Participants:
Series Code: NP
Program Code: NP200905S
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00:18 Praise God,
00:20 From whom all blessings flow 00:27 Praise Him, all creatures here 00:33 Below Praise Him above, 00:40 Ye heavenly host 00:45 Praise Father, Son, 00:48 And Holy Ghost! 00:55 Amen 01:19 Strength will rise As we wait upon the Lord 01:22 We will wait upon the Lord We will wait upon the Lord 01:27 Strength will rise As we wait upon the Lord 01:30 We will wait upon the Lord We will wait upon the Lord 01:35 Our God 01:37 You reign forever 01:42 Our Hope our strong Deliverer 01:51 You are the everlasting God 01:56 The everlasting God 02:00 You do not faint 02:02 You won't grow weary 02:08 You're the defender Of the weak 02:13 You comfort those in need 02:18 You lift us up On wings 02:21 Like eagles 02:25 You are the everlasting God 02:30 The everlasting God 02:34 You do not faint 02:36 You won't grow weary 02:42 You're the defender Of the weak 02:47 You comfort those in need 02:51 You lift us up On wings like eagles. 03:07 You may be seated. 03:29 Worthy of every song We could ever sing 03:36 Worthy of all the praise We could ever bring 03:44 Worthy of every breath We could ever breathe 03:49 We live for You 04:00 Jesus, the name above Every other name 04:08 Jesus, the only One Who could ever save 04:16 Worthy of every breath We could ever breathe 04:21 We live for You Oh, we live for You 04:30 Holy, 04:32 There is no one like You 04:36 There is none beside You 04:40 Open up my eyes in wonder 04:46 And show me who You are 04:49 And fill me with Your heart 04:53 And lead me in Your love 04:58 To those around me 05:17 And I will build My life 05:22 Upon Your love 05:26 It is a firm foundation 05:32 And I will put my trust 05:38 In You alone 05:42 And I will not be shaken 05:48 And I will build My life 05:53 Upon Your love 05:57 It is a firm foundation 06:03 And I will put my trust 06:08 In You alone 06:12 And I will not be shaken 06:19 Holy, 06:21 There is no one like You 06:25 There is none beside You 06:29 Open up my eyes in wonder 06:34 And show me who You are 06:38 And fill me with Your heart 06:42 And lead me in Your love 06:46 To those around me 07:10 I heard of a river 07:15 Flowing from heaven 07:19 And all who are thirsty 07:23 Would thirst no more 07:27 I wonder if I can 07:31 Drink of this fountain 07:35 The least of ten thousand 07:38 I come X 07:43 Here at the waterfall 07:46 I stand in awe Under the rock, 07:53 Under the rock 07:54 Where mercy reigns 07:58 Here at the waterfall 08:02 Beneath the cross 08:06 Under the rock, under the rock 08:10 Where mercy reigns 08:16 I heard of a river 08:20 Out of the mountain 08:24 Where healing and pardon 08:28 Are pouring out 08:32 I'm over my head 08:34 In a sea of forgiveness 08:40 Hidden in Jesus, 08:43 I am found 08:47 Here at the waterfall 08:51 I stand in awe 08:55 Under the rock, under the rock 08:59 Where mercy reigns 09:03 Here at the waterfall 09:07 Beneath the cross 09:11 Under the rock, under the rock 09:15 Where mercy reigns 09:22 Ev'rything lives Where the river runs 09:29 Ev'rything lives Where the river runs 09:37 Ev'rything lives Where the river runs 09:45 Ev'rything lives where the river runs 09:53 Ev'rything lives Where the river runs 09:56 I come alive, I come alive 10:01 Ev'rything lives Where the river runs 10:04 I come alive, I come alive 10:08 Ev'rything lives Where the river runs 10:12 I come alive, I come alive 10:16 Ev'rything lives Where the river runs 10:20 I come alive Here at the waterfall 10:27 I stand in awe 10:31 Under the rock, under the rock 10:34 Where mercy reigns 10:38 Here at the waterfall 10:42 Beneath the cross 10:46 Under the rock, under the rock 10:50 Where mercy reigns 10:54 Under the rock, under the rock 10:58 Where mercy reigns 11:02 Under the rock, under the rock 11:06 Where mercy reigns 11:23 Hey, sis, dad, mom, come on, Children's Story is on. 11:29 Hello boys and girls, my name is Coach Lonto, 11:31 I'm a physical ed teacher at Ruth Murdoch Elementary. 11:34 I'm really excited to be here. 11:36 My second favorite thing to do 11:37 is teach kids physical education 11:39 at Ruth Murdock. 11:41 My first favorite thing to do is 11:42 I love to tell kids your age about the love of Jesus. 11:47 So, my story today is I was a summer camp counselor 11:51 at Camp Blue Ridge, 11:52 and I love that job, had a great time. 11:56 One of my favorite things to do is the Passion Play. 12:00 Every Friday night, 12:01 we would have worship with the kids in the cabin. 12:04 And every day, 12:05 and we talk about Jesus 12:07 and we teach the kids about the love of Jesus. 12:09 But then Friday, 12:11 Friday was the final climax of the whole week. 12:16 And we got to show people what Jesus did for us. 12:20 He died for us on the cross. 12:22 And He rose again 12:24 to give us His gift of salvation. 12:27 And it was one of the best things 12:29 I loved about camp. 12:31 Well, the first week we had the Passion Play, 12:34 and it went smoothly. 12:36 For some reason, they always made me Jesus 12:38 at the Passion Play, 12:39 so I got to ride a donkey, 12:41 and they put me on a cross. 12:44 And it was, it was, 12:46 it was really important to me 12:47 because of the way that I got to play Jesus, 12:52 and how that affected the kids in my cabin. 12:55 And it went really well every week, 13:00 while one week came up, 13:02 and the weather forecast was for rain, 13:06 and it's counselors and people 13:08 that took care of the Passion Play 13:09 and put on the Passion Play, 13:11 we started to get worried. 13:12 And we were wondering, 13:14 oh, what are we going to do 13:15 if it rains? 13:16 How can we do this if it rains? 13:18 The kids won't get a blessing if it rains. 13:22 And then it came Friday, 13:24 and we'd been praying that God would work a miracle. 13:28 And so, it came time to do the Passion Play 13:33 and you know what? 13:34 The weatherman forecasted rain, 13:35 it looked like it was gonna rain all day, 13:37 but it did not rain. 13:40 Later on, we found out it rained all around our camp, 13:44 but it did not rain on our camp. 13:47 And wow, it was amazing. 13:50 Another week came by, another Friday came, 13:52 another Passion Play came and weather was fine. 13:58 But then it came time again. 14:00 Friday, another Friday came by 14:02 and bad weather was forecasted. 14:05 And we started praying again. 14:08 Jesus, please don't let it rain 14:11 so that we can have our Passion Play. 14:13 And Friday came 14:15 and it looked like it was gonna rain all day, 14:19 but it didn't rain during Passion Play. 14:21 Another Friday, it rained on Friday, 14:24 but right before Passion Play, 14:26 guess what? 14:27 It stopped raining. 14:30 And suddenly we started realizing 14:31 that God is in control of the weather. 14:35 If God wants to bless you, 14:37 He's gonna bless you and work a miracle 14:39 so that you can give your heart to Jesus. 14:43 I hope that 14:44 you know that there's a God out there 14:46 that loves you and wants to meet you 14:49 and will control the weather 14:50 so that He can get to know you better, 14:52 and you can learn more about Him. 14:55 Dear Jesus, thank You for the Sabbath day. 14:59 And thank You for keeping us safe 15:02 and help us to be blessings to others. 15:07 Amen. 15:20 College life has never been easy for me. 15:23 My first two years in Andrews University 15:25 both of my parents provided loans for my education 15:30 while I worked as well, 15:32 and it was also issues at home that were slowly arising. 15:35 They all hit a climax in the summer of 2019. 15:39 I was left with a decision 15:42 to stay with my family 15:46 and help them with their issues. 15:48 And also, the reality 15:49 that I didn't have enough money 15:51 to provide for my education 15:53 or step out of faith. 15:55 I personally wanted to stay with my family, 15:59 but God convicted me to walk out in faith. 16:03 And I walked out in faith 16:04 and God had began to open doors for me. 16:07 That next stage of faith is still was a struggle. 16:14 I came here and I didn't have a place, 16:16 I didn't have a job, 16:19 but a job was provided for me. 16:21 It was the job 16:22 that I was working for my freshman 16:24 and sophomore year. 16:26 And a place was offered by one of my friends 16:29 that I made at the college. 16:30 And so, I ended up living with him. 16:32 And I eventually worked 60 hours, 16:35 and it took a toll on my body. 16:37 But God said, keep going. 16:40 And it wasn't, it wasn't a very dark time too 16:41 because I really felt like 16:43 God wasn't going to provide 16:46 what He said He was gonna provide 16:47 which wasn't a college education. 16:49 But He said, keep going, 16:50 keep going in the midst of your struggle. 16:52 And so, I did. 16:53 I aggravated to speak to the president 16:56 and the provost about my financial situation, 16:59 and also my family situation. 17:02 And they said it helped me achieve my dream. 17:05 If you are student at Andrews University 17:08 listening to this, I'd advise you to trust God. 17:11 I know it's hard, 17:12 it's extremely difficult 17:13 as soon as we want to rely on ourselves, 17:16 but guys, begging us to trust Him 17:19 because He will provide all the things 17:21 that we can't provide on our own. 17:23 And as my shirt says, if God is all you have, 17:26 God is all you need. 17:28 And so, here we are on today, 17:32 I can proudly say 17:34 God has brought me back to college. 17:36 I'm Eddie and this is my testimony. 18:02 Jesus, 18:04 Joy of man's desiring 18:13 Holy wisdom, 18:18 love most bright 18:36 Drawn by Thee 18:41 Our souls aspiring 18:48 Sing to uncreated light 19:14 Word of God 19:18 Our flesh that fashioned 19:28 With the fire 19:32 Of life impassioned 19:42 Striving still 19:46 To truth unknown 19:54 In the love 19:58 Of joys unknown Well, 20:36 we've had an incredible week here at Andrews University. 20:41 I don't think in the few years I've been here 20:45 I've ever attended a week of prayer 20:48 like the one we just ended last night. 20:50 Student, student preachers every single night, 20:54 theme loving life. 21:00 And I'm telling you what, 21:03 somehow, God is turning this. 21:06 This will be, 21:07 one day, we're gonna see God's fingerprints 21:09 all over this week. 21:10 So thank you five preachers that'd preached. 21:11 Thank you, 21:13 chaplains, that worked so hard to pull it off. 21:16 So this morning, I'm up early. 21:19 And I'm saying God, 21:20 my heart was moved by these messages of your love. 21:25 Have we jumped off a cliff here 21:27 with this apocalyptic prophecy emphasis 21:30 with, you know, weird and scary beasts and all 21:33 and are we somehow pushing away from the theme of your love? 21:37 Does this interface, can it fit? 21:41 And while I was, while I was praying, 21:45 I said, come on, boy, what do you think? 21:46 What do you think? 21:48 How do you think Revelation opens? 21:49 And I totally forgot about this. 21:50 I want you to open to the apocalypse right now. 21:53 Revelation, the first page of Revelation, 21:55 Revelation Chapter 1, 21:57 and we, you know, 21:59 you know, the first line everybody knows the first line. 22:01 But I want to show you what I had forgotten. 22:04 Revelation Chapter 1, 22:05 I'm in the New International Version. 22:09 Familiar words, 22:10 revelation from Jesus Christ 22:13 or it can be the revelation of Jesus Christ 22:14 or it can be the revelation about Jesus Christ, 22:18 which God gave him to show his servants 22:20 what must soon take place. 22:22 So the apocalypse is about what must soon take place. 22:25 There will be a generation on earth 22:27 that will live the last pictures 22:31 of the apocalypse. 22:34 But I want you to drop down to verse 5. 22:37 We must not forget, this is not only revelation, 22:39 this is not a revelation of the weird and scary beast. 22:43 It's a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. 22:45 And now drop down to verse 5, the very tail end of verse 5, 22:49 and to him, 22:50 put it on the screen, there you go. 22:51 "And to him who loves us 22:54 and has freed us from our sins 22:57 by his blood. 23:00 " I got a line scribbled right above this line. 23:03 It in my Bible 23:04 right at the top of the page of Revelation 1, 23:06 I'm going to try to read it in my own handwriting, 23:08 we'll put it on the screen for you, as well. 23:11 It's just one line. 23:13 One thing will be certainly understood 23:17 from the study of Revelation 23:19 that the connection between God and His people, 23:22 now notice those next two words, is close. 23:26 And what's the last word? 23:27 Decided. 23:29 The connection between God and His people 23:31 is close and decided. 23:37 I think of that that the rabbi raging, 23:41 furious at this breakaway sect from Judaism. 23:45 The rabbis in Jerusalem 23:48 absolutely incensed at the challenge to his, 23:53 the church of his childhood. 23:56 He stands there 23:57 when that brilliant mind is stoned to death. 24:01 He facilitates the execution. 24:04 A massive persecution breaks out in Jerusalem. 24:08 The disciples, the followers of Jesus flee 24:11 at all points on the compass. 24:13 Saul is now in rage 24:15 heading to Damascus, the ancient city. 24:17 He's heard 24:18 there's a group of Christians hiding out. 24:21 And you know the story. 24:23 On the cusp of the city 24:25 there is this nuclear explosion, 24:28 brighter than the sun hurled at the ground, 24:30 his eyes now dark, he cannot see. 24:33 And he hears this voice. 24:35 Saul, Saul, 24:37 why are you persecuting me? 24:39 He knows he's in the presence of some personage 24:41 greater than he and he cries out. 24:43 Who are you, Lord? 24:46 And then the voice response. 24:48 I am Jesus, whom you are, what? 24:53 I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 24:56 Can you believe that? 24:59 You're a friend of Jesus? 25:01 You made a decision this week, 25:03 I'm gonna align my life up with my Savior. 25:07 Live out God's love 25:09 and things start falling apart like Eddie on the screen. 25:17 When you're mocked for the decision you made, 25:19 when your faith is belittled. 25:22 Guess what? 25:24 Somebody else feels it. 25:27 When that pain, like a knife, 25:30 betrayed by someone you counted on 25:32 stabbed your heart. 25:34 Somebody else says, I've been stabbed. 25:38 Saul, what are you doing, persecuting me? 25:43 Book of Revelation will show 25:48 that the connection between God and His people 25:50 is closed and decided. 25:53 How close? 25:56 Still a revelation of love and what we're about to see. 25:58 Yep, yep, yep. 26:00 I'm gonna put a picture on the screen in a moment. 26:03 But first I want to pray with you 26:04 and then we'll plunge into this teaching. 26:06 Oh, God, 26:10 book opens up with your relentless love, 26:14 close and decided, 26:16 that's what happens to people 26:17 who get into the apocalypse together. 26:20 May that happen to us right now. 26:23 Close and decided. 26:25 Our connect with you. 26:28 We pray in Jesus' name. 26:30 Amen. 26:32 Turn to the middle of the apocalypse, 26:33 Revelation Chapter 12. 26:35 Let's go. 26:36 Scary beasts, weird symbols. 26:39 This is the epitome, 26:42 the crux of the apocalypse with all of the above. 26:45 Revelation 12:1, 26:47 "And a great sign appeared in heaven: 26:50 a woman clothed with the sun, 26:53 with the moon under her feet 26:54 and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 26:56 And she was pregnant and she cried out in pain, 26:59 as she was about to give birth. 27:01 Then another sign appeared, 27:03 an enormous red dragon with seven heads 27:05 and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads, 27:08 and its tail swept 27:09 a third of the stars out of the sky 27:11 and flung them to the earth. 27:14 The dragon stood in front of the woman 27:16 who was about to give birth, 27:17 so that it might devour her child 27:19 the moment he was born. 27:20 " Now verse 5, "And she gave birth to a son, 27:24 a male child, 27:26 who 'will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.' 27:28 And her child was snapped up to God and to his throne." 27:34 Everything that's apocalyptic, you got it in that one picture. 27:38 We just bought the rights to this picture, 27:40 European artist. 27:41 And I'm so delighted that we have. 27:43 I want you to take a look. 27:45 His name is Phil McKay. 27:47 We bought the rights 27:48 to be able to use this again and again. 27:52 There it is. 27:53 There's that woman, sun shining on her, 27:56 clothed in the sun, standing on the moon. 28:01 Little garland of twelve stars around her head, pregnant. 28:07 She didn't look real pregnant 28:09 probably the day one of the pregnancy or something. 28:11 I don't know. 28:13 He said, man, 28:14 I'm not gonna paint a picture of this woman 28:15 with her tummy sticking out, 28:17 but that's actually what it is. 28:20 Okay, so there's this woman. 28:22 And here is this seven headed roaring, 28:25 salivating ferocious red dragon. 28:30 You can count him, they're all seven there. 28:34 You know, and we, this may be the first time 28:36 you've ever read this story. 28:38 And even if it were your first time, 28:42 there's a certain enough, 28:43 there's enough familiarity in some of the themes 28:46 that we could guess what the story is. 28:48 We could probably guess that 28:50 that baby that's going to be born is whom? 28:54 Jesus. 28:55 It's Jesus, yeah, it's Jesus. 28:57 The Christ child. 28:59 The whole story of Jesus is reduced to half a sentence, 29:02 He's born and sits on the throne of the universe, 29:06 we know that's the Messiah. 29:08 Rule with a rod of iron. 29:12 The dragon we understand, 29:15 you know, verse 9 in the same chapter, 29:16 he's that old devil, 29:18 the serpent called Satan, we know the dragon. 29:22 But who is this woman? 29:25 It can't be Mother Mary, because of verse 6. 29:29 So let's look at verse 6. 29:31 This unfolding the picture now, verse 6, 29:34 "And the woman fled into the wilderness 29:38 to a place prepared for her by God, 29:41 where she might be taken care 29:43 of for 1,260 days." 29:49 Come on, that can't be Mary, so who is she? 29:53 One of the great Bible keys 29:56 that we can use to pick the lock 29:58 of the apocalypse is this one. 30:01 Women in apocalyptic prophecy represents something, 30:05 there are two kinds of woman, women. 30:08 Here's woman number one, three clues from the Bible. 30:12 What is a woman when God speaks of a woman? 30:15 Let's put clue number one on the screen, please. 30:16 Isaiah 62:5, 30:18 "As a young man marries a young woman, 30:20 " there may be young man in this space right now. 30:22 There may be a family, 30:24 or two getting ready 30:26 for this to happen in their lives. 30:27 "As a young man marries a young woman, 30:30 so will your Builder," 30:31 capital B, so that's God, and God is speaking to Israel. 30:34 "So will your Builder marry you, 30:36 as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, 30:38 so will your God rejoice over you." 30:41 Oh, the faith community is described as a bride of God. 30:46 That's weird. Let's try another one. 30:48 This is the New Testament. 30:49 2 Corinthians 11:2, 30:51 Paul writing to the church in Corinth. 30:54 "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy." 30:58 Why? 30:59 "Because I promised you to one husband, to Christ, 31:03 so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him." 31:08 Old Testament, New Testament, Church, Bride of Christ. 31:13 Paul nails it now in Ephesians 5:25, husbands, 31:17 any husbands here? 31:18 This is great counsel. 31:20 Come on, husbands love your wives. 31:21 By the way, I just have to throw this in, 31:22 that love me self-crucifying love. 31:25 That is self-emptying love. 31:28 So you want to love your wife, you sacrifice yourself for her. 31:32 "Husbands, love your wives, 31:34 just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her." 31:38 So you have a husband loving a wife 31:39 or you have Christ loving the church. 31:41 The church is the bride of Christ. 31:44 Oh, wanna see that picture again 31:46 because we bought the rights. 31:47 Come on. 31:48 We'd look at it as much as we want. 31:50 Yep, that nobody can't, nobody can't tell us we can't. 31:53 There's that girl again. 31:55 There's the woman. 31:57 She is the bride of Christ. 32:02 But there, I warn you, 32:03 there are two women in the apocalypse 32:05 and the other woman, 32:08 well, let's just take a clue as to what she might represent. 32:11 Come on. 32:13 Let's go to the other woman. 32:14 Please, Hosea 1:2, clue number one, 32:17 "When the Lord began to speak through Hosea," 32:19 now, this is a very young prophet. 32:20 He's just getting ready to get married, 32:22 okay, young prophet. 32:24 "When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, 32:26 the Lord said to him, 32:27 'I want you to go and marry a promiscuous woman 32:32 and I want you to have children with her.'" 32:33 Keep going. Next slide. 32:37 Next slide. 32:39 "For like an adulterous wife this land, " 32:44 speaking of Israel, 32:45 the faith community 32:46 "is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord." 32:49 What's going on here. 32:51 He says, I want you to marry a prostitute. 32:53 The prostitute represents the fallen community of faith. 32:56 Is that some weird little one liner description? 33:00 Now, here comes clue number two, Hosea 4:12, 33:03 "My people, " God says, speaking of Israel, 33:05 "consult a wooden idol," 33:07 the, the gods of their neighbors, 33:08 "and a diviner's rod speaks to them. 33:10 A spirit of prostitution leads them astray, 33:14 they are unfaithful to their God." 33:17 You can start out a pure woman 33:18 and apparently end up an impure woman, 33:20 you can start out the bride of God 33:23 and you end up to be the prostitute of man. 33:27 But here's the clincher. 33:29 I want you to see it in your own Bible. 33:31 This is clue number three, 33:32 but just turn to Revelation Chapter 17. 33:34 We're coming right back to 12 33:35 but turn to Revelation Chapter 17. 33:38 Beware, in the apocalypse, 33:40 you're gonna run into two ladies, two ladies. 33:44 Be very careful. 33:46 What's this other lady? Okay. 33:48 Revelation 17:1, 33:53 "One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls 33:55 came and said to me, 'Come, come, come. 33:57 I'm gonna show you the punishment 33:59 of the great prostitute. 34:00 '" Some of your Bible say the great whore, 34:02 "'who sits by many waters.'" It represents many people. 34:07 We noted that last week. 34:08 "With her the kings of the earth 34:11 committed adultery, 34:12 and the inhabitants of the earth 34:14 were intoxicated 34:15 with the wine of her adulteries." 34:17 Drop down to verse 4, 34:18 "And the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, 34:21 and was glittering with gold, 34:22 and precious stones and pearls." 34:24 She's a streetwalker. 34:25 That's what she is, 34:27 you know what the streetwalkers 34:28 just it's just slang for a prostitute. 34:30 She's all decked out 34:32 with gold and precious stones and pearls. 34:34 "She held a golden cup in her hand, 34:36 filled with abominable things 34:38 and the filth of her adulteries." 34:40 Now keep reading. 34:41 "The name written on her forehead was a mystery, 34:44 Babylon the Great, the mother of prostitutes, 34:47 and of the abominations of the earth." 34:49 One more line, 34:50 "And I saw the woman was drunk." 34:52 So we have a drunk prostitute here. 34:54 "The woman was drunk 34:56 with the blood of God's holy people, 34:58 the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus." 35:02 My, oh my, streetwalker, 35:04 that she is, just put that picture up. 35:06 Just the background, yep. 35:11 There are two women in the apocalypse, 35:15 one's the bride of Christ, 35:16 the other is the paramour of the dragon. 35:21 And for the heart and soul of this book, 35:26 this is where the play 35:28 and counterplay will take place, 35:29 it will be between these two communities. 35:33 The bride of Christ, 35:35 the paramour or the lover of the dragon. 35:40 Again and again we come back to that. 35:44 What's that mean? 35:45 Let's be clear. 35:48 Revelation 12, the bride of the Christ, 35:50 bride of Christ, Revelation 17, 35:54 the adulterous and impure woman of the dragon, 35:59 two faith communities. 36:00 You can start out the bride and end up the prostitute. 36:04 Give me a break. No. 36:08 Oh, we left the woman, 36:10 the bride of Christ, the dragon, 36:12 spinning from missing out 36:14 in fury and able to just slay the Messiah, 36:16 he turns on the woman. 36:18 And let's read that, let's read that verse again. 36:21 Back to 12:6, 36:23 and so child snatched up to heaven, 36:25 "The woman fled," verse 6, 36:26 "into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, 36:29 where she might be taken care of, 36:31 " for how many days? 36:33 "1,260 days." Now what's going on here? 36:37 In this book of apocalyptic symbols, 36:39 the beasts and sea and earth 36:43 and water and sky in the midst of these symbols, 36:48 there's time and time is symbolic as well. 36:52 Let me share something with you. 36:54 1,260 days, 36:55 you're gonna see on either side of this chapter, 36:58 another time period represented 37:00 and it's called 42 months. 37:01 Now, the Jewish day, the Jewish month rather, 37:05 the Bible month is only 30 days long. 37:06 And so, 30 times 42 would be here. 37:08 1,260 days equals 42 months. 37:10 And you can read a little further, 37:12 three and a half years. 37:15 Same time, 37:17 nothing's changed in the amount of time, 37:19 same timeline. 37:20 But what's going on? 37:22 The Great English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton, 37:26 everybody knows Isaac Newton, the law of gravity, 37:28 was fascinated with Bible prophecy 37:31 and discovered this key, 37:32 put the key in the lock and the lock popped open. 37:37 What's the key? 37:39 A day in Bible prophecy equals a year of real time. 37:44 Come on. 37:46 Yeah, if I needed a Bible, yeah, long before, 37:48 long before Isaac Newton. 37:50 God actually had designed the key. 37:51 Let's put it on the screen. 37:53 Numbers 14:34, "For forty years, 37:55 " he's talking to the children of Israel in the wilderness. 37:57 "For forty years, 37:59 one year for each of the forty days 38:01 you explored the land. 38:02 " You remember the 12th spies and they reconnoitered 38:04 and they came back after 40 days 38:06 and 10 of them said, 38:08 we can't do it, we're losers, we're losers, 38:09 we've lost. 38:11 And two of them said, come on, God will get us through. 38:14 God says, "For forty years, 38:15 one year for each of the forty days, 38:17 you spies explored the land, 38:18 you will suffer for your sins 38:20 and know what it is like to have me against you." 38:23 Forty years, okay, 38:25 you're gone for forty days, 38:26 for forty years until the last one drops, 38:28 you're gonna be wondering this wilderness. 38:30 Hey, that wasn't Isaac Newton, that was God. 38:32 God says the same to Ezekiel. 38:33 Go to Ezekiel, 38:35 young prophet Ezekiel Chapter 4. 38:36 "I have assigned you the same number of days 38:39 as the years of their sin, 38:41 a day for each year." 38:44 Of all the apocalyptic keys, 38:46 this one is most readily substantiated 38:49 by scholarship today. 38:50 In apocalyptic prophecy, a day equals a year. 38:57 So what does it mean? 39:00 Let's put it up here in fact, 39:01 1, 260 days in prophecy 39:04 would equal 1,260 years of history. 39:06 Does this make sense? 39:07 So when you run into a day in apocalyptic prophecy, 39:10 it really is hinting that it's a year. 39:13 Now scholars are rather unanimous 39:17 in describing this 1,260 year period 39:20 as none other than 39:21 the Dark and Middle Ages of church history. 39:25 You know what was happening? 39:27 Exactly what it's described here. 39:29 You got a furious dragon, 39:31 setting out to decimate 39:34 and obliterate the bride of Christ. 39:37 Remember the two, the split screen a moment ago. 39:40 That's the battle all the way through. 39:43 They're both fronts for the primary players, 39:46 the Lamb of God, and the dragon of hell. 39:49 Every battle fought on this planet 39:51 is between the two, 39:53 these are surrogates, the two women. 39:58 I've stood in the Alpine valleys 40:00 of Northwest Italy, 40:02 the Piedmont Mountains. 40:03 Oh, I tell you what, 40:04 if you're in the School of Architecture, 40:06 I hope that pandemic does not stop the tours to, 40:09 to that beautiful Alpine setting. 40:13 We've gone twice Karen and I with Kathy Demsky and the, 40:17 was it the third year class of architecture. 40:20 Anyway, 40:21 they're up there studying a Waldensian architecture. 40:26 We had the privilege of moving into some of the caves. 40:28 You know what was going on in the caves? 40:29 You know why they were in the Alpine valleys? 40:33 Because there's another woman 40:35 and the other woman is absolutely furious 40:38 at the thought 40:39 that there would be any other woman 40:41 to share the stage with her. 40:45 Unable to brook the idea of opposition, 40:51 that prostitute sets out to destroy the bride of Christ. 40:56 Just last week, 40:58 we were talking about the French Revolution. 41:01 Have you ever heard of the St. Bartholomew's Day 41:03 Massacre August 24, 1572? 41:05 Near the end of the Dark and Middle Ages, 41:09 the sign was the tolling 41:11 of the cathedral bells at midnight 41:15 and then by the thousands 41:18 Huguenots, 41:19 these are the spiritual descendants of the Waldensians 41:21 actually, the Huguenots dragged out of bed 41:26 disseminated, watch this, 41:27 from the apocalyptic classic Great Controversy these words. 41:30 "The blackest 41:31 in the black catalogue of crime, 41:34 most horrible 41:36 among the fiendish deeds of the dreadful centuries 41:38 of the Dark Ages," 41:40 keep reading, 41:41 "was the St. Bartholomew Massacre. 41:44 Noble and peasant, " okay, 41:46 second estate, third estate, 41:47 we talked about the three estates 41:48 back in those days in France, 41:50 "noble and peasant alike, 41:52 old and young, mother and child, 41:54 were cut down together." 41:55 Keep reading. 41:56 "The butchery continued for two months." 41:59 When it was over. 42:01 "Seventy thousand of the very flower 42:03 of the nation of France had perished. 42:08 " Drunk the blood of the children 42:14 of the bride of Christ. 42:16 I'm warning you. 42:18 Two women and one battle. 42:23 John, we'll reprise the battle here. 42:26 So jump over to verse 13 in Chapter 12, 42:28 "And when the dragon saw that he had been hurled, 42:30 " so that the Messiah snatched to heaven. 42:31 "When the dragon saw that 42:33 he had been hurled to the earth, 42:34 he pursued the woman 42:35 who had given birth to the male child." 42:37 Verse 14, 42:38 "And the woman was given two wings 42:39 of a great eagle, 42:41 " we sang about that a moment ago, didn't we? 42:42 "Two wings of a great eagle 42:43 so that she might fly to the place 42:45 prepared for her in the wilderness." 42:47 Somebody's looking out. 42:49 Saul, Saul, why are you doing this to me? 42:53 Somebody when you align with him 42:55 will never forsake you. 42:57 He will never leave you. 43:00 And every crucible you drink, 43:04 he drinks with you. 43:06 Somebody looking out for her. 43:09 "Had a place prepare for her in the wilderness, 43:10 where she would be taken care of for a time, 43:13 times and half a time. 43:14 " There it is, three and a half years. 43:15 But we know three and a half years 43:17 is really 1, 263 and a half days rather. 43:21 Three and a half years 43:22 is actually in days, 1,260 days, 43:25 and that would be that long Dark and Middle Ages period. 43:31 But then I want you to see this. 43:32 Verse 15, 43:33 "And then from his mouth." 43:35 So he's pursuing the bride of Christ. 43:39 "Then from his mouth 43:40 the serpent or the dragon spewed water like a river, 43:43 to overtake the woman 43:45 and sweep her away with a torrent." 43:48 But verse 16, 43:52 "The earth helped the woman by opening its mouth 43:56 and swallowing the river 43:58 that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth." 44:01 I want you to catch that line. 44:02 This is just, I saw that line on the screen 44:04 but the earth helped the woman. 44:07 Wait a minute, wait a minute. 44:09 Last week we had an earth beast and a sea beast, right? 44:10 Yep, we did. 44:12 Well, that earth beast, could that be the earth here? 44:15 Why couldn't it be? 44:16 Remember the earth beast? 44:18 It comes up right at the end of the Dark Middle Ages 44:21 comes up right here in the late 1700s, 44:24 comes up far away from the people 44:26 thoroughfares of Europe. 44:28 This is all new world over here, 44:30 old world, new world. 44:32 And it comes up at the moment. 44:35 This woman, 44:36 the bride of Christ is desperate 44:38 for somebody to save me from the decimation. 44:43 My, oh my, are you suggesting, Dwight, 44:46 that God Himself raised America up 44:49 so that she could be that safe haven 44:52 for those fleeing persecution in Europe? 44:54 That's what I'm suggesting. 44:57 You mean, the new world was intended by God 45:00 to offset and neutralize the massive slaughter 45:06 on the other side of the sea. 45:08 Yep. 45:11 Great Controversy again on the screen. 45:13 "In America, 45:15 it was demonstrated that the principles of the Bible 45:18 are the surest safeguards of national greatness, 45:22 and the world marked with wonder, 45:25 in this land of the New World, 45:27 the peace and prosperity of a church without a pope, 45:32 and a state without a king." 45:36 Truth is, come on. 45:38 And I say, 45:40 God had needed a place where the last seed, 45:46 the end time, the King James actually 45:49 will call it the remnant seed. 45:51 God needed a place 45:53 where that final generation 45:55 of the bride's children might grow up unmolested. 45:59 And from that base, 46:01 extend the mission of the kingdom 46:03 to the entire planet. 46:06 One more line left in Revelation. 46:07 Let's read it now. Verse 17. 46:10 Revelation 12, the last line, verse 17. 46:13 And then when he saw 46:15 that this refuge had been raised up 46:17 to snatch his victims, 46:19 "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman, 46:23 and went off to make war 46:24 against the rest of her offspring." 46:27 So now she's produced children 46:29 and these children carry on the legacy of mother, 46:32 he enraged 46:33 went off to wage war 46:35 against the rest of her offspring. 46:36 Who were these offspring? 46:38 "Well, they're those who keep the commandments of God 46:40 and hold fast the testimony of Jesus." 46:45 There it is. That's the remnant church. 46:46 You hear people once in a while talk about the remnant church. 46:48 That's it right there. 46:50 What they're really trying to say is, 46:51 that's the bride of Christ at the end of time. 46:54 That's what it is. 46:55 Two identifying marks, by the way, let's put them up. 46:57 "For this bride, the children of the bride, 47:00 they keep the commandments of God. 47:01 " I suppose that includes the Ten Commandments, 47:03 I suppose that we also include the fourth commandment, 47:05 for God's from the very beginning of time 47:07 is set aside the seventh day Sabbath 47:10 to be a memorial of His office 47:14 as Creator of the universe. 47:18 So, as it turns out, 47:20 the bride, the woman before Calvary, 47:26 the woman before Calvary and after Calvary 47:28 has always been a Sabbatarian community. 47:32 Because God set aside the seventh day Sabbath 47:36 as his gift to the human race, gift of a relationship, 47:39 gift of a friendship, 47:40 we're going to spend time together 47:42 you and I on this day. 47:43 This day is dedicated to us. 47:46 So whatever this the seed, the remnant seed, 47:50 the offspring of the woman, we know one thing, 47:52 we know that they're going to keep 47:53 the commandments of God 47:55 and what's the other one, the other qualification? 47:57 They hold fast their testimony about Jesus. 48:00 They're going to be a Jesus people. 48:01 They're going to talk about Jesus, 48:03 they're gonna focus on Jesus. 48:05 And they're going to uplift Jesus. 48:08 Two challenges from the atheist, 48:10 secular world that they will be living 48:12 in at the time of the end game. 48:14 There are two major challenges 48:16 and that these twin IDs are for those twin challenges. 48:21 Challenge number one, 48:22 there's no such thing as the divine, 48:24 there's no such thing as salvation. 48:25 You're your own savior and good luck. 48:27 Nope, nope, nope. 48:29 Jesus as Lord of salvation means He is Savior. 48:33 Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath means He is Creator. 48:36 This anti Genesis apostasy on this planet, 48:39 they're raised up to challenge 48:42 the worldview that says you got here by accident 48:45 and you'll leave by accident. 48:49 The children of the bride, the end game, 48:52 children of the bride, keep the commandments of God, 48:57 holdfast their testimony about Jesus. 49:01 I tell you what, 49:03 whatever you want to say about the remnant, 49:05 and there are some conversations 49:07 that challenge the veracity of that notion. 49:12 The fact of the matter is, 49:14 God loves the children of the woman 49:17 at the end of time. 49:20 And it's no wonder, it isn't rocket science, 49:23 why the dragon would target that faith community 49:28 and say, destroy him, 49:29 do whatever it takes, blot them out. 49:35 What's that line a moment ago? 49:38 We began with this, put it back on the screen. 49:40 "One thing will certainly be understood 49:43 from the study of Revelation 49:45 and that is, 49:46 that the connection between God and His people, 49:50 Christ and His bride is close and decided." 49:56 You know what some people say? 49:58 They say, hey, listen, you know what? 50:00 This is my life philosophy. 50:02 I love Jesus. 50:05 I don't love His church. 50:07 Now, I'm a Jesus guy. 50:09 I only go for Jesus, forget the church. 50:15 I really can't stand the church to be honest with you, 50:18 but I love Jesus. 50:20 Can you imagine going up to a husband and saying, 50:21 you know what, I really love you, 50:23 but I can't stand your wife. 50:26 I mean, next. 50:33 Right? 50:34 You wouldn't say that to your husband. 50:36 It's absolutely, 50:37 absolutely ludicrous for people to tout the concept. 50:41 It really doesn't matter what church you belong to, 50:44 as long as you love Jesus. 50:45 It matters a whole lot 50:47 because Christ and the church are connected. 50:49 That's the one little take home truth right now. 50:52 Christ and His church are connected. 50:54 You can accept one, but you can't reject the other. 50:56 If you accept the one, you accept the other, 50:58 if you reject the one, you reject them both. 51:01 It's impossible to segregate that and say, 51:04 I only want Jesus, I don't want the church. 51:08 They can't do it. 51:09 It's ludicrous. 51:12 He has poured everything. 51:13 Acts 20:28, 51:15 he bought the church with His blood. 51:18 Do you understand that? 51:19 He bought the church with His blood. 51:21 It's the one object on earth 51:23 upon which God bestows His supreme regard. 51:26 This is what makes Him, just sets Him to singing. 51:30 He says in Zephaniah, I sing over you, girl. 51:34 He's talking about the church. 51:35 I sing over you, woman. 51:40 I know there are people that are circling around 51:43 out on the fringes of faith communities. 51:47 I wanna say something to you if you're one of those. 51:54 The time has come for you to come, 51:58 for you to return to the heart and home, 52:02 the spiritual heart and home of your birth. 52:07 It's time to come back to the remnant. 52:10 I realized there are people out there 52:12 that just kind of drifting along. 52:15 They don't know it, but they're drifting away. 52:19 I want to say to you, 52:22 it's time to come back to your heart and home. 52:25 It's time to come back to the remnant church. 52:29 I want to say to those of you who are saying you know what, 52:31 maA ana, maA ana, maA ana, I want to get serious, maA ana, 52:34 I'm gonna go deeper. 52:35 I want to tell you something, my friend. 52:37 We are running out of maA anas today. 52:39 We're out of them. 52:40 It's time to come back. 52:42 It's time to come back to the remnant church. 52:47 Jesus loves you. 52:49 I love you. 52:51 We love you. 52:53 Why not? 52:55 You can't say you love Jesus 52:58 and disconnect from His bride. 53:04 One last line 53:05 from this little American writer, 53:08 put it on the screen. You see it there? 53:10 "God's love for his church is infinite." 53:15 His love for you 53:18 because you're a part of the bride, 53:19 His love for me because I'm a part of the bride. 53:21 His love for us is infinite. 53:25 He gave His life to save the church. 53:27 He will never lose the church. 53:28 He may lose me, He may lose you, 53:31 but He won't lose the church. 53:33 I've been fighting toe to toe 53:35 with his dragon for millennia now, 53:37 and I'm not losing the church. 53:39 Not the children of the woman at the end of time, 53:43 they're mine. 53:45 You belong to Jesus, do you understand that? 53:47 You belong to Jesus right now and He has a claim on you. 53:53 You can't just walk away and say, easy come, easy go. 53:57 No, there are only two choices. 54:01 Two women, 54:03 two destinations, one choice. 54:08 Please choose Jesus 54:13 by choosing His bride. 54:18 Let's go to our connect cards. 54:19 Put a URL link on the screen 54:24 you see it there pmchurch.org/connect. 54:28 Put that into your phone right now. 54:32 And here's the Connect card. 54:34 Three next steps. 54:35 Next step number one, 54:37 I want to renew my commitment to the bride of Christ. 54:39 Boy, if you've been playing around on the edges, 54:42 I'm saying to you, my man, 54:44 I'm saying to you, lady, come on, please, 54:47 reconnect. 54:51 I want to renew my commitment to the bride of Christ. 54:54 Me too, by the way, check. 54:56 Box number two, 54:58 I would like to join the church of Jesus, 54:59 please contact me. 55:02 You want to be a part of that end game, 55:05 faith community 55:08 that Christ has poured all His attention into now, 55:12 for the last chapter, 55:15 you can be a part of it. 55:16 Just put your email address 55:18 on the other down below actually, 55:20 put your email address there, 55:22 we'll be in touch with you electronically, 55:23 we'd like to do whatever we can. 55:26 This bride is taking more children right now. 55:30 We had a bunch of decisions by the way, 55:32 during the week of prayer, there were young men, 55:34 there were young women saying, I want to join the bride, 55:36 they didn't know they were saying that 55:37 but that's what they're saying. 55:38 I want to join the bride. 55:40 I want to be baptized into Christ. 55:42 I'm so proud of them, you may be one of them, 55:44 I'm so proud of you. 55:45 There are thousands more 55:48 that need to be reached for Jesus 55:49 and you are the strategic, 55:53 MO, modus operandi for Jesus to reach the world. 55:58 Good for you. 55:59 And then box number three, 56:00 we've already talked about this. 56:02 You want to join a Grow Group, text join to 269-281-2345, 56:06 that's easy to remember. 56:08 281-2345. 56:10 I want to pray with you right now. 56:12 Oh God, 56:14 two women, two communities, 56:19 but only one of the women is a bride. 56:22 It's your bride. 56:23 You died for that bride. 56:27 You love that bride with infinite love. 56:31 Don't let us say no, don't let us push away and say, 56:37 I'll go the other way. 56:39 There are only two choices. 56:42 We choose the bride 56:44 by the grace of the Lord Jesus 56:46 who loved us and freed us from our sins, 56:50 we choose the bride. 56:58 Before you go, 56:59 let me take an extra moment to share with you 57:01 an opportunity to get into the Bible 57:02 in a fresh new way. 57:04 Across the world, 57:05 more and more people are hearing the call 57:07 to examine scriptures for themselves. 57:09 If you felt drawn to learn more about God's Word, 57:11 but you don't know where to start, 57:12 or you're just looking 57:14 for a more in-depth examination of Bible truths, 57:16 then I have something right here 57:18 that I believe you're going to enjoy. 57:19 I want to send a series of guides 57:21 to get you started. 57:22 This one's entitled, Why does God allow suffering? 57:25 This guide begins with a story, 57:27 an introduction of the subject 57:28 into a series of focus questions. 57:30 You'll be learning portions of the Bible 57:32 you may never have known before. 57:33 And when you're through, 57:34 you'll be able to share with others 57:36 some of these inspiring Bible truths. 57:37 So just call our tollfree number, 57:39 it's on the screen 877, the two words, HIS WILL. 57:43 Our friendly operators 57:44 are standing by to send these study guides to you. 57:46 Once again, that's 877-HIS-WILL, 57:49 call that number and then again, 57:52 join me next week right here at the same time, 57:55 New Perceptions. |
Revised 2020-10-06