€¦ · Web viewFrom Creation to Restoration. Welcome to the last lecture in this series. It’s been quite a journey. If you’ve been through all the lectures with me, I am relieved

From Creation to RestorationWelcome to the last lecture in this series. It’s been quite a journey. If you’ve been through all the lectures with me, I am relieved to be able to say that we have the opportunity to land back on the word of God. It is such a wonderful thing to have Christ in your life and to be able to say, ‘Thank you Lord for being the Rock on which we can all rely and find our comfort, peace and stability.’ Without this rock of Christ the whole of humanity would be as confused as it is and that is an indication as to why we are where we are in society. In closing off this lecture series, we’ll be discussing the topic from creation to restoration. I would like to start of with a test word from John 2:19-21.

John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

2:20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body.

Here Jesus is speaking to the Jews and they don’t understand what He is talking about. Again He has to explain things. This is how Christ is. He doesn’t get angry. He doesn’t say, ‘ah, you stupid person.’ He says, ‘no, I wasn’t speaking about the temple, I was speaking about my body.’ Today when you go to the Middle East and you have a look around, you see there is a couple of sites that they believe could possibly be Jesus’ tomb where He was laid; but this site looks like the most likely. Here it is called The Garden Tomb with a little arrow. As you walk around you’ll see there it is. This little tomb… you’ll see the front of it is completely flat, perfect for a stone to be rolled in front. Also, in front of the tomb there is a furrow in which the stone would have rolled.

John 2:22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

Jesus speaks about the temple of His body, they don’t understand but then when He was raised from the dead they said, ‘ah, of course, now I get it.’ That is often in life, the way we are as humans. We need physical confirmation, sensory stimulation to confirm what our beliefs are. Satan knows this and as you’ve seen he is using that to deceive mankind.

1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then [is] our preaching vain, and your faith [is] also vain.

15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith [is] vain; ye are yet in your sins.

15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ everything is in vain.

It says that he that denieth the Christ is the spirit of antichrist. The idea that Jesus hasn’t come out of the grave, if we don’t have the physical risen Jesus Christ as our Lord then all the preaching which I have done in these lectures, all of the preaching that have been done throughout history, everything is in vain

including that we are still in our sins because then the blood of the lamb could not have been given out to wash us clean. To everybody that have passed away or died in the last how ever long, there is no hope of resurrection. It is through the power of resurrection that our faith is based. When you look back at His tomb you see the flat front and how could have rolled the stone in front. As you go towards the door you see there it says on the door; ‘He is not here for He is risen.’ Absolutely beautiful! If you go inside, there is this image…if this is the right tomb, this where they’d have laid Jesus’ body. I enjoy looking at this picture and just wondering what is going on in the various areas of the world.

Here is a satellite photo or an image of the world at night. You can see the world’s population where the main concentrated are and you can see that there are certain effects of this on the world.

We’ve discussed how the world is being permeated full of these false doctrines. Not only the false doctrines like in false Protestantism and false prophet but also the false doctrines of Rome – the foundational issues that cause Rome to be identified as antichrist. Often in Christian Sunday churches they say, ‘the Sabbath doesn’t matter which day you go to church’. That is not true. It does matter. It matters to God. He says you do it this way, we don’t have to question why. We just know that it is the way we have to do it. Just like your child doesn’t question you when you say, ‘don’t go and play in the road or highway. It is dangerous’ and they are two or three years old. They don’t understand. They have to listen to you because you know better than they do. That is why Dr. R. W. Dale said;

"It is quite clear that however rigidly or devoutly we spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath... The Sabbath was founded on a specific divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday..." - Dr. R. W. Dale

There is no indication in scripture to observe Sunday. Today we look through the filter of Sunday being the right day and try to understand how we should then accept Sabbath or Saturday. We should be looking at Saturday and say ‘why would we accept Sunday? A filter in our society has been changed.

Sabbath is a memorial of creation. It wasn’t put in place for the Jews. It was put in place long before that – in the Garden of Eden. It was then when God set up the Sabbath. He set it up for man because He said, ‘I will look down at night and see all these lights of these bustling cities and people will be working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and there will be no rest for my people.’ He said, ‘hold on for a second. Let us make a day. Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath because if I don’t give him a day of rest, he will work and work.’ Today Saturday is seen as one of the best, biggest shopping day. It is one of the biggest business days in the world. They say, ‘If I close my business on Saturday, I will go bankrupt.’ I’d like to challenge you on that. I’d like to invite you to try it. The Lord says, put your feet into the Jordan and you’ll see the waters part. They won’t part before you put your feet into the Jordan.

Many of my friends and people that I work with and places where I speak have come from Sunday to Sabbath rest, hair dresses that have been closed down, minds that have been closed down on Saturdays, bustling shops, shopping center…they said, ‘from now on we are going to keep the Sabbath. They shut down on a Saturday and they’d lose all that business but they say, ‘what the Lord requires from us is greater to give this little business day.’ The Lord blesses their business to such an extent that they have

more business now after closing on the biggest business day than what they did before hand. We don’t understand how it works. We don’t have to understand.

Matthew 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, [from] doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words:

There is a special day that is set aside for mankind. It is a day in which we can put the clutch in and say, ‘ah! 24 hours where we can spend time with God and stop everything.’ It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to relax in the presence of the Lord. Don’t worry about all the rules. Often we think the Sabbath as many of the Jewish customs have. You are not allowed to light a candle, you can’t start your car because you can’t have a spark, and you can’t walk farther than so much on the Sabbath. Those are manmade rules that were put on the Sabbath. Those aren’t God’s rules for the Sabbath. He just says, spend 24 hours with me. Don’t buy or sell. Don’t do any trade. Everything that you’d do during the week do it on six days but then leave one day for me, just one out of the seven. It is the seventh-day. We look into the future and we see in eternity that they won’t be any murder in heaven. There won’t be any killing. There won’t be any adultery. I won’t be able to steal your stuff. There won’t be stealing. There won’t be anything like that in heaven. All of the other commandments will be kept including, ‘there will only be one God to bow down to.’ We won’t bow down to other gods or idols. The Ten Commandments are the rules that are going to be maintained in heaven throughout eternity. Why not prepare for it now?

Isaiah 66:23 And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

I’d like to invite you this next Friday evening when the sun goes down. Get down on your knees and thank the Lord for a Sabbath day. Remember in the bible it says in genesis, it was evening and it was morning the first day. It was evening and it was morning the second day. It was evening and it was morning the third day. The day with the Lord starts at evening to evening. Evening and morning is one day. So, on Friday evening when the sun goes down is the start of the day. If they day didn’t start when the sun went down the Sabbath …

[Pt. 2 of 8]

sun went down the Sabbath wouldn’t make sense. How can you start the day by being busy? If the most important day is the day of rest, you have to start it by resting. That is why Friday afternoon you speed up and get everything done and then when the sun goes down you rest, on the Sabbath day. It is wonderful. I challenge you to do this. I invite you to base your beliefs on the word of God. He is calling you back to the commandments. He is calling you back to His truth but I must also warn you; just like Angela M. said;

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music." - Angela Monet

Those who keep the Sabbath day are thought to be quite insane by those that can’t see the deception. Those who bow down on a Friday night and say, ‘Lord, thank you.’ Those who decide that the day is from evening to evening are seen as quite insane and outsiders, part of flat earth society. That is why it is your responsibility and my responsibility to share this with the world. Give other people the opportunity to find out how the Lord is calling them out of error and into truth. Remember you probably will stand pretty much alone but wherever you are there are people that are desperate and thirsting for this truth. They might not show it outwardly but the Lord asks, trust in me. Put your feet in the Jordan and the waters will open. Jesus has to restore His 6:1 ratio. For so many years 1:6 has been continuing and the whole universe is limping as half of the earth has a 1:6 ratio. He has to say, ‘stop, stop! From now on the entire universe will work again in 6:1, but He had to give Satan a period of time, 6000 years by which these 6000 years Satan could expose his true character. How much better then to give somebody enough rope to hang himself? That is the problem with Satan. That is what has been given to him. Throughout history you just look into the world today and you see famine, pestilences, illness, sickness, cancer, arthritis, all these terrible things that come from Satan and from sin. The whole universe can just look into the world and say, ‘wow, it has all take 6000 years to show the true character of Satan.’ It will come to an end, very, very soon.

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him…

Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

This is the day that will shake the foundations of the world. It will turn the mountains into liquid. If you aren’t ready for it, it will shake you to the core as well. In the bible it warns about this day that is coming when the Lord is going to come and fetch His own.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Matthew 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

It will be an amazing day. The Lord will come and every eye will see Him. Can you imagine the sky rolling up like a scroll? It will be amazing. Then the Smart Alex says, ‘but the Lord has been saying this for so long.’ You just remind them of 2 Peter 3:9;

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

This holding back so that you’ve got the opportunity to give these some DVDs to some of your friends, He is holding back so that you can share some of these truths to your colleague, to the person that sits

next to you at work, the person that is standing at the coffee bar with you, the person sitting next to you waiting for the bas. There is somebody that you can reach with these truths that nobody else can. If you don’t do it, the Lord says, ‘I will raise the stones to speak.’ He can use a donkey. Why can’t He use you? You don’t have to become a big evangelist and travel the world and do big things like Paul and say, ‘I now work for the Lord.’ No. it is the little things. It is the tiny little things. It is the nudge in the arms that says, ‘Jesus loves you.’ It is the little thing where you might say, ‘just watch this DVD. Tell me what you think. It is not the big guys that are important in the eyes of Christ. It is not Bill Gates, the Bill Clintons and the Nelson Mandela. He says;

Matthew 5:5 Blessed [are] the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

It is the little guys. Those ones will inherit the earth.

What is life everlasting going to be like? We speak about the coming of the Lord and the day which is coming but let us ask; what is heaven really like?

I’d like to invite you to sit back and just imagine. If you have to, close your eyes for a moment. Pause the DVD and as you see this just imagine what it will be like. No artist could ever accurately depict what it will be like. I remember hearing once a joke. A man had died and had gone to heaven. He was a wealthy man on earth. He had died and gone to heaven. He arrived at the pearly gate. He knocked at the gate, pressed the bursar and St. Peter came down and asked, ‘can I help you?’ He’s holding two golden bars in his arms and he said, ‘yes, I’d like to come in please. I have just passed away.’ St. Peter said, ‘but you can’t bring anything with you from earth. You’ve got to leave all your belongings behind.’ He said, ‘no. I am not going without these two golden bars. They are my fortunes from earth. St. Peter is trying to debate and argue with this guy saying, ‘you can’t bring anything to heaven’ and he is so stubborn and adamant. Eventually St. Peter picks up the phone and says, ‘Excuse me God. I have a problem here at the gate. I have a gentleman that’s died and he’s come to heaven. He’s got two brick stones and I don’t understand why he wants to bring them in; but would you please allow him in?’ We don’t know what heaven is going to be like. All we know is that it’s going to be better than the wildest imaginations. The word tells us about where heaven will be. It tells us what heaven will be like. It also tells us where its capital will be, what the people will be doing there, what the people will be like there; it even tells us where the saved will live and what the capital city will look like. The bible is full of these descriptions about heaven and God’s got the master key.

Revelation 21:1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

21:1 Also, there was no more sea.

21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

How do you adorn yourself for your husband on your wedding day? Do you just slap the collars in and walk down the aisle with the collars in and the big smudge of lipstick? No. It is a day that you prepare

and prepare. You have everything right. You plan up ahead. ‘What will my hair be like? What flowers will I carry? What will my dress be like? What shoes should I wear?’ etc. This is how a bride adorns herself for her husband. Everything must be perfect for that special day.

Here comes Jerusalem out of heaven as the bride adorns fro her husband. This is the Jerusalem that the Lord is preparing for us at the moment in heaven. Everything will be perfect on that day when it comes.

Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them embraced them...

11:16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared a city for them.

People have died with their view in the future. They will have a special place to live. I show you this image and maybe that how heaven will look like. We don’t know. There is no way that we could ever tell how it will look like but what we do know is that it will be amazing.

Acts 3:20 And than He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before

3:21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

Here the bible is speaking about the restoration of all things. What will God restore? Restore what? Did you know that in the time of Eden lions didn’t eat other animals? There was no such thing as carnival. You wouldn’t have the stench of death. If you’ve ever been to a game reserve and you’ve seen a carcass and smelt it, that is a smell of death. That won’t be there. Lions will go back to their original diet as we will. Lions, leopards, cheater, and all these animals feasting on carcass will not do it in the Garden of Eden. God will restore the creation back to what it was. When I show people where it says in the bible …

[Pt. 3 of 8]

restore the creation back to what it was. When I show people where it says in the bible that the [0:00:11] again being the way it was in Eden and lions will eat grass they say ‘What? But lions have got these fangs to rip meat.’ Not necessarily. Don’t confuse yourself. That is what science believes today. Just look for a moment and the [0:00:25]. What does a [0:00:27] eat? Have a look at its diet and then have a look at its jaw bone. What about a fruit bat? What does it eat? Just look at its diet and then look at its jaw bone. It is not carnivorous animals that are the only ones that have these teeth. Sin came into the world and the bible says that the whole creation groaning in the weight of sin. The whole of creation have to be restored. Can you imagine what it will be like? Lions won’t be these fearful creatures. Imagine my two year old daughter with the arm around the lion walking and giving it a bit of a rub on the ear and then stopping and tickling with the chin of a leopard. It will be incredible. The peace and tranquility that was in the original times will be restored.

Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

Listen to what it says about how the wild animals, these ferocious beasts will change their character.

Isaiah 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Am I saying out of my own thoughts that my daughter will be able to put the arm around a leopard or a lion? Imagine a bangle tiger, tickling with a chin of a tiger and rubbing its eyes. That is what it will be able to do. The character which is seen in the animal kingdom today comes from sin, not from God. What about arthritis? Anybody who’s been plagued with arthritis knows the pain. Someway cancer has touched you; either your wife or your husband or your child or your parents or may be a friend. Somewhere cancer has touched everyone of us. The bible speaks about the inhabitants being healed.

Isaiah 33:24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick…

35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

35:6 Then shall the lame [man] leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing

Isn’t that beautiful? All illnesses will be removed.

What about the desert places? Will there still be deserts? Let’s ask the bible.

Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

Wonderful! Even the deserts will be restored back to what they used to be. The United Nations, obviously being built on the communist manifesto of Russia have got certain things which are being initiated and forced. Even in South Africa today if I have two houses and one of them stands empty and someone moves in I cannot get rid of them. That is what it is at the moment and that is how it will become world wide. The bible says it will not be like that.

Isaiah 65:21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit [them]; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

65:22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree [are] the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

Imagine being able to walk through these beautiful city - look at that – and sit down with Timothy. Imagine being able to walk over to Paul and ask him what it was like or walk over to Moses and say, ‘Moses, tell me about your experiences.’ What about Abraham; imagine putting your arm around Abraham! It will be incredible. Most of all you will be able to walk over to Jesus and say, ‘thank you.’

John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you…

14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.

That is what it is about. Jesus is calling us home.

1 Corinthians 2:9 …Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

2:10 But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit…

This New Jerusalem is going to be incredible. Heaven will be eternal bliss, not like the satanic people say it will be a place for dumbbells and losers, it will be boring and you’ll be playing your harp all day. That is what Satan wants you to think that heaven is like. Heaven will be the best thing that you can ever imagine.

Revelation 21:11 … her light [was] like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

21:17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred [and] forty [and] four cubits, [according to] the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

Can you imagine the wall being 66 meters thick?

Revelation 21:21 And the twelve gates [were] twelve pearls…

21:12 And had a wall great and high… and names written thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

21:21 …and the street of the city [was] pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

Here they say to me, ‘you see? Transparent glass, gold like glass; please that is silly.’ Until you tell them, ‘just stop for a moment and have a look. You know the front of a big aero plane, the Boeings, they’ve got the little windows by the pilot. On those windows, they are stuck together and reinforced and there is something in the middle. It is called transparent gold. Yes, science has found today that transparent gold exists but they are unbelievably expensive. The entire street in the kingdom of heaven will be built with these stuff.

Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.

Imagine, as it was before in the Garden of Eden; God said let there be light and there was light. Was that the sun? No. The sun was made on the fourth day. What was the light then of creation up to the fourth day? Remember God created plants and all that on the third day and then He said on the fourth day, ‘I am the light of the world. I’ll give a little bit of my responsibility over to the sun. you do that for a period of time and you moon, do that. You pull all tides in the sea and you sun bake it down and make it all nice

and comfy for man to live. Here is a little bit of my responsibility for you.’ Now at the end of time there is no need for moons and suns and stars any more. In heaven it says that, ‘I am the light.’ The city does not need sun or moon because God gives it His light. The lamb is its lump.

Revelation 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

21:19 And the foundations of the wall of the city [were] garnished with all manner of precious stones…

22:1 … a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month…

22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it…

22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads.

21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

22:5 And there shall be no night there

Revelation 21:16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs.

Furlong is about a fifth of a kilometer. Those are 2400 km all together. If you divide it by four it is 600 km per side. That is a big place. Here God’s people are waiting for the day of Christ’s return. He says, here are the patients of the saints. They that keep the commandemtns of God and have the faith of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:29 And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

If you belong to Christ then you become part of Abraham’s seed. I can’t tell you how to become part of Abraham’s seed. We have to go to the bible and say, ‘please, could you tell us? What does God require for us to become part of Abraham’s seed?’

Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Historically being part of Israel or being a Jew would mean that you’d have to be circumcised as a physical representation of your allegiance to God of the Israelites. Now after the crucifixion Paul is writing to Galatians. He says, ‘please don’t get confused. Neither circumcision or uncircumcision means anything. It is not about that. What you need is a new creation.

How do we have a new creation?

1 Corinthians 7:19 Circumcision …

[Pt. 4 of 8]

1 Corinthians 7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.

Here is the link where Paul is saying to the Corinthians that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision; don’t worry about that. What now matters, what is in its place is the commandments of God. Remember there were two things – two pillars. I will get to that just now.

Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

3:29 And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

How do we become Abraham’s seed? How we become part of Christ? How do we belong to Christ? We do it through baptism. That is what it says in Galatians 3. We have to go through the rite of baptism. What is this about baptism? Why is that so important?

Matthew 28:19-20 explains about Jesus giving a decree/commandment/requirement to go out into the world. He says;

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.

Here Christ says, ‘go and teach all nations.’ The word teach is [0:01:43]. Go and make disciples of men. Go and teach. [0:01:48] has got both an outward and inward connotations to it. It means go and teach and be taught at the same time. The Holy Spirit will teach you while you go and teach. Go and teach and baptize them in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost – in the Trinity. Teach them to observe most of the things that I have said to you – all things that I have commanded you. Not most of them but all of them.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That is about baptism. This is Jesus Christ speaking. Is this baptism really an important thing? If so, what are the constructs that make it up?

Baptism is mentioned incredibly enough 80 times in the New Testament. Do you think it is an important theme? You better believe it is an important theme. It is a critical theme. Just like Christ said, unless you are born again of the water and the Spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of God. It is a critical thing. He wants us to understand this.

It says the John the Baptist was doing baptisms and I want you to have a look at the requirement for him to be able to do a baptism. Look at this;

John 3:23 And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.

Why was John the Baptist baptizing near to Salim? It is because there was much water there. The requirement for baptizing is a lot of water. That was the reason he was baptizing there.

What does baptism mean? Did you know that in Greek the word baptism is baptizo? This means to immerse/dunk/deep/put under. That is what the true word baptism means. That is why when you look at River Jordan you can see that you can deep/dunk/immerse/put under someone under the water. That is why near to Salim where John the Baptist was preaching there was much water there that he could fulfill baptizo. When you take your biscuit in your tea and baptizo it, it is putting it under neath, that is where it comes from.

Matthew 3:5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

3:6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

He was speaking about repent and be baptized. Repent of your sins. There is someone greater than me coming along and these people were coming in their droves. They were bowing down and saying, ‘please, Lord forgive me.’ They were baptized of their sins. All of a sudden, John the Baptist is busy doing what he does. He is preaching and baptizing and then says, ‘behold the Lamb of God, behold the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world!’ and he sees Jesus. Jesus comes to him and says, ‘John, baptize me’ and he says, ‘What! I am not even worthy to tie your shoe laces.’ Then Christ says to him;

Matthew 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [it to be so] now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

John said, ‘I can’t do this. I am not even worthy.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘but don’t worry. It is proper for you to do this, to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John said, ‘Ok. If that is the case then I will do it.’

Question: Did Jesus need His sins to be washed away? If I were coming for baptism and repentance, did Jesus need His sins washed away? No, He said about Satan; Satan has got nothing on me. The reason Jesus was baptized is explained in 1 John 2:6.

1 John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Jesus is our example. We should do according to Jesus. What Jesus did is what we should do.

How was Jesus baptized?

Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

What happened with Christ? It says, when He went up, out of the water, at that moment heaven was opened. This means Jesus was down in the water. That is why John was baptizing because there was much water. Jesus had to have a lot of water for His baptism because He came up out of the water meaning that He was in under. So, how was Jesus baptized? Is it by sprinkling or by immersion? Considering that Jesus is our example, let’s study further.

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

This is what the Lord says; be baptized and you’ll receive the Holy Spirit. That is how it works. You don’t need some fancy system whereby you receive it through people. If God wants to give you the power of the Holy Spirit, He will decide what He’ll give you. You don’t receive the Holy Spirit; you receive the gift of the Holy Sprit in order to fulfill your commission as an evangelist, apostle, a member of the choir or whatever it is. The Lord will give you your commission and He will give you the gift of it to fulfill it.

One of these people that was battling with this idea of Jesus Christ, the idea of who fulfills all these texts was a eunuch. A eunuch is like a treasurer, a minister of finance for queen Candace – probably a black man, a Jewish man because he came to Jerusalem to worship. Here is a man sitting on a chariot, studying the book of Isaiah. Philip comes to him and starts to explain certain things to him; but just notice for a moment. He came to Jerusalem to worship. This man is a Jew. Do Jews have the Ten Commandments? Yes they do. He’s got the one pillar. What is he lacking? Here are they that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus Christ. So, he’s got the commandments, he is lacking the faith of Jesus Christ, the testimony of Jesus Christ. He is studying Isaiah.

Acts 8:26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

8:28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Isaiah the prophet.

8:30 And Philip ran thither to [him], and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

8:31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

8:32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

8:33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

[Pt. 5 of 8]

8:34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

Isn’t this beautiful? Here the man is studying Isaiah. He’s got the scriptures in his hands and he doesn’t understand. He is battling with it. The Holy Spirit comes to Philip and says to him, arise, go and meet with this man. There is somebody battling. Philip goes there and runs up to the chariot and he says, ‘do you know what you are reading?’ The Eunuch answers, ‘how can I unless somebody shows me? I am reading about a man that gives Himself. It is like a lamb taken to a slaughter.’ This is a prophecy about Jesus Christ. He says, ‘who is this Isaiah? Who is he speaking about? Is he speaking about himself or some other man?’ Philip began at the same scripture and preached to this Eunuch about Jesus. Notice something. This is very important: The chiastic style of writing. We’ve explained this in lecture number two. The chiastic style of writing means it is a certain format to the writing style of that day. Here you’ve got a question-answer, question-answer.

Question:

Acts 8:30 …Understandest thou what thou readest?

Answer

Acts 8:31 … How can I…

Question:

8:34 …of whom speaketh the prophet this?...

Answer

8:35 Then Philip…reached unto him Jesus.

Acts 8:36 asked the question;

Acts 8:36 And as they went on [their] way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, [here is] water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

If you have the NIV bible or any other modern translation, please read it to me. If you have done this exercise you’ll see it is not there. You have question-answer, question-answer, question-no answer. The key verse regarding baptism has been removed from all the new translations. Do you want to find out what it says? Find the King James Version or the New King James Version and put it next to your new translations and you’ll see what it says. Amazingly enough it is the key verse of salvation. Acts 8:37 is like a litmus test that you can do on the new bible or any bible to see whether it is in line or not. Remember the Eunuch have just said to Philip, ‘what’s stopping me from being baptized?’ here is a big puddle of water or a dam/pool/river, what is stopping me from being baptized?

Philip says;

Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

8:38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still…

What is the requirement for baptism according to this story? You have to be able to acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal savior. The reason this has been removed from the new bibles is so that we cannot prove adult baptism. With this text in place, you have to be cognitive and of a sound mind to make a solid decision about your baptism. An infant cannot make that decision. The parents have to make that decision on its behalf; but this one verse of salvation among many others, says, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. You may be baptized into the water.

Acts 8:38 … and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

They went down into the water, so, it must have been a river or something and he was baptized by immersion the same way as Jesus Christ.

What was it like? Jesus was baptized by immersion, during Philip’s time the Eunuch was baptized by immersion, what was it like after Christ, 100 AD etc? The only way to find out is to go and physically look at photographs of what the baptism of [0:04:29] looked like at the time.

Here is a photograph from the Byzantine Church. You can see the cross on the back of the sort of low flat pillars and in the middle in front of you is a baptizimal font – a place where they would have water in filled up so that you could have baptism by immersion. You can see; you climb down on the one side, you go and stand in the middle, the minister would have stood in the middle with you, lower you into the water, up and up the stairs again.

What about this one? This is a baptism font on the desert – same thing. Here is from the first century church in Philippi. This is from between arrival of Christ to 100 AD, the 1 st century, baptism fonts. Even in

Capodicea, Turkey, the hidden city of some Christians in the Middle Ages. If you go inside there, you'll see there where the water running and a huge baptism font by immersion.

in Jerasj in Jordan you can see the baptism font. John's Basilica in North Africa, the same thing is there. Even in the holy land; look at that beautiful baptismal font. On the top of mount Nebo where Moses died, you've got a baptismal font. Can you see on this image where there is a little one? There is no much water on top of a mountain in a middle of a desert; but even here these Christians realized the requirement for baptism as a cognitive decision and then you had to go under water. You had to stop breathing. I’ll get to that just now as to why.

Here is even the baptismal font from Ephesus. This is where Paul, John and others must have baptized Christians. Can you imagine standing in that? That is where Paul must have baptized Christians.

Here is another one on Kumran – another baptismal font. Even on top of Masada there is a baptismal font. Here is another one on top of Masada.

The question is; if archeology doesn’t speak about infant baptism, and the bible doesn’t speak about infant baptism, then where does this idea of infant baptism come from? You probably guessed it.

We’ve got to go back to the finger. You’ve got to go back to the Roman Catholic system.

"Why do the Protestants take the scriptures to be inspired? Why do they honor the first day in stead of the seventh? Why do they baptize children? Against their principles, they have to look outside the bible... because it was guaranteed by the godly, infallible witness of the Roman Catholic Church." - The Question Box

Infant baptism comes from around the 6th century AD. Janush who was the head with two heads; he could look this way and that, he was the god of re-incarnation or sun-god. He was born twice with holy water. Holy water used for baptism was made by plunging a torch from the alter into the water and thereby made that water holy water. In other words it received the blessing of this sun-god. It was the symbol of sun entering the watery womb, with the sun going down at night setting into the sea. This was a sun-god entering the watery womb and so this holy water would be used and that would then be sprinkled over the child or infused over the head of the child. This comes from Janush and from Catholicism, from pagans, not from Christianity.

The following curse was pronounced on R.C Church defectors; 'May the Son who suffered for us curse him! May they Holy Spirit who suffered for us in baptism curse him!' 'Let him be accursed who says adults must be baptized." - History of Romanism, p. 510

"For several centuries after the establishment of Christianity, baptism was conferred by immersion, but since the twelfth century the practice of baptizing by infusion has prevailed in the Catholic Church, as this manner is attended with less inconvenience than Baptism by immersion." - James Cardinal Gibbon, The Faith of our Fathers

Less inconvenience! I beg you a pardon. Do you think Christ could say, ‘please don’t nail me to the cross, I don’t feel like having that inconvenience? Don’t wheep me because it might be slightly inconvenient. Here where we are, all we have to do is just go into the water. We say, ‘no. we would like to have less inconvenience.’ This is disgusting.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Question: If you’ve ever been around a pregnant lady whose water breaks, how much water is there? A tea spoon? There is a lot of water. So, when man has to be born again you need a lot of water. It has got to do with the birthing process. It has to do with the realization of coming out of water. Why?

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off …

[Pt. 6 of 8]

2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Here is the text which I say it is for you and your whole family. It says, repent and be baptized, you’ll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is for you and for your whole family. There it approves infant baptism. Hold on a second. Just read it carefully. What is for you and your whole family? Do you notice it says in verse 39?

Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off

What promise is this? It can’t be the promise of baptism because baptism is your indication that you are submitting to God. God says, ‘if you do this, if you go through this submission to me, I promise to give you the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ The promise is referring to the Holy Spirit, not to baptism.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.

If it was about baptism it couldn’t be for all who are a far off. The promise here is about if you make a decision in your family to be baptized. The blessing which the Lord is going to give you is to receive, by not only you but the rest of your family as well. When the apostles were speaking to the early church it wasn’t even considered that children would be baptized. The idea of adult baptism was obvious because you had to make a decision. ‘I believe that Jesus christ is the Son of God.’ So, this idea of ‘this is the promise for you and your children’, is a misconception. We are looking at infant baptism trying to figure out, whether it can be adult baptism. What they are saying here is, ‘don’t even think about children

being baptized. It obviously can’t be. Understand that when you are baptized the gift of the Holy Spirit will be poured upon you and your whole family; even those who are a far off, just people that are associated to you.

"It was not until the council of Ravenna in 1311 A.D. that sprinkling and pouring were officially accepted as equally valid as immersion in the rite of baptism.

It was on at 1300 years after Christ that the Catholic Church said, ‘maybe they are equal. Let’s make them equal. Throw away what God wants and now we’ll start the tradition. It is not scripture, scripture, tradition or both. Let’s throw the scripture away, now we have tradition supporting the beliefs of the Catholic Church as we saw in that video clip that I showed you in lecture number 7 – Unity towards the East. This is where the problem comes in of the Catholic church where they throw certain principles away which God says, ‘unless you do this, that is the requirement. Please fall in line.’ Today it is claimed that infant baptism brings an infant into the fold of God. The problem with this is that the new covenant is said to cover the whole family and that this brings the child into the fold of God. However baptism comes as a consequence of accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior. It doesn’t come as a pre-requisite. It comes as a consequence. When you that Jesus Christ is your personal savior, when you grow up and you live in a house where your parents have brought you up and you accept Christ at a certain age when it is ready for you, ‘I now believe that Jesus Christ is my savior’, then you’ve made your cognitive decision. You can then be baptized also. Only when we understand and realize that we are sinners and we are living in the transgression of God’s law and we accept the only way to be saved is through Jesus Christ, only once we realize this, then and only then can we be baptized. An infant can’t make this decision. It cannot accept Jesus Christ as its savior. It cannot realize that it is in sin. It cannot cognitively make these decisions yet; but when you have cognitive ability to decide for or against sin, it is at that point that you receive the right to be able to be baptized. It is only God that knows. That is the amazing thing. That is why baptism is so true. God knows when you are old enough to make that decision. You and I don’t know. You parents don’t know. Your child has to know. When they are ready they will make their own decisions. To some people it is when they are 21 and others is when they are 13.

Paul is writing to Corinthians. Just remember that they are looking at baptism. They are not even considering children to be baptized. That is something that we now use as a filter.

1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and he unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; else were you children unclean; but now are they holy

Speaking about sanctification through the Holy Spirit he says; ‘let me try and explain this to you.’ He says to the Corinthians. ‘if one person receives this, then the blessing is imputed to the rest of the family as well. So, if the husband is unsanctified, say the husband is unbelieving, then that unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife. So, the blessing is passed on even to unbelievers. The unbelieving wife received the blessings from the believing husband. If that wasn’t true, then your children would still remain unclean; but now they are clean. Obviously they can’t be baptized. You are the one that have to make a decision to be baptized.’ This is what he is saying. You have to make the decision to be baptized.

Understand that this blessing is poured down on to your children; otherwise, if it weren’t so, they would be clean. If the believing wife couldn’t sanctify the unbelieving husband and vise versa, your children would remain unclean because they cannot be baptized. They cannot make the decision. It is explained again and again through the bible.

Acts 16:31 And they said, Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

You make the decision as the head of the family, even if it is the wife making the decision on behalf of her home to accept Jesus Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your house. Does that mean that the children were baptized? No. It means that the promise will be given to you of the pouring of the Holy Spirit, to you, your family and even those that are a far off. So, the Lord remains constant through His truth, right throughout the bible. There is no indication of infant baptism any where in the word.

Here is an image of an infant font at the Vatican. You can see it was bigger and then they closed up the top to make it smaller. Today they use infusion or sprinkling.

Question: How many types of baptism are there in the world today?

Some Baptism

- By immersion

- Infant by sprinkling

- Infant by infusion

- Infant with crosses on the forehead

- No baptism/spiritual baptism

- Some say there are 2 baptism - water and spirit

- By dunking once

- By dunking 3 times

- By dunking 7 times

How many types of baptism are there today? I just listed a couple. They are even more than these. Does it say anywhere in the bible that Jesus was dunked 7 times? No. it says, He came up out of the water. That is why Ephesians 4:5 says;

Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

How many baptism? One baptism! This is the calling into the church of God. What does baptism symbolize? Let’s ask the Lord Himself.

Romans 6:3-4 ...Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

What does baptism symbolize? It symbolizes the death and the resurrection.

1 Peter 3:21 ... and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also - not by the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Baptism is a symbolic representation of the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today Christianity says, ‘no. we don’t adult baptism. We want infant baptism and we’ll remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ by celebrating the first day.’ That is not biblical. Biblical truth is that you celebrate the Sabbath day and that is regarding the day of rest for the Lord. Baptism is the way that you symbolize and remember the death, burial and the resurrection of Christ. Each one of us has to be buried. Paul said in his writings, ‘I die daily, the death of the old Adam. I am dead to the world but I am alive in Christ, going through a spiritual recognition and re-emphasizing of this burial and baptism …

[Pt. 7 of 8]

in Christ, going through a spiritual recognition and re-emphasizing of this burial and baptism that He did when he died off his old Adam. That is why we have to go in underneath the water, be baptized – baptizo, to immerse. You have to be dead. It symbolized death to our sinful way of life. It is the only way you can be buried. It would be terrible if you were buried alive. You have to be dead in order to be buried. That’s why when you go in under the water you stop breathing.

Death to our own sinful way of life Burial of our sins in the watery grave A resurrection into a new life of Christ

That is re-birth. It is like when the water breaks on a woman and the baby comes out and the it takes it first breath of life. That is exactly the point when we are going through this whole baptism experience. You die off the old Adam, you get buried in Christ and you come out as a new individual and take in a new breath of life. It is the resurrection inside Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.

Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

I am crucified with Christ. I die daily, Paul says. Baptism commemorates Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. It symbolized the death and the burial of the old man of sin. It represents the resurrection into a new life, a sinless life underneath the grace of Jesus Christ and it indicates the washing away of sin.

Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.

Acts 2:37-38 ...Brothers, what shall we do? Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ...

Make a decision for Jesus Christ. Repent of your sin. Accept Him as your savior and then you maybe baptized.

Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Today the Smart Elix, the skeptic says, you can’t baptize 3000 souls in a day. Have a look at this graphic. This is like a helicopter photograph of one of the baptism ceremonies in the Jordan River. Does it look possible that you might do it if this is happening at one time, in a space of a day? If the people are there and they want to make a decision, and they can cognitively make a decision for Christ, then you may be baptized. You die, you stop breathing, you get buried and come back into a new life through Jesus Christ. That is what true baptism is, not an infant baptism where the infant doesn’t have a clue of what is going on. Remember they said that is with more convenience. There is less inconvenience through sprinkling water. Have a look at these people that are going into the water.

What about this lady here in a beautiful garden? Does this look convenient to you? These are blocks of ice floating on top of the water. The thing is, if you have ever got to the point of making a decision for Christ, nothing will get in your way. If you have to go and be baptized in a frozen lake, it will be the least of your worries. It won’t be too inconvenient. It doesn’t even matter. If that is what Christ wants you to do, then that is what you do. It is a wonderful experience.

Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:9 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; [but] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Does baptism mean that I am becoming part of Christ’s church? Yes, it does. Here is a call to come out and be separate.

Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

Not these thousands and thousands of faiths. If you go according to the word, there will be one Lord, one faith and one baptism.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

There is unity but there is unity in truth, not unity in error.

John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherded.

Acts 2:47 ... And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

We add into the church daily the number of people that are baptized.

Is re-baptism called for? This is the question. When I started to realize that I needed to consider baptism it was quite a difficult thing until I read this text from Acts 19:1-5. Is re-baptism called for? If there is something that you feel is somehow lacking from your first baptism or previous baptism read this text and hear what it says;

Acts 191 ... Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus; and finding certain disciples,

19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

19:3 And he said unto them, unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, unto John's baptism.

19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

These people, having gone through a process of baptism realized when they realized that there was more truth available, there was something lacking from their previous baptism and then they were re-baptized. Is re-baptism called for? Yes, if you believe that there is something lacking from your baptism, then re-baptism is called for. Some people say, but I want to do this on my own. I want to do this outside of the church. People are being baptized in small groups. God doesn’t ever work outside His church. He always works through His church, even when He called Paul. When Saul was going on the road and He stopped him making him blind what happened?

Acts 9:6 And he [Saul] trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

God always works through His church, never in separation. He never undermines the authority of the system that He has put in place. He will always fall in line. If His church wasn’t true, could He have given Paul this commission directly there? Absolutely! He told Paul, go into the city. They will tell you. I submit

to their authority. Once they have received the information from me, you must submit to their authority as I have given them the information – just the way we acknowledge that there is a church and it is God’s true church.

Constructs of the Last Remnant Church

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus

This is a hard teaching they say. I can’t accept these teachings. It is too hard for me. You won’t be the first one that said that. I pray that you accept these teachings, but it is a very hard teaching and it comes the same through times. It never changes.

John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, will ye also go away?

6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou has the words of eternal life.

Sometimes this is a very hard teaching and you’ve got to make some decisions. Unfortunately there will be people that say, ‘I can’t do it’ and there will be people that say, ‘I can.’ There are also those that say, ‘but I don’t understand everything yet. I can’t understand everything.’ Don’t worry. Just ask the Lord with the power of the Holy Spirit to open this truth to you. It says in the bible that He will do that.

[Pt. 8 of 8]

open this truth to you. It says in the bible that He will do that.

Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first glimpse of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

Psalm 112:4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness

Those that are searching truly for the truth, the light will be given to you as and when you need it. The Lord will give you more and more insight. If you don’t understand everything, don’t worry. ‘But my minister disagrees. My pastor disagrees. He calls the Seventh-day Adventist church a cult. He says that you are a sect and that you are doing all the weird things.’ Just check if it is biblical. That is the fact thing. Is there anything that we are doing that is not biblical? Make sure; if there isn’t you don’t have to come. that is why I am here. I don’t want to be a Seventh-day Adventist. There is no where else to go. I love this place because I have realized that it is the most habitable place for people in the world. That is exactly what Satan hates most. That is the place that the Lord can protect us. It is incredible to think that over and over I get people that come to me at these seminars and they say, ‘my pastor has made me promise to not come to these lectures.’ And I say, ‘why? Have you heard anything that is unbiblical?’ she

says, ‘no, but my pastor says this and that.’ I say to them, ‘just ask your pastor, what does the bible say?’ that is all you have to ask. We are not up for bible bashing up against anybody. We just want the truth and that your minister or pastor doesn’t agree with this is not surprising. This also comes throughout history.

John 7:32, 46-47 ... The chief priests sent officers to arrest him... No one ever spoke like this man. You mean he has deceived you also?... Has any of the rulers of the Pharisees believed in him?

This is a common thing here; even during Jesus Christ’s time the people were upset that He was now preaching the word and that He was preaching such truth. Nobody ever preached like this man. Have you also been deceived into believing the Sabbath stuff?

Division

Matthew 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

10:36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

God knows that this will cause division because Satan is busy unifying the world in error. You step out of that and say, ‘I am sorry, I can’t be part of it.’ Not because it is not biblical what you are going through, but because you can’t have part in error. The Lord says, ‘you make a decision even if it has to cause division in your family. If you have to stand up against your father, mother, son, daughter, husband or wife, it might even cause splits in families. I haven’t come to bring unity, I have come to bring a sword to separate and then bring unity in truth not unity in error.

Matthew 10:38 And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me.

This is hard. If you don’t take your cross and follow me, Jesus says, you are not worthy of me. I know what your circumstances are. Other people say, ‘I am not ready yet.’

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

That is what the Lord says. I am not ready yet, the world says. Rely on Christ. He will help you get there.

Luke 19:9 Today salvation has come unto this house because He also is a son of Abraham.

I am too young, I am too old, I am too fat, I am too thin, I am too tall, I am too short; there is always an excuse. The Lord knows your circumstances but He is calling you to be part of His remnant. If it is like this young boy here being baptized, or if it is like this old lady here who is in her 90s being baptized, you

are never too old or too young. If you make a decision for Christ to die and be buried, and stop breathing and come out through the resurrection of Christ, that is what you have been asked for.

Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

I want to give you some images. This is the reward. These images have been taken here in the world. Can you imagine what it will be like in heaven? Look at this bridge. Imagine walking across this bridge and speaking to Abraham. What about sitting on this bench and speaking to Paul? It will be incredible. There are some troubling times ahead for the people that stand on the word and the word alone, but the Lord knows our circumstances and He will be with us. He is asking you today. Will you listen to His call?

Thank you.