Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: ASTPP
Program Code: ASTPP000001
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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. |
Revised 2014-12-17