Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL150013A
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00:01 Hello, friends, grab your Bible and a friend,
00:03 and sit back as we explore God's word together 00:06 on this edition of House Calls. 00:26 Welcome to the dueling swords. 00:30 I always think of new words, the dueling swords. 00:33 He's got a sword, I have a sword 00:36 and because it's God's sword, 00:38 it's sharper than any two-edged sword. 00:41 Welcome to the sharpest Bible program 00:43 I believe on the planet. 00:44 If I didn't believe that, we wouldn't be here. 00:46 Good to have you here, John. It's good to be here, John. 00:49 I tell you whenever we take out the sword of the spirit, 00:51 I said to somebody the other day, 00:54 it is not the cue tip of the spirit, 00:56 whenever the sword of the word of the Lord is used, 00:58 it's gonna cut something or somebody. 01:00 That's right. 01:01 And so we are also the most non politically correct program 01:06 that you'll probably ever tune into, 01:07 because we want to tell you what the word of God says. 01:09 So take the time with your family and your friends, 01:12 get your Bible and your pens and spend this time with us 01:15 as we walk through the word of God together. 01:17 As you know, we have questions and comments 01:19 that come from you that we like to often address... 01:21 Good ones. 01:22 And, but we always have prayer before we do anything. 01:25 So bow your heads with us 01:27 so John can lead us before the throne of grace 01:29 through prayer. 01:30 Dear Father in heaven, again we sit before you 01:34 here with our Bibles open, with questions in hand 01:37 with some notes about the program 01:39 but, Lord, we want you to take it over. 01:41 We want this to be about You 01:42 and so we invite Your Spirit to lead our thoughts, 01:46 and our minds, and our hearts to depend upon You 01:51 to allow You to guide us through the scriptures, 01:53 but also to touch the hearts of those listening 01:55 and viewing this program. 01:56 We pray in Jesus name, amen. Amen. 02:00 Friends, if you have any comments 02:01 that you like to send to us 02:02 or questions you like to send to us, 02:04 you can send those to the following email address. 02:07 This is our House Calls address, 02:09 housecalls@3abn.org. 02:12 That's housecalls@3abn.org. 02:15 And then we will take the time to print them out 02:18 and respond to you according to the word of the Lord. 02:23 John, lead us to our first question today. 02:25 What do you have for me? 02:26 It's a straightforward question from Judy, 02:28 she says where are the evil angels 02:30 during the thousand years? 02:32 Okay. Okay. 02:33 So she is speaking of the millennium, 02:35 the thousand-year period that is soon to come. 02:38 If we go to scripture in Revelation 11, 02:42 not all of it, as you know John, 02:43 it's in chronological order. 02:45 But when you get toward the end, 02:47 you'll find little more chronology 02:48 than maybe toward the beginning. 02:50 And what you have in Revelation 18 02:53 is the judgment of Babylon, 02:56 and we find this is a judgment 03:01 against a longstanding foe of evil 03:04 that exists on this earth. 03:05 You have in chapter 19, you have Jesus second coming. 03:10 You have in chapter then 20, chapter 20 you have, 03:14 what happens right after Jesus' second coming, 03:18 and so what we find here is the millennium. 03:21 So, you know, we've all heard, you know, 03:23 premillennial or postmillennial, 03:25 you know, pre-trib, post-trib, all these kind of terminology. 03:28 But if you just follow scripture, 03:29 you'll find that Jesus comes chapter 19, chapter 20, 03:34 the millennium, and then at the end of chapter 20, 03:38 we have Jesus coming again 03:39 at the end of the thousand years 03:40 for the final judgment. 03:42 But the question here, 03:44 where are the evil angels during the thousand years, 03:46 we can answer by reading the beginning of chapter 20. 03:48 All right. 03:49 So I am gonna read from Revelation 20:1 03:52 beginning with verse 1, it says, 03:53 "I saw an angel coming down from heaven, 03:55 having the key to the bottomless pit 03:58 and a great chain in his hand. 04:01 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old 04:04 who is the devil and Satan 04:05 and bound him for thousand years. 04:08 And he cast him into the bottomless pit, 04:11 and shut him up, and set a seal on him 04:13 so that he should deceive the nations no more 04:15 till the thousand years were finished. 04:18 And after these things 04:19 he will be released for little while." 04:22 So during the thousand years, we have this seal set on Him, 04:27 shutting him up from the deception 04:28 that he has been engaging in against the nation, 04:32 against people on this earth for thousands of years, 04:36 and he is cast into the bottomless pit. 04:40 So the question really is, at least here with Satan, 04:44 and we know as well 04:46 that if the final destruction of all, 04:48 does it come to the end 04:49 that his evil angels are with him, okay. 04:52 So Satan and his angels are within cast 04:54 to the bottomless pit. 04:55 What is this bottomless pit? 04:57 Well, the word there behind it this Abuso so it is the abyss, 05:03 like some translations translate this as the abyss. 05:06 You cast him into the abyss 05:08 and this word abyss is found several times as well 05:12 in the Old Testament. 05:14 Number one, it's found in Genesis 1:2, 05:17 where it says that the earth was without form and void, 05:22 and that word void is, you know, the abyss, 05:25 it's this emptiness. 05:28 There it is described as a bottomless pit, 05:29 I don't know why, the King James translators 05:33 used bottomless pit specifically. 05:35 Sometimes we don't always know how the old language works 05:37 but clearly, it is the same thing being described here. 05:41 But in context of the last days 05:44 and the second coming we have this the same term, 05:48 this term void or bottomless pit 05:50 used in the Book of Jeremiah. 05:53 And so I'm turning to Jeremiah 4 05:56 and we're gonna read there in verse 23, 06:02 so Jeremiah 4, were you gonna say something here, John? 06:05 No, actually that's a good verse. 06:08 Okay. 06:11 All right Jeremiah 4:23, "I beheld the earth, 06:15 and indeed it was without form, and void, 06:20 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, 06:23 And all the hills moved back and forth. 06:25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man, 06:29 all the birds of the heavens had fled. 06:32 I beheld, and indeed 06:34 the fruitful land was wilderness, 06:36 And all its cities were broken down 06:38 at the presence of the Lord, by His fierce anger." 06:43 And that goes on to describe this desolate land 06:47 and apparently bottomless had that kind of context, 06:50 that meaning of desolate, void, without form. 06:54 So what's being pictured here is Jesus comes, 06:59 He comes together with saints 1 Thessalonians 4, 07:02 He brings them up to meet him in the air, 07:04 he raises those that are, that sleep in Him 07:07 and He takes them back to heaven 07:09 where He has prepared to place for them. 07:11 At that coming though the wicked that are alive, 07:14 they perish at the brightness of His coming. 07:17 And they are essentially strewn across the land, 07:21 no one's there to bury them, 07:23 no one has anything to do with burying them, 07:25 and they wait through that thousand year period 07:27 just in this desolate earth, 07:29 waiting the judgment when Jesus comes back 07:31 with the saints after the thousand years 07:33 to pronounce that final judgment 07:35 before the lake of fire comes out of heaven. 07:37 Now during that period, what Revelation 20 is saying 07:40 is that Satan and his angels are here roaming the earth 07:43 with no one to tempt. 07:45 That's right and, John, 07:47 you know the point I think you well is well made, 07:49 only thing I would add 07:51 are just a couple of scriptures to support. 07:53 You know, when Jesus had, 07:55 when the demons had an encounter with Jesus 07:59 and He cast the demons out of the man to the swine, 08:05 they were terrified 08:06 that they were in the presence of the Lord. 08:08 I've often said that they are no atheists among the demons. 08:13 Even demons believe, you know, 08:15 James says the demons believed and trembled. 08:18 And so you find in Luke 8:31, the demons and the Bible says, 08:23 and they begged Him, that is they beg Jesus 08:25 that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. 08:31 And that is this place of containment, 08:35 and let me just use the word here 08:37 and a place of restriction, 08:41 another good way to bring that out is in 2 Peter 2:4. 08:45 Let me just add some surrounding thoughts to this. 08:50 If the devil had easy access to us 08:54 in the sense to do whatever he wanted, 08:57 then none of us would be alive. 08:59 This word abyss, this place of spirit world, 09:04 a fourth dimension as it were, 09:07 has an additional element to it, 09:09 talks about that, he says, 09:11 "For if God did not spared the angels who sinned 09:15 but cast them down to hell to deliver them 09:19 into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment." 09:22 The word there hell is from the word tartarus 09:25 or tartarus, the Greek word meaning a spirit world, 09:30 a place where their activity is limited. 09:33 They are on restriction. They are on restriction. 09:35 They can't do anything 09:36 and the emphasis of that is when, 09:38 when there was a conversation between God and Satan, 09:41 and the Lord said, you could touch him, 09:43 but you can't kill him. 09:45 You could lay your hand on him, 09:47 you could take all his possessions 09:48 but you cannot kill him. 09:49 God has restrictions on the devil, 09:52 and I praise the Lord for that. 09:53 He cannot just do what he wants to do. 09:56 But during the thousand years, there is an anticipation, 10:03 a mental anticipation of the angels, 10:06 they know as Bible says in Revelation 12, 10:09 the devil knows he has a short time, 10:11 but when the Lord comes, 10:13 they know that the next time he returns 10:15 at the end of the thousand years, 10:17 it's time for their judgment. 10:18 All right. They're gonna face the music. 10:21 Another one here Matthew 8:29, 10:23 speaking of the demons, they cried out. 10:26 What have we to do with you Jesus, 10:29 You son of God, 10:31 even the demons confess than Jesus is the Son of God. 10:35 You know, what's amazing me about that demons confess 10:38 that Jesus is a Son of God, 10:40 men have a hard time confessing that. 10:42 They said, have you come here to torment us before the time. 10:46 So they know that there is this judgment coming, 10:49 and right now they are in a restrictive setting 10:54 where they can see us and have access to us 10:56 only on limited basis, 10:58 which means they could tempt us, 11:00 they could speak to us. 11:04 One of my favorite writers Ellen White talked about, 11:06 she says, and I'm paraphrasing this 11:09 to give context to the statement 11:10 I'm about to make. 11:11 But have you ever had a thought John, 11:14 where you say, where did that come from. 11:15 Yeah, we're in a mess world. Yeah. 11:17 And what was amazing to me, she says, 11:19 the evil angels will speak in our ear, 11:23 will whisper into our ear, 11:25 thoughts in our own voice 11:30 making us think that is coming from us, 11:31 you say, I wasn't even... 11:33 where did that come from? 11:34 But our response to that, that determines 11:36 whether or not it becomes just the temptation 11:39 or becomes the transgression. 11:41 Or sometimes you're praying 11:43 and these thoughts are entering into your mind, 11:44 and you say, what, I wasn't even thinking about that. 11:47 And so they have access to the sense of tempting us, 11:51 and trying to speak to us 11:54 and trying to create around us a sleepy, 11:56 uncomfortable or comfortable atmosphere 11:59 where I've seen this happened during sermons 12:02 to see how the evil angels work. 12:04 People would be awake for the songs service, 12:07 and their offering and the children story, 12:09 but as soon as the sermon begins, 12:14 and Ellen White explain that, she says, 12:16 these evil angels come 12:18 and they whap their wings around us 12:19 to create a comfort and it returns, 12:22 and it results in a stupor, 12:25 that's the word that she uses a stupor, 12:27 so that they will miss the very thing 12:29 that God intended for them to hear. 12:31 That's why, that's why I intentionally say, 12:34 don't sleep on me, if you see somebody sleeping wake him up, 12:38 because there is something 12:39 that there is this controversy going on 12:41 and a lot of people get pulled into it 12:42 by not understanding how evil angels work. 12:45 I had to experience the same thing directly. 12:47 I mean, there are times where I'm tired 12:49 but I can't see I'm worn out or sleepy, 12:52 but those services going along just fine, 12:55 if I'm in the congregation for that service, 12:57 Pastor gets up to preaching about five, ten minutes 12:59 in a way, I get tired. 13:02 And the devil is pushing hard to get me to shut down my mind, 13:05 so I don't hear the sermon. 13:07 Now knowing what you just said in regard to the battle 13:10 I realize, I see enemy trying to do this. 13:13 So you just, you got to shove it off, 13:14 you got to push it forward and you got to listen it 13:17 even more intently to make sure it doesn't happen. 13:19 And the evidence of that is in Matthew 13, 13:21 it's just the Lord, 13:22 just impressed me to show you the evidence. 13:23 Go to Matthew 13. 13:28 Okay here I am Matthew 13. Okay. 13:34 All right, Matthew 13 and I'm gonna go ahead 13:41 and read starting with verse 19. 13:46 Here is Matthew 13:18, 13:52 therefore hear the parable of the sower, 13:56 verse 19. 13:57 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom 14:00 and does not understand it, then notice what happened. 14:05 The wicked one comes and snatches away, 14:09 what was sown in his heart. 14:12 So are they grappling to understand this? 14:15 What happens? 14:16 Satan is at hand, his evil angels are at hand 14:19 to snatch away what is being sown in their hearts. 14:22 And what happens? 14:25 They become unfruitful, 14:27 they become it just takes no route. 14:30 Just there's no production in their lives 14:32 referencing what the Lord is trying to share with them. 14:36 So there's a great controversy going on 14:39 when the word of God is being proclaimed. 14:42 Unsettle elements but during the thousand years 14:44 and direct answer to the question, 14:46 these evil angels will be just waiting for the judgment 14:48 that will come at the end of the thousand years. 14:50 That's what the Bible says in Revelation 13, 14:52 where the dragon and the beast and the false prophets are. 14:55 You know, Satan will be cast into this lake of burning fire 14:57 with the dragon and the beast and the false prophets are. 15:00 He knows his time is a short time. 15:02 So yeah, thank you for that, John. 15:03 Yeah. 15:05 Quick question here, 15:07 and I think this requires just a very short answer. 15:10 Lenox, Lenox this person is a graphic designer. 15:16 Evidently he says I don't know it's a man or woman 15:19 but Lenox sounds like a man's name. 15:21 He says I wear my hair as twists most of the time, 15:27 what is wrong with that 15:29 that I should be judged by that? 15:31 Within the church, what does that prevent me from doing? 15:34 For instance will that stop me from being baptized? 15:38 Does that stop me from serving the Lord? 15:40 Does that stop me from being saved? 15:43 In short, no. Just in a nutshell, no. 15:47 Now, let me go ahead 15:48 and add some qualification to my answer. 15:54 When the Bible talks about this, 15:55 and I'm gonna read this verse in 1 Timothy 29, 15:59 I don't know, if this is man or not 16:01 but most of the time Lenox is a man's name. 16:06 When the Bible talks about 1 Timothy 29, 16:09 it says "In like manner also 16:11 that the woman adorn themselves in modest apparel 16:15 with priority in moderation, 16:17 not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly array." 16:21 The text here when it says braided hair, 16:23 there was a practice 16:24 that was prevalent in the New Testament church 16:26 and in some pagan societies, it was not just the braiding... 16:29 it was not the braiding of hair that was the issue 16:32 but the intermingling into the hair, 16:34 strands of gold and elements that causes the hair 16:38 to look ostentatious and gaudy. 16:41 It was not hair that was just basically braided. 16:44 You speaking about twisted hair, 16:46 one of the things that I encourage people to do 16:48 that are involved in ministry is that often times 16:52 if we follow so closely 16:57 and I'm gonna use this not being aware 16:59 of what the reason is for the style of your hair, 17:03 but we have to sometimes present the Lord 17:06 that doesn't harmonize with the fashions and styles 17:10 and patterns of the world. 17:12 Let me give you an example. 17:14 A modest apparel, that was the text, 17:17 the context of this text with modest apparel. 17:20 So whenever we are presenting the Lord, 17:22 or working for the Lord, we try to avoid gaudiness, 17:27 we try to avoid a display 17:28 that matches us to closely to the world 17:31 or that will prevent us from communicating 17:34 with the people that may think what, 17:36 kind of it's really weird. 17:38 And I don't know what it looks like, 17:39 I'm just not judging this individual for the idea 17:42 that they wear their hair with twist 17:44 but I have seen that. 17:45 I've seen people that have worn their hair 17:47 with little twist, sometimes, 17:48 and sometimes it could look like a whole corn field, 17:51 I mean really. 17:52 Sometimes it could be distracting 17:54 depending on the size of the twist. 17:55 Sometimes, you know, 17:56 years ago I saw the Little Rascals, 17:58 you may remember those days. 18:00 I'm trying to be kind on here 18:01 but just a thought of the Little Rascals 18:03 made me smile. 18:04 But we want to try to present the Lord as decently 18:07 and in order as we possibly can. 18:09 So sometimes people may consider in their field, 18:12 in their context, in their community 18:14 that could be a distraction for people 18:17 taking one seriously. 18:19 And on the other side too, it can't be an entering wedge 18:23 for communicating to a different people group, 18:24 so I really is what I think he was saying 18:26 is kind of recognize your surroundings. 18:29 And you got to recognize who you're trying to reach. 18:30 Who you're trying to reach, 18:32 that's what Paul did, right, I mean he says... 18:33 He became all things to all men, 18:35 so you have, so the value of ministry 18:36 is not removed at all. 18:38 What I want to point out is recognize your community 18:40 and as I've said before 18:44 know what bait you need to use to catch the fish you aim for. 18:48 In a contemporary setting, a college campus, a university, 18:52 yuppie town or metropolis and urban setting, 18:55 man, you could probably reach them better than people 18:57 they come in all clean shave and in all tucked in. 19:01 You got to know your audience. 19:02 And so one of the things that we tend to, 19:05 try to remind ourselves of this context 19:08 who to whom are we ministering. 19:10 That determines how we present ourselves. 19:13 But generally the question like, 19:15 does it stop me from being baptized or being saved. 19:17 The answer is absolutely not. 19:19 A man look at the outer appearance, 19:21 God look at the heart. 19:23 We are not talking about jewelry 19:24 and earrings and all that, 19:26 that's a different category and different topic altogether, 19:29 but when it comes to your braided hair, 19:32 we should just seek to present ourselves in a way 19:34 that we can reach a larger group of individuals 19:37 or the group of people that we're ministering too, 19:41 and you have to even take that with the greater assault. 19:43 Because sometimes you don't want to become like them 19:46 to reach them. 19:47 Jesus didn't become like the people 19:49 He tried to reach, but the Pharisees, 19:51 that's why the Pharisees were so concerned. 19:53 If He really is a Son of God, 19:55 why is He hanging around 19:57 with publicans and harlots and tax collectors and sinners? 20:00 The group didn't seem to match who Jesus is? 20:04 So be mindful of that and use discretion. 20:07 Who am I trying to reach? What is my message? 20:09 Is my message, this is just I'm gonna look 20:11 and you got to deal with it, that's an issue of pride. 20:14 But if it's a matter of, well, 20:16 this is all I can do with my hair, 20:18 I know someone and I won't mention this name 20:19 but he said he went through all these changes once, 20:23 ones that's on with braids and he had a big afro, 20:25 then he shaved it all off and then he said to me, 20:28 pastor, I'm gonna get some dreadlocks. 20:31 I said, you need to figure out who you are, 20:33 because you're going through all these changes 20:35 to try to establish an identify when in fact 20:37 who the Lord wants us to be is more important 20:40 than who the world wants us to be, 20:42 and those changes are truly impressions 20:45 that are coming from the world. 20:46 Yeah, so true. Yeah. 20:48 This question may not take very long either 20:51 so I think we can fit a third question in here. 20:53 It comes from Cameroon. Oh, Cameroon Brooklyn? 20:57 Yeah, well, no, but some Terrence, 21:01 and he says I want to ask you 21:03 to shed some light 21:05 on the interpretation of the Mark 666 21:09 and that is revealed 21:11 in chapter 13 of Revelation. 21:17 Also I wish to know if those who are saved will spend 21:20 an eternity in heaven or on the new earth 21:23 as mentioned in Revelation 21:1. 21:26 Okay, so kind of two, a dual parter here. 21:29 Maybe some fairly quick answers to this. 21:31 Number one, it's a little bit of a misnomer that people hear 21:36 when they put the word mark and 666 together. 21:39 Okay, the mark and 666 is not the same thing. 21:43 Okay, the mark of the beast is not the number of the man 666. 21:49 Okay, those are two different things, 21:50 so read that passage very carefully 21:52 and you'll find in Revelation 13 toward the end 21:56 that the mark of the beast is the one that's imposed 22:02 or placed upon the forehead and the hands 22:04 of those that are wicked and rebelling against God, 22:08 yet the number of the man 22:10 that's the head of this peace power 22:12 has the number 666, okay. 22:15 So those are... 22:16 that's the first thing that I would clarify 22:18 about the question itself. 22:20 But there are several interpretations 22:21 that people have thrown out there in regard to 666. 22:24 Some have even tried to use the Roman numeral system 22:28 to calculate the number 22:30 and they take the title of this individual 22:33 or that individual. 22:35 You know, we believe that the antichrist power, 22:37 the system of the antichrist is the Roman papacy, 22:41 but so they look at the head of the Roman papacy, 22:43 they say, okay the pope, let's look at his title, 22:46 Vicarius Filii Dei, they take his, 22:49 the title that was part of his mantra 22:51 that was there for a while and they say, 22:52 okay, look at we calculate them, 22:54 the lettering out there, you get to 666. 22:57 Others have brought up the fact well, there's lots of actually, 22:59 there's lots of titles in this world 23:01 that you can calculate out to equal 666. 23:05 I choose to acknowledge that is, that's interesting, 23:09 you know, set that aside 23:11 but probably the best interpretation I find 23:13 is that 666 is short of the perfect triune God, 23:18 in his perfection of number which is 777. 23:22 And so all those 777 that appear in scriptures, 23:25 we know that 7 is a perfect number of God. 23:27 And if God is three in one, 23:29 you can see where 666 fall short of that, 23:32 that could be Satan's way 23:33 of trying to counterfeit the trinity of God 23:37 and he does that throughout. 23:39 You'll find several threes in scriptures. 23:41 You'll find references to the dragon, 23:43 the beast and the false prophet, 23:45 that's one, okay. 23:46 Here is another reference. 23:48 You'll find the beast that ascends out of the sea, 23:53 the beast that ascends out of the earth the wilderness, 23:56 and both of those are in Revelation 13. 23:58 And the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit, 24:01 Revelation 17. 24:02 Three beast ascending, 24:04 they are also part of the false trinity. 24:06 So you see this throughout scripture 24:08 and I believe that probably 666 24:11 is best interpreted by saying 24:13 that its Satan's counterfeit of who God really is 24:16 because not only is he trying to counterfeit 24:19 everything God does but his character, 24:21 everything about him, it would make sense 24:23 that he tries to counterfeit his, 24:27 the Godhead self, 24:28 and so that's what I see in 666. 24:31 In 666, undeniably historically when you look at the papacy 24:34 and you alluded to that, his title surely does 24:38 in the Latin numerals add up to 666, 24:42 Vicarius Filii Dei or Dei 24:44 depending on how people pronounce that. 24:47 But you'll also go to the Phoenician gods 24:50 to the Babylonian gods to the gods of other nations 24:55 and other powers of past history, 24:58 and you'll discover any system that has an substitute for God, 25:05 their name tends to in their culture add up to 666. 25:11 The context of Revelation 13 are our final movements 25:14 Revelation 13 presents the papacy 25:18 and the United States. 25:20 And so you see here, 25:21 they said the one who is involved 25:24 in this coalition is a substitute for God 25:27 'cause 777 is his name, 25:30 but it's a very interesting fact, John, 25:31 I learned this trivia. 25:32 I you add up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 25:39 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 25:44 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 25:49 if you add all these numbers together, 25:51 they come up to 666, from 1 to 36, 25:55 add them all up and it comes to 666. 25:58 In geometry 36 is a triangular number, 26:03 three sixes and that shows you 26:07 why there is a triune substitution 26:10 for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit 26:12 is the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. 26:14 So that system would be a system of antichrist, 26:17 so it's not just the papacy. 26:20 If you make up the papacy alone 26:22 and say that's the system of the antichrist, 26:24 then you'll leave out apostate Protestantism 26:27 and you leave out spiritualism. 26:30 But in the full coalition what is being pulled together 26:33 in Revelation 13 and in Revelation 17 and 18 26:37 about Babylon, the whole system of Babylon 26:40 is a coalition of three false powers. 26:42 And at the head of it 26:43 is the ultimate antichrist Satan himself. 26:46 But throughout the history long before Rome 26:48 even came into the picture, there was system of, 26:50 say systems of antichrist way back to Babylon, Egypt. 26:54 All these systems of antichrist 26:56 always have been there were anti God systems. 26:59 We say antichrist because that's the terminology 27:02 used in the New Testament. 27:04 But all these substitutionary systems of God 27:06 have always been in place since the fall of man. 27:10 And antichrist, some people think, 27:12 well, antichrist is against Christ 27:14 but that's not the only meaning of anti. 27:16 Antis can be against but it also was in place of. 27:19 In place of, that's right, the substitutionary system. 27:22 So when you look at the substitutionary work 27:24 of Satan, he's always looking. 27:26 He said in Isaiah 14, I will be like the Most High. 27:30 That's a 666 statement. That's right. 27:33 Who is the Most High? 27:34 The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 27:36 I will be like the Most High. 27:37 And so when you think about that 666, 27:41 try that in a trivial sense. 27:42 Add up the number 1 to 36 27:45 and you'll come to the number 666 27:48 and 36 is in geometry a triangular number. 27:51 See the triangle, that's why in all these occult worlds 27:54 you find the triangle there, 666. 27:58 The sum total of the numbers 1 to 36, 28:01 I thought that was fairly interesting. 28:03 And lastly, you find also that in religion 28:09 it's called the Textus Receptus. 28:12 In the Textus Receptus manuscript 28:14 in the New Testament, the Book of Revelation 13 28:16 cryptically asserts 666 as to be the man's number. 28:22 When you think about that the number of a man. 28:25 Now on what day when you think of the Bible, 28:30 six days the world was created in 28:33 but the seventh day was the Sabbath. 28:35 So if you just go to the sixth day, 28:37 you have the number of man, six is the number of man. 28:40 So what, but also the final meaning of 666 28:42 is falling short of God's glory. 28:46 So the antichrist, 28:48 the substitutionary system of Christ of the devil sorry, 28:52 always falls short of the glory of God. 28:56 That's why right after Revelation 13 28:58 what's the next message in Revelation 14, 29:00 "Fear God and give glory to Him." 29:02 Because this substitutionary system 29:04 always fall short of giving glory to God. 29:07 That's right. 29:08 You know, you also find throughout 29:10 all the Old Testament as well, 29:11 this false system, even in Ezekiel 28, 29:15 you have the introduction, the lamentation is taking up 29:17 for the prince of Tyre 29:19 and then later on the king of Tyre. 29:21 Well, the king of Tyre... 29:24 Theologians have for a long time recognize 29:26 that as Satan himself. 29:28 But the prince of Tyre is set up as his system. 29:31 It's what he uses on earth to deceive the nations. 29:35 And so you'll find that this is a prophecy in Ezekiel 28 29:38 of what will happen at the end of time. 29:40 So you know, he recognizes the Father 29:42 and the relationship with the Son and he says, 29:44 okay, I want to be the Most High 29:46 and I want to have a son and a system 29:49 with which I can work up at church 29:51 and so he is doing that here and throughout scripture, 29:57 this system is against 30:00 and also in place of substitutionary 30:02 as you said, it's there. 30:04 It's clear. 30:06 And let me just point out what I mean by triangular numbers. 30:09 Triangular numbers are numbers 30:11 that when the same number is used three times, 30:14 it comes to the total of that number. 30:15 Let me give you an example, 36 is three times 12, 30:18 15 is three times 5, 21 is three times 7. 30:23 Triangular numbers are very interesting 30:26 in the sense of coming to the number of 666. 30:29 Let's go back to what I said about a moment ago. 30:31 If you add numbers 1 to 36, the total will be 666, 30:35 but you take 36 by itself, that's 12 times 3, 30:39 these triangular numbers. 30:41 Fifteen now, this is interesting. 30:43 Fifteen is a triangular number also, five, five, five. 30:46 Twenty one is a triangular number also, 30:48 seven, seven, seven. 30:49 See, but now if you do 15 square, 30:54 it comes up to 225. 30:56 If you do 21 square it comes up to 441 31:01 and you add those two together, it comes to 666. 31:04 So you find in the numerology and the reason I mentioned this 31:08 is because in the occult world, 31:10 numerology is the way they hide their messages. 31:14 And so when you think of the antichrist, 31:17 let's not only think of Rome. 31:18 I want to end by saying this thought, 31:21 not only think of Rome but think of spiritualism 31:24 and apostate Protestantism, 31:27 always looking for a substitute for that which is divine. 31:31 But thank you for the question. 31:32 See how many doors that opened up. 31:33 Yeah, that was neat, good questions. 31:35 I always try to learn something new 31:37 and we try to convey something new. 31:38 You know, he did ask at the end of the question, 31:41 where we would spend eternity, the saints spend eternity, 31:44 but we're kind of needed a transition 31:47 to our subject here 31:48 but just the quick answer is Revelation 20 and 21 31:53 reveal that during the thousand years, 31:54 the saints are in heaven reigning with Christ, 31:57 then the new Jerusalem comes down, 31:58 sits on earth and they spend eternity 32:00 on the new earth created anew 32:03 after the fire from heaven does its devouring of the earth 32:06 and its elements, including sin so. 32:09 I actually answered that question yesterday, 32:12 and I said remember 32:14 what's the purpose of the thousand years. 32:16 We are there participating in the preparation 32:19 for the executive phase of the judgment. 32:22 And that is the destruction of sin and sinners. 32:26 So we are not there to hang out for ever 32:28 at the end of the thousand years. 32:29 So praise the Lord for that. 32:32 All right, John, lead us into our topic today, 32:35 very interesting one that we've come up with the idea. 32:37 Yeah, it can sound very vague initially 32:39 when we talk about what we are gonna share 32:41 here for the next program or two 32:42 but it's in regard to knowledge. 32:45 Knowledge is kind of king, it's power. 32:48 We've heard knowledge is for a long time 32:51 and it clearly has all those elements to it. 32:55 But the Bible says 32:58 that in the last days, 33:00 it says in the time of the end many shall run to and fro 33:03 and knowledge shall increase. 33:05 So it was the Bible's even very predictive of 33:08 in the last days there is a, 33:11 almost a recognition, a respect, 33:16 a high level of seeking knowledge that happens. 33:20 And we see that in our industries 33:22 that have grown overtime, the industrial age, 33:24 now the technology age. 33:27 I know some statistics 33:29 we talked about this a long time ago, 33:31 I don't remember all the details, John, 33:32 but how things have, 33:34 how quickly they're accelerating in knowledge, 33:36 it's not just like every year or two it doubles. 33:40 It's what do you call it, 33:45 it's accelerating exponentially, 33:46 that's the word I'm looking for, 33:48 and knowledge is growing in time. 33:50 And so you know, it's one thing to say 33:53 that I'm growing in knowledge 33:55 or that I'm getting to know more things. 33:56 It's another thing to say 33:58 that I truly have understanding. 34:00 In other words, I have true knowledge 34:02 and that understanding is something that is Godly, 34:05 that is driven by God 34:07 and that is driven also by the word of God. 34:10 And so I want to, 34:12 I think we had to spend time in this program 34:15 and probably the next, 34:16 talk about what the Bible says in regard to knowledge, 34:19 and also maybe in a practical way 34:21 talk about how some of that knowledge 34:22 is seen in the world that is seen in the world 34:26 is more foolishness than knowledge. 34:28 It's not really true understanding in other things 34:31 'cause I think people need to discern 34:32 that just because you hear it or read it on TV 34:36 it doesn't mean that it's true. 34:38 Just because your pastor is saying this or that, 34:40 it doesn't mean it's accurate. 34:41 Just because you quote a text or two from scripture, 34:43 it doesn't mean that is a truth. 34:45 You know we can skew anything to what we want, 34:47 even the media we know inherently this, 34:50 that the media is biased to the presenters 34:53 or the anchor or the one that is putting together the notes. 34:56 It's biased to the opinion 34:57 in the world view of that individual. 35:00 Okay, it's just the way it is. 35:03 But we forget that when we read and we hear this stuff, 35:06 and so we need to have the filters on 35:08 and I think part of that filtering 35:10 is a true knowledge that comes from the word of God 35:13 and a true biblical world view is to what is around us today 35:16 and what's happening. 35:18 Well, let me start with the text. 35:19 Go ahead. 35:21 In John 17, I want to start with a text that really 35:25 if you were to distill this down, 35:29 this text to me would be, you know, first last and best 35:35 because, and I'm gonna share this 35:38 in the context of another one which comes up in 2 Timothy 3, 35:43 "Ever learning, and never able to come 35:46 to the knowledge of the truth." 35:50 John 17:3 listen to what the Bible says. 35:53 "And this is eternal life, or life eternal, 35:55 that they may know You, the only true God, 35:59 and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." 36:02 So when you really boil it down, 36:05 one of the first pitfalls that men fell into 36:08 is they wanted intellectual development 36:15 rather than spiritual development. 36:18 Intellectual development has its benefits 36:21 but an educated person without Jesus 36:24 is a dangerous person, 36:26 but remember if the downfall of man 36:31 came on the heels of the suggestion 36:35 that Satan made to Eve in the beginning, 36:39 I would suggest that the downfall of men 36:41 in the end will be on the same premise. 36:44 And it's a good place to start, John, 36:45 because the tree that this deception took place at 36:48 was the tree of the knowledge, the knowledge of good and evil. 36:53 There is knowledge that is good 36:55 and there is knowledge that is evil. 36:56 Right, and you can gain knowledge, 36:58 you could be pursuing knowledge but it's not as I said here 37:02 the knowledge about who is Jesus 37:04 or knowing Him. 37:06 And remember, Jesus even made it clear 37:08 that the basis on which He rejects 37:10 those who come without the Holy Spirit, 37:13 He said I never knew you. 37:16 The knowledge of Him leads to His knowledge of us. 37:21 Now, let me just put that correctly, 37:22 it's not like oh, now I know who John Lomacang is. 37:26 No, we desire to know him 37:28 this knowledge that relationship, 37:30 that knowledge where there is contextual 37:33 to the phrase Adam knew Eve and she conceived. 37:37 It's a spiritually intimate relationship. 37:39 I know you, you know me, okay. 37:42 We have a knowledge of each other. 37:43 That is more important 37:45 than the knowledge that Satan suggested to Eve. 37:49 Let's meet on this basis of knowledge. 37:51 Right. And so... 37:53 It's the difference really between knowing God 37:57 and knowing about God. 37:58 Right, knowing him. Okay. 38:01 Knowing God is an intimate thing, 38:03 it's a relational thing but knowing about God 38:09 is just this intellectual reading of the scriptures 38:12 and just kind of finding different truths 38:14 that we put together about who God is 38:17 and that doesn't save, that doesn't, 38:19 that's not relational, that is dry. 38:21 In fact it can be very cold. 38:23 And we often find even in church situations 38:26 where people have a great knowledge of the Bible 38:29 and then quote many scriptures, but they don't have a knowledge 38:31 or intimate knowledge of God Himself. 38:34 In fact, John, I would suggest 38:37 that intimacy of knowledge is the big difference 38:43 between old covenant relationship 38:45 and new covenant relationship. 38:49 And here is why I say that. 38:50 If you look at, Revelation, excuse me Hebrews 8, 38:59 it says here, 39:02 it gives the parameters of the new covenant 39:05 which it says behold I will, 39:09 the days are coming where I will make a new covenant 39:11 with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 39:12 not according to the covenant 39:14 that I made with their fathers in the day 39:15 when I took them by the hand 39:17 to lead them out of the land of Egypt." 39:19 And it goes down here, and it talks about putting my laws 39:22 in their minds and writing them on their hearts 39:24 and all of a sudden a text 39:25 as it appears almost out of place, 39:28 but it doesn't, it's perfectly placed is verse 11, 39:31 "None of them shall teach his neighbor, 39:34 and none his brother, saying, Know the Lord, 39:38 for they all shall know me, 39:41 from the least of them to the greatest of them." 39:43 In other words you won't have to teach your neighbors 39:45 and your brothers and those about God 39:48 because they will know God intimately 39:50 through the new covenant 39:52 relational experiential maturity 39:57 that grows between them and God 39:59 as they enter into that new covenant relationship with him. 40:02 John, that point is well taken. 40:04 As a matter of fact, I think it's one of the barriers 40:08 to knowing God was accepting the true knowledge of God. 40:13 And Paul when he outlined 40:15 what caused the antediluvian world to disintegrate 40:20 was not that the knowledge of God wasn't there, 40:22 was that they didn't want the knowledge of God. 40:24 Matter of fact, let's look at this Romans 1, 40:26 starting with verse, let's start with verse 18, 40:29 because it walks down 40:32 this tree of the knowledge of good and evil context 40:34 is really developed here. 40:37 There was knowledge, there was knowledge of God, 40:40 but what did they do with it. 40:41 Look at this verse 18, 40:43 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven 40:45 against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men 40:49 who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 40:54 because what may be known of God 40:57 is manifest in them for God had shown it to them." 40:59 Stop right here for a moment. 41:01 God has made His knowledge clear to them. 41:03 This isn't the knowledge about God, 41:06 not the intimate knowledge of God, 41:08 which we are talking about, yeah. 41:10 When people say, well, you know, I believe in a God, 41:14 or I believe in. 41:16 People often are suppressing 41:18 what God had already revealed to them. 41:21 It's not an ignorance, 41:22 it's a willing ignorances I don't want this knowledge, 41:25 and look at what it goes on further to say, 41:27 it says for since the creation of the world, 41:29 this is all the way back to the beginning, 41:31 his invisible attributes are clearly seen 41:35 being understood by the things that are made 41:37 even his eternal power and Godhead 41:39 so that they are without excuse 41:41 how could be they without excuse 41:43 except the knowledge is there. 41:45 So the question is, 41:46 how did all this get here and this what amazes me. 41:49 Somebody comes along named Darwin, 41:51 Charles Darwin in the 1800s 41:55 almost 6000 years after creation 41:57 comes up with this theory 41:59 that he himself rejects before his death and people say wow, 42:02 he's got to be smarter than God. 42:04 Let me show you what they did, verse 21, 42:09 because although they knew God, 42:10 they did not glorify Him as God, 42:13 that's why you see in this age 42:15 where knowledge is the focal point of many institutions, 42:19 in this age where the false knowledge of God 42:21 is being proliferated and spread about, 42:27 I'm looking for another intellectual word, 42:29 it's being disseminated. 42:31 This is the age where knowledge is such a focus, 42:33 that men are now glorifying God with the knowledge they have, 42:36 that's why the message of Revelation 14 is important, 42:39 "Fear God and give glory to him." 42:41 So knowledge is not what we should glory in, 42:43 we should glory in knowing God. 42:45 And here is what it goes on further to say, verse 22, 42:49 "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." 42:52 How did they become fools, 42:54 read verse 28, how did they become fools. 42:56 Are you Romans 1:28? 42:58 Yeah, "And even as they did not like to retain knowledge, 43:01 retain God in their knowledge, 43:03 God gave them over to a debased mind 43:05 to do those things which are not fitting." 43:07 Okay, now get this. 43:08 You could see this today, 43:11 in this same sex marriage arena, it is not that 43:15 the knowledge of what God required is not there, 43:18 it's just I don't want it, I don't want it, 43:21 so now when you look at that, 43:22 when they did not retain God in their knowledge, 43:25 the very result of that was, look at all these things, 43:29 sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, 43:31 maliciousness, full of envy, the murders, strife, deceit, 43:34 evil mindedness, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, 43:38 violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, 43:41 disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, 43:45 unloving, unforgiven, unmerciful. 43:49 All that happens 43:50 when you choose not to retain God in your knowledge. 43:54 You can't prevent any of that from being an outgrowth. 43:56 Well, this is why I think in Proverbs 43:58 couple of verses here, Proverbs 22:17, it says, 44:02 "Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, 44:05 and apply your heart to my knowledge." 44:07 Right. 44:09 In other words you can get all this other knowledge, 44:11 but if you don't apply to my knowledge, 44:13 you are not gonna be wise. 44:16 And then Proverbs 2:6, 44:17 for the Lord gives wisdom from the mouth come knowledge 44:20 and understanding from his mouth, 44:23 comes knowledge and understanding. 44:24 So, you know, I think there is this desire, 44:27 God put within us a desire, John, to have knowledge, 44:30 to pursue knowledge, to know things, 44:33 but like the knowledge of good and evil, 44:35 that's an evil knowledge at its core. 44:37 I'm not saying evil in that, 44:38 the things they think about are all evil, 44:40 it's just that train of knowledge, 44:42 that pursuit of knowledge is not one that glorifies God, 44:45 therefore it glorifies man. 44:48 It's a self-based knowledge, 44:50 whereas God says pursue my knowledge, 44:53 pursue me and when they, you lose, 44:55 as it says in verse 20, 44:57 when you don't retain God in your knowledge, 45:00 then where you go is a dark place, 45:04 to the point where it says, I think it was verse 21, 45:09 it says that he give them up to a debased mind, 45:13 they became futile in their thoughts. 45:16 What is futility mean? 45:18 Futility means it unproductive, right? 45:20 Unproductive, you can't never attain it. 45:22 So how unproductive has this information from Darwin 45:29 that is propagated now into the evolutionary theory, how? 45:34 How unproductive has that become, 45:36 how futile has been that, has that been. 45:38 It's just a waste of time. It's a merry-go-round. 45:42 You end up the same place every time. 45:44 And it's all a theory. 45:45 It's bad theory but it's a waste of time theory. 45:48 You end up nowhere every time. 45:51 How could you make, how could nothing, 45:55 plus nothing equal everything. 45:59 But anyway, Darwin, 46:00 we know that's a futile knowledge knowing God, 46:03 choosing not to retain God in their knowledge. 46:05 But now, the knowledge of the true God is available. 46:08 But what is the Achilles' heel today of the world? 46:14 That Jesus said, and this is the condemnation 46:18 that light has come into the world 46:20 and man love darkness rather than light 46:23 because their deeds are evil. 46:25 So what actually have they done, Hosea 4:6, 46:28 I'm gonna read this here. 46:29 What have they done? 46:31 It's not that the knowledge of God is not available. 46:33 I mean, think about it, 46:34 we have more Bible translations, 46:36 more electronic 46:37 and non-electronic ways of communicating 46:39 and studying the Bible. 46:40 We could find out through one stroke of the key, 46:43 I was blessed to get the Logos software, 46:45 Bible software. 46:47 Through one stroke of the key, 46:49 we can accomplish 40 hours of study, 46:53 all that knowledge, 46:55 but why would all that knowledge is this 46:56 and why would all that knowledge... 46:58 Well, let me rephrase that. 46:59 If that knowledge does not lead us 47:01 to acknowledging the truth, 47:04 then it's of no value, it's ever learning, 47:06 never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 47:09 Hosea 4:6, you have yet, do you want to go there. 47:11 Well, go ahead and turn there. I mean, I'm already there. 47:15 Go ahead and read it. Here it is. 47:17 And Jesus is talking about His own people, 47:19 He is not talking about the world in the sense, 47:20 because the world rejects Christ, 47:23 so we are not expecting them 47:24 to respond to the knowledge of Christ, 47:26 but what is the deficit among the people 47:28 that are claiming to know Jesus. 47:30 Hosea 4:6, 47:31 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, 47:37 because you have rejected knowledge." 47:41 See, so what it is 47:42 and this is something that's so widely important. 47:44 We are accountable not just for what we know, 47:48 but we are also accountable for what we could have known. 47:52 We are not accountable only for what we know 47:55 but we are accountable what we could have known. 47:57 When I get to studying with people about the Sabbath, 48:00 the truth about what happens when a person dies, 48:03 all these widely important topics. 48:05 Some of them say, 48:06 I don't want to hear it, I don't want to hear it 48:07 'cause I don't want to be responsible for that. 48:10 And I'm thinking, okay, 48:11 what I actually wanted to tell you 48:13 was that fence is 50,000 volts, 48:16 so let's take all the signs down, 48:17 and you just go ahead and climb that fence 48:19 and see what happens. 48:21 They are walking on the path of self destruction 48:23 because they reject knowledge, they reject knowledge 48:28 and that's what's happening today in the world, 48:29 people reject knowledge and they say my denomination, 48:32 my position, my Sabbath, 48:36 my understanding what happens when a person dies, 48:38 my belief in the rapture, it's all important to me. 48:41 And you this knowledge of things that don't exist 48:44 and it's not so according to God's word 48:46 but because they reject knowledge of the true God 48:50 and His true word and true doctrines, 48:52 they end up in darkness. 48:56 So let's look at couple of these aspects here. 48:59 What's gonna happen in the end time? 49:00 Daniel 12:4, 49:02 what's gonna happen in the time of the end, John? 49:04 The odds will increase. Okay. 49:07 And we are seeing that. 49:09 Definitely a focus on knowledge, 49:10 and I know, we kind of began this whole segment 49:12 with that piece of it. 49:14 We've been talking about the various parts of knowledge, 49:17 but the true knowledge we want 49:18 and I like this is what John 17:17, it says, 49:22 very clearly there unequivocally, 49:24 your word is truth. 49:26 The word of God is our foundation for knowledge. 49:29 That's right. 49:31 Now, we have an experiential knowledge 49:34 in that we receive through spending time with God 49:37 in prayer and in Bible study, 49:40 that we spoke of this relational aspect 49:45 and within that context, 49:47 the relationship we have with Jesus 49:49 specifically as our savior, 49:50 we need to then plug in all the other knowledge 49:53 we can get from here. 49:55 Because without, you know, some people say, well, 49:57 you know what, you know, the people out there, 50:00 the heathen, you know, they reject God, 50:02 you know their knowledge 50:03 is just definitely won't do him any good, 50:05 but I'll tell you there is an element 50:06 that within the church we can have a lot of knowledge 50:09 and information that we have from here, 50:11 but if it's not connected to Jesus, 50:15 we are in just as a bad a shape. 50:17 In fact, some would even say worse shape, 50:19 because we have an opportunity to know God, 50:21 but we didn't know God. 50:23 You know, what's more important than knowledge? 50:26 Wisdom. 50:28 When Solomon prayed, 50:30 he asked the Lord to give him wisdom, 50:33 the disciples did not have a whole lot of knowledge 50:36 but they had an experiential relationship with Jesus 50:39 which made them wiser 50:41 than the one's who were very, very well informed, 50:44 very filled with knowledge. 50:46 Matter of fact here is the, here is the statement, 50:48 I like this is the way that Bible says 50:51 here in Luke 11:52, 50:54 "Woe to you lawyers, 50:57 for you have taken away the key of knowledge. 51:01 You did not enter in yourselves 51:04 and those who are entering in, you hindered." 51:09 The lawyers who continually tested Jesus. 51:14 You know, the lawyers said, 51:15 okay which is the greatest commandment in the law? 51:17 What you gonna impart to me and he blown them away 51:19 by not even mentioning 51:21 one of the single Ten Commandments. 51:22 Love your neighbor... 51:24 Which one is that? Well, that's the first. 51:27 No, the first is, that's not the first. 51:30 It's thou shalt have no other gods before. 51:32 That's not the first, that's not in there at all. 51:34 Love your neighbor as yourself. 51:35 Love the Lord, your God with all your heart. 51:37 So these lawyers and today there are many people 51:41 that are highly intellectually stimulated and equipped 51:46 but when the truth of God's word comes 51:49 they don't want it, 51:50 and they prevent you from obtaining it. 51:52 I've heard this time and time again on the radio, John, 51:54 of people that are fighting against the Sabbath, 51:58 they are telling people don't accept it. 52:00 God is saying remember it, they say forget it. 52:03 They are saying you don't need it, 52:06 it's been done away with. 52:08 They are continually fighting against the knowledge of God. 52:10 And for them, and for them 52:12 Romans 10:2 is the actual condition. 52:15 I was just reading that. Go ahead, read it. 52:17 "For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, 52:20 but not according to knowledge." 52:22 Okay. 52:24 See this multimillion dollar Christian empires 52:27 that are raking in money at an alarming rate, 52:31 living it up fat. 52:33 They are very zealous. 52:34 They got all these things that are acutely put together 52:38 to as one person said, 52:41 they've turned religion into an enterprise. 52:44 Well, here you go, Colossians 2:23, 52:46 "These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom 52:48 in self-imposed religion, false humility, 52:53 and neglect of the body but are of no value 52:56 against the indulgence of the flesh." 52:58 In other words, they are not trying to teach you. 53:00 They are not helping you with practical Christianity. 53:02 Right. 53:04 And so you know when I think, you know, 53:06 we hear the stories in the Bible 53:07 where this people, 53:09 who was that guy that was following Paul around, 53:10 they wanted his power but he didn't wanted... 53:12 He says, give us of your spirit. 53:14 Yeah. 53:15 He tried to get it, but he got the wrong spirit, 53:18 and the spirits, the spirits, evil spirits whacked him, 53:22 stripped his clothes off 53:23 and sent him into the street naked and screaming. 53:25 So the knowledge is not what we need, 53:27 first of all we need, we need, 53:29 first of all the indwelling Christ. 53:32 When Jesus comes in 53:33 the knowledge is made available to us. 53:37 Not for self exaltation but for self abnegation. 53:41 In other words, putting yourself down 53:43 and exalting Jesus. 53:45 You know, what do we do with those that are like that. 53:47 You know, do we enter debate, do we find a way to argue 53:51 and content for the faith with some dude, 53:53 we stand up and be that street preacher, 53:55 trying to get into the kind of the face of secular society. 53:59 What's interesting that Paul encouraged Timothy 54:02 who, he was mentoring as a leader in the church. 54:07 And it says in 1 Timothy 6:20, Oh, Timothy he says, 54:11 exclamation point. 54:12 In other words, this is an important point. 54:14 "Guard what was committed to your trust, 54:16 avoiding the profane and idle babblings 54:19 and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge." 54:23 Right. 54:26 People that present themselves as knowledgeable 54:29 that is false knowledge, avoid those confrontations, 54:33 avoid those idle babblings, avoid those things that... 54:38 You know if we chased every rabbit... 54:41 What if somebody, somebody gave us their opinion, 54:45 I just that's all we do as pastors, we can't do that. 54:49 Now, there are certain things 54:50 that I think we need to stand up and defend the faith 54:52 because it is very deceptive 54:53 and I don't want the saints to be deceived. 54:55 But all these little things, sometimes these issues, 54:57 we shouldn't be chasing those down all the time 54:59 because I think one of the best counsels I received 55:01 is the best way to counteract error is to preach truth. 55:06 Right, not to try to disprove, 55:08 not to try to get into the debate. 55:11 What do we do when somebody brings false knowledge to us? 55:14 2 Timothy 2:23, 55:16 "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, 55:19 knowing that they do gender strifes." 55:22 People... 55:24 I get emails, I get letters, 55:25 people are trying to pull me out of the woodwork, 55:27 they are trying to smoke me out sort of speak to. 55:29 What's your opinion? Could you write me this letter? 55:32 I say, I'm not writing anything down, 55:34 sending to anybody whose sole purpose is to dissect 55:38 and to disarm and to condemn the church. 55:42 People want your own words and they pull portions of it 55:45 and John Lomacang said, 55:47 don't ever get pulled into that, 55:49 don't chase the devils as we just said. 55:51 I like this, I had pulled something together 55:53 is little devotional 55:55 and this one was on a part in regard to knowledge 55:57 and it goes as such. 55:59 It says there is a tendency today to confuse opinions 56:02 with learning and awareness with knowledge. 56:06 And opinion is not the same as knowledge. 56:09 Oh, it isn't. 56:11 Thinking is the process of generating an original idea 56:13 or distinction, it requires energy and attention 56:16 while having an opinion requires neither. 56:19 The attainment of awareness and true knowledge 56:23 and the development of competence in those areas 56:25 are two entirely different processes. 56:27 Okay. 56:30 I think one of the things that we find here today 56:32 with the internet 56:33 and the access to information in internet these days 56:35 is that, you know, we confuse this surface browsing 56:38 and getting some of these awareness of things 56:41 and then we try to push on 56:43 and present our opinion on the topic 56:45 and we have no knowledge 56:46 of the depth of what all is involved 56:48 in some of these topics and some of these things. 56:50 And I think people do that in the area of church stuff do 56:53 and in the doctrine. 56:54 They got this huge thing they've got, 56:56 they make it the big issue 56:57 and they really don't have knowledge, 56:59 they're just expressing an opinion. 57:00 That's why I like Hosea 6 to cap off the program, 57:02 Hosea 6:3. 57:04 "Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. 57:09 His going forth is established as the morning, 57:12 and He will come to us like the rain." 57:15 See, "Like the latter and former rain to the earth." 57:18 If you pursue the knowledge of the Lord, 57:21 you won't have to meander in the maze and mediocrity. 57:23 You'll be able to have a knowledge of Christ 57:25 which in fact is the key to salvation. 57:28 Get to know Him today. 57:30 God bless you until we see you again. |
Revised 2016-09-06