Well, hello, everybody.
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It's good to have you back
for presentation number nine
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in our series, The
Great Prophetic Panorama.
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And in our study
today we are going to
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take a look at Matthew 24:40-41.
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Of course, we'll be
looking at many other verses.
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But before we
read these two verses,
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we want to begin
with a word of prayer.
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So I invite you
to bow your heads
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reverently as we pray.
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Father in heaven, we thank You
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for the privilege of being here.
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We ask for the
presence of Your Holy Spirit
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as we study these two verses
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that I believe
have been misunderstood.
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Give us divine
wisdom to understand
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and to prepare
for the great things
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that are soon to take place.
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And we thank You
for hearing our prayer,
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for we ask it in
Jesus name, amen.
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A few years ago,
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the "Left
Behind" series came out.
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This series, I
believe it was 12 volumes,
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sold over 80 million copies,
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and was on the New
York Times bestseller list
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for many, many months.
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Now the title for
the "Left Behind" series
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actually comes
from the two verses
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that I'm going to read now.
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Matthew 24:40-41.
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It says there,
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"Then two men
will be in the field.
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One will be taken
and the other left.
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Two women will be
grinding at the mill.
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One will be taken
and the other left."
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So basically,
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the idea that
dispensationalists have
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is that these
verses are teaching us
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that when Jesus
comes and by the way,
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the previous context,
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verses 37-39 refers to as
it was in the days of Noah,
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so also will it be
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at the coming of the Son of Man.
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They believe that
those who are taken
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are the ones who
are taken to heaven
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at the rapture of the
church seven years before
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the glorious coming of Christ.
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And those who
are left are the ones
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who are left behind.
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They are not raptured to heaven.
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Now Seventh-day
Adventist generally believe
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that the ones who are taken
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are the ones who go to heaven.
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And the ones that are
left are the ones that are,
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that stay here dead
during the millennium.
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So we don't
disagree with futurists
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about that particular detail.
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Both of us believe
that the taken ones
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are the ones that go to heaven
and the ones that are left
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are the ones
that are left behind.
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But I sustain that
perhaps both groups
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are not exactly correct.
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Because I
believe and I think that
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we're going to take a
very close look at this
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and we're gonna
reach this conclusion
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that the ones who are taken
and the ones who are destroyed
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when Jesus comes.
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And the ones who are left
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are the ones who
remain alive when Jesus comes.
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Now you're probably
wondering, you're saying,
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how in the world
can that be possible?
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Well, we need to
take a close look at it,
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we need to study
the meanings of words,
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we need to study
the immediate context,
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we need to study
the broader context.
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Now let's notice what
the text does not say.
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Matthew 24:40-41 does not say,
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"One will be taken
with Jesus to heaven
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and the other will be
left behind on Earth,"
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that's an assumption.
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The text simply says
that one will be taken
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and the other will be left.
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Now we need to
look at the context,
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the immediate
context of these two verses
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in order to understand the
time to which these verses,
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Matthew 24:40-41 are referring.
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Now you'll notice there
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in Matthew 24:40-41,
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actually at the
beginning of verse 40,
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there's a very important
little word that is used.
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"Then, two men
will be in the field."
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Now that word then is
a very important word.
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It is used
repeatedly in Matthew 24
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to refer to sequential events.
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In other words,
events that transpire
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in chronological order.
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Matthew 24 says, "Then
this, then this, then this."
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The Greek word is the word tote,
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which refers to a sequence
of chronological events.
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So there's a
connection between verses 37-39
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and verses 40-41.
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Verses 40-41 take
place after the events
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or at the time of the
events of verses 37-39.
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Now you'll
notice that verses 37-39
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are actually referring to
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what occurred at the flood.
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That's the context
of these two verses,
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the immediate context.
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So let's read Matthew 24:37-39.
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Matthew 24:37-39.
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"But as the days of Noah were,
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so also will the coming
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of the Son of Man be."
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Is there gonna be
a similarity between
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what happened at the
flood and what happens
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in relationships
to Christ Coming?
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Absolutely,
because it says clearly,
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"So also will be the
coming of the Son of Man."
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Then verse 38 says,
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"For as in the
days before the flood,
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they were eating and drinking,
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marrying and
giving in marriage."
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And now this is a
very important point.
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"Until the day that
Noah entered the ark."
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So the first point of
time that is marked by the word
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until is until
Noah entered the ark.
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And then it says,
"And did not know,"
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that is those who
are outside the ark,
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"Did not know
until the flood came
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and took them all away,
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so also
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will the coming of
the Son of Man be."
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So that word
until is used twice.
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The first until is when Noah
and his family entered the ark.
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The second until is
when it began to rain
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and the wicked were destroyed.
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Now was there a time
period between those two points?
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Was there a time period between
when they entered the ark
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and the door closed?
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And when the destruction
came, when it began to rain,
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was there a period?
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Yes. How many days?
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Seven days between the
time that the door closed
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and the time
that it began to rain.
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Now did those outside the
ark know that they were lost
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during that period?
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No, they did not
know that they were lost.
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But the decision
had already been made
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when the door of the ark closed.
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When did they find
out that they were lost?
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When it began to rain
and they were all destroyed.
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So in other words,
when the door closes,
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they're caught by surprise
even though they don't know it.
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But when it starts to rain,
that's the second surprise.
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But at that
surprise, they know it.
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Are you with me or not?
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Now this is very important.
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And Jesus says, "This
is the way it's gonna be
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in relationship
to My Second Coming."
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So is it just possible
that the door of probation
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is gonna close for the world
before the destruction comes,
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and the wicked
will be totally unaware
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that they're lost
before the destruction comes?
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That's what Jesus is saying.
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Because He's saying, as
it was in the days of Noah
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saw also the coming
of the Son of Man be.
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And by the way,
it's very important
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to remember that
when the flood came,
00:08:31.87\00:08:34.04
actually, when the door closed,
there were only two groups,
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those inside the
ark and those outside.
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And when destruction came,
there were only two groups,
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those who were left and saved
and those who were destroyed.
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It doesn't fit the rapture idea.
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Because the rapture idea is that
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when Jesus comes at the rapture,
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He's gonna rapture those
who are ready to go to heaven,
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some of the people on
earth will be destroyed
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when He comes,
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but there will be many people
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who will be left alive on earth
00:09:05.24\00:09:07.84
during the seven
years of Tribulation,
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so it doesn't fit.
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Because at the
time of the flood,
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there were only two groups,
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the group that
was inside the ark
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that was saved and
those who are outside,
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all of them were wiped away.
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So the idea that
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this is talking about a rapture,
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where you have one
group that is saved,
00:09:23.56\00:09:25.56
those that are taken to heaven,
00:09:25.59\00:09:27.03
another group
that are destroyed,
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and another group
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that wasn't
ready for the rapture,
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and they're
gonna be remain alive.
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Are you
understanding what I'm saying?
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The parallel does not fit.
00:09:34.70\00:09:37.71
Now another important point
that we need to remember is
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that in the Old Testament,
there is a special word
00:09:41.64\00:09:45.05
for the flood of Noah's day.
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You know, there are
many words for flood
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in the Old Testament.
00:09:50.32\00:09:51.65
I believe that
there're nine words
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that are translated
flood, but there's one word
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that exclusively is used
for the flood of Noah's day,
00:09:56.66\00:09:59.59
the word mabbuwl.
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In the New
Testament, there are three words
00:10:01.76\00:10:03.97
that are translated flood.
00:10:04.00\00:10:05.90
One is the word plemmura.
00:10:05.93\00:10:09.40
The second is the word potamos,
00:10:09.44\00:10:12.87
where we get the
word hippopotamus from.
00:10:12.91\00:10:16.95
Hippopotamus means,
he swims underwater.
00:10:16.98\00:10:19.65
Hippo is the preposition
under and potamus is water.
00:10:19.68\00:10:24.35
So you know that
00:10:24.39\00:10:25.75
the hippopotamus
swims underwater,
00:10:25.79\00:10:28.32
but that word is used for flood.
00:10:28.36\00:10:29.86
But the word that is used
for the flood of Noah's day
00:10:29.89\00:10:33.03
is a special
word that is not used
00:10:33.06\00:10:34.86
for any other flood.
00:10:34.90\00:10:36.36
It's the word kataklusmos.
00:10:36.40\00:10:39.97
What English word do we
get from the word kataklusmos?
00:10:40.00\00:10:43.77
We get the word
catholicism in English.
00:10:43.81\00:10:47.94
In other words,
the flood of Noah's day
00:10:47.98\00:10:49.94
was a catastrophe
that destroyed everyone
00:10:49.98\00:10:54.08
that was outside the
ark and they were lost
00:10:54.12\00:10:56.89
when the door
closed and they didn't know
00:10:56.92\00:10:58.75
until the destruction came.
00:10:58.79\00:11:01.12
Now let's notice Luke 17:26-27.
00:11:01.16\00:11:04.49
By the way, I'm
gonna read lots of verses,
00:11:04.53\00:11:07.03
you're not gonna be
able to find them all
00:11:07.06\00:11:08.80
as quickly as I'm
gonna mention them,
00:11:08.83\00:11:10.30
because I have
them all written down.
00:11:10.33\00:11:11.93
Make sure that you
just write them down
00:11:11.97\00:11:14.04
so that you can
check them later.
00:11:14.07\00:11:16.30
Luke 17:26-27, tells us,
00:11:16.34\00:11:20.84
"And as it was
in the days of Noah,
00:11:20.88\00:11:23.14
so it will be also in
the days of the Son of Man.
00:11:23.18\00:11:26.92
They ate, they
drank, they married wives,
00:11:26.95\00:11:29.22
they were given in marriage,
00:11:29.25\00:11:30.59
until the day that
Noah entered the ark
00:11:30.62\00:11:32.75
and the flood came
and destroyed them all."
00:11:32.79\00:11:35.46
Now do you notice
that there's a little bit
00:11:35.49\00:11:37.16
of different terminology in Luke
00:11:37.19\00:11:39.03
than there is in Matthew?
00:11:39.06\00:11:40.76
In Matthew, it says that
the flood took them all away.
00:11:40.80\00:11:45.43
What does that mean, the
flood took them all away?
00:11:45.47\00:11:48.00
Luke interprets that as what?
00:11:48.04\00:11:50.37
Destroyed them all.
00:11:50.41\00:11:52.31
So being taken
away is to be what?
00:11:52.34\00:11:55.44
Is to be destroyed.
00:11:55.48\00:11:57.31
Now in Luke 17, Jesus also used
00:11:57.35\00:12:00.25
the example of
Sodom and Gomorrah.
00:12:00.28\00:12:02.75
Notice verse 28.
00:12:02.78\00:12:05.12
And we'll read through verse 30.
00:12:05.15\00:12:06.76
Luke 17:28.
00:12:06.79\00:12:08.96
"Likewise as it was
also in the days of Lot.
00:12:08.99\00:12:12.53
They ate, they drank,
they bought, they sold,
00:12:12.56\00:12:16.67
they planted, they built.
00:12:16.70\00:12:19.03
But on the day that
Lot went out of Sodom
00:12:19.07\00:12:21.87
it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven,"
00:12:21.90\00:12:24.27
and what?
00:12:24.31\00:12:25.94
"and destroyed them all.
00:12:25.97\00:12:29.98
Even so will it be in the day
00:12:30.01\00:12:33.31
when the Son of
Man is revealed."
00:12:33.35\00:12:35.15
How many of
those outside the ark
00:12:35.18\00:12:37.42
were destroyed by the flood?
00:12:37.45\00:12:40.89
Everyone.
00:12:40.92\00:12:42.32
How many of those in Sodom
and Gomorrah were destroyed,
00:12:42.36\00:12:45.69
those who remain in the cities?
00:12:45.73\00:12:47.30
Everyone.
00:12:47.33\00:12:48.66
Or was there a certain
group that was left alive
00:12:48.70\00:12:50.37
in Sodom and Gomorrah,
00:12:50.40\00:12:51.73
a certain
wicked group of people?
00:12:51.77\00:12:53.10
No.
00:12:53.13\00:12:54.47
How about a certain
group of wicked people
00:12:54.50\00:12:55.84
at the time of the flood?
00:12:55.87\00:12:57.21
No. There were only two groups.
00:12:57.24\00:12:58.77
But, those who are teaching
the rapture believe that
00:12:58.81\00:13:00.74
there are three groups.
00:13:00.78\00:13:02.51
There are those who
are raptured to heaven,
00:13:02.54\00:13:04.55
those are the saved.
00:13:04.58\00:13:05.95
Then, there are those
00:13:05.98\00:13:07.32
who are destroyed by the plagues
00:13:07.35\00:13:08.68
and the Second Coming or
the Secret Coming of Jesus
00:13:08.72\00:13:11.35
at the rapture.
00:13:11.39\00:13:12.72
But at that
point, some of the people
00:13:12.75\00:13:15.12
remain alive to go
00:13:15.16\00:13:16.73
through the seven year
tribulation according to them.
00:13:16.76\00:13:19.89
So the parallel
simply does not fit.
00:13:19.93\00:13:23.37
Now in order to
understand these verses,
00:13:23.40\00:13:26.53
Matthew 24:40-41,
00:13:26.57\00:13:29.30
we need to go back
to a broader context.
00:13:29.34\00:13:32.87
We need to go back to Genesis,
00:13:32.91\00:13:35.84
because Jesus is talking
about the flood in Genesis.
00:13:35.88\00:13:39.68
So we can't only go
from Matthew 24:40-41
00:13:39.71\00:13:43.18
to verses 37-39.
00:13:43.22\00:13:45.45
We have to go all the way
back to the original event,
00:13:45.49\00:13:48.52
to the flood in Noah's day.
00:13:48.56\00:13:49.89
Are you following me or not?
00:13:49.92\00:13:51.46
So let's go to Genesis 7:22-23,
00:13:51.49\00:13:55.70
where the teaching
of Jesus comes from.
00:13:55.73\00:13:59.13
Genesis 7:22-23.
00:13:59.17\00:14:03.47
It says there,
"All in whose nostrils
00:14:03.51\00:14:07.38
was the breath of
the spirit of life,
00:14:07.41\00:14:10.41
all that was on
the dry land, died.
00:14:10.45\00:14:14.38
So "He..."
00:14:14.42\00:14:15.75
Now notice this word,
it's a word that's in Luke.
00:14:15.78\00:14:18.25
"So He destroyed
all living things
00:14:18.29\00:14:21.32
that were on the
face of the ground,
00:14:21.36\00:14:23.19
both man and cattle,
00:14:23.22\00:14:25.09
creeping thing
and bird of the air.
00:14:25.13\00:14:27.40
They were
destroyed from the earth.
00:14:27.43\00:14:30.87
Only Noah and
those who were with him
00:14:30.90\00:14:33.70
in the ark remained alive."
00:14:33.74\00:14:36.34
Now those two
words, "Remained alive"
00:14:36.37\00:14:38.41
is only one Hebrew word.
00:14:38.44\00:14:41.28
And almost every single version,
00:14:41.31\00:14:42.78
I'm reading from
the New King James,
00:14:42.81\00:14:44.81
the King James
basically uses the same word,
00:14:44.85\00:14:48.08
but the modern
versions use the word left.
00:14:48.12\00:14:52.99
In other words, only Noah
and those who were with him
00:14:53.02\00:14:57.39
in the ark were left.
00:14:57.43\00:15:00.20
In fact, the NIV translates
00:15:00.23\00:15:02.73
that the wicked were wiped out
00:15:02.76\00:15:04.87
and only the
righteous were left.
00:15:04.90\00:15:06.87
The New American Standard Bible
00:15:06.90\00:15:08.67
translates that the
wicked were blotted out
00:15:08.70\00:15:11.44
and only the
righteous were left.
00:15:11.47\00:15:13.68
The Revised
Standard Version translates,
00:15:13.71\00:15:16.21
the wicked were blotted out
00:15:16.24\00:15:17.88
and only the
righteous were left.
00:15:17.91\00:15:20.02
The Jerusalem Bible,
00:15:20.05\00:15:21.38
which is a Roman
Catholic Bible states that,
00:15:21.42\00:15:23.75
the wicked were destroyed
and the righteous were left.
00:15:23.79\00:15:27.62
And the New English
Bible translates that,
00:15:27.66\00:15:30.26
the wicked were wiped out
and the righteous survived.
00:15:30.29\00:15:36.16
So immediately
we start to discover
00:15:36.20\00:15:38.57
that those who were left
00:15:38.60\00:15:40.20
at the time of
the flood were whom,
00:15:40.24\00:15:43.10
the righteous or the wicked?
00:15:43.14\00:15:45.67
The righteous.
00:15:45.71\00:15:47.21
Now you say, how's that?
00:15:47.24\00:15:49.01
Let me read you a
statement from Gary Cohen,
00:15:49.04\00:15:52.88
an Old Testament scholar
00:15:52.91\00:15:54.85
about the
meaning of the word left.
00:15:54.88\00:15:57.85
It's the Hebrew word shawar.
00:15:57.89\00:16:01.52
It's the word that
is translated remained
00:16:01.56\00:16:03.83
in the New King James and
in the King James Version,
00:16:03.86\00:16:06.03
but in most modern versions,
00:16:06.06\00:16:07.56
it's translated that only
Noah and his family were left.
00:16:07.60\00:16:12.00
This is what this scholar
says about the word shawar,
00:16:12.03\00:16:15.24
the word left.
00:16:15.27\00:16:16.64
"Shawar seems to
be used exclusively
00:16:16.67\00:16:21.24
to indicate the
static action of surviving
00:16:21.28\00:16:25.58
after an elimination process."
00:16:25.61\00:16:29.88
Are you catching the nuance?
00:16:29.92\00:16:32.79
He continues writing,
"This process of elimination
00:16:32.82\00:16:35.96
may have been natural,
00:16:35.99\00:16:38.39
such as Naomi's husband died,
00:16:38.43\00:16:42.60
and she was left.
00:16:42.63\00:16:44.47
It may have a humanly caused."
00:16:44.50\00:16:47.17
A reason, which is for example,
00:16:47.20\00:16:50.47
"Behold that which is left!
00:16:50.51\00:16:52.27
Here Samuel is
speaking about meat,
00:16:52.31\00:16:54.18
which was intentionally
left for Saul to eat.
00:16:54.21\00:16:56.95
Or it might refer
to the elimination.
00:16:56.98\00:17:00.82
That is the direct
result of divine intervention.
00:17:00.85\00:17:04.85
There remained not one locust
in all the coasts of Egypt,
00:17:04.89\00:17:09.12
when God blew them away.
00:17:09.16\00:17:11.16
No matter what the cause,
however, shawar points to that
00:17:11.19\00:17:15.73
which remains or has survived."
00:17:15.76\00:17:20.90
So the word left
in the Old Testament,
00:17:20.94\00:17:24.14
the word that is used for
those who survived the flood
00:17:24.17\00:17:27.64
is the word shawar.
00:17:27.68\00:17:29.01
Now let me give
you several examples
00:17:29.04\00:17:31.11
from the Old
Testament of the use of shawar.
00:17:31.15\00:17:33.62
So you see, this
is a remnant word.
00:17:33.65\00:17:36.25
It refers to those who
remain after a catastrophe,
00:17:36.28\00:17:39.85
or a disaster, or a
war, those who are left,
00:17:39.89\00:17:42.92
those who remained alive.
00:17:42.96\00:17:44.89
Exodus 24:28.
00:17:44.93\00:17:46.96
It's actually Exodus 14:28.
00:17:47.00\00:17:49.83
This is speaking
about the Egyptians
00:17:49.86\00:17:51.37
that were
drowned in the Red Sea.
00:17:51.40\00:17:53.44
It says, "Then
the waters returned
00:17:53.47\00:17:55.00
and covered the
chariots, the horsemen,
00:17:55.04\00:17:56.87
and all the army of Pharaoh
00:17:56.91\00:17:59.14
that came into
the sea after them.
00:17:59.17\00:18:01.68
Not so much as
one of them shawar."
00:18:01.71\00:18:06.51
Not one of them was what?
00:18:06.55\00:18:08.78
Was left, because
they were all wiped out.
00:18:08.82\00:18:11.59
If anybody had
survived, they would be left.
00:18:11.62\00:18:14.62
Judges 4:16.
00:18:14.66\00:18:16.42
It's talking about
00:18:16.46\00:18:17.79
the destruction
of Sisera's army.
00:18:17.83\00:18:20.83
It says there, "But
Barak pursued the chariots
00:18:20.86\00:18:23.90
and the army as far
as Harosheth Hagoyim,
00:18:23.93\00:18:27.54
and all the army of Sisera
00:18:27.57\00:18:29.67
fell by the edge of the sword,
00:18:29.70\00:18:31.64
not a man was left."
00:18:31.67\00:18:35.84
In the days of Elijah,
you're acquainted with this.
00:18:35.88\00:18:38.71
Elijah complained to the Lord.
00:18:38.75\00:18:40.42
This is in 1 Kings 19:14.
00:18:40.45\00:18:42.75
He says, "Lord,
everybody has apostatized,
00:18:42.78\00:18:45.69
only I am left."
00:18:45.72\00:18:48.92
That's the word shawar.
00:18:48.96\00:18:50.93
Notice Isaiah 24:6,
this is at the Second Coming.
00:18:50.96\00:18:55.23
Everybody on earth
is gonna be destroyed,
00:18:55.26\00:18:57.30
but there's gonna be a
remnant that will be left.
00:18:57.33\00:18:59.73
In Isaiah 24:6,
00:18:59.77\00:19:02.20
speaking about
the Second Coming.
00:19:02.24\00:19:03.57
He says, "Therefore the
curse has devoured the earth,
00:19:03.61\00:19:06.27
and those who
dwell in it are desolate.
00:19:06.31\00:19:09.31
Therefore the inhabitants
of the earth are burned,
00:19:09.34\00:19:12.41
and few men are left."
00:19:12.45\00:19:16.12
So when the destruction comes,
very few will be left alive.
00:19:16.15\00:19:21.16
Notice Isaiah 4:3,
00:19:21.19\00:19:23.32
this is a very
significant verse,
00:19:23.36\00:19:25.19
because it tells us that
the holy ones are the ones
00:19:25.23\00:19:27.53
that are left, not the wicked.
00:19:27.56\00:19:29.86
In Isaiah 4:3, it says,
"And it shall come to pass
00:19:29.90\00:19:35.04
that he who is left in
Zion and remains in Jerusalem
00:19:35.07\00:19:41.01
will be called," what?
00:19:41.04\00:19:43.04
"Holy.
00:19:43.08\00:19:44.51
Everyone who is recorded
among the living in Jerusalem."
00:19:44.55\00:19:47.98
Now those who are written
in the Book of the Living,
00:19:48.02\00:19:50.69
in the Book of Life,
00:19:50.72\00:19:52.05
those are the ones that are left
00:19:52.09\00:19:54.16
and they're referred to as holy.
00:19:54.19\00:19:58.16
Let's notice one other
verse that uses the word shawar.
00:19:58.19\00:20:01.43
The same word of
Genesis 7:23, where it says,
00:20:01.46\00:20:04.87
"That only Noah and
his family were left."
00:20:04.90\00:20:07.67
They're the remnant that
survives the catastrophe.
00:20:07.70\00:20:10.97
In other words,
they're left alive.
00:20:11.01\00:20:13.88
Haggai 2:3.
00:20:13.91\00:20:17.15
You see, this is
talking about the moment
00:20:17.18\00:20:19.65
when the temple was built
after the Babylonian captivity.
00:20:19.68\00:20:24.99
And this temple was
00:20:25.02\00:20:26.86
actually nothing
like the First Temple,
00:20:26.89\00:20:28.89
like the temple
that Solomon built.
00:20:28.92\00:20:31.16
And so somebody was wondering
00:20:31.19\00:20:33.73
whether there
were some individuals
00:20:33.76\00:20:35.26
that had seen Solomon's temple
00:20:35.30\00:20:37.10
or the temple
that Solomon built.
00:20:37.13\00:20:39.20
Haggai 2:3 has the question.
00:20:39.23\00:20:42.80
"Who is left among
you who saw this temple
00:20:42.84\00:20:47.41
in its former glory?
00:20:47.44\00:20:49.51
And how do you see it now?
00:20:49.54\00:20:52.08
In comparison with it,
00:20:52.11\00:20:53.98
this is not in
your eyes as nothing?"
00:20:54.02\00:20:58.55
So what does it
mean when it says,
00:20:58.59\00:21:00.66
"Who is left among
you, who saw this temple
00:21:00.69\00:21:02.52
in its former glory?"
00:21:02.56\00:21:03.89
It means, who's still alive,
00:21:03.93\00:21:05.89
they saw the
temple that Solomon built.
00:21:05.93\00:21:08.33
So the word left that is used
in the context of the flood,
00:21:08.36\00:21:12.47
Genesis 7:23, that only
Noah and his family were left
00:21:12.50\00:21:17.87
or remained alive,
means that the word left
00:21:17.91\00:21:20.18
does not refer to the
wicked who are left behind,
00:21:20.21\00:21:22.94
it refers to the
righteous who are left
00:21:22.98\00:21:25.58
after the
destruction of the flood.
00:21:25.61\00:21:28.42
Are you understanding me?
00:21:28.45\00:21:30.12
Now let's notice the word
left in the New Testament.
00:21:30.15\00:21:33.96
The word left in
the New Testament
00:21:33.99\00:21:36.32
is the Greek word Aphiemi.
00:21:36.36\00:21:39.23
And this word is
used in two senses.
00:21:39.26\00:21:42.30
First of all and very
much like English by the way.
00:21:42.33\00:21:45.37
It's used, for
example, to describe a person
00:21:45.40\00:21:49.34
who is leaving from
one place to another.
00:21:49.37\00:21:51.81
For example, I left
Hawaii for California.
00:21:51.84\00:21:55.84
The word Aphiemi
is used in that sense.
00:21:55.88\00:21:58.71
But the word
Aphiemi is also used
00:21:58.75\00:22:01.48
to refer to
something that is left over.
00:22:01.52\00:22:04.59
For example, he
ate all the apple pie
00:22:04.62\00:22:08.19
and none is left.
00:22:08.22\00:22:10.26
So the word like in
English can refer to leaving
00:22:10.29\00:22:13.90
for some place or that
which is left and remains.
00:22:13.93\00:22:17.73
Let me give you two
verses that clearly show
00:22:17.77\00:22:21.27
what the word Aphiemi means
as it relates to the verses
00:22:21.30\00:22:26.14
that we're studying.
00:22:26.17\00:22:27.51
Matthew 24:2.
00:22:27.54\00:22:30.58
Here Jesus is
speaking about the destruction
00:22:30.61\00:22:33.01
of the Jerusalem temple.
00:22:33.05\00:22:35.08
It says there, "And
Jesus said to them,"
00:22:35.12\00:22:38.42
speaking to his disciples.
00:22:38.45\00:22:40.16
"Do you not see
all these things?
00:22:40.19\00:22:42.69
Assuredly, I say to you,
00:22:42.72\00:22:44.79
not one stone shall be
left here upon another."
00:22:44.83\00:22:50.77
Are you understanding the way
00:22:50.80\00:22:52.13
that the word
left is being used?
00:22:52.17\00:22:54.30
All the temple is
gonna be destroyed,
00:22:54.34\00:22:55.87
there won't be
even one stone left
00:22:55.90\00:22:58.91
upon another.
00:22:58.94\00:23:00.34
Another verse
where this is used,
00:23:00.38\00:23:02.34
the same word
Aphiemi is Mark 12:22.
00:23:02.38\00:23:07.35
Speaking about the seven
men that married the same woman.
00:23:07.38\00:23:13.05
You know the case
that was presented
00:23:13.09\00:23:14.92
to Christ by the
Sadducees, a hypothetical case.
00:23:14.96\00:23:19.66
And so it says
there, "So the seven had her
00:23:19.69\00:23:24.43
and left no offspring."
00:23:24.47\00:23:27.70
In other words, there
was no offspring left,
00:23:27.74\00:23:29.57
there were no offspring alive.
00:23:29.60\00:23:31.77
So whose wife would
she be in the resurrection?
00:23:31.81\00:23:34.28
That was the question.
00:23:34.31\00:23:35.71
So the word left
means that which remains.
00:23:35.74\00:23:39.35
Once again in the New Testament,
00:23:39.38\00:23:41.38
just like in the Old
Testament, that which is left,
00:23:41.42\00:23:44.55
that which remains,
that which is still there.
00:23:44.59\00:23:48.56
Now we need to also
examine the word taken
00:23:48.59\00:23:52.23
in the Old Testament.
00:23:52.26\00:23:54.23
And so let's read
first of all, a statement
00:23:54.26\00:23:57.47
by an Old Testament scholar
00:23:57.50\00:23:59.23
by the name of Walter C. Kaiser.
00:23:59.27\00:24:02.30
The word that is used for
00:24:02.34\00:24:04.44
taken in the Old
Testament is the word lakad.
00:24:04.47\00:24:08.54
And I'm going to read
00:24:08.58\00:24:09.91
what this Old Testament scholar,
00:24:09.94\00:24:11.81
very reputable
scholar I might say,
00:24:11.85\00:24:14.95
conservative Old
Testament scholar,
00:24:14.98\00:24:16.62
which is unusual.
00:24:16.65\00:24:18.92
He wrote this, and I quote,
00:24:18.95\00:24:20.89
"Most of the 121 uses
of lakad deal with men
00:24:20.92\00:24:26.09
capturing or
seizing towns, men, spoils,
00:24:26.13\00:24:31.70
and even a kingdom.
00:24:31.73\00:24:33.50
It is used figuratively
of the entrapment of men
00:24:33.54\00:24:37.21
who are caught in
snares of all sorts
00:24:37.24\00:24:40.14
laid by their enemies.
00:24:40.18\00:24:41.94
This word serves as a
figure of divine judgment.
00:24:41.98\00:24:46.18
The Stone of Stumbling
will cause many to stumble,
00:24:46.21\00:24:49.15
fall, be broken, be
ensnared, and be captured.
00:24:49.18\00:24:52.62
When God shakes the
foundations of the earth,
00:24:52.65\00:24:54.79
just prior to the Millennium,
the ungodly shall be seized
00:24:54.82\00:24:58.99
in the trap as were
those who drunkenly mocked
00:24:59.03\00:25:02.86
the prophet's message."
00:25:02.90\00:25:04.87
And so the word
lakad means to be seized,
00:25:04.90\00:25:08.17
it means to be caught,
it means to be entrapped,
00:25:08.20\00:25:11.34
it means to be
taken in other words.
00:25:11.37\00:25:14.34
Now let's notice
a few Old Testament
00:25:14.38\00:25:16.41
examples of the word
lakad in the Book of Joshua.
00:25:16.44\00:25:20.52
I'm just gonna
mention these cities,
00:25:20.55\00:25:23.05
because our time is limited
00:25:23.08\00:25:24.65
and we have so
much material to cover.
00:25:24.69\00:25:26.86
In the Book of Joshua,
we have several instances
00:25:26.89\00:25:30.59
where Joshua smote
the cities of Canaan,
00:25:30.63\00:25:34.53
in the conquest of Canaan.
00:25:34.56\00:25:36.63
You have for example,
Gezer in Joshua 10:33,
00:25:36.67\00:25:40.24
Hebron, Joshua 10:37, Debir,
00:25:40.27\00:25:43.51
where Joshua
utterly destroyed all souls
00:25:43.54\00:25:46.04
and left none remaining,
those by the Waters of Merom
00:25:46.07\00:25:50.11
and the inhabitants of Hazor.
00:25:50.15\00:25:52.15
All of these cities,
00:25:52.18\00:25:53.68
the Bible says
were taken by Joshua.
00:25:53.72\00:25:55.78
In other words,
00:25:55.82\00:25:57.15
it deals with a
military campaign
00:25:57.19\00:25:58.95
where the cities are taken
00:25:58.99\00:26:00.89
and those who live in
the cities are destroyed.
00:26:00.92\00:26:04.06
Notice Joshua Chapter
8, and we'll read verses 8
00:26:04.09\00:26:08.56
and then we'll read
verse 17, and 21, and 22,
00:26:08.60\00:26:11.40
because that's
where the word is used.
00:26:11.43\00:26:13.47
Joshua 8:8, "And it will be,
00:26:13.50\00:26:18.27
when you have taken lakad,
00:26:18.31\00:26:20.94
when you have taken the
city or conquer the city,
00:26:20.98\00:26:24.75
that you shall
set the city on fire."
00:26:24.78\00:26:27.45
So when the city is
taken, does that mean that
00:26:27.48\00:26:29.68
people are taken to
heaven and you know,
00:26:29.72\00:26:32.75
they're gonna be
alive and they're gonna be
00:26:32.79\00:26:35.19
enjoying the bliss of heaven?
00:26:35.22\00:26:36.79
Of course not.
00:26:36.83\00:26:38.63
It's a word that
refers to taking a city,
00:26:38.66\00:26:41.00
to destroying a city
in a military campaign.
00:26:41.03\00:26:43.37
So it says,
00:26:43.40\00:26:44.73
according to the commandment
of the Lord, you shall do."
00:26:44.77\00:26:46.97
See, I've commanded you."
00:26:47.00\00:26:48.40
Verse 17, "There
was not a man left,"
00:26:48.44\00:26:52.07
that's the other word shawar.
00:26:52.11\00:26:53.84
So when the city is
taken, no one is what?
00:26:53.88\00:26:57.91
No one is left.
00:26:57.95\00:26:59.28
No one is shawar.
00:26:59.31\00:27:00.82
So it says, "There was
not a man left in Ai or Bethel
00:27:00.85\00:27:04.79
who did not go out after Israel.
00:27:04.82\00:27:06.92
So they left the city
open and pursued Israel.
00:27:06.96\00:27:10.13
Now when Joshua and all Israel
00:27:10.16\00:27:11.76
saw the ambush had taken,"
00:27:11.79\00:27:13.90
there's the word lakad again,
00:27:13.93\00:27:15.40
"the city that the
smoke of the city ascended,
00:27:15.43\00:27:18.33
they turned back and
struck down the men of Ai.
00:27:18.37\00:27:21.70
Then the others came out
of the city against them,
00:27:21.74\00:27:24.04
so they were caught
in the midst of Israel,
00:27:24.07\00:27:26.27
some on this side and
some on the other side.
00:27:26.31\00:27:29.04
And they struck them down,
00:27:29.08\00:27:30.68
so that they let
none of them," what?
00:27:30.71\00:27:33.72
"Remain or escape."
00:27:33.75\00:27:35.95
Who are the taken ones?
00:27:35.98\00:27:38.09
The saved or the lost?
00:27:38.12\00:27:40.16
Those that are
destroyed in the city,
00:27:40.19\00:27:42.19
those that are taken in the city
00:27:42.22\00:27:44.39
are the ones that are destroyed.
00:27:44.43\00:27:46.46
Notice Judges 1:8
and I'm going to read
00:27:46.49\00:27:49.66
these from the
King James Version,
00:27:49.70\00:27:51.03
because the King James
Version uses the word taken.
00:27:51.07\00:27:53.90
Other versions use other words,
00:27:53.94\00:27:55.50
so you would know that
it's the same Hebrew word.
00:27:55.54\00:27:58.07
In Judges 1:8,
it's talking about
00:27:58.11\00:28:00.58
Judah conquering Jerusalem.
00:28:00.61\00:28:03.51
And it says, "Now
the children of Judah
00:28:03.55\00:28:05.98
had fought against
Jerusalem, and had taken it."
00:28:06.01\00:28:10.45
There's the word
lakad, "and smitten it."
00:28:10.49\00:28:13.19
What does it mean to take it?
00:28:13.22\00:28:15.16
It means to smite it,
"with the edge of the sword,
00:28:15.19\00:28:18.49
and set the city on fire."
00:28:18.53\00:28:20.86
Taken does not
mean taken to heaven.
00:28:20.90\00:28:23.03
It means, taking a city
and destroying it with fire.
00:28:23.06\00:28:27.30
Now notice Proverbs 5:22.
00:28:27.34\00:28:29.97
The word is also
used for the taking
00:28:30.01\00:28:31.77
or surprising of individuals.
00:28:31.81\00:28:33.98
It says in Proverbs 5:22,
00:28:34.01\00:28:36.61
speaking about a
wicked person's iniquities.
00:28:36.64\00:28:39.05
"His own iniquities
shall take the wicked himself,
00:28:39.08\00:28:44.15
and he shall be holden
with the cords of his sins."
00:28:44.19\00:28:47.76
So what does it say?
The iniquities shall what?
00:28:47.79\00:28:50.23
Shall take the wicked.
00:28:50.26\00:28:51.59
The word take there
is the same word lakad.
00:28:51.63\00:28:55.03
Notice Proverbs 3:26.
00:28:55.06\00:28:58.47
This is speaking about
God protecting His people
00:28:58.50\00:29:00.74
when the wicked
want to take them
00:29:00.77\00:29:03.07
or when the wicked
want to destroy them.
00:29:03.10\00:29:05.11
It says there in Proverbs 3:26,
00:29:05.14\00:29:09.24
"For the Lord
shall be thy confidence,
00:29:09.28\00:29:11.55
and shall keep thy
foot from being taken."
00:29:11.58\00:29:16.05
Once again.
00:29:16.08\00:29:17.45
Notice Ecclesiastes 7:26.
00:29:17.49\00:29:21.69
Ecclesiastes 7:26.
00:29:21.72\00:29:24.23
Once again,
it's talking about...
00:29:24.26\00:29:26.13
Here's talking about a woman
who takes a man in her snares.
00:29:26.16\00:29:30.50
And I want you to
notice three words
00:29:30.53\00:29:32.43
that are used in
this verse, which are key
00:29:32.47\00:29:34.27
for what we're
gonna notice later on.
00:29:34.30\00:29:36.37
It says, "And I find
00:29:36.40\00:29:37.74
more bitter
than death the woman,
00:29:37.77\00:29:41.21
whose heart is" what?
00:29:41.24\00:29:43.51
"Snares." Don't
forget that word.
00:29:43.55\00:29:45.05
"Snares and nets,
and her hands as bands,
00:29:45.08\00:29:49.55
whoso pleaseth God shall" What?
00:29:49.58\00:29:52.75
Remember that word.
00:29:52.79\00:29:54.12
"Escape from her, but
the sinner shall be taken"
00:29:54.16\00:29:59.06
lakad "by her."
00:29:59.09\00:30:01.60
So three words,
snares, escape, and taken.
00:30:01.63\00:30:06.57
And the word taken
does not mean to be saved.
00:30:06.60\00:30:09.70
It means a sinner is
taken or destroyed by her.
00:30:09.74\00:30:13.94
Notice Isaiah 24:6,
00:30:13.98\00:30:17.38
and then we'll
read verses 17-18.
00:30:17.41\00:30:19.75
Isaiah 24:6, and
then verses 17-18.
00:30:19.78\00:30:23.99
This is speaking about
the Second Coming of Christ.
00:30:24.02\00:30:27.06
It says, "Therefore,
00:30:27.09\00:30:28.42
hath the curse
devoured the earth,
00:30:28.46\00:30:30.46
and they that dwell
therein are desolate,
00:30:30.49\00:30:33.40
therefore the inhabitants
of the earth are burned,
00:30:33.43\00:30:36.36
and few men are shawar."
00:30:36.40\00:30:39.27
Few men are left.
00:30:39.30\00:30:40.74
So the ones that are
left, are they left alive
00:30:40.77\00:30:42.87
or the ones that
are left, left for dead?
00:30:42.90\00:30:46.47
They are the ones
that remain alive,
00:30:46.51\00:30:47.84
they are the remnant.
00:30:47.88\00:30:49.21
Then, verse 17, "And
it shall come to pass,
00:30:49.24\00:30:51.95
that he who fleeth
from the noise of the fear
00:30:51.98\00:30:54.22
shall fall into the pit,
00:30:54.25\00:30:55.58
and he that
cometh up out of the pit,
00:30:55.62\00:30:57.75
shall be," what?
00:30:57.79\00:30:59.39
"Taken in the snare."
00:30:59.42\00:31:00.76
There it is again.
00:31:00.79\00:31:02.12
"For the windows
from on high are open,
00:31:02.16\00:31:04.26
and the foundation
of the earth do shake."
00:31:04.29\00:31:07.33
Notice Isaiah 8:14-15.
00:31:07.36\00:31:10.77
Isaiah 8:14-15.
00:31:10.80\00:31:14.04
Once again, the
three key words snare,
00:31:14.07\00:31:18.64
the word snare,
and the word taken.
00:31:18.67\00:31:21.38
It says, "And He
shall be for a sanctuary;
00:31:21.41\00:31:24.31
but for a Stone of Stumbling
and for a rock of offence
00:31:24.35\00:31:28.18
to both the houses of Israel,
for a gin and for a snare
00:31:28.22\00:31:33.02
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
00:31:33.05\00:31:35.16
And many among them
shall stumble and fall,
00:31:35.19\00:31:38.66
be broken and be," what?
00:31:38.69\00:31:41.06
"Be snared and be taken."
00:31:41.10\00:31:44.53
Are the ones taken, the
righteous or the wicked?
00:31:44.57\00:31:47.74
They're the wicked
folks, not the righteous.
00:31:47.77\00:31:50.74
Now it's interesting that
Jesus use these three words.
00:31:50.77\00:31:54.58
In Luke 21:35-36
00:31:54.61\00:31:58.41
to refer to a Second Coming.
00:31:58.45\00:32:00.98
It says there, "For as a snare
00:32:01.02\00:32:05.99
shall it come on all them that
00:32:06.02\00:32:07.89
dwell on the face
of the whole earth."
00:32:07.92\00:32:09.62
That is the closer
probation in the Second Coming.
00:32:09.66\00:32:12.19
"Watch he
therefore, and pray always,
00:32:12.23\00:32:14.50
that ye may be
accounted worthy to escape."
00:32:14.53\00:32:17.17
Notice once again the key word.
00:32:17.20\00:32:18.70
"To escape these things
that shall come to pass,
00:32:18.73\00:32:22.27
and to stand
before the Son of Man."
00:32:22.30\00:32:25.57
Once again, the word
snare and the word escape,
00:32:25.61\00:32:28.78
connected with the Second Coming
00:32:28.81\00:32:31.01
of Jesus Christ.
00:32:31.05\00:32:32.75
So we've noticed
that in the Old Testament,
00:32:32.78\00:32:35.55
the word left means
those who remain alive,
00:32:35.58\00:32:38.92
the word taken refers
00:32:38.95\00:32:40.96
to those who are
overtaken or destroyed.
00:32:40.99\00:32:43.29
In the New Testament, we noticed
00:32:43.32\00:32:44.96
that the word
Aphiemi means that those,
00:32:44.99\00:32:47.43
that which is left
and in the New Testament
00:32:47.46\00:32:51.07
now we need to take a
look at the word taken.
00:32:51.10\00:32:54.67
Now I need to tell you
something about the word
00:32:54.70\00:32:56.97
that is translated taken there
00:32:57.01\00:32:59.27
in Matthew 24:40-41.
00:32:59.31\00:33:03.48
It's the Greek word lambano.
00:33:03.51\00:33:06.95
Now the word lombano,
according to the Lexicon,
00:33:06.98\00:33:12.89
the New Testament
Lexicon means to take away,
00:33:12.92\00:33:15.62
to remove, to lay
hands on, and to seize.
00:33:15.66\00:33:21.43
You have examples
of this word lombano
00:33:21.46\00:33:24.07
in the New Testament.
00:33:24.10\00:33:25.60
For example, in
Acts 2:23, it says that,
00:33:25.63\00:33:29.00
"Jesus was taken or
seized and crucified."
00:33:29.04\00:33:34.34
We're also told
in Matthew 21:39,
00:33:34.38\00:33:37.88
that Jesus was seized
00:33:37.91\00:33:39.55
and cast out of the
vineyard by his enemies.
00:33:39.58\00:33:43.02
And Paul explains that
no temptation has taken us
00:33:43.05\00:33:47.66
that we cannot overcome.
00:33:47.69\00:33:49.69
That's the use
of the word lombano.
00:33:49.72\00:33:52.83
But now there's something
that is very, very important.
00:33:52.86\00:33:55.93
And that is
that the word lombano
00:33:55.96\00:33:58.30
does not always
appear by itself.
00:33:58.33\00:34:01.47
It is used many times
with a prepositional prefix,
00:34:01.50\00:34:07.28
like happens in English.
00:34:07.31\00:34:09.74
Let me mention
several examples in English.
00:34:09.78\00:34:12.31
We have the word epicenter.
00:34:12.35\00:34:16.38
Epi is a Greek preposition.
00:34:16.42\00:34:20.36
What does epicenter mean?
00:34:20.39\00:34:22.62
It means a central
place from which the waves
00:34:22.66\00:34:24.99
of an earthquake radiate.
00:34:25.03\00:34:27.50
We have the word hypertension.
00:34:27.53\00:34:30.77
It's the Greek word
Choúpen which means high.
00:34:30.80\00:34:34.60
So hypertension
means high blood pressure.
00:34:34.64\00:34:39.01
We have the word hypoglycemia.
00:34:39.04\00:34:42.64
Hypoglycemia means
glycemia, of course is sugar
00:34:42.68\00:34:46.41
and hypo means
low, low blood sugar.
00:34:46.45\00:34:50.05
We have the word catastrophe.
00:34:50.09\00:34:53.62
Cata is a Greek preposition and,
00:34:53.66\00:34:56.66
of course, that
means to overturn
00:34:56.69\00:34:58.23
or to turn upside down.
00:34:58.26\00:35:00.50
We have the word perimeter.
00:35:00.53\00:35:02.46
Peri is a Greek preposition.
00:35:02.50\00:35:04.80
Perimeter means
the outer boundary.
00:35:04.83\00:35:07.64
We have the word paralegal.
00:35:07.67\00:35:10.21
It's an individual that
works alongside an attorney.
00:35:10.24\00:35:14.91
And we have the
word anachronism,
00:35:14.94\00:35:17.85
which means something...
00:35:17.88\00:35:20.15
It means to go back in time.
00:35:20.18\00:35:22.32
So, prepositions
are attached to words
00:35:22.35\00:35:25.42
and they give
the word the nuance.
00:35:25.45\00:35:28.92
Now, I want to mention
something very, very important.
00:35:28.96\00:35:32.06
And that is
that the word lambano
00:35:32.09\00:35:34.16
also has prepositional prefixes.
00:35:34.20\00:35:37.53
For example, analambano,
it means to take upward,
00:35:37.57\00:35:41.90
because ana means to take up.
00:35:41.94\00:35:44.77
So analambano would
mean to take upward.
00:35:44.81\00:35:48.24
Sunlambano, S-U-N
lombano means to take
00:35:48.28\00:35:53.18
someone with you.
00:35:53.21\00:35:55.58
Katalambano means to
overtake or take away,
00:35:55.62\00:36:00.56
and paralambano
means to take alongside,
00:36:00.59\00:36:06.23
in other words take
somebody that is alongside you.
00:36:06.26\00:36:10.20
Now the question is
which of the variations
00:36:10.23\00:36:12.73
of lambano is the word taken
00:36:12.77\00:36:17.21
in Matthew 24:40-41?
00:36:17.24\00:36:21.44
The word that is
used there is paralambano.
00:36:21.48\00:36:26.48
Paralambano means
to take alongside,
00:36:26.51\00:36:30.69
to take beside someone.
00:36:30.72\00:36:33.49
The Greek Lexicon
Arndt and Gingrich,
00:36:33.52\00:36:35.69
one of the better
known Lexicon says,
00:36:35.72\00:36:37.96
"That it means
nearness in space,
00:36:37.99\00:36:40.53
at or by, beside near with,
00:36:40.56\00:36:45.23
according to the standpoint
00:36:45.27\00:36:47.84
from which the
relationship is you."
00:36:47.87\00:36:50.61
So basically
the word paralambano
00:36:50.64\00:36:53.27
is to take someone beside you
00:36:53.31\00:36:57.55
or alongside you.
00:36:57.58\00:37:01.08
Now it bears noting
that Jesus could have used
00:37:01.12\00:37:03.99
a different word,
00:37:04.02\00:37:05.35
if He wanted to say that
00:37:05.39\00:37:07.16
the taken will be taken to
heaven or will be taken up.
00:37:07.19\00:37:12.29
The word taken, you know,
00:37:12.33\00:37:15.36
is not probably
the best Greek word
00:37:15.40\00:37:17.23
that Jesus could have used.
00:37:17.27\00:37:18.60
For example,
00:37:18.63\00:37:19.97
He could have
used the word Harpazo,
00:37:20.00\00:37:23.30
which is used in I
Thessalonians 4:17,
00:37:23.34\00:37:26.44
where the Apostle Paul says,
00:37:26.47\00:37:27.81
"That the righteous will
be caught up in the clouds."
00:37:27.84\00:37:31.15
He could have used
the word analambano,
00:37:31.18\00:37:34.22
which means to take up.
00:37:34.25\00:37:36.35
He could have used the
word airo or ah'-ee-ro,
00:37:36.38\00:37:40.92
which means to take away.
00:37:40.96\00:37:43.22
So in other words,
there are many Greek words
00:37:43.26\00:37:45.36
that Jesus could have used,
which would better described
00:37:45.39\00:37:48.06
taking someone upward to heaven,
00:37:48.10\00:37:50.30
but He did not used that.
00:37:50.33\00:37:51.67
He used the word paralambano,
which means to take alongside.
00:37:51.70\00:37:56.81
Now the question,
why would Jesus used
00:37:56.84\00:38:00.21
the word to take alongside?
00:38:00.24\00:38:04.25
Well, He used that word
00:38:04.28\00:38:06.21
because in Matthew 24:40-41,
00:38:06.25\00:38:11.85
Jesus is saying that
there will be one person
00:38:11.89\00:38:14.92
alongside another.
00:38:14.96\00:38:17.63
The one who is alongside
the righteous will be taken
00:38:17.66\00:38:22.26
and the righteous will be left.
00:38:22.30\00:38:24.33
So because there are
two people side by side
00:38:24.37\00:38:26.84
and paralambano
means to take alongside,
00:38:26.87\00:38:29.37
that's the reason
00:38:29.40\00:38:30.74
why the word
paralambano is used.
00:38:30.77\00:38:33.31
Incidentally,
the same word is used
00:38:33.34\00:38:35.58
in John 14:1-3,
where Jesus says that
00:38:35.61\00:38:41.22
He's going to
receive us unto Himself.
00:38:41.25\00:38:44.19
In other words,
He's going to receive us
00:38:44.22\00:38:45.85
alongside Himself.
00:38:45.89\00:38:48.06
We're gonna be
beside Him or alongside Him.
00:38:48.09\00:38:52.69
So the reason
why Matthew 24:40-41
00:38:52.73\00:38:55.76
uses the word paralambano,
alongside means that
00:38:55.80\00:38:59.90
there are two people
that are next to each other,
00:38:59.93\00:39:02.20
they're both on earth alongside,
00:39:02.24\00:39:04.57
one individual will be
left when the probation closes,
00:39:04.61\00:39:07.81
and the Second
Coming transpires,
00:39:07.84\00:39:09.71
and the other was
alongside that person will be,
00:39:09.74\00:39:13.55
what?
00:39:13.58\00:39:14.95
Will be destroyed.
00:39:14.98\00:39:17.09
Are you
understanding what I'm saying?
00:39:17.12\00:39:18.92
Now I didn't want to
go into all of this Greek,
00:39:18.95\00:39:22.56
but words are important.
00:39:22.59\00:39:25.03
And unless we
understand the meaning of words,
00:39:25.06\00:39:27.36
we're not gonna really
understand this passage.
00:39:27.40\00:39:29.73
By the way, the Apostle
Paul, now we need to examine
00:39:29.76\00:39:33.03
what the
Apostle Paul has to say.
00:39:33.07\00:39:34.40
Let's go to I
Thessalonians 4:15-17.
00:39:34.44\00:39:39.61
I Thessalonians 4:15-17.
00:39:39.64\00:39:42.88
This is the famous
resurrection passage.
00:39:42.91\00:39:45.65
It says, "For
this we say unto you
00:39:45.68\00:39:47.22
by the word of the Lord,
00:39:47.25\00:39:48.75
that we which are alive
00:39:48.78\00:39:50.12
and remain unto the coming
of the Lord shall not prevent,"
00:39:50.15\00:39:53.56
that means precede,
"them which are asleep.
00:39:53.59\00:39:56.79
For the Lord
himself shall descend
00:39:56.83\00:39:58.36
from heaven with a shout,
with a voice of an archangel,
00:39:58.39\00:40:00.96
and with the trump of God,
00:40:01.00\00:40:02.50
and the dead in
Christ shall rise first.
00:40:02.53\00:40:05.17
Then we which are alive and..."
00:40:05.20\00:40:10.04
who are the ones that remain?
00:40:10.07\00:40:12.81
The wicked or the righteous?
00:40:12.84\00:40:14.94
The righteous.
00:40:14.98\00:40:16.75
So it says, "We who
are alive and remain."
00:40:16.78\00:40:20.78
That means those who are
alive, it means the righteous,
00:40:20.82\00:40:23.99
"shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds,
00:40:24.02\00:40:26.69
to meet the Lord in the air,
00:40:26.72\00:40:28.26
and so shall we
ever be with the Lord."
00:40:28.29\00:40:31.43
Now what is not generally known
00:40:31.46\00:40:32.89
is that in the
very next chapter,
00:40:32.93\00:40:35.33
the Apostle Paul ends
chapter 4 at verse 18,
00:40:35.36\00:40:38.67
the very next chapter,
00:40:38.70\00:40:40.07
Paul is gonna
speak about the wicked,
00:40:40.10\00:40:42.37
who are caught by surprise.
00:40:42.40\00:40:44.57
Are you following me?
00:40:44.61\00:40:45.94
So we don't need to do a break
00:40:45.97\00:40:48.14
between Chapter 4 and Chapter 5,
00:40:48.18\00:40:49.84
because Chapter 5
is a continuation,
00:40:49.88\00:40:51.75
he's gonna speak about
00:40:51.78\00:40:53.11
what's gonna
happen with the wicked.
00:40:53.15\00:40:54.92
Notice once again,
00:40:54.95\00:40:56.55
what we find in I
Thessalonians 5:1-7.
00:40:56.58\00:41:00.86
And immediately you're gonna see
00:41:00.89\00:41:02.22
the connection with
what Jesus had to say.
00:41:02.26\00:41:05.49
And I'll come back to
that in a few moments.
00:41:05.53\00:41:07.50
It says there in I
Thessalonians 5:1-7.
00:41:07.53\00:41:10.33
For, that indicates
that it's a continuation.
00:41:10.37\00:41:12.93
"For yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord
00:41:12.97\00:41:17.04
so cometh as a," what?
00:41:17.07\00:41:20.64
Did Jesus talk about
coming as a thief in the night?
00:41:20.68\00:41:23.24
Did Jesus say that too? Yes.
00:41:23.28\00:41:25.55
So Paul says,
"The day of the Lord
00:41:25.58\00:41:28.12
so cometh as a
thief in the night.
00:41:28.15\00:41:30.62
For when they shall say,
peace and safety, then," what?
00:41:30.65\00:41:34.72
"Sudden
destruction cometh upon them,
00:41:34.76\00:41:37.33
as travail upon
a woman with child,
00:41:37.36\00:41:40.00
and they shall not," what?
00:41:40.03\00:41:43.73
You remember that word.
00:41:43.77\00:41:45.63
Who's not going to escape?
00:41:45.67\00:41:47.34
The wicked.
00:41:47.37\00:41:48.70
Do the righteous
escape the wicked woman,
00:41:48.74\00:41:50.44
according to what we read?
00:41:50.47\00:41:51.81
Yes, the righteous escape,
but the wicked don't escape.
00:41:51.84\00:41:54.44
Did Jesus also
used the word escape?
00:41:54.48\00:41:56.75
He most certainly did.
00:41:56.78\00:41:58.11
I continue reading.
00:41:58.15\00:41:59.48
"However, ye brethren,
00:41:59.51\00:42:01.38
are not in
darkness, that that day,"
00:42:01.42\00:42:04.02
and here comes a keyword,
00:42:04.05\00:42:05.39
"that that day should
overtake you as a thief."
00:42:05.42\00:42:10.06
The word overtake
00:42:10.09\00:42:11.89
is the word katalambano.
00:42:11.93\00:42:16.36
So the wicked are taken
00:42:16.40\00:42:19.60
alongside the righteous.
00:42:19.63\00:42:23.14
And here it says
that the wicked are, what?
00:42:23.17\00:42:26.37
They are overtaken.
00:42:26.41\00:42:28.48
The same Greek word,
lambano, the same root word.
00:42:28.51\00:42:32.95
But in Matthew it says,
00:42:32.98\00:42:35.18
that the person
will be taken alongside
00:42:35.22\00:42:38.25
because the wicked
00:42:38.29\00:42:39.99
is beside the
righteous on planet Earth,
00:42:40.02\00:42:42.79
after probation closes and
at the time of destruction.
00:42:42.82\00:42:45.99
Whereas the Apostle Paul
says that the wicked will be
00:42:46.03\00:42:49.03
overtaken katalambano.
00:42:49.06\00:42:51.13
So he says, "That, that day
00:42:51.17\00:42:53.74
should overtake you as a thief.
00:42:53.77\00:42:57.01
Ye all are
children of the light,
00:42:57.04\00:42:59.24
and the children of the
day, we are not of the night,
00:42:59.27\00:43:02.21
nor of darkness.
00:43:02.24\00:43:03.65
Therefore let us not sleep,
but let us watch and be sober."
00:43:03.68\00:43:08.02
Is that what Jesus said
also, let us watch and be sober?
00:43:08.05\00:43:10.75
Are they dealing
with the same theme?
00:43:10.79\00:43:12.82
They most certainly are.
00:43:12.85\00:43:14.19
But Jesus uses paralambano,
because the righteous
00:43:14.22\00:43:16.66
and the wicked are
alongside each other.
00:43:16.69\00:43:18.49
The Apostle Paul
uses the word katalambano,
00:43:18.53\00:43:21.23
because he's already said
that the righteous are the ones
00:43:21.26\00:43:24.00
who are alive and what?
00:43:24.03\00:43:25.63
And remain in
the previous chapter.
00:43:25.67\00:43:28.20
It continues, saying,
"Therefore let us not sleep,
00:43:28.24\00:43:30.87
as do others, but let
us watch and be sober.
00:43:30.91\00:43:34.11
For they that
sleep in the night,
00:43:34.14\00:43:36.81
and they that be drunken
are drunken in the night."
00:43:36.85\00:43:41.35
So it's very interesting
that both Jesus and Paul
00:43:41.38\00:43:44.42
used very similar terminology.
00:43:44.45\00:43:47.46
The Apostle Paul uses words
00:43:47.49\00:43:50.99
such as remain, overtaken,
00:43:51.03\00:43:54.53
watch, be ready,
thief in the night,
00:43:54.56\00:43:59.07
don't be drunk, be
sober, destruction,
00:43:59.10\00:44:02.10
pray, not escape, suddenly.
00:44:02.14\00:44:06.34
Did Jesus use those same terms
00:44:06.37\00:44:08.78
right after he
referred to the days of Noah?
00:44:08.81\00:44:11.35
You read Chapter
24, the last verses
00:44:11.38\00:44:14.18
and you read Chapter
25, and you read Chapter 26,
00:44:14.22\00:44:17.19
Jesus says, "Watch,
pray, He says to His disciples,
00:44:17.22\00:44:20.16
be ready, don't get drunk."
00:44:20.19\00:44:21.82
He uses the same terminology.
00:44:21.86\00:44:24.09
But Jesus uses paralambano,
00:44:24.13\00:44:26.33
the Apostle Paul
uses katalambano,
00:44:26.36\00:44:28.70
because Jesus is
referring to a person
00:44:28.73\00:44:31.00
who is taken alongside another,
00:44:31.03\00:44:32.97
whereas the Apostle
Paul is speaking about
00:44:33.00\00:44:34.70
the wicked being overtaken.
00:44:34.74\00:44:37.57
Now let's notice
something very interesting
00:44:37.61\00:44:40.84
in the New
International Version.
00:44:40.88\00:44:45.08
The word that is used in
I Thessalonians Chapter 4,
00:44:45.11\00:44:49.72
you know, the King
James Version says,
00:44:49.75\00:44:52.89
"He who is alive and remains."
00:44:52.92\00:44:56.02
But, the NIV as well
as most modern versions
00:44:56.06\00:44:58.69
used another word to describe
00:44:58.73\00:45:02.40
those who remain alive.
00:45:02.43\00:45:04.80
The NIV says,
00:45:04.83\00:45:06.30
according to
the Word of God's...
00:45:06.33\00:45:08.54
According to
the Lord's own word,
00:45:08.57\00:45:10.61
we tell you that those
that we who are still alive,
00:45:10.64\00:45:13.61
who are left till
the coming of the Lord,
00:45:13.64\00:45:16.41
will certainly not proceed
those who are falling asleep.
00:45:16.44\00:45:19.21
But the Lord
Himself will come down
00:45:19.25\00:45:20.65
from heaven with a loud command,
00:45:20.68\00:45:22.85
with the voice of the archangel,
00:45:22.88\00:45:24.39
with the trumpet of God,
00:45:24.42\00:45:25.75
and the dead in
Christ will rise first.
00:45:25.79\00:45:27.62
After that, we who are
alive and still are left.
00:45:27.66\00:45:32.53
See the NIV understands it,
00:45:32.56\00:45:33.90
those who are
left are the righteous.
00:45:33.93\00:45:35.26
And in the next chapter,
00:45:35.30\00:45:36.63
Paul says the
wicked are the ones
00:45:36.67\00:45:38.00
that are overtaken, katalambano.
00:45:38.03\00:45:40.64
So it says here,
00:45:40.67\00:45:42.00
after that we
who are still alive
00:45:42.04\00:45:44.21
and are left will
caught up together
00:45:44.24\00:45:46.04
with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air,
00:45:46.07\00:45:48.34
and so we will
always be with the Lord.
00:45:48.38\00:45:53.21
So Matthew says that
the wicked will be taken.
00:45:53.25\00:45:57.02
If you read Luke, it says that
00:45:57.05\00:45:59.55
they will come upon them
and they will be destroyed.
00:45:59.59\00:46:03.22
The Apostle Paul says
that they will be overtaken.
00:46:03.26\00:46:06.80
Three different
expressions that refer to what?
00:46:06.83\00:46:10.63
To the same thing.
00:46:10.67\00:46:12.60
Let me give you some examples
in the way that we speak.
00:46:12.63\00:46:16.71
We use the expression,
00:46:16.74\00:46:18.07
did the flood
take them all away?
00:46:18.11\00:46:20.34
Wasn't anyone left?
00:46:20.38\00:46:24.55
Did the flood drown everyone?
00:46:24.58\00:46:27.38
Did not anyone remain?
00:46:27.42\00:46:30.09
Was everyone swept away?
00:46:30.12\00:46:31.62
Was not anyone preserved?
00:46:31.65\00:46:35.02
Did the flood destroy them all?
00:46:35.06\00:46:36.83
Wasn't anyone spared?
00:46:36.86\00:46:40.20
So are you
catching the nuance here?
00:46:40.23\00:46:43.43
The ones that are
taken are the ones
00:46:43.47\00:46:45.13
that are
overtaken and destroyed.
00:46:45.17\00:46:46.74
They're taken alongside
or beside the righteous,
00:46:46.77\00:46:49.94
because both are carrying
on their activities as usual.
00:46:49.97\00:46:53.61
But probation closes,
the wicked are surprised.
00:46:53.64\00:46:57.11
But the righteous
have been watching
00:46:57.15\00:46:58.48
and they've been praying.
00:46:58.51\00:46:59.85
They're not caught in the snare,
00:46:59.88\00:47:01.22
they're going to escape
according to what Jesus said.
00:47:01.25\00:47:04.15
Now let's go back to this
point about the use of the word
00:47:04.19\00:47:07.52
until There's
something very important here.
00:47:07.56\00:47:12.43
Jesus said that
He was gonna come
00:47:12.46\00:47:14.33
as a thief in the night.
00:47:14.36\00:47:17.17
He also said that
it's gonna be like
00:47:17.20\00:47:19.17
it wasn't the days of Noah.
00:47:19.20\00:47:21.74
So how do we understand
the coming of the thief?
00:47:21.77\00:47:26.14
The coming of the thief
00:47:26.17\00:47:27.51
really has two
stages, two points of time.
00:47:27.54\00:47:30.68
You say, really?
00:47:30.71\00:47:32.21
Yeah.
00:47:32.25\00:47:33.58
Let's suppose
that you went to bed
00:47:33.62\00:47:35.85
and you forgot
to lock your door.
00:47:35.88\00:47:38.35
At midnight, you're
sleeping and the thief comes
00:47:38.39\00:47:42.16
and he finds the door unlocked.
00:47:42.19\00:47:45.13
He comes into the house.
00:47:45.16\00:47:47.60
He steals
everything he can find.
00:47:47.63\00:47:50.67
Are those in the house
aware that the thief has come?
00:47:50.70\00:47:54.07
No.
00:47:54.10\00:47:56.07
Were they caught by surprise?
00:47:56.10\00:47:58.54
Yeah, they were
caught by surprise,
00:47:58.57\00:47:59.91
but they don't know it.
00:47:59.94\00:48:01.94
When do they discover
that the thief has come?
00:48:01.98\00:48:05.85
When they wake
up in the morning,
00:48:05.88\00:48:07.98
but then it's too late.
00:48:08.02\00:48:10.39
The same happened at
the time of the flood.
00:48:10.42\00:48:13.15
At the time of the flood,
the door to the ark closed
00:48:13.19\00:48:15.59
and the wicked they didn't have
00:48:15.62\00:48:17.36
the foggiest idea
that probation had closed,
00:48:17.39\00:48:19.59
they were caught by surprise.
00:48:19.63\00:48:21.83
When did they
discover that they were lost?
00:48:21.86\00:48:24.97
When destruction came.
00:48:25.00\00:48:27.54
So the word taken
refers to the moment
00:48:27.57\00:48:30.14
when probation
closes for the wicked
00:48:30.17\00:48:33.04
and they're surprised,
they are taken by surprise,
00:48:33.07\00:48:35.88
they are taken in the snare.
00:48:35.91\00:48:37.55
And it also refers
to the succeeding event,
00:48:37.58\00:48:40.32
which is their destruction
at the Second Coming of Jesus.
00:48:40.35\00:48:43.85
Are you following me or not?
00:48:43.89\00:48:45.95
Now some of you
might be wondering
00:48:45.99\00:48:48.76
whether this particular scenario
00:48:48.79\00:48:51.29
that I'm portraying is correct.
00:48:51.33\00:48:55.16
Well, let's see what
Ellen White had to say.
00:48:55.20\00:48:56.67
How about that?
00:48:56.70\00:48:58.27
Would you say that
if Ellen White agrees
00:48:58.30\00:49:00.34
with this perspective that
it's the right perspective?
00:49:00.37\00:49:03.30
Over and above the
fact that we've studied
00:49:03.34\00:49:04.84
the immediate context,
00:49:04.87\00:49:06.21
we've studied
the broader context,
00:49:06.24\00:49:07.58
we've studied
the meaning of words,
00:49:07.61\00:49:10.11
we've studied many,
many different things
00:49:10.15\00:49:12.31
to show that this is true.
00:49:12.35\00:49:13.85
Well, let's put
the icing on the cake
00:49:13.88\00:49:16.12
by reading a
statement from Ellen White.
00:49:16.15\00:49:18.92
This statement,
Ellen White is describing
00:49:18.95\00:49:23.06
the death of a U.S. President
00:49:23.09\00:49:25.19
by the name of William McKinley.
00:49:25.23\00:49:28.06
He was assassinated.
00:49:28.10\00:49:30.43
And Ellen White
00:49:30.47\00:49:32.03
felt a special
burden for his wife.
00:49:32.07\00:49:36.40
And now I want to
read you that statement.
00:49:36.44\00:49:38.44
It makes it very clear
who Ellen White understood,
00:49:38.47\00:49:41.04
were the ones taken
and the ones who are left?
00:49:41.08\00:49:44.71
This is how it reads.
00:49:44.75\00:49:46.92
Ellen White is
describing her grief
00:49:46.95\00:49:49.75
for the president's
wife, who now is a widow.
00:49:49.78\00:49:52.82
"I am not able to
sleep past 2 o'clock A.M.
00:49:52.85\00:49:58.63
I am awakened often
at 1 o'clock at night
00:49:58.66\00:50:03.37
with my heart drawn
out in tender sympathy
00:50:03.40\00:50:07.34
for the bereaved wife
of President McKinley.
00:50:07.37\00:50:11.24
One is taken
and the other left."
00:50:11.27\00:50:15.38
Where is she quoted from?
00:50:15.41\00:50:17.31
Matthew 24, very clearly.
00:50:17.35\00:50:20.25
She says, "One is
taken and the other left."
00:50:20.28\00:50:22.35
Now for her, who
is the one taken?
00:50:22.38\00:50:24.25
Is it McKinley
or is it his wife?
00:50:24.29\00:50:27.09
Well, let's continue reading.
00:50:27.12\00:50:29.19
"The strong one upon
whose large affections
00:50:29.22\00:50:33.33
she could ever lean, is not."
00:50:33.36\00:50:37.70
So who is the one taken?
00:50:37.73\00:50:41.94
Is it her, who is taken?
00:50:41.97\00:50:43.87
No, it's her
husband, because he died,
00:50:43.91\00:50:48.24
but she remained what?
00:50:48.28\00:50:50.25
"Alive." Let's continue reading.
00:50:50.28\00:50:52.61
"The strong one upon
whose large affections
00:50:52.65\00:50:54.98
she could ever lean, is not.
00:50:55.02\00:50:57.72
While he was in health,
00:50:57.75\00:50:59.49
fulfilling the
duties of his office,
00:50:59.52\00:51:01.82
an apparently
friendly hand was extended,
00:51:01.86\00:51:04.76
which President
McKinley was ready to grasp.
00:51:04.79\00:51:07.60
That Judas hand held a
pistol and shot the President.
00:51:07.63\00:51:12.20
Amid the scenes of pleasant life
00:51:12.23\00:51:14.04
and enjoyment came
sorrow and sadness,
00:51:14.07\00:51:16.74
and suffering and woe.
00:51:16.77\00:51:18.34
How could he do this
terrible murderous action?"
00:51:18.37\00:51:22.41
And then she says this,
00:51:22.44\00:51:24.31
"My heart is in deep sympathy
00:51:24.35\00:51:28.28
for the one who is left."
00:51:28.32\00:51:32.89
Is that clear crystal?
00:51:32.92\00:51:36.93
Who was the one who was left?
00:51:36.96\00:51:40.13
McKinley, who died?
00:51:40.16\00:51:42.00
No, the one who was left
was the one who was left alive.
00:51:42.03\00:51:47.27
So she says, "My
heart is in deep sympathy
00:51:47.30\00:51:49.60
for the one who is left.
00:51:49.64\00:51:51.57
I have been
repeating over and over,
00:51:51.61\00:51:54.18
Oh, how short came all
words of human sympathy.
00:51:54.21\00:51:58.68
There are thousands
00:51:58.71\00:52:00.05
that would
speak words to relieve
00:52:00.08\00:52:01.75
if possible the breaking heart,
00:52:01.78\00:52:04.02
but they do not
understand how feeble are words
00:52:04.05\00:52:06.76
to comfort the bereaved
one, who in her feebleness
00:52:06.79\00:52:10.93
ever found a human
heart in her husband,
00:52:10.96\00:52:13.50
full of tenderness,
and compassion, and love.
00:52:13.53\00:52:16.33
The strong human arm
00:52:16.36\00:52:18.33
upon which the
frail suffering wife
00:52:18.37\00:52:20.84
leaned, is not."
00:52:20.87\00:52:24.94
So who is the one that is?
00:52:24.97\00:52:28.71
His wife.
00:52:28.74\00:52:30.08
Who is the one there is not?
00:52:30.11\00:52:32.61
President McKinley.
00:52:32.65\00:52:34.25
Who is the one that was taken?
00:52:34.28\00:52:36.72
President McKinley.
00:52:36.75\00:52:38.45
Who is the one that was left?
00:52:38.49\00:52:41.89
His wife, very clearly.
00:52:41.92\00:52:46.19
So, folks, the
bottom line is this,
00:52:46.23\00:52:49.66
you know, it sounds
very plausible to say,
00:52:49.70\00:52:53.57
"Well, you know,
it's clear as day.
00:52:53.60\00:52:55.60
You know, the
taken are taken to heaven
00:52:55.64\00:52:57.04
and that the left
are the left behind."
00:52:57.07\00:52:58.41
No, no.
00:52:58.44\00:53:00.14
The situation is that
00:53:00.18\00:53:01.51
when Jesus closes
the door of probation
00:53:01.54\00:53:04.05
and when the destruction comes,
00:53:04.08\00:53:06.45
the wicked are taken.
00:53:06.48\00:53:09.22
They're taken by surprise
and then they're destroyed.
00:53:09.25\00:53:12.92
But the righteous are what?
00:53:12.95\00:53:14.96
They're left alive.
00:53:14.99\00:53:16.49
They remain.
00:53:16.52\00:53:18.03
And the Apostle
Paul makes that clear,
00:53:18.06\00:53:19.66
when he says,
"We who are alive,"
00:53:19.69\00:53:21.66
and the NIV
says, "And are left."
00:53:21.70\00:53:24.13
And then in Chapter 5 of
I Thessalonians, He says,
00:53:24.17\00:53:28.57
"The wicked will be overtaken,"
because they didn't watch,
00:53:28.60\00:53:31.94
because they didn't pray,
because they weren't sober,
00:53:31.97\00:53:34.94
they did not escape,
they were caught in the snare,
00:53:34.98\00:53:37.98
all of the terms that Jesus used
00:53:38.01\00:53:40.35
to describe his Second Coming
00:53:40.38\00:53:42.95
and the close of probation.
00:53:42.98\00:53:45.15
I want to read you
one closing statement
00:53:45.19\00:53:46.59
from Ellen White.
00:53:46.62\00:53:47.96
This is Great Controversy 491.
00:53:47.99\00:53:50.73
The little lady she had
more than human wisdom, folks.
00:53:50.76\00:53:55.10
She's writing about the
righteous and the wicked.
00:53:55.13\00:53:57.10
She says, "The righteous
and the wicked will still be
00:53:57.13\00:54:00.60
living upon the earth
in their mortal state.
00:54:00.64\00:54:03.97
Men will be
planting and building,
00:54:04.01\00:54:05.84
eating and drinking,
00:54:05.87\00:54:07.34
all unconscious that the
final irrevocable decision
00:54:07.38\00:54:12.15
has been pronounced
in the sanctuary above."
00:54:12.18\00:54:14.75
So the righteous and
the wicked are gonna be
00:54:14.78\00:54:16.42
living together,
carrying on business as usual,
00:54:16.45\00:54:19.85
unaware that, what?
00:54:19.89\00:54:22.82
Unaware that the irrevocable
decision has been pronounced
00:54:22.86\00:54:27.83
in the sanctuary
above, and then she goes
00:54:27.86\00:54:30.10
to the biblical
foundation of what she's saying.
00:54:30.13\00:54:32.80
Before the flood,
after Noah entered the ark,
00:54:32.83\00:54:36.54
God shut him in and
shut the ungodly out.
00:54:36.57\00:54:40.41
But for seven days
the people knowing not
00:54:40.44\00:54:43.35
that their doom was fixed...
00:54:43.38\00:54:46.21
When was their doom fixed?
00:54:46.25\00:54:49.45
In the heavenly sanctuary,
when the pronounced was made,
00:54:49.48\00:54:52.99
he who is filthy,
let him be filthy still,
00:54:53.02\00:54:57.13
he who is unrighteous,
let him be unrighteous still,
00:54:57.16\00:55:00.03
he who is holy,
let him be holy still,
00:55:00.06\00:55:02.23
and he was righteous,
let him be righteous still,
00:55:02.26\00:55:05.20
that
pronunciation is made in heaven.
00:55:05.23\00:55:08.00
She continues, "But
for seven days the people,
00:55:08.04\00:55:11.54
knowing not that
their doom was fixed,
00:55:11.57\00:55:13.74
continued their
careless pleasure loving life
00:55:13.78\00:55:16.34
and mocked the
warnings of impending judgment."
00:55:16.38\00:55:19.35
So says the Savior,
00:55:19.38\00:55:21.78
"Shall also be the
coming of the Son of Man."
00:55:21.82\00:55:24.45
She's quoting Matthew 24.
00:55:24.49\00:55:26.89
Silently, unnoticed
as the midnight thief
00:55:26.92\00:55:32.63
will come the decisive
hour, which marks the fixing
00:55:32.66\00:55:38.00
of every man's destiny,
00:55:38.03\00:55:39.90
the final withdrawal of
mercies offer to guilty men.
00:55:39.93\00:55:45.87
And then another quotation
that we find in Testimonies
00:55:45.91\00:55:49.98
for the Church.
00:55:50.01\00:55:51.35
I'll only read one.
00:55:51.38\00:55:52.71
This is the
Testimonies for the Church,
00:55:52.75\00:55:54.08
Volume II, page 190-191.
00:55:54.12\00:55:56.95
I'm only gonna
read the first part.
00:55:56.99\00:55:58.75
She's commenting
on Mark 13:35-37,
00:55:58.79\00:56:02.06
where it says,
00:56:02.09\00:56:03.43
"Nobody knows
the day or the hour."
00:56:03.46\00:56:04.86
We usually think of
that as the Second Coming,
00:56:04.89\00:56:06.76
but it refers to
the close of probation
00:56:06.80\00:56:08.36
and the Second Coming.
00:56:08.40\00:56:10.27
Now she says, "We
are waiting and watching
00:56:10.30\00:56:14.40
for the return of the Master,
00:56:14.44\00:56:16.47
who is to bring the morning,
00:56:16.50\00:56:18.41
lest coming suddenly
He find us sleeping."
00:56:18.44\00:56:20.88
She's quoting Mark 13.
00:56:20.91\00:56:23.11
Now notice, what
time is here referred to?
00:56:23.14\00:56:27.28
Where it says, we're waiting
for the return of the Master,
00:56:27.32\00:56:31.22
who coming suddenly
He might find us sleepy."
00:56:31.25\00:56:33.39
She says, what time
is here referred to?
00:56:33.42\00:56:35.86
Not to the revelation of
Christ in the clouds of heaven
00:56:35.89\00:56:38.79
to find people asleep.
00:56:38.83\00:56:40.16
"No, but to His
return from His ministration
00:56:40.20\00:56:43.53
in the most holy place
of the heavenly sanctuary,
00:56:43.57\00:56:46.40
when he lays off
His priestly attire
00:56:46.43\00:56:48.14
and clothes Himself
with garments of vengeance,
00:56:48.17\00:56:50.54
and when the mandate goes forth,
00:56:50.57\00:56:52.34
He that is unjust,
let him be unjust still,
00:56:52.37\00:56:54.84
he that is filthy,
let him be filthy still,
00:56:54.88\00:56:57.11
he that is righteous,
let him be righteous still,
00:56:57.15\00:56:59.45
and he that is holy,
let him be holy still."
00:56:59.48\00:57:03.49
And then she states,
00:57:03.52\00:57:04.85
"When Jesus
ceases to plead for man,
00:57:04.89\00:57:06.99
the cases of all
are forever decided.
00:57:07.02\00:57:10.43
This is the time of
reckoning with His servants.
00:57:10.46\00:57:12.99
To those who have neglected
the preparation of purity
00:57:13.03\00:57:15.46
and holiness, which fits them
00:57:15.50\00:57:17.13
to be waiting ones
to welcome their Lord,
00:57:17.17\00:57:19.23
the sun sets in
gloom and darkness,
00:57:19.27\00:57:21.57
and rises not again.
00:57:21.60\00:57:22.94
Probation closes,
00:57:22.97\00:57:24.91
Christ's
intercessions cease in heaven."
00:57:24.94\00:57:29.64
So when are the wicked taken?
00:57:29.68\00:57:31.88
Only when Jesus
comes to destroy them?
00:57:31.91\00:57:34.45
No.
00:57:34.48\00:57:35.82
They are taken by surprise
when Jesus comes as a thief
00:57:35.85\00:57:38.82
and they are sleeping.
00:57:38.85\00:57:41.02
Does that have
anything to say to us?
00:57:41.06\00:57:43.83
Is there a possibility
that we could be taken?
00:57:43.86\00:57:46.53
Yes, that's why Jesus said
we must pray, we must watch,
00:57:46.56\00:57:50.03
we must be sober, we
must occupy till He comes.
00:57:50.07\00:57:54.37
Lest we be found sleeping.
00:57:54.40\00:57:57.91
I hope that what we've
studied has been beneficial.
00:57:57.94\00:58:00.68
Now, you know,
00:58:00.71\00:58:02.21
there's a lot
more than I could say,
00:58:02.24\00:58:03.78
but time is up.
00:58:03.81\00:58:05.15