Participants:
Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH022012S
|
00:00 ♪♪♪
00:12 ♪♪♪ 00:22 ♪♪♪ 00:35 Shawn Brummund: Hello and welcome to the "Sabbath School 00:38 Study Hour." 00:39 It's so good to be able to have you here, joining us as we come 00:42 together to be able to study one of my favorite books, which is 00:45 the book of Daniel. 00:47 And we're going to continue to look at that as we look at one 00:50 of the most complex and interesting prophecies and 00:53 chapters that we have which is Daniel chapter 11 and the study 00:57 guide or study lesson that we're looking at is "From North to 01:01 South to the Beautiful Land." 01:04 And so we're going to be able to unpack that as Pastor Luccas is 01:07 going to be teaching for us here today. 01:09 It's always good to be able to have all those who are watching 01:11 online as well as different television stations as we 01:15 continue to study this very important book. 01:19 Now, before we get into our study and we get into our song 01:22 service, I want to take an opportunity to invite you to 01:25 take advantage of a free offer that we have and we always like 01:28 to give out a free gift offer each and every time we come 01:31 and study, and today it is called "The Final Events." 01:34 "The Final Events of Bible Prophecy." 01:37 And so please take advantage of that. 01:39 Just go and--ahead and dial into 1-866-788-3966 and ask for the 01:46 free offer number 856. 01:50 Now for those of you who may be interested in a personal digital 01:55 download, we also offer that for free and you can get--you can 01:58 actually access that on the Internet from anywhere in the 02:01 world, unlike the actual physical copy which we will 02:04 offer to those who live in North America. 02:07 So if you have a phone, go ahead and text the code "SH057." 02:12 You want to text that to the number 40544. 02:18 And I know that you will be blessed if you go ahead and take 02:20 advantage of that free offer. 02:22 So before we get into our lesson study here today, we're going to 02:25 invite our singers to come forward as we praise the Lord 02:27 in song. 02:29 ♪♪♪ 02:31 ♪ Be still, my soul ♪ 02:39 ♪ The Lord is ♪ 02:41 ♪ On thy side ♪ 02:49 ♪ With patience bear ♪ 02:57 ♪ The cross of grief ♪ 03:02 ♪ Or pain ♪ 03:08 ♪ Leave to thy God ♪ 03:16 ♪ To order ♪ 03:18 ♪ And provide ♪ 03:26 ♪ In ev'ry change ♪ 03:34 ♪ He faithful ♪ 03:36 ♪ Will remain ♪ 03:45 ♪ Be still, my soul ♪ 03:53 ♪ Thy heav'nly Friend ♪ 04:02 ♪ Will lead ♪ 04:07 ♪ To a joyful end ♪ 04:16 ♪♪♪ 04:31 ♪ Be still, my soul ♪ 04:39 ♪ Thy God ♪ 04:41 ♪ Doth undertake ♪ 04:50 ♪ To guide the future ♪ 04:58 ♪ As He has ♪ 05:02 ♪ The past ♪ 05:08 ♪ Thy hope, thy confidence ♪ 05:17 ♪ Let nothing shake ♪ 05:26 ♪ All now mysterious ♪ 05:34 ♪ Shall be bright at last ♪ 05:41 ♪♪♪ 06:19 ♪ When disappointment ♪ 06:26 ♪ Grief, and fear are gone ♪ 06:36 ♪ Sorrow forgot ♪ 06:43 ♪ Love's purest joys restored ♪ 06:53 ♪♪♪ 06:59 ♪ Be still, my soul ♪ 07:07 ♪ When change ♪ 07:14 ♪ And tears are past ♪ 07:21 ♪ We shall meet ♪ 07:26 ♪ At last ♪ 07:32 ♪♪♪ 07:50 Shawn: What a blessing, amen? 07:53 Let's pray. 07:55 Father in heaven, we are so privileged to be able to come 07:58 here together to worship You. 08:00 We thank You so much for Your Bible. 08:02 We thank You for the prophecies that You have revealed through 08:04 Your servant Daniel. 08:06 And, Lord, we are thankful that, again, as we study this lesson 08:09 and this chapter that we're reminded that You are sovereign, 08:13 that You are in control of all things, that You are the Alpha 08:15 and the Omega, You know the beginning from the end. 08:18 And, Lord, that You are working all things together for good for 08:21 the salvation of as many of us as possible. 08:25 And, Lord, as we look at this today, we want to pray that You 08:27 will bless our teacher, Pastor Luccas, as he leads out in this 08:30 study and, God, that You will guide each and every one of us, 08:33 both those here in Granite Bay Church and those who are 08:36 watching online on different television networks. 08:38 Lord, that You will bless us and guide us with Your Spirit and 08:40 teach us and lead us into all truth. 08:43 In Jesus' name we pray, God, amen. 08:46 This morning we are privileged to be able to have our youth 08:49 pastor, Pastor Luccas, as he teaches our lesson study. 08:52 God bless you, Luccas. 08:55 Luccas Rodor: Happy Sabbath. 08:58 It is an honor and a privilege to be here with you today and we 09:03 have a very interesting study planned out for today. 09:06 I'll admit something to you guys. 09:08 I was very humbled this week as I studied this lesson for a few 09:14 different reasons. 09:17 Daniel chapter 11 has been one of the most challenging chapters 09:22 to study prophetically and historically for a number 09:24 of reasons, and in my personal opinion, it's among two-- 09:27 the two most difficult chapters to be understood 09:30 in the whole Bible. 09:33 So we have Daniel 11 in the Old Testament and then we have 09:35 Revelation chapter 17 in the New Testament that are quite 09:38 challenging for a few reasons. 09:40 But, as I studied this week, there was one thing that 09:44 resonated again and again and again in my mind as I studied 09:49 this, is that overall, after all the details, after all the kings 09:54 and the battles and the controversies and the political 09:58 plots and all of that, there's one thing that we can be certain 10:02 of: God is always in control. 10:07 God is always in control. 10:09 If there's one thing that emerges by the study of this 10:11 chapter, is that God is always in control. 10:14 Now, when it comes to chapter 11, it becomes very easy to lose 10:18 the forest for the trees, if you understand what I'm saying. 10:22 Because there's just so many details and there's just so much 10:25 history packed into 45 verses that if we take too long on one 10:29 or two or even ten verses, we're going to lose our whole study. 10:34 So today, don't be disappointed if we jump over major sections 10:37 of history because there's two options. 10:40 Either we spend an hour talking about 2 verses or we spend the 10:45 40 minutes that we have talking about 45, and that's what we're 10:48 going to do. 10:50 So don't be disappointed if we jump over a few sections of 10:52 history here because many of these sections, they are easily 10:57 traceable and you can easily study them in history books 11:01 for yourself. 11:03 All you have to do is open up Scripture, open up history, and 11:05 you'll see that there are--that it becomes fairly easy for you 11:08 to at least up to verse 39 you can easily accompany history 11:13 through the Bible and so you can do that yourself. 11:17 But, from the get-go, I want to make two things very clear. 11:21 First of all, Daniel's vision in chapter 11, it's part of a 11:28 bigger section. 11:31 When it comes to the last vision of the book of Daniel, you can't 11:34 isolate chapter 11 because chapter 11 is the middle, it's 11:38 the body of the vision that begins in chapter 10 and that 11:42 ends in chapter 12. 11:45 So chapter 10 is the introduction or the prolog. 11:48 Chapter 11 is the body of this vision. 11:51 And then chapter 12 is the epilog or the conclusion of 11:53 the vision, so keep that in mind. 11:56 We already began this study last week with chapter 10. 11:58 Today, we're going to get the full body, the content of the 12:01 vision, and then in chapter 12, you'll have the conclusion with 12:04 Michael standing up. 12:07 And so that's going to be a very exciting study also. 12:10 The second thing that we can make that becomes very clear is 12:14 that chapter 11 is parallel to other major visions. 12:19 So this is very important. 12:22 When you understand that chapter 11, it's not isolated. 12:25 The historical content, the details, they're not isolated 12:28 inside of that vision itself, but you find major parallels 12:32 inside of the other prophetic visions and the other prophetic 12:35 chapters of Daniel. 12:37 So you'll find a lot of parallel within verse 2 with Daniel--with 12:40 Daniel 8:20, with Daniel 8:21. 12:43 So Daniel 8 and Daniel 9 have many parallels with chapter 11. 12:49 So when you understand that, it becomes a lot easier to 12:51 interpret chapter 11 because if I can get the details from that 12:54 chapter and compare it with the previous chapters that cover the 12:58 same period of time, although through different perspectives, 13:03 it becomes easier to identify what's going on. 13:06 Does that make sense? 13:07 So you've got the previous visions. 13:10 You see what they're talking about. 13:11 You go to chapter 11, that's a bit more complicated 13:13 and confusing. 13:14 You compare that to the previous chapters. 13:16 Then you can have a clear understanding of what's 13:18 happening, of what's going on. 13:21 Also, and here's a really interesting thing, each chapter, 13:23 each prophetic chapter, their outline reaches its culmination 13:29 in the fact that God the Most High, Yahweh, He is in control 13:34 of history. 13:35 He is in control as we already stated. 13:38 So for example, in chapter 2, what happens? 13:40 How does God emerge? 13:42 He is the rock that smashes the feet of history, right? 13:45 In chapter 7, He is the Son of man that receives the kingdom. 13:49 In chapter 8 and 9, He is the one that cleanses the sanctuary. 13:53 So if there's one thing that emerges as a pattern in Daniel 13:56 is that God is in control, is that the climax, the closing of 14:00 history, is done by none other than God. 14:03 No one else has that power. 14:04 No one else has that authority. 14:06 God is always in control. 14:08 Now, while the lesson does give us a good breakdown of these 14:11 sections, another thing to understand here from the 14:13 beginning is that the whole chapter, chapter 11, can be 14:16 divided in two major arcs, two major divisions of history. 14:20 So you get from chapter 11, verse 1 through 22, that is the 14:24 first arc, the first division, of the chapter. 14:27 And then from verse 23 through 45 is the second. 14:31 Now, of course, inside of these major divisions, these major 14:34 sections, these arcs, there are subdivisions but, basically, you 14:41 can--you could divide the chapter in these two parts and 14:43 the reason for that is because from 1 to 22, everything that 14:46 happens, happens BC, before the Prince of the Covenant appears, 14:52 and then from 23 all the way through 45, that is after the 14:55 Prince of the Covenant. 14:57 So in the same way in which the Bible is divided between Old 15:00 Testament and New Testament, this chapter can be divided 15:03 between what happens before Jesus and what happens 15:06 after Jesus. 15:08 So let's keep that in mind. 15:11 So we won't be able to cover everything. 15:12 It'll be enough for us to have a main outline of what is 15:14 going on. 15:17 The chapter begins describing the transition--the transition 15:22 from the Medo-Persian empire to the Greek empire. 15:26 Okay, that's what we find here. 15:28 And this is the reason for verses 1 and 2, for us to see 15:30 the transition that goes from Medo-Persia and we find 15:33 this already. 15:35 In chapter 2 we found that the succession of kingdoms goes from 15:37 Babylon to Medo-Persia to Greece to Rome. 15:40 In chapter 7 you find the same kind of outline. 15:42 In--with the animals, the four animals that emerge. 15:44 In chapter 8 you find that with the ram with two horns and the 15:47 goat, so this is a parallel here. 15:49 And in verse 2--actually 1 through 4, we find this outline 15:53 where Daniel, he receives this vision of Medo-Persia 15:57 transitioning into Greece. 16:02 Verse 1 and verse 2, they give us some information. 16:05 We're not going to read them but we find some information here 16:08 about these kings that emerge. 16:10 It mentions three kings and then a fourth one that is very rich. 16:13 Now, the first text, I'm going to read it for us. 16:17 It'll be--it'll become easier. 16:20 It says here in verse 2: "And now I will tell you the truth: 16:22 Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth 16:26 shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through 16:30 his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. 16:35 Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great 16:38 dominion, and do according to his will. 16:40 And when he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken up and 16:43 divided toward the four heavens--the four winds of 16:46 heaven, but not among his posterity nor according to his 16:49 dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be 16:52 uprooted, even for others beside these--besides these." 16:58 So here we have a reference to these three kings, three 17:01 mysterious kings that emerge in the chapter, then a fourth very 17:04 rich king. 17:06 And the sequence that we find in history is exactly this. 17:08 This vision is given to Daniel. 17:10 Beginning in Daniel chapter 10, you'll find that the king that 17:12 is in command is who? 17:14 Cyrus. 17:16 He is the king in charge. 17:18 But the succession of history gives us three kings: Cambyses, 17:20 the false Smerdis, and then Darius I. 17:24 These three kings, it's really interesting when you study 17:27 their life. 17:29 Cambyses, he arises. 17:31 He has a lot of stuff going on. 17:33 He kills his brother, Smerdis. 17:34 He then goes on to campaign in Egypt. 17:37 While he's there, this false king, the false Smerdis, he 17:40 arises and then Cambyses takes--he takes notice of this. 17:43 He hears about this, and he's on his way back to the capital to 17:46 take care of this problem and on this way back he dies. 17:50 Now, many say that he committed suicide. 17:53 Others say that it was an accident. 17:55 But what we do know is that Cambyses dies and then this 17:58 false Smerdis, he also doesn't last that long on the throne. 18:01 King Darius, who wasn't a direct line to the throne, he takes up 18:05 power through his military conquests and so that's 18:09 basically what happens in this time period. 18:12 The following king that appears in verse 2 is none other than 18:16 Xerxes, and Xerxes, he is the same king that we find in the 18:19 book of Esther, that's the same Xerxes. 18:21 He is a very wealthy king and he is mentioned here because he is 18:24 the king that battles, that takes war into Greece. 18:28 He is one of the only two kings in Medo-Persian history that 18:32 fights or that invades Greece. 18:36 Now, the Greeks, they can't do anything immediately. 18:38 They cannot retaliate immediately. 18:40 They're not strong enough so over a century later, over a 18:43 century later, they do invade Medo-Persia and that happens 18:48 under Alexander the Great, the Great King, Alexander Magnum as 18:51 many call him. 18:53 And all of this happens under him. 18:56 He invades the Medo-Persian empire and we find here in these 18:59 few verses, in these two or three verses, we find that 19:02 Alexander the Great, he conquers the known world in a very short 19:06 period of time. 19:08 And again, this draws a parallel to the other chapters where we 19:10 find the leopard with four wings. 19:13 Remember that? 19:14 The leopard with four wings in chapter 7, and then in chapter 19:16 8, we have the goat that runs so fast that he doesn't even touch 19:19 the ground. 19:21 And that represents Alexander the Great, the first great Greek 19:23 king that conquers the known world in a very short period of 19:26 time, but at the height of his power when he's 32 years old, 19:30 he also falls, he dies, and his kingdom is then divided 19:33 among his four generals. 19:35 What's interesting is that Alexander, he did have a young 19:38 son but his young son, as the prophecy foretold, this young 19:42 boy, he doesn't inherit any of his father's lands or power or 19:46 any of that, and the land is then divided, the empire is 19:48 divided, among the four kings, so--the four generals. 19:53 So what we find here is that the general, Seleucus, he has--he is 19:59 in command of Syria and Mesopotamia. 20:01 This is the great lighter green portion right here. 20:04 We have Ptolemy down in the South with Egypt. 20:07 We have Lysimachus in Thrace and parts of Asia Minor right there, 20:11 up there in the Northwest. 20:13 And then in the West over there, we have the last of his generals 20:18 which was Cassander with Macedonia and with Greece. 20:22 So that's the main map that we have. 20:24 Now, from verses 5 through 15 and if it seems that I'm 20:28 rushing, I am because I want to get to a certain part of 20:31 history here. 20:33 This, we already mostly studied. 20:35 If you accompany chapter 7, chapter 8, then you already know 20:37 about this. 20:39 But from verse 5 through 15 of Daniel 11, what we find is an 20:44 outline of the battles of two of these dynasties, the two 20:49 prominent ones and the two most important ones. 20:52 We find the battles of the northern king and the 20:54 southern king. 20:56 Now, these two generals, Seleucus and Ptolemy, they were 21:00 the ones who amassed most power, most dominion. 21:02 They were the ones that if you take a look and this is why this 21:06 is so important. 21:08 So, if you take a look at the map, you'll find that the king 21:12 of the North in this area and the king of the South in this 21:15 area, what do they have between them? 21:17 They have Judea. 21:20 So that's why we have so much information about the king of 21:23 the North and the king of the South, first because they were 21:25 the two generals that emerge as the most powerful. 21:29 But second of all, it's because they were the ones who were in a 21:32 position to oppress the children of God. 21:34 Now, one of the main questions that arises, that a lot of 21:37 people ask is, "Well, you know what? 21:39 Prophecy is talking about an outline of history but why does 21:41 it not mention other great nations, such as China? 21:45 We know that China had great dynasties, very powerful 21:48 dynasties. 21:49 What about the Aztecs, here in South America? 21:52 Why doesn't prophecy mention these empires, these kingdoms?" 21:55 It's very simple. 21:57 As powerful and as influent as these nations were, they didn't 22:01 have a lot of relevance when it comes to the children of God. 22:06 What we find in history, what we find in prophecy, is that these 22:10 nations that are mentioned in prophecy, they have direct 22:13 impact on Judea, on the children of God. 22:16 So that's why we find these mentioned. 22:17 At this time, these two nations, they weren't even the most 22:20 powerful in the planet. 22:22 There were other arising powers on the horizon. 22:26 Rome appears and we don't get the beginning of Rome. 22:28 When Rome appears in this story, it's already a power. 22:31 So you see that what the Bible's mentioning here are empires or 22:35 countries, kings, powers, that impacted directly the children 22:39 of God in Judea. 22:41 That's what we find here. 22:43 So here we have a great outline of the battle of the kings of 22:46 the North and the kings of the South. 22:47 Again, this is fairly simple for you to research in history. 22:51 Here we have, basically, five or six kings on each side that a 22:55 lot happens among them. 22:57 They battle, they fight. 22:59 Judea is going from one to the other, constantly. 23:02 Not only do they battle, but there is a lot of political 23:04 drama, all right, political policies that happen. 23:10 They try to have alliances through marriage and that 23:12 happens with Bernice but then Bernice dies, you know, and so, 23:15 so much happens. 23:16 And it might seem that this is a very long period of time. 23:19 Reading it, we tend to assume that this happened 23:23 over centuries. 23:24 But when you look at history, really, this is a period that 23:27 covers about 150 years. 23:29 It's not even a long time. 23:31 But this is basically what we find from verses 5 through 15. 23:38 However, before we get to that, there is a short period of time 23:41 there where Israel does battle, does war, for independence and, 23:46 again, we can find this when we research and we study about the 23:49 Maccabean Revolt. 23:51 And so, Israel, for a short while, they did have their own 23:53 kings called the Maccabean kings of the Hasmonean house. 23:56 And, again, if you're interested in that, you can research and 23:59 very easily you'll find a lot of information about that period 24:02 of time. 24:05 However, in verse 16--in verse 16, a new power arises. 24:09 It tells us that he who comes--we find that in verse 16, 24:13 "He who comes," and this he who comes cannot be either the king 24:17 of the North or the king of the South. 24:20 In verse 15, at the end of this whole 150-year period of time, 24:23 the king of the North in the person of Antiochus Epiphanes, 24:30 he emerges as victorious at the end of verse 15. 24:34 And this was a terrible king. 24:35 This was a terrible--a terrible king that--the king of the North 24:40 that dominated this land, the children of Israel. 24:43 And one thing that I would like to mention before we enter the 24:47 phase of Rome, is that this Antiochus IV or Antiochus 24:50 Epiphanes, he is a--he is one of those kings that a lot of--a lot 24:57 of interpreters imagine that he fulfills a major role in chapter 25:02 11 of Daniel. 25:04 But we really believe that--I really believe that, that is a 25:07 major stretch. 25:09 When you look at what he did and you look at the timeline that 25:11 happens here, it seems that it is a major stretch to assume 25:13 that Antiochus Epiphanes, he is the fulfillment of many verses 25:18 or many timelines here in Daniel 11, for many reasons. 25:22 First of all, the prophetic statement in verse 14 implies 25:26 that these people, the people that were with Antiochus, his 25:28 armies, his generals, that they--this appears in verse 12 25:32 and 13, they will be without success. 25:35 Now, the fulfillment of what happens with Israel happens 25:40 under people who did have success. 25:43 Rome did have success to--of oppressing the children of 25:47 Israel for a very long period of time. 25:49 Antiochus Epiphanes, he didn't have that long. 25:51 Secondly, verse 16 tells us that "this power will stand in the 25:55 beautiful land and all of it will be in his hand." 25:59 Now, this again has no conceivable application to 26:02 Antiochus Epiphanes because Judea was already in his hand. 26:06 He didn't have to conquer it. 26:08 He didn't have to invade Judea. 26:10 He didn't have to conquer it. 26:12 It was given to him as land from his father. 26:14 So it wouldn't make sense to say that this is the great king 26:17 that, you know, that came and conquered, oppressed, 26:19 persecuted, the children of Israel because while he did 26:22 oppress and persecute them, the land was already his, he 26:26 inherited it from his father. 26:28 It makes a lot more sense to understand that the conquest 26:31 of this power that appears in verse 16, it emerges with Rome 26:35 in the person of Pompeii when he conquers Judea in the year 26:40 63 BC. 26:43 And finally, as we already discussed before, there is an 26:45 immense amount of parallelism between chapter 7 and 8. 26:49 The activities of the Little Horn of Daniel with what happens 26:53 to the children of Israel in chapter 11. 26:55 So the Little Horn in chapter 7 and 8 is never understood as 26:59 Antiochus Epiphanes. 27:01 It can't be because it transverses time. 27:04 Its activities happen over a span of thousands of years. 27:08 It could never be interpreted as happening in the life of 27:10 one king. 27:12 So for all these reasons and more, Antiochus Epiphanes, 27:15 at least in our study, he is not interpreted as this great king 27:18 that had, you know, a big, a huge, impact on the children of 27:22 Israel over a span of centuries. 27:25 In any case, in verse 16, who emerges on the scene is Rome. 27:30 And here we have, again, in the timeline of Rome, we have 27:33 basically three Caesars that take the stage from verses 16 27:42 through 22. 27:44 And you can do the comparison yourself, you can do the 27:46 study yourself. 27:48 We find in verse 17 through 19, Julius Caesar and the actions 27:52 that he did, the things that he did, appear in verse 17, 27:54 18, and 19. 27:56 We find Caesar Augustus in verse 20, the things that he did in 27:59 verse, again, in verse 20. 28:01 And then finally, Tiberius Caesar and it is during the 28:04 reign of Tiberius Caesar that the prince of the covenant would 28:07 be broken. 28:09 That's what we find here in verse 22. 28:10 And that's a clear reference to the Crucifixion of Jesus. 28:13 Jesus is killed in--during the reign of Tiberius Caesar. 28:17 Jesus is also called the Anointed in chapter 9. 28:21 In chapter--in Matthew 27, Jesus is also called the Anointed One. 28:25 All of this happened during the reign of Tiberius Caesar. 28:28 This reference of Jesus as the prince of the covenant, while I 28:35 was doing my study, I'll tell you something. 28:36 This gave me chills when I was studying the prince of 28:39 the covenant. 28:41 Because it is an extraordinary indicator that reveals the flow 28:45 of history. 28:47 The fact that God, years before, was giving us the information or 28:51 was giving Daniel the information of everything that 28:54 would take place, all the way up to the Messiah, that is God 28:57 telling Daniel something. 28:59 He's saying, "Daniel, things might appear to be chaotic, 29:01 things may appear to be happening too fast or too slow 29:03 or not in the right time, but, Daniel, I need you to understand 29:06 that I am in control, that I have power over history, that I 29:11 know what is going to happen, and I have provisions for things 29:14 that are going to happen." 29:17 So as I was studying this and I found the emergence here of the 29:20 prince of the covenant, that was then broken, that was just 29:23 something that gave me chills. 29:25 At this point, in verse 23, we arrive at the second portion of 29:29 this chapter, the second great arc or division, if you will. 29:32 Verse 23 is a transition point in the prophecy of chapter 11. 29:36 Verses 1 through 22, they guide the action from Daniel's day all 29:41 the way down to the Messiah, to the prince of the covenant, and 29:44 that means that everything that happens, the four kings of the 29:47 Medo-Persians, the Great King of Greece, the four prominent ones 29:52 that come out of that kingdom, all these wars with the kings of 29:56 the North and the South, everything that happens, happens 29:58 in the first half of that chapter. 30:02 Do you understand this? 30:04 There's just so many details. 30:05 Now, what's incredible to me is that God, he successively gives 30:08 deeper visions about the same period of time. 30:11 So in Daniel chapter 2 you have a great outline of history. 30:14 In Daniel chapter 7 God kind of zones in a little bit in 30:17 four--on the four kingdoms. 30:19 Then in chapter 8 He zones in on two kingdoms and what happens 30:22 after the second kingdom with the Little Horn. 30:24 But in chapter 11, God goes in. 30:27 He--it's like he puts history under a microscope and God gives 30:30 just so many details that we have packed here in this first 30:33 half of chapter 11. 30:36 But then the focus shifts to something different. 30:40 From verse 23 through 39, Daniel deals with another power, a 30:45 power that we interpret and we understand for many reasons that 30:49 we're going to see here as Ecclesiastical Rome. 30:52 You know that Rome came in, in verse 16. 30:54 We have three Caesars but then we find here, at the height--at 30:59 the height of the power of the North king, Rome comes in with 31:03 Pompeii and they take dominion over Judea. 31:06 And at that point we have the prince being broken and one of 31:11 the questions that is most asked at this point is, "Well, where 31:14 do we go from here? 31:16 Where do we go? 31:17 Do we interpret the prophecy to be linear? 31:20 Is it, you know, are the events that are described from verse 23 31:22 to 39, do they happen immediately after verse 22 or is 31:26 there a gap in the history of prophecy? 31:29 So couldn't it continue? 31:31 Couldn't verse 23 continue with Imperial Rome for a 31:33 further stretch? 31:35 Why don't we interpret it that way? 31:36 Why do we interpret it as being Ecclesiastical papal Rome right 31:39 after in verse 23?" 31:42 Now, some believe that it is the case that, you know, Imperial 31:45 Rome is just described from verse 23 through 29, that we 31:48 have a repeat of the three Caesars: Caesar--Julius Caesar, 31:52 Caesar Augustus, and then Tiberius. 31:56 Some interpret it that way. 31:58 But it doesn't make much sense. 32:00 The--it's not very consecutive if we interpret it that way. 32:03 The information that happens, happens too quickly for it to be 32:06 seen as a Hebrew parallelism. 32:10 Other people believe that the text beginning in verse 23 kind 32:12 of skips down to the time of the Roman conquest in the year 70. 32:16 Some interpret it that way, that 23 through 29, they 32:19 really--they're really covering the period of the conquest of 32:24 Rome in the year 70. 32:26 And others yet believe that the time of Constantine would make 32:28 sense due to the major historical transition with the 32:32 conversion of the Roman empire to Christianity. 32:35 But, again, Constantine, he doesn't fit these few verses 32:38 very well. 32:40 So that way, verse 23 and--22 and 23, they jump over centuries 32:43 of time, which isn't the immediate concern here anyway. 32:47 The chapter--the prophecy, it's not interested in covering every 32:53 single minor event in history. 32:56 It's trying to tell us something that God is in control 32:57 of history. 32:59 So when we understand it that way, here, from 22 to 23, you 33:02 jump a few centuries in time. 33:05 The segment now is the emergence of the second phase of Rome, 33:08 which goes from Imperial Rome all the way to Ecclesiastical 33:12 Rome, papal Rome. 33:14 And most interpreters, they understand that, that transition 33:17 happened around the 6th century. 33:20 And so here we find Ecclesiastical Rome already in 33:23 the Middle Ages. 33:25 It's not Imperial Rome anymore. 33:27 It's religious, spiritual, Ecclesiastical, or papal Rome. 33:32 So just to be clear, Daniel 11:23 deals with the activities 33:36 of Rome in its second phase, not in its Imperial time anymore, 33:40 but in its spiritual condition. 33:43 The players change here. 33:45 We find that the king of the North, he--in name, he doesn't 33:48 appear until verse 40 again. 33:50 And the king of the South, it seems as though he takes a 33:52 step back. 33:54 The players change, but the game is the same. 33:57 A question that does arise here is, well, how did this happen? 34:01 How did this switch from Imperial to Ecclesiastical 34:03 Rome happen? 34:06 And the answer is, well, Constantine, he switches the 34:08 capital of Rome. 34:09 You guys remember how this happens in the 4th century. 34:11 He switches the capital of Rome to where? 34:13 Constantinople, which was ancient Byzantine, and he 34:18 switches the capital there. 34:19 And what happens to Rome? 34:21 Rome--who is leading? 34:24 Who is--who has power in the city of Rome? 34:26 The bishop of Rome. 34:28 He has the power. 34:30 So this transition from Imperial Rome to Ecclesiastical Rome, it 34:33 happens--it starts happening over there and from verse 23 34:37 through 39, we find--here we go. 34:40 We find many events that characterize the activities of 34:45 the northern King now in the person of Ecclesiastical or 34:50 papal Rome. 34:52 We find from verse 23 through 30, we have the military 34:54 campaigns, all the wars that they fought. 34:57 There were nine Crusades that were fought, especially from the 35:00 11th century through the 13th century. 35:03 There might seem to be a gap. 35:05 So you're saying, "All right, so we jump from the Messiah, who 35:08 was broken, in verse 22. 35:10 You jump to the 6th century which is the transition from 35:12 Imperial Rome to Ecclesiastical Rome, and then we jump again to 35:15 the Crusades to, you know, five centuries later. 35:17 Yeah, there's no problem with that. 35:20 We find that in prophecy many times. 35:23 I'll give you an example of this. 35:25 You remember--you remember how Xerxes transitions from Xerxes 35:30 to Alexander the Great. 35:32 We saw that in verse 2. 35:34 We find this transition from Xerxes in Medo-Persia to 35:36 Alexander the Great in Greece. 35:38 That was a century of a transition. 35:41 Prophecy jumped 100 years and it wasn't even preoccupied or 35:45 worried in explaining what happened in the meantime. 35:47 This is something that happens commonly in prophecy, especially 35:51 in Daniel 11. 35:54 Because the necessity isn't to explain each minor detail but 35:56 every big figure, every relevant figure, that has to do with the 36:00 people of God. 36:03 So again, this is what happens here. 36:05 So the first activities of this northern king or the small, 36:07 the Little Horn, of Daniel chapter 8, 36:10 the activities begin with military campaigns. 36:13 We find that in verses 23 through 30. 36:15 Then we find in verse 31, the subversion of the system 36:18 of salvation. 36:20 Do you remember how this Little Horn or this another northern 36:22 kingdom, how they subvert the system of salvation? 36:25 When the Bible says that the temple was brought down low, 36:29 this is in Daniel chapter 8, that the temple was brought down 36:33 low, when the Bible gives us this piece of information, we 36:36 find that--we find that the heaven being brought down low, 36:42 it doesn't mean that, you know, this power, it brought 36:44 heaven down. 36:47 It doesn't mean that the heavenly temple up in heaven was 36:49 brought down low. 36:51 What it truly means is that this power, it placed itself in the 36:53 position of God. 36:55 It profaned, it desecrated the temple. 36:56 These are the literal words that are used in Daniel chapter 8. 37:00 It was profaned, it was desecrated. 37:03 So this power, it desecrates the temple up in heaven, how? 37:06 Well, it places itself in the person or in the place of the 37:11 high priest of heaven, saying that it can forgive sin, saying 37:14 that, well--and we all know the big boasts of papal Rome in the 37:19 medieval times where it said that it was God, that it sat on 37:22 the throne of God, and that, you know, in ex cathedra, when it 37:27 was sitting down on its--on his throne, he had the voice of God. 37:30 And that is the way that we find the papal power bringing down 37:34 the temple in heaven. 37:37 The third activity that we find this power developing is from 37:43 verse 32 through 35 and its persecution. 37:45 And here again, we have many examples of this. 37:47 This is the only time in verse--in chapter 11 that we 37:50 find a persecution. 37:52 It's the only time. 37:53 But it is mentioned in chapter 8, it's mentioned when Jesus 37:55 talks about the end of days in Matthew chapter 24. 37:58 We find this persecution happening and here we have many 38:01 references to this. 38:03 We have the--we have the name--the Inquisition. 38:11 We have the Holy Inquisition happening after following the 38:14 subsequent centuries after the Crusades. 38:19 We find historically that this rivalry against the papal power 38:23 and the children of God, it leads to many deaths, bloodshed, 38:26 in the children of God. 38:28 So this is a further activity, it's persecution. 38:30 The first one that we find, again, is the military campaigns 38:33 described in those seven verses. 38:35 Then we have the subversion of the system of salvation. 38:37 We have persecution happening in those three verses. 38:39 And finally, we have self-exaltation. 38:42 Daniel 11:36 says: "He shall exalt and magnify himself above 38:46 every god, he shall speak blasphemies against the God 38:50 of gods." 38:52 And here we find two charges: self-exaltation and blasphemy. 38:55 Self-exaltation and blasphemy. 38:57 These two charges correspond perfectly to the characteristics 39:00 of the Little Horn as revealed in both Daniel 7:25, "He speaks 39:04 great words against the Most High," and then Daniel chapter 39:07 8:10-11 where we read: "He grew until it reached the host of 39:11 heavens; and set itself up to be as great as the Prince 39:17 of hosts." 39:19 Now historically, this rivalry against the God of heaven was 39:21 manifested by titles which this earthly power assumed and 39:25 claimed for itself. 39:28 So these were the activities of this Little Horn in 7, 8, 39:32 and 11. 39:34 Interestingly enough, the activities of the Little Horn in 39:36 chapter 11, they--the last three of them, they appear also in 39:40 chapter 8 and chapter 7; the last two in chapter 7, the last 39:44 two in chapter 8. 39:46 And these are the events all the way up to when this little--this 39:48 power, the horn, or the king of the North, it is broken. 39:51 And finally, we arrive at Daniel chapter 11, verse 40, where we 39:58 have a mention of the time of the end. 40:01 Now, first we have to understand that there's a difference 40:04 between the time of the end and the end of times. 40:07 In prophecy, there's a big difference between the time of 40:10 the end and the end of times. 40:12 The time of the end is a period of time, it's a segment of 40:15 history, in which certain events will happen. 40:18 Those are the events that we find in these first--in these 40:21 last five chapters--five verses of chapter 11. 40:24 Now, the end of time is a point in time. 40:28 It's a moment in time. 40:30 It is the end of human history as we know it. 40:33 So this section is perhaps the most difficult passage to 40:36 interpret prophetically because it's in the future, it hasn't 40:39 happened yet. 40:41 There are many of these events that have not happened yet. 40:43 At this point, we are way beyond the times of the Seleucid kings 40:45 or the Ptolemaic dynasties. 40:49 We're way beyond that time. 40:51 Now, we're dealing with new powers that have taken their 40:53 place and the question is who are these powers? 40:56 Many interpretations have been given, many have been given. 41:00 Many have been suggested. 41:01 But there is no final answer on this question that has been 41:04 ultimately given. 41:06 It's been hotly debated among Adventist theologians, Adventist 41:10 pioneers in more modern times. 41:13 Maybe the best thing that we can say is that since these events 41:16 are still in the future, we're going to have to wait until they 41:19 happen, until we see them so that we can truly understand 41:21 what happens. 41:23 Do you remember what is the ultimate goal of prophecy? 41:25 What does Jesus say in John chapter 14, verse 29? 41:27 That's where He gives us the ultimate goal, the ultimate 41:31 purpose, of prophecy in the Bible. 41:33 He says, "And now I have told you before it comes to pass that 41:36 when it does come to pass you may believe." 41:39 That's the purpose of prophecy. 41:41 You see that we can get very confused in all these details 41:44 that happen but the purpose of prophecy is that when it 41:46 happens, we may believe. 41:49 That our faith may be increased. 41:51 That's the purpose of prophecy. 41:54 This is what we find at the end of chapter 11. 41:56 My dear friends, God is always in control. 42:00 He always wins, and His children--as His children, we 42:05 share that victory. 42:07 As we study this chapter, chapter 11, and we see that 42:10 throughout history God has always been taking care of His 42:14 people, you know what that reassures me? 42:16 That He can still do it for me. 42:18 Just as He guided the children of Israel through those turmoils 42:21 of the king of the North and the king of the South, as He guided 42:24 His children through the Caesars and through medieval history and 42:27 up to our days, I understand that, you know what, God isn't 42:30 the God that is only interested in history, world history. 42:35 He's interested in my history. 42:38 He's interested in my yesterdays, in my battles, in my 42:41 losses, in my confusions and doubts, in my failures. 42:44 He is interested in taking me, a broken vessel, transforming me, 42:49 and helping me become His child that will end and be victorious 42:54 over the dragon. 42:55 You know, Revelation says that through the blood of the Lamb 42:59 they were able to be victorious, they were able to win. 43:03 So may God bless you as you study prophecy. 43:06 It's not always easy. 43:08 These are very difficult chapters but the Lord, He didn't 43:10 reveal it for nothing. 43:12 He revealed it for a purpose, which is for us to understand 43:14 and our faith be believed--be increased. 43:18 May God bless you. 43:19 That was the lesson for today. 43:21 I hope that you can join us again next Sabbath for another 43:23 Sabbath School Study Hour. 43:26 May God bless you. 43:29 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 43:31 free resource. 43:33 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 43:35 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 43:38 mobile device. 43:39 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 43:42 the key word on your screen to 40544 or visit the web address 43:47 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 43:50 download option on the request page. 43:52 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 43:55 "Amazing Facts," wherever and whenever you want and most 43:59 important, to share it with others. 44:02 ♪♪♪ 44:14 Doug Batchelor: Port Royal, here in Jamaica, was once 44:16 considered the most wicked city in the world. 44:19 They had more bars and brothels per square foot than any other 44:22 place on the planet. 44:23 It was said to be just full of cutthroats and pirates but 44:26 during this time the king of France, Louis XIV, he began to 44:31 persecute the Protestants and the Huguenots in the kingdom and 44:34 many fled. 44:35 That's when Lewis Galdy and his brother Laurent came 44:37 to Port Royal. 44:41 When Lewis Galdy arrived, he was absolutely dumbfounded 44:44 at the unrestrained immorality, violence, and extravagance that 44:47 filled Port Royal. 44:49 That's why nobody was surprised when the judgment of God 44:52 finally happened. 44:53 Just before noon on June 7, 1692, there was a massive 44:57 earthquake that affected the whole island, Port Royal 45:00 in particular. 45:02 Two-thirds of it slid into the sea. 45:04 Then came a tsunami. 45:05 Thousands perished. 45:07 Unfortunately, even Lewis Galdy was swallowed up in 45:10 the earthquake. 45:12 ♪♪♪ 45:15 You know, much of Jamaica is rock but Port Royal was built on 45:18 the sand and so when the earthquake struck, the sand 45:21 virtually liquefied, swallowing much of the city and thousands 45:24 of people. 45:25 Lewis Galdy was buried alive, but while underground he was 45:29 still conscious and he prayed. 45:32 He resigned himself to his fate, prayed to the Lord, and then 45:35 another miracle happened. 45:37 There was an aftershock with volcanic activity that exploded, 45:40 blowing Lewis Galdy out of the earth, hundreds of yards, off 45:44 into the sea, where he had a pretty hard landing but he was 45:47 able to swim until he was rescued. 45:50 Lewis Galdy dedicated the remaining 47 years of his life 45:53 to serving Jesus in this island and he's even buried here 45:56 still today. 45:58 ♪♪♪ 46:01 Doug: You know, the Bible tells us just before Jesus comes 46:03 back conditions in the world will be very much like they were 46:07 in Sodom and Port Royal. 46:09 There's going to be a tremendous earthquake and even islands will 46:12 be swallowed up. 46:14 But God's people don't need to be afraid. 46:15 The same way that the Lord took care of Lewis Galdy, He will 46:18 take care of you. 46:19 It says in Psalm 91 that you might see 1000 fall at your side 46:23 or 10,000 at your right hand, but only with your eyes will you 46:26 see and behold the destruction of the wicked. 46:28 He can protect you and resurrect you. 46:31 ♪♪♪ 46:42 announcer: "Amazing Facts" Changed Lives. 46:50 Brittany: I was addicted to all different types of things. 46:53 I finally hit rock bottom when I got pulled over one night after 46:57 a heavy night of partying with some friends. 47:01 I was drunk, high on ecstasy, and I realized then that I had 47:06 to make a change. 47:08 Vince: I was in the military and listening to very satanic music 47:11 every day, and heard this whisper to carve "666" in 47:14 my knuckles. 47:17 Contemplated on it a while and I was sitting there at my desk and 47:19 I had my knife on me. 47:23 And I started carving the horizontal lines for the sixes 47:27 into my index finger first with serrated edges and started to 47:33 enjoy it. 47:35 I wanted to make it known who I wanted to follow, actually, and 47:39 not knowing I was following Satan at the time. 47:42 Just, I thought it was a cool thing to do. 47:44 Brittany: So I met this guy online and that was my 47:47 husband, Vince. 47:48 And I noticed his ears. 47:52 And we started talking and he was just adorable. 47:55 Vince: Flew down and actually met her here in Arizona. 47:58 Brittany: And at that point, I found out quickly after we met 48:02 that I was pregnant. 48:04 Vince: So shortly after our daughter was born, it was a very 48:06 exciting moment, but the nurses and doctors noticed something 48:08 right away, that she was extremely orange with jaundice. 48:11 Brittany: And she ended up in the hospital very sick and it 48:16 was extremely hard on us. 48:19 We were teenagers, we were scared. 48:22 Our baby was sick. 48:25 I was with someone that was very angry and, at that point, we 48:32 were in the hospital room and I remember a chaplain coming in 48:37 and speaking with the people since it was like a conjoined 48:40 room, we had a roommate. 48:42 And the chaplain had said, you know, if he could pray for the 48:46 other family and that's when I knew that there was my chance. 48:50 I had to take that opportunity and I asked my husband, "Should 48:54 I go talk to him?" 48:55 Vince: And I said, "No way," I wanted nothing to do with God. 48:57 I wanted nothing to do with talking to this chaplain. 49:01 Brittany: I decided that I was going to get up anyway. 49:04 And I got up and you could tell he was very angry that I decided 49:06 to walk over. 49:08 And I went to the chaplain and I asked him to come over and speak 49:12 to us and he did. 49:14 Vince: He came in. 49:16 We asked him questions. 49:18 And he actually came to visit us every single day. 49:20 Brittany: The chaplain that we met with mentioned "Amazing 49:22 Facts" study guides and just the ministries. 49:24 Vince: He showed us videos and study guides from "Amazing 49:28 Facts" specifically. 49:30 It was on final events and cosmic conflict. 49:33 And at that point, we had transferred hospitals to an 49:35 outpatient hospital and we were able to watch these videos, and 49:40 we were hooked on them. 49:41 Brittany: It was a huge blessing. 49:43 We would watch Pastor Doug and we would sit up late at night 49:48 watching sermons and we were just teenagers. 49:52 Most kids our age were out doing crazy things and here we are 49:56 home with popcorn and chocolate bars, watching Pastor Doug. 50:00 Ben Lundquist: This young couple came into the Camelback Church, 50:03 holding a beautiful little baby. 50:06 And this was one of the first times that I had ever met Vince 50:08 and Brittany. 50:10 Vince: We needed somebody to show us that they loved us, that 50:12 they supported us. 50:13 And Pastor Ben was there giving us Bible studies on marriage 50:16 counseling as well as baptism. 50:17 Brittany: I was still smoking and drinking lightly and a few 50:20 things along those lines and it was one day when I woke up, on 50:26 February 15, 2011, after watching many sermons on 50:32 "Amazing Facts" from Pastor Doug and having a really solid church 50:36 family, that I was able to say, "No more." 50:38 And from that day on, I stopped all of my addictions. 50:43 Charles White: And ultimately, their lives began to take on 50:46 just a new dimension of congruity because Jesus was 50:49 there and He was the one that was bringing that sense of 50:51 belonging and hope and help. 50:55 Brittany: And we decided to get baptized and married. 50:57 And we got baptized one day and married the next, and it was an 51:01 amazing experience. 51:03 Ben: We found a spot by the lake and it was absolutely perfect. 51:06 The evening was coming to a close, the sun was about ready 51:09 to go down. 51:11 Vince: We were standing in the water with Pastor Ben and the 51:14 sky was such a deep red. 51:17 The reflections of the sky was almost as if we were standing 51:20 in blood. 51:22 We were washed in the blood of Jesus. 51:24 Ben: And that was the moment that God painted the canvas of 51:26 the sky with the most beautiful colors, signifying the journey 51:30 that He was going to be laying out for Vince and Brittany. 51:33 Vince: Shortly after we were baptized, about a month later, 51:36 we had realized that my scars were gone. 51:40 I was completely healed physically of not having the 51:43 "666" on my knuckles anymore. 51:45 And I struggled with that for so long because of what I did and 51:49 He forgave me. 51:51 Malcolm Douglas: Many times when we think of the way that we've 51:52 been led to Christ, we think there's usually one individual 51:54 but, having been able to work alongside Pastor Ben and Pastor 51:58 White, it's been great to see how we've been able to work with 52:02 Brittany and Vincent and seen them just really grow. 52:05 And this has really been something that's been beneficial 52:08 to me, you know? 52:09 Sometimes I think about this and the Bible says: "More blessed is 52:13 he who gives than receives," and I feel many times more blessed 52:15 just seeing them and seeing all the challenges they've gone 52:20 through, all the difficulties, and seeing them overcome these 52:23 things. 52:24 It just--it amazes me. 52:26 Vince: As I reflect back on everything I've done in my life, 52:29 completely going against God, wanting nothing to do with Him, 52:34 He still tried so hard as if I was the only one that was lost, 52:38 just as He promises. 52:41 He still went and found me, even though I wanted nothing to do 52:44 with Him. 52:45 Brittany: Having "Amazing Facts" and the pastors in our lives 52:48 help us so much, it's really a blessing and I feel like now 52:53 we're happy and we have these two healthy, beautiful little 52:57 girls and God has truly blessed us. 53:01 And I just want to share it with everyone. 53:03 I want to scream it. 53:05 I'm so excited and I feel really blessed to even have this 53:08 opportunity to share my story. 53:11 ♪♪♪ 53:21 ♪♪♪ 53:32 Doug: Friends, are you afraid of heights? 53:33 If so, you might want to look away right now. 53:36 One of the most famous attractions in the San Francisco 53:39 Bay Area is the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. 53:42 While this world famous bridge was named as one of the seven 53:45 wonders of the modern world, few people know the story of the 53:48 brave men who were involved in its construction and also known 53:52 as the Halfway to Hell Club. 53:54 Designed by a group of visionary engineers, at 4200 feet from end 53:59 to end, the Golden Gate Bridge was at one time the longest 54:02 suspension bridge in the world. 54:04 During its construction from 1933 to 1937, the Golden Gate 54:09 Bridge had one of the best safety construction records of 54:12 any project during that time. 54:14 Keep in mind, they would factor in and calculate that one man 54:18 would die for every million dollars that were spent. 54:21 So with a budget of $35 million, they knew that loss of life 54:24 would be unacceptable. 54:26 This is why the chief engineer, Joseph B. Strauss, 54:29 was absolutely adamant about using the most rigorous 54:31 safety precautions that had ever been used in bridge building. 54:35 He had a local manufacturer of safety equipment design special 54:39 headgear that he insisted be worn on every job. 54:42 This became the prototype for the modern hard hat, worn for 54:45 the first time ever, but the safety precautions went 54:47 even farther. 54:49 Strauss provided a special hand and face cream to protect the 54:52 skin from the cold biting wind, and glare-free goggles to 54:56 protect their eyes. 54:57 In addition, they also ate a special diet to help ward off 55:00 dizziness when they were working at those epic heights. 55:03 But the most conspicuous safety precaution was a gigantic net 55:07 that was suspended from end to end under the entire 55:10 construction area of the Golden Gate Bridge. 55:14 In fact, during construction, this net saved the lives of 19 55:18 men who later became known as the Halfway to Hell Club. 55:23 Now you need to keep in mind, these were some of the most 55:26 dangerous construction conditions you can imagine. 55:28 The wind was constantly blowing. 55:31 They were walking around on iron that sometimes had ice from the 55:34 freezing fog. 55:36 In places, they were over 700 feet above the icy waters. 55:40 Yet the men, coming from all walks of life, were willing to 55:44 take these risks because it was during the Great Depression and 55:47 they would get paid up to $11 a day which was a fortune 55:50 back then. 55:52 One of the other benefits of the net was they discovered that the 55:55 men were much more courageous, even though they were walking 55:58 high on those slippery surfaces, because they knew there was a 56:01 mechanism to protect them if they should fall. 56:04 This gave them the confidence and the courage to press on and 56:07 get the bridge built in record time. 56:09 You know, friends, as Christians, we have a great work 56:12 to do. 56:13 The Bible tells us that we get to participate with Jesus in 56:16 building a bridge that connects heaven and earth. 56:19 And there are dangers along the way. 56:21 The devil would like to paralyze us with fear that we might fall 56:24 or make a mistake. 56:26 But we know that Jesus has provided a safety net for us and 56:29 we don't have to be afraid. 56:30 We can press on with confidence because it promises in the book 56:33 of Jude, verse 24, He is able to keep us from falling. 56:37 But sometimes, we make mistakes. 56:39 Still don't be discouraged, friends. 56:41 If you read in 1 John chapter 2, verse 1, the Bible says 56:45 if we fall, if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 56:49 Jesus Christ. 56:50 So let's press on together and build that bridge with Christ. 56:53 ♪♪♪ 57:01 announcer: Can't get enough "Amazing Facts" Bible study? 57:03 You don't have to wait until next week to enjoy more 57:05 truth-filled programming. 57:07 Visit the "Amazing Facts" media library at AFTV.ORG. 57:13 At AFTV.ORG you can enjoy video and audio presentations as well 57:18 as printed material all free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days 57:22 a week, right from your computer or mobile device. 57:25 Visit AFTV.ORG. 57:30 announcer: In six days God created the heavens 57:33 and the earth. 57:35 For thousands of years man has worshiped God on the seventh day 57:37 of the week. 57:39 Now, each week, millions of people worship on the first day. 57:43 What happened? 57:44 Why did God create a day of rest? 57:46 Does it really matter what day we worship? 57:49 Who was behind this great shift? 57:51 Discover the truth behind God's law and how it was changed. 57:55 Visit SabbathTruth.com. 57:58 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2020-03-16