Focus on God's Word

Why Are There So Many Denominations?

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Geoff Youlden

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Series Code: FGW

Program Code: FGW000010


00:27 A friend of mine some years ago was conducting
00:31 some meetings just like we've been conducting here.
00:34 And after the lecture a man came down to the front
00:37 and he said: "Excuse me, Mr. Preacher, " he said
00:39 "I have a question. Would you be able to answer it for me? "
00:43 And my friend said that he'd be happy to answer it
00:46 if he could. And the man said: "Look,
00:48 what do you think is the most popular church in town? "
00:54 My friend thought for a moment and named a certain church
00:57 that he thought had the largest number of people going to it.
01:00 And the man said: "Well thank you very much. "
01:02 And he was just about to walk away when my friend said:
01:05 "Now listen. Just before you go, " he said, "you've asked me
01:08 a question. I'd like to ask you a question. "
01:12 And the man said: "Well I'll... happy...
01:16 You ask your question. "
01:18 And my friend said: "Why did you ask me that question? "
01:21 "Oh, " the man said, "that's easy... " he said
01:23 "I've just moved into town here recently
01:26 and I'm planning to open up a business. "
01:29 And he said: "I think it would be good for my business
01:32 if I belong to the most popular church. "
01:36 Now there are all sorts of reasons that people have
01:39 for belonging to a particular church.
01:42 Some people belong to a church because they were born into it.
01:45 Now I guess in most cases we are what we are
01:49 because our parents bequeathed that to us, is that right?
01:53 Generally speaking that is the way most people are.
01:56 Other people join a church because it happens to be
02:00 the closest to where they live.
02:01 Others join a church... they like the preacher
02:04 or they like the music. There are all sorts of reasons
02:07 that people have for joining a particular church.
02:09 I believe that none of those reasons are very substantial
02:13 reasons. The only reason that we ought to belong to a church
02:17 is because we're convinced that that church
02:20 teaches the truth...
02:22 and that truth has got to come from the Bible.
02:25 Well people say: "Don't all churches believe in the Bible? "
02:28 Yes they do, I guess.
02:31 At least most do anyway.
02:33 They believe the Bible, but there's still a tremendous
02:37 division within Christianity.
02:39 I would think that in this area alone there would be
02:42 hundreds of different denominations.
02:48 So amongst the maze and all the conglomerate
02:52 that there is today how do we work out truth?
02:55 That's our subject tonight.
02:56 Come over to John 17 and verse 17.
02:59 And Jesus made this statement. You'll notice it's in red
03:02 so the words of Jesus. This is actually the great high priestly
03:05 prayer of Jesus. And He said in the midst of this prayer:
03:15 Now obviously the true church would have to be upholding
03:19 the truth. Couldn't be the true church unless it was upholding
03:24 the truth, could it?
03:27 And that truth obviously will be found in the Bible.
03:31 Now tonight when we discuss the subject of why there's so
03:34 many churches, the first thing that we need to discuss
03:37 is "which was the first church? "
03:39 Because if we can find out which was the first church
03:42 that will give us a major clue as to what God had in mind
03:47 when He established the churches.
03:49 Well people say to me: "If you're going to talk about
03:50 the first church that's got to be the Catholic church. "
03:53 Well I'm surprised at the number of even Protestants
03:56 who believe that, but that's not true.
03:58 I'm going to show you the first church existed
04:01 hundreds and hundreds of years before there was a city of Rome
04:05 let alone a church of Rome.
04:06 So come back - or over - to the book of Acts the 7th chapter -
04:10 which is the next book. Chapter 7 of Acts and verse 38.
04:14 And here we read about the first congregation or
04:17 the first church.
04:18 And the word congregation or church is exactly the same
04:22 original Greek word. And verse 38 says:
04:44 Now what church was that?
04:46 What congregation was that
04:48 that God established back there on Mt. Sinai
04:52 that God gave the living oracles to?
04:56 What church was that? What denomination?
04:58 What is the name of that church?
05:01 Yes... the Israelites, the Jewish church.
05:04 Call it what you like but that's all true.
05:06 So the very first church that God established
05:09 was the church of Israel right back there in the beginning.
05:13 And when it says here: "He gave them the living oracles
05:17 to give to us, "
05:19 what's the living oracles that he's referring to there?
05:21 Yes, the Ten Commandments.
05:25 So you see, God gave the Ten Commandments to
05:27 the church of Israel. And as it says, they in turn
05:31 were to give them unto us.
05:34 Now when it says "us" here in the book of Acts
05:36 who's that?
05:39 Yes, that's the Christians in the New Testament.
05:43 So you see, the New Testament knows nothing about the
05:47 Ten Commandments being done away with at the cross.
05:50 Because the Bible says that God gave that original church -
05:53 the first church - the living oracles or the Ten Commandments.
05:57 They were to keep them.
06:00 They were to look after them.
06:01 They were to preserve them so that in turn
06:04 they would be able to bequeath them
06:07 and to give them to us in the New Testament.
06:11 That was one of their purposes.
06:13 And you think about it as you cast your mind back over
06:18 that original church how God wonderfully loved that church.
06:21 He gave Himself for her.
06:22 He organized the church; He fed them with manna
06:25 day after day. He kept them warm by night with a pillar of fire
06:29 because you know it's very cold in the desert, particularly
06:32 in the winter. And during the day He protected them from
06:35 the searing sun by a pillar of cloud.
06:39 And He wonderfully blessed that church
06:42 down through the years.
06:44 But the trouble was with that church
06:47 that while God gave them the Ten Commandments
06:50 notice what they didn't do to it.
06:52 Have a look at verse 53.
06:56 Verse 53... it says:
07:07 Now that was the tragedy with the church of Israel.
07:09 So you see, God established or gave the Ten Commandments
07:13 to the church of Israel. And you can see that there
07:16 on our diagram. That was one of the foundations
07:20 of that original church... that first church...
07:24 were the commandments of God.
07:25 But the tragedy is they didn't keep it.
07:30 But God gave that church something else.
07:33 Come over to I Corinthians in the New Testament.
07:35 I Corinthians chapter 10.
07:39 I Corinthians chapter 10 and notice here verse 1.
07:43 Maybe we just cast our eye over the context here
07:49 in I Corinthians 10. It's talking about
07:51 the children of Israel... this church
07:53 that we've been referring to.
07:55 Talks about how they all passed through the sea and all were
07:58 baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
08:01 "All ate the same spiritual food. " Now notice verse 4:
08:18 So who was the Rock that that original church
08:22 was established on? It was Jesus Christ.
08:25 No question about that. Jesus is the Rock
08:30 upon which the church was built.
08:33 So not only did God establish the original church
08:37 with the Ten Commandments but the Rock -
08:40 that is, the foundation of that church -
08:43 was none other than Jesus Himself.
08:47 He was the Rock.
08:49 And so that original church had two great themes...
08:54 themes that run all through the Bible:
08:58 the Rock - Christ Jesus - and the commandments of God.
09:02 The faith of Jesus and the commandments of God.
09:06 And how God blessed that church.
09:09 But the trouble was with that church that God established:
09:13 they not only didn't keep the Ten Commandments
09:16 when Jesus came along what did they do to Him?
09:18 They crucified Him.
09:20 So that church that was once the custodian of the truth of God
09:25 was established by God as the original first church
09:29 that He blessed and cared for.
09:32 The apple of His eye finally goes into apostasy
09:36 because they reject the command- ments and they rejected Jesus.
09:40 And that's the pattern because when people reject
09:43 the commandments the next step is they reject Jesus.
09:47 And that's the sad history of the experience of the church
09:50 of Israel. And so when Jesus came along
09:54 He established another church.
09:57 Remember tonight we're talking about why there are so many
10:01 churches. So far we've got one church that now falls away
10:05 into apostasy. So when Jesus came onto the earth
10:08 He established a second church.
10:11 What was that church called?
10:13 Yeah, the Christian church.
10:16 Now the Christian church was established on exactly the same
10:19 platform as the church of Israel.
10:22 Because you see truth never changes.
10:24 As the Bible says: "Jesus is the same yesterday,
10:28 today, and forever. " Never changes!
10:30 And so we can expect that when Jesus established the Christian
10:33 church it was built on the same foundation
10:37 as the original church.
10:39 Now nobody doubts that the Christian church
10:41 was founded upon Jesus.
10:43 I don't think I'd have to convince anybody about that.
10:47 But sometimes there are some Christians who doubt
10:50 whether the commandments of God
10:52 were part of the Christian church. But they were!
10:56 Let me read it to you. Come back to Matthew chapter 15.
10:59 Matthew the 15th chapter and we'll notice here
11:03 verses 1 and 2. The religious leaders, you see,
11:06 came to Jesus... the scribes and the Pharisees.
11:09 And they challenged Jesus as they often did over
11:14 religious matters. And here in verse 2
11:17 they asked Jesus a question.
11:30 Now as we mentioned the other night, this washing of the hands
11:34 had nothing whatever to do with hygiene.
11:37 We're not talking about a hygiene rule here.
11:39 But they used to rub their hands together with water between
11:42 and everything they touched then
11:44 they said was ceremonially clean.
11:47 Now when Jesus came along He didn't rub His hands together
11:50 nor did the disciples and so they were immediately
11:53 in conflict with the religious leaders who said to them:
11:57 "Why aren't You following the traditions of the church?
12:00 The traditions that have been going on for hundreds of years.
12:03 The traditions that mother and father taught us
12:05 and their parents taught them and their parents taught them.
12:08 Those traditions that have been going on for years.
12:10 Why don't Your disciples and You Yourself follow those things? "
12:14 It's interesting what Jesus said in reply. Verse 3:
12:27 Can you see how the devil had deceived these people?
12:30 That the more earnest they were in following what the church
12:34 said - that is, following the traditions that the church
12:37 taught - in actual fact what were they doing
12:40 to the commandments?
12:43 Breaking them.
12:45 So the more they adhered to what the church said
12:49 the more they were breaking one of God's Ten Commandments.
12:53 And in this case it was commandment #5.
12:56 Can you see how the devil had got them?
12:57 And finally Jesus summed it up in verse 9 when He said:
13:09 And I don't care what church it's in
13:11 any church that teaches human teachings
13:15 that cause the members of that church to break any one
13:20 of God's Ten Commandments that church is vain or useless.
13:25 I don't care what denomination it is.
13:27 I don't care how earnest and sincere the members
13:31 and the leaders of the churches are
13:33 if they are teaching their members to break any one
13:36 of God's Ten Commandments Jesus condemns it by saying
13:39 that church - that teaching - is vain or useless.
13:45 Because that was the issue back in Jesus' day.
13:47 And I want to say this: that the issue that we are facing
13:50 in the Christian church today is exactly the same
13:53 as the issue 2,000 years ago.
13:54 Human nature doesn't change much over the years.
13:58 Hardly changes one iota.
14:02 And Jesus met the issue of the commandments vs. tradition
14:07 head on... and we need to do the same today
14:10 because it's exactly the same problem.
14:12 You know, everywhere I go I find people tell me that
14:16 the Christian church was established upon the rock
14:18 Saint Peter. You ever heard of that? Yes.
14:22 "Upon this rock I will build My church" they say.
14:25 I guess that's the only text some of them know.
14:27 "Upon this rock I will build My church
14:29 and the gates of hell will never prevail against it. "
14:31 Well listen friends: Jesus wasn't saying that Peter
14:33 was the rock. They misunderstand what Jesus was saying there
14:38 and they misunderstand the play on words that Jesus
14:42 is involved with. Because, you see, in the original
14:45 language Peter's name means "a little pebble. "
14:48 It comes from the Greek word petros.
14:53 That's where we get our English word Peter from.
14:56 And the Greek language like many languages
14:59 the ending of the word affects the meaning of the word.
15:03 You have a base part of the word and then you put
15:05 the ending. It might be nominative, objective,
15:08 ablative, or accusative and so forth.
15:10 Feminine; masculine. And that changes the meaning of the word.
15:15 And that's exactly what happened here. Jesus was saying
15:17 "Thou art petros... " Masculine, which means a little pebble.
15:22 "You're a little pebble" Jesus is saying.
15:25 But He said: "Upon this petra I will build My church. "
15:29 He was talking about Himself.
15:31 Because petra... that's the feminine ending of the word...
15:35 means a huge rock like the Rock of Gibraltar.
15:39 That would be a petra not a petros.
15:42 And Jesus was simply saying to Peter:
15:44 "Thou art petros but upon this petra I will build My church. "
15:49 I mean, if Jesus was saying to Peter that He was building
15:52 the church upon Peter He would have said:
15:54 "Thou art Peter and upon you I will build the church. "
15:56 But He didn't say that at all!
15:58 It was Himself. How strange it would be
16:01 that in the Old Testament we find that Jesus is the Rock
16:04 but when we get over to the New Testament we find
16:07 that Saint Peter is the rock.
16:08 Doesn't make sense.
16:10 And I don't want to belong to a church that's built upon
16:12 a mere man no matter how good the man was.
16:16 I want to belong to a church that has its foundation
16:19 in Jesus, and I'm sure you do too.
16:21 And whether it's Old or New Testament
16:24 Jesus is the Rock upon which the church is built.
16:28 And thank God for that!
16:30 And so we are talking tonight about why are there so many
16:35 different churches. And so far now we've got two churches.
16:38 We've got the original church of Israel and now we have
16:40 the second church... the Christian church.
16:42 You know, I meet people who come along to me and they say
16:44 "Geoff, the trouble... Look, I could never leave
16:48 the church that mother and father brought me up in
16:51 to join a new denomination. "
16:53 I have people say that to me from time to time.
16:56 I like to remind them that every person
17:00 that joined the Christian church
17:03 left the denomination that mother and father
17:05 brought them up in. Is that true?
17:08 You think about it. What church was the blessed virgin Mary
17:11 brought up in? It wasn't the Christian church was it?
17:16 What church was she brought up in?
17:18 The Jewish church. Saint Paul, Saint Peter,
17:21 every one of the apostles
17:23 were all brought up in the Jewish church.
17:25 And when Jesus came along with added light
17:29 and further truth, in order for them to stay in the truth
17:33 they had to leave the denomination that mother
17:35 and father brought them up in -
17:36 the traditions that they had known for all their lives -
17:39 they had to leave that church and join the new church
17:42 that Jesus was establishing called the Christian church.
17:45 Isn't that true?
17:46 Every one. So there's nothing wrong with
17:50 changing your denomination as long as you are
17:53 changing with truth.
17:54 In fact, God expects us to change our denomination
17:58 when the denomination that we may have been brought up in
18:02 no longer teaches the full truth.
18:04 God expects it... just like He expected those Jews
18:08 to join the Christian church.
18:11 You know, there's a song that most of us know:
18:14 "Give Me That Old Time Religion. "
18:15 It was good enough for father and good enough for mother
18:19 and it's good enough for me.
18:20 I want to tell you there's not too much truth in that at all.
18:23 Because what was good enough for father and mother
18:27 is not necessarily what's good enough for us today.
18:31 We don't believe that in any other area.
18:33 We don't believe that in driving a horse to the meeting tonight,
18:37 did we? Nobody came in a horse... on the back of a horse.
18:41 Now parents, our grandparents and so forth... they did.
18:46 We have refrigerators. Our grandparents and so forth,
18:49 our relatives, they didn't have a refrigerator.
18:52 We have a computer in our homes... they didn't!
18:55 We have a motorcar and so forth.
18:58 We don't believe what was good enough for father and mother
19:01 in any other area was good enough for us.
19:03 And yet when it comes to religion, many people want to
19:06 stay back in the horse-and-buggy days
19:08 and not realize that as we get closer to the coming of Jesus
19:12 truth is going to become more and more clear and evident.
19:17 And God has special truth for these last days.
19:22 Now I wish that I could say to you tonight
19:25 that now the Christian church was established everybody lived
19:28 happily ever after.
19:30 But I wouldn't be telling you the truth
19:32 if I led you to believe that because unfortunately
19:35 something tragic was going to happen in the Christian church.
19:38 Let's come over to the book of Acts now
19:39 and we'll notice in Acts chapter 20.
19:41 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and Acts 20 and verse 28.
19:46 Acts 20 verse 28.
19:48 And Paul here is talking to the leaders of the church at Ephesus
19:51 and he says this:
20:20 So Paul was saying that the apostles would hardly be cold
20:24 in the grave when these savage wolves were going to arise.
20:28 And where were they going to arise?
20:30 Outside or inside the church?
20:32 Inside the church.
20:35 And let me remind you that the greatest attacks that have ever
20:37 been made against Christianity and the church have always
20:40 been made from within the church not so much from without.
20:44 We have infinitely more to fear from within than we do
20:47 from without. That's been the history of the Christian church.
20:51 And Paul here was warning the leaders at Ephesus.
20:53 He said: "Look out for those savage wolves
20:56 who are going to draw away disciples after themselves. "
20:59 So we can expect on the basis of that verse
21:02 that error was going to creep into the Christian church
21:06 very very early. Is that right?
21:09 That's what Paul was saying.
21:10 And so we're not surprised when we get over to II Thessalonians
21:14 a little further toward the back of the New Testament
21:17 that Paul now explains what this apostasy
21:21 was going to look like and how this apostasy was
21:24 going to get into the church and what the teachings
21:27 of this apostasy were going to deal with.
21:31 Have a look at this in II Thessalonians chapter 2
21:34 and verse 1.
21:53 Let me just pause there for a moment.
21:55 What Paul was saying: that there were unscrupulous
21:59 members in the Thessalonian church who were teaching
22:02 that Jesus was going to come back in the first century.
22:04 And to give their teaching credence, what they were doing
22:07 is that they were sending out letters to all the members
22:10 of the church teaching this error that Christ was going to
22:14 come back in the first century.
22:15 And in order to give their teaching credence they actually
22:18 forged Paul's signature on the bottom of the letter.
22:23 What lengths people will go to to deceive people.
22:27 And Paul says: "Even if you get a letter as from us
22:31 as though the day of Christ has come, don't believe it. "
22:33 Why not? Verse 3:
22:51 So the Bible is now saying
22:54 that this falling away was going to come in the Christian church.
22:57 Now it's interesting... In the Greek language
22:59 the word that's translated here "falling away"
23:02 is the word apostates.
23:06 What English word do we get from apostates?
23:09 Apostasy! In other words, there was going to be a huge
23:13 landslide away from the truth.
23:15 An apostasy... a falling away from the Christian church
23:19 from the truths that Jesus and the apostles gave.
23:23 Notice verse 4.
23:25 And it talks about the man who was going to lead out in this
23:28 apostasy.
23:41 So a man was going to come in the Christian church.
23:44 People were going to worship him and bow down to him
23:47 and he was going to claim to be God on earth.
23:52 Now I want to tell you, friends, when people
23:54 believe that you're God on earth
23:56 do you think that that person would have power
23:59 over individuals? Absolutely!
24:03 And the church had unprecedented power because at the head
24:09 of this church was going to be a man that people worshiped.
24:12 And he was going to claim to be God...
24:15 God's representative on this earth.
24:17 And Paul goes on to say in verse 5:
24:20 "Do you not remember that when I was still with you
24:22 I told you these things? "
24:24 In other words, he's giving them a little bit of a reminder.
24:26 "Look... I've been over all of this.
24:28 Have you so soon forgotten? "
24:30 Then he says in verse 7:
24:38 So what was going to be the primary teaching of this man
24:41 of sin?
24:44 But what error? Error... that's correct, but
24:46 what error? Lawlessness.
24:50 Now we all understand when a person is a lawless individual
24:55 they have no regard for the law.
24:57 That was going to be the major teaching of the apostasy
25:01 that began very early that they would be opposed
25:04 to the law of God. Lawlessness.
25:06 And it began very early.
25:09 Right back in Paul's day... that's when it began.
25:13 Verse 8:
25:23 So how long was this lawless teaching going to be
25:26 allowed to exist into the world?
25:28 If it began in Paul's day
25:30 how long was it going to last through till?
25:32 Yes, until Jesus comes when Christ destroys him
25:37 with the brightness of His coming.
25:39 Obviously then, we are not talking about
25:41 one individual that's the antichrist.
25:45 It's a system... a religious Christian system...
25:49 that started early in the days of the apostle Paul
25:52 and continues right through until Jesus comes.
25:55 In other words, we are experiencing that apostasy
25:58 in the world right now. Is that true?
26:01 Rampant! And the teaching is lawlessness.
26:06 They'll be opposed to the commandments of God.
26:08 That will be the identifying mark of the apostasy.
26:12 That's what the Bible says... that's not what I'm saying.
26:15 That's what the Bible says.
26:17 God forewarned us, and He said... verse 9:
26:27 In other words, they are going to use signs.
26:32 Satan is going to deceive people into thinking that this is right
26:36 because miracles are going to be associated with this apostasy.
26:41 You see, what... A wonder,
26:43 whenever the Bible talks about a wonder that means
26:46 something that science does not have any explanation for.
26:50 But the Bible says it is a "lying wonder. "
26:54 That is, it's a deception. Get the thought?
26:56 It's something that you can't explain.
26:59 But it's a lie... it's a deception!
27:03 And the devil is going to use that as his trump card
27:08 into... misleading people into thinking that it is the truth
27:12 because it's associated with so-called miracles.
27:16 Human beings are very, very impressed
27:19 with so-called miracles.
27:23 Very impressed. And the devil knows that,
27:26 and that's going to be his trump card of deceiving people
27:30 into disobeying the commandments of God.
27:36 Verse 10 says:
27:44 You see, friends, you and I must love truth
27:47 if we're going to be saved.
27:49 You know, I meet people who want to put a lot of emphasis
27:52 on the Spirit. And I believe in the Holy Spirit.
27:54 Let me tell you: I believe very decidedly in the Holy Spirit.
27:57 We can never preach too much about the Holy Spirit.
28:01 But at the same time, we've got to have the other balance.
28:04 And that is: the truth.
28:06 We row the boat with two oars.
28:09 One is the Spirit of God and the other is the truth of God.
28:12 The two things must go together
28:14 because if you row a boat with only one oar
28:17 you finish up in a spin.
28:19 That's the trouble with many Christians today:
28:22 they're in a spin.
28:23 But God wants us to balance it out
28:26 and we must love truth.
28:27 And if you and I don't love truth,
28:29 then we'll be deceived let me tell you.
28:32 We've got to search out from the Bible what is the truth
28:36 on this particular subject.
28:39 And when we find that truth we must hang onto it.
28:44 The Bible talks about this "man of sin. "
28:46 As you can see there on the diagram
28:49 this apostasy was going to be led by a "man of sin...
28:52 the son of perdition. "
28:54 The Bible only uses that expression one other time
28:56 in the Bible to describe Judas Iscariot:
28:59 "the son of perdition. "
29:00 The man who stood for Christ
29:04 on the outside but betrayed Him underneath.
29:07 And so the church here is called the same: it's a Judas.
29:10 Outwardly it shows all the trappings of Christianity
29:15 but inside it has betrayed the very teaching of Jesus
29:19 like Judas did. That's why the Bible refers to it
29:22 as "the son of perdition. "
29:24 In other words, as the apostasy took place
29:28 and this man of sin now is revealed
29:30 the church would be about as far away from truth
29:34 as midnight is from mid-day.
29:36 Because God established the church with the 10 Commandments.
29:39 Now the man of sin the Bible says was going to lead
29:42 the church into lawlessness:
29:44 the very opposite to how God established the church.
29:48 And it was during this period that tradition
29:52 was... became central to the teaching of the church.
29:58 And one by one, errors started to creep into the church.
30:02 Then we find images crept into the church.
30:06 You'll never read about that in the Bible.
30:08 And by the way, it was when they brought images into the
30:11 church that led Muhammad to establish the Muslim religion.
30:16 Because the Muslim religion is very much opposed
30:19 to having images.
30:20 Look at their mosques... they don't have any images.
30:22 They have just lines and squares and so forth.
30:26 And it was over this issue of images...
30:29 And if we hadn't had images in the church we probably
30:32 would never have a Muslim in the world today.
30:36 That's why the Bible says in the book of Daniel
30:39 that this power is the abomination that maketh
30:41 desolate. Every conceivable error that's in the world today
30:45 comes right back to that apostate power
30:48 that we're talking about.
30:49 Then not only did they bring images, they brought penance
30:52 into the church. That's the idea that you've got to do something
30:55 in order to be able to get right with God.
30:59 Then after penance they had confession to a priest.
31:02 Because the Bible teaches we have confession only to Jesus.
31:06 This power said: "No, you've got to go through a human agency -
31:09 a priest - to find forgiveness. "
31:13 He's got to be a mediator.
31:15 Then they brought in Sunday into the church.
31:19 Once again, you'll never read that in the Bible
31:21 from cover to cover.
31:23 As we have noticed, not a single text anywhere in the Bible
31:26 on Sunday but this power brought it into the church.
31:29 This is when they brought baby baptism, and we'll talk
31:32 about that in our next program.
31:34 Baby baptism into the church.
31:35 They brought the immortality of the soul.
31:38 That is... when you die you don't die,
31:40 you go on living in another sphere.
31:44 And every false religion in the world teaches the immortal soul:
31:49 that you don't die when you die...
31:51 you go on living in another sphere.
31:53 That then brought them to teach eternal torment
31:56 because you've got to have somewhere for the wicked to go.
32:00 Then they brought in the idea of Mary-ology.
32:04 And today we are seeing the worship of the virgin Mary
32:08 take on huge proportions.
32:12 And any... my dear friends who have been brought up in the
32:16 church know that in the rosary there are vastly more prayers
32:20 said to Mary than there are ever to God.
32:24 Anyone that's been brought up knows with the rosary there are
32:26 ten "hail Marys" to one "our Father. "
32:30 Ten times more prayers said to Mary than to God.
32:34 And she has taken on huge proportions in the thinking
32:40 of these people. But that's never taught in the Bible.
32:42 You'll never read that in the Bible anywhere!
32:45 Mary's hardly mentioned.
32:47 After the death of Jesus you don't find her mentioned.
32:51 She's important... she's a wonderful woman,
32:55 but the Bible never elevates her like the church has.
32:58 And all these things crept into the church,
33:01 and it brings us down to a period in time
33:03 when there was a young monk who was very dissatisfied with
33:06 his experience because continually he never found
33:09 peace in his heart. He tried to find peace
33:12 but he couldn't find peace. He went to his superiors
33:14 and they said: "Martin, what you need to do is to have more
33:17 penance. " So what he did is he put stones in his shoes
33:21 and walked around with those stones.
33:23 And you know what that would feel like.
33:25 He would sleep on cold stone
33:28 rather than to be comfortable at night
33:30 believing that the more you made the body uncomfortable
33:34 the more righteous you were becoming with God.
33:37 That's the basis of penance.
33:39 The trouble is he never found peace with God that way.
33:42 Until one day he went into a monastery.
33:45 He opened up a copy of the Bible.
33:49 He had not read the Bible like this before,
33:51 and he opened it up. And you've got to understand
33:54 that back in those days most of the Bibles that they had
33:57 up unto that stage were all written out by hand
33:59 because printing had only just been invented a few years before
34:04 by a man by the name of Guttenberg
34:06 and Caxton in England... William Caxton.
34:09 Now it's interesting that the Bible was the first book
34:11 that was ever printed.
34:13 And all the Bibles up unto that stage had been written out
34:16 by hand. Now you can imagine if the Bible that we have in our
34:19 hands tonight was written out by hand
34:21 can you imagine how much it would cost
34:22 at today's rate per hour?
34:25 So nobody would have been able to afford a Bible today either
34:28 or very few would.
34:30 They couldn't afford it back in those days either.
34:33 And the only Bibles were a few that were chained in the
34:36 monasteries. And so he opened this Bible up for the first...
34:39 this book, and his eyes lighted on a verse of scripture
34:44 that he had never read before. And this what he read:
34:46 "The just shall live by faith. "
34:52 And suddenly it dawned on his mind
34:55 and I believe the Holy Spirit impressed young Martin
34:58 that we don't get righteous by what we do
35:01 but salvation is something which is given to us
35:04 as a gift from God.
35:06 And it tell you: as soon as Martin Luther understood that
35:10 the Reformation was underway.
35:13 And he began to protest.
35:16 Everywhere he went he protested against what he had been taught
35:20 and what the church was saying.
35:21 And as he traveled through Germany
35:25 people began to listen to him. And as I said, at this time
35:27 the printing press was just beginning to churn out
35:30 the Bibles. And the Bible was now becoming available
35:34 in the language, the vernacular, of the local people.
35:36 And for the first time they began to read the Bible.
35:40 And when Martin Luther pointed out to them that we aren't saved
35:43 by what we do but rather as a gift from God
35:47 the Reformation was underway.
35:49 And people protested everywhere.
35:51 They protested through Germany.
35:53 And what church was established in Germany as Martin Luther
35:57 began to go around and the people protested
35:59 against the church? What church was established in Germany?
36:02 The Lutheran church.
36:04 And God wonderfully blessed in the Lutheran church.
36:07 The Lutheran church was established on the Bible
36:10 and the Bible only and the just shall live by faith.
36:14 But I need to read you a verse before we go any further.
36:17 Come back to the book of Acts the third chapter.
36:21 Acts chapter 3 and verse 19.
36:25 And here Peter was preaching on the Day of Pentecost
36:27 and he made this statement.
36:28 Listen: want to read this to you.
36:30 It's a very interesting prophecy.
36:33 Acts 3 and verse 19 where he says:
37:00 You see, Peter's preaching here on the Day of Pentecost
37:03 and he said Jesus must stay in heaven.
37:05 He will not come back to this earth until the times
37:09 of restitution of all things.
37:12 Those things that have been spoken by the mouth of all
37:14 the holy prophets down through the years.
37:17 And so as we think about the second coming
37:20 Jesus cannot come back to this earth
37:22 until the times of restitution takes place.
37:28 And that's why it brings us down to this time of protest.
37:33 And Luther, as he began to walk through Germany
37:36 and preach, the people protested and they became known
37:40 as protestants or Protestants.
37:44 Unfortunately today, most of the protest
37:47 is gone from Protestants.
37:49 And if you take the protest out of Protestants,
37:53 what have you got left?
37:55 Ants. And that's about what they're doing back after row.
37:59 That was not God's intention.
38:01 They were to protest... and they did!
38:03 The same truth went over into England, and what church
38:06 was established over in England?
38:08 The Anglican church.
38:10 And I tell you, if you've been brought up in the Anglican
38:12 church you've got nothing to be ashamed of
38:14 because God established that church.
38:16 Never believe the lie that the Anglican church was...
38:19 was brought about by Henry VIII.
38:22 That's a lie! Henry VIII died a Catholic.
38:25 He was never a Protestant. Never!
38:28 The Anglican church was begun by men like Hugh Latimer,
38:32 Ridley, and Cranmer.
38:34 And as they were being burned at the stake...
38:36 And today you can go to Oxford and see the little cross
38:38 in the street opposite Balliol College
38:40 little brass cross - where those 2 men were burned at the stake.
38:44 And as the flames were licking up around their feet
38:47 Latimer, whose prayers are in the Anglican prayer book,
38:51 turned to Ridley and he said: "Master Ridley, " he said
38:53 "today by God's grace we will light a fire in England
38:57 which will never go out. "
39:00 That's where the Anglican church began:
39:02 with wonderful men like that.
39:04 And if you've been brought up in the Anglican church
39:05 you have nothing to be ashamed of.
39:08 The same truth went up into Scotland
39:10 and the Presbyterian church was established with John Knox.
39:14 Faith that I was brought up in.
39:18 And friends, God wonderfully blessed all of those churches.
39:21 They were established on the Bible and the Bible only
39:24 and the just shall live by faith.
39:25 But the trouble is, God had more light to bring to the world yet.
39:30 So this time He raised up another people
39:32 and they took the name of Baptists.
39:36 Ever heard of the Baptists?
39:37 I'm sure you have. Wonderful people.
39:39 Now the Baptists believe like the Anglicans and the
39:42 Lutherans and the Presbyterians in the Bible and the Bible only
39:44 and the just shall live by faith
39:46 but they went one step further.
39:47 What do you think they emphasized that the others
39:49 didn't emphasize? They had Bible baptism.
39:52 And do you know what the Anglicans said
39:53 and the Lutherans said and the Presbyterians said?
39:55 "Our fathers didn't teach that; get out! "
39:59 And they literally persecuted the Baptists.
40:02 In fact, the Baptists were so persecuted - particularly
40:05 in England - that they finally had to leave England
40:08 and sail over in the Mayflower. And they became known
40:10 as the pilgrim fathers who established America.
40:14 That's how America was established.
40:16 In fact, Pastor Robinson... I was just over in Plymouth
40:20 just very recently this year.
40:22 And Pastor Robinson, who was their pastor,
40:28 preached his farewell sermon to those people on the boat
40:31 on the Mayflower. And this is part of his sermon.
40:36 this is what he said. You'll see it now on the screen.
41:50 Isn't that a wonderful statement?
41:52 What he's saying is that if Luther was alive today
41:55 he wouldn't be a Lutheran.
41:58 Because light is progressive.
42:01 And as those men stood for what God revealed at the time
42:05 in which they lived they embraced it.
42:07 But if they were living today, God has more light to bring
42:11 to the world. And the closer we get to the coming of Jesus
42:13 the more understanding we're going to have - particularly
42:16 of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.
42:18 And truth is progressive...
42:20 truth is not something which stands still.
42:24 And Pastor Robinson said that.
42:26 He said: "There is much more light yet to be revealed
42:30 out of God's holy Word and I want you to be willing
42:33 to receive that when it comes. "
42:35 Only if people were to follow that good counsel.
42:39 But even the Baptists, wonderful wonderful people as they are,
42:43 still didn't understand every- thing, and God had to raise up
42:46 some more people. This time He raised up two boys,
42:49 two young men, in England.
42:53 They were known as John and Charles Wesley.
42:57 Ever heard about them? Sure.
42:59 And the great Methodist revival took place there in England.
43:04 Some believe that it was the preaching of John Wesley
43:07 that saved England from a revo- lution that convulsed France.
43:11 And there were the hymns of his brother Charles
43:15 that so stirred the Christian world and we still sing them
43:19 today... some of the most wonderful hymns there are.
43:21 You know, John Wesley's father was an itinerant preacher.
43:25 He would only come home once a year.
43:27 Not surprising that Mrs. Wesley had 19, 20 children.
43:31 Only came home once a year.
43:34 And it's interesting
43:38 that he did a wonderful work.
43:41 But Wesley believed like the others in the Bible and the
43:46 Bible only and the just shall live by faith.
43:48 BUT he went further and he began to teach methodical Bible study.
43:53 He taught methodical giving to missions.
43:56 Everything he did was methodical.
43:58 That's why the nicknamed him a "Methodist. "
44:00 Because that name wasn't a good name... that was a nickname.
44:03 "Don't tell me you want to be a Methodist" they said...
44:05 the opponents of Wesley said.
44:08 In fact, the Anglican church put out 323 tracts against
44:11 Wesley in the first six weeks he began to preach.
44:13 Because truth has always been opposed.
44:16 And they would say: "Don't belong to that queer sect
44:18 of the Methodists. "
44:22 But friends, God had truth with John Wesley.
44:27 And John Wesley began to preach and he traveled like his father
44:32 all over and stirred the social soul of England.
44:37 Outstanding individual was John Wesley!
44:40 And any of us have been brought up in the Methodist church
44:43 have nothing to be ashamed of either.
44:45 But even the Methodists didn't understand everything,
44:47 and God had yet more light to bring to the world.
44:50 Can you sense what's happening here?
44:52 As you look at the screen and you can see error coming in
44:55 step by step, can you sense that what God is doing?
44:58 He's restoring truth step by step. Can you see that?
45:02 But there's still more error that God had to weed out.
45:05 This time He raised up people by the name of Adventist.
45:08 Not Seventh-day Adventist... just the name Adventist.
45:11 Because an Adventist is someone who believes in the soon return
45:14 of Jesus. And if you believe in the soon coming of Jesus
45:16 you're an Adventist.
45:18 And this was led by a layman of the Baptist church
45:21 called William Miller.
45:23 And William Miller began to study particularly
45:26 the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation.
45:29 And on the basis of those prophecies
45:32 he was convinced that Jesus was coming.
45:35 And thousands and thousands of people
45:39 everywhere round the world began to accept what Miller
45:43 was teaching. But do you know what the Anglicans said
45:46 and the Baptists and the Methodists
45:48 when William Miller began to preach these prophecies?
45:51 They said: "Our fathers didn't teach that. Get out! "
45:56 And they pushed them out of the church.
45:58 It was never God's intention that we have all these churches.
46:02 God wanted as new truth came to the world
46:05 that everybody would embrace it.
46:07 But the trouble is people drew up a creed around themselves
46:10 and they said: "This is what we believe...
46:12 nothing more, nothing less. "
46:15 And so instead of accepting that further truth
46:18 they withdrew and drew back.
46:21 But you see, the Adventists - wonderful people as they were -
46:25 never understood everything.
46:28 They still had Sunday keeping.
46:30 All of the churches that we have spoken so far
46:32 all still taught Sunday
46:34 and they all believed in the immortality of the soul.
46:38 God had to weed out those last major errors
46:41 out of the church. This time He raised up another people
46:44 and they took the name Seventh-day Adventist.
46:47 Now Seventh-day Adventists believe like the Anglicans
46:49 and the Lutherans and the Presbyterians
46:52 in the Bible and the Bible only
46:54 and the just shall live by faith.
46:55 They believe like the Baptists in baptism by immersion.
46:57 They believe like the Methodists in methodical
47:00 Bible study. They believe like the Adventists in the soon
47:03 coming of Jesus and the study of the prophecies of Daniel
47:06 and Revelation. But they went one step further.
47:10 And what do you think they emphasized that the others
47:13 weren't emphasizing?
47:14 The great teaching of the commandments of God
47:17 and the simple teachings of Jesus.
47:19 And do you know what the Anglicans said and still say?
47:22 "Get out! " The Baptists said then and still say: "Get out! "
47:27 And the Methodists still say: "Get out! "
47:31 Because friends, every church, unfortunately,
47:35 instead of wanting to embrace truth
47:38 they want to stand back where their reformers left them.
47:42 And those reformers - wonderful men as they were -
47:46 never understood all truth for the hour in which they lived.
47:53 I'm not suggesting in any way that they weren't good men,
47:56 that they weren't spiritual men and that they didn't study
47:58 their Bibles. They did!
48:01 But God had special light for the last days.
48:05 And it's God's intention that that message goes out
48:08 to everyone. And as soon as we get back
48:12 you see to the same teachings that the original church
48:16 was established on, it's interesting that a message goes
48:19 to the whole world. Just come over to Revelation chapter 14
48:23 if you wouldn't mind. Revelation chapter 14
48:25 and notice the beginning of these three messages.
48:29 Remember? We were studying about the other seminar.
48:33 Revelation chapter 14 and verse 6.
48:49 You see, God has a message now that's to go to all the world.
48:53 And what is that message to every nation,
48:55 kindred, tongue, and people?
48:56 What is that message?
48:57 How is it summed up in verse 12? Have a look.
49:01 Verse 12:
49:11 Can you see that we are back now
49:14 to exactly the same platform as the original church
49:18 was established on? Namely: the commandments of God
49:21 and the faith of Jesus.
49:22 Truth has done a complete circle now
49:25 because we are back in the last days to where God established
49:28 the church in the first place.
49:30 And that's why He has a message now going to out every nation
49:34 and kindred and tongue and people
49:36 getting people ready for His return.
49:38 Now I want to say this, friends. Seventh-day Adventists
49:41 don't spend any time patting themselves on the back.
49:43 Let me make that very clear... very clear.
49:46 But Seventh-day Adventists, friends, look back on these
49:51 other churches with tremendous respect.
49:54 Because we believe that God led those churches
49:59 in re-discovering truth. Get the thought?
50:02 And what we have today we have built upon the foundation
50:06 that they have laid.
50:09 That's why we are grateful - eternally grateful -
50:13 for what they did.
50:14 But human nature being what human nature is
50:18 instead of continuing to advance with truth
50:21 people have said: "Well I'm satisfied with what I've got.
50:23 Don't tell me any more... I'm not interested. "
50:26 And that's been the tragedy of the Christian church
50:30 and we have so many denominations.
50:32 Well people say to me: "Geoff, that's not all the churches.
50:34 You said where all the churches are coming from. "
50:36 Listen: I have given you the main drift of the churches.
50:39 Now there are others. For example, out of the Baptist
50:43 church you have the Church of Christ,
50:45 you've got many other divisions that believe similarly.
50:47 Out of the Methodist church you have all your Pentecostal
50:49 churches and the myriad of divisions within that.
50:53 Out of your Adventists you have your Jehovah's Witness,
50:56 Mormons. You have all sorts of ideas
51:00 that came out of the great Adventist awakening.
51:04 I am giving you the major drift of the churches.
51:09 Now sometimes people say to me: "Well, Geoff,
51:10 how do you know that after the Seventh-day Adventist church
51:13 there's not another one?
51:15 How can you be so certain it's the last? "
51:17 I tell you, friend, how I can be absolutely certain
51:19 that it's the last.
51:21 Because Revelation 14:6-12 is the last prophecy.
51:27 Because as soon as those three messages go to the world
51:31 the harvest takes place and Jesus returns!
51:34 That's why I know it's the last.
51:36 There is no other.
51:39 And as I said, we're not spending time patting ourselves
51:41 on the back, friends. Not at all.
51:43 Because this is God's last message to the world.
51:46 And in humility I believe that God has brought you
51:50 to these meetings. I believe that God has brought you
51:52 to be watching today wherever you are around the world.
51:57 God has brought you in contact with this truth.
52:00 That's why we must take it with... grasp with our hands
52:04 and never let it go.
52:06 Because this is God's truth for these last days.
52:09 And listen: if you and I aren't faithful
52:12 in the accepting of this message
52:14 God will lay us aside and He will raise up someone else.
52:19 Because God doesn't need you and doesn't need me.
52:22 He can raise up people from the very rocks
52:26 He said on one occasion.
52:27 So He's not dependent upon us.
52:30 But He's given us an opportunity to hear truth.
52:33 And when we hear truth God wants us to accept it
52:37 and to follow it and then to help our friends
52:39 to understand it. Because I want to tell you,
52:41 friends, this is the most wonderful thing that's going on
52:43 in the world today.
52:45 There's nothing more exciting in the world
52:47 than God's last message being preached to every nation,
52:50 kindred, tongue, and people.
52:52 Someone asked me just before the meeting about other
52:55 Sabbath-keeping groups. Well friends, there are...
52:57 but they're so insignificant, so very, very, very tiny.
53:02 This is the message that God has raised up.
53:06 It is the most wide-spread message in the world.
53:09 Every nation. There isn't a place under God's heaven
53:13 that you can go today that you don't find this message
53:17 being preached before you get there.
53:18 I don't care where you go!
53:20 Because it is God's last message.
53:22 And if it IS God's last message it has to be everywhere,
53:25 isn't that right? Not just in a few places here and there
53:29 with one or two people here and there. Not at all!
53:31 This is God's message and God is raising up people.
53:35 That's why as I said He's brought you in contact
53:38 to hear this message.
53:41 And it becomes a tremendous responsibility of us
53:45 to accept this message because it is God's last message
53:51 to the world. This message to us
53:53 is as important as the message that Noah preached
53:57 to the people of his day.
54:00 Because remember Jesus said: "As it was in the days of Noah
54:04 so shall it also be in the days of the coming of the
54:06 Son of Man. "
54:08 It's exactly the same.
54:10 And we know that those people who never accepted what Noah
54:14 said were finally lost.
54:17 And I believe, friends, that the people who do not accept
54:20 this message will suffer the same fate
54:25 because it is God's final message to the world.
54:28 I don't say that because I have authority to say it.
54:31 I don't. But I know from God
54:35 that this is God's last message.
54:37 And I read in Revelation chapter 15
54:39 where it says those who are saved in the last days
54:43 have gotten the victory over the beast and over his image
54:46 and over the number of his name.
54:48 They're the group that stand victorious on the sea of glass.
54:52 And the only message in the entire Bible
54:56 that is telling people about those things
54:59 are these three messages of Revelation 14:6-12.
55:05 A message calling people back to faithfulness to Jesus
55:09 and faithfulness to His commandments.
55:13 And just as God established the truth back there
55:15 in the land... in Israel
55:17 and then the people objected and rejected Christ
55:22 and rejected the commandments
55:23 and Jesus established the Christian church.
55:25 And unfortunately many folk went into apostasy
55:29 in the Christian church. They rejected the commandments.
55:33 Moved away from the truth of God.
55:35 And then we find this great error crept into the church.
55:38 And then step by step in the Reformation
55:43 then God began to restore truth
55:47 bit by bit, section by section.
55:52 Some of the most wonderful stories are told
55:55 of men and women who stood for truth.
55:58 You know, I was over there in France...
56:00 the southern part of France... and I went down to a little
56:03 place called Constance.
56:05 It's a little medieval city today.
56:08 It's a wonderful place. If you ever go to France,
56:10 you must go and have a look at this.
56:12 It's just the same as it was in the Middle Ages.
56:16 They've preserved it. People live there still today.
56:19 You've got the mote and you've got the walls and you've got
56:22 where they used to shoot their bows and arrows out of the slit
56:25 of the windows. Just as it was in the Middle Ages.
56:30 And I walked up there... I went down to Constance
56:32 because I wanted to have a look at one particular spot
56:35 on one of those towers where they chained up
56:38 a woman by the name of Marie Durand.
56:40 She spent 38 years
56:43 there in that cold stone turret.
56:48 All she had to do was to confess
56:51 the sins to the priest and they would have let her go.
56:53 She sat there for 38 years
56:57 because she believed in the Bible.
57:00 And she was allowed to knit, and she scratched into the stone
57:04 and you can still see it today
57:06 and I photographed it... the French word resister.
57:14 She resisted the urge to give in for 38 years.
57:20 And I tell you friends what God requires today
57:24 in the world are men and women like that
57:27 that have courage of conviction
57:30 and will stand for the truth though the heavens fall.
57:33 That's what we are needing.
57:35 And I trust that God will help us to have that conviction
57:38 and that certainty in our hearts tonight.
57:41 Let's just bow our heads together in prayer.
57:43 Our wonderful Father in heaven,
57:45 I want to thank you again tonight for Jesus
57:47 and I want to thank you for the truth
57:49 that You have shown so brightly in Your Word.
57:52 Help us Lord today to be like Marie Durand
57:55 and those in Bible times who stood for truth
57:57 though the heavens fall.
57:59 Grant us much of Your blessing now as we go home
58:01 and bring us back again on our next program I pray
58:04 for Christ's sake, Amen.


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Revised 2014-12-17