¤ ¤
00:00:01.36\00:00:57.22
It stands as a silent
witness to one of the greatest
00:00:57.25\00:00:59.05
civilizations to have ever
existed on planet earth. Perched
00:00:59.09\00:01:03.83
on a mountain ridge some
2500 meters above sea level the
00:01:03.86\00:01:08.36
mysterious city of Machu Picchu
is no longer occupied. It's been
00:01:08.40\00:01:12.93
empty for nearly half a
millennium. Built by the Incas
00:01:12.97\00:01:16.50
sometime in the middle of
the 15th century it was only
00:01:16.54\00:01:20.28
occupied for about 100 years and
then the people vanished. The
00:01:20.31\00:01:24.31
city lay undiscovered hidden
from the world for almost 400
00:01:24.35\00:01:28.25
years until an American
historian stumbled across it in
00:01:28.28\00:01:32.19
1911. Who built this amazing
monument to Inca greatness?
00:01:32.22\00:01:37.43
And what connection is there
between their accomplishments
00:01:37.46\00:01:41.53
and another ancient story
found in the pages of the Bible?
00:01:41.56\00:01:45.07
¤ ¤
00:01:45.10\00:02:18.90
The fortress of Machu Picchu
located high up here in the
00:02:18.93\00:02:21.94
Peruvian Andes is one of the
most spectacular sites in the
00:02:21.97\00:02:25.67
world. The ancient granite stone
city is enclosed and protected
00:02:25.71\00:02:29.61
on three sides by a steep
gorge one kilometer deep and a
00:02:29.64\00:02:34.25
mountain ridge acts as guardian
on the fourth side. The city is
00:02:34.28\00:02:38.32
surrounded by a circle of
mountain peaks. It's position is
00:02:38.35\00:02:43.16
quite breathtaking and four
centuries after it disappeared
00:02:43.19\00:02:46.83
Machu Picchu still has the
power to enchant and mystify.
00:02:46.86\00:02:51.27
¤ ¤
00:02:51.30\00:03:00.74
This mountain fortress was once
part of the great Inca empire
00:03:00.78\00:03:04.08
that stretched along the spine
of the Andes from modern day
00:03:04.11\00:03:07.75
Columbia to southern Chile and
from the Pacific right across to
00:03:07.78\00:03:11.82
the eastern foothills of the
Andes. The Inca empire at its
00:03:11.85\00:03:15.82
peak was the largest kingdom
on earth. When the Spanish
00:03:15.86\00:03:30.57
conquistadors invaded the Inca
empire in 1532 they only had a
00:03:30.61\00:03:35.71
tiny army of 130 infantry and
00:03:35.74\00:03:38.25
40 cavalry and yet within a few
years they devastated the Inca
00:03:38.28\00:03:42.75
lands and plundered one of
the greatest treasure houses in
00:03:42.78\00:03:45.59
history. Although the Inca were
a highly disciplined people with
00:03:45.62\00:03:50.09
a strong army, their empire
completely underestimated the
00:03:50.13\00:03:53.96
ruthlessness and thorough
brutality of the invaders. When
00:03:54.00\00:03:58.97
the King Rinca personally
went to negotiate with the
00:03:59.00\00:04:02.04
conquistadors kidnapped
him and slaughtered many of his
00:04:02.07\00:04:05.37
followers. The Inca king
was promised his freedom if his
00:04:05.41\00:04:09.28
people provided the Spanish
with roomful of gold and silver.
00:04:09.31\00:04:12.91
In response the Incas delivered
a ransom of 11 ton of gold and
00:04:12.95\00:04:18.09
12,000 kilos of silver,
an enormous treasure trove.
00:04:18.12\00:04:22.09
The Inca fulfilled their promise
but the Spanish conquistadors
00:04:22.12\00:04:26.49
broke theirs. After the gold
and silver were delivered they
00:04:26.53\00:04:30.57
killed the Inca king anyway. His
death heralded the end of the
00:04:30.60\00:04:34.60
great Inca empire.
00:04:34.64\00:04:36.17
¤ ¤
00:04:36.20\00:04:49.72
The rest of the Inca royal
family fled to a refuge high in
00:04:49.75\00:04:52.92
the mountains. It was their last
stronghold. It was so sacred and
00:04:52.95\00:04:57.89
secret that no conquistador was
ever allowed to see it or hear
00:04:57.93\00:05:01.73
of it. The Spanish never
found it. Eventually the people
00:05:01.76\00:05:07.40
vanished and the jungle soon
covered the city. It was lost to
00:05:07.44\00:05:11.07
the world.
00:05:11.11\00:05:12.44
¤ ¤
00:05:12.47\00:05:24.32
Market sounds. ¤ ¤
00:05:24.35\00:05:43.47
The legend of this lost city of
the Incas fired the imagination
00:05:43.51\00:05:46.81
of adventurers, historians
and archeologists. In 1911 Hiram
00:05:46.84\00:05:55.28
Bingham, a young history
professor at Yale University
00:05:55.32\00:05:57.92
set out in search of the fabled
lost city of the Incas. Bingham
00:05:57.95\00:06:03.59
who became the inspiration for
Indiana Jones was determined to
00:06:03.63\00:06:07.40
find it. He made his way to the
Peruvian Andes and with the help
00:06:07.43\00:06:11.53
of a local peasant farmer found
Machu Picchu and concluded he'd
00:06:11.57\00:06:16.47
discovered the fabled
lost city of the Incas.
00:06:16.50\00:06:19.91
In the variety of its charms and
the power of its spell, I know
00:06:19.94\00:06:28.28
of no place in the world which
can compare with it. Not only
00:06:28.32\00:06:31.99
has it great snow peaks looming
above the clouds more than two
00:06:32.02\00:06:35.16
miles overhead, gigantic
precipices of many colored
00:06:35.19\00:06:38.83
granite rising sheer for
thousands of feet above the
00:06:38.86\00:06:41.33
foaming, glistening, roaring
rapids. It also has in striking
00:06:41.36\00:06:46.33
contrast orchids and tree ferns
and the lack of all beauty of
00:06:46.37\00:06:49.30
of luxurious vegetation
and mysterious witching of the
00:06:49.34\00:06:53.14
jungle. ¤ ¤
00:06:53.17\00:06:54.51
Today there's nothing secret
about the city's location.
00:07:02.52\00:07:04.79
It has become one of the most
visited tourist attractions in
00:07:04.82\00:07:08.49
the world bringing thousands
of people who are irresistibly
00:07:08.52\00:07:11.73
attracted to what has been
termed one of the new seven
00:07:11.76\00:07:15.33
wonders of the world. A few
hardy pilgrims still follow in
00:07:15.36\00:07:18.63
the footsteps of the ancient
Incas taking the Inca trail from
00:07:18.67\00:07:22.30
Cusco to the Gate of the Sun,
a path that used to take the
00:07:22.34\00:07:26.37
ancients more than
a week to complete.
00:07:26.41\00:07:28.11
¤ ¤
00:07:28.14\00:07:41.39
There's almost no describing
the first impression this place
00:07:41.42\00:07:43.96
makes on you when you finally
see it in person. I've always
00:07:43.99\00:07:48.13
found that many of the world's
tourist attractions just can't
00:07:48.16\00:07:50.97
live up to the pictures you
get in the brochures because the
00:07:51.00\00:07:54.27
sense of expectation you get
from the advertising sets the
00:07:54.30\00:07:57.31
bar so high. But here at Machu
Picchu there's no disappointment
00:07:57.34\00:08:02.41
absolutely none at all.
The pictures just don't do it
00:08:02.44\00:08:05.21
justice. I've been here several
times and still find this view
00:08:05.25\00:08:09.98
of Machu Picchu awe inspiring,
a truly awe inspiring experience
00:08:10.02\00:08:15.66
It literally takes my breath
away. Maybe that's because of
00:08:15.69\00:08:19.49
the elevation, but I doubt
it. The setting up here in the
00:08:19.53\00:08:23.37
mountain peaks is just so
spectacular it's almost surreal.
00:08:23.40\00:08:28.20
And the architecture. Well the
Incas have nothing to apologize
00:08:28.24\00:08:32.37
for in the face of other great
builder civilizations like the
00:08:32.41\00:08:36.21
Egyptians or the Romans. What
they achieved up here at roughly
00:08:36.24\00:08:40.45
2500 meters above sea level is
absolutely phenomenal. The Incas
00:08:40.48\00:08:48.26
are one of the most advanced
civilizations in human history.
00:08:48.29\00:08:51.33
And what makes them unique, what
sets them apart from the other
00:08:51.36\00:08:56.06
great civilizations like the
Egyptians or the Romans or the
00:08:56.10\00:08:59.97
Greeks is that they came to
power in relative isolation from
00:09:00.00\00:09:03.20
the rest of the world. They
spread along the Andes mountains
00:09:03.24\00:09:06.61
in South America absorbing
the other cultures they came in
00:09:06.64\00:09:09.61
contact with. To the east they
were protected by the massive
00:09:09.64\00:09:13.15
rain forest of the Amazon
watershed. To the west they had
00:09:13.18\00:09:16.62
the Pacific, the largest ocean
in the world. To the south, the
00:09:16.65\00:09:21.16
rugged wilderness of Patagonia.
So essentially they prospered
00:09:21.19\00:09:25.79
without contact from the
rest of the world. They took a
00:09:25.83\00:09:29.16
forbidding landscape where
travel was difficult at best and
00:09:29.20\00:09:32.87
they built an empire that at its
peak stretched over an area some
00:09:32.90\00:09:37.71
5000 kilometers in length. The
other south American tribes they
00:09:37.74\00:09:43.48
conquered were
quickly assimilated into Inca
00:09:43.51\00:09:46.21
civilization. The Incas used a
plan not unlike the one used by
00:09:46.25\00:09:50.59
the ancient king of Babylon,
Nebuchadnezzar. Conquered chiefs
00:09:50.62\00:09:54.32
and leaders were often sent
to the city of Cusco where they
00:09:54.36\00:09:58.43
were trained to become members
of a special class of Inca elite
00:09:58.46\00:10:01.90
Then they were sent back to
their home having become members
00:10:01.93\00:10:05.67
of a special elite ruling
class. They had privileges and a
00:10:05.70\00:10:09.60
pampered lifestyle not unlike
the great Inca Emperor himself.
00:10:09.64\00:10:12.97
So there was little reason
to rebel. And so in spite of the
00:10:13.01\00:10:17.18
occasional skirmishes and
civil war between brothers with
00:10:17.21\00:10:20.45
competing aspirations for
the throne the empire ran pretty
00:10:20.48\00:10:24.85
smoothly. That is until the
fateful day a band of European
00:10:24.89\00:10:28.92
adventurers landed on their
shores. It wasn't long before
00:10:28.96\00:10:36.36
the empire collapsed. What was
one of the largest civilizations
00:10:36.40\00:10:40.47
in history was also one of the
shortest. Whether it was really
00:10:40.50\00:10:44.31
Pizarro who conquered the empire
or the small pox that came with
00:10:44.34\00:10:48.41
his men or the uprising of the
conquered South American tribes
00:10:48.44\00:10:52.55
well historians are still busy
sorting out the details. What we
00:10:52.58\00:10:57.49
know for sure is that the great
empire tragically vanished.
00:10:57.52\00:11:00.79
Remnants of the empire
were plundered by the Spanish.
00:11:00.82\00:11:04.03
Cultural and religious artifacts
were defaced and the once proud
00:11:04.06\00:11:08.46
Inca people became a mere shadow
of what they had once been.
00:11:08.50\00:11:12.00
Today even though some of their
language survives in the people
00:11:12.03\00:11:19.01
of Peru and Bolivia most people
consider the Inca civilization
00:11:19.04\00:11:23.51
to have been utterly eradicated.
It was a tragic loss because the
00:11:23.55\00:11:32.12
Inca civilization was one of the
most astounding to have graced
00:11:32.15\00:11:35.49
our planet. Unlike the cultures
of the old world that had
00:11:35.52\00:11:39.19
contact with the Phoenicians
they never developed a system of
00:11:39.23\00:11:43.47
writing. So most of what we know
about them comes from studying
00:11:43.50\00:11:46.50
elaborate ruins like Machu
Picchu. And when you study the
00:11:46.53\00:11:59.51
ruins you make amazing
discoveries. The Incas were
00:11:59.55\00:12:04.79
masters at agriculture. The
terraces here in the ancient
00:12:04.82\00:12:08.56
city were the means by which the
Inca people supported themselves
00:12:08.59\00:12:12.43
They would build a retaining
wall and then they would back
00:12:12.46\00:12:18.50
fill with a layer of rock and
clay. On top of that, they put a
00:12:18.53\00:12:22.50
layer of dark, rich topsoil
which enabled them to grow
00:12:22.54\00:12:26.27
staples, corn, Quinoa,
and white potatoes. They also
00:12:26.31\00:12:30.65
domesticated animals but not the
ones that we're used to. They
00:12:30.68\00:12:34.15
domesticated the guinea pig and
apparently kept them in their
00:12:34.18\00:12:37.85
houses so it was never
hard to find meat for dinner.
00:12:37.89\00:12:41.82
The Incas were also master
architects. The houses of Machu
00:12:41.86\00:12:52.67
Picchu have been standing here
for a very long time, hundrerds
00:12:52.70\00:12:56.17
of years, in fact. They look a
little like the houses we would
00:12:56.20\00:13:00.41
build with gabled ends and a
pointy roof. Up at this altitude
00:13:00.44\00:13:05.31
wood isn't terribly abundant
so the houses are made of stone.
00:13:05.35\00:13:09.68
The rooves would have been made
of thatched grasses and tied
00:13:09.72\00:13:13.52
down to special anchor points
in stone. The first explorers
00:13:13.56\00:13:18.53
who came here and to
other prominent Inca sites like
00:13:18.56\00:13:21.50
Sacsayhauman were astonded
by the building skills of these
00:13:21.53\00:13:25.53
ancient people. The stones range
in weight from a couple of tons
00:13:25.57\00:13:30.04
to hundreds of tons. And as
Hiram Bingham pointed out in
00:13:30.07\00:13:34.28
come cases they're so finely
fitted together that you can't
00:13:34.31\00:13:38.38
even get the blade of a knife
between them. No mortar, no
00:13:38.41\00:13:41.82
fasteners, just finely fitted
stones that have defied the
00:13:41.85\00:13:46.79
elements for hundreds of years.
Just who were these remarkable
00:13:46.82\00:13:51.49
people? Today historians are
pretty certain that the man who
00:13:51.53\00:13:58.80
built this amazing city in the
mountains was Pachacuti an Inca
00:13:58.83\00:14:03.17
emperor whose name means "he who
shakes the world." He was easily
00:14:03.20\00:14:08.74
the most notable of the Inca
kings. His masons were fitting
00:14:08.78\00:14:12.71
these stones together just a
little before Gutenberg fired
00:14:12.75\00:14:16.58
the first printing press back in
Europe and Columbus was about to
00:14:16.62\00:14:20.36
sail across the Atlantic into
American history. Like all of
00:14:20.39\00:14:31.73
Inca who came before him
Pachacuti was a religious man
00:14:31.77\00:14:35.60
who worshipped the sun god Inti.
You know, it's astounding how
00:14:35.64\00:14:39.27
many ancient cultures have been
built around the worship of the
00:14:39.31\00:14:42.74
sun. From the ancient Egyptians
and Mithra to the largest empire
00:14:42.78\00:14:47.28
in the history of the Americas.
This building known simply as
00:14:47.32\00:14:52.12
the tower appears to be some
sort of solar calendar. On the
00:14:52.15\00:14:57.86
shortest day of the year which
comes in June when you're south
00:14:57.89\00:15:00.86
of the equator, sunlight coming
through this window reaches a
00:15:00.90\00:15:06.03
line chiseled into the gray
rock by the Incas. This was an
00:15:06.07\00:15:10.24
important day because for
cultures who worship the sun
00:15:10.27\00:15:14.24
shortening days represented the
slow death or retreat of their
00:15:14.28\00:15:19.15
sun god. Of course, we
have no written accounts of Inca
00:15:19.18\00:15:22.98
civilization or their
worship because they had an oral
00:15:23.02\00:15:26.76
tradition. The information we
have comes from the journals of
00:15:26.79\00:15:31.29
the first Spanish explorers
and from careful examinations of
00:15:31.33\00:15:35.70
ancient sites. This mark
in the stone was apparently an
00:15:35.73\00:15:39.83
important signal to the Incas
that the sun god was about to
00:15:39.87\00:15:44.31
return. They had turned the
corner of the winter solstice
00:15:44.34\00:15:47.44
and the days were about to get
longer. Some records indicate
00:15:47.48\00:15:52.35
that the priest of the sun
god Inti would hold a special
00:15:52.38\00:15:56.05
ceremony each June to convince
the people that they had the
00:15:56.08\00:16:00.79
power to make the sun god return
After the ceremony the shadows
00:16:00.82\00:16:07.26
started getting shorter and
the days started getting longer.
00:16:07.30\00:16:12.47
¤ ¤ The stairway from the temple
00:16:21.78\00:16:23.41
leads up the hill to the most
sacred place of all. This is
00:16:23.45\00:16:28.32
Machu Picchu's intihuatana, the
hitching post of the sun. Each
00:16:28.35\00:16:34.39
year in June on the shortest
day of the year in the southern
00:16:34.42\00:16:37.23
hemisphere when the sun reached
its lowest point an important
00:16:37.26\00:16:42.16
rite in the calendar was
performed here. With a gold
00:16:42.20\00:16:46.07
chain fastened around this
pillar of solid rock a priest
00:16:46.10\00:16:50.11
would ceremonially leash the sun
to the Inca land to ensure that
00:16:50.14\00:16:55.11
it did not fail to return after
its journey through the sky.
00:16:55.14\00:16:58.58
This was an important day
because for cultures who worship
00:16:58.61\00:17:03.39
the sun shortening days
represented the slow death or
00:17:03.42\00:17:07.26
retreat of the sun god and so
they would symbolically tie the
00:17:07.29\00:17:12.36
sun to their land to show they
had turned the corner of the
00:17:12.39\00:17:16.36
winter solstice and the
days were about to get longer.
00:17:16.40\00:17:19.73
¤ ¤
00:17:19.77\00:17:29.98
Since ancient times people have
been enchanted and mystified by
00:17:30.01\00:17:33.68
the night sky and the
movement of the heavenly bodies.
00:17:33.72\00:17:36.89
¤ ¤
00:17:36.92\00:17:47.30
The beauty of the night sky has
been a source of fascination and
00:17:47.33\00:17:50.50
pleasure for all mankind.
Through the centuries people
00:17:50.53\00:17:54.20
have marveled at the mysteries
of the heavens wondering what
00:17:54.24\00:17:57.81
secrets lie hidden in outer
space. In fact, astronomy was
00:17:57.84\00:18:02.54
the first science of ancient
civilizations. Virtually all of
00:18:02.58\00:18:08.62
the early great civilizations
kept organized records of
00:18:08.65\00:18:13.62
astronomical events.
The Egyptians, Babylonians,
00:18:13.66\00:18:16.96
Mesopotamians, Chinese and here
in South America the Maya and
00:18:16.99\00:18:22.66
Aztecs. All made accurate
measurements of the stars and
00:18:22.70\00:18:25.73
planets. The celestial bodies
became so important in the lives
00:18:25.77\00:18:29.80
of these people that they began
to worship them. And because the
00:18:29.84\00:18:33.24
sun ruled over the planets
it became the chief of the
00:18:33.27\00:18:36.24
celestial gods. And that's what
happened at Machu Picchu and
00:18:36.28\00:18:40.12
right across the Incan
empire. Here in the 15th century
00:18:40.15\00:18:44.45
astronomer priests carefully
charted the movements of the
00:18:44.49\00:18:48.49
celestial bodies and they were
able to measure the seasons and
00:18:48.52\00:18:53.09
the movements of the stars and
they plotted the course of the
00:18:53.13\00:18:56.56
sun god that they worshipped
through the yearly seasons.
00:18:56.60\00:18:59.80
Worship of the celestial bodies
became immensely widespread.
00:18:59.83\00:19:04.11
They believed that they were
the descendants of two people,
00:19:04.14\00:19:12.01
a man and a woman, placed
on earth by the sun god. And of
00:19:12.05\00:19:17.19
course at least at one level
that rings a bell for people who
00:19:17.22\00:19:21.09
are familiar with the creation
story found in Genesis, which
00:19:21.12\00:19:24.76
states that the Creator God made
a man and a woman and placed
00:19:24.79\00:19:28.40
them in a garden. Is it possible
that remnants of the biblical
00:19:28.43\00:19:32.70
story survived down through time
and could still be found among
00:19:32.73\00:19:37.21
the Inca peoples? According to
some researchers there were some
00:19:37.24\00:19:47.25
pretty amazing developments
taking shape down here before
00:19:47.28\00:19:50.05
the first Europeans arrived
bringing not so welcome gifts
00:19:50.09\00:19:53.69
like small pox and an insatiable
appetite for gold. Pachacuti was
00:19:53.72\00:20:00.33
a devoted sun worshipper
as were all of his subjects.
00:20:00.36\00:20:03.13
A remarkable number of ancient
cultures were sun worshippers
00:20:03.16\00:20:07.44
like the Romans for example.
Perhaps because of the obvious
00:20:07.47\00:20:11.07
connection between the
sun's warmth and the life on the
00:20:11.11\00:20:15.28
planet. Hiram Bingham, the man
credited with discovering Machu
00:20:15.31\00:20:19.41
Picchu noticed a fascinating
similarity between Inca sun
00:20:19.45\00:20:23.72
worship rituals and those
practiced by pagans back in
00:20:23.75\00:20:27.36
Job's day.
00:20:27.39\00:20:29.56
The author of the book of Job
quotes in his referring to an
00:20:29.59\00:20:33.09
active adoration of the
Gentiles who when the sun rises
00:20:33.13\00:20:36.40
resplendent or the moon shines
clear exult in their hearts and
00:20:36.43\00:20:40.00
extend their hands toward
the sun and throw kisses to it.
00:20:40.04\00:20:42.94
It was one of the most
natural and widespread forms of
00:20:42.97\00:20:46.57
religious worship
in the ancient world.
00:20:46.61\00:20:48.44
The voice he was referring
to is found here in Job the 31st
00:20:48.48\00:20:53.21
chapter verses 26-28:...
00:20:53.25\00:21:14.84
At some point in human history
human beings left the worship of
00:21:14.87\00:21:22.88
the Creator God described in the
Bible and began worshipping the
00:21:22.91\00:21:26.85
creation instead. Paul describes
people who exchanged the truth
00:21:26.88\00:21:32.42
of God for the lie
and worshipped and served
00:21:32.45\00:21:35.12
the creature rather than
00:21:35.16\00:21:36.66
the Creator who is blessed
forever. Widespread gobal sun
00:21:36.69\00:21:41.70
worship which had its roots
in the ancient kingdom of Babel
00:21:41.73\00:21:44.57
in Mesopotamia is part of
that shift Paul described from
00:21:44.60\00:21:48.80
worshipping the Creator to
worshipping the creation. So it
00:21:48.84\00:21:53.14
really should have been no
surprise for early explorers
00:21:53.17\00:21:56.51
to discover a culture so
heartily dedicated to solar
00:21:56.54\00:22:00.25
worship. The Incas considered
themselves children of the sun.
00:22:00.28\00:22:04.22
They thought of gold, the stuff
that the conquistadors wanted so
00:22:04.25\00:22:08.52
badly, as the sweat of the
sun. But according to author Don
00:22:08.56\00:22:13.53
Richardson something happened
to Pachacuti that made him give
00:22:13.56\00:22:18.03
up the worship of his solar
deity. The more he thought about
00:22:18.07\00:22:22.04
Inti the sun god the more he
realized that Inti wasn't really
00:22:22.07\00:22:26.91
much of a god. The smallest
cloud could block his light and
00:22:26.94\00:22:31.95
he seemed to be condemned
to live on a permanent schedule
00:22:31.98\00:22:35.98
never really intervening in
the affairs of the Inca people.
00:22:36.02\00:22:40.12
So he began to dig back into the
history of the people who lived
00:22:40.16\00:22:45.96
here in South America even
before the foundation of the
00:22:45.99\00:22:49.36
Inca empire and discovered
something amazing. Once upon a
00:22:49.40\00:22:54.20
time they had all worshipped
one god, a creator they called
00:22:54.24\00:22:58.21
Veracocha. It occurs to him
that he was worshipping a mere
00:22:58.24\00:23:02.44
creation and had missed
the whole point. There was a
00:23:02.48\00:23:05.28
creator who made the sun
and that's who he ought to be
00:23:05.31\00:23:09.12
worshipping. That led to a
meeting of minds across the Inca
00:23:09.15\00:23:13.05
empire. Priests of the pagan sun
temples protested insisting that
00:23:13.09\00:23:18.46
they couldn't go and tell the
common people that they'd been
00:23:18.49\00:23:21.03
wrong. They'd look like fools.
From what we can gather from
00:23:21.06\00:23:25.33
the handful of records compiled
by a Spanish priest named
00:23:25.37\00:23:29.20
Cristobal de Molina, the great
Inca religious council settled
00:23:29.24\00:23:33.54
upon a compromise. The upper
classes would begin to worship
00:23:33.58\00:23:37.45
the creator god and the common
people would go on worshipping
00:23:37.48\00:23:41.08
the pagan sun god. And of
course when Pizarro and his men
00:23:41.12\00:23:48.46
arrived along with their thirst
for conquest and gold the upper
00:23:48.49\00:23:52.89
classes were pretty much
decimated. But imagine, there
00:23:52.93\00:23:56.90
was a whole civilization up here
that had already rediscovered
00:23:56.93\00:24:00.74
to some extent the great Creator
God, the God of the Bible before
00:24:00.77\00:24:05.84
European Christians made
it over here. It's a pretty
00:24:05.87\00:24:09.21
stunning story, but not entirely
surprising. When Paul and
00:24:09.24\00:24:13.72
Barnabas went to the city
of Lystra Paul made a statement
00:24:13.75\00:24:17.19
that I know to be true from
experience. He said in Acts 17
00:24:17.22\00:24:21.72
that God in bygone generations
allowed all nations to walk in
00:24:21.76\00:24:26.39
their own ways, nevertheless
he did not leave himself without
00:24:26.43\00:24:31.70
witness. And the more you travel
the world and the more you
00:24:31.73\00:24:40.98
gather the stories of people
groups and cultures from around
00:24:41.01\00:24:44.45
the world the more you can
see it. God really hasn't left
00:24:44.48\00:24:48.95
himself without witness. He may
allow us to try our own path and
00:24:48.98\00:24:53.79
he'll never insist on forcing us
into his kingdom but he always
00:24:53.82\00:24:58.06
leaves enough evidence that
we'll find him if we really want
00:24:58.09\00:25:01.50
to. And apparently up here at
2500 meters in the Andes maybe
00:25:01.53\00:25:08.47
the most amazing thing isn't the
spectacular city left behind by
00:25:08.50\00:25:13.07
an amazing people. Maybe the
most amazing thing is how the
00:25:13.11\00:25:18.21
heart of God was calling
these incredible people who were
00:25:18.25\00:25:22.05
essentially cut off from the
rest of the world. God doesn't
00:25:22.08\00:25:30.19
just call ancient kings or only
appear in stories of ancient
00:25:30.23\00:25:34.76
culture. He can be here with you
right now. If you would like to
00:25:34.80\00:25:39.00
find out more about how God can
be present in your life, then
00:25:39.03\00:25:43.91
I'd like to recommend a
free gift we have for you today.
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It's the booklet Secrets of True
Greatness. This booklet is our
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gift to you and is absolutely
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obligations whatsoever. So
make the most of this wonderful
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opportunity to receive the
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Phone or text us at 0436-333-555
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00:26:05.69\00:26:16.77
request today's free offer
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Zealand or visit or website
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Write to us at GPO Box
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Don't delay. Call or text us now
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¤ ¤ If you've
enjoyed our journey
00:27:03.25\00:27:05.09
to Machu Picchu, the lost city
of the Incas, hidden high up in
00:27:05.12\00:27:09.19
the rugged peaks of the
Andes and our reflections on the
00:27:09.22\00:27:12.43
greatness of God then be sure to
join us again next week when we
00:27:12.46\00:27:16.90
will share another of life's
journeys together. Until then
00:27:16.93\00:27:20.97
let's pray and ask God for
leading and guidance in our
00:27:21.00\00:27:24.64
lives.
00:27:24.67\00:27:26.98
Dear heavenly Father today we've
seen evidence of your love for
00:27:27.01\00:27:31.68
us here in the history of the
people who built this ancient
00:27:31.71\00:27:35.58
city, Machu Picchu. Thank you
for the interest you take in our
00:27:35.62\00:27:40.69
lives. We want to commit our
lives fully to you and we ask
00:27:40.72\00:27:45.19
that you will continue
to lead and guide our lives.
00:27:45.23\00:27:48.50
We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen
00:27:48.53\00:27:53.44
¤ ¤
00:27:53.47\00:28:23.77