Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: ASTPP
Program Code: ASTPP000019
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00:15 Greetings, it's good to have you here at Anchor Bible school.
00:19 Have you been having a good time? 00:21 Praise the Lord. 00:22 It's wonderful to study the Word of God. 00:24 And we're thankful that you're here to take this class, 00:27 this very important class on how to study Bible prophecy. 00:32 Now what we're going to do today as we begin 00:35 is finish what we left unfinished in the last session. 00:40 We were talking about the ending point of the 00:42 prophecy of the 70 weeks. 00:45 And so we want to finish this particular study 00:49 on the stoning of Stephen. 00:51 Because basically what we said is that the stoning of Stephen 00:54 in the year 34 is what ends the prophecy of the 70 weeks. 01:00 Now we were at the place where the material says, 01:04 The Stoning of Stephen, The Last Straw. 01:07 So go with me there and we're going to finish studying 01:11 this ending point for the prophecy of the 70 weeks. 01:15 Now we must examine more closely the trial 01:19 and condemnation of Stephen. 01:24 As we have already seen, God undertook 01:27 many covenant lawsuits. 01:29 You remember we studied the covenant lawsuits; 01:30 the structure, the way that they functioned in Israel? 01:35 And there were many covenant lawsuits 01:37 throughout the Old Testament against Israel. 01:42 But an examination of these lawsuits reveals 01:46 that they were not final. 01:48 They were not definitive and irrevocable. 01:51 In fact, the prophets usually called Israel to repentance 01:56 so that God, in His mercy, could drop His lawsuit against them. 02:02 But in the case of Stephen, this is different. 02:05 There is a sense of finality when it comes 02:09 to the experience of Stephen that is lacking in the previous 02:13 covenant lawsuits that God brought against Israel. 02:17 Stephen was taken before the Sanhedrin, 02:20 the highest earthly authority of the Jewish nation. 02:25 It was the final court of appeal. 02:28 The Supreme Court, if you please. 02:31 There in fine prophetic fashion, and in harmony with the covenant 02:36 lawsuit pattern, Stephen presented his defense 02:41 by appealing to the history of Israel 02:44 from the time of Abraham till the coming of the Just One. 02:48 Is he doing the same thing as the covenant lawsuits 02:50 in the Old Testament? 02:52 He most certainly is. 02:54 He's telling the story of God's benevolent acts 02:57 towards Israel. 02:59 Now it's interesting that at the end of his discourse, 03:03 the accused becomes the accuser. 03:06 The Sanhedrin presumed to indict Stephen, 03:11 but he ended up indicting them. 03:14 I want us to read the denunciation of Stephen 03:17 to the Sanhedrin. 03:18 It's found in Acts chapter 7 and verses 51 to 53. 03:23 Notice that he is the accused, but now he is going to 03:26 become the accuser. 03:28 He's God's lawyer in a court of law. 03:30 And he's bringing this covenant lawsuit against Israel. 03:35 This is what he says. 03:36 "Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, 03:41 ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: 03:45 as your fathers did, so do ye. 03:48 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? 03:53 And they have slain them which shewed before 03:56 the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have 03:59 now become the betrayers and murderers, 04:03 who have received the law by the disposition 04:05 of angels, and have not kept it." 04:08 Are you noticing the number of times that he says, 04:11 "ye," "your," "ye," "your." 04:15 In other words, he is God's lawyer in court and he is 04:18 accusing them of violating the covenant 04:23 in spite of all of the benevolent acts of God. 04:27 Now significantly, up to this point in his discourse, 04:31 Stephen has spoken of the fathers 04:34 in terms of, "our fathers." 04:36 Now you can read verses 11, 19, 38, 44, and 45 04:41 in Acts chapter 7. 04:43 And it's interesting that Stephen, when he refers 04:46 to the fathers, he says, "our fathers." 04:48 But after these verses where he refers to, "our fathers," 04:54 he suddenly begins saying, "your fathers." 04:59 I want you to notice. 05:01 In good prophetic fashion, at first he includes himself 05:05 as part of the historical patrimony of Israel. 05:08 As did Daniel. 05:10 You know, remember Daniel said, "We have sinned," 05:12 in Daniel chapter 9. 05:13 He included himself in the problem. 05:16 But at the conclusion of his speech, 05:18 Stephen disassociates himself from them 05:22 by saying, "your fathers." 05:25 Notice also that Jesus made the same statement 05:29 in Matthew 23 verse 32. 05:31 Jesus also spoke to the Jewish leaders when He indicted them 05:35 by saying, "your fathers." 05:37 In other words, Stephen could no longer 05:40 in good conscience be in solidarity with literal Israel. 05:45 In other words, he was distancing himself 05:48 from the patrimony of literal Israel because he knew 05:52 that after they killed him, they would no longer be God's people. 05:57 The theocracy would have come to an ignominious end. 06:01 Are you understanding this point? 06:04 Also of great importance is the fact that Stephen, 06:08 unlike the prophets before him, 06:10 did not make a call to repentance. 06:13 See, there's all kinds of interesting details 06:16 in this episode in Acts 7 about the stoning of Stephen 06:19 different from previous covenant lawsuits. 06:22 He did not make a call to repentance. 06:25 This would seem to indicate that the Jewish leaders 06:28 were beyond the point of repentance. 06:31 They had made their final and irrevocable 06:34 decision to reject the Messiah. 06:38 This is indicated by the expressions that Stephen used 06:42 in his indictment, as well as the reaction of the Sanhedrin 06:46 to his words. 06:48 Notice that he called them stiff-necked 06:51 and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, 06:54 and accused them of resisting the Holy Spirit. 06:58 He also accused them of betraying and murdering Jesus 07:02 and breaking the covenant. 07:04 There is no mention of future messengers or opportunities. 07:09 The reaction of the leaders of the Sanhedrin is important 07:13 because it reveals their incurable rejection 07:16 of the Messiah. 07:18 Instead of receiving the message of Stephen, 07:21 who spoke with the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit, 07:25 with uncontrollable rage they gnashed on him with their teeth, 07:30 and cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears, 07:33 and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him 07:36 out of the city, and stoned him. 07:38 This is Acts 7 verse 54, and also verses 57 and 58. 07:43 Notice that the verdict was unanimous. 07:46 The Sanhedrin, the governing body of Israel, 07:50 was unanimous without a dissenting vote. 07:54 They were all of one accord. 07:57 The apostles were one accord on the side of Christ. 08:00 And the Sanhedrin was of one accord against Christ. 08:04 The apostles were on one side, 08:07 and the Sanhedrin was on the other. 08:10 The Jewish Sanhedrin made its choice. 08:12 By stoning Stephen, they silenced the last prophet 08:17 who would ever be sent to them. 08:19 Truly, prophecy came to an end for literal Israel at this time. 08:23 Do you remember yesterday we studied the expression, 08:26 "to make an end of vision and prophecy." 08:29 Well this is the last prophet. 08:32 Vision and prophecy came to an end literally 08:36 for the nation of Israel when Stephen was stoned. 08:39 But the prophecy of the 70 weeks indicated that vision 08:45 would also come to an end at the conclusion of the last week. 08:48 Not only the last prophet, but also the last vision. 08:52 Did this happen as predicted? 08:54 Was Stephen the last prophet who had a vision? 08:58 Well let's take a look. 09:00 The answer is a resounding yes. 09:03 Acts chapter 7 not only indicates that Stephen 09:07 was the last prophet sent to Israel, 09:09 but it also leaves no doubt that he was the one 09:13 who received the last vision as well, the last prophetic vision. 09:19 It seems, when you examine this story, 09:23 that what particularly incensed the members of the Sanhedrin 09:27 was that Stephen claimed to have a vision of Jesus in heaven 09:31 standing on the right hand of God. 09:34 Would that have been a vision? 09:35 Of course. 09:36 This was a vision, for there is no evidence that anyone 09:40 other than Stephen saw this particular experience. 09:44 The critical question is, did Stephen see Jesus 09:48 as He was and where He was at that very moment, 09:53 or was he transported in vision to the future 09:56 to see Jesus as He will appear when he comes again. 10:00 The evidence seems to indicate that this was a prophetic vision 10:05 where Stephen was carried to the future to see Jesus 10:08 coming as the Son of Man. 10:10 And I'll interject here, do you remember that Jesus, 10:13 when He was standing before Caiaphas, He says that, 10:16 "You will see the Son of Man at the right hand of power 10:20 and coming on the clouds of heaven." 10:22 In other words, Jesus also stated the same thing. 10:25 He referred to the future to Caiaphas when He 10:27 was before the Sanhedrin. 10:29 Jesus had said something similar to Caiaphas 10:33 that enraged the Jewish Sanhedrin when He 10:35 was condemned to death. 10:36 And of course, here's the verse that I referred to. 10:39 Let's read it. Matthew 26 verse 64. 10:41 "Jesus said to him, 'It is as you said. 10:44 Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the 10:47 Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, 10:50 and coming on the clouds of heaven.'" 10:54 As we have previously studied, Jesus taught His parables 10:58 that when the kingdom should be taken from the Jews, 11:01 it would be given to the Gentiles. 11:04 This being the case, we should find an event to mark the 11:09 end of the 70 weeks, which not only closes the door of 11:13 probation for the Jewish theocracy, but also opens 11:17 the door of the gospel to the Gentiles. 11:19 Are you understanding this point? 11:21 So the ending point of the 70 weeks not only has to be the 11:25 ending point for the Jewish theocracy, 11:28 it also has to be the open door for the Gentiles. 11:31 Because Jesus said, "The kingdom will be taken from you 11:34 and given to a nation that produces the fruits thereof." 11:38 So there's two things. 11:39 Number one, the kingdom taken away. 11:41 And the kingdom given to somebody else. 11:45 Does the stoning of Stephen fulfill this specification? 11:50 Once again, the answer is a resounding yes. 11:54 It can hardly be a coincidence that the ringleader in the 11:58 stoning of Stephen was a champion of orthodox Judaism; 12:03 Saul of Tarsus. 12:05 This is the amazing thing. 12:07 At the precise moment probation was closing 12:10 for the Jewish theocracy, God, irony of ironies, 12:15 had chosen His champion to the Gentiles. 12:19 And that champion was present at the stoning of Stephen. 12:23 Paul later reminisced about this experience 12:25 with the following words, "And when the blood 12:28 of thy martyr, Stephen, was shed, I also was standing by 12:33 and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of 12:37 them that slew him. 12:39 And He said unto me, 'Depart, for I will send thee 12:43 far hence...'" To whom? 12:45 "...unto the Gentiles." 12:46 Interesting. 12:48 The door closes when Stephen is stoned, 12:51 but the door opens. 12:53 And the champion that's going to go to the 12:54 Gentiles is right there. 12:58 So is the stoning of Stephen a significant event? 13:00 Is that the closing? Absolutely. 13:03 Now let's continue. 13:05 The sequence of events in Acts 1 through 11 13:09 clearly reveals that the stoning of Stephen 13:12 was a watershed event. 13:14 In Acts 1 verse 8, Jesus said to His disciples... 13:18 This verse, folks, has the summary of 13:20 the entire book of Acts. 13:22 This one verse summarizes the whole book. 13:26 What did Jesus say? 13:28 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost 13:31 is come upon you. 13:33 And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem..." 13:37 Notice the sequence. 13:38 "...in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, 13:44 and unto the uttermost part of the earth." 13:48 Notice the ever broadening concentric circles 13:51 in this verse. 13:53 The gospel is preached, first of all, in Jerusalem and Judea. 13:57 And you know what's interesting? 13:59 The first six chapters of the book of Acts 14:03 refer to events that took place only in Jerusalem. 14:09 Acts 1 through 6 is Jerusalem. 14:11 Then in Acts chapter 7, this is also happening in Jerusalem, 14:15 it's the stoning of Stephen. 14:18 And of course, Saul of Tarsus is present there. 14:22 Then if you read Acts chapter 8 verses 1 and 2, the gospel 14:27 goes to Judea. 14:29 Let's go there and notice the book of Acts 14:33 chapter 8 and verses 1 and 2. 14:35 I didn't write this specific detail there in the sequence, 14:39 but I want to read it now. 14:40 Notice Acts chapter 8 and verses 1 and 2. 14:44 "Now Saul was consenting to his death. 14:47 At that time a great persecution arose 14:50 against the church which was at Jerusalem; 14:53 and they were all scattered throughout 14:55 the regions of..." What? 14:57 "...of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles." 15:02 So where does the gospel go now because of the 15:04 persecution in Jerusalem? 15:06 It goes to Judea, and it also goes to where? 15:10 It goes to Samaria. 15:11 In fact, the rest of chapter 8 deals 15:15 with the gospel going to Samaria. 15:17 So you see, Acts 1 through 6; the gospel in Jerusalem. 15:21 Chapter 7; Stephen is martyred, and God has chosen who is 15:25 going to take the gospel to the Gentiles. 15:27 In chapter 8, the gospel goes to Judea and to Samaria. 15:32 Then in chapter 9, the apostle Paul is converted on 15:35 the road to Damascus. 15:37 And in chapter 10, the message goes to the Gentiles; 15:40 first with Peter, and then to the uttermost 15:42 parts of the earth. 15:44 And so, is the stoning of Stephen a watershed event? 15:48 It is the crucial event in the book of Acts, in fact. 15:53 Now the bottom of the page. 15:55 It will be noticed that the gospel went to the 15:57 uttermost parts of the earth only after the 16:00 conversion of Saul of Tarsus. 16:03 In fact, it was Paul who took the gospel to every region 16:07 of the Roman Empire through his missionary journeys. 16:11 Thus in Acts 7, probation closes for the Jewish theocracy. 16:16 And in chapter 9, the champion to the Gentiles is converted. 16:20 That is to say, one door closed, and shortly thereafter 16:24 the other door opened. 16:26 The official beginning of Paul's ministry 16:28 is described in Acts 13 verses 1 and 2 16:31 where he and Barnabas were ordained to the gospel ministry. 16:36 Paul and Barnabas then traveled to Antioch of Pisidia 16:40 where Paul preached a long gospel sermon, 16:44 this is interesting, to the Jews in the synagogue. 16:47 The Gentiles then begged Paul to preach to them. 16:50 The next Sabbath, almost the whole city came out 16:53 to hear the Word of God. 16:55 This provoked the jealousy of the Jews, and they 16:58 contradicted and blasphemed. 17:00 This led Paul to say some very significant words. 17:04 Words very similar to the ones that Jesus spoke in Matthew 21. 17:07 Listen to what the words were. 17:09 "It was necessary that the word of God should 17:12 first have been spoken to you." 17:16 "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of 17:19 Israel," Jesus said. 17:22 So Paul is going along with that. 17:23 He says, "The gospel had to be preached to you first." 17:27 That's Acts 1 through 6. 17:30 But then he says this, "But seeing ye put it from you, 17:35 and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, 17:39 lo, we turn to the Gentiles." 17:41 Is that the sequence that Jesus mentioned? 17:43 "The kingdom will be taken from you and it will be 17:46 given to a nation that produces the fruits thereof." 17:50 And so Paul says, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 17:53 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, 17:56 'I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, 17:58 that thou shouldest be for salvation 18:01 unto the ends of the earth.'" 18:03 Now to the final paragraph. 18:05 Notice that according to Paul, the gospel was to be preached 18:09 to the Jews first. 18:11 And why was this? 18:12 Simply because, as we have seen, 70 weeks had been measured 18:17 off for the Jewish nation. 18:19 But when the Jewish nation rejected the Messiah, 18:23 by divine command Paul and Barnabas turn to the Gentiles. 18:28 Notice that the door of mercy did not close 18:31 for individual Jews after the year 34 AD. 18:34 This can be seen by the fact that Saul of Tarsus 18:37 was converted after probation had closed 18:40 for the corporate Jewish nation in the year 34. 18:44 So was Saul of Tarsus converted after the door of probation 18:48 was closed for the Jews, for the Jewish nation? 18:50 Yeah. So was the door still open for individual Jews? 18:53 Of course it was. 18:55 So it is important to take into account all of this information 19:00 about the stoning of Stephen, because this is the event 19:03 that closes the door to the Jewish nation as God's 19:06 instrument to take the gospel to the world. 19:08 And now, the gospel goes to the world 19:11 through a nation that produces the fruits thereof. 19:13 That is, the Gentiles. 19:15 Spiritual Israel, if you please. 19:18 So was this clear? 19:20 Okay. Very, very good. 19:23 This ends our principle that Israel today 19:26 is global and spiritual, no longer literal and local. 19:31 Now we want to go to principle number 11. 19:36 I'm going to skip number 10, as I mentioned, 19:39 because we're going to have to study some materials 19:43 which was not distributed. 19:46 And so we're going to distribute those materials later on today 19:50 so that you can study them, and then we'll be prepared 19:53 to study principle number 10. 19:55 So we're going to jump to number 11 that does not 19:58 require a lot of reading material. 20:01 And then we are also, today, going to do principle number 12. 20:07 So the main thing that we want to study today is principle 11 20:10 and principle 12. 20:12 Principle number 11 has to do with how to interpret 20:16 Bible symbols. 20:18 And this in on page 26 of your syllabus. 20:21 And we're going to go through this material, 20:24 it has several pages. 20:25 It has principles about how to interpret symbols correctly 20:30 within prophetic context. 20:32 Now let's deal first of all with some introductory matters. 20:38 Bible study takes time and effort. 20:43 We must search for truth as for a hidden treasure. 20:47 You don't find treasures laying on the street. 20:50 You have to dig deep to find treasures. 20:52 And so it is with Bible study. 20:54 And that includes the study of Bible symbols. 20:58 The next point that I want us to notice 21:00 is that the message of Daniel and Revelation is not 21:04 hidden or concealed. 21:06 In fact, the name, "Revelation," means, "to unveil." 21:12 So the message of Revelation can be understood. 21:15 And Revelation actually decodes the book of Daniel. 21:18 In Revelation, the book of Daniel is opened 21:21 and unsealed. 21:23 So the book of Daniel is actually unsealed in the 21:27 book of Revelation. 21:28 So we have to study both Daniel and Revelation together. 21:33 Many of the symbols in Revelation come from Daniel. 21:36 And so Daniel would be the source that we would 21:38 have to use in order to understand those symbols 21:41 in the book of Revelation. 21:43 The third point that I want us to notice is that the 21:46 book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ. 21:49 It is not about dragons, monsters, mysterious numbers, 21:55 and esoteric symbols. 21:57 Its central focus is not end time politics, 22:00 or a treatise to satisfy our futurist curiosity. 22:06 Its central purpose is to help us know Jesus 22:09 and be ready for His coming by knowing what is coming. 22:14 Incidentally, Martin Luther wrote commentaries 22:18 on every book of the Bible except James and Revelation. 22:23 He didn't write on James because he felt very uncomfortable 22:26 because James said that Rahab was justified 22:30 not by faith but by works. 22:33 And Abraham; "Was not our father Abraham justified by works?" 22:37 And of course, Luther was fighting against 22:39 a church who's system was based totally on works. 22:43 And so Luther, he says, "You know, James, this doesn't rhyme 22:47 with what I'm fighting against. 22:49 You know, James says that you're saved by works, 22:52 that you're justified by works. 22:54 And it just doesn't square with the idea that 22:57 you're justified by grace through faith." 22:59 What Luther didn't understand is that James and Paul 23:04 were not fighting each other. 23:05 They were fighting two different enemies of the gospel. 23:08 You see, Paul when he says that we're justified by faith 23:11 without works of law, he was speaking to people 23:15 who felt that they would be saved by works. 23:18 James, on the other hand, is fighting with a 23:20 different enemy of the gospel. 23:22 James is saying, "Hey, if you say that you have faith, 23:26 and you don't have works, then that's not real faith." 23:29 So in other words, Paul is speaking of the root 23:32 of salvation, and James is speaking of the 23:34 fruit of salvation. 23:36 If you don't have the fruit, you don't have the root. 23:39 And of course, Luther, he couldn't really grasp that 23:43 because of the battle that he had. 23:44 And we can't be real hard on Luther because 23:46 he was fighting a tremendous battle with a system that 23:49 depended on works for salvation. 23:51 He didn't write a commentary on the book of Revelation either. 23:54 Because he says, "I don't find Christ in this book. 23:57 All I find is dragons and mysterious numbers 24:00 and esoteric symbols." 24:02 He said, "I can't find Jesus Christ there." 24:06 Of course, we can't be too hard on Luther, 24:08 because Martin Luther did not live in our time 24:11 when the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation 24:14 have been opened so that we can understand them. 24:17 His battle was not to understand Daniel and Revelation. 24:20 His battle was to re-establish the idea that we're saved 24:24 by grace through faith. 24:25 That was present truth in his day. 24:27 It's not necessarily present truth in our day. 24:31 Now let's continue here. 24:33 A special blessing is pronounced upon those who read, 24:38 hear, and obey what is said in the book of Revelation. 24:44 And I might say, of course, the whole Scripture. 24:48 Next point, we must be careful about the way we study 24:52 the book of Revelation. 24:54 There is a dreadful curse pronounced upon those 24:57 who add or take away from the book. 25:00 You know, it's a serious thing to study Daniel and Revelation. 25:05 We better interpret the symbols correctly. 25:09 Futurists and preterists don't realize the terrible curse that 25:18 God pronounces upon those who add or take away from this book. 25:22 It's a serious matter. 25:24 In fact, let's read that text. 25:26 It's found in Revelation 22 verses 18 and 19. 25:31 Revelation chapter 22 verses 18 and 19. 25:36 And it says there, "For I testify to everyone 25:39 who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: 25:42 If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him 25:47 the plagues that are written in this book." 25:49 God says, "You add, and I will add." 25:53 Verse 19, "And if anyone takes away from the words of 25:57 the prophecy of this book, God shall take away his part 26:00 from the Book of Life, from the holy city, 26:03 and from the things which are written in this book." 26:05 God says, "You take away, and I take away. 26:08 You add, and I add." 26:10 So it's very serious. 26:12 We must be very careful about the way that we interpret 26:16 the book of Revelation, and the way that we interpret 26:19 the symbols particularly. 26:23 Now the books of Daniel and Revelation, to a great degree, 26:26 are saturated with symbols. 26:29 In fact, Revelation 1 verse 2 has a very interesting word. 26:33 It uses the word in the King James Version 26:36 that God "signified" the book of Revelation. 26:40 What are the first four letters of, "signify?" 26:44 Sign. 26:45 In other words, the book of Revelation 26:47 is written in sign language. 26:51 And the sign language has to be decoded. 26:54 For example, if I do this... 26:59 ...what does that mean? 27:05 It means, "love," in sign language. 27:08 Would you ever be able to figure that out unless you had a way 27:11 of decoding the symbol? 27:13 No. 27:14 You see, this is the symbol, but the symbol has 27:16 a meaning beyond itself. 27:19 Now what is a symbol? 27:21 Let's go to our next section. 27:22 What is a symbol? 27:25 A symbol is something that stands for or represents 27:29 something else. 27:31 For example, in our parlance of today, 27:35 the lion represents what? 27:38 Courage. 27:39 The lamb represents meekness. 27:44 The olive branch represents peace. 27:48 And the cross represents Christianity. 27:52 You see, one thing is the symbol, but you have to 27:54 decode the symbol and see what it represents, 27:58 the larger reality that it represents. 28:01 You know, we frequently use symbolic language 28:04 even in our every day speech. 28:06 For example, we say, "Ugly as sin." 28:12 That's symbolic language. 28:14 We say, "Easy as pie." 28:15 I've never been able to understand why, 28:18 where that comes from, "Easy as pie." 28:20 It's easy to eat. 28:23 But I'm not sure that it's easy to make. 28:27 Because I've seen my wife make pie. 28:29 It takes some effort. 28:32 Maybe it's because it's easy to eat, I don't know. 28:34 But you know the expression, "Easy as pie." 28:36 We say, "White as snow." 28:38 You see, snow is the symbol that points to a 28:41 greater reality beyond itself. 28:43 And we say, "Dead as a door nail." 28:46 You know, and that is symbolic language. 28:49 In other words, symbols are language 28:51 that have to be decoded to determine what they mean 28:55 in a larger sense. 28:57 A symbol is a similitude. 29:00 It is a comparison. 29:02 It is an analogy. 29:05 Symbols cannot be taken at face value. 29:08 They have a meaning beyond themselves. 29:12 The parables of Jesus are couched in symbolic language. 29:17 Frequently, Jesus uses the words, "like," or, "as." 29:23 "The kingdom of God is like a certain individual." 29:29 You see that all the time in the parables. 29:31 So what is Jesus doing? 29:32 Jesus is using symbolic language. 29:36 Let me just give you an illustration. 29:39 We have here Luke chapter 18 verses 1 through 8. 29:42 You remember the story of the widow that kept on 29:44 coming and coming and coming to the judge 29:46 because she had lost everything? 29:47 Her enemy had taken everything from her. 29:50 And she kept on coming and coming and coming to the judge 29:53 so that the judge would do justice to her. 29:56 And the judge, for a while, would not answer her plea. 30:00 And finally the judge says, you know, "I'm sick of this woman. 30:03 She comes and bothers me, she pesters me all the time. 30:06 I'm going to give her what she asks for 30:08 to get her off my back." 30:12 So the question is, what did Jesus want to 30:14 teach with this parable? 30:16 Well you have, first of all, the judge. 30:18 You have to find out what the judge represents. 30:20 He symbolizes something. 30:22 You have to figure out what the widow represents. 30:26 You have to figure out what the delay is. 30:29 See, you have to interpret each individual symbol, 30:32 what they represent beyond themselves. 30:34 And when you study this parable... 30:35 And by the way, you received one material that has this 30:40 development of this story. 30:41 I hope you'll study that. 30:43 Because this parable of Jesus applies especially 30:46 to the end time. 30:48 Because before this parable, you have Jesus talking 30:51 about the second coming. 30:53 And the parable ends by saying, "When the Son of Man cometh, 30:55 shall He find faith in the earth?" 30:58 And in between, you have this parable. 31:00 And so, really the widow in this parable 31:03 is symbolic of God's church. 31:05 After all, she's a woman. 31:08 But she's a woman in distress because she has lost everything. 31:13 So she represents God's people in the time of trouble 31:17 that have lost everything. 31:18 The judge represents God. 31:21 You say, "Now how can the judge represent God?" 31:24 Because this judge says, "Oh, I'm just going to 31:26 answer her pleas to get her off my back." 31:28 Well does God say, "I'm going to answer My people's pleas 31:31 just to get them off My back." No. 31:32 You see, this is comparison by way of contrast. 31:36 In other words, Jesus is saying, "Hey, if an unjust judge 31:39 will answer a widow's plea because he wants to 31:45 get her off his back, how much more will God 31:48 give us what we ask because He loves us?" 31:51 In other words, it's comparison by way of contrast. 31:55 So the widow represents God's people going through 31:57 this severe time of trouble. 31:59 People have lost everything. 32:00 And by the way, there's another symbol in this story. 32:03 It's the antidikon. 32:06 The adversary. 32:08 Do you know where that word is used, the adversary? 32:10 "Your adversary, the devil, goes around seeking whom 32:14 he may devour." 32:15 It's the same word, antidikon, in Greek. 32:18 So who was it that took everything away 32:20 from the woman, from the church, so that she 32:23 would be left desolate? 32:26 Ah, it was the devil. 32:29 Who is going to take everything away from God's people 32:31 at the end of time? 32:32 The devil. 32:33 Are God's people going to come to God and say, 32:35 "Lord, Lord, please deliver us." 32:38 Absolutely. 32:39 Is God going to answer the pleas immediately? 32:42 No. No. 32:44 There's going to be a delay. 32:45 And Ellen White says that the delay is the greatest blessing 32:48 for God's people. 32:50 She says they need to develop their faith. 32:51 They need to learn to depend upon God. 32:54 And so this whole parable, once you understand what the 32:57 widow represents, what the judge represents, 32:59 who the antidikon is, what the delay is, 33:01 you put all of the symbols together, and now you know 33:04 what Jesus wanted to teach with this story. 33:06 Are you following me? 33:08 This is symbolic language. 33:10 We have to decode the symbols and find out what they mean 33:13 in a broader sense. 33:16 Now back to the material. 33:17 Each symbol has a literal meaning and a symbolic value. 33:23 The literal meaning is, you know, the widow. 33:28 But the widow has a symbolic value. 33:30 She represents something beyond the literal, beyond herself. 33:35 Sign language is symbolic language 33:38 where each sign represents a particular concept. 33:43 Jesus used many symbols to represent Himself, 33:46 such as shepherd. 33:49 Is Jesus a shepherd? 33:51 Literally a shepherd? 33:53 No. But is He like a shepherd? 33:55 Of course He is. 33:57 Now what characteristics does a shepherd have? 34:01 Well you have to look at the characteristics of a shepherd 34:04 to see why this type or this symbol is used 34:09 to illustrate the work of Jesus Christ. 34:11 Jesus is called the vine. 34:15 "I am the vine, you are the branches." 34:17 You have to know something about growing grapes. 34:21 I have a Thompson seedless vine in my back yard. 34:25 And last year we had a bumper crop. 34:28 We would go out every morning and eat fresh grapes 34:31 late in the summer. 34:33 And you know, we have orange trees. 34:35 This morning I went out and picked some Valencia oranges 34:37 and I made fresh orange juice. 34:40 You know, and so you have to know what it 34:43 means to prune the vine. 34:44 You have to know about the vine in order to understand 34:47 why Jesus called Himself the vine. 34:50 In other words, you have to know the symbol first 34:55 in order to understand why that symbol was used 34:58 to express a concept. 35:00 Jesus said, "I am the door." 35:03 Why would Jesus say that, "I am the door?" 35:06 Jesus said He is the bread. 35:09 Jesus said, "I am the way." 35:12 Jesus said, "I am the rock." 35:14 So why would Jesus use these symbols? 35:17 There's something in the symbol that points 35:19 to something beyond themselves. 35:21 And we need to know, first of all, what the symbol, 35:23 the characteristics of the symbol, to understand 35:26 why Jesus used the symbol to refer to Himself. 35:30 Actually, all of the symbols, what they do is they give us 35:33 a different portrait of Christ. 35:35 Christ is like a many faceted diamond. 35:39 You know what makes a diamond beautiful? 35:41 All the cuts. 35:43 And so you have all of these symbols that point to a 35:46 different function of Jesus Christ. 35:48 And when you put them all together, 35:49 you have a complete picture of Jesus. 35:53 Now people in Biblical times lived in an animated universe. 35:58 Rivers, the sun, mountains, stars, trees, sheep 36:03 all had symbolic value. 36:05 We have lost that in Western culture. 36:08 We have very, very few symbols from nature that we use 36:12 in the world today. 36:13 But in Biblical times, all of these things spoke of God, 36:18 had lessons for Israel about God. 36:22 We must distinguish between a live and a dead symbol. 36:27 A live symbol is one which we use today, 36:31 and thus has a contemporary meaning for us. 36:35 A dead symbol is one which was used in the past 36:39 and has lost its value for present day persons 36:43 because we don't use it anymore. 36:47 In other words, we have to rescue symbols today. 36:51 Because the Bible uses many, many symbols 36:53 that we don't use today. 36:55 So we have to discover how that symbol was used 36:58 in biblical times and not impose some artificial meaning 37:03 to that symbol that was not intended by the original writer. 37:08 So a dead symbol is one which was used in the past 37:11 and has lost its value for present day persons. 37:14 Most symbols in the Bible are dead symbols 37:17 in the sense that we don't use them anymore. 37:21 This is why we must let the Bible give us the meaning 37:24 of these symbols so that they can come alive 37:27 in today's world. 37:29 So far so good? 37:31 Now let's ask the question, why does the Bible use symbols? 37:39 Well, I have several reasons here. 37:42 Number one, a picture is worth a thousand words. 37:47 Have you ever heard that expression? 37:50 Yes, of course. 37:52 Symbols are used instead of abstract language 37:56 because the message is remembered longer. 38:00 For example, take the parable that Jesus gave of the 38:04 man who built his house upon the rock. 38:08 You know, Jesus could have said, "You know, when difficulties 38:11 come, stand firm, folks." 38:14 He could have said that. 38:16 And of course, how long would you remember that? 38:19 "Hang in there, folks. Hang in there. 38:21 Everything will be alright." 38:23 No, Jesus didn't do that. 38:24 Jesus gave a story, a symbolic story. 38:27 He says, you know, "To what will I compare the kingdom of God? 38:30 Well, I'll compare it to a man who built his 38:33 house upon the rock." 38:35 And would the Jews have understood 38:37 what the rock represented? 38:38 Of course. 38:39 They knew Deuteronomy 32; the rock is the Lord. 38:42 And His word, incidentally. 38:44 Because the rock is the Lord, and His word. 38:46 So they say, "Oh, that means to build upon God." 38:50 And then the storms come and the floods come. 38:53 And they beat against that house. 38:55 And the house doesn't fall because it's built on the rock. 38:59 And then there was another house that was built on the sand. 39:01 And if you read, Mount of Blessings, Ellen White 39:03 says that this actually happened literally in biblical times. 39:09 People did build on the rock, and when floods came 39:12 the house stood firm. 39:13 But there were some people that were foolish 39:15 and they build their houses in places where 39:17 when the rains came, it flooded, and the house was taken away. 39:21 So people could identify with what Jesus was saying. 39:24 And so you have this man who built his house upon the sand. 39:27 And the storm came and took it all away. 39:30 Let me ask you, would people remember this a lot longer 39:33 the lesson that Jesus wanted to teach? 39:35 Of course. 39:36 Every time that they went by a house that was built 39:39 on the rock, they'd say, "Ah, I remember the lesson." 39:43 Every time that they saw the flood come and sweep away 39:46 a house, they'd say, "Ah-ha, because you built on the sand." 39:50 And so one of the reasons for using symbolic language 39:55 is because symbolic language is remembered longer. 39:58 And people, when they saw the objects, 40:00 they'd remember the teachings of Jesus. 40:03 Furthermore, every time a symbol is observed, 40:06 its meaning is remembered. 40:11 Symbols are also used so that the message can transcend 40:17 time and space. 40:19 For example, if God had spoken to John about capitalism, 40:25 communism, the United States, nuclear weapons, tanks, 40:33 machine guns, he would not have understood the message 40:37 because these things did not exist in biblical times. 40:41 So what does God do? 40:43 He gives symbols. 40:44 Instead of saying, "communism," 40:46 He says, "the king of the south." 40:48 And of course, Israel knew what the attitude of Pharaoh was. 40:52 "Who is the Lord? I don't know the Lord. 40:54 And I'm not going to let His people go." 40:55 Ellen White said this is atheism. 40:58 So when Egypt is mentioned, they would understand that. 41:00 When, for example, Revelation 11 speaks of Sodom, 41:06 you know, that's a universal language. 41:09 Because Sodom was characterized by crass immorality. 41:13 And so Sodom is a symbol, and Egypt is a symbol. 41:18 The king of the north is a symbol, 41:20 the king of the south is a symbol. 41:21 It's universal language that we can understand today. 41:24 The king of the south in 1798 was France. 41:29 And we can understand that the king of the north 41:30 was the papacy. 41:33 And we can understand that France was characterized 41:35 by Egypt because, you know, France discarded God. 41:41 And we know that France, at least during the 41:44 French Revolution, was crassly immoral. 41:47 Immorality was practiced in the streets. 41:50 And so, symbolic language helps us understand 41:55 things that transcend time and space. 41:58 And we have to be very careful because, 42:01 you know, some futurists, for example, that take the 42:04 picture in Joel where in Joel it speaks about the 42:07 locusts, you know, in chapter 2 it speaks about the locusts, 42:11 they say, "Well, the locusts are helicopters." 42:15 Well, I think that you should allow the Bible to explain 42:17 what locusts are and not simply, 42:19 and you ask, "Why are the locusts helicopters?" 42:23 "Well because locusts fly, and so do helicopters." 42:27 You know, that's not the way to interpret symbols. 42:29 Symbols are used within a biblical context 42:34 in order for us to understand in all time what those 42:38 symbols represent. 42:40 Now final point here as to why the Bible uses symbols. 42:45 Symbols are used to conceal the message 42:48 from those who would oppose it if literal language was used. 42:54 Isn't it right that Jesus spoke in parables to hide the meaning 42:58 from those who were not sincere and honest? 43:00 Of course He did. 43:02 Because He knew that if He came right out and He said it, 43:06 His ministry would have been in danger, 43:09 because they would have wanted to take Him 43:11 and kill Him before the time. 43:13 And so Jesus spoke many parables where the Pharisees 43:16 knew that He was speaking about them, but they couldn't 43:18 put their finger on it. 43:19 Because Jesus was using symbolic language. 43:23 You know, we have also the experience of Paul. 43:28 You know, the apostle Paul spoke about a restrainer 43:30 in 2 Thessalonians 2. 43:32 He says the antichrist is ready to manifest himself. 43:36 He's there, the mystery of iniquity already is here. 43:39 He says, "Only waiting until the restrainer is taken away, 43:42 and then he will manifest himself. 43:44 And the man of sin will be seen openly." 43:47 He will unveil himself. 43:49 Well why didn't the apostle Paul tell us who the restrainer was? 43:53 Well the restrainer, folks, was the Roman Empire. 43:57 You see, while the Roman Empire ruled, 44:00 the pope couldn't rule. 44:02 The Roman Empire and the emperor had to be taken out of the way. 44:06 Which the barbarians did, by the way. 44:08 And then when the Roman Empire was taken away 44:11 as the restrainer, then the man of sin, which is the papacy, 44:16 could manifest its power because the previous 44:18 power had been removed. 44:20 Are you following me? 44:21 Now why didn't Paul just come out and say, 44:23 "Folks, you know that the Roman Empire is restraining right now. 44:28 But then the Roman Empire is taken out of the way, 44:30 then the man of sin will manifest himself." 44:34 What do you suppose would have happened if Paul had said that? 44:37 The Roman Empire would have said, 44:39 "The Roman Empire is going to what?" 44:43 He would have ended his ministry a lot faster. 44:46 Right? 44:47 And so Paul says to them, "You know what I'm talking about." 44:51 But he does not clearly reveal it. 44:54 He just speaks of the restrainer. 44:56 Because symbolic language, you know, enlightens those 45:01 who are informed, those who are wise, 45:05 in the biblical sense of being wise. 45:07 "The wise will understand," it says several times 45:10 in the book of Daniel. 45:11 But the unwise will not understand. 45:13 So the language is coded language. 45:15 Symbolic language is coded language that the 45:18 initiated understand, but those who do not wish 45:21 to understand or accept, they will not understand. 45:25 Now, how do we interpret symbols? 45:28 That's our next point; how do we interpret symbols. 45:32 Well we must go where? 45:35 To the original source of the symbol to discover 45:38 what the symbol means. 45:40 Now most symbols in the book of Revelation 45:43 come from the Old Testament. 45:47 So we must use what? 45:50 A Bible concordance. 45:53 Which is the best one? 45:56 Strong's is for the strong. 45:59 I'm just kidding. Any Bible concordance is good. 46:03 So we must use a concordance, and what else? 46:06 The marginal references to discover the original 46:10 source of a symbol. 46:12 There are some 2000 allusions to the Old Testament 46:16 in the book of Revelation. 46:19 That is amazing. 46:22 The meaning of some symbols, however, are explained 46:26 in the immediate context of the passage. 46:30 You don't have to go to the Old Testament. 46:32 They're explained in the immediate context. 46:36 I have one example here. 46:38 Revelation 17 verse 1. 46:41 It says that the harlot is sitting on many waters. 46:45 Is that explained in the context? 46:48 Yes, you go to verse 15, and verse 15 says 46:52 the waters upon which the woman sits are multitudes 46:56 nations, tongues, and peoples. 47:00 So the context itself provides the explanation of what 47:03 the symbol means. 47:05 And incidentally, we usually use, when we talk about waters, 47:08 we always use Revelation chapter 17 and verse 15. 47:12 However, there are other passages which are even 47:15 more powerful than just saying that waters represent 47:19 multitudes, nations, tongues, and peoples. 47:21 Actually, when you read other passages, the waters represent 47:25 multitudes, nations, tongues, and peoples 47:28 of individuals who are hostile to God's people. 47:33 They're not just simply waters. 47:34 Because the harlot sits on the waters, 47:36 she governs the waters, she manipulates the waters. 47:39 And the waters want to slay and drown God's people. 47:42 I want to take you, just to give you an example, 47:44 of another text that speaks about the waters. 47:46 Go with me to Isaiah 17, Isaiah 17 verses 12 and 13. 47:52 Isaiah 17 verses 12 and 13. 47:54 Notice the comparison here. 47:56 The waters in Revelation 17 are not simply lots of people. 48:01 No, they are people that are hostile to God's people. 48:04 They're enemies of God's people because they're instigated 48:06 by the harlot to persecute God's people. 48:09 It says there in Isaiah 17 verse 12, 48:11 "Woe to the multitude of many people, who make a noise 48:16 like the roar of the seas, and to the rushing of nations 48:22 that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters." 48:27 Are you understanding the symbolism here? 48:29 It's saying that nations rush like many waters. 48:33 Verse 13, "The nations will rush like the rushing 48:38 of many waters; but God will rebuke them 48:42 and they will flee away..." 48:43 In other words, they're going to be dried up. 48:45 "...and be chased like the chaff of the mountains 48:48 before the wind, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind." 48:53 So what is God going to do? 48:54 He's going to dry up the waters. 48:56 These raging waters. 48:58 Because they thunder, it says in Isaiah chapter 17. 49:02 Let's go to one other example on waters 49:04 in Isaiah chapter 8. 49:07 Isaiah chapter 8 verses 7 and 8. 49:09 Isaiah 8:7-8 49:13 This is speaking about the invasion of Sennacherib 49:16 into the land of Judah. 49:18 And of course, he ends up surrounding Jerusalem. 49:21 And it looks like Jerusalem is going to fall. 49:23 And, you know, they pray inside. 49:26 And the king, you know, he declares an emergency 49:29 and they plead to God. 49:31 And that's when the angel comes and kills 185,000 49:34 soldiers in one night outside the city. 49:38 But notice how the invasion is described. 49:40 Verse 7, "Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them 49:45 the waters of the River..." 49:48 That is, over God's people; the waters of the River. 49:51 Incidentally, do you notice, at least in the New King James, 49:54 the word, "River," is capitalized? 49:57 Do you know why it's capitalized? 49:59 Because this is a particular river. 50:01 This is the river Euphrates. 50:07 And of course, Assyria was in the region 50:10 very close to Babylon. 50:12 So the waters are flooding. 50:14 They're coming from Assyria, from Babylon, 50:16 into Judah to flood God's people and destroy God's people. 50:19 Sennacherib says, "What God is going to deliver you?" 50:22 And so they're pleading inside. 50:25 And so God answered by saying, "I will." 50:28 So it says, "Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up 50:31 over them the waters of the River, strong and mighty." 50:34 What are the waters? 50:37 Let's notice. 50:38 "The king of Assyria and all his glory; 50:41 he will go up over all his channels 50:44 and go over all his banks." 50:48 So what is the king and what are his armies? 50:52 A river. 50:54 And what is the river doing? 50:57 It's flooding. 50:58 It's going over its banks. 51:00 Verse 8, "He will pass through Judah, 51:03 he will overflow and pass over, he will reach up to the neck." 51:10 Let me ask you, when the water comes up to your neck, 51:14 it doesn't have much other place to go, does it. 51:19 I mean, this is a crisis. 51:22 And then I want you to notice the symbolism here. 51:24 When the river floods, it sprouts wings. 51:30 See, that's the dragon of Revelation 17. 51:32 The dragon is the river. 51:34 The armies are the body of the dragon. 51:39 And of course, the water's come from the mountains, 51:42 or the heads. 51:44 This is exotic symbolism. 51:47 That unless you go to the way it was understood back there, 51:50 there's no way you can make sense out of Revelation 17. 51:53 It's impossible. 51:54 Without understanding this symbolism from back there. 51:57 Because for us, these are dead symbols. 52:00 They make no sense. 52:03 So it says, "He will pass through Judah, 52:06 He will overflow and pass over, He will reach up to the neck; 52:11 and the stretching out of his wings will fill the 52:15 breadth of Your land, O Immanuel." 52:20 So, we must go to the Old Testament for some of 52:26 the symbols, the meaning. 52:29 Some of the symbols are interpreted 52:32 in the immediate context. 52:35 And there's another important point 52:36 that I want to share with you, particularly having to do 52:40 with the book of Revelation. 52:42 And that is our next point. 52:44 There are concepts and stories in the Old Testament 52:48 that saturate the book of Revelation. 52:50 There are four stories that we have to know 52:51 backwards and forwards. 52:53 You have to go back to the Old Testament 52:55 and you have to study in their entirety these stories. 53:00 Because Revelation is saturated with these four stories. 53:04 Let's notice what they are. 53:05 Number one, the Hebrew Sanctuary. 53:08 You cannot understand Daniel or Revelation 53:11 unless you fully understand the Sanctuary service. 53:14 It's indispensable. 53:15 And that's going to be our next principle 53:17 that we're going to take a look at. 53:19 Number two, the story of Elijah. 53:22 The book of Revelation is saturated with Elijah symbolism. 53:27 So you have to know the entire story in the Old Testament. 53:32 Number three, the exodus of Israel from Egypt. 53:36 Revelation, in many places, is saturated with symbolism that 53:42 comes from the exodus story. 53:45 And number four, the release of Israel from 53:48 Babylonian captivity. 53:50 Particularly when you discuss the sixth plague. 53:54 And we're going to cover this a little bit 53:55 later on in this course. 53:57 When you deal with the sixth plague, the drying up of the 54:00 river Euphrates, you have to go back to the fall of Babylon 54:04 in Daniel chapter 5. 54:05 Because that's where it comes from. 54:07 And so these four stories, you have to go back 54:10 to the Old Testament and you have to saturate yourself 54:13 with the details of these stories because they are 54:16 symbolic of larger realities in the future. 54:20 For example, in the Old Testament, the literal 54:24 city of Babylon was literally sitting on the river Euphrates, 54:28 on a literal river. 54:32 In the end time, the river and Babylon are symbolic. 54:40 Babylon is a global system. 54:43 And if it's global and it sits on the Euphrates, 54:46 the Euphrates must also be global. 54:50 Are you understanding the principle? 54:52 But you cannot understand the drying up of the Euphrates 54:55 in Revelation unless you understand the drying up 54:58 of the Euphrates in the historical context 55:00 in which it appears. 55:03 So in order to understand symbols, 55:05 we have to go to the source. 55:06 And folks, let me say this, when I say, "Go to the source," 55:10 don't only go to the verse where that symbol is referred to. 55:15 Because sometimes in Revelation, it will only give you a hint. 55:20 It'll give you, like, one word. 55:23 And it would be a mistake just to study that one word 55:26 in the Old Testament. 55:27 What Revelation is saying is... 55:30 For example, it mentions Balaam. 55:31 It says, "Go study the whole story. 55:36 Because the whole story of Balaam is symbolic 55:40 of this stage." 55:42 Jezebel. 55:45 Well when you find Jezebel, what do you have to do? 55:48 Just study Jezebel? 55:50 No, because Jezebel had individuals 55:54 who were linked with her. 55:55 The king, the false prophets of Baal. 55:59 You have to include Elijah too. 56:00 Because Jezebel can't appear by herself. 56:02 Whenever she appears, she appears in company. 56:06 And so Revelation will say, "Jezebel." 56:08 So don't just study Jezebel. 56:10 You say, "Now that's just a hint that I'm suppose to 56:12 study the entire story." 56:13 Because the entire story is typological. 56:16 Are you with me? 56:17 So you have to study the entire story in the Old Testament, 56:21 not just the word that is used in Revelation. 56:23 I mean, if Revelation took the time to tell all the stories, 56:26 we would have an encyclopedia. 56:29 We wouldn't have a 22 chapter book. 56:31 And so what the writer does, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is 56:36 give us a hint and say, "Hey, look, here is Balaam. 56:40 Now go study the whole story." 56:41 And then you'll know why this symbol was used in Revelation. 56:46 So far so good? 56:48 Now, let's deal with our final point. 56:51 We have 58 seconds, let me introduce it. 56:59 I can introduce it in 49 seconds. 57:04 It must be kept in mind that symbols are liquid. 57:07 Does liquid take different shapes? 57:10 Depending on the context in which it appears? 57:12 Of course. 57:13 That is, they take on a different form 57:16 depending on the context in which they are found. 57:20 Like liquid changes its shape depending on the container 57:23 it's found in, so symbols do not always have the same meaning. 57:26 They can mean different things in different context. 57:30 And so in our next session, we are going to take a look at 57:34 some examples of the fluidity of a symbol. 57:37 This is a mistake that many people make, 57:39 is they think that a symbol means the same thing everywhere. 57:42 And so they misinterpret passages from Scripture. 57:46 So that will be our next point of study. |
Revised 2015-06-30