Participants:
Series Code: AFDB
Program Code: AFDB000028S
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00:03 by the friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry.
00:14 Doug Batchelor: So, when Jesus curses the fig tree because it 00:17 has just leaves and no fruit, very simply this was an analogy 00:22 of what was about to happen to the entire nation. 00:30 Doug: I'd like to share a little amazing fact with you. 00:34 Way back in 1630, when the pilgrims landed, one of the 00:37 first governors was a man named John Endecott. 00:40 He was good friends with Roger Williams, one of the founders 00:43 of our country. 00:45 And they were trying to really establish civilization in 00:50 a very wild world at that time. 00:52 I just finished reading an incredible book on the life of 00:54 Roger Williams, and it talked a lot about John Endecott in that. 00:59 And at one point, John Endecott, with his family, they imported 01:02 a number of little saplings from the Old World, from Europe 01:06 and England, and he had a pear tree. 01:09 And he actually recorded that when he was planting this pear 01:11 tree, he told his families that gathered around, "We hope this 01:15 pear tree will take to the soil in the new world, and that many 01:19 years after we're gone, it will still be here bringing fruit." 01:23 Well, not only did that pear tree outlive John Endecott, and 01:27 his children, and his grandchildren, but it outlived 01:32 George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, I got 01:35 the order wrong, and Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt, 01:44 and Theodore Roosevelt, and would you believe the Endecott 01:48 pear tree is now believed to be the oldest man-planted fruit 01:53 tree in North America? 01:55 It was planted in 1630, it's now 390 years old, approximately, 02:01 and it is still bearing fruit. 02:03 Incredibly, it's survived many storms, hurricanes. 02:08 In 1964, some vandals went through. 02:11 I don't know why they'd do such a thing, but they cut off all 02:13 the branches, and cut it off six feet high with a chainsaw, and 02:17 everyone thought that was the end of it, and it continued 02:19 to sprout many new branches. 02:22 Now, you've got a picture of it, now they've got a fence around 02:24 it to protect it, and they don't even mark it lest anyone should 02:27 think to do anything mischievous. 02:29 But to this day, the Endecott pear tree that John Endecott 02:33 planted is still bearing pears. 02:36 So, this morning we have a Bible study I'd like to do with you, 02:42 and it's on the subject of "Fig Trees and Pharisees." 02:47 You know, the Bible tells a story about Jesus cursing 02:50 a tree, and this is something of an enigma, it seems 02:53 so out of character. 02:55 But if you turn in your Bibles, you'll find the short version of 02:57 this story in Matthew chapter 21. 03:00 There's also an account in Mark 11, but let's go to Matthew 21 03:03 first, verse 18. 03:08 This takes place after the triumphal entry. 03:10 It's a during the final passion week of Jesus's life. 03:15 "And one morning it says, In the morning, as He returned to the 03:18 city," He was daily going to the temple, He was teaching, "He 03:22 was hungry." 03:24 You would think that somebody would be providing the Messiah 03:26 with some food, but Jesus had to go out and forage for food. 03:31 "And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it." 03:35 Now, according to the Jewish law, that if there were trees in 03:38 an orchard, the poor were allowed to glean fruit from 03:41 those trees. 03:43 And it's not uncommon that they would have many fig trees 03:46 in Israel. 03:49 What makes this unusual is this is during the time of spring, 03:53 during the Passover. 03:55 Fig trees in that country normally did not bear 03:57 that early. 03:59 It could happen, but it would be unusual. 04:01 Something else is this is taking place near two towns called 04:04 Bethany and Bethphage, and Bethpage means house of figs. 04:09 So, figs were very common in this country. 04:12 So, Jesus sees a fig tree by the road, and He goes towards it. 04:15 From a distance, He sees that it's got leaves all over it. 04:19 And if a tree has leaves, that typically means 04:22 that it has figs. 04:23 Figs are unusual in that about the same time the leaves are in 04:27 full bloom, the fruit is ripe. 04:30 And then Jesus, He said, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." 04:38 And, "Immediately the fig tree withered away. 04:41 And when the disciples saw," they heard Jesus say that, "They 04:44 marveled, saying, 'How did the fig tree wither away so soon?'" 04:49 Now, I'm going to jump, I want you to read both 04:51 accounts of this. 04:52 If you go to Mark chapter 11 and we'll start with verse 12, 04:56 you find the story again. 04:58 "Now the next day, when he came out from Bethany, He was hungry. 05:02 And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves," He was at 05:06 a distance, "He went to see if perhaps it would have some fruit 05:09 on it. 05:11 When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves." 05:15 So, it was not the season for figs. 05:18 "In response, Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you 05:22 ever again,' and the disciples heard it." 05:24 Now in Mark, notice something happens. 05:27 Right after this it says, "So they came to Jerusalem, and 05:30 Jesus went into the temple, and He began to drive out those who 05:34 bought and sold in the temple, and He overturned the tables of 05:37 the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves, and He 05:41 would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 05:44 And He taught them, saying, 'Is it not written, 'My house shall 05:47 be called the house of prayer for all nations?' 05:49 But you've made it a den of thieves.' 05:51 And the scribes and the chief priests heard it, and they 05:55 sought how they might destroy Him, for they feared Him, 05:58 because all the people were astonished at His teaching. 06:01 When evening had come, He went out of the city." 06:04 Keep reading, verse 20, "Now in the morning as they passed by, 06:08 they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots." 06:12 So now we see a day went by, "And Peter, remembering, said, 06:16 'Rabbi, look, the fig tree you cursed has withered away.'" 06:21 Now, you and I read that story, and have you ever wondered, 06:26 did Jesus have low blood sugar and he had a little tantrum? 06:29 You ever get irritable when you have low blood sugar? 06:32 And so, He took it out on the tree. 06:35 He said, "Mess with me like that. 06:37 Here I thought I'd get some breakfast, you give me nothing. 06:39 Well, I'm going to teach you. 06:40 Nobody's ever going to eat from you again. 06:42 I'm going to kill you." 06:44 I mean, does that sound a little out of character for Jesus? 06:47 This is the one who asked God to forgive, you know, the people 06:51 that were crucifying him. 06:53 You know, He's the one who said you're to be gentle with your 06:57 animals and that you should love--God feeds the sparrows. 07:01 And here, Jesus gets mad and He kills the fig tree because it 07:05 doesn't give him breakfast. 07:07 Notice that in Mark's account, He curses the fig tree, then He 07:12 goes and He has a confrontation with the false leaders. 07:18 He casts all of the sellers out of the temple, and then they 07:25 come back and they notice the fig tree is withered. 07:29 Why did this happen? 07:30 What is the lesson that God is trying to teach us here? 07:33 Well, before I just come right out and tell you, I want you to 07:35 look at fig trees for a minute. 07:37 Where do you first find a fig tree in the Bible? 07:41 If I'm not mistaken, the fig tree is the first particular 07:44 fruit mentioned anywhere in Scripture, and it's not 07:47 mentioned they're eating it, the first thing that's mentioned 07:50 is the leaves. 07:51 Fig leaves, not fig fruit. 07:56 And notice that Jesus goes to this tree, and there's just 07:58 leaves, no fruit. 08:02 Remember when Adam and Eve were first made? 08:05 The Bible says they were naked, but it's pretty clear that they 08:08 had these garments of light, they had an aura of light. 08:11 They used to talk to God face to face, and what happened to Moses 08:14 when he talked to God face to face? 08:16 It says he's shown, there was a glow, there was a light. 08:21 But after Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate from the forbidden tree, 08:25 the light faded, and they saw their nakedness, and they 08:28 were ashamed. 08:30 How did they try to cope with their shame? 08:32 It says, "Then the eyes of them were opened," this is 08:35 Genesis 3:7. 08:36 "They knew they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together 08:40 and made themselves coverings." 08:43 Now, the trees may have been bigger and the leaves may have 08:46 been bigger, I seem to believe that Adam and Eve were bigger, 08:49 probably needed bigger leaves and bigger trees back then. 08:52 But I don't know if Adam and Eve realized what happens to leaves 08:55 after the curse of death. 08:58 See, in the beginning, nothing died, and they picked these 09:01 leaves and maybe thought that they'd just hold their form, 09:06 but how many of you would trust going to church wearing 09:08 fig leaves? 09:10 And something else you might notice here is the word, 09:13 it says, "They made themselves coverings." 09:15 That word, "covering," is chagora in Hebrew. 09:20 That means belts, loin cloth, aprons. 09:26 Not only is it poor quality material, it's not nearly 09:28 enough material. 09:31 These were miniskirts of leaves is what they made, belts. 09:37 They're desperate, looking for anything. 09:40 Then you go to Genesis 3, and after God said, "Where are you?" 09:43 And man ran from God, He said, "What have you done." 09:46 They said, "Well, you know, we eat from the tree and we saw we 09:51 were naked," and of course Adams says, "The woman made me do it," 09:53 and the woman says, "The snake made me do it," and the snake 09:56 didn't have a leg to stand on, so he didn't say anything. 09:59 But then it says, "Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made 10:04 tunics of skin, and clothed them." 10:07 The word "tunics" there is kuttoneth, and it means robes, 10:14 tunics, garments. 10:16 And not only is it of better quality, it's much more. 10:19 Now, this is probably where you have the sacrificial system 10:23 established, because in order to get skin, something has to die. 10:26 And God probably explained why His Son, the Lamb of God, was 10:29 going to die to cover the nakedness of man. 10:33 And when they wore these robes, they realize it cost the life of 10:36 a lamb to cover their nakedness. 10:38 You know, it cost the life of Jesus, the Lamb of God, to cover 10:42 our sin and nakedness. 10:45 So, God not only gave them better quality, he gave 10:47 them more. 10:49 And so, here you see fig leaves represent, from the very 10:54 beginning, man's attempt to hide his own sin through 11:00 his own works. 11:02 They sewed them. 11:03 We did it. 11:05 We made them ourselves. 11:06 That wasn't going to work. 11:08 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing, 11:10 free resource. 11:12 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 11:14 download a digital copy straight to your computer 11:17 or mobile device. 11:18 To get your copy of today's free gift, simply call us and ask for 11:22 the offer number shown on your screen, or visit the web address 11:26 and download a digital copy, and be sure to select the 11:29 digital download option on the request page. 11:31 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 11:35 "Amazing Facts," wherever and whenever you want, 11:38 and most important, to share it with others. 11:43 Doug: So, when Jesus curses the fig tree, because it has just 11:46 leaves and no fruit, very simply, this was an analogy of 11:51 what was about to happen to the entire nation. 11:55 And before you think that this is a rant against the people of 11:59 Israel, I want you to know that it's really speaking to the 12:01 church today. 12:03 It speaks to all people and all time, but Israel is a type of 12:06 the church. 12:07 Here they had all the forms of religion, and the temple, 12:12 and the services, they had the ceremonies. 12:13 That very day, that weekend I should say, they were going to 12:17 crucify Jesus, and then they were going to run home so they 12:21 could keep the Sabbath and go through all of the rituals and 12:25 totally miss what the purpose of it all was. 12:28 The temple, and the Sabbaths, and the ceremonies, and 12:30 everything they did all pointed to Christ. 12:34 And so, here they had all the forms and the trappings of 12:38 religion without the power. 12:41 Leaves, no fruit. 12:44 Jesus wants fruit from us. 12:48 So, the big contest that the Lord had with the scribes and 12:52 Pharisees was dealing with a form of religion without the 12:57 power, outward religion. 12:59 Leaves, no fruit. 13:01 He talked to the religious leaders. 13:03 He said, "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the 13:06 hypocrites, with a sad countenance. 13:09 For they disfigure their faces that they might appear to men 13:12 to be fasting." 13:14 Now, is it good to give? 13:17 Should we all give? 13:19 Is it good to pray? 13:21 Is it good to fast? 13:24 But should we be doing it because people are watching, 13:29 or are you more interested in what God sees? 13:31 God looks on the heart, man looks on the outward appearance 13:34 as 1 Samuel tells us. 13:36 And then you read in Matthew 15, Jesus said, "Hypocrites! 13:40 Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, 'These people draw 13:43 near to Me with their mouth, and they honor Me with their 13:47 lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 13:49 In vain they worship Me." 13:52 You know what in vain means? 13:53 They're wasting their time. 13:54 Their worship is in vain. 13:56 Jesus said if you're praying, and giving, and fasting to be 13:58 seen of men, you'll get a reward. 13:59 The only reward you get is the praise of men. 14:03 What is that worth? 14:04 Not worth it. 14:06 Is that going to get you to heaven? 14:07 It's not worth anything. 14:09 That great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, you've heard of P.T. 14:13 Barnum, you know, Barnum and Bailey Circus? 14:15 Phineas Barnum was--he is the one that had 14:18 a swindle for everything. 14:20 And he saw the crowds coming to the Metropolitan Church in 14:23 London to hear Spurgeon preach, and Barnum wrote him a letter. 14:27 He said, "Look, I want you to come preach in 14:30 my tent on Sunday. 14:31 You can preach as long as you want. 14:32 I will pay you a thousand dollars a sermon." 14:34 You've got to know that back in the 1880s, that was 14:37 a fabulous amount. 14:39 And he said, "You can have whoever you want sing, 14:41 I'll provide the music." 14:43 He just gave him a red carpet, "Whatever you want, Spurgeon, 14:45 if you'll come preach in my circus." 14:48 And Spurgeon said, "I want to thank you for your very kind and 14:50 generous offer, but because of Acts chapter 13, I can't do it." 14:55 He said Acts 13:10. 14:57 Barnum had to get a Bible out, Barnum's parents were 15:00 Christians, and he got his Bible out, and it said, "O full of all 15:06 subtlety and all mischief, you child of the devil and the enemy 15:10 of all righteousness. 15:11 Will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" 15:15 Spurgeon could not be bought, because he was the real deal. 15:20 You read in Matthew chapter 7, "Beware of false prophets, who 15:26 come to you in sheep's clothing. 15:27 Inwardly, they are ravening wolves. 15:29 You will know them by," what? 15:31 Their fruits, "Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs 15:36 from thistles?" 15:38 He says I want figs, but you don't get figs from a thorn bush 15:42 or a thistle. 15:43 "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree 15:47 bad fruit. 15:48 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot 15:51 bear good fruit. 15:52 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is," what? 15:55 "Cut down and thrown into the fire." 15:59 There you got the word cutting down again, it's talking about 16:01 a judgment that comes on either bad fruit or no fruit. 16:05 Are you with me? 16:07 "Therefore by your fruits you'll know them." 16:10 Matthew chapter 12, Jesus has another parable. 16:15 "There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and he 16:19 set a hedge around it. 16:21 And he dug a wine press in it, and he built a tower. 16:24 And he leased it to vinedressers and he went into a far country. 16:28 Now when the vintage time had drawn near, he sent his servants 16:32 to the vinedresser that they might receive its fruit." 16:37 So now, Jesus is explaining that the church doesn't belong to us, 16:43 it belongs to Him. 16:45 Israel did not belong to the priests, it belonged to God. 16:48 They were supposed to bring forth the fruits. 16:52 "And when they sent the servants, the vinedressers took 16:55 his servants and they beat one, and they killed one, 16:59 and they stoned another. 17:01 And he sent other servants." 17:03 The owner of the vineyard said look, I've leased it to you, 17:05 you're supposed to bring me some of the fruit. 17:08 "More than the first, and they did likewise to them." 17:11 What did they do? 17:12 Beat, kill, stone, and what did Jesus say that the religious 17:16 leaders often did to the prophets? 17:19 It says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you stoned the prophets that 17:23 come to you," talking about the judgment coming. 17:28 "Last of all, he sent his son to them. 17:30 'Give me the fruit of the vineyard, they'll 17:33 respect my son.' 17:35 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among 17:37 themselves, 'This is the heir, come, let's kill him and let's 17:41 just seize his inheritance for ourselves.' 17:44 So they took him, and they cast him out of the vineyard, 17:47 and they killed him. 17:49 Therefore," Jesus is asking the scribes and Pharisees he's 17:52 talking to, "'When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he 17:56 do to those vinedressers?' 17:58 They said to him, 'He'll destroy those wicked men miserably, 18:03 and lease the vineyard to others who will render him the fruits 18:07 in their season.' 18:09 And Jesus said, Have you never read in the Scripture, 18:12 'The stone that the builders have rejected became the 18:15 chief cornerstone. 18:16 This was the Lord's doing and it's marvelous in our eyes.' 18:19 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken 18:24 from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.'" 18:31 So, this is telling us that the cursing of the fig tree, and the 18:37 parable of the fig tree in the vineyard that doesn't bear 18:40 fruit, and the vineyard leasers that didn't give fruit to the 18:43 vineyard owner, it's all really telling us the same message. 18:46 That God has a church in the world, it was Israel in the 18:50 Old Testament, it's God's people, the Christian church in 18:53 the world today, and we have a responsibility to be productive. 18:59 You know how Jesus is pictured in Revelation? 19:01 He's coming with a sickle to harvest the vintage of the 19:06 world, and he wants us to be faithful in producing the fruit. 19:11 Now, what is the fruit? 19:14 You know this? 19:15 Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy," 19:23 these are good things, "Peace, long-suffering, kindness, 19:28 goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 19:33 Against such there is no law." 19:35 God wants the fruits of the Spirit in our life. 19:37 Now, there's two kinds of fruit. 19:38 You've got the spiritual fruit, and then you got the 19:40 practical fruit. 19:41 If you have the spiritual fruits of the Spirit in your life, 19:45 you will bear the practical fruit, which will be others 19:49 will come to the Lord. 19:50 You will be witnessing, and Christ will have a harvest. 19:54 If you and I have the Spiritual fruit, it leads to the practical 19:58 fruit of souls being converted, because we've got the gifts 20:01 of the Spirit. 20:02 What do we do with our love? 20:03 We love others. 20:05 Our joy, our peace, our long-suffering kindness, 20:08 kindness to others, goodness, faithfulness, it's all bringing 20:11 people to Christ. 20:12 It's the sap on the inside that produces the fruit that 20:16 others can eat. 20:19 You know, the things we read about the fig tree, it's not 20:22 just something that happened to Israel. 20:24 "Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes. 20:28 Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you 20:32 will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 20:35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the 20:38 earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of 20:41 Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between 20:45 the temple and the altar." 20:46 Christ was saying, you know, God is patient. 20:49 He's made a note of all the righteous blood that's been 20:52 slain, and He told the Jewish nation you have had greater 20:55 privileges than anyone because I have given you 20:58 the oracles of truth. 21:00 You've got the Scriptures. 21:01 I want you to live it in your life and share it with the lost, 21:04 but instead you're hoarding it to yourself. 21:06 Lazarus lies at your gate, desiring the crumbs that fall 21:09 from your table, and you're feasting and arguing theology. 21:14 And He said because you are rejecting, there will come a day 21:17 of judgment, and the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah 21:21 will be required of this generation. 21:23 It's a fearful thing to be judged, cut down, and thrown 21:26 in the fire. 21:27 But he said all these things will come upon, notice, 21:29 this generation. 21:32 How long is a generation in the Bible? 21:34 Forty years, now read Matthew 24 verse 32. 21:39 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree." 21:42 What kind of tree? 21:45 "When its branch has become tender and it puts forth fruit," 21:50 it doesn't say fruit. 21:51 "When its branch is tender and it puts forth leaves," 21:54 just leaves. 21:57 You know that summer is near. 21:58 Summer was a hot time. 22:00 "So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is 22:04 near, even at the doors. 22:07 Assuredly I say to you this generation will by no means 22:12 pass away until all these things take place. 22:15 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not 22:18 pass away." 22:20 You know, when Jesus began his ministry, He said, "My Father's 22:23 house is a house of prayer." 22:25 At the end of His ministry, He said, "Behold, your house is 22:28 left to you desolate." 22:30 He starts out saying, "My Father's house," the last time 22:33 He leaves the temple, before he goes to Gethsemane, He says, 22:37 "Behold, your house is left to you desolate," and he has a big 22:40 confrontation showdown with the scribes and the Pharisees 22:43 who had fig-leaf religion. 22:45 It was all manmade righteousness. 22:48 Now, that could never happen to us in the last days, right? 22:51 Or does history tend to repeat itself? 22:54 Are we ever tempted to be less than authentic? 22:59 And so, Jesus makes His prophecy, remember, 23:02 in Matthew 24. 23:03 Don't forget, in the beginning of the chapter in Matthew 24, 23:06 Jesus said, "There will not be left one stone upon another 23:10 that will not be thrown down." 23:11 He's talking about the destruction of the temple, 23:13 a judgment that would come on the Jewish nation, and he said 23:18 this generation won't pass away. 23:20 He says this in about 30 A.D. 23:24 What's a generation? 23:26 Forty years, when was the temple destroyed? 23:30 Seventy A.D. exactly 40. 23:33 He says this generation will not pass away. 23:35 Christ said no sign would be given but the sign of Jonah. 23:39 And you know what? 23:40 It says as Jonah was assigned to the Ninevites. 23:43 What was assigned to the Ninevites? 23:45 It was Jonah was an exceeding, great--Nineveh was an exceeding, 23:48 great city, a three-days journey. 23:50 He entered the city a half a day, and he preached, 23:54 in 40 days it would be destroyed. 23:56 Three and a half and 40. 23:58 Jesus preached three and a half years, and then in 40 years the 24:02 temple was destroyed. 24:04 I mean, friends, this is amazing, isn't it, how perfectly 24:06 the Word of God fits together? 24:08 Now, Matthew 24 is not just for the Jews. 24:11 They asked when will this be the destruction of Jerusalem, and 24:14 what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the world? 24:17 Jesus now commingles the answer, because the church ends up, over 24:22 time, repeating the history of Israel. 24:25 There were many faithful Jews that were saved. 24:27 The Apostles were all Jewish. 24:29 The early church was all Jewish. 24:30 Many came to the Lord, but it was a remnant. 24:33 And in the Christian church today, there is 2.2 billion 24:37 professed Christians in the world. 24:38 Do you think they're all the real thing, or is there a lot 24:41 of hypocrisy? 24:43 It's not just out there, it's in here. 24:46 When I say in here I mean it's in here, in my heart, it's 24:50 in our church. 24:51 The devil is always trying to convince us that if we've got 24:55 a form of religion that it will pass. 24:59 It's got to be the real thing. 25:04 announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing, 25:07 free resource. 25:08 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 25:10 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 25:13 mobile device. 25:14 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 25:18 the keyword on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 25:22 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 25:25 download option on the request page. 25:27 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 25:31 "Amazing Facts" wherever and whenever you want, and most 25:34 important, to share it with others. 25:39 male announcer: Have you always wanted to be a Bible expert but 25:42 never knew where to start? 25:44 Are you searching for answers that will bring you joy, peace, 25:47 and fulfillment? 25:48 Then you'll love the "Amazing Facts Storacles of Prophecy 25:52 Bible Study Experience," now available in 18 languages, 25:56 featuring 24 easy-to-read lessons. 25:59 The storacles are packed with Scripture and step-by-step 26:02 guidance that will give you absolute confidence about what 26:06 the Bible actually says about the second coming, the rapture, 26:09 the antichrist, and the mark of the beast. 26:12 You'll also get the truth about hell and the afterlife, 26:16 and practical insight about grace, salvation, and how to 26:20 truly live like Jesus. 26:22 Even better, it's absolutely free at Storacles.org. 26:26 So, don't miss out, get started on your Bible study adventure 26:30 today at Storacles.org. 26:39 male announcer: Deep within the pages of the Bible, stories of 26:42 great heroes, heroes of great deeds, great love, and great 26:50 sacrifice, but behind them is another hero, hidden in plain 26:57 sight amid the shadows. 27:00 He was there from the beginning, and He'll be there 27:05 until the end. 27:08 Discover the golden thread of a Savior woven throughout 27:11 the entire Bible tapestry. 27:15 "Shadows of Light, Seeing Jesus in All the Bible," a new book 27:22 by Doug Bachelor. 27:24 Get your copy today by calling 800-538-7275, 27:29 or visit AFbookstore.com. 27:31 Once again, to purchase your copy of "Shadows of Light," 27:34 call 800-538-7275. 27:38 female announcer: Did you know "Amazing Facts" has a free Bible 27:40 school that you can do from the comfort of your own home? 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Revised 2022-02-04