Participants: Atonte Myers, Ivor Myers
Series Code: BOF
Program Code: BOF000020
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00:15 Welcome to "Battles of Faith".
00:17 We're your hosts Ivor and Antonte Myers. 00:19 Today we are continuing our discussion 00:22 as we study the Bible. 00:23 We're learning how to study the Word of God. 00:26 Today's program is entitled: 00:28 "Nothing New, Only More Detail". 00:31 We're excited about this program because, again, 00:33 we are going to learn principles 00:35 that will help us as we study the Word. 00:37 So, we want you to get your Bibles, 00:39 get your pens, your highlighters, 00:41 everything that you need so that you'll be prepared 00:43 to go through the Bible with us, today. 00:45 - We want to share with our viewers 00:48 that the Word of God is not an unorganized book. 00:53 A lot of times people open it up and say: 00:55 "How do you make sense of this all?" 00:57 We want to show today that the Bible 01:00 is actually made up of principles of how to study 01:04 the Word of God, some really incredible principles 01:09 and the one that we'll be discussing today 01:11 we have called the principle of 01:13 "nothing new, only more detail". 01:16 Some people call this principle 'the principle of magnification 01:20 or repetition and enlargement' and it is really 01:24 an important principle to use when studying the Bible. 01:31 So, that's what we're going to be talking about today. 01:34 - So, if they follow this formula, 01:37 the Bible will really start to make sense. 01:39 - That's right. You can take this principle 01:42 almost like a ruler and just put it out to 01:44 the Word of God and see it in place after place, 01:47 and we're going to do some of that 01:48 today, on the program, so we want you to know 01:52 this is going to be like a real Bible study, 01:54 so, really get your Bibles, if you've got, 01:57 pen and paper if you want to start writing down, 01:58 that would be advisable and we're going to start 02:04 with Genesis 3. 02:06 Let me just illustrate, before we look at Genesis 3, 02:11 this principle of 'nothing new, only more detail' 02:13 in a very simple way; it describes how 02:20 the Word of God is written. 02:22 In the Bible there is nothing new; after a certain portion 02:28 of Scripture there is nothing new, only more detail. 02:31 This principle applies, in particular to 02:34 the book of Genesis 3:15. And we have there 02:42 the story of Adam and Eve and the fall 02:45 and Eve has listened to the serpant, she has eaten from 02:50 the tree, God has now come into the garden 02:54 and He is speaking to Adam and to Eve and to the serpant. 02:57 And in Genesis 3:15 we find the very first prophecy 03:02 in the Bible. It reads as this: 03:06 [text on the screen] 03:18 Here you have the very first prophecy given 03:21 in the entire Bible. 03:23 Well, guess what? 03:24 After this prophecy there is... 03:27 -...nothing new, only more detail. 03:30 - That's right. Nothing new, only more detail. 03:32 The entire Bible is an unfolding of this very verse, 03:36 Genesis 3:15. 03:37 Why do we say that? Genesis 3:15 is speaking 03:40 about the conflict that will take place 03:42 between Christ and Satan. 03:45 It is the great controversy summed up into one verse. 03:50 As you read through the rest of the Old Testament 03:52 and the New Testament you'll find that 03:55 the entire book is simply an outworking 03:59 or an unfolding of this war between good and evil 04:03 with Christ at the head of the forces of good, 04:08 and Satan at the head at the forces of evil. 04:11 So, we said that after Genesis 3:15 04:13 there is nothing new in the Bible, only more detail. 04:18 - So, a new student that's coming to the Word, 04:20 someone who really doesn't know anything the Bible, 04:22 that's the very first thing they need to understand: 04:24 the Word of God is basically based on that one verse, 04:30 the great controversy between Christ and Satan. 04:33 - That's right. What this does is that it kind of brings 04:36 the Bible down into a focus point 04:38 so as we read we're always reading with the context 04:41 of this war between Christ and Satan. 04:44 And we see, okay, everything I'm reading should be 04:47 an unfolding or a different revelation, a different picture 04:51 of this very same verse, this war between good and evil. 04:56 So, we find that this principle is literally true of the Bible, 05:00 in particular of the Old Testament, 05:02 but we also find the same principle in the New Tesatment. 05:05 The New Testament has its first prophecy found in 05:10 Matthew 1:21. - And it says: 05:15 [text on the screen] 05:23 - Okay. This is the first prophecy given 05:25 of the New Testament. 05:26 And, the prophecy of the Old Testament and 05:29 the prophecy of the New Testament, 05:30 I mean, in other words, Matthew 1:21 is really 05:32 an unfolding of Genesis 3:15. 05:37 The coming of this One who was to bruise the head 05:40 of the serpant. So, in Matthew 1:21 05:45 we have this prophecy given that Jesus would come 05:48 but more importantly, Atonte, that He would save His people 05:52 from their sins. 05:55 - Not only is that a prophecy, but it's a wonderful promise 05:58 that we can hold on to each and every day. 06:00 - That's right. Therefore, the entire New Testament 06:02 is an unfolding of Matthew 1:21, the story of how Jesus, 06:08 His birth, death and ressurection 06:11 and ministration on our behalf in heaven 06:15 would save us from our sins. 06:19 - And Matthew 1:21 is still just going deeper 06:22 from Genesis 3:15. 06:24 - That's right. It's an unfolding of this principle. 06:27 So, in the Old Testament we've got 06:29 the unfolding of Genesis 3:15, 06:31 and in the New Testament we've got 06:32 the unfolding of Matthew 1:21. 06:35 Now we're going to expand it a little bit 06:37 and look at the first five books of the Old Testament, 06:41 the first five books of Moses. 06:43 We're going to learn another principle, 06:44 we're going to see it supplied in another way. 06:47 The entire Old Testament is an unfolding of 06:51 the principles found in the first five books of Moses. 06:56 In other words, in the first five books of Moses 06:59 you've got the Gospel story in symbols, 07:03 within laws, and the rest of the Old Testament 07:08 is simply an unfolding of this principles, 07:11 either the acceptance of them or the rejection of them, 07:15 and what happens to those who accepted these principles, 07:18 what happens to those who rejected this principles. 07:21 If you look at a couple of examples, 07:24 for example...in Genesis 3:15, speaking again about 07:29 the coming of Christ, you will find that 07:31 this prophecy is built upon and amplified 07:35 in the book of Daniel 9, where Daniel is giving 07:39 a prophecy of the exact time that Christ was to come. 07:44 So, the prophecy of Daniel 9 is nothing new, 07:47 it's only more detail of that which was found in 07:51 the book of Genesis. 07:53 There was also the prophecy of the sanctuary given 07:55 in Daniel 8:14 and a really good portion of Daniel 8 deals 08:04 with the sanctuary. But the prophecy of sanctuary 08:08 is simply an outgrowth of the book of Leviticus 16 08:15 which explains the sanctuary service, 08:18 in particular the day of atonement 08:20 and the cleansing of the sanctuary. 08:22 So, what do you have there? You have the same principle, 08:25 nothing new in Daniel 9, only more detail. 08:30 We've also got, in Deuteronomy 3:21, 08:35 where God is promising His people 08:37 an entrance into the promissed land. 08:39 Well, this is really a seed of a greater prophecy 08:45 that is picked up in Daniel 2:44 08:47 where the Bible says that God will set His kingdom. 08:51 We're not talking about an earthly kingdom now, 08:54 we're talking about the heavenly kingdom 08:56 will be set up on earth. 08:58 So, in Daniel 2:44, when we read about this prophecy 09:02 of God's kingdom being set up on earth, again 09:06 we understand the principle of nothing new, only more detail. 09:12 And so, as we apply this principle to the Old Testament 09:15 we find that it falls true for almost everything 09:18 that you read; nothing new, only more detail. 09:20 -Now, we can find it in the New Testament as well. 09:23 - That's right. We can find the same principle 09:24 in the New Testament. 09:26 The New Testament is really an unfolding of 09:29 the first five books of the New Testament. 09:33 We're going to learn in another program 09:36 that Moses was actually a type of Jesus. 09:41 And as we have the first five books of Moses, 09:44 so the first five books, Matthew, Mark, Luke, 09:47 John and Acts are all revolving around the second Moses, 09:52 as it were, or Jesus. 09:54 And the rest of the New Testament 09:56 is simply an unfolding of those principles that 10:01 were founded, that were written in the books of 10:04 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and in the book of Acts. 10:07 It's an unfolding. It's the principle of nothing new, 10:10 only more detail. 10:11 Even when you get down to the book of Revelation. 10:15 Revelation is simply an unfolding of the very prophecies 10:19 found in places like Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, 10:24 John 5 and also in Acts 1 and 2. 10:28 In Acts 1 and 2 the Bible speaks about the outpouring 10:32 of the Holy Spirit and of the Spirit of God falling 10:36 upon His people, while in the book of Revelation 10:39 we also find that there is going to be an outpouring 10:42 of God's Spirit, a sealing, as it were. 10:45 We find, when we get to the book of Revelation: 10:47 'oh, nothing new, only more detail of what Jesus spoke of 10:51 in Matthew 24'. 10:54 - I know people who won't even open 10:55 the book of Revelation because it's just seems 10:58 so difficult, or sometimes so scarry because 11:00 it's talking about beast and it's using symbols of this, 11:02 symbols of that, and they are just like: 'it's a closed book 11:05 for me because I just don't understand it'. 11:07 But if they begin with this principle 11:09 they can start to peel the onion, if you will, 11:12 and it'll start to make a lot of sense. 11:15 - That's right. Let's look at another principle, 11:17 another example of this. 11:19 In the Old Testament you have the law of God. 11:21 And, the New Testament... Some people say: 11:25 'Oh, the New Testament got rid of the law of God'. 11:27 No, far from it. The New Testament 11:29 is nothing new, only more detail. 11:34 - The law of God is restated in the New Testament. 11:37 - Yes. Not only restated, but also stated in more detail. 11:42 Jesus says: "You have heard it said 11:46 in times passed that thou shalt not commit adultery, 11:49 but I say unto you that if you look after a woman 11:53 to lust after her, you have committed adultery 11:55 already in your heart." 11:56 You see, this principle of the unfolding, 11:59 nothing new, only more detail. 12:01 - Or thou shall not kill, but if you hate your brother 12:04 you've murdered in your heart. 12:06 - The sermon on the mount is an amplification 12:09 of the ten commandments, so, following this principle 12:12 we also realize: "Wait a minute, 12:13 the ten commandments haven't been done away with, 12:15 it's only stated in more detail in the New Testament". 12:19 The first five books of the Old Testament revolve 12:24 around the law of God written on stone. 12:27 The first five books of the New Testament 12:29 revolve around Jesus writing the law of God 12:34 in the hearts of humanity. 12:37 Nothing new, only more detail. 12:40 - Because the New Testament does focus more 12:42 on these things really becoming a part of you, 12:45 spiritually. It takes over more of your life 12:48 than just their ten commandments written on stone. 12:51 - Right. Another example is Genesis 3:21 12:54 where the Bible says God made coats of skin 12:58 for Adam and Eve. Well, where did He make 13:02 these coats of skin from? 13:03 He had to make them from an animal. 13:05 He sacrificed an animal. And, as you look at the 13:08 sanctuary service, the sanctuary service began 13:12 with sacrifice. That was the first step as you went 13:16 through the sanctuary. The first thing that 13:18 had to occur was sacrifice. 13:19 Well, in Genesis 3:21, this sacrificial act was a seed 13:24 for the Old Testament's sanctuary system 13:29 that was going to be put in place. 13:31 It was a nutshell, it was the thing at a distance 13:36 and, as we begin to see this sanctuary service unfold 13:39 in the Old Testament, those who were thinking 13:43 would think that to what God did for Adam and Eve 13:46 as he clothed them with skins. 13:49 So, Christ wants to clothe us 13:51 with His perfect righteousness. 13:54 - That's right. And I can only think that Satan was 13:57 looking on as God had to actually take that first 14:01 sacrifice and clothe them, and I think he started to see 14:05 what the plan of salvation was going to be. 14:07 And I think he was shaking in his boots even then, 14:09 if you will, not that he's actually wearing boots. 14:11 He started to get nervous. - Exactly. 14:13 You think about this sanctuary service, 14:15 and there's sacrifice. This sacrifice began 14:19 the plan of salvation, this sacrifice reveals 14:24 this was the opening step to the plan of salvation. 14:29 Well, in the same way we find in the New Testament 14:32 that the sacrifice of Christ did not complete 14:36 the plan of salvation, it opened it up. 14:38 You see? Nothing new, only more detail. 14:41 Well, you say: "What is Jesus doing now 14:42 if it wasn't completly paid at the cross?" 14:44 Well, the Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews, that 14:46 Jesus has ascended into heaven. He is now our high priest 14:50 and He has begun His work in the heavens 14:53 to redeem mankind. In other words, He is going to finish 14:58 His work in heaven. The work of salvation 15:00 did not end with the sacrifice of Christ. It began with 15:03 the sacrifice of Christ. 15:05 Without that, everything else fails. 15:08 So, again you see this principle of nothing new, 15:11 only more detail really laid out in the Scripture. 15:15 Now, we're going to look at one more example, 15:16 and then we're going to go to the book of Daniel, 15:18 because this is where we really want to see 15:19 this principle in action. 15:21 The book of Revelation operates on this very same principle. 15:25 The first three chapters of Revelation deal with 15:31 the seven churches. 15:33 Now, these seven churches are an unfolding 15:37 of the history of the church of God from 15:41 the ressurection of Christ all the way down 15:44 to the second coming. 15:46 We're going to look at some other principles later on 15:48 to see how we come to that conclusion 15:50 I'll share with you very briefly: that the number 7 15:53 represents a complete cicle of time. 15:56 You've got 7 churches and at the beginning of 15:59 the 7 churches, John sees Jesus as he said: 16:05 "I was dead, and am alive". 16:08 The time spent lets us know that this is shortly after 16:10 His ressurection, that's the beginning of 16:13 the 7 churches and the churches end 16:15 with the prophecy of judgement, 16:17 which lets us know that these 7 churches cover 16:20 a period of time from the ressurection of Christ 16:23 all the way down to the judgement in the last days. 16:27 In order to understand the rest of the book of Revelation 16:31 we must rightly understand those 7 churches. 16:35 In other words, the book of Revelation is nothing new, 16:39 but an unfolding of the history already found in the 7 churches 16:45 in the first prophecy of the book of Revelation. 16:49 - So, what can we look at with the 7 churches? 16:53 How does it begin, with the first church? 16:55 - Okay...we're not even get all the way into these churches, 16:59 but the first curch, meaning the church of Ephesus, 17:01 represents the church in a state of [???]. 17:04 The second church represents the church 17:07 in a state of persecution. 17:09 The word 'Smirna' comes from the word 'myrrh' 17:12 which was used as they embalmed the dead. 17:17 As you go down through these churches 17:19 it actually explains the 7 stages 17:22 that the church would go through, from persecution 17:24 to compromise, to coming back to God, 17:28 all the way down to judgement. 17:30 The prophecies of Revelation after that 17:33 really expand, they go back, it's like a cicle, 17:36 it goes back and now you have these 7 seals, 17:38 these 7 trumpets. It goes back and expands 17:41 from a different angle; nothing new, simply more detail 17:46 of the history of the church, because, let's face it, 17:49 the book of Revelation is all about 17:51 how the people of God overcome the beast. 17:54 Nothing more in there, only more detail. 17:57 And again, what it helps to do is that it 17:58 helps to bring the book of Revelation into a more compact, 18:04 focus thing so we can say: "I now know what this book 18:08 is trying to explain to me and, in the understanding of 18:11 the 7 churches and the history of the 7 churches, 18:13 I can begin to look for the things like compropmise, 18:16 where did that come in, the law of God, 18:20 where does that play, Jesus saving His people 18:22 from their sins, how does this play in? Genesis 3,15, 18:25 how does this play in?" 18:26 And you have this continual principle of nothing new, 18:29 only more detail. 18:31 Now, we're going to go to the book of Daniel 18:34 and we're going to actually walk through Daniel. 18:37 There are several prophetic chapters 18:40 in the book of Daniel. There's Daniel 2, 18:42 there's Daniel 7, Daniel 8, Daniel 9, 11 and 12 18:50 that are prophetic chapters. 18:52 There're 12 chapters, but only these, 18:54 I believe I just counted 6 or 7, only these are 18:57 the prophetic portions. 19:01 Now, all of the book of Daniel 19:02 has a last day-scenario application to it, 19:07 but in terms of vision, prophecy and different 19:11 things like that we're talking about the books that are 19:13 specifically prophetical. We're going to begin to see, 19:19 in Daniel, that this principle of nothing new, 19:23 only more detail cuts out a lot of confusion 19:27 that is out there in the world. 19:28 So, let me say this before we get to Daniel. 19:30 Remember, the reason why we are looking at 19:32 how to study the Bible is because 19:34 it is the devil's rule, it is the devil's purpose 19:37 to make the book of Daniel, to make the Bible 19:40 seem like a boring book that makes no sense. 19:43 - Or of confusion... - Or a book of confusion. 19:45 And we're trying to show that, no, the books of the Bible 19:48 are written on laws just as permanent laws, 19:55 just as truthful as real signs, true signs. 20:00 So, let's go ahead now and look at Daniel 2. 20:03 And in Daniel 2 we have an image of a man that... 20:09 rather Nebuchadnezzar has a dream, 20:13 and in this dream 20:14 he sees an image of a man. He doesn't know 20:16 what this dream means, Daniel interprets it. 20:18 Now, we're not going to explain this prophecy, 20:19 we're just going to show this principle of 20:21 nothing new, only more detail. 20:23 In Daniel 2, Daniel explains to Nebucadnezzar that 20:26 what he saw was a statue of a man whose head 20:29 was of gold, his chest and arms of silver, 20:34 his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, 20:38 his toes part iron and part clay. 20:41 Rightly understanding this vision will give us 20:45 an incredible key. Why? 20:46 Because in the rest of the book of Daniel 20:48 there is nothing new, only more detail. 20:54 Once we understand what this image represents, 20:58 which power this image represents, 21:00 the head of gold, who did that represent? 21:02 The chest and arms of silver, who did that represent? 21:04 All the way down to the toes. When we come over to Daniel 7 21:07 we're going to see that Daniel 7 is really 21:09 nothing new, only more detail. 21:13 I'll give you an example. 21:15 The clay of Daniel 2... what does that clay represent? 21:20 Well, according to the Bible, Isaiah 64,8, clay is used 21:24 to represent a people who profess to be gods. 21:28 Isaiah 64,8 says: "you are the potter, we are the clay, 21:31 mold us". It's talking about God's people 21:34 calling themselves the clay. 21:36 Well, this clay statue or this clay image at the bottom, 21:39 or rather towards the end of this prophecy represents 21:44 a kingdom or a power that would profess 21:48 to belong to who? To God. 21:51 That's all we know. If you read the prophecy of Daniel 2 21:55 and those of you who are not familiar with it please read it 21:57 and you will understand what I'm talking about, 21:59 there's a stone cut out without hands that breaks 22:02 this whole statue apart, but it hits the stone 22:04 on the feet mingled with iron and clay. 22:06 Why? Because that is the most offensive part 22:09 of this image to God. 22:11 It is the second coming of Christ that smites this image 22:13 on its feet. Now, let's jump over to Daniel 22:17 7. In Daniel 7 we're going to find that there are 22:20 four kingdoms that are presented, 22:23 just like chapter 2: head of gold, 22:24 chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass, 22:26 legs of iron. In Daniel 7 we've got 22:30 a lion, a bear, a leopard and a non-descript beast. 22:39 If we put those two side by side, 22:42 you know what we're going to find? 22:43 They actually correspond. 22:45 The head of gold is none other that the lion. 22:47 The chest and arms are none others than the bear. 22:51 The belly and thighs are none other than the leopard, 22:55 and the legs of iron, none other than 22:59 that fourth none-descriptive beast. 23:02 Now, notice this. The beast has how many horns? 23:05 - Ten horns! - The beast has ten horns, 23:12 but in the book of Daniel 2, the image has 10 toes. 23:19 Those 10 toes are going to correspond 23:21 with the 10 horns. Now, in Daniel 2 we see 23:25 rising up, among the toes of iron, we see this element 23:29 of clay. Okay? Are we going to find 23:33 the corresponding part in Daniel 7? 23:36 Yes we are, because if you look at Daniel 7 23:39 right after those ten horns are described, 23:42 the Bible says there was another little horn that rose up 23:47 among the ten. This little horn is going to correspond 23:51 to that clay kingdom of Daniel 2 23:54 and now it's going to give us more detail. 23:56 This little horn will think to change God's time and laws, 23:59 it will persecute the saints. Now, we're going: "Oh! 24:02 I understand now why the clay kingdom was so offensive to God 24:06 because in Daniel 7 it professed to be doing God's will. 24:10 Exactly. It professed to be doing God's will, 24:12 but it was doing simple things. 24:13 Daniel 7 gives us more detail and now we see it makes sense. 24:18 If we go on to Daniel 8 we will find that 24:21 the Bible prophecy zoomes in and we don't have time 24:25 to go through the rest of the prophecies, 24:28 but you'll find that Daniel 8 simply zoomes in 24:31 on what Daniel 7 had already explained. 24:34 Daniel 9 it does the very same thing. Daniel 11 it zoomes in 24:39 even further. It's kind of like... 24:40 -...well, like a digital camera. You're zooming in 24:45 closer and closer until you get very close, 24:48 with a lot of details. 24:49 - Exactly. Now, the image in Daniel 2 represents power, 24:53 so, different nations. Let's say that in Daniel 2 24:55 we had four particular nations. What do we know about that? 24:59 We know that, when we get to Daniel 7 25:01 we're not going to find four other nations. 25:03 It's the same nations, but it's now going into 25:06 more detail. The same thing with Daniel 8. 25:09 We're not going to find something new. 25:10 We're simply going to find more detail. 25:12 China is not going to pop up in the picture somewhere 25:15 or Russia or something like that. 25:16 God is trying to keep us focused as we study the Bible 25:20 and as we see these principles unfold, again it let's us know 25:25 this is the God that wrote the Bible. 25:27 He's a God of order. He's a God of law. 25:29 And there are laws that actually apply to studying the Bible. 25:34 - And this is why God, I believe, wrote the Bible 25:37 or allowed it to be written in this way 25:39 so that we would have to spend time with it 25:41 and study it line upon line, 25:43 precept upon precept. 25:44 You can't just skim over it 25:46 and get this kind of things out of it, if you really 25:49 study it. 25:50 - That's right. If you look at the scientists, 25:51 scientists put a lot of time into what they do, 25:54 and they pay attention to details. 25:57 As students of the Word of God, as students of the Bible, 26:01 we ought to take that time, we ought to take our work 26:04 as serious as scientists take their work. 26:07 And see this book as a divine inspired book as it is, 26:11 and as we begin to go through it under the guidance 26:14 of the Holy Spirit, God will begin to reveal to us 26:17 these principles, amazing principles, 26:20 principles that stand true; no matter where you put it 26:23 in the Word of God you'll see this principle unfolding 26:25 and I believe that this is one of the things that really 26:28 helps to solidify a person's Bible study when they realize 26:32 how beautifully written the Word of God is 26:35 and the principles upon which it is written. 26:38 - And again, there is nothing more powerful than young people 26:41 to get excited and study this book and to get on fire, 26:44 and to know their Word, because nobody can share with the world 26:47 as powerfully as young people. So, God is calling you 26:52 to get into the Word and to study your Bible 26:54 and to share it with the world. 26:56 And, of course, you have an enemy that's fighting you 26:58 on all sides, at all times, but God is more powerful 27:01 and He has called you to this. 27:03 - That's right. There are deep things of the Scripture 27:06 and because the enemy of souls has so many things going on, 27:10 we don't have time to really dig into the Word. 27:13 And so many young people say: "I don't understand 27:15 what I believe, or why I believe it", 27:17 but it's right there before us if we would only take God, 27:20 take His Word and say: "Alright Lord, teach me 27:22 how to study the Bible." 27:24 You know, Atonte, when I was out in the hip-hop industry 27:26 my code name was Yoda, because I wanted to be seen 27:29 as wise. Walking around with dreadlocks 27:32 and with a cane and looking all crazy. 27:35 But the Lord showed me that I was really foolish out there 27:39 in the world and that true wisdom is found in 27:43 studying and understanding His Word. 27:45 Not wisdom that we posses of ourselves, but wisdom 27:48 that God wants to give all His people 27:50 and that is the best thing that we can receive from God. 27:53 - Well, we are out of time, but we just pray that 27:57 you will join us next time. 27:58 Until then, God bless! |
Revised 2014-12-17