Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024019S
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00:12 ♪♪♪ 00:14 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:18 We're glad that you could join us this week 00:20 as we continue delving into a wonderful theme, 00:23 a wonderful topic; that is "The Great Controversy." 00:26 This week we are looking at lesson number six, 00:28 "The Two Witnesses," a fascinating subject. 00:32 Let's begin with prayer. 00:34 Father, we want to thank You 00:35 for being with us again this week as You guide our study 00:39 of "The Great Controversy," 00:41 those issues that we have been living in 00:44 throughout history and continue to look forward to 00:48 in the end of time. 00:49 We ask that You will bless us with an understanding 00:51 of these issues so that we can be ready for those times ahead, 00:54 and we thank You in Jesus' name, 00:56 amen. >>Mark Finley: Amen. 00:58 >>Eric: Well, we're grateful once again this week to have 01:00 the author of this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson 01:02 with us, Pastor Mark Finley. 01:04 He's an international author, speaker, evangelist, 01:07 and a good, good friend of It Is Written. 01:10 Pastor Mark, welcome back. 01:11 >>Mark: Well, again, what a joy to be here. 01:15 >>Eric: This lesson is a fascinating one, 01:17 "The Two Witnesses." 01:18 There's a lot of misunderstandings out there 01:20 in the Christian world. 01:22 It's not the easiest subject, but once you understand 01:25 a few things, it's not the most difficult one, either. 01:29 I wanna jump in where you kind of jump in 01:31 with this week's lesson. 01:33 You share an interesting story about the Bishop of Durham. 01:36 Tell us a little bit more about that, 01:38 and that kind of gets us going into this week's lesson. 01:40 >>Mark: Well, William Tyndale, the great Bible translator, 01:43 translated the Bible into English, 01:45 was tried for his faith. 01:47 During that trial, he was asked, 01:49 "Who aided you most in your Bible translation?" 01:54 He thought for a moment, and he said, 01:55 "Well, the Bishop of Durham." 01:57 Well, the magistrates at the trial, you know, 02:01 almost fell off their chair. 02:02 They said, "What do you mean, the Bishop of Durham?" 02:04 He said, oh yeah, he said, "We sold Bibles to the bishop." 02:09 He bought them, actually bought up these Bibles to burn them. 02:13 But what he didn't know is that he had bought them up 02:15 at a much higher price. 02:17 So, he bought the Bibles at a higher price, 02:19 the Bishop of Durham did, burned the Bibles. 02:22 And he said, "Then we used the money 02:24 "from the Bishop of Durham to print many, 02:26 "many more Bibles that we scattered. 02:28 So, who helped me most? The Bishop of Durham." 02:31 The point of that is this: Truth crushed down rises again. 02:37 You "can do nothing against the truth, 02:39 but for the truth." 02:41 And I love that poem 02:42 by James Russell Lowell that says, 02:44 "Truth forever on the scaffold, 02:46 "Wrong forever on the throne,-- 02:48 "Yet that scaffold sways the future, 02:50 "and, behind the dim unknown, [Stands] God..., 02:54 keeping watch over his own." 02:55 One of the things that impressed me 02:57 in studying for this particular lesson 03:00 on "The Two Witnesses" that talk about 03:02 the French revolution, the truth being crushed, 03:06 is that God's truth crushed rises again. 03:09 >>Eric: And that's powerful, 03:11 because we live in challenging times now 03:13 where many people are trying to crush God's truth. 03:16 It hasn't been crushed yet, 03:17 and it's not going to be crushed. 03:19 The subject of the two witnesses is confusing to, 03:22 well, a lot of people. 03:25 What are some things that we can understand? 03:28 What are some characteristics of the two witnesses 03:30 that will help us to understand it biblically, 03:33 rather than some of the other ideas 03:36 that are floating around out there? 03:37 >>Mark: You know, I think it would be helpful 03:40 if you would read for us 03:43 Revelation 11, verses 2 through 6, 03:47 and then I can make some comments on that, 03:49 and just, we can look at the key characteristics 03:52 of the true witnesses. Often, if you let the Bible 03:54 speak for itself, you can see the explanations of it. 03:57 So, go ahead and read Revelation 11:2-6. 04:00 >>Eric: "'But leave out the court 04:01 "'which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, 04:04 "'for it has been given to the Gentiles. 04:06 "'And they will tread the holy city 04:08 "'underfoot for forty-two months. 04:10 "'And I will give power to my two witnesses, 04:12 "'and they will prophesy 04:14 "'one thousand two hundred and sixty days, 04:16 "clothed in sackcloth.' 04:18 "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands 04:22 "standing before the God of the earth. 04:24 "And if anyone wants to harm them, 04:26 "fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. 04:30 "And if anyone wants to harm them, 04:32 "he must be killed in this manner. 04:34 "These have power to shut heaven, 04:36 "so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; 04:39 "and they have power over waters 04:41 "to turn them to blood, 04:43 "and to strike the earth with all plagues, 04:45 as often as they desire." 04:47 >>Mark: Well, thank you so much. 04:49 Here are some identifying characteristics 04:51 of the two witnesses, some things we know about them. 04:55 One, when you read that, you have an allusion 04:58 to Zechariah, chapter 4, 05:01 that talks about the olive trees sending light to lampstands 05:06 to illuminate the sanctuary. 05:09 So, if indeed these two witnesses 05:13 have something to do with these lampstands, 05:17 Jesus, through David, said in Psalm 119, verse 105, 05:21 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, 05:24 and a light unto my path." 05:26 So, that kind of gives you a clue that 05:28 this is the Holy Spirit speaking through the Word of God. 05:31 Then if you look at the fact it says 05:34 these are the anointed ones-- 05:36 God's Word is anointed by the Spirit 05:41 to communicate light and truth to us, 05:45 but then it says these two witnesses 05:47 have the ability to cause rain 05:51 to come down from heaven and then shut up the rain. 05:54 They have the ability to cause the plagues 05:57 to fall on the earth. When did that take place? 06:00 Well, in the days of Elijah, 06:02 by Elijah's very word the rain ceased falling 06:07 during that three-and- a-half-year period. 06:09 Then by Moses' word, through God, 06:13 the plagues came on Egypt. 06:15 So, what we're seeing here is the two witnesses, 06:18 the identification, it's always pointing back 06:20 toward the Word of God, the Word of God. 06:23 The word "witness" is "marturia," 06:26 similar to the word "martyr," and when Jesus is speaking 06:31 about the Bible in John 5, verse 39, 06:34 particularly about the Old Testament, He says, 06:36 "You search the Scriptures; 06:38 "[and] in them you think you have eternal life; 06:39 [but they] are they [that bear testimony or witness] of me." 06:43 So, the Scriptures are a witness of Christ. 06:47 So, when we think about the two witnesses, 06:49 we're thinking about the Word of God, 06:52 or the Old and New Testament. 06:54 That is the very clear identification 06:58 as we look at this. 06:59 If you look, for example, in the Sunday's lesson 07:05 in the second paragraph where it starts out, 07:08 "These two witnesses"-- and would you read 07:13 that second paragraph for us there that starts, Eric, with, 07:16 "These two witnesses can prophesy 07:18 and keep rain from falling"? 07:20 >>Eric: "These two witnesses can prophesy 07:21 "and keep rain from falling for as long as they predict. 07:25 "They can turn water to blood 07:26 "and smite the earth with plagues. 07:29 "By the word of God, Elijah said no rain would fall on Israel, 07:32 "and in answer to his prayer, 07:33 "there was no rain for three and a half years.... 07:36 "Then he prayed to God, and rain returned 07:38 "after the false prophets of Baal 07:40 "failed to end the drought.... 07:42 "Moses, through the Word of God, brought plagues of all kinds 07:45 "on the Egyptians, including turning water to blood, 07:48 because Pharaoh refused to let God's people go free." 07:52 >>Mark: So, both Elijah and Moses 07:56 by the word of the living God 07:59 were able to not have rainfall and plagues came on the earth. 08:05 So, as we've mentioned, it was the word of God; 08:09 that was powerful. 08:10 If you look at the last paragraph, it says, 08:14 "Who are these two witnesses? 08:15 "In view of these biblical points 08:17 "and the characteristics given 08:18 "in Revelation 11, we can conclude, 08:20 "([but] not dogmatically, however) 08:21 "that the two witnesses are the scriptures 08:24 "of the Old and New Testaments, 08:25 [containing] God's light and truth to the world." 08:28 >>Eric: So now we know who the two witnesses are-- 08:31 not as fanciful as some ideas that are out there, 08:35 but much more solid and much more encouraging, 08:38 I think, than some of the more fanciful ideas. 08:41 There's another section here-- 08:44 and we touched on it here lightly as we read through-- 08:47 about this 42 months or 1,260 years. 08:50 Sometimes it's described as "a time, times, and half a time." 08:54 How does that figure into our understanding 08:56 of the two witnesses 08:58 and the significance of what we're looking at? 09:00 >>Mark: You know, when we read Revelation, chapter 11, 09:05 as you go back to Revelation 11, we started with verse 2 09:10 in Revelation 11, and it talks about the fact 09:14 that they would be tried in the holy city for 42 months. 09:19 When you compare that to Revelation, chapter 12 09:24 and verse 6: "[And] the woman"-- and in Bible prophecy, 09:28 of course, a woman represents the church-- 09:30 "fled into the wilderness, 09:31 "where she has a place prepared by God, 09:35 "that they should feed her there 09:37 one thousand two hundred and sixty days." 09:40 It's always interesting to notice 09:42 that the church would flee into the wilderness 09:43 during this period of 1,260 days. 09:46 In the Bible prophecy, one prophetic day based on Numbers 09:51 and based on Ezekiel, Numbers and Ezekiel indicate, 09:58 Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:6, 10:00 that one prophetic day equals one literal year. 10:04 And so, here you have a prophecy of 1,260 years 10:08 that the church would be in a wilderness, 10:10 but God has prepared a place for her, interesting. 10:14 In all times of persecution, discouragement, disappointment, 10:17 God prepares a place. 10:18 But then we look over at verse 14: 10:22 "But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, 10:24 "that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, 10:27 "where she is nourished 10:28 for a time...times and half a time"-- 10:29 the exact same time period-- 10:31 "from the [face] of the serpent." 10:33 So 42 months, 30 days in a prophetic month, 10:37 1,260 years; time, times, and half a time. 10:41 Many translations say one time, two times, and a half a time, 10:45 or one year, two years, and a half a year, 10:48 three-and-a-half prophetic years. 10:50 Again, 1,260 days, 10:54 and you have there prophetic days, or 1,260 years. 11:01 When you look at Daniel's prophecy of Daniel 7, 11:04 you have a time, time, and half a times, 11:07 when the little horn power, 11:08 or the medieval church, persecutes. 11:11 Here in Revelation 12, the church is in the wilderness 11:15 because church and state have united, 11:16 and you have this persecution. 11:18 Same thing in Revelation 11, 11:21 in Revelation 11, the church is being persecuted, 11:25 and what has happened? 11:26 Church and state have united, 11:28 and the two witnesses are in sackcloth and ashes. 11:33 Why in sackcloth and ashes? 11:35 Because the medieval church has dimmed the light of the gospel. 11:42 It's set up an earthly priesthood 11:44 rather than a heavenly looking to Jesus as our High Priest, 11:48 the earthly sacrifice of the mass 11:50 rather than focusing solely and exclusively 11:53 on the sacrifice of Christ. 11:54 Tradition has taken the place of the Bible 11:56 rather than sola scriptura. 11:58 So what we're finding here is that this period of time 12:04 when the Bible is minimized, and tradition in the church, 12:10 prelates have exalted their word above God's Word, 12:14 we're finding that the church has dominated 12:19 over the Scriptures, and the Scriptures 12:21 are now prophesying in sackcloth and ashes 12:23 during the Middle Ages, 1,260 years. 12:26 >>Eric: So, this gives us that idea 12:28 of when these things are taking place. 12:31 Pastor Mark, we're looking at some deep things, 12:34 some interesting things, but we don't have time 12:37 to delve completely into this in the quarterly 12:41 and the weekly lessons. 12:42 We do, however, have a companion book. 12:44 Share with us a little bit about that companion book. 12:46 >>Mark: Yeah, the companion book is called 12:48 "The War Between Good and Evil," and if you want to know 12:51 much, much more about the two witnesses, 12:55 much more about this 1,260-year period, 12:58 beginning in 538, ending in 1798 13:01 when the church and state and the papacy united, 13:03 why 538, why 1798, the companion book is for you. 13:08 If you want to understand more clearly the definition 13:11 of these two witnesses, 13:14 look at the chapter in the companion book. 13:16 But most of all, the companion book 13:18 will take you through the entire 13:20 "Sabbath School" lessons and give you 13:22 a wonderful background to each lesson. 13:25 >>Eric: Thank you, Pastor Mark, 13:27 and if you'd like to pick that book up, 13:28 it's very easy to do. 13:29 You can find it at itiswritten.shop. 13:32 Again, that's itiswritten.shop. 13:35 We're going to be back in just a moment 13:36 as we continue looking at "The Two Witnesses" 13:39 in this week's lesson here on "Sabbath School," 13:42 brought to you by It Is Written. 13:43 ♪♪♪ 13:48 >>Announcer: If you'd like to deepen your understanding 13:50 of the powerful themes brought out in this program, 13:52 we invite you to explore the book 13:54 "The Great Controversy." 13:56 For more information, simply text the code "GC24" to 71392. 14:01 This book delves into critical end-time themes, 14:04 offering profound insights into historical events, 14:07 Bible prophecy, 14:08 and spiritual preparation 14:09 essential for today's unique challenges. 14:12 Discover how "The Great Controversy" 14:14 can illuminate your path in these uncertain times. 14:18 >>John Bradshaw: Hi, I'm John Bradshaw 14:19 from It Is Written, 14:21 inviting you to join me 14:22 for "Finishing Strong." 14:24 It's a four-part series designed especially for students, 14:28 so grab all the students you can and join us on the journey: 14:32 May 6, May 7, May 8, and May 9 14:36 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. 14:39 We'll dig into the Bible, and we'll be inspired 14:42 to finish strong in preparation for Jesus' return, 14:45 "Finishing Strong" on It Is Written TV. 14:48 ♪♪♪ 14:53 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:55 brought to you by It Is Written, 14:56 as we are continuing our journey 14:58 through this great controversy theme, 15:01 looking at lesson number six, "The Two Witnesses." 15:04 Pastor Mark, when we look at the two witnesses, 15:06 it says that they are killed, and they lie 15:08 in the streets for three and a half years. 15:11 If this is the Old and New Testaments, the Word of God, 15:14 how can they be killed and lie in the streets 15:17 for three and a half years? 15:18 >>Mark: Well, you know, the Bible uses symbolic language, 15:20 particularly in the book of Revelation. 15:22 You know, in Revelation, say, 13, verse 1, we read, 15:26 "And I saw [another] beast [rise] up out of the sea, 15:28 "having seven heads and ten horns, 15:30 "and [upon] his horns ten crowns, and [upon the crowns] 15:32 "[the] name [of blasphemy]. [And] the beast 15:34 [that] I saw was like a leopard, ...a bear"--and so forth. 15:36 That's symbolic language, same in Revelation, chapter 11. 15:40 The reason the Bible uses symbolic language 15:42 is because somebody said 15:43 a picture is worth a thousand words. 15:46 So, what we have here is the Word of God being trampled 15:51 and crushed down, and being destroyed 15:55 by civil powers at the end of the 1,260-year period. 16:01 The 1,260 years begins in 538 A.D., 16:06 and we have a note in the lesson, 16:08 under Tuesday's lesson-- do you want to just read 16:10 that first paragraph for us? 16:12 >>Eric: "By A.D. 538, the pagan Roman Empire had collapsed. 16:16 "Justinian, the Roman emperor, surrendered civil, 16:19 "political, and religious authority to Pope Vigillis. 16:22 "The long period of the medieval church's domination began. 16:26 "It continued until A.D. 1798. 16:29 "The French general Berthier, on orders from Napoleon, 16:32 "marched unopposed into Rome on February 10th, 1798. 16:37 "Pope Pius VI was taken captive and brought back to France, 16:41 "where he died. This date marks the prophetically predicted end 16:45 "of the Roman Church's secular authority, 16:47 "the 1,260 days or years as depicted in Daniel 16:51 and Revelation." 16:52 >>Mark: You know, so we have that long period of 1,260 years, 16:55 but right at the end of that period, 16:57 we have the French Revolution, 17:00 and in the French Revolution that began in 1789, 17:05 by 1793, the Cult of Reason was established, 17:11 a woman was marched through the streets-- 17:14 actually an illegitimate prostitute woman-- 17:16 was marched through the streets of Paris, 17:21 the Bibles were burned at the streets, 17:24 thousands are massacred, 17:26 and for that three-and-a-half-year period, 17:30 the Cult of Reason dominated, and churches were turned 17:34 into social centers 17:37 and amusement and entertainment centers. 17:40 And when the Bible uses the term "for three and a half days 17:45 in the streets," that's the three and a half years 17:48 of the Cult of Reason in the French Revolution. 17:51 And then the Bible talks about Sodom and Egypt. 17:56 Sodom represented immorality. 17:59 Egypt--you remember Pharaoh said, "Who is God?" 18:03 And so, although they were polytheists, 18:05 they were totally contrary to the true God, 18:09 and that's exactly precisely what happened 18:11 in the French Revolution. 18:13 So, we see in that French Revolution, 18:16 prophecies fulfilled that were written 18:20 hundreds of years before in Scripture. 18:25 >>Eric: So, what we see happening in history 18:29 bears out the identification that we've made 18:32 of these two witnesses being the Word of God. 18:35 >>Mark: Exactly, exactly, and, you know, 18:38 one of the other things that I think, to me, 18:39 is quite interesting-- 18:41 you see a society that rejects the Word of God, 18:45 and you see the godlessness, the immorality, 18:49 society riddled with crime revolution. 18:53 And when I look at our world today and I see a drift 18:58 and a departure from the Word of God, 19:00 I see a society, particularly in America and Western culture, 19:05 European society, that's drifting from the Word of God. 19:10 If we drift from the Word of God, 19:12 we erode the moral, ethical values of society 19:16 and have no basis for that morality, no basis for law, 19:21 and there is a chaos and calamity that follows. 19:26 The Bible says righteousness exalts a nation. 19:30 So, where this society is headed is to moral collapse, 19:35 and when we as individuals do not live in harmony 19:39 with the Word of God by the grace of God, 19:42 we see as well lives that go astray, 19:49 lives that collapse morally or ethically. 19:53 >>Eric: In this chapter also, Pastor Mark, 19:56 we read about Moses and Elijah. 20:00 Is this a literal Moses and Elijah 20:03 that are being described here? 20:04 If we're talking about symbolism in many other areas, 20:06 are we looking at a symbolic Moses and Elijah? 20:09 Help us to understand who these two individuals are. 20:13 >>Mark: Well, one thing we know about Moses and Elijah is this, 20:17 that Moses and Elijah were both faithful to the Word of God. 20:23 Moses, you remember, led Israel out of Egypt 20:29 based on the Word of God. 20:31 God led him there. 20:33 Moses came to the sea, and God opened up the Red Sea 20:39 based on the word of God. 20:42 God's word spoke. 20:43 So, Moses and Elijah represent the solid foundation 20:51 of God's Word. 20:52 That's what Scripture says. 20:54 It says that they spoke, they spoke, 20:58 and it didn't rain--Elijah in the days of Ahab and Jezebel 21:03 and the Baal Carmel experience. 21:05 They spoke then, and--Elijah spoke, and then rain fell. 21:10 Moses spoke, and plagues came. 21:13 Moses spoke, and God told him to speak, 21:18 and water would come out of the rock. 21:20 So, you look at both Moses and Elijah 21:22 and they're representing the spoken 21:25 and written word of God, 21:28 not a literal Moses or Elijah that will return to earth. 21:32 >>Eric: So, this chapter is helping us 21:34 to understand the significance of the Word of God, 21:36 the importance of the Word of God, 21:37 the durability of the Word of God, 21:40 and hopefully the importance of the Word of God to us today 21:45 living in the final days of earth's history. 21:47 >>Mark: Right, right. >>Eric: Revelation, chapter 11 21:50 comes to an end, of course, 21:52 before we dive into Revelation, chapter 12. 21:55 How does Revelation end, 21:57 and why is the way that it ends so significant? 22:01 >>Mark: Well, you know, it's significant for this reason. 22:04 If you looked at the French Revolution 22:06 and you saw the persecution of believers 22:10 and the burning of Bibles in the streets, 22:12 you would think that truth would be crushed out. 22:15 But we come to the end of this period called 22:18 the Dark Ages or the Middle Ages in 1798, 22:21 and there's a great mission movement. 22:24 Millions of Bibles are now spread around the world. 22:30 I've made a quotation-- 22:31 you know, you look at Revelation 11, verse 11. 22:34 Go ahead and read Revelation, verse 11, 22:36 and it's great prophecy. 22:39 >>Eric: "Now after the three-and-a-half days 22:41 "the breath of life from God entered them, 22:43 "and they stood on their feet, 22:45 and great fear fell on those who saw them." 22:47 >>Mark: Yeah, so at the end of this 1,260 years, 22:51 the Word of God rises again, and Voltaire, the infidel, 22:56 boastingly makes a statement. 22:58 I've quoted Ellen White, "Great Controversy," page 288. 23:04 Under Wednesday's lesson, 23:05 it's the last paragraph just before the last question, 23:08 and it says, "The infidel Voltaire once boastingly said: 23:12 "'I am weary of hearing people repeat that twelve men 23:15 "'established the Christian religion. 23:17 I will prove that one man may suffice to overthrow it.'" 23:20 Well, "Generations have passed since his death. 23:23 "[And] millions have joined in the war upon the Bible. 23:26 "But [it's]...far from being destroyed, 23:28 "that where there [are] a hundred in Voltaire's time, 23:32 "there are now ten thousand, yes, a hundred thousand copies 23:35 "of the book of God. 23:37 "In the words of an early Reformer 23:38 "concerning the Christian church, 23:40 "'The Bible is an anvil that has worn out 23:42 many hammers.'" 23:44 You know, and I read an interesting fact, 23:46 that Voltaire's old house is now a Bible depository 23:52 where Bibles are printed, at least it was for many years, 23:55 and they stored Bibles in that very house, you know. 23:58 So, I think the key thing here is that the Word of God 24:03 would triumph, and at the end of the Dark Ages, 24:07 or the Middle Ages, the late 1700s, 24:11 late 18th century, early 19th, 24:12 that's when you have the great missionary movements. 24:16 You have the Bible translation movements. 24:19 Bibles are being translated, 24:20 tens of thousands of copies are going to the ends of the earth. 24:23 So again, truth crushed down will rise again. 24:27 God's truth is gonna triumph, 24:29 and that encourages us at the end time. 24:31 Because what happened in the French Revolution is 24:34 a very microcosm of what will happen at the end of time. 24:38 And at the end of time, 24:40 God's people once again will be oppressed, 24:42 church and state once again will be united, 24:44 once again people won't be able to buy or sell, 24:47 and God's truth, apparently crushed down, will triumph, 24:51 and the light of God's truth will fill the earth, 24:55 as it says in Revelation 18, verse 1. 24:58 It says, "I saw another angel [descend] from heaven, 25:01 ...and the earth was lightened with [its] glory." 25:03 Habakkuk 2:14 says that the glory of God 25:07 will cover the earth "as...waters cover the sea." 25:09 So, God's Word is going to triumph at end time. 25:14 >>Eric: So, if somebody is watching this program, 25:16 and they're studying, or they're listening, 25:17 or they're hearing this for maybe the first time, 25:20 or they're struggling with the Bible, 25:24 and they look around and they see here in the Western world 25:26 Christianity is shrinking; it is not growing. 25:30 We wish it was otherwise, but that's the reality of it. 25:34 And there's so-called evidence out there from science 25:37 and from history, as it were, that the Bible is just a, 25:42 it's just a book--it's not anything special. 25:46 What encouragement would you give to someone 25:48 based on what we've been looking at here 25:51 about the longevity of the Word of God, 25:54 the authority of the Word of God, 25:56 and the way that the Word of God can indeed endure 25:59 and change a person's life? 26:01 >>Mark: You know, Pastor Eric, 26:03 I think what I say to that person-- 26:05 and you may be watching today and wondering about the Bible. 26:08 Look, has any other book been around for 2,000 years 26:15 and had the ability-- when you look 26:17 at the Old and New Testaments together, 2,000 years-- 26:21 and has the ability to change lives? 26:23 Think of the life-changing power of the Bible. 26:26 Think of the prophecies of the Bible. 26:28 I mean, the Bible has minute, specific prophecies. 26:32 Think about the fact that you have a Bible 26:35 with more than 40 different authors, 26:37 66 books, many of these authors don't know one another, 26:41 but yet they agree; there's this cohesive unity. 26:45 And think about the fact of the life-changing power 26:49 of the Bible. 26:50 I would say to you, give the Bible a chance. 26:52 Read it with an open heart. Let the Holy Spirit touch you. 26:56 Let Christ transform you, and you will find, 26:59 as tens of thousands and millions have, 27:03 that this book, the Word of God, has life-changing power. 27:08 >>Eric: Pastor Mark, thank you once again for joining us 27:10 this week and helping us to understand the two witnesses. 27:13 We want to thank you also for joining us again this week, 27:16 and we want to encourage you to join us again next week. 27:20 We are about halfway through our study 27:24 of "The Great Controversy," 27:25 this theme that runs from Genesis to Revelation 27:29 that helps us understand the days in which we live, 27:31 the days that are coming ahead 27:33 and gives us encouragement and hope for those times. 27:36 So, we look forward to seeing you again next time 27:39 here on "Sabbath School," 27:40 brought to you by It Is Written. 27:42 ♪♪♪ 28:24 ♪♪♪ 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-05-06