Anchor School of Theology: Prophetic Principles

Principles for the Study of Bible Prophecy, Part 1

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Stephen Bohr

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00:15 Welcome to Anchor Bible school.
00:16 We're glad you're here.
00:18 We have exciting days ahead in studying
00:21 particularly Bible prophecy.
00:24 But before we get into our study today, we want to ask
00:27 for the Lord's guidance.
00:29 And so I invite you to bow your heads with me
00:31 as we ask for God to be present with us.
00:34 Let us pray.
00:35 Father in heaven, we come before Your throne today
00:38 with gratefulness in our hearts because we know
00:43 that You are sitting on the throne of the universe,
00:45 and nothing escapes Your attention.
00:48 We live in momentous times.
00:50 We live in a great time of world history.
00:55 And we know that prophecy is so important at this time.
00:59 We need to understand it so that we can share it with others.
01:03 And so, Father, we ask that as we begin this class
01:07 that Your Holy Spirit will be present here
01:09 that we might receive the Holy Spirit's instruction,
01:13 we might learn and have the capacity to share this message
01:18 with the world at large.
01:20 We thank You, Father, for the promise of Your presence.
01:23 And we pray this in the precious name of Jesus, amen.
01:28 Well, let's go directly to our outline.
01:31 We are, first of all, going to deal with some
01:33 introductory matters.
01:35 And as I mentioned, everything that we're going to study
01:39 is in our outline in that particular order.
01:43 Now the first thing that I want us to take a look at
01:46 is the basic types of Bible prophecy that we are
01:50 going to be taking a look at.
01:52 The first type of Bible prophecy is what is called,
01:56 apocalyptic prophecy.
01:59 Now what is apocalyptic prophecy?
02:01 Basically, it has to do with the great chain prophecies
02:06 of Scripture.
02:07 Like Daniel 2, Daniel 7, Revelation 12, Revelation 13,
02:13 Revelation 17.
02:15 Now these prophecies have only one fulfillment,
02:20 one fulfillment.
02:22 I want to read this statement from my former teacher,
02:24 Gerhard Hasel, at the seminary, where he explains
02:28 what apocalyptic prophecies are.
02:31 He says this, and this is in your outline,
02:35 "Dual or two-fold fulfillments may be present in some biblical
02:41 predictions where contextual Scriptural indications
02:46 make this clear and when the details of the specifications
02:50 are met in each instance.
02:53 On the other hand, apocalyptic prophecy
02:57 as found in the books of Daniel and Revelation
03:01 has but one fulfillment for each symbol."
03:05 In other words, there are not two fulfillments
03:07 for the lion of Daniel 7.
03:09 There are not two fulfillments for the bear or for the leopard
03:12 or for the dragon beast or the ten horns.
03:15 There's only one fulfillment for each symbol
03:18 in apocalyptic prophecy.
03:20 And that's important because some people are finding
03:23 reapplications even of the chain prophecies
03:27 to events that are happening in the world today.
03:30 And we're going to see that it actually destroys historicism.
03:33 It destroys the idea that prophecy fulfills in a chain
03:38 so that we can know exactly where we are
03:40 at any given moment in the course of history.
03:44 So the first type of prophecy that we're going to
03:46 take a look at is apocalyptic prophecy.
03:49 Then there's a second type of prophecy.
03:52 And that's classical prophecy.
03:55 And I have some examples here in our syllabus.
03:59 For example, Jeremiah 50 and 51.
04:03 Those chapters deal with the fall of ancient Babylon.
04:07 It's a prediction about the fall of Babylon
04:10 in the days of Belshazzar.
04:14 However, many of the details that we find in
04:18 classical prophecy is fulfilled on a larger scale in the future.
04:24 So in other words, the fact that it's classical prophecy
04:27 doesn't mean that is was only fulfilled with the
04:30 literal historical even in the Old Testament.
04:33 Many of the details then become symbolic or illustrative
04:37 of events that take place at the end of time.
04:39 For example, ancient Babylon we know, according to Jeremiah 51,
04:44 sat on many waters.
04:46 And the waters were dried up.
04:49 Now that kind of rings a bell when we come to the
04:51 book of Revelation where it says that the harlot
04:54 sits on many waters and the waters of the Euphrates
04:57 will be dried up.
04:58 And so classical prophecy was fulfilled in the Old Testament,
05:02 but the fulfillment in the Old Testament then becomes
05:05 a figure or an illustration of a greater fulfillment
05:09 in the future.
05:10 Are you following me?
05:12 Now let's take a look at...
05:13 By the way, let me just read this statement
05:15 also from Gerhard Hasel.
05:17 This is in the book, "Seventy Weeks;
05:18 Leviticus and the Nature of Prophecy," page 289.
05:22 The previous one was in the same book, page 322.
05:25 This is what he said.
05:27 "A dual fulfillment may be recognized only if Scripture
05:33 demands an initial and partial fulfillment and later Scripture
05:39 clearly indicates a final and complete fulfillment."
05:43 So in other words, Scripture has to be clear that there is
05:47 a later fulfillment to this classical prophecy.
05:50 We can't just, you know, impose the Old Testament
05:53 story on the future.
05:54 There has to be clear biblical indications
05:57 in the text that these things have a greater fulfillment
06:01 in the future.
06:02 Like what I mentioned a few moments ago
06:04 with the waters; Babylon sits on many waters,
06:07 and the waters of the Euphrates were dried up.
06:11 We know then that the story of Jeremiah 50 and 51
06:15 has a greater fulfillment at the end of time
06:19 because the terminology that is used in the classical prophecy
06:22 reappears later on in Scripture.
06:25 Now let's go to our third type of Bible prophecy.
06:29 And this type of prophecy we are going to dedicate
06:33 most of our time to here in our class.
06:37 It's what I call, typological prophecy.
06:41 And what do we mean by typological prophecy?
06:44 It means that in the Old Testament you have the
06:47 type or you have the small scale model,
06:50 and then that type or small scale model
06:53 is fulfilled in the future.
06:56 Now let me just mention here what we have in parenthesis.
06:59 The Sanctuary is a prophetic type, isn't it.
07:05 Because it illustrates the different steps,
07:08 the different events, of Christ's ministry;
07:12 Christ's ministry of salvation.
07:14 The Hebrew feasts are also prophetic types,
07:19 because they point to future events.
07:22 And what's interesting is, the Sanctuary gives us
07:24 the events of Messiah's plan of salvation.
07:27 The feasts give us the calendar or give us the dates
07:32 for those events that are found within the Sanctuary.
07:35 So in other words, the Sanctuary and the feasts are typological.
07:39 The feasts give us the events and the...
07:42 The feasts, excuse me, give us the calendar
07:46 and the Sanctuary provides the events
07:48 of Messiah's plan of salvation.
07:52 Matthew 24, we're going to take a look at
07:54 in a few moments in more detail, is a typological prophecy.
08:00 Elijah, the story of Elijah in the Old Testament,
08:04 is a typological prophecy.
08:06 It has a historical root.
08:08 It took place in the Old Testament.
08:10 However, we know that there is also a New Testament Elijah.
08:14 New Testament Elijah is John the Baptist.
08:17 Very clearly Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah.
08:22 There is an Elijah during the Middle Ages.
08:25 We know that because Jezebel is active
08:27 during the church of Thyatira, the fourth church of Revelation.
08:31 And Jezebel cannot appear by herself.
08:33 If Jezebel is there, Elijah must be there also.
08:36 Are you with me?
08:38 Now there's an end time Elijah also.
08:41 Because Malachi chapter 4 says that God is going to
08:44 send Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord,
08:47 which is the second coming.
08:49 And so really the historical Elijah becomes a type
08:53 of the New Testament Elijah, a type of the Middle Ages Elijah,
08:59 and a type of the end time Elijah.
09:02 So we're dealing here with typology.
09:05 We're dealing with a small scale illustration
09:07 that is fulfilled later on a larger scale.
09:12 You know, the Mount of Transfiguration is a
09:15 typological prophecy, what happened there.
09:18 You say, "How is that?"
09:20 Well, on the Mount you have three individuals,
09:22 three key individuals besides the apostles.
09:25 You have Jesus, and you have Moses, and you have Elijah.
09:31 There you have a typological prophecy.
09:32 The spirit of prophecy makes it very, very clear.
09:35 First of all you have Moses.
09:39 Moses died, resurrected, and went to heaven.
09:43 He is a type of those individuals who will die
09:47 and Jesus will resurrect when He comes again to take to heaven.
09:52 Elijah was translated to heaven from among the living.
09:56 And so he represents those who will be translated to heaven
09:59 without seeing death.
10:01 And then, of course, in the middle we have Jesus Christ
10:05 who makes it all possible.
10:07 And so you have a little miniature illustration
10:10 of the second coming of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
10:14 And so there you have, in the New Testament you have a type.
10:17 Not only do you have types in the Old Testament,
10:20 you also have types in the New Testament.
10:23 And so then you also have various stories from Genesis
10:27 and from the book of Revelation, and also the book of Daniel.
10:32 Genesis, the flood story for example is typological.
10:35 The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is typological.
10:37 Those of you who have seen the series,
10:39 Cracking The Genesis Code, have seen that every story
10:43 in the book of Genesis is a typological story.
10:46 You know, Jesus... For example, the flood.
10:48 We're going to study it later on in this class.
10:50 Jesus said that the story of the flood is typological.
10:53 "As it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be
10:58 at the coming of the Son of Man."
10:59 Very clearly it's type, antitype.
11:03 Jesus also said, "As it was in the days of Lot..."
11:06 And so we need to examine the entire story of Sodom
11:10 and Gomorrah because the entire story
11:13 is typological of the end times.
11:15 Even the fact that three angels came to Abraham.
11:19 Interesting, why three angels came to Abraham.
11:22 Is it perhaps true that the messages that they deliver
11:25 are in the same order as the messages of the three angels
11:29 of Revelation chapter 14?
11:31 When we examine Scripture we find that it is so.
11:34 And so we're dealing with typology.
11:37 Now I want to use one particular example
11:40 that we have in our syllabus, and that is the prophecy
11:44 of Matthew 24.
11:45 I have a whole series of 14 presentations
11:48 on Matthew 24.
11:50 I'm only going to deal with one particular aspect,
11:52 and that is the typological nature of this prophecy
11:57 of Matthew chapter 24.
12:00 Now on the Mount of Olives the disciples came to Jesus
12:03 and they asked Him two questions.
12:06 I want you to notice those two questions.
12:08 This is at the bottom of the first page of your syllabus.
12:11 Notice what the two questions were.
12:13 "Tell us, when will these things be?"
12:17 Jesus had just said that not one stone would be left upon another
12:21 in the temple, the Jewish temple and the wall.
12:26 And so the disciples now say,
12:27 "When are these things going to be?"
12:29 And then they ask a second question.
12:31 "And what will be the sign of Your coming,
12:34 and of the end of the age?"
12:37 Are those two questions, two separate questions?
12:39 Absolutely.
12:40 Now the disciples thought it was one.
12:43 Because the disciples thought that if the temple
12:45 was destroyed, that was the second coming,
12:48 that was when Jesus was going to establish His kingdom.
12:50 But Jesus knew that these were two different events.
12:55 And so Ellen White makes it very clear that
12:58 in His answer Jesus used the law of typology.
13:04 In other words, in the destruction of Jerusalem
13:07 Jesus saw a type or an illustration,
13:11 a small scale model, of what's going to happen
13:15 with regard to the world at the end of time.
13:18 You see, what happens in typology is, that which is
13:22 small scale becomes very large scale.
13:26 In other words, the true fulfillment of Matthew 24
13:29 is not what happened in relation to literal Jerusalem.
13:34 That is only a small scale illustration.
13:36 Like the Sanctuary is a small scale illustration
13:39 of global events and spiritual events at the end of time.
13:45 Now I want to read some statements from the
13:48 spirit of prophecy where Ellen White clearly shows that
13:51 Matthew 24 is using the law of typology,
13:55 the third type of prophecy that we're discussing
13:57 as we begin our study.
14:00 She uses the law of type and antitype, and she uses
14:04 many different interesting terms to describe
14:07 this relationship between type and antitype.
14:10 And I want to read these statements and I want to
14:12 underline certain words that we find here.
14:15 The first one is found in, The Great Controversy, page 25.
14:21 This is at the top of page 2 of your syllabus.
14:25 This is how Ellen White describes
14:27 the intentions of Jesus.
14:29 "The prophecy which He uttered was twofold in its meaning;
14:35 while foreshadowing..."
14:37 See, that's an interesting word, "foreshadowing."
14:40 "...the destruction of Jerusalem,
14:43 it prefigured also the terrors of the last day."
14:48 See the key words there?
14:50 The key words are, "foreshadowing."
14:52 That small scale event foreshadowed.
14:55 And, "prefigured."
14:57 Two words that indicate that what happened on a small scale
15:01 is going to happen on a larger scale.
15:04 Now there's also a statement in, Desire Of Ages, page 743,
15:08 where she uses a different terminology.
15:10 She says, "From the fall of Jerusalem
15:13 the thoughts of Jesus passed to..."
15:15 What kind of a judgment?
15:17 "...to a wider judgment.
15:19 In the destruction of the impenitent city He saw a..."
15:23 Now here comes a key term. A what?
15:25 "...He saw a symbol of the final destruction
15:28 to come upon the world."
15:30 So she says that what happened at Jerusalem was symbolic
15:33 of something that would happen in the future on a larger scale.
15:37 In a larger statement that we find in, Desire Of Ages,
15:40 page 628, she had this to say.
15:44 "Jesus did not answer His disciples by taking up
15:47 separately the destruction of Jerusalem
15:51 and the great day of His coming.
15:53 He mingled the description of these two events.
15:59 Had He opened to His disciples future events as He beheld them,
16:03 they would have been unable to endure the sight.
16:08 In mercy to them He blended..."
16:10 Notice, "mingled," "blended."
16:13 "...He blended the description of the two great crises,
16:17 leaving the disciples to study out the meaning for themselves.
16:21 When He referred to the destruction of Jerusalem,
16:24 His prophetic words reached beyond that event to the final
16:29 conflagration in that day when the Lord shall rise out of
16:33 His place to punish the world for their iniquity,
16:36 when the earth shall disclose her blood,
16:39 and shall no more cover her slain."
16:41 And then she says, "This entire discourse was given,
16:46 not for the disciples only, but for those who should
16:51 live in the last scenes of this earth's history."
16:55 Interesting.
16:57 Great Controversy, page 22.
16:59 "Christ saw in Jerusalem a symbol of the world hardened
17:04 in unbelief and rebellion, and hastening on to meet
17:07 the retributive judgments of God."
17:10 Also on page 22, "Jesus, looking down to the last generation,
17:14 saw the world involved in a deception similar to that which
17:19 caused the destruction of Jerusalem.
17:21 The great sin..."
17:23 And now this is very interesting,
17:24 "The great sin of the Jews was their rejection of Christ."
17:29 And by the way, you know that Christ is the embodiment
17:31 of the law, right?
17:34 Christ is the law lived in human flesh.
17:38 So the great sin of the Jews was to reject Christ,
17:43 who is the embodiment of the law.
17:46 She says, "The great sin of the world would be
17:49 their rejection of the law of God, the foundation of His
17:53 government in heaven and earth."
17:55 Let me ask you, are those two sins similar?
18:00 What's worse, to reject the law or the embodiment of the law?
18:07 I mean, to reject Christ means to reject the law,
18:11 because Christ is a reflection of the law.
18:15 And to reject the law is to reject Christ,
18:19 because the law is a reflection of Christ.
18:21 So both ways it's the same sin,
18:24 but looked at from different angles.
18:26 Are you following me?
18:28 And that's why Ellen White says it was similar.
18:30 You know, for a long time I struggled with this.
18:32 I said, you know, in what way is it similar for them
18:35 to reject Christ and to reject the law?
18:37 And then I got to thinking, well the law is a
18:39 reflection of Christ.
18:40 So if the law is a reflection of Christ,
18:42 if you're rejecting the law, you're rejecting Christ.
18:45 And if you're rejecting Christ, you're rejecting the law.
18:47 Because the law is a reflection of Him.
18:50 Now notice, Great Controversy, page 36.
18:53 Here's another statement.
18:54 "The Savior's prophecy concerning the visitation of
18:58 judgments upon Jerusalem is to have..." What?
19:01 "... another fulfillment, of which that terrible desolation
19:06 was but a faint shadow."
19:07 Now if you read the first chapter of Great Controversy,
19:09 you'll say, "That's a faint showed? Wow.
19:12 What is the world going to be like?"
19:14 It is amazing when you read that first chapter
19:16 of Great Controversy what happened in Jerusalem.
19:19 She continues saying, "In the fate of the chosen city
19:23 we may behold the doom of a world that has rejected
19:27 God's mercy and trampled upon His law."
19:31 Going to the next page, notice Ellen White
19:34 time and again, time and again, says that what happened
19:37 in Jerusalem is a type or an illustration of future events.
19:41 This is in the book, Last Day Events, page 18.
19:44 "The whole of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew
19:49 is a prophecy concerning the events to precede this event,
19:55 and the destruction of Jerusalem is used to typify
19:59 the last great destruction of the world by fire."
20:04 She also says in Testimonies For The Church, volume 5, page 753,
20:09 "While these prophecies received a partial fulfillment
20:12 at the destruction of Jerusalem, they have a more direct
20:16 application to the last days."
20:18 This shows that the antitype is greater than the type.
20:24 In other words, the future fulfillment is greater
20:28 and is the main focus of the type.
20:32 So she says here in volume 5 of the Testimonies, 753,
20:37 "While these prophecies received a partial fulfillment
20:39 at the destruction of Jerusalem, they have a more direct
20:42 application to the last days."
20:44 A couple of statements more.
20:46 Thoughts From The Mount Of Blessing, page 120 and 121.
20:51 "The ruin of Jerusalem was a symbol of the final ruin
20:55 that shall overwhelm the world.
20:57 The prophecies that received a partial fulfillment
21:01 in the overthrow of Jerusalem have a more direct
21:04 application to the last days.
21:06 We are now standing on the threshold of great
21:09 and solemn events.
21:10 A crisis is before us, such as the world has never witnessed."
21:16 And then one final statement.
21:17 Testimonies To Ministers, page 232.
21:20 "The warnings that Christ gave to Jerusalem
21:23 were not to end with them.
21:25 The judgments upon Jerusalem were a symbol of the events
21:30 of Christ's coming to judgment in the last day,
21:34 when before Him shall be gathered all nations.
21:37 'He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
21:41 and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds,
21:44 from one end of heaven to the other.'"
21:47 So are you understanding this relationship between
21:50 type and antitype?
21:51 These are typological prophecies.
21:53 In other words, the type is a small scale model
21:57 of something far greater in the future of the antitype.
22:00 And in Scripture this method is used repeatedly, time and again.
22:05 As I mentioned before, the book of Genesis,
22:07 every story in Genesis is a prophecy.
22:11 Besides being rooted in history, it did take place literally
22:14 in history, it becomes a small scale model of
22:18 something far greater at the end of time.
22:21 And there's certain principles that we need to apply
22:24 when we study these prophecies
22:26 to understand the future fulfillment.
22:29 So basically these are the three types of prophecies
22:32 that we are going to be using as we study
22:36 these principles about how to interpret prophecy correctly.
22:41 So let's go now to principle number one.
22:43 Principle number one is the most important principle of all.
22:51 What do you suppose it is?
22:55 You know, we could have skipped that one.
22:57 Because that's automatic.
22:59 We know we have to do that.
23:01 But it has to be put as number one.
23:04 Because without the help of the divine Spirit,
23:08 we're going to undoubtedly reach error
23:12 in our conclusions.
23:13 So let's go through this very quickly here,
23:16 principle number one.
23:18 The Holy Spirit imparted the message of Scripture
23:23 to the various writers.
23:25 Therefore, we must pray that the same Spirit that
23:29 inspired the prophetic writings will explain their meaning
23:34 to us today.
23:36 After all, we're removed 2000 years from when these
23:39 books were given; a different language, a different culture,
23:43 to different individuals.
23:45 So we need divine guidance.
23:47 And we must come to prophecy with the willingness to
23:50 practice what we learn.
23:52 Because Jesus said, you know, if we don't,
23:55 then we won't know whether this is of God or not.
24:00 Ellen White has a couple of very interesting statements here
24:04 regarding the importance of prayer.
24:07 Christian Education, page 59.
24:09 She says, "Never..."
24:12 What does "never" mean?
24:14 Exactly that.
24:16 "Never should the Bible be studied without prayer.
24:22 Many times don't we open the Bible and we start
24:24 studying it without praying?
24:25 Every time we open the Bible we should pray.
24:28 "Never should the Bible be studied without prayer.
24:31 Before opening its pages..."
24:35 Wow.
24:36 "Before opening its pages we should ask for the enlightenment
24:41 of the Holy Spirit, and it will be given."
24:45 It's a divine promise.
24:46 So if we pray here at the Anchor Bible school,
24:49 do you suppose the Holy Spirit is going to
24:50 be here to instruct us?
24:52 I believe so.
24:54 Another statement that we find in,
24:55 Counsels On Sabbath School Work, page 38,
25:00 we find why we need to pray before opening the Scriptures.
25:06 There are actually two reasons.
25:07 And you'll notice that the numbers I've placed in
25:10 brackets, I've added those so that we see that there are
25:13 two points that Ellen White is trying to make here.
25:16 She says, "The Bible should never be studied without prayer.
25:21 The Holy Spirit alone can cause us to feel the..."
25:26 Here's the first reason. The what?
25:28 "...the importance of those things easy to be understood..."
25:32 So the first reason to pray is so that the Holy Spirit
25:35 can show us the importance of what we study.
25:39 Or, now there's the other reason.
25:41 Or what?
25:42 "...prevent us from wresting..."
25:46 It's not talking about resting in sleep.
25:49 It's with a "w."
25:50 Wresting means twisting.
25:52 "...wresting truths difficult of comprehension."
25:57 So in other words, God reveals His truth to us
26:01 and He keeps us from embracing error
26:04 by twisting the Scriptures.
26:06 And believe me, there's a lot of Scripture twisting
26:08 going on these days.
26:09 Not only outside the church, but inside the church.
26:13 Because we have a tendency to mold Scripture to our desires
26:18 and to our likes.
26:19 And the reason why is because we're not praying to God
26:22 for divine enlightenment saying, "Lord, show me what
26:24 Your will is, not what my will is.
26:27 And if You show me, I'll abide by it and I will obey it.
26:33 Speak, Lord, for Your servant here."
26:36 That should be our attitude when we come to Scripture.
26:38 So I've placed that principle there because I believe
26:42 that it is the most important.
26:44 And you know, it has the smallest space
26:47 because it's self-explanatory.
26:49 You don't have to have the intelligence of a
26:52 rocket scientist to understand this principle;
26:55 that we need to ask for divine guidance every time
26:58 we open the Scriptures, when we study our Sabbath School lesson,
27:01 you know, when the sermon is about to be preached.
27:04 Wouldn't it be nice for us to sit there in the pew
27:08 and to say, "Oh, the pastor is about to deliver the message,"
27:10 and raise up a little prayer to the Lord that the Lord
27:13 will be with the preacher as he preaches the sermon?
27:16 Absolutely.
27:17 Every time we should pray before we open God's holy Word.
27:23 Because without divine wisdom, we cannot
27:26 interpret the Bible correctly.
27:28 Now let's go to principle number two.
27:30 You say, "Wow, we're on a roll here.
27:32 We're on page three already."
27:33 Well, don't sing victory yet.
27:36 Because these first principles are actually the simplest
27:40 and the easier principles.
27:42 Later on we're going to get into some very complex things.
27:46 Principle number two.
27:49 Ask questions of the text that you are studying,
27:53 and then seek for answers to your questions.
27:59 You know, many times we just read the Bible
28:02 and we don't ask the Bible questions.
28:04 I'm not saying in the sense of doubting what the Bible says,
28:08 but questions so that we can understand the text.
28:12 Let's go through this principle as it is in the syllabus.
28:16 Before we begin to interpret a biblical text or passage
28:22 we must first of all read it carefully
28:26 several times in as many Bible versions as possible.
28:32 Each Bible version will give you a different dimension.
28:36 And as you read, ask the text questions.
28:41 You know it's interesting, when Jesus met the religious leaders
28:44 in the temple, if you read Luke 2:46-47,
28:49 the religious leaders of Israel were not so amazed by
28:54 what Jesus said, but by the questions that Jesus asked.
28:59 And so when we come to Scripture, we must come to
29:01 Scripture with an active mind,
29:05 with a clear mind, with an inquisitive mind,
29:09 with a perceptive mind.
29:11 With a mind that is engaged with the biblical text.
29:15 In other words, Bible study, particularly prophecy,
29:20 is like detective work.
29:24 We seek for clues here, there, everywhere.
29:28 And then we bring all of the clues together
29:31 and we are able to make sense out of the passage
29:33 that we're studying.
29:36 Now let me give you some examples.
29:40 And you have some material there that says,
29:45 "God's Great Week."
29:48 "God's Great Week."
29:49 You see that one there?
29:51 It's one of the other handouts that you received
29:52 with the syllabus.
29:55 The first two questions here in the syllabus
29:58 have to do with this material, "God's Great Week."
30:03 Now for many, many years I struggled with two things
30:08 in the book of Genesis as I read the creation story
30:11 in Genesis 1 and 2.
30:13 And I struggled not in a bad sense of the word
30:15 that I doubted what Genesis was saying.
30:17 But I struggled with two questions.
30:21 Number one, if the Sabbath is as important as
30:26 we Seventh-day Adventists believe, why didn't God
30:29 give Adam and Eve a direct command in the Garden of Eden
30:32 to keep the Sabbath?
30:34 You know, it would have been so simple for God.
30:36 Because people say, "You know, the Sabbath was for the Jews."
30:39 And we tell them, "No, but it's in Genesis."
30:40 They say, "But God doesn't say that you're
30:42 suppose to keep the Sabbath.
30:43 It says God rested."
30:45 So I thought many times, I've said, it'd be wonderful if
30:48 God had placed in there, "Adam and Eve, keep the Sabbath."
30:51 And then, you know, the problem would be resolved.
30:55 No problem whatsoever.
30:56 It's not for the Jews, it was for Adam and Eve
30:58 and for the human race.
30:59 But you don't find any direct command in Genesis
31:02 to keep the Sabbath.
31:05 Interesting.
31:07 And then another thing that I struggled with
31:09 for many years was why each day had an evening and a morning
31:13 except the seventh day.
31:16 See, this is what I'm talking about when I say that
31:19 we need to be inquisitive and we need to have an active mind.
31:23 You know, we need to say,
31:24 "Why does the Scripture say it this way?"
31:26 "What's missing?"
31:28 "Why was this word used?"
31:29 "Why was this phrase used?"
31:31 "What is the meaning of this word?"
31:33 "What is the meaning of this phrase?"
31:34 We need to be engaged with the text, in other words.
31:37 We need to ask the text questions,
31:39 and then seek for answers to those questions.
31:42 The second question was, why does each day
31:46 have an evening and a morning except for the seventh day?
31:49 It doesn't say there was the evening and the morning
31:52 of the seventh day.
31:54 And one teacher once said to me, "Well, probably Moses forgot to
31:58 put it in there."
32:00 And I said to him, "I don't think so."
32:03 Everything that should be in Scripture is in Scripture.
32:09 There's a reason, there's a theological reason why
32:13 the seventh day doesn't say that there was
32:15 an evening and a morning.
32:16 And so for years, I'll be honest with you,
32:18 for years I struggled with these questions.
32:21 Until I was on a trip to Panama, I remember.
32:25 I had the book, Patriarchs And Prophets, with me
32:28 and I was reading the chapter on creation.
32:31 Reading it again because I had read it many times.
32:34 And I read a little blurb of that where I said, "Wow.
32:40 I have the answer to my two questions now."
32:44 You say, "Well, where is that statement?"
32:46 It's in this material.
32:47 And unfortunately I did not put page numbers on this material.
32:51 So it might be a little bit of a struggle for you to find this.
32:55 But it's under the subtitle that says, "Spirit of Prophecy."
32:59 There's the subtitle that says, "When was the Sabbath
33:02 Sanctified and Blessed?"
33:04 And then on the next page, "The Spirit of Prophecy."
33:08 And the first statement there is the one
33:12 that really caught my attention.
33:14 And I said, "Wow, now I understand why God did not
33:17 give a direct command and why the seventh day did not
33:21 have an evening and a morning."
33:23 It says there...
33:24 And I want to read two or three of these statements.
33:26 You know, for years I had thought that first Sabbath
33:30 when it was beginning, God ended His work the sixth day,
33:33 and when the seventh day was beginning God said
33:35 to Adam and Eve, "Okay, Adam and Eve,
33:36 this is going to be a holy day.
33:38 So keep it."
33:41 But I was wrong.
33:43 Because that first Sabbath day, God did not command
33:49 Adam and Eve to worship and keep holy
33:50 that first Sabbath day.
33:53 And you say, "Well, why not?"
33:55 Well, let's read what Ellen White had to say.
33:57 See, the little old lady didn't have a theological education.
34:01 But she had the help of the Holy Spirit.
34:04 Some people say Ellen White wasn't a theologian.
34:06 So I tell them, "Well then the Holy Spirit
34:07 isn't a theologian, right?"
34:10 The Holy Spirit is the greatest theologian.
34:12 And that's why what Ellen White says is amazing.
34:14 Notice, when did the Sabbath become holy?
34:20 Was the Sabbath holy when that first Sabbath began
34:24 or did the Sabbath become holy when the day ended?
34:28 The Sabbath became holy when it ended.
34:30 Because you know what?
34:31 It was God's rest that made the Sabbath holy.
34:36 Are you with me?
34:38 Ellen White never got it wrong.
34:40 It would have been very easy for Ellen White, you know,
34:41 she was a strong believer in the Sabbath,
34:44 it would have been very easy for Ellen White to put in
34:46 her writings, "And God told Adam and Eve,
34:48 'You keep the Sabbath now.'"
34:52 But she never says that.
34:53 Notice these statements.
34:55 Patriarchs And Prophets, page 47.
34:57 And I'm not going to go through all of this material.
35:00 I hope that you'll go through it.
35:01 Don't just file this stuff away.
35:03 This took me months to put together.
35:07 So please spend the time to read this material.
35:11 It's got a lot of good stuff in it.
35:13 Notice, "After resting upon the seventh day..."
35:19 What does the word, "after," mean?
35:22 Exactly that, after.
35:24 "After resting upon the seventh day, God sanctified it..."
35:29 When did God make the Sabbath holy?
35:32 After He rested.
35:34 So was the Sabbath holy during that Sabbath day?
35:38 No, it became holy after He rested.
35:40 Because what makes the Sabbath holy is God's rest.
35:43 That's why Sunday can't be holy because God didn't
35:45 rest that day.
35:49 "After resting upon the seventh day, God sanctified it
35:52 or set it apart as a day of rest for man."
35:55 When did the Sabbath become a day of rest for man?
35:58 After the first Sabbath.
36:02 Notice the next page. Now I'm preaching.
36:05 The Desire Of Ages, page 281.
36:08 Listen carefully.
36:09 "Because He had rested upon the Sabbath..."
36:13 Because what?
36:15 Past tense.
36:16 "Because He had rested upon the Sabbath,
36:19 'God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.'"
36:23 Why did God bless the Sabbath and sanctify it?
36:25 Because He had rested.
36:28 "...set it apart to a holy use."
36:29 When was it set apart?
36:31 After He rested.
36:33 And when did He give it to Adam?
36:35 "He gave it to Adam..."
36:36 When did He give it to Adam?
36:38 After He made it holy He gave it to Adam.
36:44 "...as a day of rest.
36:46 It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign
36:50 of God's power and of His love."
36:53 In the book, My Life Today, page 259,
36:57 speaking about the Lord's Day that's mentioned in
36:59 Revelation chapter 1 and verse 10.
37:01 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day."
37:02 Most people say, most Christians say, "Oh, that's Sunday.
37:04 'I was in the Spirit on Sunday.'"
37:06 No, no, no.
37:08 Ellen White explains, "The Lord's day mentioned by John
37:10 was the Sabbath, the day on which Jehovah rested
37:15 after the great work of creation, and which He
37:18 blessed and sanctified because He had rested upon it."
37:24 Why did He bless and sanctify it?
37:26 Because He what?
37:27 Because He had rested.
37:29 Testimonies For The Church, volume 4, page 247.
37:33 "God blessed and sanctified the seventh day because
37:37 He rested upon it from all His wondrous work of creation."
37:42 And on the next page, this is, Patriarchs And Prophets,
37:45 page 111.
37:46 "The first six days of each week are given to man for labor,
37:50 because God employed the same period of the first week
37:53 in the work of creation.
37:55 On the seventh day man is to refrain from labor..."
37:58 Why?
37:59 "...in commemoration of the Creator's rest."
38:08 So who's rest is significant?
38:11 The Creator's rest.
38:13 Man, when man rests, he is commemorating
38:16 the Creator's rest.
38:17 That's why in the Bible God says, "The Sabbath is
38:21 My holy day."
38:23 Because it's His holy day before it is our holy day.
38:29 One final statement.
38:31 Review And Herald, September 16, 1862.
38:34 "Instead of keeping God's own rest day, which He sanctified
38:38 after He had rested upon it and set it apart for man to observe
38:43 and reverence, they," that is Protestants,
38:45 "honor a Papal institution."
38:49 Now let's take a look at this.
38:51 Is it important to ask the text questions?
38:55 You know, we might not even think of that question.
38:59 In fact, somebody said to me, "What difference does it make
39:02 whether it was sanctified, you know, as the day was beginning
39:05 or was it sanctified when the day ended?
39:08 What difference does it make?"
39:09 It makes a big difference.
39:12 You know, the main argument that is used by Dale Retzlaff,
39:14 who is an enemy of Adventists, use to be an Adventist,
39:17 and others, is that the Sabbath is not a creation institution
39:20 because God did not command Adam and Eve to keep the Sabbath.
39:26 But now we know that God did not command Adam and Eve
39:29 to rest because the Sabbath did not become
39:31 holy until the day ended.
39:33 How could God tell Adam and Eve to keep the Sabbath holy
39:35 if it was not yet holy?
39:39 Are you with me?
39:42 Furthermore, how could God say to Adam and Eve,
39:45 "Keep the Sabbath according to My example,"
39:48 before God gave the example?
39:54 Are you with me?
39:55 And even further, Adam and Eve could not have kept
39:58 the fourth commandment that first Sabbath.
40:02 Because the fourth commandment says
40:04 work six and rest the seventh.
40:05 And they had not worked six.
40:12 So is this significant?
40:15 This is a very significant question.
40:18 And when we engage the text, when we ask the questions
40:21 of the text, you know, we reach some amazing conclusions
40:26 that are extremely important.
40:27 Now what about the evening and the morning?
40:30 See, the problem is, if we think of this first week
40:34 as man's week, then we can't explain the fact that
40:38 there's no evening and morning to the seventh day.
40:40 But when we remember that the first week is God's week...
40:45 The first week is not man's week.
40:48 It's God's week.
40:50 Because God worked six and God rested the seventh.
40:53 The first week has nothing to do with man,
40:55 it is God's week.
41:00 Now the seventh day, God finishes His work the sixth day,
41:06 the seventh day He ceases His work.
41:08 Incidentally, the word, "Shabbat,"
41:10 you'll find in this material, does not mean, "rest,"
41:12 quality of rest.
41:14 It means, "to cease."
41:18 The word, "rest," there means simply to not do any more.
41:21 It means to cease doing something,
41:22 to stop doing something.
41:24 And we use that word in the same way today.
41:28 When trial is going on and the district attorney is finished
41:31 presenting his case, he says, "The prosecution rests."
41:36 That means he's going to Hawaii on vacation.
41:39 No. What does it mean?
41:41 It means, "I've finished presenting my case.
41:43 I have no more to present."
41:47 So Shabbat means to cease.
41:49 So God ceased His work of creation the seventh day.
41:56 Let me ask you, is God still ceasing
41:59 from His work of creation?
42:01 Has God created any other worlds?
42:03 No. Is God still ceasing?
42:06 Sure.
42:07 And you'll find statements from Ellen White here.
42:09 God is still ceasing from His work of creation
42:11 because He did not begin a new cycle of creation.
42:15 So for God there was no evening and morning of the seventh day.
42:22 But there is for us, we know, because then God says,
42:24 "Now I establish a cycle for you."
42:27 But it's when we try to argue the week that we know
42:30 back into the first week of creation
42:32 that we run into troubles.
42:33 Are you with me or not?
42:35 And so the seventh day had no evening and morning for God.
42:39 But it does have an evening and morning for us.
42:42 So it is very important for us to ask the text what?
42:47 To ask the text questions.
42:50 And then search for answers.
42:52 We're not questioning in the sense of doubting.
42:55 We're questioning in the sense of wanting clarification.
42:59 Now let's go back to our syllabus.
43:02 And I hope that you'll read this whole document.
43:04 There's some incredible statement from Ellen White
43:06 in this material, as well as lots of biblical material.
43:12 Now we're going to deal with this
43:15 third question in the syllabus.
43:17 That is, why was it so urgent to name a successor for Judas
43:20 before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
43:22 on the day of Pentecost?
43:24 For years I wondered, you know, I said,
43:26 "Okay, so they thought that they needed
43:28 to name a successor for Judas.
43:30 Why?
43:32 Where did they get that idea that they were suppose to
43:35 name a successor in place of Judas?"
43:38 And then I asked myself as I read Acts chapter 1,
43:40 didn't they have more important things to do before the
43:43 day of Pentecost like praying and ironing out their
43:46 differences and, you know, making everything right
43:50 and placing all their properties at the disposal of the work?
43:52 Didn't they have more important things to do
43:54 than to get together and elect a successor?
43:57 Wouldn't it have been wiser to wait until the Spirit was
44:00 poured out on the day of Pentecost?
44:01 Then with the Holy Spirit they'd have much better guidance
44:04 as to who they were suppose to elect.
44:07 So I thought.
44:09 But I knew that there had to be a deeper reason
44:12 as to why they felt it was necessary to elect
44:16 apostle number twelve and why that apostle
44:21 needed to be elected before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
44:24 on the day of Pentecost.
44:27 And I'm going to give you now the reason why.
44:30 And then we're going to take a look at this whole material.
44:32 Because it deals with how to interpret the prophecies
44:35 of the Old Testament that point to the Messiah.
44:37 This is an amazing story that we're going to study,
44:40 the election of the successor of Judas.
44:45 What was Jesus doing during those ten days
44:50 between the ascension and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
44:54 on the day of Pentecost?
44:55 You know, we usually think about what the disciples were doing.
44:58 They were in the upper room, they were praying,
45:00 and they were ironing out their differences.
45:02 They were placing all of their properties at the
45:04 disposal of the work.
45:05 You know, they were doing all of these things
45:07 in preparation for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
45:09 But have you ever wondered what happened to
45:11 Jesus during those ten days?
45:12 What was Jesus doing between the ascension
45:14 and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
45:17 The simple answer is...
45:18 And we're going to study this later on in our class.
45:21 The simple fact is that three things were happening
45:24 with Jesus during those ten days.
45:25 First of all, He ascended.
45:27 That's not one of the three, but He ascended to heaven.
45:30 And then in heaven three things happened.
45:33 Number one, He was clothed with the garments of the
45:38 High Priest by His Father.
45:40 Because He was going to serve in the Sanctuary
45:42 as the High Priest.
45:45 Secondly, the Sanctuary was sanctified or set apart
45:50 because that's where Jesus was going to serve.
45:53 And in the third place Jesus was given the gift of the Father.
45:57 Because the gift of the Spirit was not promised to men first.
46:01 It was promised to Jesus for Jesus to pour out upon us.
46:05 And so Jesus, during those ten days, was clothed
46:09 as the High Priest, Jesus was anointed to serve
46:13 as the High Priest with the Spirit, and the Sanctuary
46:17 was sanctified or set apart because that's where
46:19 Jesus was going to serve.
46:23 Now let's think about this.
46:27 One of the pieces of clothing that the High Priest used
46:32 was called the breastplate.
46:36 Ever heard of the breastplate?
46:38 What did the breastplate have?
46:41 The breastplate had twelve stones.
46:46 What do those twelve stones represent?
46:47 In the Old Testament priesthood it represented
46:50 the twelve sons of Jacob.
46:54 And the twelve tribes of course.
46:58 Now when Jesus was clothed as the High Priest,
47:00 what did the twelve stones represent?
47:03 The twelve tribes, as well as what?
47:06 The twelve apostles.
47:07 But now here comes the interesting point.
47:10 How could Jesus be clothed with the breastplate that had
47:15 twelve stones if there were only eleven apostles.
47:21 Are you with me?
47:22 There is a reason for everything in Scripture.
47:26 But we have to have an inquisitive active mind,
47:29 an engaged mind.
47:30 We can't just read.
47:31 Jesus didn't say, "Read the Scriptures."
47:34 He said, "Search the Scriptures."
47:36 The word there is, "scrutinize."
47:39 Do you know what scrutinize means?
47:41 It means to study with a fine tooth comb.
47:45 Because there are gems that are under the surface.
47:48 You know, I don't find much gold on the streets of Fresno.
47:54 You have to dig for it.
47:56 And so it is with Scripture.
47:58 Most of the good stuff is not on the surface.
48:01 Most of the good stuff is beneath the surface.
48:04 And we have to dig for it, we have to search for it.
48:08 Let's go to the next question here.
48:12 How can the harlot of Revelation 17...
48:15 Incidentally, in the material you're going to receive,
48:17 you're going to receive a 22 page document on Revelation 17.
48:22 Many questions about Revelation 17;
48:24 the beast that was, is not, will be;
48:27 the number eight; seven heads, there is an eighth.
48:31 You know, it appears to be a very confusing prophecy.
48:34 It's not confusing. Really.
48:36 It appears confusing, but it isn't
48:38 when you study it using this method.
48:40 Step by step studying each symbol,
48:42 and then putting all of the symbols together.
48:45 You'll see in Revelation 17 that the harlot is sitting on a
48:48 beast, on the waters, and on the mountains at the same time.
48:51 Now how can this woman be seated on the beast, the waters,
48:56 and the mountains?
48:58 Well, we'll answer that later on in our Anchor class.
49:04 You know, another thing, what is the Christ-centered reason
49:08 for Sabbath observance in Exodus 16?
49:11 We'll also be looking at Exodus 16
49:13 later on in this class.
49:15 You know, usually we say as Adventists,
49:17 we say, "You know, we're suppose to keep the Sabbath
49:21 because manna didn't fall on the Sabbath.
49:27 That's good but it's insufficient.
49:30 Because it doesn't give us the Christ-centered reason
49:32 to keep the Sabbath.
49:35 It simply says, "Oh, keep the Sabbath
49:39 you know, because no manna fell on Sabbath."
49:40 So what does that have to do with Jesus?
49:45 It is a Christ-less interpretation.
49:48 Now it does tell us to keep the Sabbath.
49:49 Nothing wrong with that.
49:51 But there has to be a Christ-centered reason
49:53 for keeping the Sabbath.
49:55 See, Adam and Eve kept the Sabbath because their Creator
49:58 sanctified the Sabbath.
49:59 He wants to spend time with them.
50:01 So there has to be a Christ-centered reason
50:03 for no manna falling on Sabbath.
50:06 And we're going to find and, you know, we're going to
50:08 study this in detail, but really what does the manna represent?
50:13 The manna represents Christ, but no generally.
50:18 The manna represents the flesh of Christ.
50:23 So He said in John chapter 6 and verse 51, He says,
50:26 "The manna that I shall give is My flesh
50:28 that I shall give for the life of the world."
50:32 So the manna represents the flesh of Christ.
50:37 Now let me ask you, what happened when manna
50:41 fell on Wednesday and people saved it for Thursday?
50:45 Two things; it bred worms and it stank.
50:51 Right? Bred worms...
50:53 Isn't that kind of strange that it would breed worms and stink?
50:59 Just saving it from one day to the next
51:03 it would breed worms and stink.
51:04 Now let me ask you, what is it that breeds worms and stinks?
51:08 A decomposing body.
51:11 Decomposing flesh.
51:13 Breeds worms and stinks.
51:15 Now what happened when the manna was picked up on Friday
51:18 and saved for Sabbath?
51:20 It was as fresh on Sabbath as it had been on Friday.
51:25 And what does the manna represent?
51:27 The flesh of Jesus.
51:30 Let me ask you, did the body of Jesus, did the flesh of Jesus
51:34 see corruption in the tomb?
51:35 No, because He was what the manna represented.
51:43 There's your Christ-centered reason.
51:45 We keep the Sabbath in commemoration of Jesus
51:49 resting in the tomb on the Sabbath and His flesh
51:52 not seeing corruption.
51:54 Wow.
51:56 That adds a dimension to the issue of the manna.
51:58 And we'll take a closer look at this later on in the class.
52:01 Is it important to ask questions?
52:03 What does Christ...
52:04 Everything we study we have to say, "What does
52:07 Christ have to do with this?"
52:08 That's one of our principles.
52:10 There's a lot of Christ-less interpretation of prophecy.
52:14 Like the 2520.
52:16 You know, that's something that's going around,
52:17 the 2520 year prophecy.
52:20 There's no such prophecy in the Bible.
52:23 The daily.
52:25 And these things, you know, it's study totally
52:28 disconnected from Jesus.
52:30 But prophecy is about Jesus.
52:34 It's about a great Savior.
52:37 It has to be related to Christ.
52:40 If it isn't, it might just be false prophecy.
52:44 Here's another question.
52:46 What is the central point in the story of
52:49 the rich man and Lazarus?
52:52 You know, as I was studying this I discovered
52:54 something very interesting.
52:56 If you want to go with me to Luke 16,
52:59 Luke chapter 16,
53:01 and verses 30 and 31,
53:06 you find something very interesting here.
53:08 You know, I've studied this passage time and time again.
53:11 And then one day I was sitting down studying it again
53:14 and asking the text questions.
53:17 And I said, you know, is there really a difference
53:20 between the beliefs of Abraham and the beliefs of the rich man?
53:25 And I came across this text that we find in
53:29 Luke 16 verses 30 and 31.
53:34 This is the rich man, "And he said, 'No, father Abraham;
53:42 but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'"
53:49 Did the rich man believe in the immortality of the soul?
53:54 Yes.
53:56 He believed it because he says, "If one..." What?
54:00 "...goes to him from the dead they will repent."
54:04 And of course the rich man was dead, right?
54:07 So if one goes to him from the dead, they will repent.
54:10 But I want you to notice what Jesus believed.
54:12 Verse 31, "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear...'"
54:18 This is Abraham and the belief of Jesus.
54:21 Abraham saw Jesus' day.
54:23 "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets,
54:27 neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'"
54:36 What did Abraham believe in?
54:39 The resurrection of the dead.
54:42 The rich man believed in someone going from the dead.
54:46 It's a little nuance, but very important.
54:49 Because it shows that the hope of the Christian is not found in
54:54 an immortal soul, but it's found in resurrecting from the dead.
55:01 The final question that I want to ask, because our time
55:05 is coming to an end in the first class.
55:08 How do we relate the various references to the
55:12 time, times, and dividing of time, 42 months,
55:18 and 1260 days in Revelation 12 and 13?
55:21 You know that this time period is mentioned
55:22 in many different ways.
55:24 1260 days; time, times, the dividing of time; 42 months.
55:28 You know, some people say they're not the same period.
55:31 How can we be sure that they represent the same period
55:34 of church history?
55:37 We have to delve into Scripture.
55:40 We have to look at the context.
55:41 We have to look at what comes before and what comes after.
55:44 You know, we have to have an inquisitive mind.
55:47 That's the main point that I want us to understand, folks,
55:50 is that we cannot simply read the Bible.
55:54 We have to have an engaged active mind when we
55:58 read the Bible, and we have to ask for divine guidance.
56:01 There are things that I am still struggling with.
56:04 And when I say struggling with, I'm not saying that, you know,
56:08 I doubt the Bible or the inspiration of the Bible.
56:10 Not at all.
56:12 I'm struggling with understanding some things.
56:15 There are some things in the writings of Paul, for example,
56:18 that I still struggle with.
56:21 And I've been studying them really, really hard.
56:23 And I'm sure some day, if the Lord doesn't come before,
56:27 I'll be able to understand them more fully.
56:28 If not, Jesus will instruct me when we get to heaven.
56:32 But meanwhile, we have to study these things.
56:35 You know, if Peter struggled with Paul,
56:39 and he lived in the same time frame as Paul,
56:43 well I guess there's hope for us.
56:45 Because we live 2000 years removed.
56:48 And you know, Peter said Paul wrote some things
56:50 that are very difficult to understand.
56:53 And so it would be easier for Peter to say,
56:55 "Paul, you should have been clearer in what you wrote."
56:58 That's not what Peter says.
57:00 Peter says, you know, "The unlearned twist
57:04 to their own destruction."
57:05 In other words, the problem isn't with Paul.
57:07 The problem is with us being willing to invest the time
57:11 and the effort and prayer in struggling
57:14 with the biblical text and finding answers to the questions
57:18 that we ask when we've been studying the biblical text.
57:21 So I hope that as we've studied these principles
57:26 that we understand their importance
57:29 and that we're willing to invest the time first of all
57:32 to pray, and secondly to engage the text actively,
57:37 to search, ask questions, and then seek to find answers
57:43 to our questions.


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Revised 2014-12-17