¤¤¤ 00:00:01.30\00:00:11.31 ¤¤¤ 00:00:12.44\00:00:22.42 ¤¤¤ 00:00:22.45\00:00:32.43 ¤¤¤ 00:00:32.46\00:00:34.36 Luccas Rodor: Happy Sabbath. 00:00:36.20\00:00:37.50 Welcome to the Granite Bay Hilltop 00:00:37.53\00:00:39.53 Seventh Day Adventist Church. 00:00:39.57\00:00:40.97 It's so good to have you here with us. 00:00:41.00\00:00:42.87 Thank you so much for investing your time, learning more about 00:00:42.90\00:00:46.07 God's Word, learning more about the Bible. 00:00:46.11\00:00:48.78 We sure have a great study planned for today. 00:00:48.81\00:00:51.28 We're going to be studying lesson number 5 of this lesson 00:00:51.31\00:00:54.38 about Genesis, and we're going to be studying with 00:00:54.42\00:00:57.39 Pastor Shawn Brummund. 00:00:57.42\00:00:59.12 The title of this week's lesson is "Babylon," 00:00:59.15\00:01:01.86 or "All Nations and Babylon." 00:01:01.89\00:01:04.76 Now, before we get into the study of the lesson, 00:01:04.79\00:01:06.96 I'd like to invite you to take advantage of this free offer. 00:01:07.00\00:01:10.40 It's called "Coming One World Church." 00:01:10.43\00:01:12.90 It's a very interesting study. 00:01:12.93\00:01:14.34 If you would like to receive it, you could call the number 00:01:14.37\00:01:16.34 866-788-3966, and you could ask for study number 138. 00:01:16.37\00:01:22.78 If you're in continental North America, you could text SH076 to 00:01:22.81\00:01:27.85 40544, and you would get a digital download, or you could 00:01:27.88\00:01:30.89 go to study.aftv.org/SH076, and you can also get 00:01:30.92\00:01:36.79 a digital download. 00:01:36.83\00:01:38.36 Before Pastor Shawn comes out, though, we have a special song 00:01:38.39\00:01:42.16 that is going to be sung by the Sacramento Ukrainian Choir, 00:01:42.20\00:01:46.87 and you are going to be blessed by this song. 00:01:46.90\00:01:48.54 May God bless you in the study of today's lesson. 00:01:48.57\00:01:50.61 [singing in foreign language] 00:01:53.54\00:02:03.52 [singing in foreign language] 00:02:03.55\00:02:13.53 [singing in foreign language] 00:02:13.56\00:02:23.51 [singing in foreign language] 00:02:23.54\00:02:33.52 [singing in foreign language] 00:02:33.55\00:02:43.46 [singing in foreign language] 00:02:43.49\00:02:53.44 [singing in foreign language] 00:02:53.47\00:03:03.51 [singing in foreign language] 00:03:03.55\00:03:13.52 [singing in foreign language] 00:03:13.56\00:03:23.43 [singing in foreign language] 00:03:23.47\00:03:33.44 [singing in foreign language] 00:03:33.48\00:03:43.45 [singing in foreign language] 00:03:43.49\00:03:53.46 [singing in foreign language] 00:03:53.50\00:04:03.44 [singing in foreign language] 00:04:03.47\00:04:13.45 [singing in foreign language] 00:04:13.48\00:04:23.46 [singing in foreign language] 00:04:23.49\00:04:33.44 [singing in foreign language] 00:04:33.47\00:04:43.38 [singing in foreign language] 00:04:43.41\00:04:53.39 [singing in foreign language] 00:04:53.42\00:05:03.43 [singing in foreign language] 00:05:03.47\00:05:13.44 [singing in foreign language] 00:05:13.48\00:05:23.39 [singing in foreign language] 00:05:23.42\00:05:33.43 Luccas: Dear Lord, thank you so much for the grace 00:05:36.80\00:05:39.07 of this day. 00:05:39.10\00:05:40.77 Thank you for your love and your guidance, 00:05:40.80\00:05:42.94 and thank you for your Word. 00:05:42.97\00:05:44.61 As Pastor Shawn leads today, Lord, in the study of this 00:05:44.64\00:05:47.24 lesson, may the human instrument fall into the background, and 00:05:47.28\00:05:51.31 may your knowledge, your wisdom, Lord, and your understanding 00:05:51.35\00:05:54.52 fill our hearts and our minds. 00:05:54.55\00:05:56.65 I ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 00:05:56.69\00:05:58.65 Shawn Brummund: Good morning to everyone. 00:06:00.46\00:06:02.82 It's good to see your smiling faces, as we come together here 00:06:02.86\00:06:05.43 on this special day that God has blessed and sanctified, 00:06:05.46\00:06:09.60 and that He has called holy. 00:06:09.63\00:06:13.13 And so, it's good to be able to come together and worship Him on 00:06:13.17\00:06:16.20 that special day that God has given us from 00:06:16.24\00:06:17.91 the beginning of time. 00:06:17.94\00:06:19.91 And speaking of beginnings, we are continuing to coming back to 00:06:19.94\00:06:22.74 our quarterly study, which is that of Genesis, the very first 00:06:22.78\00:06:27.02 book in the Bible, where Genesis means from the beginning 00:06:27.05\00:06:30.79 or origins, and so we're looking back at history. 00:06:30.82\00:06:34.79 There's a lot of important theology, a lot of important 00:06:34.82\00:06:37.56 truth that we're drawing from that, and today is no exception. 00:06:37.59\00:06:40.56 I want to invite you to open your Bibles here this morning to 00:06:40.60\00:06:43.20 Genesis chapter 9, as we get right into the Word. 00:06:43.23\00:06:46.27 There's lots to look at, more than we can cover today; but 00:06:46.30\00:06:49.00 nevertheless, we'll see if we can learn as much 00:06:49.04\00:06:52.11 as we possibly can. 00:06:52.14\00:06:54.14 These are, again, as is the case with the first half of Genesis, 00:06:54.18\00:06:58.91 some very packed chapters, and there's just a whole lot for us 00:06:58.95\00:07:03.45 to be able to draw from. 00:07:03.49\00:07:06.59 So, we're going to Genesis chapter 9, and we're picking up 00:07:06.62\00:07:09.36 with verse 18, and we're going to read right through to the end 00:07:09.39\00:07:11.73 of the chapter, and then we'll talk about what we find here, 00:07:11.76\00:07:14.56 as we continue to study together. 00:07:14.56\00:07:17.77 So, we're in Genesis chapter 9 and verse 18. 00:07:17.80\00:07:21.44 In verse 18 it says, "Now the sons of Noah, who went out of 00:07:21.47\00:07:24.57 the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Ham 00:07:24.61\00:07:28.21 was the father of Canaan." 00:07:28.24\00:07:30.28 Now, we're going to find out that that's pointed out twice. 00:07:30.31\00:07:33.58 Why? 00:07:33.62\00:07:34.92 Because Moses is inspired to be able to point out 00:07:34.95\00:07:37.05 some sad connections there. 00:07:37.09\00:07:38.39 We're going to talk about that once we get to the end 00:07:38.42\00:07:40.32 of the passage. 00:07:40.36\00:07:41.66 So, he points out that Ham was the father of Canaan, and these 00:07:41.69\00:07:44.69 three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth 00:07:44.73\00:07:48.26 was populated. 00:07:48.30\00:07:50.27 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 00:07:50.30\00:07:54.27 And then he drank of the wine, and he was drunk and became 00:07:54.30\00:07:57.34 uncovered in his tent. 00:07:57.37\00:07:59.64 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father 00:07:59.67\00:08:03.55 and told his two brothers outside. 00:08:03.58\00:08:06.85 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and lay it on both their 00:08:06.88\00:08:10.25 shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of 00:08:10.29\00:08:12.79 their father, and their faces were turned away, 00:08:12.82\00:08:16.19 and they did not see their father's nakedness. 00:08:16.22\00:08:19.43 And so Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son 00:08:19.46\00:08:23.67 had done to him, and then he said, 'Cursed be Canaan; 00:08:23.70\00:08:27.50 a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren.'" 00:08:27.54\00:08:33.88 Interesting. 00:08:33.91\00:08:35.21 As God is inspiring Noah to respond in a prophetic way, God 00:08:35.24\00:08:40.15 speaks not to Ham directly but speaks to one of the four sons 00:08:40.18\00:08:43.55 of Ham, which is that of Canaan. 00:08:43.59\00:08:46.15 And then in verse 26 it says, "And he said, 'Blessed be the 00:08:46.19\00:08:49.26 Lord, the God of Shem, and may Canaan be his servant; and may 00:08:49.29\00:08:54.40 God enlarge Japheth, and may he dwell in the tents of Shem, 00:08:54.46\00:08:57.63 and may Canaan be his servant.' 00:08:57.67\00:09:00.37 And Noah lived after the flood 350 years. 00:09:00.40\00:09:03.41 So, all of the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died." 00:09:03.44\00:09:08.64 And so there we finish up what we looked at in the first half 00:09:08.68\00:09:11.98 of Genesis chapter 9 last week, and we look at those last tragic 00:09:12.01\00:09:17.32 words in the latter part of Genesis chapter 9. 00:09:17.35\00:09:22.19 Now, here we find sin on two different levels. 00:09:22.22\00:09:25.03 We find two family members that are guilty as charged. 00:09:25.06\00:09:29.10 We have the dad, which is Noah. 00:09:29.13\00:09:31.97 And not only did he start to farm wine grapes, but he fell 00:09:32.00\00:09:35.97 into the temptation of fermenting those or at least 00:09:36.00\00:09:39.64 found them fermented. 00:09:39.67\00:09:41.78 We don't know all the details on how some of those grapes 00:09:41.81\00:09:46.15 became--or the grape juice became fermented and contained 00:09:46.18\00:09:48.48 alcohol, but it did. 00:09:48.52\00:09:50.69 And Noah found himself indulging in something that the Bible 00:09:50.72\00:09:54.26 later on tells us--and this is one of those Exhibit A's why God 00:09:54.29\00:09:58.96 would have us abstain from alcohol in the first place. 00:09:58.99\00:10:03.67 So, it's interesting. 00:10:03.70\00:10:05.40 It's very sparse, as we find the Genesis record 00:10:05.43\00:10:07.94 in the first chapters. 00:10:07.97\00:10:09.30 You know, it's covering a whole lot of history and a lot of 00:10:09.34\00:10:11.11 centuries, millennia of history, and so it has to be sparse. 00:10:11.14\00:10:16.11 But, you know, when we look at it, we kind of connect 00:10:16.14\00:10:18.71 all the dots. 00:10:18.75\00:10:20.08 We can put some important truths together in concern to this. 00:10:20.12\00:10:24.85 Again, we don't have all the details of how Noah got to the 00:10:24.89\00:10:27.06 point where he indulged, why he decided to indulge. 00:10:27.09\00:10:30.23 I'm guessing that obviously there's some temptation, 00:10:30.26\00:10:32.56 there's the evil one, not exactly the prettiest place 00:10:32.59\00:10:35.66 to live after the flood. 00:10:35.70\00:10:38.03 We have to remember the whole place is just distorted. 00:10:38.07\00:10:40.14 It was paradise. 00:10:40.17\00:10:41.70 Anywhere you went on the planet--you didn't have to get 00:10:41.74\00:10:43.41 on a plane and go to Hawaii to find paradise, like we do today. 00:10:43.44\00:10:48.04 Everywhere you went, there wasn't a spot on the planet that 00:10:48.08\00:10:50.28 wasn't paradise. 00:10:50.31\00:10:52.61 But now, you know, the contrast that Noah and his family were 00:10:52.65\00:10:55.85 forced to be able to see--you know, the children that--Noah's 00:10:55.88\00:11:01.16 grandchildren, his great grandchildren, his great 00:11:01.19\00:11:03.22 grandchildren--all the generations after, they only 00:11:03.26\00:11:06.76 know one world, and that's after the flood. 00:11:06.80\00:11:09.50 Noah and his family, they know paradise before. 00:11:09.53\00:11:11.83 They know how much they've lost, and so imagine being on a planet 00:11:11.87\00:11:16.67 that used to have billions of people, and now there's eight, 00:11:16.71\00:11:20.44 and paradise is gone. 00:11:20.48\00:11:23.31 And even much of the beauty that we have around us hasn't grown 00:11:23.35\00:11:26.51 up from the ground yet. 00:11:26.55\00:11:28.32 And so there's not a lot of grain. 00:11:28.35\00:11:30.29 It's pretty depressing, pretty tragic. 00:11:30.32\00:11:33.32 And so sometimes, as we, as human beings, even as Christians 00:11:33.36\00:11:38.49 sometimes can find theirselves at a weak point, and we're 00:11:38.53\00:11:42.53 looking for some escape. 00:11:42.56\00:11:45.13 And so Noah finds himself indulging in some alcoholic wine 00:11:45.17\00:11:49.40 that got into his possession. 00:11:49.44\00:11:54.08 So, both Noah and his son, Ham, are guilty as charged. 00:11:54.11\00:11:57.28 They both are guilty of sin. 00:11:57.31\00:11:58.85 Noah has a temporary setback in his righteousness and walk with 00:11:58.88\00:12:02.15 the Lord. 00:12:02.18\00:12:03.92 And does it bring a shame and embarrassment to himself and to 00:12:03.95\00:12:06.09 his family? 00:12:06.12\00:12:08.16 Always does. 00:12:08.19\00:12:09.79 Many of us are familiar with that. 00:12:09.82\00:12:11.83 Many of us have family members that deal with alcoholism, 00:12:11.86\00:12:16.53 problem drinking, and so on, and we know the embarrassment. 00:12:16.56\00:12:20.20 We know the shame that it can bring; and certainly, 00:12:20.24\00:12:21.74 this is no exception to that. 00:12:21.77\00:12:23.64 And so Noah is certainly not an alcoholic, but certainly he did 00:12:23.67\00:12:27.38 find himself at a weak point, and he made a sinful choice, 00:12:27.41\00:12:33.11 found himself in a very sinful situation. 00:12:33.15\00:12:35.48 And yes, it brought shame and embarrassment to himself and to 00:12:35.52\00:12:38.72 his family, to the point where we don't know if he passed out, 00:12:38.75\00:12:41.46 but he certainly--you know, alcohol is a sedative, and so, 00:12:41.49\00:12:45.66 you know, the more you indulge, the more you're gonna pass out. 00:12:45.69\00:12:48.16 And Noah didn't quite make it to his bed. 00:12:48.20\00:12:51.67 Or if he did, he wasn't able to fully dress himself and cover 00:12:51.70\00:12:54.24 himself with blankets, and so there he was in his tent naked, 00:12:54.27\00:12:58.94 passed out. 00:12:58.97\00:13:01.51 It's not a pretty picture. 00:13:01.54\00:13:04.68 Noah was a prophet of God, yes? 00:13:04.71\00:13:07.92 Yeah, very clearly, he was a prophet of God. 00:13:07.95\00:13:11.52 He had conversations with the Lord directly, and God had 00:13:11.55\00:13:14.52 called him to build the ark. 00:13:14.56\00:13:16.83 Was Noah a preacher of righteousness? 00:13:16.86\00:13:19.89 Yes, he was. 00:13:19.93\00:13:21.36 You know, Peter made it very clear, as Peter looks back on 00:13:21.40\00:13:24.63 the overall life and pattern of Noah. 00:13:24.67\00:13:29.07 He calls him a preacher of righteousness, 00:13:29.10\00:13:32.21 and so he was a preacher, and a prophet, and a boat builder. 00:13:32.24\00:13:38.95 He walked with God. 00:13:38.98\00:13:40.45 He had a pattern that tells us that Noah 00:13:40.48\00:13:42.58 most certainly repented. 00:13:42.62\00:13:44.55 Noah most certainly had found forgiveness from the Lord, 00:13:44.59\00:13:49.32 once again. 00:13:49.36\00:13:51.13 He had found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 00:13:51.16\00:13:54.40 Now, of course, we know that Noah is not only one of the 00:13:54.46\00:13:56.30 champions of the Lord that found themselves in a very 00:13:56.33\00:13:59.13 embarrassing situation, sinful spot at some point 00:13:59.17\00:14:01.90 in their life. 00:14:01.94\00:14:03.24 We look at King David. 00:14:03.27\00:14:04.61 We look at pretty well every other figure and champion in 00:14:04.64\00:14:07.84 history, and there's different blemishes that are found there. 00:14:07.88\00:14:11.01 But just like David, Noah found himself on his knees, 00:14:11.05\00:14:14.02 prostrating before the Lord, begging for forgiveness, and 00:14:14.05\00:14:17.49 repenting from his sin, and so we don't find the Bible 00:14:17.52\00:14:20.59 reporting any kind of pattern that he left behind 00:14:20.62\00:14:24.36 in the rest of his life. 00:14:24.39\00:14:26.09 And so Noah was found guilty of sin, but it's on a different 00:14:26.13\00:14:29.63 level than that of his son, Ham. 00:14:29.66\00:14:31.47 Now, when we come to Ham, we find a much different 00:14:31.50\00:14:33.54 level of sin. 00:14:33.57\00:14:35.94 Of course, as we just read the Bible record, we find that, 00:14:35.97\00:14:38.14 sadly, Ham, when he finds his dad naked and passed out in his 00:14:38.17\00:14:41.91 tent from overindulging in this alcoholic wine, we find that 00:14:41.94\00:14:46.01 Ham, instead of responding like the other two brothers--very 00:14:46.05\00:14:49.78 clearly full of respect and love and reverence for their dad, 00:14:49.82\00:14:54.76 find themselves backing up, you know, into the tent with a 00:14:54.79\00:14:57.76 blanket and covering his dad so that they don't look upon his 00:14:57.79\00:15:01.13 shame and his nakedness and this embarrassing blemish 00:15:01.16\00:15:04.43 in his life. 00:15:04.47\00:15:06.30 Ham didn't respond like that. 00:15:06.33\00:15:07.74 He was the first one to find him. 00:15:07.77\00:15:09.44 And so we can kind of picture Ham giggling when he sees his 00:15:09.47\00:15:13.84 dad and says, "Oh man," you know. 00:15:13.88\00:15:15.64 And then he runs out to his other brothers and said, saying, 00:15:15.68\00:15:17.85 "Listen, we've got a really serious situation. 00:15:17.88\00:15:19.81 Dad has kind of lost it. 00:15:19.85\00:15:21.42 You know, he went and indulged in this alcoholic wine. 00:15:21.45\00:15:24.72 He's passed out in the tent. 00:15:24.75\00:15:26.32 We need to be able to respect him and help him through this 00:15:26.35\00:15:29.19 as best as we can." 00:15:29.22\00:15:30.56 He doesn't do that, does he? 00:15:30.59\00:15:32.66 The other two brothers do, but Ham doesn't. 00:15:32.69\00:15:34.03 He goes out there and says, "You won't believe 00:15:34.10\00:15:35.60 what the old man just did. 00:15:35.63\00:15:38.87 You know, you've gotta see this, guys, come on." 00:15:38.90\00:15:40.54 Get the camera, get out your phones, you know. 00:15:40.57\00:15:42.84 Let's open Instagram and YouTube, 00:15:42.87\00:15:47.24 and let's take some videos. 00:15:47.28\00:15:48.74 Let's take some pictures, and we'll post it up, and so on. 00:15:48.78\00:15:52.71 And so he's having fun with it. 00:15:52.75\00:15:55.25 You know, he thinks this is a joke. 00:15:55.28\00:15:57.15 And so the other two respond, of course, by honoring 00:15:57.19\00:16:01.36 their father and their mother. 00:16:01.39\00:16:03.39 They know the commandments of the Lord. 00:16:03.43\00:16:06.16 And so, sadly, Ham not only is guilty of sin just like his dad 00:16:06.19\00:16:11.00 is at this juncture in their life, but it reflects a pattern 00:16:11.03\00:16:15.04 of his life that must have existed beforehand. 00:16:15.07\00:16:18.21 So, the very fact that he responded in the way that he did 00:16:18.24\00:16:21.54 doesn't just come out of a vacuum. 00:16:21.58\00:16:24.71 For Ham to respond the way that he did, he already reveals that 00:16:24.75\00:16:29.42 he had already set into motion a pattern in his life that was not 00:16:29.45\00:16:34.66 full of reverence before God and before his father, 00:16:34.69\00:16:37.63 before his parent. 00:16:37.66\00:16:42.43 And so and definitely throughout the remaining of his life, 00:16:42.46\00:16:45.67 the rest of the Bible record tells us that Ham set in motion 00:16:45.70\00:16:48.27 a family line that is familiar, very similar and parallel 00:16:48.30\00:16:51.87 to that of Cain. 00:16:51.91\00:16:53.98 You know, when we find the first family, the only family on the 00:16:54.01\00:16:57.25 planet--Adam, Eve, the first two sons--we have Cain, 00:16:57.28\00:17:00.62 we have Abel. 00:17:00.65\00:17:02.05 Abel chooses the righteous and holy pathway of God and his 00:17:02.08\00:17:05.59 repentant parents, and then we find Cain that chooses a pathway 00:17:05.62\00:17:09.32 of rebellion and independence from God. 00:17:09.36\00:17:11.86 And here we have again, you know, all families on the earth 00:17:11.89\00:17:15.60 destroyed except for one family. 00:17:15.63\00:17:18.30 We're back down to one family on the planet, and sadly again we 00:17:18.33\00:17:22.57 find that--fortunately two of them chose the pathway 00:17:22.60\00:17:26.17 of righteousness, and then we also have Ham. 00:17:26.21\00:17:33.18 And so Ham, you know, definitely remained rebellious to God. 00:17:33.21\00:17:38.62 Now, this is demonstrating, first of all, in his dad's 00:17:38.65\00:17:41.29 prophetic response--and by the way, the prophetic response, the 00:17:41.32\00:17:44.06 very fact that God chose to speak through Noah tells us that 00:17:44.09\00:17:47.86 Noah has reconciled himself to God, tells us that Noah has 00:17:47.93\00:17:52.80 begged for forgiveness, and found grace, and reconciliation, 00:17:52.83\00:17:55.70 and such in the eyes of the Lord. 00:17:55.74\00:17:59.41 He's made himself right with the Lord; but as God now speaks 00:17:59.44\00:18:03.14 through him, as a continued spirit of prophecy, we find here 00:18:03.18\00:18:06.85 that sadly the words that God gave to Noah to speak don't 00:18:06.88\00:18:11.79 speak well of Ham and particularly of 00:18:11.82\00:18:13.96 one of his sons, Canaan. 00:18:13.99\00:18:15.52 Now, we have to remember that Canaan is one of the four sons 00:18:15.56\00:18:18.33 of Ham, one of the four grandchildren of Noah, but 00:18:18.36\00:18:21.46 Canaan kind of stands out for--especially for the author 00:18:21.50\00:18:24.03 of Genesis, which is Moses and Moses's generation, 00:18:24.07\00:18:28.17 which is the children of Israel, the Israelites. 00:18:28.20\00:18:30.57 Why? 00:18:30.61\00:18:31.84 Because they're just about to enter into the promised land, 00:18:31.87\00:18:34.68 and that is inhabited by the Canaanites. 00:18:34.71\00:18:39.78 These are inhabitants--or the descendants of Canaan, 00:18:39.81\00:18:43.92 the grandchild of Noah, the son of Ham. 00:18:43.95\00:18:47.12 And so this is very relevant, present truth for Moses 00:18:47.16\00:18:50.89 and for his generation, when Moses is penning Genesis. 00:18:50.93\00:18:53.80 And so Moses points that out, that when you look at the legacy 00:18:53.83\00:18:58.13 that Ham left behind, he left behind a horrible legacy of 00:18:58.17\00:19:01.57 Canaan, because Canaanites became so wicked 00:19:01.60\00:19:04.77 and so desperately wicked that God eventually sent 00:19:04.81\00:19:07.48 the Israelites in and said, "Listen, not only 00:19:07.51\00:19:09.14 am I giving you the promised land. 00:19:09.18\00:19:11.38 I'm not asking you just to go and ask them 00:19:11.41\00:19:13.85 to find another home. 00:19:13.88\00:19:15.35 I want you to wipe out complete tribes, complete peoples." 00:19:15.38\00:19:18.52 Because the desperate wickedness that had developed in these 00:19:18.55\00:19:23.02 Canaanite tribes was horrible, atrocities that you and I can 00:19:23.06\00:19:26.73 hardly but imagine. 00:19:26.76\00:19:30.37 And so, you know, this is about a thousand years after Noah 00:19:30.40\00:19:34.67 gives this prophecy, we find that God and Moses and the 00:19:34.70\00:19:37.77 Israelites are casting out or destroying the Canaanites in 00:19:37.81\00:19:41.18 judgment on their wickedness. 00:19:41.21\00:19:42.88 And so the Bible says that God is not just saying, "Here's some 00:19:42.91\00:19:44.75 promised land, take it." 00:19:44.78\00:19:46.65 Part of that purpose, as God so often accomplishes more than one 00:19:46.68\00:19:49.58 purpose, He's not only establishing a headquarters for 00:19:49.62\00:19:54.06 the gospel and for truth in this crossroads of the known world 00:19:54.09\00:19:57.93 back then in Israel, along the Mediterranean Sea there in the 00:19:57.96\00:20:00.90 fertile crescent there, this prime real estate, but He is 00:20:00.93\00:20:05.33 also accomplishing a judgment on the wickedness and sin 00:20:05.37\00:20:10.74 of the Canaanite tribes. 00:20:10.77\00:20:18.45 All right, so there's Genesis chapter 9. 00:20:18.48\00:20:21.05 Not very good news, is it? 00:20:21.08\00:20:23.62 I wish it could get better, but it doesn't. 00:20:23.65\00:20:26.62 I really appreciate, by the way, Monday's lesson. 00:20:26.65\00:20:31.49 When we go to Monday's lesson, and we look at Genesis chapter 00:20:31.53\00:20:33.50 10, we find there, you know, many scholars, Christians call 00:20:33.53\00:20:36.67 Genesis chapter 10 the Table of Nations, because now 00:20:36.70\00:20:39.80 God gives us a quick rundown. 00:20:39.83\00:20:41.70 It's not precise, as the quarterly points out. 00:20:41.74\00:20:44.37 It points out and lists 70 nations, and it's not quite in 00:20:44.41\00:20:49.94 the same precision as we find in some of the other genealogies, 00:20:49.98\00:20:53.52 but it is the Table of Nations. 00:20:53.55\00:20:55.02 This is where the nations split into their various languages and 00:20:55.05\00:20:58.55 peoples that came from the family of Noah, from the three 00:20:58.59\00:21:02.56 sons of Noah--Japheth, Shem, and Ham--Shem and Japheth. 00:21:02.59\00:21:09.83 And we find here that there's a key connection. 00:21:09.86\00:21:13.34 Noah is that key connection between the generations, and the 00:21:13.37\00:21:17.47 peoples, and the nations that lived before the flood, as well 00:21:17.51\00:21:20.08 as after, because Noah lived how many years again? 00:21:20.11\00:21:23.35 350 years, 350 years after the flood. 00:21:23.38\00:21:26.98 So, Noah was around for more than a couple of years 00:21:27.02\00:21:28.82 after the flood had begun. 00:21:28.85\00:21:30.42 And so by the time he died, he had great, great, great, great, 00:21:30.45\00:21:32.59 great, great, great, great grandchildren. 00:21:32.62\00:21:34.89 And so you see the pattern there. 00:21:34.92\00:21:38.53 As the quarterly points out--and this used to fascinate me 00:21:38.56\00:21:40.96 so much. 00:21:41.00\00:21:42.43 When I first started to read the Bible many years ago, and looked 00:21:42.46\00:21:44.17 at the genealogies and how long they lived--you know, 00:21:44.20\00:21:48.40 Noah 950 years. 00:21:48.44\00:21:50.41 You know, Methuselah 969. 00:21:50.44\00:21:52.34 Noah--Adam, 930 years. 00:21:52.37\00:21:54.58 You know, it was just hundreds and centuries of years of life. 00:21:54.61\00:21:57.08 And, of course, there's these massive overlaps. 00:21:57.11\00:22:00.15 So, that's why they didn't need the Bible. 00:22:00.18\00:22:01.72 God didn't inspire the Bible to be written at first because 00:22:01.75\00:22:04.25 there was so much overlap between the generations. 00:22:04.29\00:22:07.46 You know, the first people that lived during the first 930 years 00:22:07.49\00:22:11.06 of history could hear the truth concerning the gospel, 00:22:11.09\00:22:14.66 concerning the fall into sin, and Satan, and rebellion 00:22:14.73\00:22:18.20 in heaven, and all that. 00:22:18.23\00:22:19.73 All that was available through Adam himself because 00:22:19.77\00:22:23.04 he lived so long. 00:22:23.07\00:22:24.37 And as it turns out, as the quarterly points out that there 00:22:24.41\00:22:27.64 is--in fact, let's go to Monday. 00:22:27.68\00:22:30.61 Let me see now. 00:22:30.65\00:22:32.11 This is page 40. 00:22:32.15\00:22:36.28 And at the very top of Monday it says, "The chronological 00:22:36.32\00:22:38.65 information about Noah's age makes us realize that Noah 00:22:38.69\00:22:41.76 served as a link between the pre-flood 00:22:41.79\00:22:44.46 and the post-flood civilization. 00:22:44.49\00:22:46.96 Because Adam died when Lamech, Noah's father, was 56 years old, 00:22:47.00\00:22:52.90 Noah must surely have heard stories from Adam, which he 00:22:52.93\00:22:56.07 could've transmitted to his descendants before 00:22:56.10\00:22:58.87 and after the flood." 00:22:58.91\00:23:00.31 And so there's an overlap there of 56 years. 00:23:00.34\00:23:04.75 So, Noah's dad lived for 56 years while Adam was still 00:23:04.78\00:23:09.62 on the planet, still walking around. 00:23:09.65\00:23:12.55 And so because of that, Noah almost for certain received 00:23:12.59\00:23:17.73 secondhand information directly from Adam to Lamech 00:23:17.76\00:23:22.76 and then to Noah. 00:23:22.80\00:23:24.70 So, when Noah grew up, he would be able to hear the stories 00:23:24.73\00:23:27.37 about Lamech hearing the gospel and the truths of their origins 00:23:27.40\00:23:31.34 and all the great controversy between Satan, and between God, 00:23:31.37\00:23:36.38 and between truth, and between error, and so all straight 00:23:36.41\00:23:40.18 secondhand from his dad, directly from Noah. 00:23:40.22\00:23:42.65 So, we've got some fascinating overlaps of the Bible--gives to 00:23:42.68\00:23:45.72 us concerning these different first centuries of history. 00:23:45.75\00:23:52.03 And so verbal, verbal transmission of truth was the 00:23:52.06\00:23:55.40 only way that they needed back then--and unlike us, where we 00:23:55.43\00:23:58.47 need it on paper or on our phones and so on to be able 00:23:58.50\00:24:01.64 to see and remember these different truths. 00:24:01.67\00:24:05.84 Now, one of the other things that the genealogies points out 00:24:05.87\00:24:08.21 in the quarterly, gives us that insight, as well, is that there 00:24:08.24\00:24:11.98 is a--when the genealogies are there, you'll notice that the 00:24:12.01\00:24:16.52 genealogies list all the children. 00:24:16.55\00:24:19.59 You know, so they'll list all four children of Ham, and 00:24:19.62\00:24:23.49 they'll list all the children of Japheth, and all the 00:24:23.53\00:24:25.43 grandchildren, and all the great grandchildren, so on. 00:24:25.46\00:24:28.00 One of the things you'll pick up is some of those figures, 00:24:28.03\00:24:30.13 some of those names become outstanding figures in the 00:24:30.17\00:24:32.80 history of the world and in Bible history. 00:24:32.83\00:24:35.50 Most of those names are never mentioned again. 00:24:35.54\00:24:39.17 And so this is very unlike legends or fables and other 00:24:39.21\00:24:42.88 accusations and misunderstandings 00:24:42.91\00:24:44.75 that people have concerning the Bible record. 00:24:44.78\00:24:47.35 Legends and fables don't have genealogies that give you 00:24:47.38\00:24:49.88 precise, full, complete records of all the different children, 00:24:49.92\00:24:53.99 and grandchildren, and great grandchildren, the descendants 00:24:54.02\00:24:56.16 of these different figures, if they're not already playing a 00:24:56.19\00:24:59.36 key role in the narrative of the legend or of the fable. 00:24:59.39\00:25:04.50 But in this case, it's a history book. 00:25:04.53\00:25:07.10 You know, Genesis is a literal history book, and so these are 00:25:07.14\00:25:10.21 literal figures, very real and authentic people 00:25:10.24\00:25:13.84 that lived in the past. 00:25:13.88\00:25:16.21 And so that's important for us to be able to pick up, as well, 00:25:16.24\00:25:19.01 because, of course, the world and the devil continues to 00:25:19.05\00:25:21.58 propagate these falsehoods concerning the Bible record. 00:25:21.62\00:25:27.69 One of the most profound insights that I found in the 00:25:27.72\00:25:29.92 quarterly lesson this week was on Monday again. 00:25:29.96\00:25:33.09 So, let's go back to that again. 00:25:33.13\00:25:35.16 On Monday, we find there that it points out the 70 nations that 00:25:35.20\00:25:40.60 are listed there, and it foreshadows the 70 members 00:25:40.64\00:25:42.94 of the family of Jacob. 00:25:42.97\00:25:44.64 So, we have this fascinating 70 that kind of is strung through 00:25:44.67\00:25:48.64 the Scriptures themselves that is not by coincidence. 00:25:48.68\00:25:54.95 And so in that second to last paragraph, after the first 00:25:54.98\00:25:58.09 sentence, it says the 70 nations foreshadow the 70 members 00:25:58.12\00:26:01.36 of the family of Jacob and the 70 elders in Israel in the 00:26:01.39\00:26:05.56 wilderness, when God told Israel--I mean told Moses, 00:26:05.59\00:26:08.60 "Listen, have 70 key elders of Israel consecrate themselves, 00:26:08.63\00:26:12.93 bathe themselves, fast, pray, get ready to meet me at the 00:26:12.97\00:26:15.60 mountain of Mount Sinai." 00:26:15.64\00:26:17.51 And they had a meeting with the Lord. 00:26:17.54\00:26:19.34 And so we have these 70 key representatives of Israel. 00:26:19.37\00:26:25.31 And so the idea of a correspondence between 00:26:25.35\00:26:27.95 the 70 nations and the 70 elders suggests the mission 00:26:27.98\00:26:31.09 of Israel towards the nations. 00:26:31.12\00:26:33.29 And later on, the same paragraph points out that Jesus, 00:26:33.32\00:26:35.39 when He first sent His disciples out, He sent them out 00:26:35.42\00:26:38.23 in the total number of 70. 00:26:38.26\00:26:41.56 Did Jesus pick that randomly? 00:26:41.60\00:26:43.20 Was that coincidence? 00:26:43.23\00:26:44.63 I would say not. 00:26:44.67\00:26:46.03 I would say that God is using that key word--that key number, 00:26:46.07\00:26:49.00 I should say--70 to represent both ancient Israel and its 00:26:49.04\00:26:53.27 mission--because we have the 70 nation that dispersed and spread 00:26:53.31\00:26:56.51 out and multiply and fill the earth, and God has a gospel for 00:26:56.54\00:27:01.15 every single one of those nations. 00:27:01.18\00:27:04.15 So, when God established Israel and gave them the 70 elders, 00:27:04.19\00:27:06.99 this was designed to be able to tell them and further impact the 00:27:07.02\00:27:09.89 fact that they have a mission, that God has not given them the 00:27:09.92\00:27:12.83 truth just for themselves to enjoy, to keep them to 00:27:12.86\00:27:15.26 themselves, but to spread it out to all nations represented by 00:27:15.30\00:27:18.57 the original 70. 00:27:18.60\00:27:21.10 Now we have over 200 and something nations that are 00:27:21.14\00:27:23.30 recognized by the United Nations on the planet today. 00:27:23.34\00:27:27.18 The 70 disciples that were sent out by Jesus is to represent 00:27:27.21\00:27:30.05 that we are now spiritual Israel. 00:27:30.08\00:27:33.08 And so Israel has morphed into a different kind of organization 00:27:33.11\00:27:37.42 that no longer has borders. 00:27:37.45\00:27:38.99 It no longer has a civil government and so on, but 00:27:39.02\00:27:41.79 rather, instead, it is the holy church, the body of Christ that 00:27:41.82\00:27:44.56 is throughout the whole world. 00:27:44.59\00:27:46.09 We have the same mission and thus we have 70 representative 00:27:46.13\00:27:48.96 disciples that Jesus sends out, representing that God has called 00:27:49.00\00:27:52.60 us to bring the gospel to every nation, tribe, tongue, 00:27:52.63\00:27:54.70 and people. 00:27:54.74\00:27:56.40 So, I found that very fascinating, as far as an 00:27:56.44\00:27:58.31 insight in concern to God's working and His original plan 00:27:58.34\00:28:01.91 right from the beginning for Israel of Old Testament times 00:28:01.94\00:28:04.78 and now also for modern Israel, New Testament Israel, which is 00:28:04.81\00:28:07.58 the church itself. 00:28:07.62\00:28:12.49 Another helpful point in concern to Genesis chapter 10 and the 00:28:12.52\00:28:15.92 nature of Genesis 10 is that as you read through it--we don't 00:28:15.96\00:28:18.73 have time to read the whole thing--is including the dividing 00:28:18.76\00:28:21.30 of the nations after the tower of Babel. 00:28:21.33\00:28:23.70 Now, the details of the Tower of Babel and the circumstances and 00:28:23.73\00:28:27.47 the events that came up to it, as well as that which followed 00:28:27.50\00:28:31.91 it, is found in Genesis chapter 11 in the following chapter. 00:28:31.94\00:28:35.88 But as Genesis and other Bible authors do more than once--and 00:28:35.91\00:28:40.32 we can find more and more an example--where they will assume 00:28:40.35\00:28:44.59 that you're going to read the next chapter 00:28:44.62\00:28:46.29 and know the details. 00:28:46.32\00:28:47.82 But for now, they're just saying, "Listen, at some point, 00:28:47.86\00:28:49.22 multiple languages developed and were found within the nations 00:28:49.26\00:28:53.50 and the planet and among humanity, and different nations 00:28:53.53\00:28:57.47 were represented by their various languages. 00:28:57.50\00:29:01.30 And then God backs up in Genesis chapter 11, and He gives us 00:29:01.34\00:29:05.01 further detail on how that took place. 00:29:05.04\00:29:08.01 And so that's why you'll find, even as you read through Genesis 00:29:08.04\00:29:10.61 chapter 10--it can be confusing at first when we say that, when 00:29:10.65\00:29:13.21 we read it, because we would say, "Well, wait a minute. 00:29:13.25\00:29:15.22 Was Moses confused? 00:29:15.25\00:29:16.79 Did he forget when he wrote Genesis 10 that, you know, the 00:29:16.82\00:29:18.79 tower of Babel and the confusion of languages didn't exist yet?" 00:29:18.82\00:29:21.96 You know, Genesis 11 starts with the whole earth was of one 00:29:21.99\00:29:24.66 language and of one speech. 00:29:24.69\00:29:28.06 Well, no, Moses already did this once already in Genesis, 00:29:28.10\00:29:31.37 by the way, didn't he? 00:29:31.40\00:29:34.00 Where was the other example? 00:29:34.04\00:29:36.57 What other point did he describe something, and then he backs up 00:29:36.60\00:29:38.74 and gives further detail in the next chapter? 00:29:38.77\00:29:42.68 Genesis chapter--Genesis chapter 1 and 2, the very first two 00:29:42.71\00:29:47.45 chapters, right? 00:29:47.48\00:29:48.88 He goes through the record. 00:29:48.92\00:29:50.22 He goes through the Genesis record--I mean through the 00:29:50.25\00:29:51.72 creation record. 00:29:51.75\00:29:53.22 And as he goes through each day, the 6 days of creation, he comes 00:29:53.25\00:29:55.59 to the climax of the 6th day, and He says, "Let us make man 00:29:55.62\00:29:57.46 in our image. 00:29:57.49\00:29:58.96 And thus He made man and woman in the image of God." 00:29:58.99\00:30:03.13 And then in Genesis 2, he backs up, and then he gives the 00:30:03.16\00:30:06.67 details on how He made Adam and Eve. 00:30:06.70\00:30:09.40 And so then he kind of brings in the magnifying glass in Genesis 00:30:09.44\00:30:14.24 chapter 2 and gives us further details on how that took place. 00:30:14.28\00:30:17.25 And so Genesis 10 and 11 is in that same style. 00:30:17.28\00:30:20.85 And so that can be helpful and avoid some confusion as you're 00:30:20.88\00:30:24.09 studying, perhaps, this for the first time or getting to know it 00:30:24.12\00:30:26.62 just a little bit better. 00:30:26.65\00:30:30.66 Another interesting thing that we find here is Peleg, and Peleg 00:30:30.69\00:30:36.46 in verse 25, and so Genesis chapter 10 and verse 25 it says 00:30:36.50\00:30:41.67 to Eber--and this is one of the sons of Shem. 00:30:41.70\00:30:47.21 Now, remember, Shem is kind of lifted up prophetically in the 00:30:47.24\00:30:49.91 end of Genesis chapter 9 as the most faithful before the Lord 00:30:49.94\00:30:55.45 and gives the biggest and best legacy of faith and truth. 00:30:55.48\00:30:59.52 And so it says, "To Eber were born two sons: and the name of 00:30:59.55\00:31:02.02 one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his 00:31:02.06\00:31:05.93 brother's name was Joktan." 00:31:05.96\00:31:07.60 And so Eber decided to name his son, one of the two sons, Peleg, 00:31:07.60\00:31:14.34 which literally means division. 00:31:14.37\00:31:16.30 Why? 00:31:16.34\00:31:17.71 Because almost for certain, at this point, the tower of Babel, 00:31:17.74\00:31:20.51 the whole project was stymied by the Lord, as He brought in 00:31:20.54\00:31:24.08 supernaturally all kinds of different languages among the 00:31:24.11\00:31:27.58 different groups of people that were building that tower. 00:31:27.62\00:31:31.99 And so there was the division that took place 00:31:32.02\00:31:34.02 among the nations. 00:31:34.06\00:31:35.59 And so we find that that must've took place sometime 00:31:35.62\00:31:38.66 about the time that Eber had one of his first sons. 00:31:38.69\00:31:41.86 And so I find that fascinating, as well. 00:31:41.90\00:31:43.90 Some people have suggested that that may be also the continents 00:31:43.93\00:31:46.33 that were dividing. 00:31:46.37\00:31:48.44 You know, even today, when you look at Europe and North America 00:31:48.47\00:31:51.04 and so on, you know, you bring them together, 00:31:51.07\00:31:52.57 it's kind of a bit of a fairly obvious puzzle piece there. 00:31:52.61\00:31:55.21 They used to be connected. 00:31:55.24\00:31:57.48 Now our evolutionist friends will say, "Yeah, that's right, 00:31:57.51\00:31:59.31 they were. 00:31:59.35\00:32:00.85 You know, but then the earth's crust kind of slowly moved in 00:32:00.88\00:32:02.72 one inch per year. 00:32:02.75\00:32:04.32 It started to separated and now millions of years later, 00:32:04.35\00:32:06.22 we're where we are today." 00:32:06.25\00:32:08.69 But the flood tells us, the Genesis record tells us, no, no, 00:32:08.72\00:32:11.79 no, it wasn't millions of years. 00:32:11.83\00:32:13.29 It was weeks. 00:32:13.33\00:32:15.66 And some have suggested perhaps even years after, there was a 00:32:15.70\00:32:19.10 faster drift that was continuing to take place in those first 00:32:19.13\00:32:23.54 several decades after the flood, as well. 00:32:23.57\00:32:26.81 Ah, it could be. I don't know. 00:32:26.84\00:32:28.31 I wasn't there. 00:32:28.34\00:32:31.61 But it's probably more likely that Peleg is named after the 00:32:31.65\00:32:34.32 division of the nations through the different languages that God 00:32:34.35\00:32:37.02 brought to the tower of Babel. 00:32:37.05\00:32:42.29 All right, and then we come to Genesis chapter 10 and verses 6 00:32:42.32\00:32:45.39 through 11, and it's not in the study quarterly, but, you know, 00:32:45.43\00:32:48.46 I just can't, you know, not look at this. 00:32:48.50\00:32:51.20 This is just so intriguing and key. 00:32:51.23\00:32:54.07 In verse 6 it says, "The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, 00:32:54.10\00:32:56.40 Put, and Canaan." 00:32:56.44\00:32:59.21 Now Canaan's already pointed out. 00:32:59.24\00:33:00.68 We talked about that and its connection, and it certainly 00:33:00.71\00:33:02.34 wasn't a good legacy that Ham left to Canaan, and Canaan left 00:33:02.38\00:33:06.01 to his following generations. 00:33:06.05\00:33:08.32 And the fruit that it bore is--it led to some great 00:33:08.35\00:33:11.62 wickedness and suffering. 00:33:11.65\00:33:13.62 But Cush is no saint, either. 00:33:13.66\00:33:18.59 And so we come to verse 8, as we look at the other son of Ham, 00:33:18.63\00:33:22.16 Cush, and he begets and has a son, and he names 00:33:22.20\00:33:25.30 his son Nimrod. 00:33:25.33\00:33:26.84 So, here we have one of the grandchildren of Noah--or great 00:33:26.87\00:33:33.54 grandchildren--and his name is Nimrod, and he began to 00:33:33.58\00:33:37.05 be a mighty one on the earth. 00:33:37.08\00:33:39.81 Now, Hebrew experts tells us that that "mighty one" 00:33:39.85\00:33:43.55 is referring to one with bold deeds and daring deeds. 00:33:43.59\00:33:47.59 It is also associated with being a tyrant. 00:33:47.62\00:33:50.63 It's not a compliment. 00:33:50.66\00:33:53.40 This is a mighty one in regards to his daringness, his defiance 00:33:53.43\00:33:58.63 before God, and his power. 00:33:58.67\00:34:02.14 You know, the power base that he developed in his generation was 00:34:02.17\00:34:06.27 tremendous, but it wasn't in a godly, and it wasn't in a loving 00:34:06.31\00:34:10.15 way, by any means. 00:34:10.18\00:34:11.98 You know, we have modern examples of that today. 00:34:12.01\00:34:14.12 We have different dictators that are ruling different nations of 00:34:14.15\00:34:16.65 the world today. 00:34:16.69\00:34:18.89 We have some that are causing great suffering. 00:34:18.92\00:34:22.72 We have one individual today that we know of that's causing 00:34:22.76\00:34:25.06 great suffering and destruction upon innocent civilians, even as 00:34:25.09\00:34:28.66 we speak this morning. 00:34:28.70\00:34:31.37 This is a mighty one. 00:34:31.40\00:34:33.13 Is he powerful, the figure that is over in Ukraine 00:34:33.17\00:34:36.37 and Russia today? 00:34:36.40\00:34:37.71 Yes, okay. 00:34:37.74\00:34:39.11 Is he a loving, compassionate, wonderful man? 00:34:39.14\00:34:43.35 No. 00:34:43.38\00:34:44.75 I wouldn't want to be married to him. 00:34:44.78\00:34:48.85 I feel sorry for his wife, his children. 00:34:48.88\00:34:55.76 El Chapo, you know, another individual that we have, you 00:34:55.79\00:34:58.99 know, on the criminal side of things, you know, 00:34:59.03\00:35:02.26 outside of politics, and the government and so on. 00:35:02.30\00:35:07.00 Again, a mighty one, daring, bold. 00:35:07.04\00:35:11.61 But friends, you know, this is not in a complimentary way. 00:35:11.64\00:35:19.95 And so we have different figures. 00:35:19.98\00:35:21.85 And so Nimrod is no saint before the Lord. 00:35:21.88\00:35:24.62 In verse 9, it can be confusing. 00:35:24.65\00:35:26.15 He says he was a mighty hunter before the Lord. 00:35:26.19\00:35:28.92 Now, you know, you can get confused because later on we 00:35:28.96\00:35:32.16 read about how the prophet and faithful follower of Christ who 00:35:32.19\00:35:35.70 was a very godly, loving, compassionate, Spirit-filled 00:35:35.73\00:35:38.53 man, King David, he danced before the Lord when he brought 00:35:38.57\00:35:41.97 in the ark, you know, of the covenant into its tabernacle and 00:35:42.00\00:35:48.08 so on, and put it in its rightful spot and place and such 00:35:48.11\00:35:51.18 in Jerusalem. 00:35:51.21\00:35:52.78 And so we find here that David danced before the Lord. 00:35:52.81\00:35:56.35 He was worshiping before the Lord. 00:35:56.38\00:35:59.92 But in this case, it's not Nimrod being faithful before the 00:35:59.95\00:36:02.32 Lord to worship. 00:36:02.36\00:36:03.69 Instead, we find that Nimrod in the original Hebrew and such--in 00:36:03.73\00:36:07.73 fact, the Hebrew experts that translated the Old Testament 00:36:07.76\00:36:10.77 Hebrew of the Old Testament Scriptures into Greek, we call 00:36:10.80\00:36:13.90 that the Septuagint today because Sept means seven, and 00:36:13.94\00:36:17.71 there was like 70--the tradition goes there's 70 Hebrew scholars, 00:36:17.74\00:36:21.44 Greek scholars and Hebrew scholars that came together not 00:36:21.48\00:36:24.01 very long before Jesus was living on the earth, and they 00:36:24.05\00:36:26.98 were rabbis and such and scribes, and they translated the 00:36:27.02\00:36:31.55 Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, because there was a growing 00:36:31.59\00:36:34.16 number of Jews that weren't learning Hebrew, but they knew 00:36:34.19\00:36:37.39 Greek, because Greek was the international language of the 00:36:37.43\00:36:39.46 Roman empire. 00:36:39.49\00:36:41.96 And so they translated the Old Testament Scriptures into Greek. 00:36:42.00\00:36:45.87 And in the Septuagint, when they translated this particular 00:36:45.90\00:36:48.17 verse, they render it, "He began to be a mighty one on the earth. 00:36:48.20\00:36:51.67 He was a mighty hunter against the Lord." 00:36:51.71\00:36:55.94 And that certainly gives us some clarification on that verse 00:36:55.98\00:36:58.51 there, as well. 00:36:58.55\00:36:59.88 "Therefore it was said Nimrod was the mighty hunter 00:36:59.91\00:37:02.18 before the Lord." 00:37:02.22\00:37:03.82 Now, Nimrod went on to develop the city of Babel or Babel and 00:37:03.85\00:37:09.99 in the land of Shinar. 00:37:10.03\00:37:12.09 And so we find here that Nimrod is one of the leaders in this 00:37:12.13\00:37:15.36 rebellious, defiant project called the tower of Babel. 00:37:15.40\00:37:20.37 And not only is there the tower of Babel; but as we're going to 00:37:20.40\00:37:22.84 find out in Genesis chapter 11, that is also a city that 00:37:22.87\00:37:26.71 developed at the same time. 00:37:26.74\00:37:28.21 So, it wasn't just a tower that they were also blueprinting and 00:37:28.24\00:37:31.95 starting to develop, but it was also a city. 00:37:31.98\00:37:37.45 And so we find there some of the foundations 00:37:37.49\00:37:39.42 that were being laid. 00:37:39.45\00:37:40.86 Later on, in verse 11 in Genesis 10, it says, "And from that land 00:37:40.89\00:37:43.66 he went to Assyria and built Nineveh." 00:37:43.69\00:37:46.70 Now, Nineveh, again, became a longstanding--for centuries, it 00:37:46.73\00:37:51.23 became a longstanding enemy of God, a center of wickedness and 00:37:51.27\00:37:56.10 sinfulness and false religion of all different kinds, just like 00:37:56.14\00:38:00.04 the tower, just like the city of Babel or Babylon, as the Greek 00:38:00.08\00:38:04.38 rendition eventually was adopted; and, of course, 00:38:04.41\00:38:08.35 we're most familiar with the name Babylon. 00:38:08.38\00:38:11.62 And, of course, that means confusion, pointing not only to 00:38:11.65\00:38:15.72 the origins of the confusion that God brought through the 00:38:15.76\00:38:18.56 different languages that He confused, the different people 00:38:18.59\00:38:20.96 groups with, but also the religious confusion that 00:38:21.00\00:38:24.57 developed in the ancient city of Babylon, because Babylon became 00:38:24.60\00:38:27.30 known--in fact, you know, the Babylonians, by the way, didn't 00:38:27.34\00:38:31.37 name their own city. 00:38:31.41\00:38:32.84 Nimrod didn't choose Babylon--or in their case, Babel--as their 00:38:32.87\00:38:37.45 name for the city. 00:38:37.48\00:38:39.45 That's what God inspired the Hebrew prophets to label it as. 00:38:39.48\00:38:43.39 But when you went to the city or you looked at the map of their 00:38:43.42\00:38:45.95 day, it didn't say Babylon or Babel. 00:38:45.99\00:38:48.86 It actually said Babilu, B-A-B-I-L-U, Babilu. 00:38:48.89\00:38:53.93 And so in the language of the Babylonians, the Mesopotamians, 00:38:53.96\00:38:57.80 that actually meant the door to the gods or the gate 00:38:57.83\00:39:00.34 of the gods. 00:39:00.37\00:39:03.57 You know, and again that's very fitting in the fact that they 00:39:03.61\00:39:07.78 prided themselves as being the center of religion, 00:39:07.81\00:39:11.31 the center of the gods. 00:39:11.35\00:39:12.88 This is the greatest, most powerful connection to the gods. 00:39:12.91\00:39:16.32 And, of course, they were all false gods. 00:39:16.35\00:39:18.19 They were all fictitious gods, but this was the center of 00:39:18.22\00:39:21.56 confusion in regards to religious things. 00:39:21.59\00:39:24.96 Okay, so now we go on to Genesis chapter 11, and we pick up 00:39:24.99\00:39:27.83 that--we pick that up in verse 11--sorry, chapter 11, verse 1, 00:39:27.86\00:39:32.57 it says, "Now the whole earth was of one language 00:39:32.60\00:39:36.24 and of one speech." 00:39:36.27\00:39:38.61 So, again, God is clarifying, led us to know that, you know, 00:39:38.64\00:39:41.74 for the first several hundred years, over 1,000 years, over 00:39:41.78\00:39:47.12 1,500 years, there was only one language that was spoken 00:39:47.15\00:39:51.39 throughout all of humanity. 00:39:51.42\00:39:52.85 In verse 2 it says, "And it came to pass, as they journeyed from 00:39:52.89\00:39:54.96 the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, 00:39:54.99\00:39:58.29 and they dwelt there." 00:39:58.33\00:39:59.63 That's modern Iraq today. 00:39:59.66\00:40:02.16 You know, this is where the Babylon that many of us are 00:40:02.20\00:40:04.73 familiar with, where King Nebuchadnezzar ruled from, 00:40:04.77\00:40:07.97 the golden city that ruled the empire, that was the world 00:40:08.00\00:40:11.44 empire for many centuries, you know, that ruled in that part 00:40:11.47\00:40:14.94 of the world. 00:40:14.98\00:40:16.64 This is the same Babylon, the same plain. 00:40:16.68\00:40:21.75 "And then they said to one another, 'Come and let us make 00:40:21.78\00:40:24.52 bricks and bake them thoroughly.' 00:40:24.55\00:40:26.86 And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 00:40:26.89\00:40:29.86 And they said, 'Come, let us build a city for ourselves. 00:40:29.89\00:40:34.83 Let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top 00:40:34.86\00:40:38.00 is in the heavens. 00:40:38.03\00:40:39.80 Let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered abroad over 00:40:39.83\00:40:44.07 the face of the whole earth.'" 00:40:44.11\00:40:45.67 And so, this is a very defiant and rebellious statement 00:40:45.71\00:40:48.91 that is being quoted here by Nimrod and by Canaan 00:40:48.94\00:40:53.52 and probably by Ham, as well. 00:40:53.55\00:40:57.02 We have this lineage, this legacy that is starting to 00:40:57.05\00:40:59.65 develop, and it tells us that the bulk of humanity that 00:40:59.69\00:41:03.86 existed back then fell into place, fell into their 00:41:03.89\00:41:07.30 leadership, and they said, "Hey listen, we need to be able to 00:41:07.30\00:41:09.76 make a name for ourselves. 00:41:09.80\00:41:13.30 Let's build ourselves a city, a tower whose tops 00:41:13.34\00:41:14.90 is in the heavens." 00:41:14.94\00:41:16.24 Now why do you suppose they would want a tower that would go 00:41:16.27\00:41:17.97 all the way to the heavens? 00:41:18.01\00:41:19.97 It's a little bit different than ours today. 00:41:20.01\00:41:21.84 You know, we still have this competition a little bit, this 00:41:21.88\00:41:23.95 unsaid silent competition between the nations. 00:41:23.98\00:41:26.48 You know, the Empire State Building went up, and then the 00:41:26.51\00:41:29.45 Twin Towers, and then we had, you know, Dubai come along and 00:41:29.48\00:41:32.15 say, "Well, we're gonna outdo that." 00:41:32.19\00:41:33.72 And they built the longest--you know, the highest tower and 00:41:33.76\00:41:36.42 building in the world. 00:41:36.46\00:41:37.76 And now somebody just told me the other day that Dubai 00:41:37.79\00:41:40.10 has part 2 now. 00:41:40.13\00:41:41.66 So, Dubai was looking and said, "Well, there's gonna be somebody 00:41:41.70\00:41:44.23 that's gonna pop up somewhere and say, 'We've gotta outdo 00:41:44.27\00:41:46.57 Dubai,' and so let's get ahead of them.'" 00:41:46.60\00:41:48.84 And I don't know if that's the conversation 00:41:48.87\00:41:50.51 or not, but I'm guessing. 00:41:50.54\00:41:51.87 And so they built another one that's even higher. 00:41:51.91\00:41:53.64 So, they outdid themselves before somebody else could, 00:41:53.68\00:41:56.34 you know. 00:41:56.38\00:41:57.95 And I'm guessing that there is some very real pride behind some 00:41:57.98\00:42:00.52 of that and not what we would probably godly pride, 00:42:00.55\00:42:03.99 but it is fascinating to see some of these buildings. 00:42:04.02\00:42:07.29 But this was one that they wanted to get up into the clouds 00:42:07.32\00:42:10.16 to because the clouds was the culprit. 00:42:10.19\00:42:14.46 You know, they looked--and, of course, we have to remember that 00:42:14.50\00:42:16.87 years have gone by, maybe decades, 00:42:16.90\00:42:19.00 likely decades have gone by. 00:42:19.03\00:42:20.50 Because as we come to Peleg again in chapter 2, the son of 00:42:20.54\00:42:23.34 Eber and so on, you know, this is more than a couple 00:42:23.37\00:42:26.24 of years down the road. 00:42:26.27\00:42:27.81 And so, you know, the devil's brought in all kinds of 00:42:27.84\00:42:29.68 theories, like he does today, you know, convincing people that 00:42:29.71\00:42:32.15 there is no God, that this was all a natural occurrence. 00:42:32.18\00:42:35.22 It's just nature doing its thing. 00:42:35.25\00:42:37.15 There was climate change that started to take place, and the 00:42:37.19\00:42:40.99 temperature changes, and the carbon dioxide levels started to 00:42:41.02\00:42:44.59 change, and then suddenly rain appeared in these clouds that 00:42:44.63\00:42:47.46 we'd never seen before. 00:42:47.50\00:42:49.33 Rain came down and flooded the earth for a time, and it's just 00:42:49.36\00:42:52.70 an occurrence of nature. 00:42:52.73\00:42:55.30 So, if we could just get up into the clouds--first of all, 00:42:55.34\00:42:57.24 if it happens again, we have an escape route. 00:42:57.27\00:43:00.48 And number two, if we can get up there where the culprit is, 00:43:00.51\00:43:03.18 these mysterious weird clouds that are forming rain, and they 00:43:03.21\00:43:05.95 continue to bring rain, maybe, you know, we can figure out what 00:43:05.98\00:43:10.12 caused the rain in the first place, 00:43:10.15\00:43:11.79 so we can control that rain. 00:43:11.82\00:43:14.22 And so we have all of this kind of, you know, implied--and 00:43:14.26\00:43:20.93 for me, it's a very clear way. 00:43:20.96\00:43:22.36 "Let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top 00:43:22.40\00:43:25.07 is in the heavens. 00:43:25.10\00:43:27.14 Let us make a name for ourselves." 00:43:27.17\00:43:28.87 And so you can see that kind of satanic, it's kind of Luciferian 00:43:28.90\00:43:33.24 mindset, you know. 00:43:33.27\00:43:34.78 "I will be like the Most High," as Lucifer eventually 00:43:34.81\00:43:38.75 came to say. 00:43:38.78\00:43:40.32 And so it was a very heady--it's a very heady statement 00:43:40.35\00:43:42.95 in verse 4. 00:43:42.98\00:43:44.29 "But the Lord came down to see the men of the tower, 00:43:44.32\00:43:46.09 which the sons of men had built. 00:43:46.12\00:43:48.46 And the Lord said, 'Indeed the people are one, and they all 00:43:48.49\00:43:51.56 have one language, and this is what they will begin to do. 00:43:51.59\00:43:54.60 Now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them." 00:43:54.63\00:44:00.20 And so, of course, God is rightly concerned 00:44:00.24\00:44:01.84 as He looks down. 00:44:01.87\00:44:03.87 And He says, "Indeed the people are all one. 00:44:03.91\00:44:05.71 They're all one language, and they're working together very, 00:44:05.74\00:44:08.58 very effectively. 00:44:08.61\00:44:10.95 We have some power mongers down there that are kind 00:44:10.98\00:44:14.22 of taking the reins." 00:44:14.25\00:44:16.32 And that's another insight that I found fascinating, as well, is 00:44:16.35\00:44:20.62 back in chapter 10 and verse 10 it says, "In the beginning his 00:44:20.66\00:44:23.26 kingdom--" That's Nimrod. 00:44:23.29\00:44:24.73 His kingdom was Babel, Erech, Acca, Accad, Calneh, in the land 00:44:24.76\00:44:28.66 of Shinar, and then later Nineveh. 00:44:28.70\00:44:31.83 This is the first record of somebody on earth taking the 00:44:31.87\00:44:35.60 prerogative of being a king, a monarch, you know, with absolute 00:44:35.64\00:44:39.07 power, the final say. 00:44:39.11\00:44:42.24 And so under this new defiant form of government called a 00:44:42.28\00:44:49.08 monarchy, with Nimrod at its head and such, we find that 00:44:49.12\00:44:54.76 there's this city and this tower, this great project of 00:44:54.79\00:44:57.86 defiance and rebellion that is underway. 00:44:57.89\00:45:01.60 And when mankind comes together, and they cooperate, we can do 00:45:01.63\00:45:05.47 amazing things, cant' we? 00:45:05.50\00:45:07.97 I mean, we've got space shuttles now that are going out and 00:45:08.00\00:45:11.61 traveling through space in ways that we couldn't imagine 00:45:11.64\00:45:13.84 100 years ago. 00:45:13.88\00:45:16.18 You know, so we're capable of amazing, amazing 00:45:16.21\00:45:20.05 accomplishments, even in spite of our language differences, 00:45:20.08\00:45:23.05 even in spite of our culture differences, even in spite of 00:45:23.08\00:45:25.52 the fact that we continue to have animosity, and wars, 00:45:25.55\00:45:29.02 and at national levels, at group levels, gang levels, family 00:45:29.06\00:45:34.10 levels, individual levels. 00:45:34.13\00:45:36.43 Even then, we are accomplishing things that we could hardly 00:45:36.46\00:45:39.27 but imagine that we could accomplish 100 years ago. 00:45:39.30\00:45:42.77 So, imagine if we were all of one mind, all under one 00:45:42.80\00:45:44.71 leadership, one government, and one language. 00:45:44.74\00:45:49.18 And not only that, but you have to remember that we deteriorated 00:45:49.21\00:45:51.98 for the last 4,000--this is 4,500 years later. 00:45:52.01\00:45:54.88 Your mind and my mind is not nearly as bright and sharp. 00:45:54.92\00:45:57.95 And not only that, but we can't live very long anymore. 00:45:57.99\00:46:01.76 And so if you make it to 100, you're doing 00:46:01.79\00:46:03.53 extraordinarily well. 00:46:03.56\00:46:05.76 And so even if you absorb like a sponge as much as you can over 00:46:05.79\00:46:08.73 the next 100 years of your life, you still can't absorb nearly as 00:46:08.76\00:46:12.67 much information as somebody that could that lived four, 00:46:12.70\00:46:15.27 five, six, seven hundred years long. 00:46:15.30\00:46:18.21 And so not only did they have more time to accumulate 00:46:18.24\00:46:20.68 information, but they could hold it there way better 00:46:20.71\00:46:24.08 because their mind hadn't deteriorated nearly as much. 00:46:24.11\00:46:26.45 And so their intellect was genius. 00:46:26.48\00:46:29.08 And so you put that together under one leadership. 00:46:29.12\00:46:31.72 God knew that we would self-destruct way before the 00:46:31.75\00:46:38.13 Messiah would come and this great controversy played out in 00:46:38.16\00:46:40.66 the way that God knew He needed to. 00:46:40.70\00:46:42.93 And so because of that, He looked down and He says, "If we 00:46:42.96\00:46:45.40 don't do something now, nothing will be withheld from them. 00:46:45.43\00:46:49.07 They're gonna accomplish things that they should never be able 00:46:49.10\00:46:51.54 to accomplish at this point in history." 00:46:51.57\00:46:54.41 And so God had to slow down the progress of mankind. 00:46:54.44\00:46:59.08 He had to slow it down, and so He put on the brakes. 00:46:59.11\00:47:02.28 And, of course, many of us know the story. 00:47:02.32\00:47:04.92 In verse 7, it says, "Come, let us go down there 00:47:04.95\00:47:08.29 and confuse their language, that they may not understand 00:47:08.32\00:47:11.09 another's speech." 00:47:11.13\00:47:12.53 And so Moses talks about God coming down. 00:47:12.56\00:47:14.56 Of course, this is implying very clearly that Moses understood 00:47:14.56\00:47:17.93 that God is the maker of the universe. 00:47:17.97\00:47:20.34 He is sovereign. 00:47:20.37\00:47:21.74 He is the one that calls the shots, even though sometimes 00:47:21.77\00:47:23.47 we think we do. 00:47:23.51\00:47:24.81 And there's more than one politician that think they do. 00:47:24.84\00:47:29.41 But it's really God that calls the shots. 00:47:29.44\00:47:32.18 God's the one that's sovereign. 00:47:32.21\00:47:33.62 He always has the last word, and this is just another 00:47:33.65\00:47:37.15 demonstration of that. 00:47:37.19\00:47:38.59 "Let us go down." 00:47:38.62\00:47:39.92 There's the plurality of the Trinity there. 00:47:39.95\00:47:41.26 God is talking to himself, once again, just like He did 00:47:41.29\00:47:43.93 when He created Adam and Eve. 00:47:43.96\00:47:45.36 He said, "Let us make man in our image." 00:47:45.39\00:47:47.86 We have that plurality. 00:47:47.86\00:47:50.43 We have that Trinity that is being revealed there. 00:47:50.47\00:47:53.37 God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. 00:47:53.40\00:47:55.24 And as the three are talking amongst themselves, the eternal 00:47:55.27\00:47:58.17 Godhead, they go down and confuse the language that they 00:47:58.21\00:48:01.04 may not understand each other's speech. 00:48:01.08\00:48:04.08 "And so the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the 00:48:04.11\00:48:06.15 earth, and they ceased building the city. 00:48:06.18\00:48:08.72 And therefore the name is called Babel because the Lord confused 00:48:08.75\00:48:11.35 the language of the earth." 00:48:11.39\00:48:13.29 And so again, that's what the Hebrews and God named it. 00:48:13.32\00:48:15.82 It's not what the actual--of course, it wouldn't make sense 00:48:15.86\00:48:19.06 that they would give their own name a derogatory 00:48:19.09\00:48:22.60 name like confusion. 00:48:22.63\00:48:24.37 But rather, instead, they called it Babilu. 00:48:24.40\00:48:28.20 Well, that's it for the time that we 00:48:28.24\00:48:29.60 have here today, friends. 00:48:29.64\00:48:31.07 It was good to be able to visit and study with you. 00:48:31.11\00:48:33.51 And don't forget, if you haven't taken advantage of our free gift 00:48:33.54\00:48:36.04 offer, if you joined our program after it already began and you 00:48:36.08\00:48:39.05 missed the free gift offer in the beginning, 00:48:39.08\00:48:40.88 I want to make that available to you, 00:48:40.92\00:48:42.95 and it's called, "The Coming One World," 00:48:42.98\00:48:46.65 "The Coming One World," written by one of my friends, 00:48:46.69\00:48:48.66 Gary Gibbs. 00:48:48.69\00:48:50.19 He used to work for Amazing Facts many years ago. 00:48:50.23\00:48:52.23 And so take advantage of that. 00:48:52.26\00:48:54.73 Just dial into the number, 1-866-788=3966 and ask 00:48:54.76\00:49:00.50 for offer number 138. 00:49:00.54\00:49:03.24 And the screen is also revealing that you can text the code 00:49:03.27\00:49:05.74 SH076, and you want to dial that to the number 40544. 00:49:05.77\00:49:12.88 Now, friends, there's also a website that you can get if 00:49:12.91\00:49:15.55 you're outside of North America and you'd like to be able to 00:49:15.58\00:49:18.19 make that available to you. 00:49:18.22\00:49:19.85 You'll see it on the screen there. 00:49:19.89\00:49:21.19 Please take advantage of that. 00:49:21.22\00:49:22.52 It's nice to visit with you, and we look forward 00:49:22.56\00:49:24.43 to seeing you next week. 00:49:24.46\00:49:26.29 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 00:49:29.33\00:49:31.40 free resource. 00:49:31.43\00:49:32.93 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail; you can 00:49:32.97\00:49:35.10 download a digital copy straight to your computer 00:49:35.14\00:49:37.27 or mobile device. 00:49:37.31\00:49:38.87 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 00:49:38.91\00:49:42.14 the key word on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 00:49:42.18\00:49:46.82 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 00:49:46.85\00:49:49.92 download option on the request page. 00:49:49.95\00:49:52.32 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word 00:49:52.35\00:49:55.49 with Amazing Facts wherever and whenever you want, 00:49:55.52\00:49:58.69 and most important, to share it with others. 00:49:58.73\00:50:01.40 ¤¤¤ 00:50:03.93\00:50:07.64 Bill: I went to church as a child, I think more out of 00:50:07.67\00:50:09.87 because that's what you did. 00:50:09.90\00:50:11.61 So, I became an altar boy because it looked cool. 00:50:11.64\00:50:15.44 It was very ritualistic, which was fascinating to me. 00:50:15.48\00:50:18.08 There was a pattern and a process to it, and you got to be 00:50:18.11\00:50:21.02 out in front of all those people and just do something. 00:50:21.05\00:50:23.75 After that, we moved away. 00:50:23.79\00:50:25.79 I never really went to church again. 00:50:25.82\00:50:27.36 As I became a teenager, drifted away from church, never believed 00:50:27.39\00:50:31.06 in God, never thought about God. 00:50:31.09\00:50:33.60 Got through high school, did pretty good. 00:50:33.63\00:50:35.23 Began hanging out with the wrong people, doing things I shouldn't 00:50:35.26\00:50:37.73 have been doing, just involved in doing drugs, doing 00:50:37.77\00:50:41.14 recreational drugs, sometimes more than recreational drugs. 00:50:41.17\00:50:45.47 And from that, I knew I needed some discipline in my life, 00:50:45.51\00:50:47.84 and I joined the U.S. Navy, 00:50:47.88\00:50:49.58 and I thought that would change my life. 00:50:49.61\00:50:51.15 And in some ways, it did, but I still had that big hole. 00:50:51.18\00:50:54.18 I was still looking to fill it. 00:50:54.22\00:50:55.75 I now had direction, and I had discipline in my life. 00:50:55.78\00:50:58.12 I learned a trade, but I never found God. 00:50:58.15\00:51:00.56 The circumstances never led me to God. 00:51:00.59\00:51:03.86 I got married while I was in the Navy. 00:51:03.89\00:51:05.49 I married a naval officer. 00:51:05.53\00:51:07.03 We married and had a son together. 00:51:07.03\00:51:08.66 We didn't go to church. 00:51:08.70\00:51:10.07 God was not a part of our lives, and it reflected in our lives, 00:51:10.10\00:51:13.23 and it ended up in a failed marriage for a lot of reasons. 00:51:13.27\00:51:16.47 Got in a second failed marriage. 00:51:16.50\00:51:18.21 We didn't have God in that marriage. 00:51:18.24\00:51:19.81 And then met my current wife. 00:51:19.84\00:51:21.61 From a career perspective, I was doing what I loved. 00:51:21.64\00:51:24.55 I'd found this job. It was great. 00:51:24.58\00:51:26.72 I loved what I did. 00:51:26.75\00:51:28.15 I felt I was good at it, and that filled part of the hole, 00:51:28.18\00:51:31.72 but there was still a big hole in there that was empty, 00:51:31.75\00:51:34.26 and I didn't understand why it was empty. 00:51:34.29\00:51:37.09 I just knew there was an emptiness inside of me. 00:51:37.13\00:51:39.63 Package showed up one day, and I opened it, and it was a bunch of 00:51:39.66\00:51:42.83 DVDs and a Bible study guide, and it was Doug Batchelor. 00:51:42.86\00:51:46.70 And we had nothing else to do, so we started watching the DVDs, 00:51:46.74\00:51:49.90 and I was absolutely engrossed in it. 00:51:49.94\00:51:52.14 It was fascinating to me. 00:51:52.17\00:51:53.78 I was hearing things I had never heard, and I learned more in 00:51:53.81\00:51:56.68 that two or three weeks it took us to do those than I had in my 00:51:56.71\00:52:00.95 whole life, and it was amazing. 00:52:00.98\00:52:02.68 Nobody talked about prophecy. Nobody talked about Revelation. 00:52:02.72\00:52:05.99 Nobody really talked about the Sabbath. 00:52:06.02\00:52:07.99 And so it was fascinating to me. 00:52:08.02\00:52:10.26 And as I learned more, I wanted to know more. 00:52:10.29\00:52:12.49 The Amazing Facts website was phenomenal. 00:52:12.53\00:52:14.40 I was able to go through that. 00:52:14.46\00:52:16.16 I could find studies on the Sabbath. 00:52:16.20\00:52:17.90 I could find studies on prophecy. 00:52:17.93\00:52:19.83 And taking this journey hand in hand and going through it 00:52:19.87\00:52:22.87 together, it was amazing for us and what it did for our marriage 00:52:22.90\00:52:26.27 and for our life. 00:52:26.31\00:52:27.68 And then the next thing I know, I'm getting baptized. 00:52:27.71\00:52:30.08 Then I became a Sabbath School reader for that class and 00:52:30.11\00:52:33.48 continue to teach to this day. 00:52:33.52\00:52:35.42 I'm able to take that information, the resources, 00:52:35.45\00:52:38.65 the links, and provide that to others and start multiplying 00:52:38.69\00:52:41.92 that effort out. 00:52:41.96\00:52:43.29 Without Amazing Facts, I don't think I would've 00:52:43.32\00:52:44.86 gotten to this point. 00:52:44.89\00:52:48.20 My name is Bill. Thank you for changing my life. 00:52:48.23\00:52:51.97 ¤¤¤ 00:52:52.00\00:52:56.64 ¤¤¤ 00:53:00.24\00:53:02.81 announcer: "Amazing Facts, Changed Lives." 00:53:02.84\00:53:06.41 male: My greatest wish is that my children will see me 00:53:11.82\00:53:16.96 the way I see my own father. 00:53:16.99\00:53:22.33 He's a very devoted man, and that kind of framed my childhood 00:53:22.36\00:53:27.04 going forward from there, where I was always involved in church 00:53:27.07\00:53:31.44 work, and I had a very rich experience with the Lord 00:53:31.47\00:53:35.88 at a young age, all the way up through college. 00:53:35.91\00:53:40.78 Then after I got married, I got in a company called Comcast, and 00:53:40.82\00:53:46.59 I spent the past roughly 8.5 years, 9 years at Comcast, 00:53:46.62\00:53:52.29 and I was actually watching television with my son, and a 00:53:52.33\00:53:57.43 Comcast commercial came on the air, and he said, 00:53:57.47\00:54:01.30 "Oh, Daddy, that's Comcast. 00:54:01.34\00:54:03.77 That's where you work, Daddy." 00:54:03.81\00:54:07.08 And most fathers would be proud of something like that, but it 00:54:07.11\00:54:10.61 really struck me that, you know, my son's getting older, and he 00:54:10.65\00:54:15.22 does not see me as a servant of the Lord. 00:54:15.25\00:54:17.52 He sees me as a servant of my company. 00:54:17.55\00:54:20.89 And I knew that I would have to make some changes, 00:54:20.92\00:54:25.86 because I wanted him to know me as a man of God. 00:54:25.89\00:54:30.97 I never thought I would be a preacher or anything like that, 00:54:31.00\00:54:34.04 but I knew that there was room in the work for me and for my 00:54:34.07\00:54:40.41 talents, and I wanted my son to see me operating in the work. 00:54:40.44\00:54:48.38 That's when I knew that my time there was coming to an end. 00:54:48.42\00:54:52.69 I was sitting in my office one day, and I was kneeling 00:54:52.72\00:54:55.79 in prayer. 00:54:55.82\00:54:57.39 I said, "God, you know, show me what you want me to do, because, 00:54:57.43\00:55:01.83 you know, it seems like a big move here." 00:55:01.86\00:55:04.73 And, you know, everyone's thinking I'm crazy. 00:55:04.77\00:55:09.77 And I don't know exactly how, you know, things are gonna go 00:55:09.80\00:55:16.58 if they don't go well. 00:55:16.61\00:55:19.85 A crazy thought when you're thinking about God. 00:55:19.88\00:55:23.35 And I lifted my head up in prayer, and there were just like 00:55:23.39\00:55:28.86 a flock of, I don't know, maybe 300 birds that were just flying, 00:55:28.89\00:55:35.60 and they were swooping down over the water, and they would fly 00:55:35.63\00:55:39.23 back up, and then they would chase each other around and, you 00:55:39.27\00:55:43.54 know, I was just looking at the pattern of the giant flock. 00:55:43.57\00:55:46.44 And the promise of the Lord came to me where He says that, you 00:55:46.47\00:55:51.08 know, He takes care of the sparrows. 00:55:51.11\00:55:54.62 And you don't see them worrying about how they are going to be 00:55:54.65\00:55:58.69 taken care of from day to day. 00:55:58.72\00:56:00.86 You know, they don't, you know, wring their hands wondering, you 00:56:00.89\00:56:04.86 know, will there be any worms to eat tomorrow? 00:56:04.89\00:56:07.76 And that promise really stood out to me. 00:56:07.83\00:56:11.47 You know, He said, "How much more do I love you? 00:56:11.50\00:56:15.00 You know, I'm not gonna send you on a mission to do my work and 00:56:15.04\00:56:19.67 leave you high and dry. 00:56:19.71\00:56:21.71 Because you claim to be my child, you claim to be my son, 00:56:21.74\00:56:25.41 and everyone knows that." 00:56:25.45\00:56:28.52 That assurance allows me to know that whatever happens here, 00:56:28.55\00:56:33.56 whatever happens after here, we're sons of God, and there are 00:56:33.59\00:56:40.13 certain things that we shouldn't worry about. 00:56:40.16\00:56:42.93 From the day we arrived at AFCOE, it's been obvious that 00:56:42.96\00:56:48.50 God has blessed the Amazing Facts Ministry, the AFCOE 00:56:48.54\00:56:52.51 program, and I will be using my AFCOE experience, no matter 00:56:52.54\00:56:58.31 where I go to reach people, because the personal touch of 00:56:58.35\00:57:03.65 face to face evangelism, speaking and sharing the Word of 00:57:03.69\00:57:08.92 God out of your own mouth, there's no replacement for that, 00:57:08.96\00:57:13.50 and Amazing Facts has been very instrumental in helping me find 00:57:13.53\00:57:20.14 the area of the work of God and showing me how large 00:57:20.17\00:57:24.54 and how broad it is. 00:57:24.57\00:57:26.74 It's been a tremendous blessing to be in a place where we're 00:57:26.78\00:57:30.31 around people seeking to do God's will and listening for His 00:57:30.35\00:57:34.98 voice in their life. 00:57:35.02\00:57:36.89 And that's very, very important today. 00:57:36.92\00:57:40.96 ¤¤¤ 00:57:40.99\00:57:44.59 announcer: Together, we have spread the gospel much farther 00:57:47.23\00:57:50.17 than ever before. 00:57:50.20\00:57:52.27 Thank you for your support. 00:57:52.30\00:57:54.94 ¤¤¤ 00:57:54.97\00:57:57.91 ¤¤¤ 00:58:01.44\00:58:11.09 ¤¤¤ 00:58:11.12\00:58:21.06 ¤¤¤ 00:58:21.10\00:58:26.60