Participants: Charles Byrd (Host), Andrea Endries, Stephen Fowler, Levi Longoria
Series Code: THL
Program Code: THL000005
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00:01 Hello, I'm a Christian.
00:03 And I'm not. Really? 00:06 Well, then, let me introduce you to my best friend Jesus. 00:09 Oh, I'm not really interested in Christianity. 00:13 Why is that? 00:15 Well, for one thing I don't have enough time. 00:18 Time? Yeah, time. 00:21 Did you know there are 38,000 different denominations 00:24 all claiming to be Christian. 00:25 I don't have enough time to study all of them 00:27 to find out which church is telling the truth. 00:30 Of course we don't, 00:32 that's why I wanted to introduce you to Jesus. 00:34 He is the truth. 00:41 Thunder in the Holy Land is a simple Bible study series 00:44 that focuses on the life and teachings of Jesus. 00:47 To learn more about this study 00:49 and how you can use it to share our best friend, 00:52 visit us at qlp.tv that's qlp.tv. 00:59 Over 2,000 years ago a boy child was born here in Bethlehem. 01:03 To parents of the peasant working class. 01:06 And tradition tells us He was born in a grotto stable 01:09 surrounded by the scent of animals. 01:12 The Bible tells us that His first bed was a feeding troth. 01:16 Surely after he was whizzed away to Egypt 01:19 to avoid the wrath of Herod 01:20 and spent His earliest years 01:22 growing up in the land of the pyramids, 01:23 the way thousands of Jews did before the Exodus. 01:26 After returning from Egypt, 01:27 His parents were settled here in Nazareth, 01:30 where He grew up learned His father's trade 01:33 and remained in obscurity until He was 30 years old. 01:37 This boy grow up to carry the title of Messiah. 01:41 A Hebrew term for anointed. 01:43 Probably more people are familiar 01:45 with the Greek version of the same title, Christ. 01:49 Well, from space the world may seem united, 01:52 down here we've divided ourselves 01:54 into different belief systems, 01:56 but the majority claim to be followers of this Jesus. 02:01 Today it is estimated that 33% of the world 02:04 has taken His Greek title 02:05 and embraced it as their moniker, Christian. 02:09 This includes Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, 02:13 Pentecostal, Anglican, Latter Day Saints, 02:15 Baptist, Evangelicals, Jehovah's Witness, Quakers, 02:18 Seventh-day Adventist and many, many others. 02:22 This 33% also includes 02:24 people who nominally take the name just to fit in 02:28 or to differentiate themselves from Muslims, 02:31 Pagans or something else. 02:33 Christianity in all its forms dominates the land mass 02:37 of the western hemisphere Europe, 02:39 Southern Africa and Australia. 02:42 Regardless of the degree of accuracy of the 33% figure 02:46 Christianity if taken as a whole is inarguably 02:49 the world's largest religion. 02:52 But religion overtime becomes culture 02:55 and culture overtime becomes tradition. 02:58 Now we're some 80 generations remove from Jesus 03:01 and this iconic figure has to many 03:04 become almost a myth. 03:07 Of the billions on this planet who claim to be Christian, 03:10 most associate themselves more closely 03:13 with the name of their particular denomination. 03:15 We draw lines between ourselves and keep on making distinctions 03:20 till we come to realize 03:21 that there are now over 38,000 different denominations, 03:26 that all claim the name of Christ. 03:29 But here's the straddling fact, they don't teach the same thing. 03:34 One says, Jesus was fully God, but only God. 03:37 Another says, He was not God, but was fully man. 03:41 Still other say, He was fully God and fully man. 03:45 One says, Saturday is the Sabbath while another says, 03:48 Sunday is the correct day to worship. 03:51 And some say, we go to heaven or hell when we die. 03:53 Others say, we rest in the grave till the resurrection. 03:57 Some say, if you accept Jesus once, 03:59 you cannot be lost, no matter what you do. 04:03 Other say, you can choose to be lost 04:05 after once choosing to be saved. 04:07 And on it goes, we argue, build walls between us, 04:11 throw names at each other like heretic or cult. 04:15 But if we've taken the name of Christ 04:17 shouldn't we be followers of Christ. 04:20 And if we are all followers of Christ, 04:22 wouldn't we believe what He taught, 04:24 wouldn't we do the things He did. 04:27 Today using just the Bible as our authority, 04:31 let's continue our journey toward Christ. 04:34 I'd like to look critically at this God man. 04:36 I'd like to know what He said, 04:39 what He taught, what He believed. 04:42 During our time together, let's not argue at all. 04:45 Let's just go to the Bible 04:47 and let the Bible interpret itself. 04:49 Let's consider the teachings of Jesus 04:51 that cause so much thunder in the holy land. 04:54 Then if we choose to believe His teachings, 04:57 let's call ourselves Christians 04:58 and accept His invitation to be part of the body of Christ. 05:02 If we choose not to believe what Jesus taught, 05:05 then let's be honest, enough to face our doubts and walk away. 06:01 Today I'd like to take you back in time to Jerusalem. 06:05 The year is perhaps 27 or 28 A.D. 06:08 and we arrive in Jerusalem 06:09 during one of the annual feast of the Jews. 06:13 Crowds of people are everywhere. 06:16 There is much activity in the streets 06:18 as vendor sell their wares. 06:26 While we can't be sure evidence suggest 06:29 that the feast in John 5 was the Passover, 06:32 as such the population of Jerusalem would have swelled 06:36 perhaps doubled with many pilgrims. 06:40 But when the Sabbath came 06:41 the atmosphere would have changed, 06:44 the hawker street vendors 06:45 would have finally fallen silent. 06:48 Much like today, people would have mingled and visited 06:51 as they strolled to the streets on Sabbath afternoon. 06:56 After some prayers at the temple 06:57 no doubt somewhat have strolled over to the Pool of Bethesda 07:00 with its five lovely carinated porches. 07:03 But on this particular Sabbath there were more than families 07:06 on a Sabbath afternoon walk around the pool. 07:09 The squatters had moved on to the porches 07:10 because many had come to believe according to verse 4 07:14 that an angel would come from time to time 07:16 and stir up the water 07:18 and whoever gone to the pool first was healed. 07:20 For years skeptics doubted John's account of this stories 07:23 and so there's no evidence for carinated pool. 07:26 But archeologists believe they've uncovered this very pool 07:29 here in the Muslim Quarter near the Sheep Gate 07:32 affirming the historical accuracy of John's account. 07:38 On this particular Sabbath, 07:40 Jesus was also walking on the porch. 07:42 "And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity 38 years. 07:46 When Jesus saw him lie, 07:48 and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, 07:50 he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 07:54 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, 07:57 when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool, 07:59 but while I am coming, 08:00 another one steppeth down before me. 08:03 Then Jesus said, Rise, take up thy bed and walk." 08:09 Now here's where the plot of this story 08:11 is gonna lead us into the teachings of Jesus. 08:13 Teachings that thunder through Jerusalem, 08:15 thunder through Israel, 08:17 shocking the people and polarizing them. 08:20 And that rumble is still heard today 08:21 as people contemplate divine things. 08:25 Indeed on this particular Sabbath, 08:28 Jesus made two mistakes 08:29 according to the Jewish leaders. 08:31 First, Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, 08:33 but perhaps even worse he told the former paralytic 08:36 to pick up his bed and carry it on the Sabbath. 08:39 The Jewish leaders were angry because 08:40 Jesus had according to their understanding 08:42 broken one of the Ten Commandments. 08:44 The fourth in fact which said, 08:46 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 08:48 In it thou shalt not do any work." 08:50 But then Jesus made them really angry. 08:52 Look at verses just 17 and 18. 08:54 "But Jesus answered them, 08:56 My Father worketh hitherto, and i work. 08:59 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, 09:02 because he not only had broken the Sabbath, 09:03 but said also that God was his Father, 09:06 making himself equal with God." 09:08 What is the thunder teaching we're looking at right now. 09:11 Jesus called God His Father and in verse 25 09:14 Jesus clearly calls Himself the Son of God. 09:17 Another time Jesus took the stunning title 09:20 was after He healed a blind man. 09:21 Since the man had been blind, 09:23 he had no idea who healed him, 09:24 but when Jesus found him in the temple he questioned him. 09:28 "Do you believe in the Son of God? 09:30 He answered and said, 09:31 Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? 09:34 And Jesus said to him, you have both seen him, 09:37 and it is he who is talking with you." 09:39 Jesus clearly says that He is a Son of God. 09:42 That is why the night time visit from Nicodemus, 09:44 a Jewish leader brought in and so. 09:47 "Rabbi, he said, we know that you are a teacher come from God, 09:50 no man can do these miracles that you are doing, 09:53 except God be with him." 09:56 If Jesus was a true teacher send from God, 09:58 then He must be what He claim to be. 10:01 If Jesus is not the Son of God, 10:03 then Jesus is not a true teacher. 10:05 Muslim tradition says that, Jesus was a good man 10:08 that He was born of a virgin, that He was a prophet, 10:11 but He was not the Son of God, He did not die on Calvary. 10:16 There is a logical impasse here, you can't have it both ways. 10:20 He is either a teacher sent from God, 10:22 a true prophet of the Most High 10:23 and the Son of God or He is a liar and a fraud. 10:27 If Jesus is a prophet of the true God, 10:29 then He must tell the truth. 10:31 Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. 10:34 Yes He did. 10:36 Five times in the Book of John, 10:37 Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of God 10:41 and others embrace that radical claim. 10:43 First there is this angel in Luke 1:35 10:47 who announces the birth of Christ. 10:49 The angel said, "He wants to be called the Son of God." 10:53 John the Baptist who announced the Jesus to be the Lamb of God 10:57 also said "This is the Son of God." 11:01 Those who lived with Jesus, ate with Him, 11:03 slept with Him, in short those who knew Him best 11:07 worshiped Jesus as the Son of God. 11:10 And the Roman centurion who presided at the crucifixion 11:13 closely observed Jesus through the shame of the trial, 11:17 through the scourging at the praetorium 11:19 and through the spectacle on Golgotha. 11:22 This centurion would not be considered 11:24 a friendly witness to the truth, 11:26 but even he declared truly this man was the Son of God. 11:31 Even the evil angels who fell from grace 11:34 knew who Jesus was. 11:36 Thou are Christ, the Son of God they cried. 11:39 Now truth be told anyone can make claims. 11:43 At any given moment there are a number 11:45 of people walking around on the planet 11:47 who are claiming to be of divine origin, 11:50 but each of us has been given the ability to think. 11:53 It is our responsibility to look for the proof 11:56 to weight the evidence. So here is proof number one. 12:01 We've actually already looked that in John 5:17, 12:04 but let's look at it again. 12:06 "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." 12:09 The key word here is work. Now look at verse 36. 12:14 As wonderful as it was for John to say, 12:16 Jesus was the Son of God. 12:18 Jesus said, "I have greater witness 12:21 than that of John, for the works 12:23 which the Father hath given me to finish, 12:26 the same works that I do, bear witness of me, 12:29 that the Father hath sent me." 12:31 Jesus claims to be sent to earth by the Father 12:34 and He directed us to look at His works 12:37 for proof of His words. 12:39 Calling a three legged horse a four legged horse 12:42 doesn't make it so and no three legged horse 12:44 has ever won a Kentucky Derby. 12:47 So the question. 12:49 Why should I believe that Jesus is the Son of God? 12:51 Answer. 12:53 Because of His miraculous work. 12:55 And what are some of His works? 12:57 Well, let's see. 13:00 He walked on water, that wasn't frozen. 13:03 He fed 5,000 people plus with one boy's lunch. 13:07 He cured people of incurable diseases and ailments. 13:10 He read people's thoughts. 13:12 He predicted the impossible and He raised the dead to life. 13:18 Can the average man do such works? 13:21 No. 13:22 These works sparkled with the homework of divinity. 13:37 Yes indeed, anyone can make claims, 13:40 but the works of Jesus are and are they worldly proof. 13:44 A divine confirmation that Jesus was indeed 13:47 who He claimed to be. 13:49 But there are still another proof 13:51 that Jesus was the Son of God. 13:54 Jesus highlighted that proof when He said, 13:57 "Search the scriptures, for in scriptures 13:59 you think ye have eternal life, but the scriptures are they 14:03 which testify talk of, or prophesy of me." 14:08 When Jesus referred to scriptures was 14:10 He referring to Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, 14:13 or was He talking about the writing of the Apostle Paul. 14:17 Jesus wasn't referring to the New Testament at all 14:19 since there was no New Testament yet. 14:22 Jesus made it clear that He believed in 14:25 and promoted the Old Testament. 14:27 Over and over and over again Jesus pointed those seeking 14:32 for truth to the Old Testament 14:34 as the words of inspiration 14:36 that would guide and sustain them. 14:39 Some folks who claim to be Christians today say, 14:41 they don't believe in the Old Testament anymore. 14:44 They suggest that somehow these Old Testament writings 14:47 have no relevance for the New Testament believer. 14:51 Well, that certainly doesn't square 14:54 with the teachings of Jesus. 14:56 One of the doctrines commands of Jesus 14:59 is to search the scriptures. 15:01 Three times in this one passage John says, 15:04 Jesus pointed people to the Old Testament, 15:07 as a worthy guide and source of truth. 15:10 Many, many years after Jesus had died was resurrected 15:14 and had gone back to heaven. 15:16 The apostles of Christ church were still teaching 15:19 the same doctrine that Jesus taught. 15:21 Look at what Paul wrote in Timothy. 15:24 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, 15:27 and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, 15:30 for correction, for instruction in righteousness." 15:34 Paul is telling Timothy, New Testament, 15:37 New dispensation believer that 15:39 the Old Testament is profitable, it is the source for doctrines, 15:43 it is the guide for correction of poor thinking and living. 15:48 It is--where we find instruction about what true righteousness is 15:53 and what did Paul say, is the reason 15:55 we should read the Old Testament. 15:58 "That the man of God may be perfect, 16:01 thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 16:04 This notion that the Old Testament 16:06 is not relevant or valid for our lives today 16:09 does not agree with the doctrines of Christ. 16:12 Neither does this teaching agree with the writings 16:15 of the apostle Peter, Norah of James. 16:18 And you certainly couldn't get that belief 16:21 from the teachings of Paul. 16:23 The Old Testament is critical 16:24 as it leads us to our second proof 16:27 that Jesus was the Son of God. 16:30 You see, delusional authors could have fabricated 16:33 this whole thing about a God man with amazing powers, 16:38 but this second proof is even better than the miracles 16:41 or the works that Jesus performed 16:44 and what could be better than miracles? Prophecy. 16:49 Indeed and prophecy is better than anything else, 16:52 because it avoids emotional bias. 16:54 Prophecy is evidential and verifiable and fulfilled 16:57 prophecy appeals to logic in electing reason. 17:01 On resurrection Sunday the emotions of Jesus disciples 17:04 fell like a tennis ball at Wimbledon. 17:06 And first they were in a complete state 17:08 of horror and dejection 17:09 from the crucifixion of their master. 17:11 Then they were seeing shocking news from the woman 17:14 that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, 17:16 they had risen from the dead. 17:18 On the road to Emmaus in somewhere 17:19 between faith and doubt, but much closer to doubt, 17:23 two of Jesus disciples where plodding toward home. 17:26 As they walked along, they sadly brooded 17:28 over the events of this dreadful Passover. 17:31 When the stranger found step with them, 17:33 the stranger asked one of them 17:35 the reason for the downcast spirit. 17:37 With sadness Cleopas told him on the news 17:39 from Jerusalem ending with. 17:41 "But we trusted that it had been him 17:44 which should have redeemed Israel. 17:47 Then Jesus said unto them. 17:49 O fools, and slow of heart to believe 17:51 all that the prophets have spoken. 17:53 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, 17:55 and to enter into his glory? 17:57 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, 18:00 he expounded unto them in all the scriptures 18:03 the things concerning himself." 18:06 Now notice two things here from the teachings of Jesus. 18:09 First Jesus says, people are fools 18:10 when they are slow in heart to believe 18:12 what the scriptures teach about prophecy. 18:15 The second thing that we shouldn't miss 18:17 is that Jesus gave them a Bible study 18:19 directly from the Old Testament. 18:21 "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, 18:24 he expounded unto them in all the scriptures 18:27 the things concerning himself." 18:29 Oh, how I would have love to been there 18:31 for that Bible study. 18:33 Unfortunately Dave wasn't there to get a good recording for us. 18:38 The good news for us is that we still have the Bible, 18:40 the same Bible with the same prophecies, 18:43 so starting with Moses and with the help of the other apostles, 18:46 we can reconstruct that very Bible study. 18:50 Indeed we can, Moses was the author of Genesis, 18:53 the first book of the Bible. 18:54 In His earliest chapter 3, we find 18:57 our first messianic prophecy, our first look at the Messiah 19:00 who would come back and redeem us all. 19:02 Adam and Eve heard God tell that serpent in the garden. 19:05 "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, 19:08 and between thy seed and her seed, 19:10 it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." 19:14 The key word in this passage is seed. 19:16 That same word seed is used by God 19:18 again some 2,000 years later and this prophecy 19:21 given to Father Abraham in Genesis 12:7. 19:24 "And the Lord appeared unto Abram and said, 19:27 Unto thy seed will I give this land, 19:29 and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, 19:32 who appeared unto him." 19:35 Who was this seed that will strike 19:37 at the head of Satan himself? 19:39 Who was the seed that would inherit 19:41 all of the land of Palestine and beyond? 19:43 Scripture must interpret scripture 19:45 and Paul's epistle to the Galatians, 19:47 he unequivocally nails down who this seed is. 19:51 "Now to Abraham and his seed were promises made. 19:54 He saith not, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one, 19:58 and to thy seed, which is Christ." 20:02 The seed is the one foretold by God Himself. 20:05 The seed was prophesied as the one 20:07 who would deliver us from sin. 20:09 The seed was name in God's last will and testament 20:12 as the inheritor of Israel. 20:14 That seed is none other than Jesus Christ. 20:18 As Moses was saying goodbye to the children of Israel 20:21 before the incident that came in he shared one more prophecy, 20:24 left us one more important detail concerning the Messiah. 20:28 "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet 20:31 from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, 20:33 like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken." 20:38 This messianic prophecy states clearly 20:40 that the messiah will be a prophet 20:43 and that he will arise from the children of Israel. 20:46 And there are more prophesies like it was verifiable evidence 20:49 that Jesus was the messiah, the anointed one, 20:53 the Emmanuel who was to come. 20:55 But first I want to give you a principle of prediction. 20:58 The more details you insert into a prediction, 21:02 the less likely it is to be fulfilled. 21:04 If you look through your Old Testament 21:06 at all the messianic passages bringing them all together 21:09 in one place there is an amazing amount detail. 21:14 For example if I told you 21:15 there will be a change in the weather tomorrow, 21:18 any change would make my prophecy come true, 21:20 but if I told you 21:22 it'll be 78.5 degrees at 6 in the morning, 21:25 I will have added two layers of details 21:27 that make fulfillment less likely. 21:30 If I said we'll have two and a half inches 21:32 of rain by 5 P.M. in this very spot 21:35 there is a smaller likelihood I'd be right. 21:38 So here are three more prophecies. 21:41 The first comes from Micah 5:2, 21:44 which predicts that the one 21:45 who is going to inherit Israel would be born in Bethlehem. 21:49 Luke 2:4, 5 and 7 tells us that Mary was with Joseph 21:53 in Bethlehem when it was time to have her child. 21:57 In Daniel 9:25 the prophet predicted the very year 22:00 the Messiah, the anointed one would come. 22:04 Then in Luke 3:21-23 22:07 we learn that Jesus was anointed right on time in A.D. 27. 22:12 And finally from Isaiah 7:14 we read this prediction. 22:16 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you assign, 22:19 behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, 22:22 and shall call his name Immanuel." 22:25 According to Matthew 1:23 Mary was indeed a virgin 22:29 and she brought forth a child, this child in Bethlehem, 22:32 the angel assured Joseph that Mary story was true. 22:37 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, 22:39 and shall bring forth a son, 22:41 and they shall call his name Emmanuel, 22:43 which being interpreted is, God with us." 22:47 Remember the more details you insert into a prediction 22:49 the less likely it is to be fulfilled. 22:52 The details in this list are amazingly specific. 22:56 He was to be a prophet, He was to be born of a virgin, 23:00 He was to be born in Bethlehem, 23:03 He was to be anointed in A.D. 27, 23:06 and perhaps most importantly the one who was to come 23:10 would not merely be a man. 23:13 He would be Emmanuel, 23:15 which being interpreted is God with us. 23:19 That's why they wanted to stone Jesus, 23:21 for He was using the same name that God used 23:24 with Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14. 23:28 "And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. 23:32 And he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, 23:35 I am hath sent me unto you." 23:39 There are so many details in these predictions. 23:43 If this was a trial the jury could convict Jesus 23:46 of being who He claimed to be. 23:49 But that did not stop Satan from trying to create doubts 23:52 in the mind of Christ. 23:54 Satan called his sonship into question. 23:58 "And the devil said unto him, if thou be the Son of God, 24:02 command this stone that it be made bread." 24:06 Jesus answered the devil with these words. 24:08 "It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, 24:12 but by every word of God." 24:15 Our only safety, our very life comes 24:18 from every word that comes from God. 24:22 And on this point God had already spoken. 24:26 Matthew 3:17 says, "And lo a voice 24:29 was heard from heaven saying. 24:30 This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 24:36 To make the stones into bread 24:38 would have been using miraculous powers 24:40 to prove something that had already been stated 24:42 by God the Father at the baptism of Jesus. 24:46 when Jesus came to this earth He came not only as Emmanuel, 24:51 God with us, but He was also fully man. 24:55 As a man He had to live by faith just as you and I 24:59 must live by faith in all the words of God, 25:02 both Old and New Testament. 25:05 So I'm confident of these two proofs, 25:08 the miracles of Jesus and the fact 25:10 that God could tell us thousands of years in advance 25:15 what would happen in the future. 25:17 Both miracles and prophecies revealed in the Bible 25:21 give me confidence and assurance 25:24 that Jesus was who He acclaimed to be, the Son of God 25:28 and yes Emmanuel, God with us. 25:33 The Jews weren't ready to listen to these truths 25:35 as taught by Jesus in fact they took up stone 25:39 to cast at him, but Jesus hid himself, 25:42 and went out of the temple, 25:44 going through the midst of them, and so passed by. 25:49 This assertion that He was God was rejected over and over again 25:53 by those who had the prophecies and even their rejection 25:57 was prophesied in Isaiah 53:3. 26:00 Today we too have a choice, will we reject Him 26:04 or accept Jesus as our Lord and our God. 27:09 Hi, my name is Andrea and I count myself so fortunate 27:13 having part of Thunder In The Holy Land. 27:15 Of course traveling all over the Middle East 27:17 was a wonderful adventure and I'll treasure 27:19 that experience for a lifetime. 27:29 But even more important than walking 27:31 where Jesus walked was digging deeper 27:34 into what Jesus taught, the teachings, 27:37 the doctrines of Jesus are truly transformational. 27:41 If you know Jesus as a personal savior and friend, 27:44 but are not quite sure how to go about sharing 27:46 your faith with others, then I'd like to recommend 27:49 Thunder In The Holy Land. 27:51 This one hour Bible study starts by watching a 30 minutes video 27:54 then you follow up with 30 minutes of guided discussion, 27:57 where everyone gets to share from the heart. 28:01 Thunder is fun to watch and a blessing to share. 28:04 Check us out at qlp.tv 28:13 Behold the fowls of the air for they sow not, 28:17 neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; 28:21 yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. 28:25 Are ye not much better than they? |
Revised 2014-12-17