Thunder in the Holy Land

Back To Eden

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Charles Byrd (Host), Andrea Endries, Carl Preval, Levi Longoria

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Series Code: THL

Program Code: THL000010


00:01 Picture perfection in you mind's eye for a moment.
00:04 What would that look like?
00:06 For some of us perfect would look like being young
00:09 with no aches or pains with flexible joints and no disease.
00:14 Or perhaps, perfect conjures up the ideal marriage,
00:18 a kind and attentive spouse, a good provider
00:22 or a lifelong best friend who never compromises
00:26 their faithfulness or integrity.
00:29 Today of course those ideals are just that, ideals.
00:33 But divorce, unfaithfulness, sickness and death
00:37 are all reminders that we are not in a perfect world.
00:41 So we contemplate something better.
00:44 But we're not the first to muse over perfection.
00:47 Perhaps the genesis of our infatuation with idealism
00:51 stems from an original sense of variety
00:54 of how things should be, were designed to be.
00:58 You know, one of the doctrines or teachings of Jesus
01:01 actually talks about this very theme of perfection.
01:05 "Be ye therefore perfect." He said in Matthew 5:48.
01:09 "Even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
01:14 Imagine that, a God who calls us to the ideal of perfection.
01:19 And in one way we like it because
01:22 if everyone else is perfect then our lives
01:25 will be better, safer, full of peace.
01:29 And yet like a thunderstorm this doctrine clashes against
01:33 the pervasive of teaching from Popes today.
01:36 But no matter how this teaching of Jesus
01:38 disturbs our sacred cows of understanding and belief,
01:42 Jesus is calling us to something better.
02:39 Hello, I'm Charles Byrd.
02:42 If you've ever seen the acrobatics
02:44 of cirque du soleil then you can appreciate
02:46 that our bodies are capable
02:48 of far more than we demand of them.
02:51 When you watch their physical acumen
02:53 how can you not marvel at the perfection
02:56 and precision of the human body.
03:00 Stunning as these athletes maybe,
03:02 an area even more needy of perfection is marriage
03:06 and the family, one husband and one wife in love and happy.
03:12 After all, a strong and healthy family
03:15 is the framework for a strong and healthy society.
03:19 But how do we come to perfection?
03:21 How do we arrive at the ideal body or the ideal marriage?
03:26 How do we become as perfect as our Father in heaven?
03:30 Once again Jesus shows us the way in Matthew 19:8.
03:35 He points us back to the beginning
03:37 to His original creation as the model, as the standard
03:41 He had in mind for our happiness.
03:45 You see, God never intended there to be imperfection
03:49 and He is working right now to restore the perfection
03:52 He originally intended for this planet and for us.
03:56 But you and I have a part to play.
04:00 So true, Charles.
04:01 God did and does have better plans for us
04:04 than this world offers.
04:06 Over and over the Bible teaches us that
04:09 all God's ways are perfect.
04:11 Moses proclaimed in his victory song.
04:13 "Thy God work is indeed perfect."
04:16 The very first perfect work God presents to us
04:20 in the first verse of scripture
04:22 is His creation in this world and everything in it.
04:25 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,
04:29 and God saw every thing that He had made,
04:32 and behold, it was very good.
04:35 Seven times in the first Chapter of Genesis,
04:38 God pronounced His work of creation "good."
04:42 God's awesome creative ability is the ultimate reason
04:46 we all Him worship, obedience and honor.
04:52 In Revelation 14, the first of Three Angels,
04:57 flies through heavens crying with a loud voice
04:59 to earth's inhabitance.
05:01 "Fear God and give glory to Him
05:04 for the hour of His judgment is come and worship Him
05:08 that made heaven and earth and the sea
05:11 and the fountains of waters."
05:13 Again creation sided us the reason
05:16 for us to worship God.
05:18 The fact that God is the creator is the sole reason
05:22 on which He can rest the claim of worship.
05:25 And John Chapter 1, the beloved apostle
05:28 introduces us to His master, Jesus Christ.
05:32 As he starts his book he asserts Christ's divinity
05:36 and the proof of that claim rest in the fact that
05:39 Jesus or the Word is the creator.
05:43 "In the beginning was the Word,
05:46 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
05:49 All things were made by him, and without Him
05:52 was not any thing made that was made."
05:56 John understood that if Jesus life ministry in death
06:00 was to have any value at all He must be the creator.
06:05 Only the inventor could intervene
06:07 as the substitute for His creation.
06:10 No other being in heaven or earth held the authority
06:14 or right to step and to take its place except the creator.
06:19 That's why Jesus could triumph over the tomb of saying.
06:23 "I am the resurrection, and the life."
06:27 Not only was He the inception of life,
06:30 the creator, He was also life's redemption.
06:34 If we are indeed His creation then the creator would
06:37 certainly know what's best for His creation, wouldn't He?
06:41 So let's go back to Eden and see
06:44 what His perfect ideal is for our happiness.
06:50 The seven day week along with it Sabbath rest
06:52 comes to us from perfect eating, Carl.
06:55 But the Sabbath is not the only institution
06:57 that comes to us from God's perfect garden.
07:00 So does marriage.
07:02 In Mark 10:6, Jesus hugs back to Genesis
07:04 as the perfect and only design for marriage,
07:08 it is for one man and one woman.
07:10 "From the beginning of creation God made them male and female."
07:15 And in Matthew, Jesus said that He made marriage to endure,
07:19 to be a permanent and happy union for life.
07:22 Jesus also said that it was God's intention
07:24 from the very beginning, from creation.
07:27 Marriage is very close to God's heart
07:29 because He designed the family union
07:31 to be the foundation of society.
07:34 Today, most homes have drifted from God's edenic family plan
07:38 of one man and one woman mated
07:40 and committed it in a lifelong relationship.
07:43 And our society is reaping the results.
07:47 Statistics show that fatherless children
07:49 are three times more likely to fail in school.
07:52 Require psychiatric treatment.
07:53 And commit suicide as adolescents.
07:56 They are also up to 40 times more likely
07:59 to experience child abuse
08:00 compare to children growing up in two parent families.
08:04 Among long-term prison inmates 70% grew up
08:07 without father as did 60% of rapists,
08:10 and 75% of adolescents charged with murder.
08:14 And who are the women in prison?
08:16 More than half are single mothers
08:18 who were living on welfare.
08:20 Well, sin has made marriages less than perfect.
08:23 In the teachings of Jesus and the Bible God is giving us
08:26 counsel for reordering our lives and marriages
08:30 and restoring them to the happiness of Eden.
08:33 For example, in Matthew 5:28
08:35 Jesus calls us to purity even a thought.
08:39 "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after
08:42 her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
08:46 God calls for purity of the mind and body
08:48 before and within the marriage.
08:51 He says through the apostle Paul,
08:53 "do you not know that the unrighteous
08:55 will not inherit the kingdom of God?
08:58 Do not be deceived.
08:59 Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
09:02 nor homosexuals, nor sodomites
09:05 will inherit the kingdom of God."
09:07 God wants us to experience true happiness which is why
09:11 He gives us clear directives for a happy marriage.
09:14 Sexual purity is paramount and fostering
09:17 one essential element, trust.
09:21 The wise men says of a virtuous woman,
09:23 "the heart of her husband doth safely trust in her,
09:27 " A healthy relationship can only last
09:29 if there is absolute and mutual trust
09:33 which brings us to Commitment.
09:35 God created marriage to be a lifelong commitment.
09:39 Jesus talked about this when the Pharisees
09:41 questioned Him about divorce.
09:44 He told them, "From the beginning of creation
09:46 God made them male and female.
09:49 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
09:52 and be joined to his wife,
09:54 and the two shall become one flesh.
09:57 Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
10:00 commits adultery against her.
10:02 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another,
10:05 she commits adultery."
10:08 God wants us to be committed to one another.
10:11 This was His original plan from the beginning.
10:14 He never intended there to be divorce
10:16 and the only time Jesus said divorce was permissible
10:19 was in the case of sexual unfaithfulness.
10:22 But even then divorce is not a God's idea for us
10:25 rather He instructs us to be kind to one to another,
10:29 tender hearted, forgiving one another,
10:31 even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.
10:36 Forgiveness keeps the path of communication open
10:39 and is a healing balm in any relationship.
10:42 That's why Jesus taught us to pray.
10:44 "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
10:49 Excellent points, Andrea.
10:51 A purity, trust, commitment, and forgiveness
10:54 truly are vital to healthy homes.
10:57 But there are two more directives
10:59 that are key to our happiness.
11:02 God also carefully instructed His people
11:05 not to intermarry with the world.
11:08 Marriage is a partnership and both parties need to share
11:11 the same beliefs, goals, standards, values, etcetera
11:15 in order to pull the load of life evenly and successfully.
11:19 And Paul counseled the Corinthians believers,
11:21 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers,
11:25 for what fellowship hath
11:27 righteousness with unrighteousness?
11:29 And what communion hath light with darkness?"
11:33 In the Hungarian culture knew well that
11:35 in order to have a good team, the animals had to be equal
11:39 in size and strength and had to pull together.
11:42 They had to be united in purpose
11:44 and both had to listen to the same one master.
11:49 "Can two walk together except they be agreed?"
11:52 The prophet asked in Amos 3:3.
11:54 For a marriage to be a happy and lasting,
11:57 a couple must be in spiritual,
11:59 emotional, and intellectual unity.
12:02 And that brings us to the number one component
12:05 to making happy and heavenly homes.
12:09 Each of us must listen to and obey
12:12 the directions of our master.
12:15 In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us,
12:17 "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness,
12:23 and all these things shall be added unto you."
12:27 Only when the husband and wife hold God
12:29 as a supreme authority in their lives individually
12:32 and together, can they truly be united.
12:36 And throughout the Bible God requires priority
12:39 in our finances, our time, our bodies,
12:42 every part of our lives.
12:44 And basically He claims the highest honor
12:47 in every area of our lives.
12:49 And because He is our creator
12:51 He has the right to require supreme royalty.
12:54 And because He is our creator
12:55 His goal is our greatest happiness.
12:59 That's why He says, "For my thoughts
13:01 are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
13:04 my ways, saith the Lord.
13:06 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
13:09 so are my ways higher than your ways,
13:11 and my thoughts than your thoughts.
13:14 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace."
13:20 If joy without guilt and peace at all time soundsgood to you
13:25 then says yes, put Him first.
13:29 God certainly does have our best interest at heart.
13:33 And even though sin and our own imperfections
13:36 have tainted the beautiful family God intended for us,
13:40 He still loves us and longs to bless our homes
13:43 with His abiding presence if we will put Him first.
13:48 He delights in our happiness.
13:50 In fact Christ's first public miracle
13:52 was performed at a marriage celebration.
13:55 It was here in the little village of Cana
13:58 that Jesus reached out a ministering hand to share
14:02 in the celebration of marriage.
14:05 God think so highly of marriage that He compares His relation
14:09 with the church as that of a groom and a bride.
14:13 In the Parable of the Ten Virgins,
14:15 Jesus portrayed the Second Coming
14:17 as a bridegroom coming at midnight
14:19 for the love of His life.
14:21 Again in Matthew 22, Jesus compares
14:24 His wonderful offer of salvation to the festive marriage scene.
14:29 And once again in Revelation John uses the terminology
14:33 of marriage to depict God moving the capital
14:35 of the universe to this earth to dwell with us.
14:40 The Bible's glorious presentation of the union
14:42 of a husband and wife certainly
14:45 show that God views marriage as honorable.
14:49 In fact, I believe that God designed marriage
14:52 just so we could get a glimpse of the union
14:55 God wants to have with us.
14:57 Back in the Garden of Eden, God knew that we would need
15:00 the object lesson of marriage
15:02 to help us picture the unity of the Godhead.
15:06 He wanted us to enter into the joy of creation
15:09 by enabling us to procreate.
15:11 And He wanted us to experience the love
15:14 that He has for us as His children
15:17 by giving us the joy of loving our children.
15:20 Yes, the Garden of Eden is indeed the place
15:23 where God set in motion the very things we would need
15:27 to catch a glimpse of His perfection and happiness.
15:30 Here is clearly laid out the Edenic blueprint
15:34 that God ordained parameters within which to experience
15:37 His intended best in marriage.
15:40 And something else God's original plan also sets
15:43 the stage for, building optimal health.
15:47 Indeed it does, Charles.
15:50 Let's consider the perfect diet
15:51 God gave to Adam and Eve in Paradise.
15:55 "'Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant
15:58 on the face of the whole earth
16:00 and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.
16:03 They will be yours for food.'
16:06 " Our first parents were giving a plant based diet
16:08 of seeds, fruits, and nuts.
16:10 It was a simple yet nutritious and balanced diet.
16:14 It was perfectly suited to a vigorous, healthy,
16:17 and lone life, in fact eternal life.
16:20 Immediately following sin
16:22 God added vegetables to the human diet.
16:25 Thorns and thistles diet to be eaten
16:27 such as potatoes, carrots, or cabbage.
16:30 I'm not sure why He added this provision to our diet,
16:34 but perhaps in His infinite wisdom God knew that
16:36 since mankind was no longer eating from the tree of life
16:39 we would need extra nutrients available in vegetables.
16:44 The next time we see God directing men's diet
16:47 was when they came off the ark
16:49 after the worldwide flood in Genesis 9:3.
16:53 God said to Noah, "Every moving thing
16:56 that liveth shall be meat for you,
16:58 even as the green herb have I given you all things."
17:03 Here is where flesh foods were
17:04 first introduced to the human diet.
17:07 However did Noah understand this to me that he could eat
17:10 absolutely every kind of animal in the planet
17:13 such as rats, or snakes, or pigs?
17:18 Certainly not.
17:20 How do I know this? Because of the context.
17:24 The immediate context is found in Genesis 7:2
17:27 when Noah brought the animals into the ark.
17:30 "The clean animals came by sevens while those
17:33 that were not clean came as pairs just to each."
17:38 Noah and his family knew which were clean and unclean
17:41 because God made a distinction.
17:44 And it was the clean animals only
17:46 that God allowed them to eat.
17:48 How can I be confident of this?
17:50 Well, to put it simple we still have pigs.
17:54 If Noah had eaten just one of the unclean animals
17:57 like a pig, or a mouse, squirrel or a rattlesnake
18:01 that species would have gone extinct because
18:03 there were only two each of the unclean animals.
18:06 In Genesis 6, God proposed
18:08 to shorten man's life expectancy.
18:11 But we don't see the happening until after
18:13 the flood in the introduction of meat into the diet.
18:16 Following the flood we see an amazingly
18:18 precipitous decrease in longevity.
18:22 According to Genesis, the average life span
18:25 of the generations preceding the flood was 912 years.
18:30 But in just nine generations following Noah's family
18:33 we come to Abraham who only lived to 175.
18:38 That is almost an 81% drop in longevity
18:42 in just nine generations.
18:45 That is a huge drop in longevity, Carl.
18:48 And that well eating clean meat.
18:50 Fast-forward over 400 years the Exodus
18:53 and once again God spelled out the dietary laws
18:56 designed for optimal health.
18:59 He said that the reason He gave them the dietary injunctions
19:02 was because His chosen people and a special treasure.
19:09 For all God's chosen and holy people then
19:13 and now He clearly spelled out
19:15 the difference between clean and unclean.
19:18 "These are the animals which you may eat,
19:21 every animal with cloven hooves,
19:23 having the hoof split into two parts,
19:26 and that chews the cud, among the animals."
19:29 God goes on to tell us which aquatic animals are clean.
19:33 "These you may eat of all that are in the waters,
19:36 you may eat of all that have fins and scales."
19:39 The distinction among fowl is not quite as clear.
19:42 But it seems as though birds that are considered clean
19:45 are those that only eat grasses, seeds, and insects.
19:49 Listen friend, these laws are not ceremonial laws
19:53 that were nailed to the cross.
19:54 The cross did not somehow make unhealthy meat healthy for us.
19:59 These are the health laws that have blessed God's people
20:02 through every age of history
20:03 and are still blessing many today.
20:06 Another important stipulation God placed on meat eaters
20:09 is found in Genesis 9:4.
20:12 From the very first time God allowed man to eat meat
20:15 and before there were any Jews He commanded them
20:18 not to eat the blood.
20:20 And in the Leviticus God again strictly forbade
20:23 its ingestion along with animal fat.
20:26 "It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations
20:29 throughout all your dwellings,
20:31 that ye eat neither fat nor blood."
20:34 And once again in Acts,
20:35 the command to not eat blood is given.
20:38 But this time to New Testament
20:40 non-Jewish believers in Jesus,
20:43 "Abstain from things strangled, and from blood."
20:46 Now why would God be so emphatic about the eating of blood?
20:50 Fortunate for us science is finally catching up
20:53 with what God knew from the beginning.
20:56 The blood system is a marvelous creation.
20:58 It is the courier for all things necessary,
21:01 bringing oxygen and nutrients to the cells.
21:04 It carries platelets to coagulate the blood
21:06 along with white cell antibiotics to fight germs.
21:09 But this system does double duty.
21:12 It also carries away from the cells
21:14 all the waste products, the broken down cells,
21:17 metabolites, or molecular debris from used food.
21:20 It transports fat and all kinds of pollutants
21:23 that end up in the urine and stool.
21:25 It also is the courier for hormones like adrenaline.
21:29 To eat blood is to deliberately ingest all of these poisons
21:32 and hormones that are injurious to our health.
21:35 God wants us to live life at its fullest and even though
21:39 sin has interrupted God's perfect plan,
21:42 we can still cooperate with God's wisdom
21:44 and thus experience above-average health.
21:47 In fact, God promises, "if thou wilt diligently hearken
21:52 to the voice of the Lord thy God,
21:53 and wilt do that which is right in his sight,
21:56 including obeying the laws of health.
21:58 I will put none of these diseases upon thee,
22:01 which I have brought upon the Egyptians."
22:05 Archeology has shown that ancient Egyptians died
22:07 from preventable, avoidable diseases
22:10 such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
22:13 Well Moses lived to be 120 and when He died
22:17 the Bible says "His eye was not dim,
22:19 not his natural forced abated."
22:22 These natural laws are still binding
22:24 and we can chose to say yes to God
22:27 with this choice and live younger, longer.
22:31 What a beautiful testimony, Andrea.
22:33 And when we follow God's laws
22:35 we're sure to reap His blessings.
22:38 And some people try to argue that these commands applied
22:40 only to the Jews, but as we've already discussed
22:44 these health laws were emplaced long
22:46 before the first Jew existed.
22:49 God gave these rules to all humanity
22:51 so that we'd all be healthy.
22:53 God made all people and no matter where we're
22:55 from our bodily functions are the same.
22:58 Our creator God knows our bodies far better than
23:01 anyone else and He wants what's best for us.
23:05 But for Christians He has an additional claim on our legions.
23:10 And Paul admonished the Corinthians believers,
23:12 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,
23:16 and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
23:19 If any man defile the temple of God,
23:21 him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy,
23:26 which temple ye are."
23:29 Today God lives in His people, in us.
23:33 We're are His sanctuary and that's why Paul pleaded,
23:38 "I beseech you therefore brethren,
23:40 by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies
23:44 a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
23:48 which is your reasonable service.
23:51 You body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
23:54 which is in you, which ye have of God,
23:57 and ye are not your own?
23:59 For ye are bought with a price,
24:01 therefore glorify God in you body,
24:04 and in your Spirit which are God's."
24:07 God wants to be intimately close with us.
24:10 He says, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them,
24:16 and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
24:20 Wherefore come out form among them
24:23 and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
24:25 and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.
24:30 And I will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons
24:34 and my daughters saith the Lord Almighty."
24:37 God longs to have undisturbed access to our hearts.
24:40 He knows that He can only have that if we'll follow
24:43 the principles He has laid out for us in His word.
24:47 He is jealous of our love, time and attention
24:50 and only when we have clear minds
24:53 and healthy bodies can have free access to us.
24:57 And as God's temple, we're called to utmost holiness,
25:01 and purity in diet, relationships,
25:05 thoughts and actions.
25:08 Thanks, Levi.
25:11 When we're obedient, God can use us a spectacle to the world.
25:17 A living testimony that He is good
25:20 and His ways are best.
25:22 That's the story of Daniel "who purposed in his heart
25:25 not to defile himself with the king's meat.
25:28 He purposed in his heart
25:30 not to drink the king'salcohol."
25:33 Daniel here is requesting a healthy vegetarian diet.
25:37 And the results of this choice,
25:39 God blessed Daniel and his three friends
25:41 with quick minds, wisdom, skill, and knowledge
25:45 and at the end of their studies they were found to be ten times
25:49 wiser than the established wise men around.
25:53 These man were temples of a living and wise God.
25:58 And those same positive results can be had today by those
26:01 who'll follow the lamb wherever He leads.
26:05 Evidence for this can be found
26:06 in a U.S. News and World Report article titled,
26:10 "11 health habits that will help you live to 100."
26:14 Number eight in the list reads
26:16 live like a Seventh-day Adventist.
26:20 "Americans who define themselves as Seventh-day Adventists
26:23 have an average life expectancy of 89,
26:26 about a decade longer than the average American.
26:29 One of the basic tenets of the religion is that
26:32 it's important to cherish the body that's on loan
26:35 from God, which means no smoking, alcohol,
26:38 or overindulging in sweets.
26:41 Followers typically stick to a vegetarian diet
26:44 based on fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts,
26:47 and get plenty of exercise.
26:49 They're also very focused on family and community."
26:53 Seventh-day Adventist Christians have chosen
26:55 to say yes to God and His laws regarding health.
27:00 And as a result they not only live longer
27:02 than the average American that time is lived
27:05 with far fewer diseases.
27:08 And it shouldn't really surprise us, should it?
27:10 That following God's plan makes
27:12 for longer life and happier homes.
27:15 After all He is the creator.
27:19 Back in that beautiful garden He created everything
27:21 that would enable us to live life at its fullest.
27:25 And in regard to our bodies and our marriages
27:28 following His original plan is laid out in His laws
27:32 when we restore a good deal
27:34 of Eden's perfect happiness to our lives today.
27:37 As well as give us a foretaste of heaven
27:40 where Eden will be restored to all who love and obey Him.


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Revised 2014-12-17