Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024014S
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00:11 [uplifting music] 00:15 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:19 We're glad that you could join us 00:20 for a brand new study, where for the next 13 episodes, 00:25 we are going to be diving into one of the most 00:28 significant and important subjects in all of Christianity. 00:33 We are looking at "the great controversy." 00:35 What is it, why is it important, and why is it important to you 00:39 and to me living today? 00:41 We're going to be finding out in the very, very near future. 00:44 We're glad that you are with us, but before we begin, 00:46 let's start with prayer. 00:48 Father, we wanna thank You for being with us today. 00:51 And as we delve into this very significant subject, 00:54 we ask that You would guide our study of Your Word. 00:57 And through it, may we understand 01:00 better who You are and what Your plan is 01:03 for us and for the rest of Your children 01:06 as we look forward to that great day 01:08 when Jesus returns. 01:09 We thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 01:13 And we are grateful during the course 01:15 of this entire series of studies to have with us 01:18 Pastor Mark Finley. 01:20 He is an international author, speaker, evangelist, 01:24 and former speaker-director of this ministry, 01:26 It Is Written. 01:28 Pastor Mark, welcome. 01:29 We're glad that you're here. 01:31 >>Mark Finley: Thank you, Pastor Eric. 01:33 You know, it's so exciting to participate with It Is Written. 01:36 I spent 14 of the most precious years of my life 01:39 at It Is Written. 01:41 We look back at very fond memories 01:44 of our time there, and we're just excited to be with you. 01:48 Any time we can work together with It Is Written, 01:50 that's what we wanna do. 01:52 >>Eric: Well, thank you again, Pastor Mark, 01:53 it's always a blessing to have you here 01:55 on our programs. 01:57 We're looking at the great controversy, 01:59 a very significant subject, an intensely and immensely 02:03 significant subject. Why is that? 02:06 What is the great controversy, and why are we going to be 02:09 spending 13 episodes looking at this very important subject? 02:14 >>Mark: Well, the great controversy 02:15 is the theme that really ties the entire Bible together. 02:19 When you think of this great controversy 02:21 or conflict between good and evil, 02:24 we think first about God creating angelic beings 02:29 with the freedom of choice. 02:31 And then one of those rebel-- one of those angels 02:34 rebelling against God. 02:36 And so this great controversy starts in heaven. 02:39 It is then transferred to earth as Adam and Eve disobey God, 02:44 and down through the Old Testament history 02:46 we see this conflict between good and evil, 02:49 between the forces of right and the forces of wrong. 02:52 Jesus comes, and the controversy intensifies, particularly 02:57 at the cross, where Satan does everything he can 03:00 to destroy Jesus, but Jesus, our sin-bearer, bears the guilt 03:03 and shame of the sins of the world 03:06 and then is marvelously resurrected after His death 03:09 on the cross and serves in heaven 03:12 as our great High Priest, giving us strength 03:14 in the great controversy between good and evil. 03:17 We look down through the Middle Ages, 03:18 where truth was compromised and on to end time, where God 03:23 will restore that truth in the ultimate coming of Jesus 03:26 and the restoration of a new heavens and a new earth. 03:29 So the great controversy goes from the rebellion in heaven, 03:33 Eden lost, down through the centuries to Eden regained 03:38 with the new heavens and a new earth. 03:39 So, it is that overarching theme of all of Scripture. 03:44 >>Eric: So this overarching theme 03:45 of all of Scripture that we're going to be delving into, 03:49 this is something that you've been studying 03:52 for a long time, and we see the world that we're in 03:56 right now and the challenges that we're facing. 04:00 How long ago did God impress you that this subject 04:05 was something worth diving into? 04:07 How did we end up with it in our hands today, 04:10 and why do you think it really is important 04:13 for people living today all around the world 04:16 to grasp this important subject? 04:19 >>Mark: Well, when I was-- went into ministry, I began 04:22 to sense the importance of this great controversy theme. 04:25 It's unique in all Christianity, really. 04:28 It ties the Bible together. 04:31 And I've been in ministry 57 years, 04:34 and so have been preaching on the great controversy theme. 04:37 But here's the unique thing; this in 2024 and 2025, 04:43 Seventh-day Adventists have a massive project 04:47 of distributing the book "The Great Controversy" 04:51 by Ellen White. 04:52 There'll be millions and millions distributed. 04:55 There will be hard copies in the full edition; 04:59 there will be online editions. 05:02 I was asked to prepare the "Sabbath School" lessons 05:07 based on the book "Great Controversy" 05:09 but anchored in Scripture. 05:11 So every lesson is biblical, every lesson has 05:15 its foundation in Scripture. 05:17 But something unique that we've done 05:19 with this quarter's lessons is we have listed the chapters 05:26 from "Great Controversy" that that biblical lesson 05:31 is based on. 05:32 So, it is a very unique series. 05:36 I have to smile a little bit. 05:38 You know, I've written-- now, this is my fifth 05:40 "Sabbath School" quarterly. 05:41 And the general conference president, Elder Wilson, 05:45 called me, and he said, "Mark, I've got an assignment, 05:49 but it's kind of an interesting one." 05:52 I said, "Yes, Elder, tell me." 05:54 He said, "Well, the timeline is quite short"--'cause usually 05:59 we have two years, two and a half years 06:00 to write the lessons. And he said, "Mark, 06:02 "we got about three months, but we need a series 06:05 on 'The Great Controversy.' Can you write it for us?" 06:07 Well, you know, it takes about 15 hours a lesson, 06:10 about 200 hours to write it, 06:12 and I didn't have that time just sitting around, 06:15 but when my dear friend Elder Wilson asks me 06:17 something like that-- and I put everything else 06:21 aside, basically, and wrote the series 06:24 on "The Great Controversy" in about three months of time. 06:27 And so I'm just so thankful for that privilege 06:29 because it is such a vital, vital scene, particularly 06:34 for those of us that are living in the last days at end time 06:36 because prophecies are being fulfilled 06:39 all around us that we find outlined 06:41 in "The Great Controversy." 06:43 >>Eric: So, very significant subject for us today, 06:46 we are living in those days. 06:49 Wanna drop into the first lesson in this quarter's study guide, 06:53 it's called "The War Behind All Wars." 06:56 Why did you choose that title to launch us into 07:00 this 13-study journey on "The Great Controversy"? 07:06 >>Mark: Sure, "The War Behind All Wars"-- 07:09 When you think about it, what really is behind every war? 07:14 From the battle that took place in heaven 07:17 to all of the Old Testament struggles between Israel 07:20 and the Amalekites and the Jebusites 07:25 and so forth, what's behind all those wars? 07:28 What's behind every war today? It's selfishness. 07:32 When you look at the origin of war, 07:35 they usually come because of selfishness, 07:39 the pride of nations, the desire of would-be world rulers 07:45 to rule, to control. 07:48 And so the war behind all wars is that war that began 07:52 in heaven when Lucifer rebelled against the government of God, 07:56 and he did so filled with pride, 07:59 filled with arrogance, filled with this desire to dominate. 08:04 So the basic philosophy of war is domination. 08:07 "The War Behind All Wars," the great controversy 08:10 between good and evil is Satan's attempt 08:12 to dominate and to take the rightful Ruler 08:16 of the throne, Jesus Christ, off the throne. 08:20 >>Eric: So, Satan's desire is to dominate; 08:22 evil's desire is to dominate, has been since, well, 08:25 the beginning of rebellion and that selfishness. 08:28 You know, one of the big questions 08:31 that a lot of people have today is if God is supposedly so good 08:36 and so powerful and so wonderful 08:38 and so loving, if He's so good, why is this world so bad? 08:44 And how are we gonna be answering that question 08:47 as we go through this quarter's lesson? 08:49 >>Mark: Well, Pastor Eric, you know, you and I 08:51 do a lot of evangelism, and that's one of the questions 08:54 we get very often in evangelism. 08:57 If God is so good, why is the world so bad? 08:59 Why does a loving God allow so much suffering in our world? 09:04 When God created angelic beings and God created cherubim 09:10 and seraphim and all of His creation, 09:13 He gave to them freedom of choice. 09:15 Now, let's suppose that God did not give His beings 09:19 freedom of choice. 09:20 If you take away freedom of choice, 09:23 you take away the opportunity to love. 09:26 And if you cannot love, you cannot have fulfillment 09:29 or true happiness. 09:31 When you give the freedom of choice, 09:33 you run the risk of beings making the wrong choice. 09:38 But God respects the freedom of choice 09:41 because that's what it makes-- 09:42 that's what makes a human being: the ability to choose. 09:46 That is what allowed heavenly beings 09:49 to be higher than simply mere robots 09:52 or automatons, mere puppets. 09:55 They had the capacity to choose. 09:57 So, the reason there's so much suffering in the world 10:00 is that in the power of choice comes the ability to make 10:03 the wrong choice. 10:05 And when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, 10:08 they opened a door that God wanted forever shut, 10:11 the door of sickness, suffering, heartache, and evil. 10:13 When Lucifer rebelled in heaven, he opened a door 10:16 that God wanted forever shut, and that door was the door 10:21 of suffering and death. 10:23 God is the author of life; He's the author 10:26 of all the good things that happen to us. 10:29 Satan is the author of death. 10:32 You know, it says in John 10, verse 10, 10:33 "The thief [comes not but for] to steal..., to kill..., 10:36 and...destroy," but Jesus said, "I have come that 10:38 "they [might] have life, ...they [might] have it 10:39 more abundantly." 10:41 So the power of choice is one that God has given to us, 10:45 and He invites us to reach out to Him, 10:47 to make those choices in harmony with His will 10:50 that will lead us to be the happiest beings. 10:53 Here's a little something that I have found 10:55 very helpful for people. 10:57 You do not judge God by the events that are 11:01 taking place in our world. You judge the events 11:04 that are taking place in our world by the character of God. 11:08 Since I know God is the God of love, 11:11 therefore I interpret all the events 11:13 that are taking place in our world through the lens 11:17 of the fact that God is love and that Satan is destructive, 11:22 wants to destroy. 11:23 So when I see events of sickness, suffering, 11:26 heartache, and death, I know that that's not God. 11:28 First John 4:8 says, "For God is love." 11:30 I know those are Satan's attempt to destroy 11:33 because we're in a planet in rebellion. 11:35 >>Eric: I think you hit on something 11:37 very, very significant, very important there. 11:39 And it's important that not only we grasp that, 11:42 but that we have the ability to share that concept 11:44 with others, that God is-- He's not the author of evil, 11:47 He's not the author of all the sin and the death 11:49 and destruction, the disease that's out there, 11:52 but sometimes we get that proverbial 11:53 cart before the horse. 11:55 Now, Pastor Mark, if somebody wants to dig more deeply 11:58 into this subject, this immensely important subject, 12:02 there is a companion book to this quarter's 12:05 Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide. 12:08 And that book is called "The War Between Good and Evil." 12:11 You wrote that companion book. What is in that companion book, 12:15 and why would somebody wanna pick that up 12:18 in addition to the study guide? 12:20 >>Mark: Well, the Bible study lessons have an outline 12:23 of each of these 13 chapters that take us from 12:27 the fall of Lucifer in heaven to the destruction 12:29 of Jerusalem, right down through the New Testament period, 12:33 the Middle Ages, and the end of time. 12:35 The companion book rounds out 12:38 a lot of that historical material. 12:40 It goes much more deeply into the biblical material. 12:43 And what I've tried to do, particularly 12:45 in the companion book as we get into 12:48 the last chapters, weave into Adventist history. 12:51 So there's wonderful lessons from Adventist history 12:55 throughout the companion book, and then there are 12:59 entire sections on end-time events. 13:03 So if you wanna be prepared for the coming of Jesus 13:05 and know more clearly the end-time events, 13:08 companion book's for you. 13:09 >>Eric: So, where can you find that companion book? 13:11 It is very easy; if you go to itiswritten.shop, 13:15 again, that's itiswritten.shop, 13:18 you can find that companion book. 13:19 The author is Pastor Mark Finley, 13:21 and the title is "The War Between Good and Evil." 13:26 You want to pick that up to give yourself 13:28 even more depth of understanding on this critical subject. 13:33 And speaking of this critical subject, 13:34 we are going to come back in just a moment 13:36 as we continue taking a look at the great controversy 13:40 here on "Sabbath School," brought to you by It Is Written. 13:43 We're gonna be right back. 13:45 [uplifting music] 13:49 >>Announcer: If you'd like to deepen your understanding 13:51 of the powerful themes brought out in this program, 13:53 we invite you to explore the book "The Great Controversy." 13:57 For more information, simply text the code "GC24" to 71392. 14:02 This book delves into critical end-time themes, 14:05 offering profound insights into historical events, 14:08 Bible prophecy, and spiritual preparation 14:10 essential for today's unique challenges. 14:13 Discover how "The Great Controversy" 14:15 can illuminate your path in these uncertain times. 14:19 >>John Bradshaw: It's everywhere: 14:21 adorning churches, adorning people. 14:24 There's a season every year commemorating the cross, 14:28 but beyond eggs and rabbits, there's a power, 14:31 the power of a sacrifice, the power of the love of God. 14:35 Be sure you see "At the Cross" and learn about the single event 14:40 that changed the course of history, the event 14:43 that can change your life forever. 14:46 Predicted by prophets and foretold by Jesus Himself, 14:50 what happened at the cross was a demonstration 14:52 of God's love like no other. 14:55 Humanity's fall into sin in the garden of Eden 14:58 brought upon Adam and Eve and their descendants 15:01 inescapable consequences, but into that turmoil 15:04 stepped Jesus, promising the planet 15:06 a way of escape. 15:09 Don't miss "At the Cross," 15:11 brought to you by It Is Written TV. 15:19 [uplifting music] 15:24 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:25 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:27 We are taking a look at the great controversy, 15:30 an incredible theme that goes throughout Scripture, 15:34 and we are just getting into it right now. 15:37 Pastor Mark, I wanna ask you a question. 15:39 In Monday's lesson, you introduced 15:42 "The War In Heaven" by quoting a passage 15:44 in Revelation, chapter 12; it's verses 7-9. 15:48 I'd like to read that and then give you 15:49 an opportunity to respond to it and share why you thought 15:52 this passage was important. 15:54 In Revelation 12, verses 7-9, it says, 15:56 "And war broke out in heaven: 15:58 "Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; 16:01 "and the dragon and his angels fought, 16:03 "but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them 16:06 "in heaven any longer. 16:07 "So the great dragon was cast out, 16:09 "that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, 16:12 "who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, 16:15 and his angels were cast out with him." 16:19 So, that sounds important, but why is it 16:23 really, really important? 16:24 >>Mark: I think, Eric, this is one of the few places 16:27 in the Bible that clearly explain 16:30 why this world is in such a mess. 16:34 It's one of the only places in the Bible that explains 16:38 what happened, in specific detail, in heaven. 16:42 When you look at the text itself, 16:44 "War broke out in heaven," that's a strange place for war. 16:47 You'd never think that there'd be war in heaven. 16:50 But this war in heaven is the war behind all wars, 16:56 as we title our lesson. 16:58 "Michael and his angels fought against the dragon," 17:00 the dragon and his angels. 17:02 So you have two sides; you have this battle. 17:04 Sometimes people ask me the question, 17:06 "Was this a physical battle or a mental one?" 17:09 Well, we might not have every single detail, 17:12 but there certainly have to be certain physical aspects of it 17:15 because it says, "They did not prevail, 17:18 nor was a place found for them [anymore] in heaven." 17:21 So they were cast out of heaven. 17:23 So there has to be not only a mental battle 17:26 but some kind of physical battle. 17:28 Every angel had to make a decision. 17:31 And in the final battle between Christ and Satan 17:34 at the end, every human being is gonna have to make a decision. 17:38 So there could be no neutrality, no walking the fence. 17:44 Every angel had to make a decision. 17:46 Then verse 9 is an interesting verse: 17:48 "So the great dragon was cast out, 17:51 "that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, 17:53 "who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, 17:56 and his angels...with him." 17:58 So the devil is called in this text the dragon 18:00 and the serpent. 18:01 He's the dragon because he destroys, 18:04 the serpent because he deceives. 18:06 He deceives those who he ultimately destroys, 18:10 and destroys those whom he has deceived. 18:13 So here we have the origin of evil. 18:17 Here we have the beginning of this battle, 18:21 the first shots, if you please, 18:23 in the battle between good and evil. 18:25 Lucifer, a perfect being created by God, 18:29 an angel of dazzling brightness, rebels against God. 18:35 He wants to sit upon God's throne; 18:38 he wants to usurp God's authority. 18:42 God works with him and labors with him 18:44 and appeals to him, but Satan drifts further 18:49 and further and further away from God. 18:52 What this initial battle tells us is 18:57 if the devil could deceive a third of the angels 18:59 in heaven--and that's what the Bible says 19:01 in Revelation 12:4; it says, "His tail drew a third part 19:04 of the stars of heaven." 19:05 If the devil could deceive a third part of the stars 19:08 of heaven, a third of the angels, 19:11 we better reinforce our minds with the Word of God. 19:14 Be day by day seeking God in prayer 19:18 because the devil is a deceptive foe, 19:22 and he'll breathe like a dragon at end time. 19:25 We can be thankful that through Jesus, by Jesus, 19:28 because of Jesus, we are protected, 19:31 and we can be secure in the hands of Christ. 19:36 >>Eric: You know, Pastor Mark, you mentioned 19:37 that the opening salvos of this great war 19:41 were fired in heaven, but that war 19:44 has most certainly, most definitely come 19:46 down here to earth. 19:48 And I wanna kind of go over to the book of Genesis 19:50 and look at some of the beginning 19:52 of this war here on earth 19:55 in Genesis, chapter 2, verses 15-17. 20:00 It says, "Then the Lord God took the man and put him 20:03 "in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 20:06 "And the Lord God commanded the man, 20:08 "saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may 20:10 "'freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge 20:12 "'of good and evil you shall not eat, 20:14 "'for in the day that you eat of it 20:17 you shall surely die.'" 20:19 What is the key principle that's exhibited in these verses, 20:24 and why is it still important for us today? 20:27 >>Mark: The key principle here, Eric, is that God gave 20:30 Adam and Eve the freedom of choice. 20:32 Just like God gave the angels freedom of choice, 20:35 God gave Adam and Eve the freedom of choice. 20:38 He clearly explained that here's the tree 20:40 of knowledge of good and evil. 20:42 "You can eat of every other tree in the garden." 20:44 So it was not that they could not eat of every other tree 20:48 and only could eat of this tree, not at all. 20:51 God is a God of abundance, He gave them everything, 20:53 they could eat of every tree, but this one tree 20:56 they could not partake of. That would demonstrate 20:59 their faithfulness to God, their loyalty to God, 21:02 their acceptance of God's Word. 21:05 And so He gave them freedom of choice. 21:07 Now, let's suppose God did not place that tree there, 21:10 let's suppose God didn't give them 21:11 the freedom of choice. 21:13 What would that have meant? 21:14 The whole universe could've said, 21:16 "Wait a minute, You're unfair. You're unfair. 21:19 You gave us as angels freedom of choice"-- 21:22 and wait a minute, too-- would God be satisfied 21:26 with beings that were forced, coerced to serve Him 21:29 and had no choice? Certainly not. 21:32 The key principle here is that God gave Adam and Eve 21:35 freedom of choice, and He gives us freedom of choice. 21:37 He'll not coerce, He'll not force, 21:40 He'll not pressure, He gives us freedom of choice, 21:42 but He allures us to Him. 21:45 He does everything He can to bring us to Himself. 21:48 >>Eric: So part of God's character 21:50 of love is that giving us freedom of choice. 21:53 He gave it to the angels in heaven; 21:56 He gave it to Adam and Eve. 21:57 Unfortunately, we look back at history-- 21:59 we find that not all of the angels in heaven 22:01 exercised that freedom of choice wisely. 22:04 Adam and Eve didn't exercise that choice wisely. 22:07 If we're honest with ourselves, we haven't always exercised 22:10 that freedom of choice very wisely, 22:13 but Jesus did exercise it wisely. 22:16 Why is--what is the significance of Jesus here 22:20 in the great controversy? 22:21 How is He the solution to this big problem 22:24 that we find ourselves in? 22:25 >>Mark: You know, right there in the garden of Eden, 22:27 Genesis 3, verse 15, God gave the promise 22:32 that the Messiah would come. 22:34 You remember that God told Adam and Eve, 22:38 "In the day you eat of this, you'll die." 22:40 Now, the Hebrew language is interesting: "Dying 22:43 you will die." 22:45 "Dying you will die." 22:46 So the death began that very day 22:50 that Adam and Eve partook of that fruit. 22:52 As Paul says, the wages of sin are death. 22:57 So God gave a promise in Genesis that the Messiah would come. 23:03 It says there in Genesis 3:15 that Satan would "bruise 23:07 His heel," but Jesus would bruise the head of the serpent, 23:14 a deadly blow. 23:16 Christ came and dwelt, or "tabernacled," in human flesh. 23:21 He lived the life we should have lived. 23:24 He faced Satan's temptations head on and died the death 23:30 that we should've died. 23:32 So, on the cross of Calvary Christ bore the condemnation, 23:35 the guilt, the shame of our sin. 23:38 And so, the significant thing 23:41 is here is that in the great controversy, 23:44 Jesus took upon Himself the penalty of sin. 23:49 And as He took that penalty upon Himself, 23:51 He died in our place. 23:53 In His life He gave us an example of the Father's love. 23:57 In His death, He bore the guilt and shame of sin 24:01 and revealed the depths to which love would go 24:04 to redeem us. 24:06 >>Eric: Pastor Mark, with that thought in mind, 24:07 I wanna read a passage from 2 Corinthians here. 24:10 It's in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, 24:13 and give you an opportunity to expound upon it. 24:16 It says, "For He made Him who knew no sin 24:20 "to be sin for us, that we might become 24:24 the righteousness of God in Him." 24:27 That's huge; that's immense. 24:30 >>Mark: Christ never sinned, but He took upon Himself 24:35 the guilt and shame and condemnation of sin. 24:38 Christ on the cross did not simply die 24:40 the horrible, agonizing physical death, 24:44 as painful and as torturous as that was, 24:47 but Christ died the second death. 24:51 What is the second death? 24:53 When do you die the second death? 24:56 You don't die the second death after you die, necessarily; 24:59 that's not the suffering of the second death 25:00 because the Bible says, "The living know that 25:02 they [shall] die; but the dead [don't] know [anything]." 25:04 Jesus died the second death as He hung on the cross 25:08 with the hiding of the Father's face, 25:10 bearing the sin and condemnation of the world, not seeing 25:14 through the portals of the tomb, and apparently 25:18 going into the tomb, bearing the sins of the world 25:21 and the guilt and shame of those sins 25:23 and the condemnation of those 25:24 with the ability never to come out. 25:26 Now, praise God, He did come out. 25:28 Praise God, He was resurrected from the dead. 25:31 But on those moments on the cross, 25:33 He could not see that. He hung on by faith. 25:37 So, in 2 Corinthians 5:21 when it says, 25:40 "He who knew no sin became sin for us," 25:42 He took the guilt and shame of sin, 25:45 died the agony that lost sinners will die 25:49 as He bore the sins of the world. 25:51 He died the second death for us so that we didn't have to die 25:56 the second death. 25:57 He died the second death for us so that we could live eternally 26:01 with Him forever. 26:03 >>Eric: And Pastor Mark, I wanna share one more passage 26:05 of scripture with you as we're drawing here to a close. 26:08 This is over in John 17, verses 24-26. 26:13 Jesus says, "Father, I desire that they also 26:16 "whom You gave me may be with me where I am, 26:19 "that they may behold my glory which You have given me; 26:23 "for You loved me before the foundation of the world. 26:26 "O righteous Father! 26:27 "The world has not known You, but I have known You; 26:30 "and these have known that You sent me. 26:33 "And I have declared to them Your name, 26:35 "and will declare it, that the love with which You loved me 26:39 may be in them, and I in them." 26:42 How does that give us a clearer picture 26:43 of who the Father is, Pastor Mark? 26:46 >>Mark: What a passage. 26:47 This is Jesus' great intercessory prayer 26:50 in John 17. 26:52 And in His heart-- you know, Christ dies, 26:54 He's resurrected from the dead, 26:56 and as He ascends to heaven before the Father, 26:58 He says, "Father, I will that those who You have given me 27:03 be with me where I am." 27:05 The desire of Christ is for us to be with Him in heaven. 27:09 The desire of Jesus is that every single one of us be saved. 27:13 The desire of Jesus is not one of us to be lost. 27:16 He has done, is doing, and will do everything possible 27:20 to save us. That is the essence of His intercessory prayer. 27:25 >>Eric: And a beautiful prayer it is, and a wonderful way 27:27 for us to get started on this 13-episode odyssey 27:31 through the great controversy. 27:33 Pastor Mark, thank you for being with us this time, 27:37 and we're looking forward to you joining us 27:39 next time as well. 27:41 And we wanna thank you for joining us. 27:43 This is just the very beginning of a wonderful journey 27:47 through a significant subject. 27:50 In fact, some might say one of the most significant subjects 27:53 in Christendom, and we've just begun. 27:56 We are looking at the great controversy 27:58 past, present, and future and how it applies to you 28:03 and to me today. 28:05 So we're looking forward to having you join us again 28:07 next time when we come together once again on "Sabbath School," 28:10 brought to you by It Is Written. 28:12 [uplifting music] 28:24 [uplifting music] 28:26 [Captioning provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-03-28