Participants:
Series Code: SCM
Program Code: SCM180007A
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00:41 Welcome to the 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting:
00:44 The Three Angels' Messages. 00:50 Hello and welcome once again to 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting 00:54 2018. And Three Angels Broadcasting Network 00:59 has endeavored to do something that has never been done before 01:04 and that is to present the three angels' messages live. 01:09 And we are praying for God's people all over the world 01:14 to be blessed and that they will hear God's loving call 01:19 and come to Jesus. 01:21 You're watching or listening to 3ABN 01:24 television or radio. This is a ministry of divine origin. 01:31 And what we are doing here is historic because 01:34 I don't think ever in the history we have had 01:37 a live broadcast where you study the three angels' messages. 01:43 We have 16 sermons on the three angels' messages. 01:48 And you know as we finish these 16 sermons 01:52 we hope that you will still understand that there is more 01:55 to study... more to discover. 01:58 God has much more to show us. 02:01 During this hour God will bless us through His servant 02:05 Pastor David Shin. 02:08 Pastor David Shin is coming to us from Anchorage, Alaska. 02:13 He is the pastor of the Hillside O'Malley SDA church. 02:17 He will be presenting the topic Worship Him Who Created. 02:22 This is topic #6 of 16 sermons. 02:26 And the previous topic was by Pastor C. A. Murray 02:30 and those of you that were here and were blessed 02:34 would you say Amen? Amen! Amen. 02:36 He presented the topic The Hour of His Judgment Has Come. 02:41 We are continuing with the first angel's message. 02:45 In Revelation chapter 14 verses 6 and 7 you'll find 02:49 the first angel's message. 02:51 Right now we're on verse number 7: 02:53 Worship Him Who Created. 02:55 Pastor David Shin will be here in a moment 02:58 but I'd like to invite Sr. Stephanie Dawn 03:01 to come forward and take her place at the piano 03:03 before we pray. And she will be accompanied 03:06 on the piano by her father Dann Thornton. 03:10 And we just praise the Lord for their ministry. 03:14 They have a ministry of music that is bringing the gospel 03:18 to people all around this country. 03:20 And we encourage you to pray for them and also invite them 03:23 so that they can share what God is doing through their ministry. 03:28 And also the music is just wonderful. Would you say Amen? 03:33 Amen. Amen. Well... I would like to 03:36 ask you to join me standing if you are able 03:39 and we're going to go to the Lord in prayer 03:42 and ask Him to bless us during this hour. 03:47 Let us pray together. 03:50 Our loving heavenly Father, 03:52 we thank you so much for Three Angels Broadcasting Network 03:58 and what You have done so far through this ministry. 04:02 During this hour, Lord, we have a great need. 04:05 That need is of Your Holy Spirit. 04:08 We pray for Your Holy Spirit to be poured out on Your servant 04:11 Pastor David Shin. 04:13 Also we pray for Your Holy Spirit to bless everyone here 04:16 and everyone that will listen to this message 04:19 all over the world. 04:21 We pray for Your Holy Spirit to open their understanding 04:24 that they will understand Your message for this hour. 04:29 And heavenly Father, we know the devil has tried to hide 04:32 the fact that You are the Creator... 04:36 that You created all things. 04:38 We pray that You will help us during this hour 04:41 that of those that listen to this message 04:45 that prior to hearing it were not worshiping the Creator 04:48 will begin to worship You... the Creator. 04:52 We pray for a blessing for everyone 04:54 and we ask for these things in the holy and blessed name 04:57 of Jesus. Amen. Amen... Amen. 05:01 You may take your seats. 05:03 I leave you with the blessing bringing you to God's throne 05:06 of grace Sr. Stephanie Dawn. God bless you. 05:28 See Your servant, Lord, 05:34 turning toward You. 05:41 One more troubadour 05:46 who's adored You. 05:53 For throughout the years 05:58 through the silence, through the tears 06:04 You have met me 06:08 here. 06:13 So hear me when I speak to You 06:18 as I did then. 06:23 Hear me when I speak to You 06:29 once again. 06:34 Lord, throughout my days 06:39 all the things You do amaze 06:45 You show me Your Word... 06:51 You show me Your way. 06:57 Now show me, I pray Thee, 07:03 Thy glory. 07:09 Hide me in Your hand 07:13 and pass before me. 07:19 How can I go on 07:23 if You're not with me? 07:28 So show me, I pray Thee, 07:33 Thy glory. 07:39 Show me, I pray Thee, 07:45 Thy glory. 07:51 With the fire through the cloud 07:56 in the wilderness 08:01 by Your presence 08:04 You gave Your people rest. 08:08 And I must think that now 08:14 You will do no less. 08:17 I need Your presence 08:22 please grant me 08:24 my request. 08:31 Show me, I pray Thee, 08:35 Thy glory. 08:40 Hide me in Your hand 08:44 and pass before me. 08:49 I know I can go on 08:53 if You'll go with me. 08:58 So show me, I pray Thee, 09:04 Thy glory. 09:10 Show me, 09:13 I pray Thee... 09:17 Show me, 09:20 I pray Thee... 09:25 Show me, 09:28 I pray Thee, 09:32 Thy 09:33 glory. 09:52 Amen! 09:53 Amen... praise His name! 09:56 Thank you so much for sharing that beautiful song. 10:00 Well, good afternoon everyone. Our topic this afternoon is 10:06 focusing on the phrase: "Worship Him who made 10:11 the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water. " 10:17 And I invite you to bow your heads with me as we pray. 10:20 Father in heaven, we thank you for this opportunity 10:24 that we have to focus on the three angels' message 10:27 that You've entrusted to us. 10:30 We pray that the Holy Spirit would guide our thoughts 10:32 this afternoon as we focus on the theme of worshiping 10:37 our Creator. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, 10:42 Amen... amen. 10:44 I invite you to open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 14 10:48 verses 6 and 7 as we hone in 10:52 on this phrase: "Worship Him who made 10:56 the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water. " 11:01 And as we noted in an earlier presentation 11:04 worship is going to be a central issue in the end of time. 11:09 We are either going to be worshiping the beast 11:12 or we're going to be worshiping the Creator. 11:17 Revelation 14:6-7 11:19 "Then I saw another angel 11:23 flying in the midst of heaven 11:26 having the everlasting gospel 11:28 to preach to those who dwell on the earth 11:31 to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people 11:35 saying with a loud voice: 'Fear God 11:38 and give glory to Him 11:40 for the hour of His judgment has come 11:44 and worship Him who made 11:47 the heavens, the earth, the sea, 11:49 and the springs of water. ' " 11:52 There are 4 distinct phrases - 4 distinct components - 11:56 in the first angel's message. 11:59 And the last component is a clarion call 12:03 to worship the Creator. 12:06 Scholars have noticed that this verse, 12:10 specifically this phrase, 12:13 is a direct allusion to another text in the Old Testament. 12:19 So let's go to the second book of the Bible 12:21 and see which phrase, which text this is going to 12:26 in Exodus chapter 20 verses 8 through 11. 12:31 In the book of Revelation two out of every three verses 12:36 quotes or alludes to the Old Testament. 12:40 Exodus 20:8-11. 12:43 This is at the heart of the Ten Commandments 12:45 and it's the only commandment 12:47 that begins with the word remember. 12:51 Incidentally, it's the one commandment that everyone 12:53 tells you that we should forget. 12:56 It's counterintuitive to me, isn't it? 12:59 Exodus chapter 20 verses 8 to 11- 13:01 the Ten Commandments written with God's own finger 13:04 on tablets of stone - "Remember the Sabbath Day 13:07 to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor 13:11 and do all your work but the seventh day 13:15 is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. 13:17 In it you shall do no work: 13:20 you, nor your son, nor your daughter, 13:23 nor your male servant, nor your female servant, 13:26 nor your cattle, nor your stran- ger who is within your gates. 13:30 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, 13:35 the sea, and all that is in them 13:38 and rested the seventh day. 13:40 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day 13:43 and hallowed it. " Verse 11 gives the why 13:47 or the ground or the foundation for keeping the Sabbath 13:51 and it goes all the way back to creation. 13:54 It says: "For in six days... " 13:56 Why should we keep the Sabbath? Because in six days 14:00 the Lord made the heavens, the earth, and the sea. 14:03 On the screen you will notice 14:06 a verbal parallel between Exodus chapter 20 14:10 and Revelation chapter 14 verse 7. 14:14 On the screen you'll see these four words 14:18 that are in parallel. "For in six days the Lord 14:21 made the heavens, the earth, and the sea... " 14:24 Exodus chapter 20 verse 11 which we just read. 14:26 And Revelation 14:7 says: "Worship Him who made 14:31 the heaven, the earth, and the sea. " 14:33 Do you see it? Four words: three nouns, one verb, 14:38 exact same order. 14:42 This is a direct reference to Exodus chapter 20 14:47 verse 11. 14:49 Now when the New Testament authors 14:54 quote the Old Testament they are not only quoting 14:59 the parts that they reference 15:02 but the entire context. 15:05 And you'll notice that in verse 11 15:07 it says: "For in... " What does your Bible say? 15:10 Six days! "For in six days... " 15:14 Now Dr. John Baldwin who's professor emeritus 15:17 of theology from Andrews University Theological Seminary 15:21 indicates that the first angel's message 15:26 when it calls us to worship the Creator 15:30 it is also implying that God created the earth 15:35 in six literal, 15:38 contiguous 24-hour periods 15:42 that we experience today. 15:46 The implication is that God's people 15:51 are going to be called to give a message 15:55 that is going to be the laughingstock 15:58 of the entire scientific contemporary community. 16:06 A six-day literal creation 16:09 is scoffed at and ridiculed today. 16:16 And anyone that has a background in science 16:20 looks at this idea of a six-day creation 16:24 and thinks: "Nonsense. " 16:30 Now just in case you don't know what we believe 16:34 I want to read to you Fundamental Belief #6 16:40 which was recently honed down to be more specific. 16:45 Now we always believed this but it was honed down 16:48 at our last General Conference Session. 16:50 And I want to read to you Fundamental Belief #6. 16:53 You can look it up online just so you know that I'm not 16:56 misquoting here. Fundamental Belief #6: 16:59 "God has revealed in scripture 17:02 the authentic and the historical account 17:05 of His creative activity. 17:07 He created the universe and in a recent 17:10 six-day creation the Lord made the heavens, the earth, 17:14 the sea and all that is in them 17:17 and rested the seventh day. 17:19 Thus He established the Sabbath 17:22 as a perpetual memorial of that work. " 17:27 And notice this part: 17:28 "He performed and completed 17:31 during six literal days 17:35 that together with the Sabbath 17:37 constitute the same unit of time that we call 17:40 a week today. " 17:43 We as a community of faith hold to the belief that 17:47 God created the earth in six literal, contiguous days. 17:53 And this message is not to go out 17:56 with a soft or shy voice. 18:01 It is to go out with a loud voice: 18:05 a message that is a laughingstock 18:10 of the entire scientific community. 18:14 Has God ever wanted His people 18:18 to deliver a message that has been the laughingstock 18:23 of the contemporary community? 18:26 The flood. 18:28 The cross. 18:29 I Corinthians chapter 1 verses 18 and 23: 18:32 "For the message of the cross is foolishness 18:34 to those who are perishing, 18:36 but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 18:39 We preach Christ crucified: 18:41 a stumbling block to the Jews 18:44 and foolishness to the Gentiles." 18:49 Incidentally, as the first angel's message 18:53 was first being proclaimed in the 19th century 18:57 in July of 1844 18:59 Charles Darwin completed a 189-page handwritten manuscript, 19:06 in 1844, summarizing his species theory. 19:11 Scholars refer to it as Darwin's 1844 Sketch. 19:18 Thus when Darwin in his 1844 manuscript sketch 19:22 suggests that major biological forms developed 19:25 over millions of years 19:27 God in the same year sends a special message to the world 19:32 that He created basic life forms 19:35 in six literal days 19:38 not millions of years. 19:43 And here we are proclaiming a message 19:50 that implies a recent six-day literal contiguous 19:56 consecutive 24-hour period. 20:01 There's another portion to this. 20:02 Go back to Revelation chapter 14 verse 7 20:06 and you'll see that there is a fascinating part 20:11 of Revelation chapter 14 verse 7: 20:13 the last part. It says: "Worship Him who made 20:16 the heaven, the earth, and the springs of water. " 20:20 That last part, the springs of water, 20:23 is a diversion or a detour or different than what is in 20:29 Exodus chapter 20 verse 11. 20:32 Exodus 20:11 says: "For in six days the Lord made 20:36 the heavens, the earth, the sea and all that is in them" 20:39 but in Revelation chapter 14 verse 7 20:41 it says: "He who made the heavens, the earth, AND 20:45 the springs of water. " 20:47 Why didn't it say "and all that is in them" 20:51 or say "the sea and the springs and the lakes? " 20:54 But it says "and the springs of water. " 20:59 It's interesting because John Baldwin 21:02 references Genesis chapter 7 verse 11 21:07 in which the first time the springs of water is mentioned. 21:12 It's the flood. Genesis chapter 7 verse 11: 21:14 "In the 600th year of Noah's life on the 17th day 21:19 of the second month, on that day 21:22 all the springs or the fountains of the deep burst forth 21:26 and the floodgates of heaven were opened. " 21:30 Could it be that the fountains of water, 21:34 the last part of "Worship Him who made heavens, 21:37 earth and sea and the fountains of water" 21:40 is calling us back to a literal global flood 21:46 and a rational logical explanation 21:50 for the geologic column? 21:53 John Baldwin said: "If we can properly interpret the concept 21:57 fountains of water as pointing to the Genesis flood, 22:01 the phrase constitutes still another divine endorsement 22:06 of the historical reality of the Biblical flood. " 22:13 Turn with me to Revelation 16:13-14. 22:18 We see that three angels in Revelation chapter 14 22:22 are giving a global message 22:24 yet in Revelation 16:13-14 22:27 we see three unclean spirits like frogs 22:32 coming out of the mouth of the dragon, 22:34 out of the mouth of the beast, 22:35 and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 22:38 "For they are the spirits of demons performing signs 22:42 which go out to the kings of the whole world 22:45 to gather them to the battle of the great day 22:48 of God Almighty. " 22:50 In the end of time you have 3 angels in the midst of heaven 22:55 and yet in Revelation chapter 16 verse 13 22:58 you see three unclean spirits like frogs. 23:01 And in verse 14 it says they are the spirits of what? 23:05 Demons. Now what are demons? 23:07 Demons are fallen angels. 23:11 So in the end you have three angels 23:15 versus three angels. 23:18 Three angels from heaven and three fallen angels 23:23 with a different version of the gospel. 23:26 A different version of creation and origins. 23:32 One scholar states that the end-time encounter 23:35 between two groups of ideas 23:38 will be the battle between the scriptures and perception, 23:42 between reality as experienced by the five senses 23:46 and ultimate reality as revealed by God Himself. 23:53 The theory of evolution today 23:56 is held as the only world view 24:00 that is scientifically viable. 24:03 So much so that individuals 24:07 within the Christian community of faith 24:10 have endeavored to meld 24:13 evolution with theism. 24:17 Theistic evolution: 24:20 the idea that God used evolution - 24:25 the cycle of death and the survival of the fittest - 24:30 to create. We'll come back to this idea in a moment 24:37 but we need to recognize that even Charles Darwin himself 24:43 had some questions about his own theory. 24:46 In 1861, two years after the publication 24:51 of the Origin of the Species, 24:53 Darwin wrote a letter to his biologist Asa Gray 24:56 saying that "the eye to this day gives me a cold shudder. " 25:02 And he says and I quote: 25:04 "To suppose that the eye with all its contrivances 25:09 for adjusting the focus to different distances, 25:13 for admitting different amounts of light, 25:16 and for the correction of spherical and chromatic 25:18 aberration could have been formed by natural selection 25:23 seems I must freely confess 25:26 absurd in the highest possible degree. " 25:32 "The belief that an organ as perfect as the eye 25:36 could have been formed by natural selection 25:40 is more than enough to stagger anyone. " 25:47 I'm sure you don't hear that in your biology classes. 25:51 Two years after the publication he looks at the human eye 25:54 and says that the idea that this came about by natural 25:59 selection is absurd in the highest possible degree. 26:05 The Bible indicates that we are fearfully 26:09 and wonderfully made. Amen! 26:13 So here's the question: why is a six-day creation 26:19 essential to Adventist theology? 26:24 Some people say it's not. 26:27 Some people say that you can believe in theistic evolution 26:30 and still be a Seventh-day Adventist. 26:35 I want us to take a view of how different people 26:39 have tried to incorporate science and scripture. 26:43 I have a degree in historical theology, 26:46 and I remember one of my professors paused for a moment 26:50 before he began his class and said: "For this whole semester 26:53 you're going to be studying nothing but heresy. " 26:58 I thought to myself: "I'm paying $3,000 for this class 27:02 to study heresy? " Well at least he was upfront about it. 27:06 One of the individuals that we studied was Rudolf Bultmann. 27:10 Rudolf Bultmann said this: "We cannot use electric lights 27:13 and radios, in the event of illness avail ourselves 27:16 of the modern medical and clinical means 27:19 and at the same time believe in the spirit and wonder 27:22 of the New Testament. " In other words, we cannot live 27:25 in the scientific age and read the Bible the same way. 27:28 So he went down the list and went down a rational 27:32 logical conclusion. Every time something came up in scripture 27:36 that conflicted with science he said: 27:39 "We have to reinterpret it. " 27:41 In other words, it's a myth! 27:43 So he went to the resurrection. 27:44 Conflicts with science... it's a myth! 27:47 The virgin birth. Conflicts with science... it's a myth! 27:51 Every miracle in the Bible was re-interpreted 27:55 as a myth, as an allegory. 27:57 The six literal day creation is a myth! 28:00 Now I respectfully disagree with Rudolf Bultmann 28:04 but at least he was consistent. 28:08 I remember in a previous con- gregation I had an individual 28:12 that had a problem with my sermon. 28:14 Welcome to my world. 28:17 And he approached me afterward and said: "Pastor, I don't agree 28:20 with you... this idea of a six literal day creation. " 28:23 And so we sat in my office 28:25 and I said: "Hey, I want to sit down with you; 28:27 I want to dialogue. I don't want to alienate you. 28:29 Let's sit down and reason together. " 28:32 And he said: "Pastor, I can't believe in a six day literal 28:34 creation. " And I said: "Why not? " 28:36 He said: "Because of science. " 28:39 And I asked him: "Well, do you believe in the virgin birth? " 28:44 He said: "Yes. " I almost fell out of my chair! 28:48 I said: "On what basis? " 28:52 He said: "On the basis of faith. " 28:55 I said: "You mean to tell me 28:59 that a virgin had a baby 29:04 and that baby is the Son of God? " 29:09 "You want to talk about science? 29:13 Evolution is a theory. 29:17 How reproduction happens: it's a scientific fact 29:23 and can be reproduced 29:25 over and over and over again. 29:29 Everyone knows that in order for human life to happen 29:34 it takes sperm and egg 29:37 and you mean to believe in that 29:42 on the basis of faith? " 29:44 I said: "You need to be consistent. 29:48 If you're going to throw out Genesis 1 29:50 on the basis of science 29:52 you need to throw out the virgin birth. 29:55 You need to throw out the resurrection 29:57 and you need to throw out every single miracle in the Bible 30:01 that conflicts with science 30:03 just like Rudolf Bultmann did. 30:06 You can't have your cake and eat it too and be selective. 30:12 And the reason why some evangelicals cannot go down that 30:17 route is because they're holding on 30:20 to some heritage that they simply cannot emotionally 30:25 deny. " Later on, praise the Lord, 30:30 that gentleman came back and said: "Pastor, 30:32 I suppose if God can become human 30:37 and a virgin can have a baby 30:40 He can create the earth in six literal days, too. " 30:45 Praise His name. Amen! 30:49 Rudolf Bultmann had this idea and he carried it to its logical 30:52 conclusion. Pannenberg who was a contemporary 30:56 of Rudolf Bultmann countered Bultmann's theology 31:00 and said: "Without the historical reality 31:03 of the resurrection the Christian religion is not 31:06 a valid religion. " 31:10 And I'd like to do a version of what Pannenberg said. 31:14 "Without the historical reality of a literal, six-day creation 31:20 Adventism is not a valid movement. " 31:26 I'm sorry... or I'm not sorry. 31:32 I make no apologies. If you are to go down 31:35 the road of not believing in a literal, six-day creation, 31:40 we cannot be 31:42 Seventh-day Adventists. 31:47 We're in the wrong movement, friends. 31:51 It doesn't make any sense to be who we are. 31:56 This strikes at the very heart of what it means 32:00 to be a Seventh-day Adventist. 32:02 Why is a literal six-day creation essential to Adventist 32:06 theology? Reason #1: the Sabbath. 32:10 If you believe that the Sabbath is a memorial to creation 32:15 which happened in six literal days 32:18 but they are not really six literal days, 32:20 there is no point in keeping the Sabbath. 32:24 If it happened over millions and billions of years, 32:27 why come every seven days to memorialize something 32:31 that did not happen in six days? 32:33 It doesn't make any sense. 32:35 Why not keep the Sabbath once every lifetime? 32:39 That would be more analogical 32:42 if it happened over billions and eons of years. 32:45 Why every seven days? 32:48 There is no logic... no reason to this. 32:51 And this is from Patriarchs and Prophets page 111. 32:55 I encourage you to read it be- cause the title of this chapter 33:00 gives it away. It's entitled The Literal Week. 33:04 Read it on Sabbath afternoon. 33:08 Here it is: "Like the Sabbath, the week originated 33:11 at creation, and it has been preserved and brought down to us 33:15 through Bible history. God Himself measured off 33:19 the first week as a sample for successive weeks 33:23 to the close of time. Like every other, it consisted 33:28 of seven literal days. 33:32 Six days were employed in the work of creation. 33:34 Upon the seventh God rested 33:37 and He blessed this day and set it apart as a day 33:40 of rest for man. " 33:42 And listen to this part: 33:44 "But the assumption that the events of the first week 33:48 required thousands upon thousands of years 33:51 strikes directly at the foun- dation of the 4th commandment. " 33:58 There we have it. You do away with the six-day creation 34:02 you do away with the Sabbath. 34:04 There is no memorial to creation because it didn't happen 34:09 the way that Genesis literally indicates. 34:13 Why is a literal six-day creation essential? 34:17 Number one: the Sabbath. Number two: salvation. 34:21 The whole theory of evolution is predicated on the idea 34:26 that God used death as a means to an end. 34:31 In other words, death was not the consequence of sin 34:35 it is actually part of God's creative process. 34:40 So if you believe in the theory of evolution, 34:42 you have to believe that death was prior to sin. 34:47 It upends the whole narrative of the gospel story 34:52 because the Bible indicates from a literal reading 34:55 that death was the natural result of sin. 34:58 But evolution teaches that sin was preceded 35:03 by death. Not only that, death was the means through which 35:08 God created. But Romans chapter 5 verse 12 35:12 indicates that sin caused death. 35:13 Romans chapter 8 verse 20 indicates and implies 35:16 that this is not only human death 35:18 but all death... animal death as well. 35:22 And I Corinthians chapter 15 verse 21 35:25 indicates that Christ "came to save us from death. " 35:30 So if you do away with this whole process, 35:34 then Christ came for nothing! That's right. 35:37 Why would He save us from death 35:39 when He used death in the first place in the creative process? 35:46 If death is indeed God's method in the process of creation, 35:49 then why do we need saving from it? 35:54 One person said: "The origin of animal death 35:57 as well as human death is linked exclusively to human sin 36:01 which means that human and animal death cannot be separated 36:05 as consequences of sin. " 36:08 One other person said that "An evolutionary world view 36:11 implies that salvation cannot mean returning to an original 36:14 state but must be conceived as perfection 36:18 through the process of evolution. " 36:21 Evolution assumes that we're getting better. 36:25 Salvation and Bible history 36:28 indicates that we're getting worse and need to be restored. 36:34 Reason #1: the Sabbath. Reason #2: salvation. 36:40 And reason #3: our picture of God. 36:47 If we believe that God used death 36:52 in the creative process, 36:55 we either believe that He's impotent or malevolent. 37:00 In other words, He has a terrible character 37:03 or He doesn't have the power to create instantly. 37:06 It's one of those two. 37:09 If He has the power and yet creates through a process 37:13 of death, then we have to seri- ously question His character. 37:18 If we believe that He's loving but cannot create instantly, 37:23 we seriously have to question His ability. 37:28 Holmes Rolston indicates that the process of evolution 37:32 is extraordinarily wasteful, 37:34 cruel, filled with predation, 37:37 selfishness, randomness, blindness, 37:40 disaster, indifference, waste, struggle, suffering, 37:43 and death. Phillip Clayton says this: 37:46 "A God who allows countless billions of organisms 37:50 to suffer and die, an entire species to be wiped out, 37:54 either does not share the same sort of values we do 37:57 or works in a world much more limited and indirectly 38:00 than theologians have usually imagined. 38:03 In other words, the geologic column 38:06 if interpreted as the product of millions of years 38:09 of organic evolution guided by God 38:12 actually portrays the way Satan would develop life forms 38:16 not God. " 38:18 I had the privilege of going to the Holocaust Museum 38:21 in Washington, D.C. 38:25 And as you go through the Holocaust Museum 38:29 you begin to see that not only were the Jews 38:34 the target of Hitler's genocide 38:37 it was also the physically and the mentally handicapped. 38:44 They were deemed as useless to society. 38:49 And Adolf Hitler said and I quote: 38:52 "War is the best time for the elimination 38:56 of the incurably ill 38:58 i.e. the mentally and physically handicapped 39:04 because they are worthless to society. " 39:09 Doomed patients were transferred to 6 institutions 39:12 in Germany and Austria 39:15 where they were killed in specially-constructed 39:18 gas chambers. Handicapped infants and small children 39:23 were also killed by injection with a deadly dose of drugs 39:27 or by starvation. 39:30 About 200,000 handicapped people were murdered 39:35 between 1940 and 1945. 39:41 From an evolutionary standpoint 39:44 what Hitler did makes sense 39:50 because evolution assumes the survival of the fittest. 39:56 And if you're useless to society, 39:59 if you're not the cream of the crop, 40:03 you need to go. 40:06 And when you look at history 40:08 it's not a far jump from Charles Darwin 40:12 to Friedrich Nietzsche to Adolf Hitler. 40:17 In other words Charles Darwin's ideas 40:21 are linked at the hip to eugenics 40:24 and the idea of the master race. 40:28 And the question is: whose, or which race 40:32 is the superior one? 40:35 Hitler had his ideas 40:37 and it led to a political machine 40:40 that we know as the great genocide of World War II. 40:48 The literal six-day creation account testifies 40:51 to God's goodness in the creative act. 40:56 Now here's the question that individuals have: 40:59 what do I do when my faith conflicts with science? 41:06 This is what very intelligent individuals have asked 41:10 and we as a community of faith 41:12 are in the middle of a struggle intellectually 41:17 as more and more of our young people 41:20 and more and more of our members are getting graduate degrees. 41:24 Getting PhD's... getting Master's Degrees. 41:27 Because there is coming on the scene even within our church 41:31 today this very question: how do we relate 41:35 to a scientific idea that strikes at the very heart 41:40 of what we believe as Seventh-day Adventists? 41:44 How do we become intellectually responsible 41:47 in believing in a six-day literal creation 41:50 when the entire scientific community says: "Look, that's 41:53 nonsense. There's not enough 'evidence' 41:56 pointing in that direction. " 41:59 And some of the young people that have engaged me 42:02 some of the millennials and Gen Xers have said: "Pastor, 42:05 I cannot intellectually have integrity 42:12 and hold to what SDA's believe in Genesis 1. 42:16 Am I supposed to turn off my brain 42:19 and just hold to this idea? " 42:24 Well, there have been some recent developments 42:28 in the scientific dialogue that has been taking place. 42:32 And I have a book in my library. It's entitled: The Structure 42:35 of Scientific Revolutions. 42:38 Now this book is written by a gentleman by the name of 42:42 Thomas Coon, who has his graduate degree - his Ph.D. - 42:46 from Harvard University. And he wrote this book in 1962. 42:53 And this book is esteemed - 42:56 this is a write-up from Stanford University - 42:59 this book is esteemed as perhaps the most influential book 43:04 of the 20th century. Now you may not have heard of this book 43:08 but have any of you heard of the term "a paradigm shift? " 43:13 Ah... he invented it. 43:16 He came up with the idea in this book, and it has 43:18 pervaded society. And his account of the 43:22 development of science held that science enjoys stable periods 43:26 of stable growth punctuated by revisionary revolutions. 43:32 What does that mean: revisionary revolutions? 43:35 In other words Thomas Coon has looked at the history 43:39 of science and indicated that science 43:42 is not static... it's dynamic! 43:47 In other words, science itself 43:51 changes over time. 43:54 Let me give you an example of this. 43:55 In 1686 Newton came up with the laws 44:00 of motion which were esteemed 44:04 as THE world view, and this held serve 44:08 for 300 years. 44:11 Newtonian physics. 44:13 Three hundred years of domination in which no one 44:17 questioned this idea... and if you did, 44:19 you were esteemed as a fool. 44:22 And yet in 1905 Einstein 44:26 came up with the theory of general relativity. 44:30 And what he said was that Newtonian physics 44:33 works on a certain level 44:35 but once you get to the quantum level - 44:38 the fourth dimension - you have to throw Newtonian 44:42 physics out the window. 44:44 In other words, Newtonian physics does not work 44:48 on the atomic level! 44:50 You have to change paradigms. 44:54 Now what has just happened? 44:57 There has been a major revolution that has said 45:02 Newtonian physics does not work 45:08 on the atomic level and the sub-atomic world level. 45:13 Thomas Coon has persuasively shown that 45:16 some current teachers of science may not be correct 45:19 and that scientific paradigms 45:21 should not be clung to too tightly 45:25 because just give it a matter of time 45:28 and they will change. 45:31 In this book in the preface... It was fascinating. 45:34 It was written by another author. 45:36 And the author said even though Thomas Coon did not 45:39 mention it the author boldly said 45:42 "What about evolution? " 45:47 Could it be if time lasts long enough 45:52 even if evolution holds serve as the dominant world view 45:56 for 300 years, how do we know 45:59 that another individual like Albert Einstein will come 46:02 on the scene and say: "Look... there's new evidence 46:05 and it actually points to a six-day literal creation. " 46:10 In other words, science itself is changing. 46:15 And I believe that God is the author of science. 46:20 Amen? Amen! And I want to hold on 46:23 to special revelation - specific revelation. 46:27 And look, science may never come around 46:31 but I'm going to hold onto this because when I get to heaven 46:34 science and scripture are going to harmonize perfectly. 46:41 And by God's grace, call me a fool 46:45 I'm going to hold onto this. Amen! 46:48 I'm going to hold onto this. 46:51 Science may or may not come along 46:54 but this is what we are to stand on. 47:01 Coon's book spawned an entire industry of commentary 47:05 interpretation into exegesis. 47:07 His emphasis essentially triggered 47:09 a growth of a new academic discipline, 47:12 the sociology of science, in which researchers began to 47:15 examine scientific disciplines much as anthropologists 47:19 studied exotic tribes in which science was regarded 47:22 not as a sacred, untouchable product of the enlightenment 47:25 but as just another subculture. 47:29 In other words what Thomas Coon has done 47:33 is said: "Look, science doesn't get a pass 47:36 from criticism. 47:38 Science doesn't get a pass from scrutiny 47:41 because science itself has changed over the years. " 47:46 The history of science shows an incredible list of cases 47:50 where science has changed its views 47:52 and replaced former theories. 47:56 In 1953 Crick and Watson 47:59 unraveled the architecture of DNA. 48:04 In 1962 they would go on to win the Nobel Prize 48:07 for physiology. And what DNA has done 48:11 is indicate that information was placed 48:16 in the DNA structure. 48:18 It begs to question who put the information there. 48:24 And so this individual by the name of Crick 48:28 believes that the bacteria 48:32 about 1 micron wide and 2 microns long 48:38 were packaged and put aboard... 48:40 I could believe this when I read this... 48:44 bacteria was packaged and put aboard a space ship 48:50 and sent to earth. 48:53 That was the genesis of how things began. 48:58 It begs to question: where did the space ship come from? 49:06 I mean, here is an intelligent individual - 49:08 a Nobel laureate, a scientist - 49:11 that is so allergic to a metaphysics that includes God 49:17 they would rather believe in a genesis that began with 49:21 a space ship that brought bacteria to planet earth. 49:26 Now to me, that sounds a lot like faith. 49:33 As a matter of fact it requires a lot more faith to me. 49:39 Alvin Plantinga, a Christian philosopher, 49:42 said this in his reflection on evolution: 49:46 "Evolution... " And listen to this: "has deep religious 49:50 connections. Deep connections with how we understand ourselves 49:54 at the most fundamental level that evolution is by no means 49:58 religiously or theologically neutral. " 50:04 It takes faith. Now I want to be very clear this morning... 50:08 this afternoon. 50:13 There's evidence on both sides. 50:19 There's intelligent people on both sides. 50:24 And what it comes down to 50:26 is whose word are you going to take. 50:31 See, God builds the bridge of evidence out 50:37 but it doesn't come all the way out. 50:39 But it comes far out enough in order to make a rational 50:44 reasonable intelligent jump. 50:48 That's what faith is. 50:50 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, 50:53 the evidence of things unseen. 50:56 God calls us to faith that appeals to our reason. 51:00 There is evidence on both sides. 51:03 The question is: whose word are we going to take? 51:09 In 1892 51:13 a German theologian wrote his famous pact with science. 51:20 And he said this... his name was Friedrich Schleiermacher. 51:24 A lot of these guys are German. 51:27 And he said: "The theologians should let rocks do their thing 51:34 and let Christ do His thing. " 51:38 Now what he's saying is that let science be science 51:42 and let God be God. 51:44 And I've heard this before. 51:46 People have said: "The Bible is not a science book. " 51:51 "The Bible is not a commentary on origins. " 51:55 "The Bible is not a commentary on biology 51:58 and so we need to let theology be theology 52:01 and let God be God. " 52:04 Now this is a very convenient posture to take 52:07 because it is many times held by individuals 52:10 that when there's a conflict between science and scripture 52:13 they automatically go to scripture and say: "Look, 52:16 we need to come up with a different hermeneutic 52:18 and interpret the Bible differently. " 52:21 And so they come to Genesis 1 52:22 and say: "It's an allegory; it's a myth. It did not happen 52:26 literally. " Now if we come up with this view 52:32 of every time science conflicts with scripture 52:36 and every time assume that it's our understanding 52:40 of scripture that is a very tenuous position to take. 52:47 So here is the question in the end of time: 52:51 are we going to worship the beast 52:53 or are we going to worship the Creator? " 52:58 It's fascinating because in Revelation 16:13-14 53:02 it says that these three unclean spirits like frogs 53:06 are the spirits of demons. 53:08 And the last part of verse 14 indicates 53:10 that they are there to gather them to the great battle 53:16 of God. 53:19 Notice that the purpose of these three fallen angels 53:23 is to gather people together. 53:28 It's to coalesce; it's to merge all of the world 53:32 religions together, and we are witnessing 53:35 that convergence today. 53:39 And it's an age in which truth is suppressed 53:44 in the name of a false unity. 53:50 And this false unity is forged together by a power 53:56 that believes in an alternate view 54:00 of how origins came about. 54:03 I want to read this statement from Pope Benedict 54:08 in July of 2007. He's the predecessor 54:11 to Pope Francis. Listen to these words: 54:14 "Currently I see in Germany 54:17 but also in the United States 54:20 a somewhat fierce debate 54:22 raging between so-called creationism 54:27 and evolution presented... " And listen to this: 54:31 "as they were mutually exclusive alternatives. 54:34 Those who believe in the Creator would not be able to 54:38 conceive of evolution, and those who support evolution 54:42 would have to exclude God. 54:44 This antithesis... 54:48 antithesis... 54:50 can't say it... 54:52 "is absurd. " Now notice what he's saying. 54:55 This idea that creation/evolution are exclusive 54:57 is absurd because on the one hand 55:00 there are so many scientific proofs in favor of evolution 55:05 which appear to be reality we can see 55:07 and enriches our knowledge of life and being as such. " 55:12 In other words, Pope Benedict is saying 55:15 that we can hold to a world view 55:17 that melds evolution and creation together 55:21 i.e. theistic evolution. 55:26 That is the model that is being held: 55:29 a version of origins 55:33 that God used evolution in the creative process. 55:41 And notice that this power is at the helm 55:44 of a certain type of convergence. 55:48 Friend, it's not by accident 55:51 that at the same time the beast power has a version 55:56 of origins and a certain view of God 56:02 that God is calling His people 56:05 to stand up boldly 56:08 but humbly, in love 56:11 and to proclaim with a loud voice 56:16 to worship Him who made the heavens, 56:21 the earth, the sea, 56:24 and the fountains of water. Amen! 56:29 That in the midst of post-modernism 56:32 and pluralism and every type of ism 56:35 in the new convergence that is taking place world wide 56:39 that God's people are going to give 56:42 the trumpet a certain sound. Amen! 56:46 Because this is not only talking about how God 56:51 creates the earth 56:53 it's also talking about how He creates in you and me 56:57 a clean heart. Amen! Amen? 57:00 And I'm so glad that His re-creative process in me 57:05 doesn't take millions... Amen? 57:10 and millions of years. 57:13 And every time we celebrate the Sabbath 57:16 it is a memorial of that fact. 57:20 Amen? Amen! That God created the earth 57:24 and God creates in me a clean heart. 57:27 Praise His name. Amen? Amen! 57:29 Praise God for His Word. Let us pray. 57:31 Father in heaven, we thank you so much 57:35 for our loving Creator God 57:39 that speaks 57:42 worlds into existence. 57:46 We thank you that Your power is not impotent 57:50 and that Your character is not malevolent. 57:53 We thank you that You are a God of love 57:55 and all power, and we thank you that You are the author 57:58 of science and that when we get to heaven 58:02 that science and scripture will harmonize perfectly. 58:08 Until then keep us anchored on the Rock, 58:12 keep us steadfast in You, 58:15 and help us to always be ready to speak the truth 58:22 in love. For we ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, 58:26 Amen. Amen. |
Revised 2018-07-26