down in Africa. 00:44:11.01\00:44:14.12 And Lud--" They thought that was Lydia, talking about 00:44:14.15\00:44:16.92 the pagan nations. 00:44:16.95\00:44:18.62 "Who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan--" 00:44:18.65\00:44:20.86 That was up in Europe. "To the coastlands afar. 00:44:20.89\00:44:24.13 All who have not heard My name--all who have not heard My 00:44:24.16\00:44:27.03 fame or seen My glory, and they shall declare My glory 00:44:27.10\00:44:30.47 among the Gentiles." 00:44:30.50\00:44:32.10 Again, he's saying that the Jews were going to take the gospel to 00:44:32.13\00:44:34.50 the Gentiles, and they will be among those redeemed when the 00:44:34.54\00:44:37.87 Lord comes. 00:44:37.91\00:44:39.97 "'Then they'll bring all of your brethren for an offering to the 00:44:40.01\00:44:42.51 Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in 00:44:42.54\00:44:45.78 leaders, on mules and camels, to My holy mountain, to Jerusalem,' 00:44:45.81\00:44:49.28 says the Lord. 00:44:49.32\00:44:51.22 As the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel to 00:44:51.25\00:44:54.49 the house of the Lord and also take some of them," talking 00:44:54.52\00:44:57.59 about these pagans, "for priests and Levites." 00:44:57.63\00:45:00.66 It saying--doesn't it tell us in the Bible that we will be a 00:45:00.70\00:45:05.47 nation of kings and priests? 00:45:05.50\00:45:09.37 You can look in Isaiah--and by the way, this is for Wednesday. 00:45:09.40\00:45:13.14 I've been just running along here. 00:45:13.17\00:45:14.94 Exodus 19, verse 5, "Now therefore if you will indeed 00:45:14.98\00:45:19.01 obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you will be a 00:45:19.05\00:45:22.25 special treasure to Me above all people that are on the earth for 00:45:22.28\00:45:25.72 all the earth is Mine, and you will be to Me a nation, a 00:45:25.75\00:45:29.62 kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." 00:45:29.66\00:45:33.50 Peter says, "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 00:45:33.53\00:45:36.16 a holy nation, His own special people." 00:45:36.20\00:45:38.90 Is that just for Jews or is God going to be bringing some of the 00:45:38.93\00:45:41.74 Gentiles together and they will be part of that holy nation? 00:45:41.77\00:45:45.67 And then we're going to wrap it up. 00:45:45.71\00:45:48.04 We may get through verse 22. 00:45:48.08\00:45:51.35 "'For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make 00:45:51.38\00:45:54.98 shall remain before Me,' says the Lord, 'So shall your seed 00:45:55.02\00:45:58.82 and your name remain. 00:45:58.85\00:46:00.72 And it will come to pass that from one new moon to another, 00:46:00.76\00:46:04.33 and one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come 00:46:04.36\00:46:07.96 to worship before Me.'" 00:46:07.96\00:46:09.73 Now, says coming and worshiping before 00:46:09.76\00:46:12.73 the Lord on the Sabbath. 00:46:12.77\00:46:14.60 You know, it's been difficult during COVID to worship 00:46:14.64\00:46:17.81 alone at home. 00:46:17.84\00:46:20.21 It's really nice to come before the Lord. 00:46:20.24\00:46:23.68 And you notice there's something that says the Sabbath is 00:46:23.71\00:46:26.51 a holy convocation. 00:46:26.55\00:46:28.05 You know what that means? 00:46:28.08\00:46:29.48 An assembly, a coming together, a convention. 00:46:29.52\00:46:32.75 And I think God blesses in a special way when we collectively 00:46:32.79\00:46:35.36 come together. 00:46:35.39\00:46:37.06 When the Holy Spirit was poured out, they were all of one spirit 00:46:37.09\00:46:39.56 in one place. 00:46:39.59\00:46:41.66 There's something to be said for coming together to worship 00:46:41.70\00:46:44.37 the Lord. 00:46:44.40\00:46:45.90 And I think God said, "Where two or three are gathered together 00:46:45.93\00:46:47.44 in My name, I am there." 00:46:47.47\00:46:49.54 And He says the Sabbath in heaven, all Jews." 00:46:49.57\00:46:52.61 Is that what He said? 00:46:52.64\00:46:54.41 All flesh; Jew, Gentile. 00:46:54.44\00:46:57.01 Now, if God wants all flesh to come before Him and worship Him 00:46:57.05\00:46:59.61 in heaven on the Sabbath, would it make sense to you that He 00:46:59.65\00:47:04.29 would also want all flesh to worship before Him on the 00:47:04.32\00:47:06.55 Sabbath here on earth? 00:47:06.59\00:47:08.22 Is it still one of the Ten Commandments? 00:47:08.26\00:47:10.36 Amen. It is. 00:47:10.39\00:47:13.09 And it says, "From one new moon to another." 00:47:13.13\00:47:15.10 Now, that's this--you know, the moon is how we divide 00:47:15.13\00:47:17.10 the months. 00:47:17.13\00:47:18.60 The Sabbath is how we divide the weeks. 00:47:18.63\00:47:20.54 He's basically saying from month to month and week to week. 00:47:20.57\00:47:23.07 Now, I've got a theory I can't prove. 00:47:23.10\00:47:26.11 I think before the great flood, the axis of the earth was 00:47:26.14\00:47:30.95 altered in its rotation. 00:47:30.98\00:47:33.15 First of all, we didn't have summer and winter. 00:47:33.18\00:47:35.08 You know, something happened. 00:47:35.12\00:47:36.62 The earth teeters 20 something degrees on its axis 00:47:36.65\00:47:38.09 every year, and it throws off the seasons, and the poles are 00:47:38.12\00:47:40.56 cold, and the moon looks like it's been hit by a bomb. 00:47:40.59\00:47:45.09 And I think that there may have even been rocks that says 00:47:45.13\00:47:47.10 great--you know, rocks came down, and they came out, and 00:47:47.13\00:47:50.13 water exploded everywhere. 00:47:50.17\00:47:51.63 It was a cataclysmic event. 00:47:51.67\00:47:53.57 I think it altered the time clock of the planet 00:47:53.60\00:47:57.17 a little bit. 00:47:57.21\00:47:58.51 You know, the earth right now--how many days in a year? 00:47:58.54\00:48:02.68 And one-quarter. 00:48:02.71\00:48:04.28 365 one-quarter. 00:48:04.31\00:48:05.71 We've got to add a day every few years to compensate. 00:48:05.75\00:48:08.38 And how--what's the lunar cycle? Twenty-nine days. 00:48:08.42\00:48:13.86 Approximately 4 weeks and 1 day. 00:48:13.89\00:48:16.39 Just under--do you realize that if the lunar cycle was every 00:48:16.42\00:48:21.66 seventh--every 28 days, that means the new moon would always 00:48:21.70\00:48:26.50 fall on a Sabbath, and it would always just line up like 00:48:26.53\00:48:29.30 clockwork. 00:48:29.34\00:48:31.21 And so I think everything is going to realign then. 00:48:31.24\00:48:33.07 And so every new moon will also be a Sabbath. 00:48:33.11\00:48:35.88 Do you see what I'm saying? 00:48:35.91\00:48:37.48 Because--I can't prove that. 00:48:37.51\00:48:39.18 This is--that's the gospel according to Doug. 00:48:39.21\00:48:41.25 But anyway, I'll admit I'm wrong when we get to heaven if I'm 00:48:41.28\00:48:44.25 wrong, but then I'll expect extra stars if I'm right for 00:48:44.29\00:48:48.46 sharing that with you now. 00:48:48.49\00:48:52.43 And then it kind of ends abruptly with a difficult 00:48:52.46\00:48:55.16 passage here. 00:48:55.20\00:48:57.23 Speaking of redeem, "From one Sabbath to another, all flesh 00:48:57.27\00:48:59.80 will worship before Me, and they will go forth and look upon the 00:48:59.83\00:49:03.71 corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. 00:49:03.74\00:49:06.61 For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched, and 00:49:06.64\00:49:09.28 they are abhorrent to all flesh." 00:49:09.31\00:49:12.01 I don't think he means forever we're going to be looking at 00:49:12.05\00:49:13.65 people burning. 00:49:13.68\00:49:15.42 I think it means from the New Jerusalem we're going to see 00:49:15.45\00:49:16.95 those who have turned. 00:49:16.99\00:49:18.82 Notice a contrast. 00:49:18.85\00:49:20.32 Those that are saved, new heaven, new earth, 00:49:20.36\00:49:22.22 worshiping God. 00:49:22.26\00:49:23.66 They go forth from the New Jerusalem, they see the wicked 00:49:23.69\00:49:27.50 who will ultimately become dust under their feet. 00:49:27.50\00:49:29.46 It's what it says in Malachi. 00:49:29.50\00:49:31.00 There shall go forth, and the wicked will be dust 00:49:31.03\00:49:32.73 under their feet. 00:49:32.77\00:49:34.34 And God then creates a new heavens and a new earth on the 00:49:34.37\00:49:36.54 ashes of the purified planet. 00:49:36.57\00:49:39.41 Can you say, "Amen?" 00:49:39.44\00:49:41.04 And I time that just right 'cause we're out of time. 00:49:41.08\00:49:43.58 I want to remind you, though, in a few seconds I hope the studio 00:49:43.61\00:49:46.01 will give me "Heaven, Is It for Real?" 00:49:46.05\00:49:49.45 And we'll send this to anyone who asks and if you call. 00:49:49.48\00:49:52.95 Just call 866-788-3966. 00:49:52.99\00:49:56.19 And this is in North America, of course. 00:49:56.22\00:49:58.16 Or you can call 866-STUDY-MORE. 00:49:58.19\00:50:00.40 Ask for offer number 189. 00:50:00.43\00:50:03.53 And you can even download this by texting "SH033." 00:50:03.57\00:50:08.30 Text that to 40544, and you can download and read it right now. 00:50:08.34\00:50:13.14 Thank you, friends. 00:50:13.17\00:50:14.78 God bless. I enjoyed studying Isaiah. 00:50:14.81\00:50:16.31 Next week we begin a new study, a new quarter together, and hope 00:50:16.34\00:50:19.58 you can tune in and join us. 00:50:19.61\00:50:21.55 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 00:50:23.69\00:50:25.72 free resource. 00:50:25.75\00:50:27.36 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 00:50:27.39\00:50:29.49 download a digital copy straight to your computer 00:50:29.52\00:50:31.96 or mobile device. 00:50:31.99\00:50:33.36 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 00:50:33.40\00:50:36.60 the keyword on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 00:50:36.63\00:50:41.30 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 00:50:41.34\00:50:44.17 download option on the request page. 00:50:44.21\00:50:46.71 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 00:50:46.74\00:50:49.88 Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, and most 00:50:49.91\00:50:53.11 important, to share it with others. 00:50:53.15\00:50:56.12 announcer: Amazing Facts change lives. 00:50:59.82\00:51:03.76 male: I met my ex-wife and her family were real big in the 00:51:07.76\00:51:10.63 drugs, and it started out with them wanting me to go to the 00:51:10.67\00:51:14.14 doctor to help get them drugs. 00:51:14.17\00:51:16.34 And, you know, I'm noticing they're going to the doctor, 00:51:16.37\00:51:19.21 they're coming back with like 60 pills and they're selling these 00:51:19.24\00:51:21.44 pills for like 1,000 bucks, and I'm thinking, "Wow, this is a 00:51:21.48\00:51:25.75 lot of money I'm giving these people. 00:51:25.78\00:51:27.72 So I'm just going to start selling it myself." 00:51:27.75\00:51:29.98 The problem with that was we had all this money, but we was 00:51:30.02\00:51:33.92 absolutely miserable. 00:51:33.96\00:51:35.69 She would go out and sleep with other guys to get drugs, and 00:51:35.72\00:51:40.16 that ended my marriage. 00:51:40.20\00:51:41.93 But during this time, I have to get a job to build back up to 00:51:41.96\00:51:44.77 where I was at, to open my shop again. 00:51:44.80\00:51:47.20 So I get a job at Food City. 00:51:47.24\00:51:49.67 And when I get this job at Food City, there's my wife now, 00:51:49.70\00:51:52.37 Rebecca. 00:51:52.41\00:51:53.98 She's a cashier there. 00:51:54.01\00:51:55.74 And when I walk in, she's the most beautiful girl I've ever 00:51:55.78\00:51:57.98 seen in my life. 00:51:58.01\00:51:59.65 I was like, "Man, I could never have a girl like that. 00:51:59.68\00:52:02.98 Wow, she's so beautiful." 00:52:03.02\00:52:04.69 But as I'm working with her, she's actually kind of mean to 00:52:04.72\00:52:07.52 me and she's saying, "I don't want anything to do with you. 00:52:07.56\00:52:11.23 Get away from me." 00:52:11.26\00:52:12.59 Stuff like that. 00:52:12.63\00:52:13.93 But, you know, I just keep being nice to her and keep trying to 00:52:13.96\00:52:16.46 give her my phone number. 00:52:16.50\00:52:18.17 And it's around Christmas Eve. 00:52:18.20\00:52:20.60 We'd just been dating for a little while and moved in 00:52:20.64\00:52:22.77 together. 00:52:22.80\00:52:24.24 My ex-wife shows up with my three children that I had by her 00:52:24.27\00:52:27.94 and she's like, "Here's your kids. 00:52:27.98\00:52:29.71 Here's their birth certificates. 00:52:29.74\00:52:31.11 Here's their social security cards. 00:52:31.15\00:52:32.61 I'm done." 00:52:32.65\00:52:34.22 And we're starting a family. 00:52:34.25\00:52:35.85 We have already have three kids. 00:52:35.88\00:52:37.89 During this time, we spent the next year watching nothing but 00:52:37.92\00:52:41.49 Amazing Facts on YouTube. 00:52:41.52\00:52:43.49 I didn't even know they even had a website at this time. 00:52:43.53\00:52:45.56 I just knew that this little guy on YouTube was super smart, was 00:52:45.59\00:52:49.00 teaching Bible, and I wanted to follow him. 00:52:49.03\00:52:52.23 I wanted to be a Christian. 00:52:52.27\00:52:54.00 I gave my life to God now because of these truths that I'm 00:52:54.04\00:52:56.81 learning from Doug Batchelor. 00:52:56.84\00:52:58.41 Just because Doug taught it didn't make me real sure about 00:52:58.44\00:53:01.48 going to this church. 00:53:01.51\00:53:03.01 I really didn't want anything to do with it. 00:53:03.04\00:53:05.18 But I call the guy up and I'm telling him--and I'm not very 00:53:05.21\00:53:08.32 nice about it, actually. 00:53:08.35\00:53:09.85 I'm telling him, "Look, we was thinking about coming 00:53:09.88\00:53:12.42 to your church." 00:53:12.45\00:53:13.86 And he's really nice and he's like, "Well, you're more than 00:53:13.89\00:53:15.56 welcome to. 00:53:15.59\00:53:16.99 We'd love to have you come." And I'm like, "Well, hold on. 00:53:17.03\00:53:19.66 I'm going to lay down some ground rules. 00:53:19.69\00:53:21.23 I'm telling him, I said, "Look here. 00:53:21.26\00:53:22.93 I'm covered in tattoos, and I'm a tattoo artist." 00:53:22.96\00:53:25.70 And he don't say, "Well, you know, wow, I didn't know 00:53:25.73\00:53:27.90 all that. 00:53:27.94\00:53:29.47 Don't come to my church." 00:53:29.50\00:53:30.81 He says, "You're more than welcome. 00:53:30.84\00:53:32.17 We would love to have you. 00:53:32.21\00:53:33.81 Please come." 00:53:33.84\00:53:35.34 He asked me what I want to do, and I said, "Well, 00:53:35.38\00:53:37.78 I want to preach." 00:53:37.81\00:53:39.31 I said, "I have all these truths. 00:53:39.35\00:53:41.52 I have all this knowledge, stuff I'd never known before, stuff if 00:53:41.55\00:53:44.49 I had when I was younger that would have been life-changing 00:53:44.52\00:53:47.16 to me." 00:53:47.19\00:53:49.06 I said, "I got to share this with the world." 00:53:49.09\00:53:51.59 I said, "I want to preach. 00:53:51.63\00:53:53.03 I want to teach." 00:53:53.06\00:53:54.46 He gives me the books, say, "Study that." 00:53:54.46\00:53:56.60 Well, now that I'm a Bible worker, I'm able to go reach 00:53:56.63\00:53:58.80 people that most of the normal churches wouldn't even bother to 00:53:58.83\00:54:02.80 even speak to. 00:54:02.84\00:54:04.44 I'm able to go out and reach the people who have lived the life 00:54:04.47\00:54:07.44 that I've lived. 00:54:07.48\00:54:09.01 I'm able to let them know that, "I am like you. 00:54:09.04\00:54:11.88 I've been there. I've done that. 00:54:11.91\00:54:14.22 I want to show you what my life is like now. 00:54:14.25\00:54:17.02 I want to teach you this Bible. 00:54:17.05\00:54:19.05 I want to show you what Jesus can do for you. 00:54:19.09\00:54:21.59 It's not too late." 00:54:21.62\00:54:23.49 announcer: Amazing Facts change lives. 00:54:38.31\00:54:41.54 Dan: One particular evening we're searching through the 00:54:45.91\00:54:49.02 channels and happened to find a program called Amazing Facts 00:54:49.05\00:54:54.19 with Pastor Doug Batchelor. 00:54:54.22\00:54:57.09 Some of the things that he was talking about were very 00:54:57.13\00:55:00.43 interesting and intrigued me. 00:55:00.46\00:55:02.46 female: As Dan began to continue to watch Amazing Facts 00:55:02.50\00:55:06.10 from Doug Batchelor, this caveman that had an incredible 00:55:06.13\00:55:09.74 story, my world is beginning to change. 00:55:09.77\00:55:12.81 It's been turned upside down. I was resistant. 00:55:12.84\00:55:16.95 I think what hit me was really the testimony of Pastor Doug. 00:55:16.98\00:55:20.58 This was a real person with a real story that had had some 00:55:20.62\00:55:24.32 things in his lifetime that maybe I didn't experience, but 00:55:24.35\00:55:28.52 he was real, his journey was real. 00:55:28.56\00:55:30.83 He was honest about wanting to share and giving that light to 00:55:30.86\00:55:34.03 other people so they too could have more light. 00:55:34.10\00:55:38.23 That's when we got the cancer diagnosis, and nobody wants that 00:55:38.27\00:55:42.14 C word, cancer, and then to find out that it's aggressive. 00:55:42.17\00:55:46.78 And sometimes people get away with prostate cancer, but we 00:55:46.81\00:55:50.35 didn't have that opportunity. 00:55:50.38\00:55:52.35 He's in surgery and doctor comes out, and I knew something 00:55:52.38\00:55:56.25 was wrong. 00:55:56.28\00:55:57.79 Come to find out that my husband had a stroke. 00:55:57.82\00:56:03.59 So we go about midnight and have an MRI, and they confirm that it 00:56:03.63\00:56:08.20 truly was a stroke and he was going to be okay. 00:56:08.23\00:56:12.90 Dan: Within one year and a half, I had a major heart 00:56:12.93\00:56:16.20 attack, cancer--aggressive cancer, and a stroke. 00:56:16.24\00:56:20.58 I really was at the lowest point. 00:56:20.61\00:56:24.41 I didn't know what I was going to do. 00:56:24.45\00:56:27.28 We had rehabs scheduled after I was dismissed from the hospital. 00:56:27.32\00:56:35.96 female: And I watched him walk out of us a facility with a 00:56:35.99\00:56:39.46 cane that 2 weeks before he couldn't even walk into. 00:56:39.49\00:56:43.93 Dan: God knew ahead of time that I was going to be going 00:56:43.97\00:56:46.57 through all of this, and I truly believe that it was His hand 00:56:46.60\00:56:50.77 that brought the Amazing Facts and the additional light that I 00:56:50.81\00:56:55.44 was getting that it helped take my mind off of the circumstances 00:56:55.48\00:57:01.82 at the time in a way that I don't think anything else could. 00:57:01.85\00:57:06.39 female: It's so comforting to know that we have a Christ that 00:57:06.42\00:57:12.69 loves us so much and will always hold us. 00:57:12.73\00:57:17.17 Dan: I cannot thank the people enough who support 00:57:17.20\00:57:23.10 ministries like this. 00:57:23.14\00:57:27.08 Because of them, I am one of those lives that have been 00:57:27.11\00:57:33.72 changed, and I can only thank God for leading me through His 00:57:33.75\00:57:41.59 providence to that program. 00:57:41.62\00:57:47.30 My name is Dan. 00:57:47.30\00:57:48.93 Thank you for changing my life. 00:57:48.96\00:57:52.00 ¤¤ 00:57:52.30\00:57:58.44