Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS024020S
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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 again as we continue 00:20 our journey through the theme of "The Great Controversy." 00:24 This week is week number 7, "Motivated by Hope," 00:28 a very encouraging lesson that kind of gets us 00:31 over the hump of our 13-lesson study, 00:34 something to look forward to. 00:36 Let's begin today with prayer. 00:39 Father, we want to thank You for guiding us thus far 00:42 as we've been looking at the Great Controversy, 00:44 the challenges that we face today 00:47 and how we can learn from the past 00:49 to give us hope for the future. 00:51 We ask that You'll bless our time together today 00:53 and encourage us and strengthen our walk with You, 00:56 and we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 00:59 Well, we're grateful once again to have with us 01:01 the author of this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson, 01:04 Pastor Mark Finley. 01:06 Pastor Mark, welcome back once again. 01:08 >>Mark Finley: It is always a delight to be 01:10 at It Is Written, a ministry that I love, 01:14 that I spent many years at, as you're well aware, 01:17 and I just appreciate John and you, Eric, 01:21 and the evangelistic heart and ministry 01:23 that It Is Written has. 01:24 >>Eric: Well, we do absolutely have that, 01:26 and you set the precedent many years ago, 01:28 and we continue to carry that torch by the grace of God. 01:32 This week, lesson number 7 is "Motivated by Hope." 01:34 You know, if you take a look at the Bible, 01:38 there are two great centers in the Bible, 01:41 two great subjects or points 01:43 to which everything else kind of directs, 01:46 and that's the first and the second coming of Christ. 01:50 When we look at that and the importance of it, 01:53 in the first paragraph here of this week's lesson, 01:56 you draw us to something significant. 02:00 Share with us a little bit more about that 02:01 and why you called this lesson "Motivated by Hope." 02:05 >>Mark: You know, somebody said you can go through anything 02:08 if you know there's light at the end of that tunnel, 02:10 if you know that there is hope at the end. 02:13 Somebody said that what oxygen is to the body, 02:15 hope is to the soul. 02:17 So hope lifts our vision from what is to what will be. 02:21 And when you see the challenges in our world today, 02:24 wars and rumors of wars and famines and earthquakes 02:27 and pestilences and rising crime and violence, 02:29 you can often become discouraged as you look around you. 02:34 But the Bible talks in Titus, chapter 2 02:38 about "the blessed hope," 02:40 and it's that hope of the coming of Jesus, 02:43 hope of a better world. 02:44 In that first paragraph of lesson 7, we point out 02:49 that "the second coming of Christ 02:51 is one of the central themes" of the entire Bible. 02:54 It's the "golden thread 02:55 "that runs through the Bible's sacred pages. 02:58 "One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references 03:03 to [the] second coming [of Christ] in the Old Testament." 03:06 And that "in the 260 chapters of the New Testament, 03:09 "there are...300 references to the return of [Jesus]. 03:13 "[Once] in every 25 verses" the Bible in the New Testament 03:18 speaks about the coming of Jesus. 03:19 The New Testament has 27 books, 03:21 and 23 of them feature the second coming of Christ. 03:25 So the second coming of Christ is a major mountain peak theme, 03:29 along with the cross of Calvary, of course, in the entire Bible. 03:34 >>Eric: And we can understand why that would be hopeful. 03:36 If we look at the world that we live in right now 03:38 and the history of this world, 03:39 we've got to have something to look forward to. 03:41 And that second coming of Christ is very much that for us today. 03:46 You talk in this week's lesson about William Miller 03:50 and his role in the Second Advent movement. 03:53 What was the significance of his role? 03:56 There were other people who were talking 03:57 about the second coming of Christ as well. 03:59 But William Miller kind of-- 04:00 I don't know if we could say he was on a pinnacle, 04:02 but he was up there sharing this, 04:04 and he's a significant figure in history. 04:07 >>Mark: In the early 1800s, the common belief 04:12 was that there would be 04:13 a 1,000-year millennium on earth. 04:16 So, preachers of the traditional churches 04:21 were preaching that this millennium 04:23 would take place very soon on earth, 04:26 the 1,000 years of peace. 04:28 As the result of that, people did not have the passion, 04:31 the urgency to prepare for the second coming of Christ. 04:35 There's gonna be 1,000 years of peace on earth, 04:37 and, you know, that will be a joyous time, 04:43 so there was not this motivation. 04:45 As Miller began to study the Bible passages--for example, 04:49 he studies John 14, verse 1 to 3. 04:55 And as Miller studied these-- and you know this passage well, 05:00 Eric; you've preached on it numerous times. 05:03 But Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled; 05:06 "you believe in God, believe also in me. 05:08 "In my Father's house are many mansions; 05:11 "if it were not so, I would have told you. 05:12 "I go to prepare a place for you. 05:14 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again." 05:17 Miller saw that. He didn't see 1,000 years of peace. 05:20 He saw the promise of Christ's coming. 05:23 Maybe you can read for us 05:25 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 13 through 18, 05:30 1 Thessalonians 4. So as William Miller studied these things, 05:34 he came to the conclusion that Christ's coming 05:38 would not be coming to the earth 05:40 to establish 1,000 years of peace 05:42 but coming to take His children home. 05:45 >>Eric: This is verses 13 to 18? >>Mark: Yes, please. 05:48 >>Eric: "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, 05:50 "concerning those who have fallen asleep, 05:52 "lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 05:55 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 05:58 "even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 06:02 "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, 06:05 "that we who are alive and remain 06:07 "until the coming of the Lord 06:08 "will by no means precede those who are asleep. 06:11 "For the Lord Himself 06:12 "will descend from heaven with a shout, 06:14 "with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. 06:17 "And the dead in Christ will rise first. 06:20 "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up 06:23 "together with them in the clouds 06:25 "to meet the Lord in the air. 06:27 "And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 06:29 Therefore comfort one another with these words." 06:33 >>Mark: As Miller read these prophecies, 06:35 studying the Bible chapter by chapter, 06:38 verse by verse, his heart was thrilled. 06:41 He believed that Christ was coming; He was coming soon. 06:45 He'd read Matthew, chapter 24, the signs of Christ coming, 06:48 Luke 21, the signs of Christ coming. 06:51 And particularly, he was particularly impressed 06:55 with the need for preparation for the coming of Christ 06:58 when he read passages 07:00 like Titus, chapter 2, verses 11 to 14: 07:05 "For the grace of God that brings salvation 07:08 "has appeared to all men, teaching us that, 07:11 "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 07:14 "we should live soberly, righteously, 07:16 "and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope 07:19 "and glorious appearing of our...[Lord] Jesus Christ, 07:22 "who gave Himself for us, 07:23 "that He might redeem us from every lawless deed 07:26 "and purify for Himself His own special people, 07:29 zealous for good works." 07:31 When Miller saw passages like this, 07:33 he sensed the need for repentance, 07:36 the need for confession, the need for consecration, 07:40 the need for godly living. 07:42 And so, as he began to preach about the coming of Christ, 07:46 he preached not only about the timing 07:48 of the coming of Christ, 07:50 but he preached about the need for godliness, 07:53 the need for spirituality, 07:54 and revival broke out throughout America. 07:57 And he was one of many advent preachers, 08:00 but I think the significance of Miller's preaching 08:04 was the fact of the urgency of the coming of Christ. 08:08 >>Eric: So it was not something that was viewed 08:10 as far off or insignificant, but it was something that was-- 08:14 something that was very real and soon, 08:18 in fact, very, very soon. >>Mark: Mm-hmm. 08:20 >>Eric: If you knew something was coming very soon, 08:22 you would take it much more seriously as well. 08:24 And that's one of the great elements 08:25 that Miller added to this. 08:28 You've mentioned, Pastor Mark, several times 08:30 about William Miller 08:31 coming across this verse and that verse as he studied. 08:34 Share with us a little bit more about how William Miller studied 08:38 that allowed these verses 08:41 to really come up and catch his attention. 08:43 What--how did he study? 08:45 >>Mark: Well, Miller's background was a deist. 08:47 The deists believed that God started the world, 08:51 maybe created it. 08:53 But He kind of wound it up like a clock and just lets it run, 08:56 so He was not interfering with the world. 08:59 Miller had a unique experience in the War of 1812 09:04 where he was almost killed. 09:06 A shell blew up and exploded by him. 09:10 And it led him to begin to think about the fact 09:12 that God had a purpose for his life. 09:14 So that led him to begin to study the Bible. 09:16 As he studied-- as he called himself, 09:19 he said he was a gentleman farmer. 09:21 You know, he considered himself really not to be a theologian, 09:25 but he took a notebook and he took a concordance, 09:29 and he began to study, started with the book of Genesis. 09:33 What he didn't understand, he would write down 09:36 and look for other Bible passages 09:38 that helped to explain that. 09:40 He believed that the Bible should be its own interpreter 09:44 and that the Holy Spirit would guide him 09:47 as he put the texts of the Bible together. 09:49 And as he did that, 09:51 he came up with truths of the Bible. 09:54 Now, did everything that William Miller say 09:57 or teach or write, was it all 100% accurate? 10:01 No, it wasn't. 10:03 There were some things that he did not fully understand 10:07 at the time he wrote. 10:08 But the essence, the essence of what he studied, 10:12 the essence of what he wrote was indeed inspired by God 10:17 to prepare people for the coming of Christ. 10:21 >>Eric: So that's something that we can still latch on to today, 10:25 that we can learn from today. >>Mark: Mmm. 10:28 >>Eric: We may not understand everything perfectly ourselves 10:31 as we study through the Bible, 10:33 but if we can get the big pieces, 10:34 that will help us to understand 10:36 the other pieces that come together. 10:39 >>Mark: Yeah, the big picture of William Miller was 10:41 that there was not going to be 1,000 years of peace, 10:44 that Christ was leading His people 10:48 to prepare for His soon return, 10:51 and God was calling them to godliness and holiness 10:55 and commitment and repentance 10:57 and confession and sanctification. 10:59 So Miller's--the result of William Miller's preaching 11:05 was tens of thousands of conversions. 11:08 He may not have had every nuance of prophecy right, 11:12 but the thrust to prepare people 11:13 for the coming of Jesus was there. 11:15 >>Eric: So God was able to work through him. 11:18 He shared what he understood. >>Right. 11:20 >>Eric: And through that sharing, 11:22 God was able to bring people 11:24 to a better understanding of salvation 11:27 and the imminence of Christ's return. 11:32 >>Mark: Right, and he was a Christ-centered preacher. 11:34 I mean, he preached on the love of Christ. 11:36 He preached on the sacrifice of Christ. 11:40 So it wasn't that he only preached numbers and prophecy, 11:43 as important as they were, but he was very Christ-centered. 11:47 >>Eric: And if we want to be saved, 11:49 we have to understand-- 11:50 we have to have that relationship with Christ. 11:52 It's very, very important. 11:54 We're looking this week at "Motivated by Hope" 11:57 and the significance of Christ's second coming. 12:00 We have X amount of time to try to cover that. 12:02 We can't cover everything, but we do have a companion book. 12:05 Share with us a little bit more about that companion book 12:07 and why it would be beneficial for somebody to have. 12:09 >>Mark: Well, the companion book's title is 12:10 "The War Between Good and Evil." 12:12 And what I've done in that companion book 12:14 is taken a lot of the history of the Advent movement 12:18 and fleshed it out, 12:20 so you--it's filled with stories, 12:23 biblical passages, filled with opportunities 12:27 to deepen your understanding of the lesson. 12:31 And take William Miller, for example-- 12:34 I go into some of his background in deism, 12:37 look at how God led him during the years of his searching, 12:42 and we see ourselves in that picture. 12:45 We see--we all are seekers, we're searchers, 12:49 and when you study William Miller's life 12:51 or any of the reformers, 12:52 you find a God that takes you where you are 12:57 to lead you where He wants you to be. 12:59 >>Eric: Thank you, Pastor Mark. 13:00 And if you'd like to pick that book up, 13:02 it's very easy to do. 13:04 Just go to itiswritten.shop. 13:06 Again, that's itiswritten.shop. 13:08 You can find the companion book 13:10 to this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson there, 13:12 and it will be a blessing to you. 13:14 We're going to be back in just a moment 13:15 as we continue looking at lesson number 7, 13:18 as we study "The Great Controversy." 13:21 We'll be back in just a moment. 13:22 ♪♪♪ 13:26 >>Announcer: If you'd like to deepen your understanding 13:28 of the powerful themes brought out in this program, 13:31 we invite you to explore the book 13:32 "The Great Controversy." 13:34 For more information, simply text the code "GC24" to 71392. 13:39 This book delves into critical end-time themes, 13:42 offering profound insights into historical events, 13:45 Bible prophecy, and spiritual preparation 13:47 essential for today's unique challenges. 13:50 Discover how "The Great Controversy" 13:52 can illuminate your path in these uncertain times. 13:57 >>John Bradshaw: More and more people are watching 13:58 It Is Written TV. 14:01 They're watching their favorite It Is Written programs, 14:04 listening to inspiring sermon series, 14:06 and much more. 14:08 They're watching them here, here, and even here. 14:12 See for yourself why people 14:13 are turning to It Is Written TV 14:16 to watch their favorite Christian programs 14:18 live and on demand. 14:20 Watch It Is Written TV for free any time on Roku, 14:23 Apple TV, and at itiswritten.tv. 14:27 ♪♪♪ 14:31 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 14:33 brought to you by It Is Written. 14:35 I'm here with Pastor Mark Finley, 14:36 the author of this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson. 14:38 We're taking a look at lesson number 7, 14:40 "Motivated by Hope." 14:43 When we talk about hope, 14:44 obviously, we're talking about the second coming of Christ; 14:46 we're talking about things being made new 14:49 and an ultimate deliverance 14:51 from the challenges that we face today. 14:54 There's a significant verse 14:57 in the book of Daniel, chapter 8 14:59 that may be, might be a little bit cryptic to somebody 15:03 who thinks, "How does this give us hope? 15:05 Why is this a verse about hope?" 15:07 And it's in Daniel, chapter 8, verse number 14. 15:11 I'll read this, and then I'll let you 15:13 respond to it a little bit 15:14 and explain why this is significant for us today. 15:17 In Daniel 2-- Daniel 8, verse 14, 15:20 it says, "And he said to me, 15:22 "'For two thousand three hundred days; 15:24 then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.'" 15:27 So what does the cleansing of a sanctuary 15:30 have to do with giving us hope in the world today? 15:33 >>Mark: Well, if you look at the context 15:35 of Daniel, chapter 8, 15:36 it starts with the idea of the ram and the he goat. 15:39 The Bible clearly explains 15:41 that the ram represents Medo-Persia; 15:44 the he goat represents Greece. 15:46 After you look at the--at Greece-- 15:50 and it talks about the notable horn coming up, 15:53 representing Alexander the Great, 15:55 the four horns representing the four generals of Alexander, 15:59 Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy-- 16:03 then it talks about this little horn power, 16:07 pagan Rome, coming from one of the winds, 16:11 and then as pagan Rome spreads horizontally-- 16:16 that's Daniel 8, verse 9: 16:18 "out of one of them came a little horn 16:20 "[that] grew exceeding great toward the south, 16:23 toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land." 16:25 Glorious Land, of course, is Israel. 16:27 So out of one of these winds, a little horn comes, 16:30 a power that's small at first, but it grows to be 16:33 exceeding great, the Roman Empire. 16:36 It comes from the west, northwest, 16:38 because it grows toward the south, 16:40 toward the east. 16:42 But then it changes and it grows up 16:45 to the host of heaven. 16:46 It casts down the host of some of the stars to the ground. 16:50 Daniel explains that those hosts that is cast to the ground 16:53 are the people of God. 16:54 So here you have now not simply a political power 16:57 but a religious power. 16:59 He exalts himself to "the Prince of the host"--verse 11, 17:02 that's Christ. 17:03 And then he casts the truth of God "down to the ground." 17:08 So the context of Daniel 8:14 17:11 is the rise of a religious political power 17:14 that would exist during the Middle Ages, 17:17 the medieval church, that would cast truth to the ground. 17:20 Sometime after the Middle Ages, after 1798, the scripture says, 17:27 "He said to me"--verse 14-- 17:29 "'[Unto] two thousand three hundred days; 17:31 then the sanctuary [will] be cleansed.'" 17:34 So the question becomes, 17:35 what is the cleansing of the sanctuary? 17:37 The word "cleanse" there means 17:38 restored to its rightful place, vindicated. 17:42 So the cleansing of the sanctuary 17:45 would have to do with God setting right 17:48 in the light of the judgment His love and grace 17:52 through the whole universe, 17:54 God demonstrating that He was worthy 17:56 to be honored and praised. 17:58 When we look at Daniel, chapter 8 18:01 and compare it to Daniel, chapter 7, 18:05 the cleansing of the sanctuary has to do in the ancient times 18:09 with the Day of Atonement. 18:11 The Day of Atonement was the last day of the Jewish year. 18:14 All of Israel gathered around in repentance. 18:17 So the truth of God about Jesus Christ 18:20 is going to be restored at the end of the 2,300 days. 18:23 The truth about the sanctuary is gonna be restored, 18:26 which, of course, as Jesus as the dying Lamb, 18:29 Jesus as the living Priest, if you talk about the sanctuary, 18:32 you talk about the Shekinah glory of God, 18:35 and you talk about the covenant, and you talk about 18:39 the law of God in the ark of the covenant. 18:43 So it has to deal with the law of God. 18:45 The Sabbath is the heart of that law. 18:47 So this cleansing of the sanctuary 18:50 is the restoration of truth at end time 18:53 in the light of the judgment. 18:54 And now, here's one thing about Miller. 18:57 When he looked at the cleansing of the sanctuary, 19:00 he didn't understand that this talked about 19:03 the restoration of divine truth about the heavenly sanctuary. 19:06 The popular idea at that time 19:08 was that the earth was the sanctuary. 19:11 He thought at the end of the 2,300 days, 19:13 the earth would be cleansed by fire. 19:15 Therefore, when he began to do 19:17 the calculations of the 2,300 days, 19:20 he thought, "Ah, we're living, and Jesus is gonna come 19:24 and cleanse the earth by fire." 19:26 He mistook the nature 19:31 of the cleansing of the sanctuary. 19:33 >>Eric: So he had some ideas that were right, 19:35 that were headed in the right direction, 19:36 but because of a small misunderstanding, 19:39 there were some significant misunderstandings, 19:42 but still a great deal of truth in there. 19:45 In Daniel, chapter 8, verse 14, we have this verse 19:48 that talks about the cleansing of the sanctuary. 19:51 You've shown the connection 19:52 between Daniel 7 and Daniel, chapter 8. 19:54 What about the connections 19:56 between Daniel, chapter 8 and Daniel, chapter 9? 19:59 How does Daniel 9 help us to better understand 20:01 what's going on in Daniel 8 and give us more hope? 20:03 >>Mark: Well, that's a great question. 20:05 And you know, the angel Gabriel is commissioned 20:08 to make Daniel understand the vision. 20:10 Daniel 8, verse 16: "And I heard a man's voice 20:12 "between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, 20:15 'Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.'" 20:17 So Gabriel has an assignment. 20:19 When angels are given assignments by God, 20:21 they carry them out. So Gabriel begins to explain. 20:23 He explains everything about the vision. 20:25 He explains about the ram. He explains about the he goat. 20:28 He says, for example, in verse 19, 20:33 "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen 20:35 "in the latter time of the indignation; 20:37 for at the appointed time the end shall be." 20:39 So whatever this 2,300 days, prophetic days or literal years, 20:44 it has to take you down to the time of the end. 20:46 So it can't be fulfilled in Daniel's day. 20:50 It has to be beyond Daniel's day, 20:52 the complete fulfillment. 20:53 Talks about the ram, 20:55 he names them, kings of Media and Persia. 20:57 Verse 20 talks about the male goat. 20:59 Verse 21 names Greece. 21:02 He talks about pagan Rome in verses 23 and onward. 21:06 But as he--and then he talks 21:08 about this little horn of papal Rome. 21:10 Then he says in verse 26-- could you read verse 26? 21:15 >>Eric: "And the vision of the evenings and mornings 21:16 "which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, 21:20 for it refers to many days in the future." 21:23 >>Mark: So, notice the wording. 21:25 Verse 17, Gabriel says, "Understand, son of man... 21:29 the vision [will be at] the time of the end." 21:31 Verse 26 says that it'll be in the future. 21:35 So it's not fulfilled totally in Daniel's day. 21:38 You come to verse 27, the angel's explaining it, 21:41 and Daniel faints, 21:43 he's sick many days, and it says, "I was astonished 21:47 by the vision, but [none] understood it." 21:49 So at the end of Daniel, chapter 8, 21:51 you have everything in the vision explained 21:53 except the 2,300 days. 21:56 You have the ram, the he goat explained. Daniel faints. 21:59 Daniel 9 begins with Daniel's prayer 22:01 in the first 20 verses. 22:04 But as he's praying, the angel Gabriel comes back 22:07 to explain to him 22:09 the unexplained portion of the vision. 22:11 >>Eric: Which is that 2,300 days. 22:12 So Daniel 9 gives us that explanation, 22:15 helps us to kind of break down the 2,300 days. 22:18 And here at the end of Daniel 8, 22:20 Daniel's trying to understand this. 22:21 He gets so sick he faints. >>Mark: Right. 22:23 >>Eric: It took Daniel--or it took Gabriel a little while 22:25 to get back to him, 22:26 but he does come back in Daniel, chapter 9 22:28 and give him that explanation 22:30 which is very beneficial for us today. 22:34 So Daniel, chapter 9, 22:38 what's the significance of this chapter 22:40 with respect to both the first coming of Christ 22:43 and the second coming of Christ? 22:45 >>Mark: It is one of the most amazing prophecies 22:47 in all the Bible. 22:48 You know, when Jesus came, Paul says, 22:51 "The fullness of time had come," Galatians 4:4. 22:55 Just after Jesus' baptism, Jesus says, 22:58 "The time is fulfilled." 23:00 When Christ died, in Romans 5 it says, 23:03 "In due time"-- at the right time-- 23:05 "Christ died for the ungodly." 23:06 So this prophecy in Daniel 9 predicts 23:09 the exact timing of the coming of Christ. 23:12 Let's look at it just momentarily here. 23:14 It says Daniel's praying in verse 20, 23:17 and as he's praying, in verse 21, it says, 23:20 "Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, 23:23 "whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, 23:25 "being caused to fly swiftly, reached me 23:27 [at] the time of the evening offering." 23:29 So he names the vision he saw at the beginning, 23:32 which was Daniel, chapter 8. Gabriel comes back. 23:35 Verse 22: "He informed me, and talked with me, and said, 23:38 "'O Daniel, I have now come forth 23:40 to give you skill [and understanding].'" 23:42 So he didn't understand in Daniel 8:27, 23:45 but in Daniel 9:22, the angel Gabriel comes back 23:49 to enable him to understand. 23:51 Then he says in verse 24, "Seventy weeks are determined"-- 23:55 the word "determined" there means "cut off." 23:58 It's the Hebrew word "chathak," or amputated, 24:01 "for your people." 24:02 And so, 70 weeks are cut off. They are cut off from what? 24:07 The larger prophecy of the 2,300 days. 24:11 If you take 70 weeks, you have seven days in a week, 24:14 seven times 70 are 490. 24:16 So you have 490 prophetic days or literal years that apply 24:21 to Daniel's people, the Jews. 24:23 Then, what would take place? 24:27 During that time, everlasting righteousness 24:29 would be ushered in. 24:31 And then he says, verse 25: "Know therefore and understand, 24:35 "...from the going forth of the command 24:36 "to restore and build Jerusalem [unto] Messiah the Prince, 24:39 shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." 24:43 So, if we can find out the command to restore 24:45 and build Jerusalem, which was precisely Ezra 7, 24:49 457 B.C.--69 prophetic weeks, 7 times 69, 483 years, 24:55 takes you right down to 27 AD, 24:58 the exact year of Christ's baptism in the fall. 25:01 Then the scripture says in 3 and 1/2 more years, 25:04 the middle of the week, the Messiah would cause 25:06 the sacrifice oblation to cease. Jesus is 33 years old. 25:10 It's 31 AD, the spring, the exact day of the Passover. 25:14 Christ indeed is crucified. Gospel goes to the Gentiles. 25:19 Four hundred ninety years take you down from 457 to 34. 25:24 There's 1,810 years left of the 2,300 years 25:28 because the 490 is the smaller part, 25:30 takes you down to 1844. 25:32 What is the significance of this? 25:34 The significance is we, since 1844, 25:38 have been living at a time when God wants to restore the truth 25:41 about the sanctuary. 25:43 Christ is our dying Lamb. Christ is our living Priest. 25:46 We're living in the judgment hour. 25:48 We can have our lives committed to Christ. 25:50 The Bible says judgment is "passed 25:52 in favor of the saints of [God]." 25:55 In the judgment, Christ is deemed worthy 25:58 of receiving His kingdom. 26:00 That is incredibly good news. 26:04 William Miller failed to understand 26:06 the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven. 26:09 He did understand that Christ was coming 26:13 and the need to prepare for His coming. 26:15 And that's the appeal to God's people today: 26:17 to be ready for the coming of Jesus. 26:19 >>Eric: Let me ask you this question in closing. 26:21 Pastor Mark, if somebody 26:22 is watching this, listening to it, 26:24 and they're thinking, "Wow, we're living 26:25 "in the judgment hour just before Christ comes back; 26:27 I'm not good enough to be saved," 26:30 what encouragement would you give that person to help them 26:35 look forward to Christ's coming with hope rather than dread? 26:39 >>Mark: I would give them the same encouragement, 26:41 Pastor, as Pastor George Vandeman, 26:44 founder of It Is Written, used to always say. 26:47 He would say, "When I look at myself, 26:49 "I see no way I can be saved. 26:51 When I look at Jesus, I see no way I can be lost." 26:54 I would say, look to Jesus. 26:56 Jesus is your righteousness. Jesus is your Savior. 27:00 Jesus is the one that guarantees 27:04 that if you give your life to Him, 27:06 He will get you through to eternity. 27:09 >>Eric: Pastor Mark, thank you 27:11 for those words of encouragement. 27:12 And thank you for joining us once again this week 27:16 as we are being motivated by hope, 27:18 looking forward with anticipation 27:21 to that day in the very near future 27:22 when Jesus is going to come and take His children home. 27:27 But before that time comes, 27:29 we've still got a few more lessons, 27:30 and we're going to continue studying this great theme 27:32 of "The Great Controversy" next week 27:34 as we come together once again 27:36 here on "Sabbath School," 27:37 brought to you by It Is Written. 27:39 ♪♪♪ 28:21 ♪♪♪ 28:25 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2024-05-08