Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW018182A
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00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:21 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. 00:23 In 2013, a woman living in Wisconsin wondered 00:27 what was going on when her nine-month-old Husky 00:31 put its nose on her abdomen and began sniffing deeply. 00:35 The dog did it again and again. 00:38 And then the dog hid from the woman, as though it was afraid. 00:42 Eventually the woman decided she would visit the doctor 00:44 to try to find out what was going on, 00:46 and she learned she had ovarian cancer. 00:50 When the cancer returned, 00:51 it seemed the dog knew before anybody else did, 00:54 started acting just like it did the first time. 00:57 When the cancer returned for a third time, 01:00 the dog behaved in exactly the same way. 01:03 So is that a fluke? Was it a coincidence? 01:06 Well, not according to the experts, 01:08 who say that there are dogs who can detect various kinds 01:11 of cancer with a 98 percent accuracy rate, 01:16 which tells us several things, among them this: 01:19 Animals are amazing. 01:21 Or to broaden that out a little bit, God's creation is amazing. 01:25 Let's think for a few moments about some examples of this. 01:28 ♪[Music]♪ 01:30 You've got camels who can drink more than 140 gallons 01:33 of water in one go. 01:35 Emperor penguins that can survive in temperatures 01:38 of minus 70 degrees. 01:40 Grizzly bears, which hibernate for around six months at a time. 01:44 Octopuses, or octopodes, which have eight arms, 01:49 three hearts, and blue blood. 01:52 Salmon can live in both fresh water and salt water. 01:56 And after being at sea for years, 01:58 they're able to return to the very river 02:01 in which they were born. 02:02 How do they do that? 02:05 Fragile monarch butterflies travel hundreds and hundreds 02:08 of miles as they migrate. 02:10 Ants can carry 50 times their body weight. 02:15 Fleas can jump 150 times their own body length. 02:20 That would be like me jumping 300 yards. 02:26 Today I want to look with you at something remarkable, 02:29 something basic but remarkable, 02:32 something pretty well taken for granted, 02:34 but something truly remarkable. 02:37 ♪[Low mysterious music]♪ 02:40 The Bible starts off by saying that 02:42 "in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." 02:45 And then when God had finished His work of creation, 02:48 He proclaimed that everything He had made was very good. 02:52 The psalmist wrote, 02:53 "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" in Psalm 139, verse 14. 02:58 Jeremiah wrote, "Ah, Lord God! 03:01 Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth 03:04 by Your great power and outstretched arm." 03:07 Jeremiah 32:17. 03:09 In Isaiah 44:24, God says, 03:12 "I am the Lord, who makes all things, 03:15 [and] stretches out the heavens all alone, 03:18 who spreads abroad the earth by myself." 03:21 And in the book of Revelation we read that an angel flies 03:23 in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel 03:26 to preach to the world, saying, 03:28 "Fear God and give glory to Him; 03:30 for the hour of His judgment is come: 03:33 and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, 03:35 and the sea, and the fountains of waters." 03:38 You see evidences of God's creative power everywhere: 03:42 in animals, in the birds of the air, in plants and in trees, 03:47 in the oceans, sea creatures. 03:49 I mentioned octopuses and penguins, 03:50 but think of whales and sharks and so much more, 03:54 like, well...like seashells. 03:59 Have you ever stopped to look at a seashell? 04:03 No, I mean, have you really looked? 04:05 Have you stopped to think about they are, 04:07 what they're for, and how they're made? 04:10 I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like seashells. 04:13 Visit the beach and you'll find people walking 04:15 with their heads down, looking for shells, 04:17 looking for something beautiful. 04:20 In order to learn more about these incredible things, 04:23 I traveled to Minnesota to talk with Marilee McNeilus, 04:27 who has a remarkable shell collection. 04:30 She's been shelling for years. 04:32 She even has a shell named after her, 04:35 and her experience with shells has given her a close-up view 04:39 of God's incredible creation. 04:43 How did you get into collecting seashells? 04:46 >>Marilee McNeilus: Well, that's an interesting question 04:48 because I'm really not sure how it evolved. 04:52 I know my first recollection of a shell 04:54 was when we went to Texas--Galveston-- 04:57 saw the ocean for the first time as a child. 05:00 And I took my little bit of savings, or my allowance money, 05:06 went into a store, and bought shells 05:07 because I was just fascinated by, by shells--the beauty, 05:11 the intricacy--I don't know what it was. 05:14 >>John: Hey, let me ask you this. 05:15 I'm, I'm, uh, I'm gonna pick up a shell here. 05:17 [grunts] I need a crane, I think, to help me with this one. 05:21 And I'm going to ask the question-- 05:23 I don't know quite the best way to put this, 05:25 but this looks like it was cast in concrete or made of plastic 05:31 or some such thing. 05:33 This might not be representative of every shell in the ocean, 05:36 but that's a seashell. 05:38 It's a big fellow. 05:39 So I'm going to ask you-- what's this? 05:43 This is a beauty. 05:44 >>Marilee: That is a syrinx; this is from Australia. 05:46 This is actually an example of the largest gastropod 05:49 being a one-unit shell, 05:51 which 80 percent of the shells are gastropods. 05:54 >>John: As opposed to bivalves, like oysters? 05:56 >>Marilee: Right, correct. 05:57 >>John: Okay. 05:58 >>Marilee: And this one is the largest gastropod 06:01 in the world, and, um, from Australia. 06:05 >>John: Which part of Australia, do you know? 06:06 >>Marilee: Well, uh, Western Australia. 06:08 >>John: Okay. 06:09 >>Marilee: Mm-hm. I've actually collected some in Broome. 06:12 >>John: Broome? Not many people know where Broome is. 06:14 It's--Broome, uh, in fact, if you, if you, 06:16 if you Google "the middle of nowhere," 06:19 Broome comes up, I think. 06:20 >>Marilee: Well-- 06:21 >>John: It's way out there, isn't it? 06:22 >>Marilee: It is, but it was, it's a fantastic place. 06:24 >>John: Yeah, and does that, does Broome's location, 06:27 isolated on the northwestern coast of Australia, 06:30 does that lend itself in some way to being 06:32 a great shell destination? 06:34 >>Marilee: Well, there's a lot of good species of shells 06:37 in Australia; it's, it's really good shelling in Australia. 06:40 >>John: And this is an example of one? 06:41 >>Marilee: And this is an example of one-- 06:42 >>John: That's fantastic. 06:44 >>Marilee: ...you know, extreme example. 06:45 >>John: Now, now, someone camping on the beach 06:47 is gonna find one of these on the beach? 06:49 >>Marilee: No, no, no. 06:50 When we were in Broome, we were at a equinox 06:54 of the, of the tides of the sun, 06:57 and there was 30-foot-minus tides-- 07:00 >>John: Oh, okay. 07:01 >>Marilee: ...so that means that where there was 07:04 30 foot of water, the tide went out far enough that there, 07:07 you now could walk there. 07:09 >>John: So that's a lot of beach that was available? 07:11 >>Marilee: That's a lot of beach, 07:13 and mostly it's not beach; it's rocky, uh, puddles, holes, 07:18 all kinds of just fascinating, fascinating sea life 07:22 that you're seeing there, and exposed. 07:24 >>John: So-- 07:25 >>Marilee: And this is laying-- the one I collected was, 07:27 of course, much smaller than that, 07:28 and I think I've given it away, 07:30 but, um, it was laying on the sandy mud. Mm-hm. 07:35 But to think that this grew from a little egg-- 07:39 most people don't realize that shells grow. 07:42 They're egg-laying. They lay eggs in masses. 07:45 I think we have some examples we can show you, 07:47 but there's some, you know, little growth series, 07:50 and we could find these in these little pools, 07:52 these little, teeny-tiny shells. 07:55 >>John: So these grow from eggs? 07:57 >>Marilee: They grow from eggs. Shells are egg-layers. 07:59 They lay en masse, like amphibians, you know. 08:02 >>John: So let me ask you the, the basic, 08:06 maybe ignorant person's question, 08:08 but I think there's a lot of people who will resonate 08:10 with this question. 08:11 What's a seashell? 08:12 What are we looking at when we're looking at a, 08:14 at a seashell? 08:15 >>Marilee: We're looking at some animal's home. 08:17 >>John: Oh, yeah? 08:18 >>Marilee: Mm-hm. 08:19 >>John: So there was an animal inside this? 08:20 >>Marilee: That lived in that house. 08:22 >>John: Well, okay, I think the easy thing-- 08:23 you think about an oyster or a mussel or a scallop 08:25 that many people are familiar with-- 08:27 that's the animal; there's, the casing is the home. 08:29 >>Marilee: Mm-hm. 08:29 >>John: Similar principle here. 08:31 >>Marilee: Exactly. 08:32 >>John: Uh, so, how does this happen? 08:33 Something laid an egg, and it-- 08:36 >>Marilee: Grew, it grew, just like a, just like a baby, 08:40 just like a child, just like-- 08:41 >>John: So how do these grow? 08:43 >>Marilee: Just there's a, the animal in, in the shell-- 08:47 >>John: Uh-huh. 08:48 >>Marilee: ...secretes in its mantle cavity, 08:50 a part of the shell, 08:51 secretes this liquid calcium-- it's like a calcium carbonate-- 08:55 that's what it's made up of, like a bony structure. 08:58 It's just like reverse of a body. 09:00 The animal lives inside of the hard surface. 09:04 We have our skin, and our bone structure internal. 09:08 So the shell grows. 09:09 He always lives in that same shell. 09:11 He doesn't move out of the shell. 09:13 He constantly is growing. 09:16 His rate of growth would depend on food availability, 09:19 water temperature, other factors in the sea. 09:23 And he just continues to grow and maintain. 09:25 At some point he reaches adulthood, 09:28 and then you can see on some shells where they, 09:31 they're continually keeping their shell maintained. 09:36 Just like you maintain your body, 09:38 they maintain, they maintain their shell. 09:41 >>John: Now, I understand that there's a shell 09:43 that's been named after you. 09:46 Is that correct? 09:47 >>Marilee: Yes. 09:48 >>John: Okay, so, in just a moment, I'd like to see it 09:52 and find out the story behind the marileeae. 09:57 I don't know there'll ever be a "johnae" seashell, 10:00 so I'd like to have a look at that. 10:02 Don't go away. We'll be right back in just a moment. 10:05 ♪[Music]♪ 10:14 >>Announcer: They're in the Bible especially for you: 10:16 God's promises, 10:18 made by a loving God who wants the best for you 10:20 in this life and in the life to come. 10:22 Get "God's Promises," our free offer, and experience 10:25 the comfort and power of His promises in your life. 10:28 To get "God's Promises," call 800-253-3000 10:33 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 10:37 Receive the promises today 10:39 by calling 800-253-3000. 10:44 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me today. 10:46 Our conversation today is with Marilee McNeilus, 10:49 an avid shell collector. 10:51 Marilee, someone who has even had a shell named after her. 10:57 What's this little one? 10:59 >>Marilee McNeilus: Well, that is called Conus marileeae. 11:02 >>John: Conus marileeae. It's called "conus" because? 11:06 >>Marilee: It's a family of cone shell. 11:08 >>John: Cone shape. 11:09 And it's called "marileeae" because you discovered this one? 11:14 >>Marilee: Yes. 11:15 >>John: How in the world-- well, maybe the answer is, 11:18 is pretty simple, but how in the world do you discover 11:21 an undiscovered shell? 11:23 Are there many left to be discovered and categorized? 11:26 >>Marilee: Probably many. 11:27 >>John: You think there are? 11:27 >>Marilee: Yes, I do. 11:28 >>John: Yeah? 11:29 >>Marilee: Mm-hm. 11:30 >>John: How did you find this one? 11:31 >>Marilee: Well, I had the privilege of shelling 11:33 with the Smithsonian on a submersible on the island 11:37 of Curacao, and we dove at about 900-1,000 feet. 11:43 And along the way we picked up bottles or anything 11:48 like debris, ocean debris. 11:51 And we also were looking for specific shells 11:54 that were endemic to that area of the world, 11:56 and then when we came up from the dive, 11:59 we would sift through this debris, 12:02 all this debris that was collected in these buckets. 12:05 And so there was a lot of collecting, a lot of searching, 12:11 and then the working in the microscopes 12:14 because we were looking at it for really small things 12:16 and then, you know, the bigger things, 12:18 and this was one of the, maybe pretty close 12:20 to one of the bigger things that we found. 12:23 >>John: And you saw this and you said, 12:24 "Hey, I've never seen that before." 12:26 >>Marilee: Right. And everybody said-- 12:27 >>John: Really? You did? 12:28 >>Marilee: Well, yeah. Yes. 12:29 >>John: And folks who were with you said the same thing? 12:32 >>Marilee: Yes, and they said, 12:33 "Yes, we think that might be something different." 12:35 So we, uh, take this off to the, back to Washington, DC, 12:39 back to the Smithsonian, back to the--let the malacologists, 12:44 the curators, have a look-see. 12:48 >>John: Well, that's fantastic. Have you found a second one? 12:52 >>Marilee: No. 12:52 >>John: No? 12:53 >>Marilee: No. 12:54 >>John: I guess if you found this at 1,000 feet in Curacao, 12:58 then maybe you're not likely to find one washed up 13:01 on Sanibel Island. 13:02 >>Marilee: No. 13:03 >>John: No? 13:04 >>Marilee: No. That won't happen. 13:05 >>John: Fantastic. All right. 13:06 Let's talk about another couple of, uh, interesting shells, 13:09 fascinating shells, the ones that you think are cool. 13:12 What would they be? 13:13 >>Marilee: Well, it, that brings up the subject 13:16 of the chambered nautilus, Nautilus pompilius, 13:18 and I think we all are kind of familiar with the nautilus; 13:21 it's a very beautiful shell and very common shell. 13:26 But there are about three species of nautilus. 13:28 And, um, the thing about a nautilus is that it, 13:34 it is a solid, compact thing, but it, it goes up and down, 13:38 and there's the chambers within the nautilus-- 13:40 there's 36 chambers-- 13:41 and there's a siphonal tube that connects the chambers. 13:45 And if, if, you know, when we go down, if you dive, 13:49 your body contracts because of the weight of the water. 13:53 And this shell is down in the deep, and then it comes up, 13:56 and it has to go back down again. 13:57 So it regulates the pressures through this tube in the shell. 14:03 >>John: And these are simple creatures, aren't they? 14:06 >>Marilee: These are, yes, but the nautilus 14:07 is one of the most complex of the, of the mollusks. 14:10 It's a cephalopod, the same family as a squid and octopus. 14:14 And so they're more intelligent of the, of the mollusks. 14:19 But, um, the chambered nautilus is also, I, when I see that-- 14:23 you look at the design. 14:24 You can look at one cut in half, and you can see, 14:27 and you can see the principle, the mathematical principle 14:30 of Fibonacci and the, the golden mean of the design. 14:34 And that's, that's, to me, a sign of creation, of nature. 14:38 I mean, God designed this perfect symmetry for strength, 14:42 for durability. 14:43 It's the same symmetrical pattern that we see 14:46 in vegetation and other things in the world, you know, 14:49 that, that God created. 14:51 And it's just--that, that's not by accident. 14:53 That is a divine design. 14:56 >>John: So explain this to me. This looks remarkable. 15:01 Go ahead. 15:02 >>Marilee: This is a slice of a chambered nautilus. 15:05 I think we looked, at one other time, 15:07 we looked at some chambered nautilus, 15:09 and I think we had the shell. 15:12 And I would like you to look at the shell, 15:14 and this is the intricate part of the shell. 15:17 As this nautilus grows, he lives in each section, 15:21 and he grows, and he matures. 15:22 He closes off a section, and this little opening in here-- 15:26 he regulates his buoyancy through those chambers 15:31 because he's, he moves. 15:33 His, his shell, this animal that lives in here, 15:37 he is, be in the bottom during the day; 15:40 at night he may move up to feed in a hundred 15:43 change--maybe like a hundred feet or more. 15:47 >>John: Uh-huh. 15:48 >>Marilee: And so, that, that can't happen 15:51 unless you regulate the chamber. 15:52 >>John: So, unlike an oyster, which is a shellfish 15:55 that sits on the bottom and doesn't really move-- 15:57 >>Marilee: Right. No. 15:58 >>John: ...this one goes up and down by means of these chambers. 16:04 >>Marilee: Chambers. 16:05 >>John: And if you look, there's these little apertures. 16:09 And something passes through here to increase or decrease 16:13 [speaking simultaneously] the buoyancy of this creature. 16:17 >>Marilee: And he bobs along, and he's, he--now, remember, 16:20 he looks like a oc--he's got a lot of tentacles. 16:23 He's, he's feeding for fish. 16:25 He's, he's, he's eating fish and squid and other little things, 16:31 a lot of the little animals. 16:32 >>John: And here is a nautilus. 16:35 This is a, this is a little strip. 16:36 >>Marilee: Mm-hm. 16:37 >>John: Uh, but this is the whole thing? 16:39 >>Marilee: Right. 16:40 >>John: Pretty much. 16:41 And when you open it up like that, that's what you see. 16:44 >>Marilee: Right. 16:45 >>John: And this evolved? 16:47 >>Marilee: No, of course not. Of course not. 16:50 I mean, how long has it taken man to develop a submarine? 16:56 I don't know. Yeah, I mean-- 16:58 >>John: Thousands of years. 16:59 >>Marilee: God, yeah, God did that. He created that. 17:01 I mean, they named a submarine the Nautilus, 17:04 you know, because that animal was created. 17:08 God gave it that ability. He created that. 17:11 >>John: This is, this is remarkably intricate. 17:13 >>Marilee: It is. 17:14 >>John: For this, for the purpose of being able 17:15 to ascend and descend. 17:17 >>Marilee: Right, right. 17:18 >>John: And remain buoyant or, or less buoyant. 17:21 >>Marilee: Right. 17:22 >>John: In a moment I want to ask you 17:24 about shells in the Bible. 17:26 Shells in the Bible. 17:28 Don't go away. We'll be right back. 17:29 ♪[Music]♪ 17:38 >>John: Thank you for remembering 17:39 that It Is Written exists 17:41 because of the kindness of people just like you. 17:44 To support this international life-changing ministry, 17:47 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 17:51 You can send your tax-deductible gift 17:53 to the address on your screen, 17:54 or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 17:58 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 18:01 Our number again is 800-253-3000. 18:05 Or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 18:09 >>John: "In the beginning God"-- 18:11 well, in the beginning God did what? 18:14 The Bible is clear. 18:16 Society and many commentators on the Bible are less clear. 18:21 I want to invite you to be sure that you catch 18:24 "Great Chapters of the Bible: Genesis Chapter 1," 18:28 the creation story, 18:30 the story about a great God who spoke this world into existence. 18:34 Now, when you consider the creation story, 18:36 you have to consider what came next. 18:38 Next came sin. 18:40 But what comes next? 18:42 That's when we get to the end of the story 18:44 and the earth made new. 18:46 Did God create this world, or didn't He? 18:49 And what about evolution? 18:51 Did God create the world 18:52 in six real, literal days, or are they figurative days? 18:56 Maybe it was over millions of years? 18:59 "Great Chapters of the Bible: Genesis Chapter 1" 19:02 on It Is Written TV. 19:09 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining us today. 19:10 I'm talking with Marilee McNeilus, 19:12 a shell collector. 19:14 Uh, not the kind of shell collector you were 19:17 when you were a child, or I was when I was a child. 19:19 We're talking about serious shell collecting. 19:22 And now I want to ask you about shells in the Bible. 19:27 Does the Bible speak much about shells? 19:32 What does it have to say? 19:33 >>Marilee McNeilus: Well, one of the most interesting things 19:35 that I think a lot of people don't realize-- 19:37 that there's this lady in the Bible in Acts 19:39 who is very hospitable. 19:41 She was a business woman, which is pretty rare for Bible times. 19:45 Her name is Lydia, 19:46 and it says that Lydia was a seller of purple. 19:49 >>John: Purple. 19:50 >>Marilee: Now, most people don't realize that 19:52 the purple in that day came from a mollusk, from a shell. 19:56 >>John: From a shell? 19:57 >>Marilee: That shell that you're holding 19:58 is called Murex brandaris. 20:00 Murex are a family of shells; they're a carnivorous family. 20:05 And that shell was one of the shells that was collected 20:09 in Phoenicia by probably fisherman or workers, 20:13 collected this shell for Lydia and collected them 20:18 in large quantities because it took a lot of dye. 20:21 You can imagine that shell-- they probably whacked it 20:24 with a hammer or some similar object, 20:27 took the animal out, took one gland, 20:30 one small part of that shell, and put all these pieces 20:35 together, and came up with this dye. 20:39 This dye doesn't turn purple till it hits the air, 20:41 and then it becomes purple. 20:42 >>John: So this is Lydia, the seller of purple-- 20:44 >>Marilee: Seller of purple. 20:45 >>John: ...we read about in the book of Acts. 20:47 >>Marilee: Right. Mm-hm. 20:48 >>John: And that purple was extracted from this? 20:50 >>Marilee: From that shell. 20:51 There are, there are other murex that also excrete it, 20:54 but that was the most common one in that area. 20:57 >>John: So, where Lydia was, were these shells nearby, 21:01 or did they have to be brought from quite a distance? 21:03 >>Marilee: Oh, maybe it's 30, 40 miles from the, 21:05 from the sea, you know. 21:07 And then, then the dye was brought up, 21:10 probably cooked or something, somehow cooked down. 21:14 And then this purple was extracted from that. 21:16 It took about an ounce of that purple dye to, 21:20 to make just a, a small fraction of fabric purple. 21:26 >>John: Yeah. 21:27 >>Marilee: So you can understand why it was so costly. 21:29 >>John: She was quite the businesswoman. 21:31 >>Marilee: Yes, she was, yes, and fairly successful 21:33 because you realize only the upper echelon of the society 21:37 could afford the purple, so they made contact with Lydia, 21:40 so she was quite, quite a lady. 21:43 >>John: So Lydia the seller of purple, 21:46 uh, derived her income from seashells? 21:50 >>Marilee: Correct. 21:50 >>John: Just like this? 21:52 >>Marilee: And it took hundreds, probably thousands of shells 21:54 to get the purple that she needed to dye cloth. 21:58 >>John: Now, these shells are still there today? 22:00 >>Marilee: Not so many. 22:01 >>John: Oh. 22:02 >>Marilee: They actually almost became extinct 22:03 because of the over-collecting of that shell. 22:06 >>John: And does anybody make purple from the shells anymore? 22:10 >>Marilee: Not anymore. 22:11 >>John: There's just other ways of making dye, I suppose. 22:13 >>Marilee: Uh-huh, dyes from plant--plant-based. 22:15 >>John: Okay, one last thing I want to ask you about: 22:18 In the Bible you don't read lots of mentions of seashells. 22:22 There's Lydia, who traded with shells, 22:25 but, there is the pearl of great price. 22:30 >>Marilee: Right. 22:31 >>John: Talk to me about that. 22:32 >>Marilee: Well, every shell basically is capable 22:36 of producing a pearl. 22:38 Because a pearl is a irritant that comes into the shell. 22:42 The irritant comes into the mantle, where the shell, 22:45 where the liquid is being produced by the shell, 22:48 and the first instinct is to get rid of it-- 22:51 just like if something that you and I have a problem with, 22:54 we just get rid of it, you know, ignore it-- 22:55 but pretty soon it's pretty fixed in there, and it can't. 22:59 So as it's building the nacre, nacreous from the shell, 23:03 it starts coating that irritant-- 23:05 be it sand, rock, or whatever-- 23:08 and so every time it secretes something from the shell, 23:11 it puts it around that irritant to smooth it and cover it. 23:17 So in that process a pearl is made out of the shell. 23:21 >>John: So, of course, the pearl of great price 23:24 was something harvested from a seashell. 23:27 >>Marilee: From a seashell. 23:28 >>John: So Jesus in one of His great illustrations, 23:32 Jesus in one of His great lessons spoke about a seashell-- 23:36 >>Marilee: Right. 23:37 >>John: ...which produced a pearl, very valuable. 23:39 >>Marilee: Very valuable. 23:40 And you think about where they were 23:43 and where the best pearls are today, 23:45 like off the coast of Australia, Japan, you know, 23:49 where the shells' pearls are being produced, 23:52 the shells that produce the best pearls. 23:54 How did that shell there produce the pearl 23:58 that ended up in the Middle East? 24:02 >>John: So, the story would indicate 24:04 that the pearl of great price was of great price-- 24:07 >>Marilee: Exactly. 24:08 >>John: ...partly because in all likelihood 24:10 it had been imported from a great distance away? 24:12 >>Marilee: Yes. 24:12 >>John: Fantastic. 24:13 >>Marilee: And in that time people didn't know 24:16 about cultivating pearls. 24:18 Now we have cultured pearls, where they take a shell-- 24:22 I wanna show you an example. 24:25 This is from Western Australia, where they've actually gone in 24:28 and taken and put a plug here and let the shell 24:33 put the nacreous on top of it, as it's growing, 24:36 and then they take this, cut it out, 24:38 put the two halves together, polish it off so you never 24:41 would realize what you, what they've done. 24:45 The odds of a pearl producing, a shell producing a pearl 24:49 are great odds. 24:51 >>John: Sure, very, yeah. 24:52 >>Marilee: And especially a perfect pearl. 24:54 And here are examples of little pieces of pearls, 24:58 mostly produced by the Strombus. 24:59 >>John: Oh, yeah. 25:00 >>Marilee: Mm-hm. 25:01 You can see the color, the color variations. 25:03 >>John: Yeah, they're magnificent. 25:04 >>Marilee: They're beautiful, but they're irregular; 25:06 >>John: Sure. 25:07 >>Marilee: They're not perfect. There would-- 25:08 they wouldn't command a price anywhere. 25:10 You know, we don't know in Christ's time what-- 25:14 you know, they knew the value of a pearl because Paul talks a lot 25:18 in the Bible about wearing pearls 25:19 and about casting your pearls to the swine, 25:22 and so they knew there was some value in the pearl. 25:24 >>John: Yeah. 25:25 >>Marilee: Mm-hm. 25:26 >>John: Well, this has been fantastic, a lot of fun. 25:29 It's been amazing, enlightening, and, for me, 25:34 a great encouragement that we have a wonderful Creator 25:39 who has produced some incredible things. 25:42 >>Marilee: But the best part is-- 25:44 let's go to our Bibles to Revelation 21:21. 25:47 >>John: Let's do that. 25:49 >>Marilee: "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls. 25:52 Every [separate] gate was of one pearl." 25:57 Can you imagine that? Can you imagine it? 26:01 >>John: Wonderful. I'm looking forward to seeing it soon. 26:04 >>Marilee: I hope so. 26:05 >>John: Thanks. I so appreciate it. It's been wonderful. 26:09 >>Announcer: They're in the Bible especially for you: 26:12 God's promises, 26:13 made by a loving God who wants the best for you 26:15 in this life and in the life to come. 26:18 Get "God's Promises," our free offer, and experience 26:21 the comfort and power of His promises in your life. 26:24 To get "God's Promises," 26:25 call 800-253-3000 26:29 or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 26:33 Receive the promises today 26:34 by calling 800-253-3000. 26:40 >>John Bradshaw: Let's pray together now. 26:42 Our Father in heaven, we thank You in Jesus' name 26:44 that You are a great Creator and a re-Creator. 26:48 All around us we see evidences of Your creative power: 26:51 the animals, the birds of the air, the, the sea creatures, 26:53 seashells--all of them designed by the Master Designer. 27:00 Lord, if You can pour that much beauty into something 27:02 so seemingly insignificant, 27:04 then undoubtedly You can do wonderful things in our lives. 27:08 Friend, if you need the touch of the Creator's hand in your life 27:11 right now, reach out to Him and ask Him for it. 27:14 Lord, would You touch our lives? 27:15 Touch a heart right now that is in need of re-creation. 27:19 If you need God to do something wonderful for you, 27:21 He will do it right now. 27:23 Ask Him to do so. 27:25 You have His assurance that He is with you. 27:27 Lord, we believe it. You are great. 27:30 We see it, and we believe it, and we thank You for it, 27:35 in Jesus' name. 27:36 Amen. 27:38 Thanks so much for joining me. 27:39 Looking forward to seeing you again next time. 27:41 Until then, remember: 27:43 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 27:47 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 27:51 ♪[Theme music]♪ |
Revised 2019-04-24