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All right, good evening everyone. I want to welcome you back to our sixth and

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final presentation for Three Angels, One Message. This has been quite the journey.

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We have covered so many different things. We have looked at wonderful topics. We

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have looked at concerning topics, but most importantly we have seen Jesus in

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the midst of all of it, and I for one have been encouraged by it. I hope you

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have too. I hope if you're watching on Facebook you have been encouraged with

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these as well, that maybe if this is the first time you've studied this in-depth

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in this particular singular passage in the Bible, Revelation 14 verses 6 and

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onwards, that you will have walked away with something. You will have walked away

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with an increased faith. You will have walked away with an increased

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appreciation for the book of Revelation. Maybe that's not where you typically go

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the epistles from Paul are a favorite. Old Testament narratives are a favorite.

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The Gospels are of course one of my favorites, but that doesn't mean that we

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should stay away from Revelation. We've seen that it's rich. We've seen that it's

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deep, and we've seen that it's important and vital for right now. So tonight we're

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going to finish this up. We're going to have a slightly shorter, probably

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noticeably shorter compared to the last two presentations. Tonight's title just

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simply, Don't Worry, Look to Jesus. Let's pray before we begin. Heavenly Father, we

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thank you for a beautiful Sabbath afternoon. We thank you for the rest

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that we could enjoy, the fellowship with family and with friends, and so we pray

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now that you would be with us as we close out today. Be with us as we look one

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more time at these important passages and words from your inspired writings of

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the Bible, for we pray in Jesus name, amen. Amen. One of the more significant

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events of World War I was the sinking of the Cunardosian liner, the RMS

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Lusitania. It occurred on Friday, May 7, 1915, as Germany waged submarine warfare

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against the United Kingdom. Good evening, come on in. Great Britain, Ireland, and

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the British Royal Navy had blockaded Germany. The ship was identified and

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torpedoed by a German U-boat, and it sank in only 18 minutes. The vessel went down

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11 miles off of Kinzale, Ireland, killing 1,198 people and leaving 761 survivors.

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It's pretty tragic really by any measurement. The sinking turned public

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opinion in many countries against Germany. This contributed to the American

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entry into World War I, and it became an iconic symbol in military recruiting

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campaigns as to why the war was even being fought to begin with. I guess this

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would be World War I's Pearl Harbor, if you will. A story associated with this

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disaster has relevance for Bible-believing Christians, especially

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for Seventh-day Adventists living in last days of human history. Lord Joseph

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Duveen was the head of a prestigious art firm in the United States. In 1915, he

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planned to send one of his experts to England to examine some ancient pottery.

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He booked passage for his associate on the Lusitania. The German Embassy had

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issued a warning that the ocean liner might be torpedoed. Lord Duveen wanted to

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call off the trip. I can't take the risk of you being killed, he said to his young

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pottery expert. Generally, if a country that is waging war with so many other

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nations says, I might torpedo that boat if it comes this way, one should probably

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listen. So you can hardly fault Lord Duveen for not wanting his young

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associate on that ship with the looming threat. Don't worry, the young man

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replied. I am a strong swimmer. When I read what was happening in the Atlantic,

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I began hardening myself by spending time every day in a tub of ice. If you've

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ever done any of this, I mean that's common for like athletes, you know,

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they're sore, they get in that ice bathtub at the end and it helps with the

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inflammation and so on. I could not do that, at least not initially. This man was

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taking the initiative though. He says that at first I could stand it for only

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a few minutes, but this morning I stayed in that tub for nearly two hours. A long

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time. I don't know how you kept that ice frozen, seems like it would have melted

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off and become a little bit more tepid, but he was conditioning himself, he says.

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Naturally Lord Duveen laughed, it sounded preposterous, but the young man sailed,

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the Lusitania was torpedoed, we know. The amazing thing is that the young man was

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rescued after five hours in the chilly waters of the Atlantic, still in

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excellent condition. Just as this young man took the warnings seriously and

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prepared himself in advance for the tough times that were coming, so Jesus

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gives a message in advance to prepare us for his soon return. We've studied them.

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It has been our focus for these previous five presentations. The three angels

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message, flying in midair with the everlasting gospel to preach to

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everybody on the planet, is especially designed by Christ to prepare each one

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of us for his second coming. It is, and it's a way of preparing us in the

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most vital of senses, whose allegiance do we pledge ourselves to? Is it to God

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in Christ, or is it to something else? These end time messages are heaven's last

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appeals to a dying planet. I'm gonna be honest, I'm kind of ready for the planet

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to kick the bucket. If it's dying, it might as well get over it because I'm

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sick of the results of sin. I'm tired of it. The hurricane, as they are, I'm sure

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they will be finding lost loved ones as they clean up from this hurricane. As we

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have earthquakes and we have riots that turn violent, as we have the various

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increases in crime and overdoses and loneliness and depression, all of it

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comes to an end when Jesus returns. Come Lord Jesus is my cry. But before then, we

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have to listen to God's last appeal. We ignore them at our own peril. They come

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to us from God's heart of divine love and to casually set them aside or to

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treat them with careless indifference is to risk eternal loss. We are not playing

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around with light semantics or hyperbole with this my friends. It is this

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important. Paul writing to the church in Thessalonica writes this, but you

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brethren are not in darkness so that this day, that would be the day of Christ's

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return, that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and

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sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not

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sleep as others do but let us watch and be sober. There is much talk in

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evangelical Christianity about Christ's return coming as a thief. Paul is telling

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us that we should not be caught as a thief. Christians should know when it's

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coming. Christians should be looking for his coming. Christians should be prepared

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for Christ's coming so that it doesn't catch us as a thief. The Christians who

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are looking for Jesus to come as a thief are the Christians who aren't looking at

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all. That's what this amounts to. We have no excuse Paul says. We are not of the

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night. We should not be asleep. We should be prepared for it. These messages help us

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do that. They should be a wake-up call. If you have found yourself spiritually

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slumbering and these messages have been that ringing in your ears, wake up and

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pay attention, praise God for these messages. We should thank him for it. They

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are of little use if we hit the snooze button and carelessly dismiss them. They

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are of little use if we ignore them. They are of little use if they do not

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radically change our lives. We read this from Testimonies Volume 8 commenting on

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the nearness of Christ's return and the importance of being prepared. The end is

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very near. We who know the truth should be preparing for what is soon to break

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upon the world as an overwhelming surprise. Note that the surprise breaks

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upon the world. We who are prepared are not going to be caught as if we were

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overwhelmingly surprised. That's for them, not for us she says. Well how do we do

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that? Jesus in John 17 says, you sanctify them by your truth. Your word is

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truth. That's where we start our preparation. We start by digging into the

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truth of God's word. He also says, and you shall know the truth and then the truth

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shall make you free. I have heard people say that it's better that I don't read

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the Bible so then I can claim the bliss of ignorance. God winks at us in our

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moments of ignorance. Well my friends, if you choose to be ignorant, you are

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choosing the opposite of freedom. If you choose the ignorance, then you are

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choosing to be what the Bible says as a slave to sin rather than a bond servant

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to Christ. Because when you are linked up with Jesus, only then can you truly be

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free. Because the truth that we find in him is liberating. It's restful. It's

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peaceful. It says I've forgiven you and not only that but I've cleansed you from

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the unrighteousness. The truth that we find in Jesus, the truth that we've

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studied through these passages, that we've seen that the gospel permeates

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each of these angels messages, is that it will bring us to a place where

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we can have hope in something beyond this world. We can have something higher

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than us. But what it also means is that these messages don't leave room for

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compromise. They don't. Because we either have the truth as it is in Jesus or we

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don't have truth at all. We've looked at Babylonian truth and that's really

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truth mixed with error. Compromised truth. Confusion. These messages appeal to

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us to decide for Christ and not falsehood. Truth not error. Scripture not

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tradition. The teachings of God's Word and not the traditions of men and the

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freedom of the Lamb, not the coercion of the beast. That's what these messages

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call us to. When you have allied yourself to Christ, not turned aside by any means

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but wholly consecrated to Him in His service, then you are proudly displayed

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as one of His saints. And God wants to show you off. Here is the patience of the

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saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of

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Jesus. In your own way, when you are found among these people, in your own way

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you will pick up the banner long held by faithful Christians throughout history.

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You don't have to be the street corner preacher or the the evangelist who

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stands on the stage. You don't have to be the writer just going at it for

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hundreds and hundreds of pages to be published and scattered abroad like the

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leaves in autumn. If that's not you, that's okay. Maybe you're a prayer warrior.

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Maybe you're someone who serves and you you like to rake leaves as a gift to

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someone else free of charge. Because then you can tell them about how God saved

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you free of charge. In your own way, when you are counted among the saints, you

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will pick up the banner long held by faithful Christians throughout history.

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And in your own way, you will add your voice to the proclamation chorus. You

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don't have to be like someone else. Be like you. That's enough for God and He

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wants to proudly put you on display. Truths long obscured by the darkness of

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error and tradition, including the true Bible Sabbath, will be proclaimed to the

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world just before the return of our Lord. God's people are identified as a body of

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Christ-centered believers, filled with the faith of Jesus who lovingly keep

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His commandments, including the fourth one, the Sabbath. God's people, though,

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will not be proclaiming the gospel alone. God's people will not be facing

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persecution alone. God will move mightily among His people to combat the enemy of

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souls because there's going to come a time when God will say enough to that

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enemy. Enough! You've ruled long enough, sir! That's what God will say to Satan.

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You see, the three angels of Revelation 14 are joined by another in Revelation

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18. Revelation 18, this angel gives power to the proclamation of the three angels

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so that the earth is lighted with the glory of God. Revelation 18 focuses on

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the major events leading up to the climax of human history and the final

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ultimate triumph of the gospel. Let's look at these briefly. Revelation 18 in

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verse 1, After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven with great

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authority and the earth was illuminated with his glory. Illuminated, mighty,

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powerful was this angelic host. The angel comes down from the glorious presence of

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God in the throne room of the sanctuary. Commissioned to proclaim God's last

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message of mercy and to warn the inhabitants of the earth what is coming

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upon this planet. If we look just for a moment about this great authority, the

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great authority here in this verse comes from the New Testament Greek word

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excusia. Jesus uses this word, this very word, excusia in the gospel of

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Matthew in connection with sending out the disciples. Let's see how Jesus uses

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it then. Matthew 10, 1, when he had called his 12 disciples to him he gave them power,

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excusia over sicknesses, other maladies and cripplings, but hear this, and over

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the evil spirits so they could cast them out of the men and women possessed by

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the devil. In other words, God ascends his disciples out with the divine power to

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be victorious in the battle between good and evil. Satan and his demonic forces

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could not stand before the disciples because God, because Jesus had given

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them his excusia, his great authority, his holy power. And so when they said get

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out of her in the name of Jesus Christ or get out of him, the spirits obeyed.

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They didn't have a choice. They could not stand up to the authority from on high. In

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Matthew 28, 18, and 19 he once again takes up this word, excusia, as he sends

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out his disciples, but this time he sends them everywhere because that is the

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Great Commission. Everywhere with all authority in heaven and on earth to go

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and to make disciples of all nations. Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit,

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going forth with the authority of the risen living Christ, the New Testament

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Church lighted the earth with the glory of God. In a few short years, the

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disciples had proclaimed the gospel in the then known world. We know, we know,

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that there were civilizations in far-off Asia and South America and I'm certain

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North America at that point. In terms of the scope of the Christian movement, in a

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couple of short years, the Christian faith had gone throughout the mightiest

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empire on the planet at that time. The seat of development at that time, Western

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Europe, the Middle East and then up into the Roman Empire. That's what we mean by

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the then known world. Colossians 1.23, Paul makes this clear. At the end time,

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the Holy Spirit will be poured out in unprecedented power. The gospel will

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rapidly be spread to the ends of the earth. What we will, what we did see back

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then, that will be repeated again right before Jesus comes back. That same

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excuse you, that same authority is going to be given to God's people today as we

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take up that banner and proclaim the gospel like the disciples did. Thousands

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will be converted in a day. God's grace and truth will impact the entire planet.

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Well, if this is true, and it is, if it is true, and it is, it is not wise for us to

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open our hearts to receive, or is it not wise for us to open our hearts to receive

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the outpouring of the Spirit to finish the work of God on earth. Again, aren't we

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tired of Satan wreaking havoc amongst God's people? Would you like to help move

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it along and tie it up with a bow? God wants you to join him in this. Is it not

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wise to ask Jesus to take anything out of our lives that would hinder this

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outpouring of the Holy Spirit, whatever it is, and everybody usually has at least

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one thing that we can, we can self-reflect on and say, I'd kind of like

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that scrubbed. Could a magic eraser be taken to it and Mr. Clean applied?

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Spiritually speaking, we understand. Is it not wise to seek God for the heart

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cleansing necessary to receive the latter rain of the Spirit in all his

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fullness? The great controversy between good and evil in the universe is about

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God's honor. The only reason we care about worship is because it honors God

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when we worship him. You can't divorce them. It is about God's honor, his

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reputation. Satan, as a rebellious angel, declared that God was unjust, that he

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demands worship, but he gives little in return. The evil one declares that God's

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law is arbitrary, restricting our freedom and limiting our joy, and people pick up

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those same accusations today verbatim and they hurl them heavenward all over

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again. It hasn't stopped just because time has passed. In fact, there are just

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now more people on the planet to pick up the chorus. But the cross, Jesus

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self-sacrificing, condescension from heaven to earth as a baby, a life serving

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others, a ministry directing minds heavenward, finally outstretched hands

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and bleeding wrists and feet and brow, the cross, that old rugged cross, that

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proved the myth. It proved the lie to be a lie because when he came forth in glory

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from that tomb, resurrected and made majestic again, he demonstrated just how

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far God's love would go in self-sacrifice, contrary to the lie, to

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redeem fallen humanity. It exposed the myth of Satan. On the

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cross, Jesus answered Satan's charges and he demonstrated that God is loving and

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just. Well, God's people charmed by that love, concerned about God's honor, his

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end-time people will reveal his glory. That's what we are to reveal, his loving

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self-sacrificing character. We're to reveal it to a self-centered, godless

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world. The earth is illuminated by the character of God when we do that. What a

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wonderful calling. I can't imagine a more noble cause to be involved in than to

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demonstrate the character, the glory of God to others. That's awesome. That's

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certainly better than displaying your favorite brand of t-shirt or your

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favorite sports team, even if we like sports. Oh, show people God. Show people

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love. Show people his glory and his character. That's a noble calling. Moses

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had asked God to show him his glory back in Exodus 33 and God replied with, I will

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make all my goodness pass before you. And so in addition to physically showing

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himself, just a portion of his backside, it's all sinful humanity could behold.

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God declared himself. When he says, my goodness is going to pass before you, he

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then goes on to say, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and just, and just,

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forgiving the sinner. He declared his character and he equated that with his

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glory as God's goodness is his character. At the end time, the Holy Spirit will be

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poured out in unprecedented power. The gospel will rapidly be spread to the

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ends of the earth and God's people will be filled and the earth then will be

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filled with the glory of God when we are so completely overwhelmed with his love,

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when we so totally comprehend its depth and so fully grasp how amazing that

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grace is that our characters are changed by that redeeming love. When we

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exemplify that, then the earth is filled with the glory of God. As the Apostle

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John declares in 1st John 3, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed

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on us, that we should be called the children of God. There are a lot of

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titles that people strive for today. I would encourage every one of us to strive

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for this child, or for this title, a child of God, a son or a daughter of the most

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high. Revealing his love in our personal lives reveals his glory, his character.

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Ellen White says this in January 28 of 1893, the message of Christ's righteousness

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is to sound from one end of the earth to the other. The message of Christ's

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righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth to the other. That's the

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proclamation of the gospel. This is the glory of God which closes the work of

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the third angel. It's so connected to the messages that we have been studying, you

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cannot divorce them. So let us ask, where are we in the stream of time? Where are

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we in the great panorama of last-day events? When you read through the books

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of Daniel and Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel even has connections to today. If you look

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through Revelation and what Paul talks about in Thessalonians 1 and 2 about

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the end times, what Peter talks about, John calling out the Antichrist, all of

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those macro discussions about the end times. Where are we? Where are we in the

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march of history? Well my friends, we are poised on the verge of a religious,

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political, and an economic union. This union is one that is unholy, it is

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unsanctified of God because inevitably or ultimately it will be used to

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persecute God's people. This unholy union of religion, politics, and economics will

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be used to bring God's people to heal. That's where we are and I do believe

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that we are on the verge of it. I do believe and we've presented some

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evidence to support this, that a lot of the groundwork is being laid for, again,

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I believe rapid movements in this direction. The accumulated figures of

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sin are rapidly reaching their limit in God's record book. His grace lasts long

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towards this earth and I believe our sins are just piling high exponentially

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today. It's rather startling. God is preparing a people to proclaim the

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marvels of His grace, the greatness of His love, the goodness of His character,

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the righteousness of His law, and the beauty of His truth. Bathed in His

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righteousness, God's people are justified by His grace and sanctified through His

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power. They love His truth, live His truth, and then we proclaim His truth.

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That's what God's people do and He is preparing us for that today. Can we say

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like Paul, for me to live is Christ? For me to count all things but loss for

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Christ. Christ is our all in all. Do you care not for earthly fame or human

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accolades? Position, prestige, and earthly praise. Does it mean little to you? Is

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this your catchphrase, if you will? For me to live is Christ. Are you empowered by

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His Spirit? Do you proclaim His love and share His grace? Well, the earth will then

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be lighted with the glory of the character of God when this is your

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battle cry. For me to live is Christ. The Holy Spirit is poured out in lather rain

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power. Hearts are touched, lives are changed, the world is reached, and Jesus

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comes again. I look forward to that day. I do. The title for tonight's presentation

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is just don't worry, look to Jesus. It's very simple and it's very true. We aren't

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going to go into all of everything that proves that Jesus is going to come back

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in the ample evidence in the Bible. It's so saturated with it. I would encourage

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you to study on your own, but Jesus is coming back soon and we should be

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prepared for it. Look to Him, focus on Him, and a lot of the other cares will

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start to fade out of the periphery. It's very true. The story goes like this many

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years ago. Lord Cecil, a first cousin of the late Queen Victoria, was converted

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to Christ. His life was dramatically changed as many lives are after being

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converted to a faith in Jesus Christ. He now had a burning passion to share the

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Christ who had done so much for Him. Has Christ done so much for you? It's worth

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asking. Lord Cecil's one desire was to preach the gospel. He traveled to

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North America, he spent much of his time in Canada, he shared the love of Christ

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everywhere he went, in large cities, in remote villages, among farmers, in the

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lumber camps, and in quiet seaside towns. He was a man who knew what he wanted to

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do, and everywhere he went, he did it. Let me tell you about Jesus. Lord Cecil

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tells the story of one day passing the house of a man whom he knew was

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once a Christian, but had seriously drifted away from Christ. Maybe we know

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someone like that. Maybe we are someone like that, or have been. It's a relatable

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story for many, many people. Lord Cecil saw the man at his woodpile,

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industriously chopping wood for his cook stove. Knowing the man to be a

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backslider, one who had once been a faithful witness for his Savior, but now

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was no longer attending church, Lord Cecil paused and shouted to him a

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simple sermon. The Lord is coming brother, the Lord is coming. He said no more, and

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he continued walking. A simple sermon. Well the admonition of the Lord is

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coming burned its way into that man's soul. The words reached the core of his

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being. Like a two-edged sword, it pierced his heart. His conscience smote him. These

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words echoed again and again in his mind. The Lord is coming. It seemed he could

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not forget them. That urgent appeal from God's servant that the coming of the

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Lord was near so impressed the man that he recommitted his life to Christ and

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he returned to church. Living in the light of the second coming of Christ is

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powerful and it changes lives. My friends, the Lord is coming. The Lord is coming.

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Friend, the Lord is coming. Are you ready for his return? Are you ready for that

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day when Jesus will stream down the corridors of heaven, splitting open the

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eastern sky, riding on a cloud of angels, singing his praise. This time not as a

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lamb to the slaughter but as a king conquering and victorious. Glorified, not

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bloodied. He is coming to take his own back home. Will you be found among them?

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Look to Jesus, my friends. Are you ready for the day when the earth will be

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lightened with the glory of God? Do you want to help in lightening the earth

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with the glory of God? This world is on a collision course and there is only one

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hope. The hope of the coming of Jesus. We look forward to that day and I pray that

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as we do, you don't worry but you look to Jesus. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we

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thank you so much for these encouraging words. We thank you that even though

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there seems to be so much chaos and noise all around us, we can find the

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solace in you. So Lord, I pray for that peace from on high. I pray for the

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presence of your Holy Spirit. I pray that we as your people will be prepared for

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your soon return so that we look at you with open and welcoming arms. Not

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something to fear. Certainly not a day that should catch us unawares. Lord, may

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we be faithful to you through to the end and may we also in our own way proclaim

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the Lord is coming to any who would hear. As we pray in Jesus name, Amen.

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That does conclude our series. I want to thank you for attending. We've had some

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things, I think several of us have made every one. That's very good. If I had gold

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stars, I don't. I told you we would have a Q&A time. There might be a possibility

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of someone looking online. If anyone is watching us live, you can type into the

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chat box a question and we'll do our best to read it out and include it. I

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wanted to kick us off with something. I wanted to kick us off with a verse that

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comes right after the passage that we've been studying. Most people when they talk

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about the three angels messages, they talk about Revelation 14 verses 6 to 12.

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Rightfully so. It's a great place to end. It kind of leads right up to it. It's

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kind of a crescendo. It's the patience of the saints, those who keep the

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commandments of God and the faith of Jesus and so on. It's a beautiful way of

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doing it. I like to also include in that verse 13. I want to lead into it by

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saying that I really don't know why very many people preach on it. Maybe you've

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read it and you've wondered about it. Maybe you've looked at it and you said,

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I don't really know what to think about it. So I want to give it a minute or two's

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consideration. It reads like this, and I heard a voice from heaven. This

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is after, immediately after. Here is the patience or the endurance of the saints,

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those that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Right after

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that we have, I heard a voice from heaven saying, right this, blessed are the dead

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who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed says the Spirit that they may

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rest from their labors for their deeds follow them. I came to that one day and

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I've read it several times and usually I just kind of skip past it. For the most

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part if you are reading a three angels message you just get to 12 and you're

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like, I'm done. But this comes right on the heels of, here's the description of

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God's saints and then it's, and then it's blessed are those who die, yeah right

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there, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Well it seems like

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an interesting thing to follow after. Here are the saints who do all of these

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things. Here's why I think it is there.

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John is writing at a time shortly after Paul was addressing concerns. Revelation

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was most likely the last book of the Bible ever written. It was probably

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written around a hundred AD-ish, right before the Apostle John died. Before that

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Paul had all of his writings. Well in one of Paul's epistles he talks about, he

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talks to the people, he writes to the church, then they are obviously concerned

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with loved ones dying. And he goes, well take heart, hold on, and then he talks

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about the resurrection, right. That's the context. Hold on, you don't have to lose

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heart, you are not ignorant of what happens when people die because the

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resurrection, all right. There will come a day we'll all be reunited and caught up

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in the air, and those if you live until Jesus comes back you're not going to go

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ahead of your dead loved ones, we all get to go together. That's the

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errant, tralfa paraphrase. You know John is probably dealing with something

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similar a couple of years after Paul, where people are still maybe concerned

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one, that Jesus hadn't come back. They believed in the early church that in

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that singular generation Jesus was going to go to heaven, maybe hang out for a

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year or five or ten, and come right back. The Bible writes about Christ's return

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as imminent and also be patient for it. They focused on the imminence of it, and

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they believed that to be now, my generation. They also believed that

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there was a little bit of Greek misunderstanding with things, that

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there wasn't perhaps a resurrection. Paul handled that. John writes, you know, at

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the ending of the first century AD, and I'm sure some Christians

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were still concerned that their loved ones were dying and Jesus hadn't come

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back. What is going on, John? So he writes after the description of the saints,

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blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on, that they may rest from

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their labors for their deeds follow them. In other words, it is sad when we lose a

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loved one, but if someone dies with the faith of Jesus, that won't be the last

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time we get to see them. That faith follows them. God remembers them in the

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grave. He knows them by name, and those deeds, if you will, the keeping, the

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deeds being the keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, those two

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things would be counted as deeds. That follows them through time, however long

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time takes to pass, and then Jesus comes back and they get resurrected. I have

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heard it said before that God in His mercy is going to allow some saints of

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His to fall asleep in death so that they don't have to go through the tough

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persecution times of the end. That it's gracious of God to let His loved ones

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die the death of sleep knowing that He knows them by name, that their faith

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stays with them through the grave, and they will be resurrected. The next

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thing they know, they're just going to see Jesus and angels and everyone's

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shouting hallelujah, and here we go and off you go.

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That's, you know, we have this, we have sometimes this notion that we bend all of

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our energies in keeping people alive and alive and alive and alive. I think

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sometimes we lose the nobility or the possible nobility in giving them a

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gracious death. Sometimes it's better to just allow someone to die keeping this

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part in mind, because when a heavenly angel says blessed are the dead who die

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in the Lord from now on, why should I look to violate that? I've kind of been

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convicted of that. That's not to say that we're looking to, we don't want it to end

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prematurely, we're not saying that, but we are keeping things in the context of

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how Scripture tells us to treat death. It is very sad. We don't mean to diminish

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the sadness of losing a loved one. I went through that just this last year when

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when my last grandfather passed away, so I don't have a grandparent alive anymore.

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That's a whole generation gone for me and my family. It was very sad, you know,

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we cried, we mourned, you know, we visited and we reminisced, but this is, this

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right here was the passage that I preached on for his memorial service,

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because Paul also says that we should comfort one another with the words of

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00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:41,560
the resurrection. So that's, I actually think we should give it a little bit

412
00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:48,360
more consideration than we do perhaps at the back end of these these passages, so

413
00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:52,360
I wanted to start off the Q&A section with that. I'm going to turn it over now,

414
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:56,040
do we have anything, don't have anything online? That's fine, is there anyone here

415
00:43:56,040 --> 00:44:03,040
who has a question?

416
00:44:03,040 --> 00:44:29,040
A special resurrection?

417
00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:42,040
Before Jesus comes, before he died, he told to the people that crucified him that this,

418
00:44:42,040 --> 00:44:48,040
that when he's gonna come back for second time, they're gonna see him again.

419
00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:49,040
Yes.

420
00:44:49,040 --> 00:44:57,040
So I heard some preacher says that this applied to that, because it's supposed,

421
00:44:57,040 --> 00:45:07,040
according to the Bible, in the second, no, the first day, the first

422
00:45:07,040 --> 00:45:17,040
resurrection, I mean, is when Jesus is coming back, right? But there's gonna be

423
00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:24,040
special people that is gonna resurrect a little bit before he's coming to fulfill

424
00:45:24,040 --> 00:45:29,040
that prophecy that Jesus said.

425
00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:35,040
Okay, so we've heard that there is a special resurrection for some people,

426
00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:42,040
you've heard it applied to the verse that we just discussed. Here's, I don't

427
00:45:42,040 --> 00:45:46,040
believe that, right up front, I don't think that's the case. Here's why I don't

428
00:45:46,040 --> 00:45:50,040
think that's the case. The verse that we just studied says, blessed are those who

429
00:45:50,040 --> 00:45:57,040
die in the Lord, right? In other words, those would be saints, okay? Jesus told

430
00:45:57,040 --> 00:46:04,040
the Pharisees, those that went out of their way to condemn and crucify him, that

431
00:46:04,040 --> 00:46:11,040
you will see the Son of Man returning back, right? Coming in glory, right? Okay.

432
00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:18,040
That one could not imagine that the Pharisees who were the guiltiest of them

433
00:46:18,040 --> 00:46:24,040
all for crucifying the Son of God would then be called blessed in another part of

434
00:46:24,040 --> 00:46:30,040
the Bible, okay? The Bible talks about two resurrections. You have a second,

435
00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:34,040
that's the one that's actually called a second, which means you automatically

436
00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:40,040
apply first to the other ones. You have two main resurrections in the Bible. One

437
00:46:40,040 --> 00:46:46,040
are the righteous, that's the first resurrection. The righteous are raised to

438
00:46:46,040 --> 00:46:51,040
dead and then they are in their glorified bodies, reunited with the living

439
00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:55,040
righteous. They are caught up together in the air and then they join Jesus and off

440
00:46:55,040 --> 00:46:59,040
they go. That's the first resurrection. The Bible then accounts for a thousand

441
00:46:59,040 --> 00:47:04,040
years, a millennia. Time will pass. We come back to earth with the new Jerusalem

442
00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:08,040
and then you have the second resurrection. That would be for the wicked,

443
00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:15,040
the unrighteous. They are raised back to life to face their judgment. Their

444
00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:20,040
reward, if you will, for having been wicked and pledging their allegiance to

445
00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:25,040
the enemy of souls rather than the life giver. The Bible doesn't tell us how

446
00:47:25,040 --> 00:47:32,040
long time passes. I actually believe that some time passes between the second

447
00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:37,040
resurrection and the lake of fire, but that's when the final judgment scene

448
00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:44,040
occurs in the Bible. So two resurrections. Jesus in a special way does tell

449
00:47:44,040 --> 00:47:51,040
these Pharisees that they will get to see him return in glory. There's some

450
00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:56,040
debate over whether that means that they will see him and the new Jerusalem and

451
00:47:56,040 --> 00:48:01,040
everybody returning in glory at the second resurrection or if it means that

452
00:48:01,040 --> 00:48:09,040
for that subset of people because their sin was that egregious in condemning the

453
00:48:09,040 --> 00:48:15,040
son of man to die and lying about him and so on that they will be resurrected as

454
00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:21,040
a part of the first resurrection but not to glory only to see Jesus glorified

455
00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:27,040
because the last time that they saw him he was bleeding and bruised and so on. So

456
00:48:27,040 --> 00:48:37,040
in other words it would be a very specific and very unique circumstance for

457
00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:45,040
that small subset of humans because they just kept saying you're not God, you're

458
00:48:45,040 --> 00:48:49,040
not God, you're not God and they got everybody else to rally around that and

459
00:48:49,040 --> 00:48:55,040
he'll go well you'll get to see but that seems to be restricted to that. It

460
00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:59,040
certainly wouldn't apply to this because that would not be a blessed

461
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:11,040
a blessed thing. Anything else? Paul says no he's got it all figured out. He's

462
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:19,040
gonna write books. Alright is there anything I mean it doesn't even have to

463
00:49:19,040 --> 00:49:26,040
be about these passages is there some other spiritual question or end time

464
00:49:26,040 --> 00:49:36,040
events things or so on and so forth? Yes. So I had a good friend pass away last

465
00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:42,040
week childhood friends with a bunch of friends with that and so through

466
00:49:42,040 --> 00:49:50,040
conversation and everybody's Catholic and every you know I kept hearing well

467
00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:57,040
he's in heaven and in all these things and I was so to the point where I didn't

468
00:49:57,040 --> 00:50:03,040
know when or what to say on this when I heard this and talked about it because

469
00:50:03,040 --> 00:50:10,040
it was talked about you know that was their comfort and so I was just

470
00:50:10,040 --> 00:50:16,040
wondering when is a good time to actually discuss the state of the dead

471
00:50:16,040 --> 00:50:22,040
and what have you with some of my friends. I don't know what you know where

472
00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:27,040
to go from there I never I never counted this at my time where I am right now

473
00:50:27,040 --> 00:50:35,040
yeah wanting to I want to say is because we're we're we're talking to friends I'm

474
00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:39,040
talking to friends I haven't even talked to in a while and from and it just

475
00:50:39,040 --> 00:50:44,040
seems like it's almost like an opportunity that's in front of me to

476
00:50:44,040 --> 00:50:52,040
take that this whole scenario further beyond you know just what's happening

477
00:50:52,040 --> 00:50:59,040
now so so I wait a while do I do this what I mean I don't even know

478
00:50:59,040 --> 00:51:04,040
generally speaking the worst time to do an apologetic study on the state of the

479
00:51:04,040 --> 00:51:11,040
dead is when people are mourning the dead that's the worst time to do it why

480
00:51:11,040 --> 00:51:18,040
because when when the state of the dead what happens when you die the biblical

481
00:51:18,040 --> 00:51:26,040
teaching that people are resting in a sleep-like state unconscious not with a

482
00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:31,040
detached ethereal spirit that goes somewhere else continuing on in

483
00:51:31,040 --> 00:51:36,040
consciousness but the Bible does say that that the dead know nothing they

484
00:51:36,040 --> 00:51:40,040
don't return to their house their thoughts perish with them their emotions

485
00:51:40,040 --> 00:51:46,040
perish with them God knows them but that's it that's how the Bible talks

486
00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:51,040
about it that that we get to go to heaven at the first resurrection that's

487
00:51:51,040 --> 00:51:57,040
what the Bible says if you believe otherwise though if you do believe that

488
00:51:57,040 --> 00:52:02,040
when you die and you go to heaven because I mean really how many people go

489
00:52:02,040 --> 00:52:06,040
to hell when they die if you believe that your your friend your loved one

490
00:52:06,040 --> 00:52:10,040
goes to heaven when he dies and then you sit down and you say let me tell you

491
00:52:10,040 --> 00:52:14,040
what the Bible says just like that you have yanked someone's best friend right

492
00:52:14,040 --> 00:52:21,040
out of heavenly halls and right into the dirt when you are mourning a person and

493
00:52:21,040 --> 00:52:27,040
you're remembering and you're reflecting on them that is not the time to do that

494
00:52:27,040 --> 00:52:35,040
that takes a lot of reconfiguring a worldview spiritually speaking so we

495
00:52:35,040 --> 00:52:43,040
we on that category if there are differences of understanding we comfort

496
00:52:43,040 --> 00:52:49,040
one another in the faith that the person had in Jesus we comfort one another in

497
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:54,040
knowing that we will be reunited with them again in heaven we take solace in

498
00:52:54,040 --> 00:53:00,040
some of the common ground that we do have and then you let some time pass and

499
00:53:00,040 --> 00:53:05,040
then maybe bring it up in a future conversation but in the moment is really

500
00:53:05,040 --> 00:53:12,040
one of the easiest ways to turn someone away from studying the Bible is if

501
00:53:12,040 --> 00:53:16,040
they're mourning and they're working through it and you go well on top all of

502
00:53:16,040 --> 00:53:33,040
that let me up in your worldview and that's basically what that would be yeah

503
00:53:33,040 --> 00:53:41,040
yeah no I and I don't disagree and someone may come to that your friends

504
00:53:41,040 --> 00:53:46,040
may come to that in the moment of mourning is what I'm saying is when it's

505
00:53:46,040 --> 00:54:09,040
it's usually not the time that they're going to be comforted yeah yeah yeah

506
00:54:09,040 --> 00:54:25,040
yeah no I would I would I would say I would say prayerfully ask that the Holy

507
00:54:25,040 --> 00:54:30,040
Spirit grant you the discernment and the opportunity to take advantage of the

508
00:54:30,040 --> 00:54:35,040
next moment when it comes you don't have to wait forever seven years maybe too

509
00:54:35,040 --> 00:54:41,040
long but the next time it rolls around if you are praying each day God I want a

510
00:54:41,040 --> 00:54:48,040
chance to offer the hope that how the Bible says death is one let the

511
00:54:48,040 --> 00:54:52,040
opportunity come and then to help me to take advantage of it in a loving and

512
00:54:52,040 --> 00:54:58,040
kind and gracious way God God will answer those kinds of prayers so so be

513
00:54:58,040 --> 00:55:06,040
praying for that pray and pray and pray is the best thing but for them to be

514
00:55:06,040 --> 00:55:11,040
talking to somebody out of town you can't really communicate that well over

515
00:55:11,040 --> 00:55:17,040
the phone unless the spirit wants you to yeah that is I mean I'm you know if

516
00:55:17,040 --> 00:55:24,040
your friends are you know maybe you need to get on on zoom or FaceTime that

517
00:55:24,040 --> 00:55:30,040
usually is a little bit better than than just over the phone but again if the

518
00:55:30,040 --> 00:55:34,040
opportunity presents itself and the Holy Spirit speaks then then by all means

519
00:55:34,040 --> 00:55:47,040
take advantage of it where they in New York some of them okay what do you see

520
00:55:47,040 --> 00:56:00,760
going on there Kevin nothing oh no oh okay a pause is okay what is the

521
00:56:00,760 --> 00:56:06,120
church's belief for when the three angels messages like have come to pass

522
00:56:06,120 --> 00:56:10,320
like we believe that they've already come to pass but then the second angel

523
00:56:10,320 --> 00:56:17,400
says Babylon is fallen but it hasn't technically fallen yet right so how

524
00:56:17,400 --> 00:56:24,040
what's the timeline of the three right so one in English is fallen is is like a

525
00:56:24,040 --> 00:56:31,040
completed action okay in the Greek you can phrase things where it's it is an

526
00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:35,520
action that has started and then it continues until completion so it would

527
00:56:35,520 --> 00:56:40,920
be like falling it's just not it's not translated falling because it's probably

528
00:56:40,920 --> 00:56:46,560
not a preposition is it the preposition no it's not the preposition blanking on

529
00:56:46,560 --> 00:56:52,920
it see Greek was always tough for me something like that yeah yeah the

530
00:56:52,920 --> 00:57:00,000
present continual way of writing things so you don't do in that sense that takes

531
00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:06,680
a different form but it still kind of denotes a starting and an ongoing

532
00:57:06,680 --> 00:57:12,480
traditionally the Seventh-day Adventist Church believes that the the three angels

533
00:57:12,480 --> 00:57:19,520
messages in their importance in their end time relevance in their uniqueness

534
00:57:19,520 --> 00:57:25,120
for the Seventh-day Adventist Church kind of kicked off in the early part of

535
00:57:25,120 --> 00:57:33,560
the 1800s we believe that that I believe it was the first angel we believe you

536
00:57:33,560 --> 00:57:37,720
don't you don't pinpoint dates for these things but we believe that the first

537
00:57:37,720 --> 00:57:42,320
angel was a part of the early Miller right movement because that really was a

538
00:57:42,320 --> 00:57:49,160
call back to a better understanding of what it is to to fear God to look for

539
00:57:49,160 --> 00:57:53,800
his return to kind of like we need to get out of this this relative lethargy

540
00:57:53,800 --> 00:57:59,400
that we are in and get going then shortly after the disappointment when

541
00:57:59,400 --> 00:58:04,080
the Seventh-day Adventist Church or when the people who are yes disappointed but

542
00:58:04,080 --> 00:58:07,360
they were still trying to figure out things all of a sudden the light about

543
00:58:07,360 --> 00:58:11,760
the Sabbath the light about food reform the light about what happens when you

544
00:58:11,760 --> 00:58:16,400
die the light about the sanctuary and heaven the light about all these other

545
00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:19,960
things in other words it's bringing clarity back into what had been

546
00:58:19,960 --> 00:58:24,560
confusion that's the second angel so we believe that roughly the timing of the

547
00:58:24,560 --> 00:58:31,280
second angel applies to the back end of the Miller right movement and the early

548
00:58:31,280 --> 00:58:36,400
Adventist movement so that that's kind of when a lot of those things that long

549
00:58:36,400 --> 00:58:41,320
believed and long understood but also long forgotten we're coming right back

550
00:58:41,320 --> 00:58:48,320
to the forefront and then as we kept preaching on the Sabbath as we kept

551
00:58:48,320 --> 00:58:52,280
preaching on some of these other doctrines and we looked around and we're

552
00:58:52,280 --> 00:58:56,280
like well we've got blue laws on the books you know those blue laws many

553
00:58:56,280 --> 00:59:03,440
states many local areas still have Sunday blue laws that require businesses

554
00:59:03,440 --> 00:59:07,080
to be closed you can't do laundry you can't do this you can't do that they're

555
00:59:07,080 --> 00:59:14,840
just simply not enforced well as our church saw those and and really they had

556
00:59:14,840 --> 00:59:21,200
a lot of pushback on the Sabbath message early on the second and the second

557
00:59:21,200 --> 00:59:25,520
angels message really rolls into the third rather quickly and rather

558
00:59:25,520 --> 00:59:31,240
seamlessly because if you're saying that religious confusion is falling and we

559
00:59:31,240 --> 00:59:35,840
should get out of it well quickly if you're if you're pointing a finger and

560
00:59:35,840 --> 00:59:40,280
saying don't do that well the institutions that are involved in that

561
00:59:40,280 --> 00:59:44,800
aren't going to generally take that kindly and so then they're going to say

562
00:59:44,800 --> 00:59:50,480
well you need to stop it hush down be quiet get in line etc etc so then that

563
00:59:50,480 --> 00:59:55,500
would be the third angel you know we believe that while they had kind of a

564
00:59:55,500 --> 01:00:01,080
rough starting point in that in the in the early mid 1800s they don't actually

565
01:00:01,080 --> 01:00:09,640
end until Christ comes back that that is an ongoing process until Jesus returned

566
01:00:09,640 --> 01:00:17,000
the reason why it's fairly unique to Seventh-day Adventism one no one else

567
01:00:17,000 --> 01:00:22,680
preaches on it I've talked to people out of the Church of Christ out of Baptist

568
01:00:22,680 --> 01:00:26,560
Catholics certainly don't preach on a Methodist don't preach on it I don't

569
01:00:26,560 --> 01:00:31,160
know another denomination that preaches from these passages certainly in the way

570
01:00:31,160 --> 01:00:36,240
that we do not with the urgency not with the detail not with the personal

571
01:00:36,240 --> 01:00:43,280
application to God's people as a message in preparation for Christ's return very

572
01:00:43,280 --> 01:00:52,200
unique to Seventh-day Adventism does that answer your question okay I heard

573
01:00:52,200 --> 01:01:01,920
it mentioned today I'll go ahead I don't want to with that in mind thinking about

574
01:01:01,920 --> 01:01:06,600
this the true Sabbath and how that's gonna become clear to everybody in the

575
01:01:06,600 --> 01:01:12,320
world what do you think that's gonna look like for people who have worshiped

576
01:01:12,320 --> 01:01:17,880
on Sunday their entire life it's hard for me to kind of wrap my head around

577
01:01:17,880 --> 01:01:24,000
that idea that they're going to understand that they've been wrong all

578
01:01:24,000 --> 01:01:29,680
of this time and how is that going I mean what do you think I mean it's

579
01:01:29,680 --> 01:01:33,400
just it's just conjecture I know but what do you think it's gonna look like

580
01:01:33,400 --> 01:01:37,680
because I have a lot of I have a lot of family that are Sunday keepers I

581
01:01:37,680 --> 01:01:43,320
grew up a Sunday keeper so I just I'm curious as to what that light bulb

582
01:01:43,320 --> 01:01:52,400
moment is going to be yeah because we're guessing we're guessing on a lot of this

583
01:01:52,400 --> 01:01:58,480
one reason why I believe it's so important we preach on it is because one

584
01:01:58,480 --> 01:02:03,160
there are millions of Seventh-day Adventists around the globe that are

585
01:02:03,160 --> 01:02:07,840
preaching on this and and then in addition to that our radio waves are

586
01:02:07,840 --> 01:02:12,360
going everywhere our pamphlets are going everywhere is getting to a point where

587
01:02:12,360 --> 01:02:18,760
ignorance is tough to claim in our own personal lives the reason why I believe

588
01:02:18,760 --> 01:02:24,520
we should at least at least reference it at least live it out faithfully is

589
01:02:24,520 --> 01:02:32,640
because as we get closer to a time of a deciding point and that deciding point

590
01:02:32,640 --> 01:02:39,880
is probably going to be when you start to hear chatter like the world is such a

591
01:02:39,880 --> 01:02:45,880
hot mess we can all get we we should all have a rest day it'll give the the

592
01:02:45,880 --> 01:02:50,600
environment a break it'll help the families they're a mess it will help our

593
01:02:50,600 --> 01:02:56,240
mental psyche everybody is depressed and anxious right now it will do all of that

594
01:02:56,240 --> 01:02:59,640
oh by the way look at this everybody's already you know keeping the same day

595
01:02:59,640 --> 01:03:05,240
let's just do that when it comes to that when you actually start to hear the

596
01:03:05,240 --> 01:03:13,600
legislation I believe that's going to be an attention grabber for the individuals

597
01:03:13,600 --> 01:03:17,020
that have just kind of been hearing it all these years and not yet making a

598
01:03:17,020 --> 01:03:24,440
choice because then they will look at it and go ah I remember so-and-so telling

599
01:03:24,440 --> 01:03:28,440
me that this might happen one day and I know I kind of dismissed it but here it

600
01:03:28,440 --> 01:03:36,760
is you know today it is it sounds crazy to say that that some of these things

601
01:03:36,760 --> 01:03:44,800
are going to happen five years ago three years ago it sounded crazy to suggest

602
01:03:44,800 --> 01:03:50,440
that because of a virus everyone was going to be forced to stay home three

603
01:03:50,440 --> 01:03:55,320
years ago that was crazy talk that the government was just going to make you

604
01:03:55,320 --> 01:03:59,720
stay home over a pandemic we've had pandemics no one was ever forced to stay

605
01:03:59,720 --> 01:04:06,320
home before like that you know from sea to shining sea now we know what happens

606
01:04:06,320 --> 01:04:11,720
so so I mean that's really not a big surprise anymore if people want to

607
01:04:11,720 --> 01:04:18,120
suggest it right now it sounds like it could be crazy to think you know

608
01:04:18,120 --> 01:04:24,240
worship could be forced but like I proposed in a previous message if they

609
01:04:24,240 --> 01:04:28,760
can make you stay home to worship why can't they also make you go on that day

610
01:04:28,760 --> 01:04:34,320
to worship I mean they've already demonstrated that they will enforce a

611
01:04:34,320 --> 01:04:40,680
type of worship all we've got to do is expand that into the next arena I don't

612
01:04:40,680 --> 01:04:45,000
and I believe that that that it's going to come out basically the mark of the

613
01:04:45,000 --> 01:04:53,080
beast is the culminating focal point of decision that's what it is because when

614
01:04:53,080 --> 01:04:59,520
a legislation is passed people have to choose do I keep with the legislation

615
01:04:59,520 --> 01:05:05,240
the legislation because they say so or do I recognize that it violates a

616
01:05:05,240 --> 01:05:09,760
freedom of conscience and I need to look at this a little bit more why are they

617
01:05:09,760 --> 01:05:14,960
asking me to violate a freedom of conscience if you all you if all you do

618
01:05:14,960 --> 01:05:20,880
is ask the question why are they asking me to violate this then you might be led

619
01:05:20,880 --> 01:05:25,960
into something else I just encourage people to ask the question sometimes and

620
01:05:25,960 --> 01:05:30,560
again if we are faithfully sharing that message someone's gonna go hey I've heard

621
01:05:30,560 --> 01:05:35,640
this before I've talked to some the back burner but it seems to seems to be

622
01:05:35,640 --> 01:05:40,080
coming up we've got the microphone here and then I think I saw a hand here and

623
01:05:40,080 --> 01:05:44,280
then we'll go backwards okay so we'll go in that order so just keeping with that

624
01:05:44,280 --> 01:05:50,640
topic you know we all have friends and family that that we know that you know

625
01:05:50,640 --> 01:05:59,880
our Sunday keepers a lot of folks I know family included our Catholics you know

626
01:05:59,880 --> 01:06:04,440
you just said there at the end that that there's going to be a point where

627
01:06:04,440 --> 01:06:09,120
there's legislation put in place that you're gonna be forced to you know to

628
01:06:09,120 --> 01:06:14,800
keep Sunday or whatnot and and at that point the decision needs to be made or

629
01:06:14,800 --> 01:06:20,120
need to ask questions or whatever and and the mark of the beast comes into

630
01:06:20,120 --> 01:06:25,160
play there okay look right now maybe there are legislation but nobody keeps

631
01:06:25,160 --> 01:06:33,120
it or you know it's very loosely kept but you know I guess my question is you

632
01:06:33,120 --> 01:06:39,680
know folks that are are keeping Sunday or you know use of this tradition that

633
01:06:39,680 --> 01:06:44,960
they've known their whole life maybe have heard about the Sabbath right you

634
01:06:44,960 --> 01:06:50,180
know I'm thinking my family they know something about the Sabbath because of

635
01:06:50,180 --> 01:06:56,320
us they may not know at all right some may some folks that we've had deep

636
01:06:56,320 --> 01:07:01,880
discussions with may know about the Sabbath and for whatever reason haven't

637
01:07:01,880 --> 01:07:07,520
chosen to follow the Sabbath or you know just stayed with their tradition that

638
01:07:07,520 --> 01:07:13,800
they're used to their whole life my question there is is the mark of the

639
01:07:13,800 --> 01:07:20,960
beast in play there so the mark of the beast is not in play right now I'd

640
01:07:20,960 --> 01:07:28,600
firmly unequivocally believe that to be the case right now in the United States

641
01:07:28,600 --> 01:07:36,160
you can freely go on Sunday through Saturday whichever day you want to

642
01:07:36,160 --> 01:07:40,240
worship you can claim that as your day of worship and you can go and you're

643
01:07:40,240 --> 01:07:47,320
allowed to do so so so no you know that's that's not the point that we're

644
01:07:47,320 --> 01:07:57,880
at right now people who are following in their traditions what we understand is

645
01:07:57,880 --> 01:08:06,400
if you are aware of a truth and you choose to ignore the truth the longer

646
01:08:06,400 --> 01:08:12,460
you ignore it the less sensitive you become to it right that's why we

647
01:08:12,460 --> 01:08:18,320
encourage to regularly kind of bring it up because each time you bring it up

648
01:08:18,320 --> 01:08:23,160
that reintroduces it we don't have to be rude about this but in a kind way if we

649
01:08:23,160 --> 01:08:27,960
are bringing it up or if we are demonstrating faithfully each time we do

650
01:08:27,960 --> 01:08:33,800
that that places it right in front of a person at least as an FYI which means

651
01:08:33,800 --> 01:08:39,200
that as time passes and things get much more difficult than they are right now

652
01:08:39,200 --> 01:08:43,480
we prayerfully hope that they will remember each of those moments we placed

653
01:08:43,480 --> 01:08:50,600
it in front of them that's what we that's what we remember the reason why

654
01:08:50,600 --> 01:08:59,480
and and here's the mark of the beast as a deciding moment is not for I would say

655
01:08:59,480 --> 01:09:05,400
it's not for people like you and I right now for those of us who are sitting here

656
01:09:05,400 --> 01:09:08,520
and we are listening to these things and maybe we have already pledged ourselves

657
01:09:08,520 --> 01:09:14,400
to faithful worship of the Creator God the mark of the beast is not going to be

658
01:09:14,400 --> 01:09:19,640
that we will have we will have gotten to that point and we shouldn't be making

659
01:09:19,640 --> 01:09:23,320
our decision then right now we're making our decisions and then we're trying to

660
01:09:23,320 --> 01:09:30,040
strengthen our faith in those decisions that's the best process when I talk

661
01:09:30,040 --> 01:09:34,960
about that will be like a culminating deciding point will be for people who are

662
01:09:34,960 --> 01:09:40,000
still just kind of kind of just going about their days they're going through

663
01:09:40,000 --> 01:09:43,160
the motions they're doing their traditions maybe they've listened maybe

664
01:09:43,160 --> 01:09:47,200
they've studied maybe they've dug into it and I go well maybe you know not for

665
01:09:47,200 --> 01:09:53,280
today this seems at the mark of the beast as as a final deciding point is

666
01:09:53,280 --> 01:10:00,360
for people like that yeah there aren't there aren't any consequences the only

667
01:10:00,360 --> 01:10:04,800
the only consequence that I would see right now is you do slowly start to

668
01:10:04,800 --> 01:10:10,720
callous you callous yourself against the spirits prompting each time that

669
01:10:10,720 --> 01:10:14,760
biblical truth is set before you and right now we're using the Sabbath as the

670
01:10:14,760 --> 01:10:19,480
example but fill in the blank with any other biblical truth each time the truth

671
01:10:19,480 --> 01:10:27,440
is laid before us and we go I get it but not today we callous ourselves just a

672
01:10:27,440 --> 01:10:33,720
little bit that's why when we when we talked to this morning about the slow

673
01:10:33,720 --> 01:10:40,480
compromises that get us to a point of failing the devil rarely hits us with

674
01:10:40,480 --> 01:10:45,320
the largest big we are not offering up you know living people before a statue of

675
01:10:45,320 --> 01:10:50,800
Baphomet the first day as a as a as a temptation you know we may never get

676
01:10:50,800 --> 01:10:55,720
there but the devil doesn't care you know he cares that we give up something

677
01:10:55,720 --> 01:11:00,400
no matter how small it is because that does callous us to the Holy Spirit's

678
01:11:00,400 --> 01:11:07,560
promptings so that's it is it is tough and I've got family you know I would

679
01:11:07,560 --> 01:11:11,480
love for some of my family to come around to things to what I of course

680
01:11:11,480 --> 01:11:15,560
accept as Bible truth I wouldn't be the pastor in an Adventist church otherwise

681
01:11:15,560 --> 01:11:22,320
but I accepted I would love for them to one it's true two I do believe that it

682
01:11:22,320 --> 01:11:27,280
is more freeing than some of the alternative conclusions the alternative

683
01:11:27,280 --> 01:11:32,480
beliefs three I do believe that it gives us greater comfort in the tough times

684
01:11:32,480 --> 01:11:38,520
like when someone dies I do accept all of that but how I've talked to my

685
01:11:38,520 --> 01:11:44,280
friends and to my family members is I look for ways to lay it out so they

686
01:11:44,280 --> 01:11:49,360
can't claim ignorance so maybe it gives them something that they can reflect on

687
01:11:49,360 --> 01:11:55,720
and choose maybe they'll come back and they'll ask more and I've got some

688
01:11:55,720 --> 01:11:58,880
family members where that just simply started with hey Seventh-day Adventists

689
01:11:58,880 --> 01:12:03,160
are not weirdos hey we just we studied the Bible and we have slightly different

690
01:12:03,160 --> 01:12:08,720
conclusions but I also have a great deal of respect for Methodists and some

691
01:12:08,720 --> 01:12:14,760
Catholics and I do so I don't know that was a long-winded way around did that

692
01:12:14,760 --> 01:12:44,640
answer your question absolutely that that can see be some of the most

693
01:12:44,640 --> 01:12:49,520
powerful apologetics if you will is not to sit down and go let me give you the

694
01:12:49,520 --> 01:12:55,080
ABCs of this particular doctrine because first and foremost we are called to

695
01:12:55,080 --> 01:13:02,400
demonstrate God's character to the world what is his character love grace mercy

696
01:13:02,400 --> 01:13:10,080
long-suffering kindness gentleness meekness etc if all you do is look at

697
01:13:10,080 --> 01:13:19,720
the fruits of the Spirit you will not find PhD level scholarly type studies

698
01:13:19,720 --> 01:13:26,560
and proving people wrong you will find God's character displayed in his people

699
01:13:26,560 --> 01:13:32,720
to show to others that will do more if that is your starting point your middle

700
01:13:32,720 --> 01:13:37,160
point your ending point and everything else just kind of gets built on it

701
01:13:37,160 --> 01:13:47,200
absolutely correct yeah

702
01:13:47,200 --> 01:14:08,560
I'm semi familiar with that quote again I don't remember exactly but but there's

703
01:14:08,560 --> 01:14:13,400
a lot of truth to that it you know you can say all the things and in fact right

704
01:14:13,400 --> 01:14:17,680
now there's a there's a lot of scandal in many of of our country's biggest

705
01:14:17,680 --> 01:14:23,160
churches with our prompt most prominent speakers because on the platform or even

706
01:14:23,160 --> 01:14:28,100
in their studies and in their books they said all the right things and then they

707
01:14:28,100 --> 01:14:35,400
don't live godly lives they are caught up in fraud or unfaithfulness or you know

708
01:14:35,400 --> 01:14:41,200
something of that and so then then people go well how can I even listen to

709
01:14:41,200 --> 01:14:45,960
the words they have to say if it were the other way around maybe you're not

710
01:14:45,960 --> 01:14:51,920
the most eloquent speaker but you live a godly life that's the best sermon

711
01:14:51,920 --> 01:15:01,600
someone can give I know we had we had one back there well it's not really a

712
01:15:01,600 --> 01:15:08,040
question it was just a comment I have the same question many times before what

713
01:15:08,040 --> 01:15:21,120
what grace is said but I think so that reading the spirit of prophecy we need

714
01:15:21,120 --> 01:15:29,360
to trust in the Lord and that is gonna come they later grain and when that

715
01:15:29,360 --> 01:15:38,680
happened I think so God is gonna give us the they know the will not the power by

716
01:15:38,680 --> 01:15:46,960
ourselves but his power so the people can see Jesus in us and that is what is

717
01:15:46,960 --> 01:15:54,320
gonna convert people of the truth because so far if you ask me what I'm

718
01:15:54,320 --> 01:16:01,800
experiencing in at work there's people from many denominations and what it for

719
01:16:01,800 --> 01:16:07,680
all the things that they're going on so one day I arrived to the break room and

720
01:16:07,680 --> 01:16:13,440
I just throw the question do you think that Jesus is coming soon and all of

721
01:16:13,440 --> 01:16:19,720
them believe that Jesus is really coming soon before it was just a seven-day

722
01:16:19,720 --> 01:16:26,120
Adventist but now people from other denominations and even people that they

723
01:16:26,120 --> 01:16:34,280
don't believe in God they know that something is something is gonna happen

724
01:16:34,280 --> 01:16:44,640
and the spirit of prophecy even mentioned that so the same than the

725
01:16:44,640 --> 01:16:54,160
things are going on I think so we don't get yet to the probation day but I

726
01:16:54,160 --> 01:17:03,480
think so the lorries start talking to the hearts of the people and if now is

727
01:17:03,480 --> 01:17:10,880
not the end the time that we're living now is not the end we're not making like

728
01:17:10,880 --> 01:17:20,600
you say that a choice and right now I mean that can bring consequences but

729
01:17:20,600 --> 01:17:27,280
we're calm I mean it's coming that day in the Lord is preparing his people yeah

730
01:17:27,280 --> 01:17:36,720
so our only refuge is trusting God and like you say living a godly life and

731
01:17:36,720 --> 01:17:45,520
allows that the Holy Spirit be poor of over us when the time it comes and

732
01:17:45,520 --> 01:17:52,920
because the people is gonna turn to Jesus because they're gonna see in the

733
01:17:52,920 --> 01:18:02,160
gods people the Christ character yeah so the Holy Spirit is the one is gonna

734
01:18:02,160 --> 01:18:08,640
convert the others for the truth only we need to pray for them if maybe we cannot

735
01:18:08,640 --> 01:18:15,640
talk to some of them I have family who doesn't have a family that is is not

736
01:18:15,640 --> 01:18:21,480
Catholic is Catholic or is from another denominations and for me is like Lord

737
01:18:21,480 --> 01:18:29,560
how can I reach them I have a cousin that she is Catholic but at the same

738
01:18:29,560 --> 01:18:37,560
time it's very it's like a new age of this some blended of all of that which I

739
01:18:37,560 --> 01:18:44,600
think she's worse because she believes really that we are starting another era

740
01:18:44,600 --> 01:18:53,920
that is gonna bring a lot of peace in a better life yeah so in the same time she

741
01:18:53,920 --> 01:19:05,640
believes in the Mary Mary the Virgin Mary and so it's like how can I reach her

742
01:19:05,640 --> 01:19:12,880
Lord you know yeah but I the Lord put in my heart just to pray for her pray for

743
01:19:12,880 --> 01:19:19,760
her and share whatever you think that is not gonna hurt the feelings of the other

744
01:19:19,760 --> 01:19:28,880
people but tell them about the the love of God and there's there's show them one

745
01:19:28,880 --> 01:19:33,400
the Bible tells us that we need to worry about those that that you know clamor for

746
01:19:33,400 --> 01:19:37,000
peace or say that peace is coming because they will say peace peace and

747
01:19:37,000 --> 01:19:41,600
then sudden destruction that's what the Bible says there there are times and

748
01:19:41,600 --> 01:19:45,280
this is where we pray for the discernment there are times the first

749
01:19:45,280 --> 01:19:49,240
general rule is we are kind and we are gracious and we are unoffensive and all

750
01:19:49,240 --> 01:19:54,520
these other things you pray that the Holy Spirit helps you because there there

751
01:19:54,520 --> 01:20:04,200
there can be the danger of being too kind if for example you knew that there

752
01:20:04,200 --> 01:20:10,040
was a road that had been washed out and you had already seen a one-car drive off

753
01:20:10,040 --> 01:20:18,280
of it you might do all you can screaming shouting spike strips to blow tires you

754
01:20:18,280 --> 01:20:23,880
might be willing to do whatever it takes to stop the next car from going off even

755
01:20:23,880 --> 01:20:29,640
at the risk of harming someone's feelings there are times when we need to

756
01:20:29,640 --> 01:20:33,600
be when you pray for these moments but sometimes you look at someone and you go

757
01:20:33,600 --> 01:20:40,640
you know the truth why aren't we picking it you know why do we continue to stay

758
01:20:40,640 --> 01:20:45,760
in the way that we have been even though you know better and sometimes that's

759
01:20:45,760 --> 01:20:49,920
an appropriate thing and again you go back and you pray about those times

760
01:20:49,920 --> 01:20:54,680
because if you do that too soon or in the wrong time then you can someone will

761
01:20:54,680 --> 01:21:00,000
just instantly plug their ears and you won't ever have that audience again I

762
01:21:00,000 --> 01:21:05,120
want to I want to make one one final comment and then if there's a quick

763
01:21:05,120 --> 01:21:08,400
question I will I would take it but I want to I want to remark on this just

764
01:21:08,400 --> 01:21:16,200
for a moment some times people look around of the world and they say aha

765
01:21:16,200 --> 01:21:22,240
here it is it's ushering in the last movements after Katrina people said there

766
01:21:22,240 --> 01:21:28,920
we go this is the worst storm in New Orleans and so we get big hurricanes

767
01:21:28,920 --> 01:21:32,840
that come up into the Gulf they obviously hadn't done the levees

768
01:21:32,840 --> 01:21:38,440
correctly I actually think it's human foolishness to build a city below below

769
01:21:38,440 --> 01:21:42,400
sea level and then just kind of hang out there for all those years you're kind of

770
01:21:42,400 --> 01:21:49,560
asking for trouble you know and time kind of passed after 9-11 people also

771
01:21:49,560 --> 01:21:53,120
said here we go we're ushering in World War three this is going to bring in

772
01:21:53,120 --> 01:21:57,280
apocalypse and then Jesus is coming etc etc well obviously that that

773
01:21:57,280 --> 01:22:02,800
manifested itself in a type of war kind of a new type of war the war on terror

774
01:22:02,800 --> 01:22:10,240
you know we have these these various occurrences earthquakes the pandemic

775
01:22:10,240 --> 01:22:16,320
when when COVID started to was was really kind of going in spring of 2020

776
01:22:16,320 --> 01:22:21,720
my goodness how many questions probably came to various institutions that said

777
01:22:21,720 --> 01:22:28,280
is this one of the last plagues of the Bible the short answer is no that COVID

778
01:22:28,280 --> 01:22:34,520
was not it was a bad virus sadly it killed far too many people I'm glad we're

779
01:22:34,520 --> 01:22:40,520
at a different portion of dealing with this virus but in a nutshell no it was

780
01:22:40,520 --> 01:22:45,840
not one of the last plagues the Bible tells us that we should be looking for

781
01:22:45,840 --> 01:22:52,280
Jesus tells us in in Matthew 24 you look for wars and rumors of wars political

782
01:22:52,280 --> 01:22:59,200
strife nation fighting against nation you look for natural disasters pestilences

783
01:22:59,200 --> 01:23:04,280
plagues you look for famines right now we've got we've got famines all over the

784
01:23:04,280 --> 01:23:10,520
globe incredible droughts out west they are talking now about a very real food

785
01:23:10,520 --> 01:23:16,360
shortage coming on the near horizon because of the war in Ukraine it's one

786
01:23:16,360 --> 01:23:21,640
of the major bread producers or grain producers in the world right around

787
01:23:21,640 --> 01:23:25,720
there that it's tough it's you know getting things in and out they need

788
01:23:25,720 --> 01:23:30,280
their resources they're probably not exporting right now and that with the

789
01:23:30,280 --> 01:23:35,880
other you know people people ask you know with Putin's aggression in in

790
01:23:35,880 --> 01:23:40,480
Ukraine he's talking about rebuilding the Soviet Union they're kind of

791
01:23:40,480 --> 01:23:46,120
reinvigorating talk that we heard a lot during the Cold War you know communism

792
01:23:46,120 --> 01:23:50,960
versus the West this is ushering in World War three and and that great battle

793
01:23:50,960 --> 01:23:56,520
of Armageddon and well then the curtain fell and all of those those cries kind

794
01:23:56,520 --> 01:24:01,520
of disappeared well they're being rekindled again you know the Bible talks

795
01:24:01,520 --> 01:24:04,800
about the kings of the north and the kings of the south and how they will

796
01:24:04,800 --> 01:24:11,000
fight against God's people and and and sometimes sometimes men and women in

797
01:24:11,000 --> 01:24:18,240
desperation trying to find a name to attach to what the Bible clearly has in

798
01:24:18,240 --> 01:24:23,040
symbols we point a finger at Putin and we go there's the king of the north and

799
01:24:23,040 --> 01:24:29,000
he's going to usher in what the Bible talks about or if we we look at Ian you

800
01:24:29,000 --> 01:24:34,720
know Ian for the state of Florida boy they haven't had a major hurricane like

801
01:24:34,720 --> 01:24:41,560
this in a long long time Florida's had a very quiet hurricane season for at least

802
01:24:41,560 --> 01:24:45,880
three or four years I think the last two years they really didn't have anything

803
01:24:45,880 --> 01:24:50,840
at all come across that state and then Ian comes through well people are

804
01:24:50,840 --> 01:24:57,720
looking people are sometimes I believe in desperation looking to put a name on

805
01:24:57,720 --> 01:25:03,280
something from the Bible when we are reading through prophecy we need to

806
01:25:03,280 --> 01:25:08,720
understand that God isn't giving us a lot of the micro details in these things

807
01:25:08,720 --> 01:25:14,800
that's why as we've been doing these presentations we've plugged in some

808
01:25:14,800 --> 01:25:21,440
things quotes references statistics I have shared when I've that started to

809
01:25:21,440 --> 01:25:26,680
kind of blur the line between what we know in my opinion because I have some

810
01:25:26,680 --> 01:25:32,160
opinion on where I think some cogs are starting to come together but I would

811
01:25:32,160 --> 01:25:42,880
caution us to not jump to naming naming names too quickly when the Bible is

812
01:25:42,880 --> 01:25:47,040
talking about the King of the North and the King of the South we remember

813
01:25:47,040 --> 01:25:52,040
anciently what that meant the King of the South that was the biggest threat to

814
01:25:52,040 --> 01:25:59,440
Israel was Egypt Egypt in Bible prophecy Egypt in terms of symbolism has long

815
01:25:59,440 --> 01:26:07,840
meant spiritual paganism of spiritualism if you will the the unbiblical belief of

816
01:26:07,840 --> 01:26:11,880
what happens when you die the different stages to heavens and the different

817
01:26:11,880 --> 01:26:17,800
stages to hells and disembodied spirits and offering your babies up to idols and

818
01:26:17,800 --> 01:26:23,720
spiritualism is often represented with Egypt the King of the South the King of

819
01:26:23,720 --> 01:26:29,160
the North is where Babylon invaded Israel to carry them into captivity

820
01:26:29,160 --> 01:26:34,080
there's a giant trying to have to reverse this on this side of Israel

821
01:26:34,080 --> 01:26:39,720
there's a big desert Babylon in order to invade Israel had to go over the desert

822
01:26:39,720 --> 01:26:45,320
and down south from the north that's where they invaded so the King of the

823
01:26:45,320 --> 01:26:50,920
North is a common reference to Babylon well Babylon and prophecy as we've

824
01:26:50,920 --> 01:26:57,680
studied is religious confusion different than spiritualism if the one is a cultic

825
01:26:57,680 --> 01:27:04,080
paganism the other one would be confused Christianity if you will where they are

826
01:27:04,080 --> 01:27:09,800
wrong on the conclusions from the Bible and the truth and error is mixed and

827
01:27:09,800 --> 01:27:16,320
that is kind of confusing and perverting Christianity around the globe so we

828
01:27:16,320 --> 01:27:22,160
should be looking for these macro movements and maybe we'll see some micro

829
01:27:22,160 --> 01:27:30,200
details as we go along but I would add a little bit of caution that we don't jump

830
01:27:30,200 --> 01:27:37,960
to these conclusions too quickly we have hurricanes we've had hurricanes long

831
01:27:37,960 --> 01:27:43,040
before one the 21st century we had hurricanes that probably came off of

832
01:27:43,040 --> 01:27:46,960
the coast of Africa or off of North of South America and it went into the

833
01:27:46,960 --> 01:27:51,320
Caribbean and it came up into the US that's been going on for a long time

834
01:27:51,320 --> 01:27:57,200
just because Ian happened and it was the first one of this kind in a while

835
01:27:57,200 --> 01:28:02,640
doesn't mean it was the first one ever for the state of Florida just because

836
01:28:02,640 --> 01:28:08,120
COVID was was big and we had some unprecedented responses to it doesn't

837
01:28:08,120 --> 01:28:13,160
mean it was the first pandemic ever and the Bible tells us we should be seeing

838
01:28:13,160 --> 01:28:19,400
these things as we see them this is what Jesus says as we see them we should not

839
01:28:19,400 --> 01:28:25,640
be looking to to put a finger on that we should be looking at these things and

840
01:28:25,640 --> 01:28:32,000
then going how am I prepared for his return and then how am I helping others

841
01:28:32,000 --> 01:28:39,440
be prepared for his return if you end up figuring everything out about what the

842
01:28:39,440 --> 01:28:45,680
enemy is doing but you are unprepared that's a sad day for you it is so much

843
01:28:45,680 --> 01:28:54,040
more important that you are prepared and you are not distracted with other things

844
01:28:54,040 --> 01:29:01,440
to the expense of your preparedness you know don't don't don't choose to be

845
01:29:01,440 --> 01:29:05,860
naive about things but also don't get caught up in the weeds does that make

846
01:29:05,860 --> 01:29:12,280
sense I like to caution that because I think Seventh-day Adventists in a

847
01:29:12,280 --> 01:29:19,720
special way like to look at prophecy and and just go I can figure it out this is

848
01:29:19,720 --> 01:29:25,640
this and this person is that and next thing you know they are spending all of

849
01:29:25,640 --> 01:29:31,680
their hours trying to trying to prove that Putin is the King of the North if

850
01:29:31,680 --> 01:29:39,200
Putin dies tomorrow all of a sudden that theory makes other people not trust you

851
01:29:39,200 --> 01:29:46,880
that's why I add some caution as we study prophecy if you know it okay

852
01:29:46,880 --> 01:29:53,560
otherwise let's make sure that we are sticking with being prepared by keeping

853
01:29:53,560 --> 01:30:03,600
our our eyes on Jesus is there one short final question if not we are done thank

854
01:30:03,600 --> 01:30:07,520
you if anyone is watching online or will soon be watching we're glad you could

855
01:30:07,520 --> 01:30:13,160
join us this is our last presentation for three angels one message may you be

856
01:30:13,160 --> 01:30:17,720
richly blessed may y'all be richly blessed and I hope to see you again

857
01:30:17,720 --> 01:30:44,440
someday very soon have a good night