Spring Camp Meeting

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: SCM

Program Code: SCM180007A


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


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Revised 2018-07-26