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Series Code: SSH
Program Code: SSH022013S
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00:11 ♪♪♪ 00:36 Jean Ross: Good morning, friends, and welcome again to 00:38 "Sabbath School Study Hour," here at the Granite Bay Seventh 00:40 Day Adventist Church, in Sacramento, California. 00:42 We'd like to welcome all of those who are joining us online. 00:45 I know we have our online members that tune in every week. 00:48 Very special welcome to you and also to our regular Sabbath 00:52 School members who are here in person. 00:55 I know we have some visitors who are joining us for Sabbath 00:57 School today. 00:59 A very warm welcome to all of you. 01:00 We're finishing up our study on the book of Daniel this morning. 01:03 Daniel chapter 12 is the actual chapter we'll be studying, but 01:08 in your lesson quarterly, it's lesson number 13, and it's 01:12 entitled "From Dust to Stars," and that's going to be our study 01:15 for this morning. 01:17 And then for those of you who are here in person, we'd like to 01:19 remind you that next Sabbath we're going to be starting our 01:22 new lesson quarterly, entitled "How to Interpret Scripture," 01:26 and we do have our lesson quarterly, so they're available 01:29 for you in our church foyer, so be sure to pick one up before 01:32 you leave today. 01:34 And next week, study lesson number one, "How to Interpret 01:36 Scripture," also for our friends who are joining us online, you 01:40 could go to the Amazing Facts website, and you can actually 01:44 download a copy of our new lesson quarterly entitled "How 01:48 to Interpret Scripture," and you can study along with us. 01:51 We do have a free offer we'd like to tell you about. 01:54 It is a book entitled "Who Is Michael the Archangel?" 01:57 And we'll be happy to send this to anyone who calls and asks for 02:00 the book. 02:02 The number is 866-788-3966, and just ask for Offer Number 02:06 107--or 170, I should say--170, and we'll be happy to send this 02:13 to anyone who calls and asks, or you can download a copy of the 02:17 book by texting the code "SH094," to the number 40544. 02:25 And, again, the book is entitled "Who is Michael the Archangel?" 02:29 I think you'll find that a rather fascinating and 02:31 important study. 02:33 Well, before we get to our study this morning, I'd like to invite 02:36 the ladies to come forward, and they'll be leading us in our 02:39 Sabbath School song today. 02:41 ♪♪♪ 02:42 female: Good morning, happy Sabbath. 02:45 Please join us in singing "Near the Cross," number 312 in 02:47 your hymnals. 02:49 ♪♪♪ 02:53 ♪ Jesus, keep me near the cross ♪ 02:58 ♪ There's a precious fountain ♪ 03:03 ♪ Free to all, a healing stream ♪ 03:07 ♪ Flows from Calvary's mountain ♪ 03:13 ♪ In the cross ♪ 03:15 ♪ In the cross ♪ 03:18 ♪ Be my glory ever ♪ 03:23 ♪ Till my raptured soul shall find ♪ 03:28 ♪ Rest beyond the river ♪ 03:34 ♪ Near the cross ♪ 03:37 ♪ A trembling soul ♪ 03:39 ♪ Love and mercy found me ♪ 03:44 ♪ There the bright and morning star ♪ 03:49 ♪ Sheds its beams around me ♪ 03:55 ♪ In the cross ♪ 03:57 ♪ In the cross ♪ 04:00 ♪ Be my glory ever ♪ 04:05 ♪ Till my raptured soul shall find ♪ 04:11 ♪ Rest beyond the river ♪ 04:16 ♪ Near the cross ♪ 04:19 ♪ O Lamb of God ♪ 04:22 ♪ Bring its scenes before me ♪ 04:27 ♪ Help me walk from day to day ♪ 04:33 ♪ With its shadows o'er me ♪ 04:38 ♪ In the cross ♪ 04:41 ♪ In the cross ♪ 04:43 ♪ Be my glory ever ♪ 04:49 ♪ Till my raptured soul shall find ♪ 04:54 ♪ Rest beyond the river ♪ 05:01 ♪ Near the cross ♪ 05:03 ♪ I'll watch and wait ♪ 05:06 ♪ Hoping, trusting ever ♪ 05:12 ♪ Till I reach the golden strand ♪ 05:17 ♪ Just beyond the river ♪ 05:23 ♪ In the cross ♪ 05:25 ♪ In the cross ♪ 05:28 ♪ Be my glory ever ♪ 05:34 ♪ Till my raptured soul shall find ♪ 05:40 ♪ Rest beyond the river ♪♪ 05:49 female: Thank you for singing with us. 05:52 Jean: Amen, what a beautiful song, we can have rest in Jesus. 05:56 Let's bow our heads for prayer. 05:58 Dear Father, we thank You that we're able to gather together in 06:00 Your house on this Sabbath that You've given us to open up Your 06:02 Word and study a very important passage in the book of Daniel. 06:07 Father, we ask for the Holy Spirit as always to come and 06:10 guard our hearts and our minds, and, Father, it's good news as 06:13 we read in Daniel about the promise for those who love You, 06:16 that You're going to come again, and You're going to resurrect 06:19 those who trust in You. 06:21 So bless our study time today, for we ask this in Jesus' 06:24 name, amen. 06:27 Our lesson today is going to be brought to us by Pastor Doug. 06:33 Doug Batchelor: Morning, welcome, we're glad you're here 06:34 this Sabbath. 06:36 I want to welcome also those who are studying with us. 06:39 We have a lot of people around the world who are some of our 06:41 online members. 06:43 They don't have a local church they can attend, and I want to 06:45 welcome you as well as those who are just joining us on Facebook, 06:48 or some of them watching on satellite television, and we 06:51 have a class that is all around the world, and it's always just 06:57 so thankful as we travel and meet the people that are 06:59 studying with us. 07:01 Just a couple of weeks ago, Karen and I were in Nashville 07:04 and in Chattanooga, and met a lot of our friends there, 07:07 as well. 07:09 Got out of Nashville just before the hurricanes came through, or 07:12 the tornado, I should say, came through, and need to be praying 07:17 for those folks. 07:18 We have an exciting lesson today, dealing with the subject 07:22 of Daniel, and we're talking about the last chapter in 07:25 Daniel, Daniel chapter 12. 07:26 It's lesson 13. 07:28 Keep in mind, there's 12 chapters in Daniel all through 07:32 this quarterly because we had one chapter for an introduction. 07:34 The lesson has always been one ahead of the chapter. 07:38 So we're on lesson 13, covering Daniel chapter 12, a great, 07:42 great chapter. 07:46 And there's a memory verse from Daniel 12, verse 3. 07:49 We'd like to invite you to say it with us. 07:51 Daniel, chapter 12, verse 3, and this is from the New King 07:54 James Version. 07:55 Are you ready? 07:58 "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the 08:00 firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the 08:04 stars forever and ever." 08:08 That's one of my favorite verses. 08:10 You know, if you're an evangelist, you like to 08:13 encourage people to turn others to righteousness. 08:17 Now, you know what I'd like to do, there's 13 verses in this 08:20 chapter, I want to read through it. 08:22 And then we're going to back up, and we're going to study it. 08:24 This is a very important chapter. 08:26 It's sort of a culmination of the book of Daniel, and it is 08:31 somewhat of a controversial chapter because there are more 08:34 time prophecies in this chapter than any other short passage of 08:40 Scripture, and so there's been a lot of discussion about that, 08:44 and we'll get to that at the end so--but there's so much good 08:47 material ahead of time. 08:49 So we're going to read these verses. 08:51 I'll just read through it for you, and then we'll back up, and 08:52 we'll study them point by point. 08:54 Chapter 12, Daniel, verse 1: "'At that time Michael shall 09:01 stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of 09:05 your people, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never 09:09 been since there was a nation, even to that time. 09:12 And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one 09:16 who is found written in the book. 09:19 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall 09:22 awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and 09:26 everlasting contempt, and those who are wise will shine like the 09:30 brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to 09:33 righteousness like the stars forever and ever. 09:36 But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until 09:39 the time of the end. 09:41 Many will run to and fro, and knowledge will increase.' 09:45 Then I, Daniel, looked, and there stood two others, one on 09:49 this side of the riverbank and the other on the other side of 09:53 the riverbank. 09:55 And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the 09:57 waters of the river, 'How long shall be the fulfillment of 10:01 these wonders?' 10:02 Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters 10:06 of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand 10:09 to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be 10:13 for a time, times, and half a time, when the power of the holy 10:18 people has been completely shattered, all these things 10:21 shall be finished.' 10:23 Although I heard, I did not understand. 10:26 Then I said, 'My lord, what shall be the end of 10:28 these things?' 10:30 And he said, 'Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed 10:33 up and sealed till the time of the end. 10:36 Many will be purified, made white, and refined, but the 10:40 wicked will do wickedly, and none of the wicked will 10:42 understand, but the wise will understand. 10:45 And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the 10:49 abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. 10:55 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the 1,335 days. 11:01 But you, go your way till the end, for you shall rest, and 11:06 will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days,'" or it 11:09 says "arise in your lot," if you've got the King James 11:11 Version, "At the end of your days." 11:13 Okay, there you have it. 11:16 Now, we're going to go through these verses one by one, and 11:18 we'll get as far as we can, but at least we can say we finished 11:20 the book of Daniel, amen? 11:23 I would like to read, just read through it with you. 11:25 First of all, "at that time," at what time? 11:32 To understand what he's talking about when he says "at that 11:34 time," you've got to go back, and you go to chapter 11, and in 11:39 verse 40 of chapter 11, you'll notice it says, "And at the time 11:43 of the end the king of the South shall attack him," or push 11:47 against him, "and the king of the North shall come against him 11:50 like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, and he 11:53 will enter the countries and overwhelm and pass through. 11:57 He'll also enter the Glorious Land." 11:59 So when it says, "at that time," is talking about at the time of 12:01 the end. 12:04 Now, the phrase, "the time of the end" is mentioned five 12:06 times, I think it's called "the end of time" or "the time of 12:09 the end" in the book of Daniel. 12:11 So Daniel is a prophecy book that deals with the time of the 12:15 end, it's mentioned several times in the book, and it 12:18 takes--the prophecies in Daniel typically go from the time of 12:22 Daniel, when he has the prophecy, up until the end of 12:26 time, and God's kingdom is restored. 12:28 Keep in mind, the book of Daniel is written in the context of one 12:31 of the sons or grandsons of Hezekiah of the royal seed. 12:37 They have been displaced, the temple's been destroyed, they've 12:40 been conquered, they're carried off into another kingdom, and 12:43 the theme in the book is "When will God's kingdom 12:45 be restored?" 12:47 And it goes beyond the kingdom of Israel, after 70 years being 12:50 restored, goes on to the ultimate restoration under the 12:54 Son of God. 12:56 So he's also in verse 1 of chapter 12. 12:59 "The time of the end," speaking about that time where you've got 13:02 the battle between the king of the North and South--I know that 13:04 was covered last week, and most Adventist scholars agree, and, 13:10 actually, most of the Protestant reformers agree the King of the 13:13 North is talking about that little horn power, and it's the 13:17 confederacy of the apostate Christianity, both Protestant, 13:21 Catholic charismatic, that will join together, and then there's 13:25 this battle against the King of the South. 13:27 There's some disagreement about who the King of the South is. 13:30 I've heard everything from, you know, the Ottoman Empire, to 13:34 atheism, to Islam. 13:36 Personally, I'm more inclined to think it's Islam. 13:39 I've got good friends that believe it's atheism, but since 13:42 the fall of Communism and since things are even changing in 13:45 China now, where Christianity and religion is spreading once 13:50 again, I think it may be something else so--but we won't 13:53 delve into that. 13:56 So here we are, these final events, the time of the end, and 13:59 he said, "Michael will stand up." 14:03 All right, two things here--Michael. 14:05 Some of you heard when we talked in chapter 10 about Michael, but 14:09 some people are watching that missed a lot, and I just want 14:13 to review. 14:15 "Michael" is one of the pre-incarnation names 14:18 for Christ. 14:20 Christ is the everlasting Son of God. 14:22 He is not an angel. 14:23 People hear me say, "Michael the archangel is Jesus." 14:25 They go, "You don't think Jesus is the Son of God," or "You 14:28 don't think Jesus is eternal." 14:30 No, no, no. 14:31 It's the other way around. 14:33 The word "angel" simply means "messenger." 14:34 "Michael" means "who is as God." 14:36 "Archangel" means "highest messenger." 14:38 So who is the highest messenger that is as God? 14:42 That's Jesus. 14:44 And you look at the evidence in the Bible, and you're going to 14:47 see, well, it tells us that Michael resurrects Moses. 14:49 In Jude verse 9, who is the resurrection of life? 14:52 Christ. 14:54 You read in 1 Thessalonians 4, "The Lord Himself will descend 14:57 from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel." 15:00 The Lord Himself, voice of the archangel. 15:03 So who is the one descending from heaven? 15:05 Christ. 15:08 He's got the greatest messenger. 15:10 You read where it tells us that Joshua takes his shoes off his 15:13 feet as he bows before the commander of the Lord's armies, 15:16 and many think that was what they call a "Christophany," 15:20 where Jesus appears to humans, but he says he's commander of 15:24 the Lord's armies, another term for Michael, but he's taking off 15:27 his shoes because he's worshiping, and you only 15:29 worship God. 15:30 You with me? 15:32 And so when you look at the evidence for Michael that 15:33 appears through the Bible, and it says, "The great prince that 15:36 stands for the children of thy people," intercedes, stands for 15:39 the behalf. 15:41 Who is that? 15:42 That's Christ. 15:44 Now, just so you--I've heard people say, "Well, this is some 15:46 weird Seventh Day Adventist teaching." 15:47 No, friend, sorry. 15:49 It is a Protestant teaching. 15:51 Melanchthon, Luther's partner, insisted Michael is Christ. 15:54 He called, in the New Testament, and archangel. 15:57 He is none other than Christ, the Son of God, an uncreated 16:01 angel who is one, and it says in Daniel 10:13, that means who is 16:05 "chief of all the princes." 16:07 That's what that means. 16:09 John Gill, he says in his commentary, "Superior to angels, 16:13 in nature, name, and office, he came to 'help' Gabriel, not as a 16:17 creature, but as the Lord of hosts." 16:20 "Michael is commonly--" this is John Wesley. 16:22 "Michael is commonly supposed to mean Christ." 16:25 One more evidence for that, when you go to Revelation chapter 12, 16:27 Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and 16:31 his angels. 16:34 Well, who is the dragon? 16:37 Dragon is a symbolic name for the chief of evil, the devil. 16:39 If that's true, then why would we doubt that Michael is a 16:42 symbolic name for the chief of good, God the Son? 16:45 And so I think there's lots of evidence for that. 16:49 Please request the free booklet if you've got questions on that 16:51 because there's a lot more Scripture. 16:54 The free booklet is on "Who is Michael the Archangel?" 16:57 "Michael will stand up." 16:59 Now, what does "stand up" mean? 17:02 Well, a couple things. 17:04 There's a judgment that takes place in the book of Daniel. 17:07 When a judge sits down--you know, when the judge first 17:09 enters a court room, the bailiff often says, "All rise," out 17:12 of respect. 17:14 And when he's seated, then the people are seated. 17:16 You can read in Daniel that the thrones were set in place. 17:19 The court was seated. 17:22 There's a judgment that takes place. 17:23 When the judge stands up, is he listening to evidence anymore? 17:27 He issues his verdict, then he stands up. 17:29 Judgment is over. 17:31 So there's one aspect. 17:33 You can also say in the Bible that, when a king was roused to 17:37 stand, it meant he was getting ready to go into battle, and he 17:43 was going to defend his people. 17:45 Some of you had fathers that, you know, kids were goofing off 17:48 in the house, and he was sitting down, you know, enjoying dinner 17:51 and watching the program, and he'd say, "Don't make me 17:54 get up." 17:56 Anyone have a father like that? 17:58 "If I get up, if I have to go through the trouble of getting 18:01 up, there's going to be consequences." 18:05 And so when God rises, something's going to happen. 18:11 That's what's happening here. 18:13 And I'll give you a couple of verses for that you can read 18:15 where it says in Revelation, chapter 1, verse 5, "And from 18:23 Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first 18:26 begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of 18:29 the earth." 18:30 So it says, "Michael, our prince." 18:32 "And to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His 18:34 own blood." 18:36 Go to Isaiah 3:13, "The Lord stands up to plead. 18:39 "The Lord stands to judge His people." 18:43 And "judge" means "execute judgment." 18:46 Revelation 14:1, "Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on 18:49 Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000, having their Father's 18:54 name written in their forehead." 18:57 So--and it tells us that He's a great prince that stands for the 19:01 sons of our people. 19:03 He's the intercessor. 19:05 Look in Romans 8:34, "Who is he who condemns? 19:09 It is Christ who died, and furthermore is risen, who is 19:13 even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession 19:17 for us." 19:18 So Jesus is that great prince that stands for the sons of the 19:22 people, something like a defense attorney who represents and 19:25 intercedes on our behalf. 19:27 You've probably seen paintings before where Jesus is portrayed. 19:30 Harry Anderson has a nice painting like this. 19:33 Jesus is portrayed, and all you see is the light from God. 19:35 You don't see the throne of God. 19:37 You see the light from the throne of the Father, shining 19:39 on Christ. 19:41 There's some shadows in the background, and Jesus is 19:43 spreading out His hands before the Father. 19:44 You've probably seen paintings like this. 19:46 He's interceding. 19:47 He is standing as our mediator, our Paraclete, our intercessor 19:51 with the Father. 19:54 You look in Hebrews 7:25, "Therefore He is also to save to 19:58 the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always 20:03 lives to make intercession for them." 20:07 Now, right now, because of Jesus, probation is not closed. 20:11 The door of mercy is open, and we can boldly come before the 20:16 throne of God. 20:17 There's no more veil that separates us from God. 20:20 In Christ, the veil is taken away. 20:22 We go to the Father Himself. 20:25 We pray directly to the Father through Christ. 20:28 We do not have to go through a priest. 20:30 We do not have to go through an earthly mediator. 20:33 We have a friend in heaven, he's a heavenly mediator. 20:36 This is one of the great battles of the Reformation. 20:39 You know, the church was saying, "You got to go through the 20:41 priests to get to God." 20:43 And Luther and others, says, "No, we can now come boldly 20:46 before the throne through Christ." 20:49 What a privilege that we can go directly to God. 20:52 And you can, again, read that verse in Daniel 7, verse 10, "A 20:56 fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. 20:59 Thousands of thousands ministered to Him. 21:01 Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him, and the court 21:05 was seated, and the books were opened." 21:07 So you've got this judgment taking place earlier in Daniel. 21:11 When you get to the last chapter, He stands up. 21:14 Judgment's over. 21:16 All through the book of Daniel, the people of God are being 21:17 oppressed by various kingdoms. 21:20 Michael stands up. 21:21 He girds His armor on, mounts His horse. 21:24 You see Him in Revelation, coming as the Word of God, going 21:27 forth to conquer. 21:29 And so--and to defend and to deliver his people. 21:32 So this is what's happening here in the first verses, and notice 21:36 what else it says. 21:38 "And then shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since 21:42 there was a nation, even to that time. 21:46 And at that time your people will be delivered, every one who 21:50 is found written in the book." 21:52 Wow, there's a lot there. 21:54 First of all, "time of trouble." 21:57 There's times of trouble. 21:58 How many of you have gone through a time of trouble? 22:01 Most of us, right? 22:02 Varying degrees, and you look at the news--and, boy, we just came 22:07 back from Australia, and they had fire and rain, just 22:11 everything burning up, and then it was flooding. 22:14 You think about World War I and the troubles in the trenches of 22:16 France and Germany. 22:18 It was terrible. 22:20 Think about the Civil War. 22:22 You know, America lost more people during battles in the 22:24 Civil War than the entire World War II. 22:28 I mean, just the bloodshed was--the carnage was 22:30 unbelievable, "time of trouble." 22:33 You think about the Holocaust and World War II. 22:37 Think about the tsunami in 2004, 260,000 people perish in 22:42 two days. 22:44 I mean, there has been some time of trouble, but when it talks 22:48 about this "time of trouble," it's not isolated to this place 22:52 or that place. 22:53 It's talking about a universal time of trouble, and it can't be 22:57 compared to anything before. 22:59 It says, "unlike anything." 23:02 Now, keep in mind, when you talk about the "time of trouble," 23:05 Jesus refers to this. 23:07 Let me read what Jesus says, and then I'll elaborate a 23:09 little bit. 23:10 Matthew 24, verse 15, if you got your Bibles, "Therefore when you 23:14 see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel 23:17 the prophet, stand in the holy place." 23:21 Now, when we get to the dates in this study, I'll talk more about 23:25 that, but Jesus--first of all, does Jesus think that Daniel was 23:28 a prophet? 23:30 So we're real safe believing that Daniel is inspired by God 23:33 because Jesus said he was. 23:35 Otherwise, you've got to throw out the whole Bible. 23:37 In that case, what are you doing here? 23:39 So the whole purpose of studying this is because we believe the 23:42 Word of God is true. 23:44 Jesus said Daniel's a prophet, and he says the "'abomination of 23:48 desolation,' whoever reads, let him understand." 23:51 Now, this is a parenthetical statement. 23:53 People wonder, "Did Jesus say this?" 23:56 Did Matthew, writing it, say this? 23:59 Did a scribe insert it? 24:01 They're saying--you're supposed to pray. 24:03 Why does he say, "Let him who reads, understand"? 24:05 Because we just read in chapter 12, he says, "The wise 24:07 will understand." 24:08 He said not everyone will understand, and they may not 24:10 understand till the time of the end. 24:13 The time of the end, it'll be opened up. 24:15 So there's a prayer inserted in this statement, "Let the 24:17 wise understand." 24:20 "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." 24:24 Of course, it depends on where you are. 24:26 "Let those who are on their housetop go not down to take 24:29 anything out of his house." 24:31 This is going to be such a bad time. 24:33 You better head for the hills, like Lot running from Sodom. 24:36 He said, "Don't even look back." 24:38 "Let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes." 24:41 There's an urgency. 24:44 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are 24:47 nursing babies in--" make a note of this-- "those who are nursing 24:49 babies in those days, and pray that your flight be not be in 24:52 winter--" he's talking about fleeing. 24:55 Not a flight on an airplane. 24:58 "Not in winter or on the Sabbath." 25:00 He still knew God's people would be keeping the Sabbath. 25:02 Now listen to what Jesus said, verse 21, Matthew 24, "For then 25:06 there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the 25:10 beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever 25:14 shall be. 25:16 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be 25:20 saved," and the word "flesh" there doesn't just mean human. 25:23 It means no life. 25:25 They used to call--same word used for animal flesh would 25:28 be saved. 25:29 "But for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." 25:32 So that's pretty powerful. 25:34 Jesus is saying, "Yeah, Daniel meant what he said when he said 25:36 there's going to be a time of trouble such as there never has 25:38 been but--" and there's a time period connected with the time 25:42 of trouble. 25:45 The time of times and the dividing of time, three and a 25:48 half, 42 months, 1,260 days, the day and year is prophecy. 25:53 Typically that time period is a time of persecution. 25:57 It was during a time of trouble that it did not rain for 1,260 26:02 days in Elijah's time, right? 26:05 Jezebel was killing the prophets. 26:08 They're hiding in caves. 26:10 They're fleeing for their lives. 26:13 There was another three-and-a-half-year period of 26:15 time during the time of Christ's ministry, and during the time, 26:19 He had to hide. 26:20 They said, "You go to Jerusalem, they'll kill you." 26:22 They took up stones. 26:23 They wanted to throw Him off a cliff. 26:25 It was a time of persecution and rejection. 26:27 Then you've got that time at the end of three and a half years 26:30 when the disciples are in Jerusalem. 26:31 Stephen is killed--first martyr. 26:34 Another three-and-a-half-year time period. 26:38 Then you've got the three and a half years of the Dark Age. 26:41 Now, this is a time of trouble historically. 26:44 In Matthew 24, Jesus is answering three questions: "What 26:48 will be the sign of your coming?" 26:50 "The destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the world?" 26:53 He commingles his answer. 26:56 What happened to the Jews--if you've read the book, "Great 26:58 Controversy," it begins with a fall of Jerusalem. 27:01 What happens to the Jews is a preamble for the last days. 27:05 The great time of trouble that the Jews went through when 27:09 Jerusalem was destroyed was terrible. 27:12 You read about that. 27:14 That also prefigures a historic time of trouble from 538 to 1798 27:18 when the woman fled into the wilderness, and the dragon tried 27:22 to destroy her because he couldn't get to the man-child. 27:26 You still with me? 27:28 One thousand two hundred and sixty years where estimates 27:32 between 30 and 50 million Christians and Jews were killed 27:34 because of their faith by the political, religious government 27:39 of that time. 27:41 But then there's--it talks about at the end of that time, the sun 27:44 is darkened, the moon turns to blood, the stars fall 27:47 from heaven. 27:48 Those things happened historically, but those things 27:50 happen again in quick succession near the end of time. 27:54 You still with me? 27:55 Because it also says, "The heavens depart as the scroll, 27:58 and every island and mountain has moved out of its place." 28:01 That hasn't happened yet, so quickly--clearly, it happens 28:03 again in quick succession near the end of time. 28:06 But just before the end, there is a time of trouble. 28:10 Now, that time of trouble is connected with the 28:13 beast's power. 28:15 You cannot buy or sell, and you might divide it into two parts. 28:18 The first part, there's going to be a great persecution. 28:22 Probation is not closed yet, but during this time of great 28:26 darkness and persecution, when you can't buy or sell, 28:28 Christians will be sharing in great power. 28:32 When they're being tried, you'll be brought before kings 28:34 and rulers. 28:35 How long is that time? 28:37 Not sure. 28:39 Some thought, "Well, maybe that'll be three and a 28:40 half years," we don't know for sure. 28:42 But there's a small time of trouble, but once there is a 28:45 death decree, and once probation closes, you've got the--and it's 28:50 in the mother of all times of trouble, which is the seven last 28:53 plagues that you find in Revelation chapter 15 and 16, 28:58 and if you read through that, I think you'll agree, "Yeah, 29:01 that's got to be the worst." 29:03 "Men are scorched with great heat. 29:05 The oceans have turned to blood. 29:07 The fresh waters have turned to blood." 29:08 That's where most of the people in the world live. 29:10 You know, most of the people in the world, as of about four 29:12 years ago, are now in urban areas, where, before, they used 29:15 to be in the country. 29:17 The cities--and soon 60% of the world's population will be in 29:20 the cities, and 90% of the world's cities are by the oceans 29:24 or rivers. 29:27 Very few cities are not by an ocean or a river, right? 29:30 Including Sacramento and others. 29:33 They turn to blood. 29:35 Darkness on the seat of the beast. 29:37 "Noisome, grievous sores." 29:38 People are in--I mean, they're gnawing their tongues from pain, 29:41 and it's unimaginable, that great time of trouble. 29:45 I'm not worried about that part because the Bible promises, 29:49 Psalm 91, during that great time of trouble, "Only with your eyes 29:53 will you see and behold the punishment of the wicked." 29:57 "No plague will come near your dwelling. 29:59 A thousand may fall in your hand, ten thousand at your right 30:02 side," I'm misquoting this slightly, but you know, 30:04 Psalm 91. 30:05 So, you see, and it's happening around you. 30:07 You're seeing it happen around you. 30:08 I don't believe the secret rapture that we leave before 30:10 this time of trouble. 30:12 "But no plague will come nigh your dwelling." 30:14 Did God protect the children of Israel during that great time of 30:17 trouble before the exodus? 30:19 Is the Lord going to come and get us out of this world? 30:23 There'll be a mass exodus when the Lord descends from 30:25 heaven, right? 30:27 We're here during those seven last plagues, but He preserves 30:30 us during that. 30:32 There were ten plagues that fell on Egypt. 30:35 The first three plagues, the Israelites experience the 30:37 suffering along with the Egyptians, but God protected 30:41 them through the seven last plagues that fell on Egypt. 30:45 So there's a lesson there, and he'll protect us through the 30:48 seven last plagues. 30:49 So there's a great time of trouble. 30:51 Says, "Every one who's delivered is--who is written in the book." 30:54 What book do you think that is? 30:56 The Book of the Lamb, the Book of Life, and is your name 31:00 written there? 31:03 The Bible says, "Those who think often upon the Lord and talk 31:06 about Him, they pray," says, "I will not take their names out of 31:09 My book that I've written." 31:12 And so if you have a relationship with the Lord, 31:14 you're following the Lord to the best of your ability, then 31:18 you've committed your life to Him. 31:20 You're trusting in His salvation. 31:21 Your name is entered into the Book of Life. 31:24 All right, so that's verses 1, that we looked at there. 31:30 I'm going to read something to you from "Prophets and Kings" 31:32 278, "We are standing on the threshold of a crisis of 31:35 the ages. 31:38 In quick succession the judgments of God will follow one 31:40 another, fire, flood, earthquake, with war 31:43 and bloodshed." 31:45 Once those angels release their grip, the Bible says right now 31:48 those four angels are holding back the winds of strife. 31:50 Why? 31:52 Waiting for the servants of God to be sealed in their forehead. 31:55 Do you and I get to participate in helping others learn the 31:58 message so they can receive the seal? 32:01 Yeah, so by our ministry, we can help hasten that day. 32:04 All right, verse 2, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of 32:08 the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame 32:12 and everlasting contempt." 32:15 Now, Jesus tells us that there's two resurrections. 32:18 You've got the resurrection of the just, you've got the 32:21 resurrection of the lost, but this is making it sound like, at 32:24 the end of that time, both resurrections are happening. 32:25 Why? 32:27 Is there a special group resurrected when Jesus comes 32:31 that is lost? 32:33 We know the dead in Christ rise. 32:36 All right, listen to what it says here in Revelation chapter 32:39 1, verse 7: "Behold, He's coming in the clouds, and every eye 32:43 will see Him--" talking about when He comes next-- "even those 32:47 who pierced Him." 32:50 How can those who pierced Him--when He was on the cross, 32:52 He was pierced. 32:54 His hands were pierced. 32:56 His side was pierced. 32:59 His brow was pierced with thorns. 33:01 The people that were responsible for His execution, not just the 33:04 soldiers themselves, but the priests that put them up to it, 33:06 Pilate will be there and Caiaphas. 33:09 They're going to be raised to see Him come in glory. 33:11 This is called a special resurrection. 33:14 Some people struggle with these exceptions. 33:16 You know, it's true that "It's appointed unto men once to die, 33:21 after that, the judgment," but there's a couple of exceptions. 33:24 Enoch did not die. 33:27 Elijah did not die, right? 33:29 I mean, God's allowed to make exceptions because He's God. 33:32 And so, yes, most of the people, the righteous are raised, 33:34 first resurrection. 33:36 There'll be a few wicked raised. 33:38 Let me give you another verse. 33:39 Matthew 26, Jesus is talking to the high priest when he said, "I 33:42 adjure thee under an oath, "'Are you the Christ?' 33:45 Jesus responds, 'It is as you said. 33:48 Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son 33:52 of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the 33:55 clouds of heaven.'" 33:58 Caiaphas would be raised to see that Jesus is the Messiah. 34:02 And so there are going to be some who were especially 34:04 involved in the trial and execution of Christ that they're 34:08 going to have that resurrection. 34:11 But for the majority, the wicked, their resurrection takes 34:15 place at the end of the 1,000 years. 34:17 It says, "Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first 34:19 resurrection," Revelation chapter 20. 34:23 The rest of the dead--if the dead in Christ rise first, who 34:26 are the rest of the dead? 34:28 The wicked. 34:31 They come forth after the thousand years are finished. 34:33 John 5:28 and 29, "Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming 34:38 in which all that are in the graves will hear His voice and 34:41 come forth, those that have done good, to the resurrection of 34:44 life, those who have done evil--" now, notice, aren't we 34:47 saved by faith? 34:50 But here, Jesus makes it sound like we're judged by works. 34:53 That's what the Bible says: You are saved by faith. 34:56 You are judged by works. 34:59 Your works show if you have a saving faith. 35:02 That's not that hard. 35:04 And a lot of people say, "Lord, Lord," and they don't do what 35:07 God calls them to do, and He says, "Don't call me 'Lord, 35:09 Lord.' You don't really trust Me." 35:11 All right, and, of course, the wicked are raised to the 35:13 resurrection of condemnation. 35:15 Now we're going to Daniel 12, verse 3: "Those who are wise 35:20 will shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who 35:23 turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever." 35:27 And he's gone from dust, "Those who sleep in the dust of the 35:31 earth shall awake." 35:34 So it tells us that, when Michael stands up, not long 35:36 after that, there's a resurrection, so we are 35:38 definitely talking about the time of the end. 35:40 We agreed? 35:42 And then it's also telling us that "Those who are wise--" what 35:47 is "wisdom"? 35:48 We're going to talk about the Queen of Sheba in our 35:50 message today. 35:52 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." 35:55 So these are the God-fearing people, "And those who turn many 36:00 to righteousness like the stars forever and ever." 36:05 "He that wins souls is wise." 36:09 You know, David prays in Psalm 51, "Take not Your Holy Spirit 36:12 from me," "Then sinners will be converted to You." 36:16 We must be Spirit-filled, and what's our goal when we are 36:19 Spirit-Filled? 36:22 Jesus said, "Wait in Jerusalem. 36:24 You'll receive the promise of the Holy Spirit, and you will be 36:27 My witnesses." 36:28 We will be turning others to righteousness. 36:30 The mission of every Christian should be you come to Christ, 36:33 and then you go for Christ. 36:35 You love the Lord with all your heart, and because of that, you 36:37 then love your neighbor, and you share the Gospel, using your 36:38 different gifts. 36:42 Daniel 11:33, it says, "And those of the people who 36:49 understand shall instruct many, yet for many days, they'll fall 36:55 by the sword and by flame and by captivity and plundering." 36:58 Says there's going to be a people who will be wise. 37:01 They're understanding, but they are a persecuted people. 37:05 And Matthew chapter 13, verse 43, "Then the righteous will 37:10 shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. 37:13 He who has ears, let him hear." 37:18 Jesus says, you know, He's called us to be that light on 37:20 the hill, to be witnesses. 37:22 Go to verse 4, Daniel 12, verse 4: "But you, O Daniel, shut up 37:27 the words, and seal the book until the time of the end. 37:30 Many will run to and fro, and knowledge will increase." 37:33 Well, as an evangelist, we like to teach this literally. 37:35 People are running to and fro more now than they ever have, 37:37 and technology has increased now more than ever before. 37:42 Nobody argues that. 37:44 That, to me, is, I think, it just--it's 37:46 certainly unprecedented. 37:47 I don't think this is the primary thing Daniel is talking 37:49 about here. 37:51 No question, we are living in the day when knowledge--I mean, 37:54 just think about the coalesce, concentrated knowledge you've 37:59 got in your smartphone. 38:02 How dependent has the world become on their smartphone? 38:06 I played racquetball with a guy a few weeks ago and he's got 38:08 this big lump in his pocket, and I said, "Don't you want to put 38:10 your wallet somewhere else?" 38:11 He's, "Oh, no, that's my phone." 38:13 I said, "You're playing racquetball with your phone?" 38:14 He said, "Yeah, I'm counting my heartbeats and my steps." 38:17 I mean, people use their phones for everything now, and they got 38:20 an app for everything, and if you had shown that to the 38:23 apostles, they would've thought you were possessed by an 38:25 evil spirit. 38:27 Just think about the knowledge now that we have at 38:29 our fingertips. 38:32 But what is He really talking about? 38:34 What does it mean to run to and fro? 38:36 Zechariah 4:10, "They are the eyes of the Lord, which run to 38:40 and fro throughout the whole earth," running to and fro often 38:43 in searching. 38:46 Didn't just mean travel. 38:48 It is true, "National Geographic" tells us we're 38:50 living in an age now where people are traveling more and 38:53 farther from home than any other time in history, but running to 38:57 and fro means searching. 38:59 Look in Amos 8, verse 12: "They'll wander from sea to sea, 39:03 and from north to east, they'll run to and fro, seeking, to and 39:06 fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but not find it." 39:10 So what's going to happen in the last days? 39:12 Well, what's the concern of Daniel in the chapter? 39:14 He said, "People don't understand." 39:17 Several times, Daniel has a vision, then later, the angel 39:19 helps him understand, and now he said, "I don't understand," he 39:22 said, "but the wise will understand." 39:24 How are they going to understand? 39:25 "They will run to and fro, running to and fro--" where? 39:29 From Genesis to Revelation. 39:32 They're going through the Word of God. 39:34 They're seeking, and they're discovering what the 39:36 prophecies mean. 39:38 They're discovering more about the truth. 39:40 This is the greatest knowledge that God speaks of in His Word. 39:43 So, "Shut up the words. 39:47 Seal the book till the time of the end." 39:48 It's going to be sealed. 39:50 God says, you know, "Well, it won't be until the time of 39:51 the end." 39:53 They understand. 39:54 Why? 39:56 Was God trying to hide it? 39:57 Well, it was more relevant at the end, for one thing. 39:59 Another reason, the Bibles had been taken away from people 40:00 until Gutenberg, and they just didn't have it. 40:02 The two witnesses were clothed in sackcloth for how long? 40:07 One thousand two hundred and sixty years. 40:10 So the Word of God was hidden, but after that time period, 40:13 Bible societies were formed, Bibles, the printing became a 40:17 lot easier, and it was distributed widely, and people 40:20 began to run to and fro through--I'll tell you 40:22 what, friends. 40:24 I can run to and fro through the Word of God now in my lifetime. 40:28 Going from paper to digital, it's amazing how quick I can 40:31 search things and find them now. 40:33 I can't imagine going back to my "Strong's Concordance," I'm 40:35 sorry, thumbing through all that microscopic print for one word, 40:39 and then say, "No, that's not it," and then in, thumbing 40:41 through another one, lines and lines of every word in 40:44 the Bible. 40:45 That's if you had "The Exhaustive," there's a reason 40:47 they called it "The Exhaustive Strong's Concordance." 40:52 Now "People are running to and fro, and knowledge 40:54 is increased." 40:55 Go to verse 5 and 6: "Then I, Daniel, looked, and there stood 40:59 two others, on the riverbank, one on one side of the river, 41:03 and another on the other. 41:04 And he said to the man clothed in linen," now, you notice, 41:07 this starts, you go to chapter 10. 41:09 It says they're by the Tigris River. 41:11 The whole vision, from chapter 10 through 12, is one vision. 41:14 So he's returning to this, the riverbank vision, and one angel 41:18 says to the man clothed in linen, who is above the 41:21 river--so you've got this--either Gabriel or someone 41:24 who is a Christ above the river, and they're saying, "How long 41:28 till the fulfillment of these wonders?" 41:30 So the context of what you're going to hear about the time 41:33 prophecies is in response to a question. 41:35 These wonders is not just talking about the prophecies of 41:39 chapter 10, 11, and 12. 41:42 These wonders is talking about the battle between the kingdoms 41:45 that you see from chapter 1 to chapter 12. 41:49 The whole book of Daniel and all the prophecies are all revolving 41:51 around who is the real King. 41:55 Isn't that right? 41:57 Nebuchadnezzar ends up saying, "Lord, you're King," and 42:00 Nebuchadnezzar bows after the image is interpreted, saying, 42:05 "Your God is the God of gods." 42:07 Darius says, "Your God is King." 42:09 So through the whole book, it's like, is Persia in charge, is 42:11 Babylon in charge, or is God in charge? 42:14 Is it the Greeks, is it the Romans, is it the little horn? 42:17 Who is the real King? 42:19 That's the whole theme through the book of Daniel, and the 42:20 ultimate answer is, of course, Jesus, Michael, stands up. 42:24 He is the King of kings. 42:27 And he said, "How long shall be the fulfillment of 42:29 these wonders?" 42:31 Now, this is so important to understand because God often 42:35 gives the final verses. 42:37 He says, "Time of trouble, every one written in the book of life 42:40 be saved. 42:42 You'll shine forever." 42:44 Then God goes back and gives more detail. 42:45 He's going back to these visions that had been covered, many of 42:47 the visions about the kingdoms, and you go to Daniel 12, verse 42:52 7, "I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters 42:55 of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand 42:57 to the heavens, and he swore by Him who lives forever, that it 43:01 shall be for a time, times, and half a time, when the power of 43:05 the holy people has been completely shattered, and all 43:09 these things shall be finished." 43:11 In other words, the finishing of the shattering of the power of 43:14 God's people. 43:16 They were persecuted, scattered, and shattered for 1,260 years, 43:19 then the beast receives a deadly wound. 43:23 And then this is all happening in the backdrop of a great 43:25 Reformation, and Bibles being printed, and the 43:28 Great Awakening. 43:29 1798, God raises up a new country that becomes--speaks 43:34 like a lamb. 43:35 It becomes the seat of international missions and also 43:40 becomes the largest military power in the world. 43:42 Starts out protecting religious freedom. 43:46 And so it's reaching down to our day here. 43:50 Notice also, this angel raises his hands. 43:53 I'm watching my clock because I want to get into the time. 43:56 In verse 5 and 6, "The angel who I saw--" this is Revelation 10:5 44:00 and 6. 44:01 Notice, "Standing on the sea and the dry land, raises up his hand 44:04 to heaven, swears by Him who lives forever and ever, who 44:06 created the heaven and the earth and the things that are in it, 44:09 and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be 44:13 delay time no longer," no longer delay in these prophecies 44:16 being fulfilled. 44:18 This is a parallel of Daniel chapter 12, verse 7, 44:21 Revelation 10. 44:23 Angel bowing, lifting his hand there by the rivers. 44:25 A lot of comparisons. 44:27 All right, Chapter 12, verse 8 and 10, "Although--" Daniel 12:8 44:32 and 10, "Although I heard, I did not understand." 44:35 Notice the big struggle, "I don't understand." 44:38 "Then I said, 'My Lord, what shall be the end of 44:40 these things?' 44:42 He said, 'Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed and 44:45 sealed till the time of the end.'" 44:48 "Don't worry, don't fret, Daniel, it's going to happen 44:50 after you're gone." 44:53 "Many shall be purified and made white, and refined, but the 44:56 wicked will do wickedly, and none of the wicked will 44:59 understand, but the wise will understand." 45:01 I love this verse because He says, "many." 45:03 You know, so often, Jesus says, "It's the many who are on the 45:06 wide road. 45:07 Before it's over, many will be purified and made white." 45:09 I want to be one of those many, don't you? 45:11 And He says, "The many are the ones who fear the Lord. 45:13 They're the wise. 45:15 They will understand." 45:17 Says there's going to be a group of people in the end that will 45:19 be purified, made white, and they will understand from 45:21 running to and fro and searching the Word of God. 45:24 These prophecies will come to light. 45:26 You know, this is The Great Advent Awakening that happened 45:29 about 150 years ago, a little more than that. 45:34 Now, they go through trials, and it says in 1 Peter 1:7, "That 45:39 the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than 45:42 gold that perishes, though it's tested by fire, be found to 45:45 praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 45:48 All right, now Daniel chapter 12, verse 11 and 12, and here's 45:53 the prophesy numbers people wonder about. 45:57 "From the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the 46:01 abomination of desolation is set up, there'll be 1,290 days." 46:06 Wait, wait, I thought it always says 60. 46:08 Now we're jumping to 90. 46:10 That's adding 30 days. 46:12 "Blessed is he--" by the way, that was one month in the 46:14 lunar calendar. 46:17 "Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the 1,335 days." 46:20 Now we got three time periods. 46:22 Marsha, go ahead, put that chart up on the screen for me for our 46:25 local audience, and you can put the feed out to those that 46:29 are watching. 46:30 Three time periods given in this one chapter: 1,260, 46:32 1,290, 1,335. 46:34 Traditionally, most Adventist scholars believe you stay with a 46:40 historic view on this prophecy. 46:43 You've got the beginning, really, of the little horn power 46:48 and the abomination of desolation. 46:50 Now, for the Jews, an abomination of desolation was 46:53 when you brought an idol and idolatry into the house of God. 46:58 They called it the abomination of the heathen whenever they 47:02 got--Solomon did it when his wives got him to bring idols in. 47:04 Manasseh did it, they brought idols, and they called it the 47:07 abomination, with the conversion of Clovis, who was one of the 47:12 first barbarian kings, at 508. 47:16 He is the king that was also instrumental in bringing down 47:19 these three other horns, the Visigoths, the Heruli, the 47:22 Ostrogoths, that were Aryans. 47:25 They did not believe in the Triune God. 47:28 They believed that Jesus was created. 47:31 And Clovis, in his conversion, he set up a combination of 47:35 church and state. 47:38 Thirty years later, Justinian, the Roman emperor, he went the 47:42 next step in 538, and he said, "I am going to issue an edict 47:48 making the bishop of Rome the new ruler of the church." 47:52 No longer with a capital in Jerusalem, now it's being moved 47:54 to Rome. 47:56 That's where the seat of the little horn was. 47:58 Bible says that the dragon gave him his power, 48:00 his seat and great authority, his throne. 48:03 And both those dates, one is 1290, one is 1260, they both 48:07 reached to 1798. 48:10 That's when the beast receives a deadly wound. 48:13 That's when he makes an end of shattering the power of the 48:17 people of God. 48:19 And then you've got the 1335. 48:21 It says, "Blessed is he that comes to the 1335--" 48:25 Why is he blessed? 48:26 That's the year of The Great Advent Awakening when the 48:28 prophecies of Daniel were opened. 48:32 The message of Miller, where he started to give the historic 48:34 interpretation of these prophecies, incredible light 48:37 came on the people. 48:38 They didn't have everything right, but, boy, they had a lot 48:41 of things right, and they were blessed because they're all 48:43 excited the Second Coming is taking place, and so that 48:45 happened in 1843. 48:48 Now, in fairness, I should probably say I know there are 48:53 other views on this subject, and even among our scholars. 48:58 I've been reading this week--friends, pray for me. 49:01 I tell you, there's a lot of stuff out there. 49:03 Great scholar in our church, he was a vice president, Roy Allan 49:06 Anderson, good books on prophecy, he said, "You know, 49:10 there is some mystery. 49:12 It could be the typical historic interpretation, but," he said, 49:15 "it could be that it's talking about Islam because it's 1,335 49:21 days from the call of the Hagia of--" not the Hagia, the, yeah-- 49:27 "of Muhammad until the Ottoman Empire fell." 49:30 Now, I don't agree with him, but that's one view that was put out 49:32 for years, Roy Allan Anderson. 49:34 You got a lot of the Protestant people. 49:38 They say, "Oh, this is all in the past. 49:39 It was Antiochus Epiphanes," so that doesn't work. 49:42 He was a Greek, Seleucid king who attack Jerusalem, and he 49:44 brought an abomination to the temple. 49:46 That doesn't work because the prophecies of Daniel go way 49:49 beyond the Greek Empire. 49:51 They go beyond pagan Rome, they go beyond papal Rome. 49:55 So why would it stop there, way back, with the Greeks? 49:57 That doesn't make sense. 49:59 This is the one that I think makes the most sense. 50:02 There are people who then say, "Well, maybe this is a time 50:04 where you are to apply it. 50:07 They're not literal years, or days don't represent years, but 50:10 they're literal days." 50:12 And then that means that there's going to be 50:14 three-and-a-half-year time of trouble, and there'll be a 50:16 Sunday law, and then 30 days after the Sunday law, then the 50:19 plagues begin, and the plagues last 45 days, and you know what? 50:24 You'll have to wait and see. 50:26 I don't teach that because what good will a time prophecy be 50:31 once probation closes? 50:34 I mean, how's that going to redeem anybody? 50:36 The purpose of prophecy is redemptive. 50:38 It's to save people. 50:41 And so, you know, when the time comes, if that happens, it 50:45 happens, but I think we need to stick with the historic view of 50:48 these things. 50:50 The fact is the abomination of desolation, Mary worship, the 50:54 Mass, confessing your sins to a priest, believing that hell 51:00 burns forever, purgatory limbo, all of these abominations, so 51:05 truth was cast to the ground. 51:07 It all came in during this time period with the support of 51:09 church and state, and it lasted for over a millennia. 51:13 This is the stuff that history looks at. 51:15 History does not look at a headline one day 51:17 that disappears. 51:19 The Bible prophecy, rather, is looking at the big picture. 51:22 These are big-picture events that took place, and this is 51:26 what I think he's talking about. 51:27 Then we got to get to the last verse here because I want 51:29 to finish. 51:31 I know I went a minute over. 51:32 Daniel 12:13, "Go your way till the end of the days," till the 51:37 end, "for you will rest, and will arise to your inheritance," 51:42 and the word there, "your lot," you remember when Joshua divided 51:46 up the Promised Land? 51:48 It says, "He cast lots for them in Shiloh," Joshua 18:10, 51:51 "before the Lord. 51:53 He divided the land to the children of Israel." 51:55 That's the language that's used. 51:57 God is telling Daniel, says, "You are going to get your lot 51:59 in the Promised Land, you go rest." 52:01 What does "rest" mean? 52:02 "Many of them sleep in the dust of the earth." 52:04 "Daniel, you will sleep." 52:05 Now, not only does it mean Daniel will be resurrected and 52:07 he's going to get his eternal inheritance, but it means that, 52:10 in the end of these days, Daniel, his writings come 52:14 to life. 52:15 In 1843 and during that time period, there was great light 52:18 that was shed upon the writings of Daniel. 52:21 So there's a whole lot more I could say about this. 52:23 Hopefully, you found something edifying. 52:25 Sure enjoyed our study about--on the book of Daniel. 52:28 How about you? 52:30 And now we're going--don't forget. 52:31 Next week, friends, you want to download or go to your local 52:34 Adventist church and get our next quarterly. 52:37 Talking about Bible hermeneutics, simply "How to 52:39 Understand the Bible." 52:41 If you don't read the Bible correctly, you come up with 52:43 strange interpretations. 52:45 This is going to be a great study. 52:46 And don't forget, we have a special offer, talking about 52:49 "Who is Michael the Archangel?" 52:51 You want a free copy? 52:52 Ask for Offer Number 170, and call 866-788-3966. 52:58 That's 866-Study-More, and you can also go to the Amazing Facts 53:03 website, and you can text it and download it for free right now. 53:07 Just go to--or you can text right now, "SH094." 53:14 Text that, "SH094," to 40544. 53:18 You can read that book right now. 53:20 Thank you so much for studying the Word of God with us, and we 53:23 look forward to doing this again together next week. 53:28 male announcer: Don't forget to request today's life-changing 53:30 free resource. 53:32 Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can 53:34 download a digital copy straight to your computer or 53:37 mobile device. 53:38 To get your digital copy of today's free gift, simply text 53:41 the key word on your screen to 40544, or visit the web address 53:46 shown on your screen, and be sure to select the digital 53:49 download option on the request page. 53:51 It's now easier than ever for you to study God's Word with 53:54 Amazing Facts, wherever and whenever you want, and most 53:58 important, to share it with others. 54:03 ♪♪♪ 54:10 Doug: You probably heard the expression before, "If you 54:12 don't like the weather in Texas, just wait. 54:15 It'll change." 54:16 And you've also heard, "Everything is bigger in Texas, 54:18 the ranches, the belt buckles, the cowboy hats," but the most 54:23 famous slogan about Texas is "Remember the Alamo." 54:27 ♪♪♪ 54:31 Doug: The violent battles and bravery of iconic heroes 54:33 have been the stuff of legends throughout which entire cultures 54:36 often draw their identity and pride, even long after centuries 54:40 have passed. 54:41 And in Texas, the story of the Alamo has been a rallying cry of 54:44 Texas independence for 200 years. 54:48 Doug: One reason that Texans love to brag that "Everything is 54:50 bigger in Texas," is, of course, because Texas is the largest of 54:54 the lower 48 U.S. states. 54:57 It's hard to believe that this massive state got its beginning 55:00 in a very small Christian mission during the Battle of 55:03 the Alamo. 55:05 Every year, this famous mission museum receives over two and a 55:08 half million visitors from all parts of the planet, that are 55:11 eager to get a good look at this legendary site. 55:14 The Alamo played a critical role in the Texas revolution. 55:18 In December 1835, Texans and Tejano volunteers battled 55:23 Mexican troops quartered in the city, forcing General Martin 55:26 Perfecto de Cos to surrender. 55:28 The victorious volunteers then occupied the Alamo and 55:31 strengthened its defenses. 55:33 Famous Americans like Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and Colonel 55:37 William Travis, made this location, this ancient mission, 55:40 the beachhead, the last stand in an epic battle to win 55:44 independence of Texas from Mexico. 55:48 On February 23, 1836, the arrival of General Antonio Lopez 55:53 Santa Anna, nearly caught them by surprise. 55:56 Undaunted, the Texans and Tejanos prepared to defend 55:59 the Alamo. 56:00 For this small, ragtag group of rebels, the youngest of who was 56:03 about 16, and the oldest 75, was against a well-trained and 56:07 organized Mexican army of 6,000-plus soldiers. 56:11 It was a fierce and lopsided battle, yet the small force of 56:14 rebels was able to repel the troops for 13 days. 56:19 Legend holds that with the possibility of additional help 56:22 fading, Colonel Travis drew a line in the ground with a sword 56:25 and asked any man willing to stay and fight to step over 56:29 the line. 56:31 All except one crossed over. 56:33 The final assault came before daybreak. 56:36 On the morning of March 6, 1836, the 13th day of the siege, 56:40 cannon and small-arms fire, from inside the Alamo, beat back 56:45 several Mexican attacks. 56:47 Regrouping, Santa Anna's soldiers scaled the walls and 56:49 rushed into the compound. 56:52 The desperate struggle continued until the defenders 56:54 were overwhelmed. 56:56 By sunrise, the battle had ended, and the garrison 56:58 were slain. 57:00 Doug: You know, historians may debate some of the details 57:02 regarding the Battle of the Alamo, but none of them question 57:05 the incredible sacrifice that was made and the courage that 57:07 was displayed during that intense conflict. 57:10 They made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives, 57:14 and this is why the story of the Alamo is so inspiring and 57:16 so encouraging. 57:19 You know, and that's why the Bible is so inspiring, friends, 57:21 because someone was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and 57:24 give His life so that you can have freedom and eternal life. 57:26 Don't you think you could trust your life to a friend like that, 57:31 that would give everything? 57:33 The story of the Gospel is a story of courage and hope. 57:35 It's a story of a God who will never leave you without defense 57:38 and support. 57:39 Jesus is the good news, and the Gospel is a story 57:43 worth remembering. 57:45 ♪♪♪ 58:01 ♪♪♪ |
Revised 2020-03-23