The 1569 Inquisition: Be Diligent

The lesson for us today is TO BEWARE that you do not forget the LORD your God BY NOT obeying His voice

Fred R. Coulter—June 2, 2018

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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services! Here we are, just right about a little past the beginning of summer, and in three weeks, we're going to start moving toward winter again.

Matt. 10 is really quite an interesting chapter; it covers a lot. Then I'm going to read to you something very astounding. As I mentioned, we're going to have at Blanchard, Idaho—that's going to be way up north in Idaho—the Feast of Tabernacles. So, if you want to get away to a real nice place, go there.

We're going to have John Gunther come down and give three-hour and half seminars of the Church from 100A.D. to 1600A.D. John is a descendant of those who were the Waldensians. His ancestors moved from there over to Lithuania and then from there over to Canada. Then he lived in the United States for a while. He works for the Canadian government. He's been doing a lot of research concerning the Church at that time. I'm going to read a little bit of that to you, so I want you think: How tough a time am I having?

The disciples were sent out on this special trip. How much of this have you experienced yourself?:

Matthew 10:16: "Behold, I am sending you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and you shall also be brought before governors and kings for My sake, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles" (vs 16-18).

Have any of us been through that? No! Paul was, and a lot of others were; Stephen was, remember, they stoned him.

Verse 19: "Now, when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you should speak; for in that hour it shall be given to you what you shall speak."

I'm going to give you an example of this. I want you to see how much it sounds like exactly that you hear in church today. Especially, go to churchathome.org and I did two series on Orthodox Christianity: go to What is Happening in Orthodox Christianity?, because that shows an update on amalgamation of all the religions. Then the one that was before that was How Credible is the Bible where I cover the prophecies.

Think of this for a minute concerning prophecies. Prophecies in Daniel start out with the time of Nebuchadnezzar and go clear forward to the return of Christ. All the way through there have been fulfillments that can be looked at, which can verify that what was said was true.

Now here's another aspect of it laid in with this. In the Bible we get some here/some there, some in the Old Testament, some in the New Testament.

Verse 20: "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaks in you. Then brother will deliver up brother to death; and the father, the child; and children will rise up against their parents and have them put to death…. [that has already happened in a big way] …And you shall be hated by all for My name's sake…" (vs 20-22). We endure a little bit of persecution once in a while. Are we hated? Not yet!

"…but the one who endures to the end, that one shall be saved" (v 22). Which tells us the experience that they would go through would be severe enough that they might change their minds and not endure to the end.

Verse 23: "But when they persecute you in this city, escape into another… [none of us have done that] …for truly I say to you, in no way shall you have completed witnessing to the cities of Israel until the Son of man has come."

There's a prophecy to the return of Christ. Where are the cities of Israel? Think about where they are today. I also want you to contemplate again what we've discussed in the past, how that in the United States is the only place in the world where there's enough freedom to preach the Gospel to the world, the only place!

We haven't received much persecution from the outside in an overt way, but we have from different Churches of God. They've been as unfriendly as can be, making it difficult for brethren. We have a part of it, but not exactly like they went through, as we'll see here in just a bit. A lovely young lady who works in the hospital up here in Hollister, has experienced that it's more and more difficult to get a job with keeping the Sabbath.

Also, we're seeing on the rise more atheists, more haters of God, more haters of those who are against the socialist, satanic way of the society, with homosexual marriage and all of the things that go with that. It's been building.

So, this takes it clear down "…until the Son of man has come" (v 23). That tells us if you have for a while no persecution, take advantage of it. Do what you need to do and serve God with all your might even more.

Verse 24: "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master." What did Jesus go through? Think of what He went through!

Verse 25: "It is sufficient for the disciple that he become as his teacher… [When will that happen? At the resurrection!] …and the servant as his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call those of his household?"

Then He makes this statement. This is very interesting and this is an unfolding prophecy that is taking place:

Verse 26: "Therefore, do not fear them because there is nothing covered that shall not be uncovered, and nothing hidden that shall not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but do not have power to destroy the life; rather, fear Him Who has the power to destroy bothlife and body in Gehenna" (vs 27-28).

Sidebar: The word life in the Faithful Version Bible comes from the word 'psuche.' That is also translated soul. For all of those who believe in the immortality of the soul, if it says soul, like it does in the King James Version, how can it be immortal, if it can be killed by God? They don't think of that! However, 'psuche' is translated life more than it is translated soul. How many people know that? That's why it's good to study the language!

All of these things are going to take place. I hope that you all have seen the DVD of Israel of the Alps (produced by the Seventh Day Adventists). If you don't have it, we'll get it to you. Isn't it interesting that the Seventh Day Adventists trace their beginning back to the Christians who went to the mountains of Northern Italy? That's Southern France and part of Switzerland combined!

Revelation 2:18: "And to the angel of the Church in Thyatira write: 'These things says the Son of God, He Who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like fine brass. I know your works, and love, and service, and faith, and your endurance, and your works…'" (vs 1-2).

If you run across someone who says by faith only. Say, 'Really? Could you explain this Scripture to me?':

Verse 19: "I know your works, and love, and service, and faith, and your endurance, and your works; and the last are more than the first. But I have a few things against you, because you allow the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants into committing fornication and eating things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her fornication, but she did not repent" (vs 19-21).

That was through the Council of Trent, which lasted decades, pretty close to 50 or more years. They were arguing back and forth about what to do with the Protestants. We're going to see that the Protestants in that area came out of the Churches of God. At the Council of Trent, there was the whole group of those Catholics who wanted to go 'solo scriptura': Scripture only. But when the Protestants failed, especially Luther—who can be almost wholly responsible for this—who did not begin to observe the Sabbath.

To show you how God works, I read the whole book concerning Carlstadt. Carlstadt was an advisor to Luther. He kept the Sabbath, and he kept saying to Luther, 'You must keep the Sabbath. If you're going to go by the Scriptures and Scriptures alone, you must keep the Sabbath.'

I'm sure Carlstadt told Luther about Mark 2 where Jesus said, 'The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.' But Luther failed to do it. The fatal mistake that Luther made was when the farmers rebelled and he sided with the Catholics to fight against them.

Verse 22: "Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their works." Who commits adultery and fornication? Babylon the Great!

Verse 23: "And I will kill her children with death…" Does that sounds like the second death? If you kill someone, are they dead? But if you kill them with death, can you kill them without death? No!

"…and all the churches… [down through all time] …shall know that I am He Who searches the reins and hearts… [God knows] …and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to you I say, and to the rest who are in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will not cast upon you any other burden, but hold fast what you have until I come. And to the one who overcomes and keeps My works unto the end…" (vs 23-26)—remember that.

All of the works of Jesus were works of faith! To do the works of God takes faith.

• Doesn't take any faith to keep Sunday.
• Doesn't take any faith to reject the commandments of God.

It takes faith to do it!

Here's what John Gunther sent me. The Catholics always did things by the book. The 'religious' never killed those of the true Church of God—Waldensians, and so forth—themselves. What they did, they used the legal procedure. They come before the legal authorities and try them for heresy. Then the legal authorities carry out the execution.

What they did, they had scribes take down every word so they would have a record of it. For them this was a record to show that you ought to stay with the Catholic Church and not follow these renegades out here, these so-called ones who believe in the Bible.

DISPUTATION BETWEEN JACOB DE KEERSGIETER AND MR. FRIAR CORNELIS, A FRANCISCAN MONK; IN THE PRESENCE OF MR. JAN VAN DAMME, RE CORDER, AND MR. MICHIEL HOUWAERT, CLERK OF THE CRIMINAL COURT, ON THE 9TH OF MAY, A. D. 1569
(www.homecomers.org/mirror/martyrs113.htm)

They were bloody right up until the very late time. Here's the following disputation. They ended up burning him at the stake, afterwards. This whole thing is his whole disputation. I'm not going to go through the whole thing.

Friar Cornelius: Well, I've come here to see whether I can convert you (Jacob, I believe, is your name) from your false and evil belief, in which you are erring…

They look at all Protestants and all of those who follow the Bible as being in error.

…and whether I cannot bring you back to the Catholic faith of our mother, the holy Roman church, from which you have apostatized to this damnable Anabaptism….

Anabaptist means baptize again, because your infant baptism as a Catholic is not valid.

What do you say to this, eh?

Jacob: With your permission, as regards that I have an evil, false belief, this I deny; but that through the grace of God I have apostatized from your Babylonian mother, the Roman church, to the members, or the true church, of Christ this I confess...

They knew they were the true Church! The way he answers every one of these questions, shows that that is fulfillment of what we read in Matt. 10 about 'I will give you a mouth to speak.' This is fantastic!

…and thank God for it, who has said, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Rev. 18:4; Isa. 52:11.

Jonathan will verify that we just did two churchofgod.org, Come Out of Her My People. Same message! Was this just between them? No! I'm sure there were a lot of others there because the Catholics made everybody come and listen to it. This went on for hours. This is something! This is the whole thing about this one inquisition.

Fr. Corn: Is it true? And do you call our mother the holy Roman church, the whore of Babylon? And do you call your hellish, devilish sect of Ana-…

That's referring to Anabaptists!. So, here's the following disputation. They took him out and burned him alive, 1569A.D.

…Are the Anabaptists of the true Church of Christ? Eh I hear this fine fellow once. …Who the devil has taught you this? your accursed Menno Simons, I suppose…

Jacob: With your permission, you talk very wickedly. It was not necessary that Menno Simons should have taught us as something new, that the Babylonian whore signifies your mother, the Roman church, since John teaches us enough concerning this in his Apocalypse, or Revelation, in the 14th, 16th, 17th, and 18th chapters.

Remember, the Catholic Bible did not have the book of Revelation in it. They later since put it in there.

Fr. Corn: Ah bah! what do you understand about St. John's Apocalypse? at what university did you study? At the loom…

because he was a weaver and a candle maker

…I suppose; for I understand that you were nothing but a poor weaver and chandler, before you went around preaching and rebaptizing out here in the Gruthuysbosch. I have attended the university at Louvain, and studied divinity so long, and yet I do not understand anything at all about St. John's Apocalypse; this is a fact.

Jacob: Therefore Christ thanked His heavenly Father, that He had revealed and made it known to babes, and hid it from the wise of this world, as is written, Matt. 11:25.
Did he know his Bible? Who gives understanding of the Bible? God does! Interesting, the Friar said he knew nothing about Revelation.

Fr. Corn: Exactly; God has revealed it to the weavers at the loom, to the cobblers on their bench, and to bellows-menders, lantern-tinkers, scissorsgrinders, broom makers, thatchers, and all sorts of riff-raff, and poor, filthy, and lousy beggars. And to us ecclesiastics who have studied from our youth, night and day, He has concealed it…

true, He has

…Just see how we are tormented. You Anabaptists are certainly fine fellows to understand the holy Scriptures; for before you are rebaptized, you can't tell A from B, but as soon as you are baptized, you can read and write. If the devil and his mother have not a hand in this, I do not understand any thing about you people.

Jacob: I can well hear that you do not understand our way of doing; for you ascribe to Satan the grace which God grants our simple converts, when we with all diligence teach them to read.

In the Worldwide Church of God in San Jose, they had a lot of wealthy and highly educated people who attended the Church there. When all the upset came, the highly educated left and went back into the world. Very interesting observation!

Fr. Corn: See here once; these heretics presume to have the grace of God, and regard our mother, the holy Catholic Roman church as the whore of Babylon-is this not a fine grace of God? Ah, bah! you have the grace of the very devil of hell. What shall I say in regard to this? If you regard our mother, the holy Catholic Roman church as the whore of Babylon, I can well imagine what you consider our holy father the pope, the vicar of God. Let us hear once.

So, he answers him:

Jacob: I consider the pope the vicar of God; for he occupies the place of God, as Paul writes concerning him, in the second chapter of his second epistle to the Thessalonians, "Let no man deceive you by any means…

This was translated from the French. All those records are there. Very interesting! As Jesus said, 'There's nothing hidden that shall not be revealed, nor any secret that is not going to be shouted from the housetops.' This is part of it.

I think it's very, very good, for those of us in the Church of God today to understand what our brethren in the past had to go through, lest we have too many pity-parties, because we're all so emotionally involved in the stupidity of the things we are going through, that we lose the focus we need to understand the Word of God and why these things are. Let's see what he says:

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first…

Little did he realize that the fulfillment of that is going to be all the religions of the world coming together.

…and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?"

What an answer! Can you imagine what will happen with some of these politically-correct people if they get put into a position like this.

Fr. Corn.: Hush, hush, you have preached enough; here you are not in the Gruthuysbosch, nor do I sit down to hear you preach. Bah I you accursed Anabaptist, would you apply the prophecy of St. Paul to our holy father the pope? "Hear this accursed heretic…

he's speaking to the audience out there

…once; how he understands St. Paul. Bah I St. Paul thereby means the antichrist; that he does.

Jacob: I too believe that Paul thereby means antichrist. But does not the pope of Rome do the very works of antichrist? Does he not command you, that you are not to marry? Does he not command you to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe? as Paul writes in the fourth chapter of his first epistle to Timothy.

Fr. Corn.: The devil sits in your cheeks…

What I want you to do when you listen to the news and go on some of the fake news, how they come against Trump, the same way that was here. I'll read just a little bit more but this is quite amazing!

Here's a man, obviously having the Spirit of God, obviously knowing the Bible from one end to another, a weaver and a candle-maker, more than the friar. It's amazing how lucid his answers were knowing that he was going to be killed after he was done. Here is something that is absolutely fantastic to know. God is the same, as it says of Christ, yesterday, today and forever! God is the One Who inspires us to understand His Word! If we have the Spirit of God, we'll understand His Word.

What does this say of the friar? He says, 'I understand nothing.' That tells you he doesn't have the Spirit of God. He's having the Truth blasted gently in his face. Quite a thing!

Consider this: How many times have you been in Church, and afterwards you're around talking… I know some people ask this question deliberately so they can find out how people are listening. They say, 'How did you like the sermon?' Oh, it was great. 'What did he say?' I can't remember.

…the devil and his mother play with your ugly mouth, that you know how to twist all the holy Scriptures according to your heretical notions, and to turn them on your thumb. But just wait, I shall show you very well; that our holy father the pope is the vicar of God, for did not Christ say to St. Peter; "Feed my sheep"; and that upon him he would build his church? And did he not also give St. Peter the keys of heaven, and all priestly authority, to loose from sin, and to bind, or to remit and to retain? And do not the holy popes sit upon the same seat, as successors of St. Peter…

If you want an interesting series, go on churchathome.org: Was Peter Ever in Rome? Never!

…and have the same command and the priestly authority of the keys of heaven, to forgive sins and to retain them, through absolution after confession? What do you say to this now? let us hear.

Jacob: Christ said, that upon this rock (that is, upon such a faith as Peter confessed, Matt. 17:16)…

that should be Matt. 16:18 [transcriber's correction]

…He would build His church; He said nothing about a seat, or of vicars, or of successors, or popes, or of priestly authority.

Fr. Corn.: He certainly spoke of the keys of heaven, and of loosing and binding. And if there were no pope, or high priest, nor sub-priests who then should have the authority, to hear confession, to absolve, and to forgive sins? scavengers, etc., I suppose.

Jacob: Christ is our only true high priest, as Paul writes to the Hebrews, in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th chapters

I'll leave it at that. When I started reading that the other night, I couldn't put it down.

I think it's very interesting in going over material like this, that it helps us to realize that those whom God has called into His Church; He has revealed the knowledge to them!

Let's see what it says concerning the Church of God, even back then. The friar, I thought it was stunning, he said, 'I know nothing about the apocalypse.'

(go to the next track)

As I mentioned, all of this helps us understand that Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, that He promised He would build His Church and the gates of the grave would never come against it. That eliminates Mormonism. Do you know what the foundation of Mormonism is? An angel came to Joseph Smith and said, 'The church has died out and I'm going to raise it up with you.' And he fell on his back. I guess that's how you worship Satan. If you're going to worship God, you're going to fall on your face.

So, first thing was a lie: the Church died out. It never died out! As a matter of fact, years ago I went through some of the old correspondence courses and they had a map there of where some of the early Churches of God were in New York. There was a Church of God less than 50 miles away from the place where Joseph Smith had his vision, where he was told by the angel Moroni that the Church died out. Jesus said, 'The gates of the grave—that's what hell means, 'hades'—shall never prevail against it.' When it came down to Elijah, it got down to one man.

1-Corinthians 1:19: "For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will nullify the understanding of those who understand.' Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Did not God make foolish the wisdom of this world?" (vs 19-20). Yes, He did!

Look at the wisdom of the world today, total foolishness! The worst one is, especially for little kids, 'Now, little children, you can be nicy-nicy. You think you're a little boy today. Tomorrow you may think you're a little girl, so you can go with the little girls. Isn't that nice?' Stupid!

Verse 21: "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its own wisdom did not know God… [Isn't that what the friar admitted?] … it pleased God to save those who believe through the foolishness of preaching…. [Isn't that he accused Jacob of doing?] …For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we proclaim Christ crucified. To the Jews it is a cause of offense, and to the Greeks it is foolishness; but to those who are called—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God's power and God's wisdom" (vs 21-24). That's what we need.

• the power of God's Spirit
• the wisdom of God, which comes from His Word

Go clear back to Isa. 8 to get things straightened out. If they say to you, seek God and go after those that murmur and go after demonism, to the Law and the Testimony. If they speak not according to this Word, there is no light in them! Now reverse it: if they speak the Word, it is because there is light in them; that means the Holy Spirit. We just read what Jacob did to Cornelius, the friar.

• Who won? Jacob did!
• Did he lose his life? Yes!
• Did he know he was going to lose it? Yes!

That's what baptism is all about. Isn't baptism our covenant pledge to God that we will die to the world and ourselves?

We're living in an age where it's not yet that we have been called upon to be martyred, but have there been those who have had their heads cut off during our time for the name of Jesus? Yes!

Verse 25: "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that there are not many who are wise…"

What happened to a lot of those who we thought were really wise?

"…according to the flesh, not many who are powerful, not many who are highborn among you" (v 26).

• How many congressmen do we have?
• How many senators do we have?
• How many local do we have?
• Do we have any supervisors?
• Do we have any city councils? No!

Verse 27: "Rather, God has chosen the foolish things of the world…" Whenever we get lifted up by our bootstraps and think we're great, remember God says He's called the foolish. To do what?

• to educate us
• to teach us
• to help us become wise in God

Not wise in this world!

"…so that He might put to shame those who are wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world so that He might put to shame the strong things" (v 27).

What does it say back there in Zech. 4?transcriber's correction] Who has despised the day of small things!

Verse 28: "And the lowborn of the world, and the despised has God chosen—even the things that are counted as nothing, in order that He might bring to nothing the things that are."

Let me tell you, when the return of Christ takes place, that is going to be awesome indeed.

Verse 29: "So that no flesh might glory in His presence."

Think about that in relationship to Matt. 7: 'Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall be in the Kingdom of God. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we do this? Didn't we do that? Many works of power? Look at what we had.'

Some of these evangelists are going to say, 'Lord, you gave me four jets so I could fly around the world.' I saw that on television. There's this one Protestant minister who is asking his supporters to give him $54-million to buy his 4th airplane. You know what Christ is going to say to him? I never knew you! 'Lord, I did all those things and you didn't know me?' No! depart from Me, you who work lawlessness. Because you thought you were so great that you could put the teachings of men above the teachings of God!

So, here's another way of expressing it, v 29: "So that no flesh might glory in His presence. But you are of Him in Christ Jesus… [that is the Father] …Who was made to us wisdom from God, even righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; so that, as it is written, 'The one who glories, let him glory in the Lord'" (vs 29-31).

1-Corinthians 2:4: "And my message and my preaching was not in persuasive words of humanwisdom; rather, it was in demonstration of the Spirit and of power; so that your faith might not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (vs 4-5). The Holy Spirit is the power of God. That's what we have and that's what we are to use.

Verse 6: "Now we speak wisdom among the spiritually mature; however, it is not the wisdom of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing. Rather, we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery…" (v 6-7).

Like the friar who said, 'I know nothing of the apocalypse.' What an astounding moment that must have been. In areas like that, I wonder how many angels were there in the room watching what was going on.

Verse 9: "But according as it is written, 'The eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man…'"

You can tie this together with Deut. 30, where that you don't have to go to heaven to find Christ. You don't have to go to another country to find Christ. It's very near you; it's right in your own mouth—that is in your own language—and God has done that with the Bible.

"…neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things—even the deep things of God" (vs 9-10).

Jacob told that friar a lot of deep things of God, and the friar just couldn't understand it.

Verse 11: "For who among men understands the things of man except by the spirit of man, which is in him? In the same way also, the things of God no one understands except by the Spirit of God."

You think about all the things that you know and have learned; that has all come from God! That's what's important. How do we retain this? By always going to the Word of God and the Truth of God! Like I've said before, the Truth, the Truth, the Truth! That has been the guiding thing that has helped us develop the things that we have developed.

I could do all the preaching in the world, but unless we had the things where we could record it, unless we had those who could transcribe it… Here we've got this brand new book: The Covenants of God, all put together by Bonnie Orswell. She is the greatest transcriber possible that we could have. She lays each one of these out in an organized manner. Then we have the CD to go with it, so you can read it. You can hear it. In there, hopefully, it will be just the Truth of God. That's all we need.

Think about how we are so foolish. How can we possibly come up with anything to improve upon God? Any man anywhere? Impossible!

Verse 12: "Now, we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is of God, so that we might know the things graciously given to us by God… [that's what we need to do] …which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit in order to communicate spiritual things by spiritual means. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God…" (vs 12-14). Good place to cover part of this.
Article from the United Church of God:

Another Temple Mount Battle.
Where Was It Located?
(https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/another-temple-mount-battle-where-was-it-located) Posted on May 29, 2018 by Scott Ashley

This theory—which to our knowledge isn't supported by any trained Western archaeologist today…

That's not a true statement. It is!

…is built on a number of flawed assumptions and is contradicted by a great deal of biblical, historical and archaeological evidence. Regrettably, since it ignores or denies clear evidence, it also plays into the hands of those who deny any Jewish presence or Jewish temple in Jerusalem.

The true knowledge does not deny that!

In understanding the history of Jerusalem, we need to be aware of the limitations of archaeological evidence. One is simply the fact that Jerusalem is a thriving, growing, active city—and modern houses, businesses, streets and schools lie atop whatever ruins exist from ancient times. This makes it extraordinarily difficult to excavate in and around ancient Jerusalem.

Part of that is true; part of that is not true. How old are the stones for the Wailing Wall? They all admit it goes way back!

The situation isn't helped by the fact that the city has been fought over dozens of times and destroyed and rebuilt several more times. Nor does it help that the temple constructed by King Solomon was destroyed by Babylonian invaders ca. 587 B.C., and the ruins were covered and built over by a massive foundation platform atop which was built a later temple.

That is true, but he's setting you up for something here!

And like Solomon's temple, the temple of Jesus Christ's day was so thoroughly destroyed in the Roman conquest of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 that, as Jesus foretold in Matthew 24:2, "not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." He was, in context as shown by Matthew 24:1, Mark 13:1-2 and Luke 21:5, clearly talking about the temple itself and its outer buildings and structures, not the foundation platform on which they were built—a fact misunderstood by many over the years.

With that statement he's calling Jesus a liar. Are foundational stones, stones? Yes! Jesus said, 'Not one stone will be left standing upon another.' That includes foundational stones. Otherwise, Jesus didn't tell the truth. So now, they go on showing some other things. I haven't read the whole article, because I stopped there. It wasn't too profitable to go on and read beyond that, because he's going to come up with some other conclusions.

The one thing I picked up on, that there was under the Mosque of Omar, with those foundational platforms are still standing, which used to be Fort Antonia, there was a big meeting hall dug out underneath, which the Jews now say was a synagogue. You think the Romans would let them put a synagogue under their fort?

I stand corrected from a first-hand witness who has been underground in Jerusalem and that big area was probably built by the Jews before the Fort Antonia was put on top of it. Probably!

So, this shows us we need to be on guard for different things as they come along. Let's put it this way: When the temple will be built, it will be built where it's supposed to be built. The Jews will never succeed in getting rid of the Muslims up there where the Mosque of Omar is right now. Never! They will rebuild it and the whole thing concerning where the temple was is the Spring of Gihon, because it flooded waters straight up to the temple area. Because when you do all of that killing and sacrifices—blood, guts and gore—you have to clean it up. It took a lot of water. When it starts gushing, that's when the Jews will know where to build the temple. It'll be the right place.

By the way, those coins that I showed you a couple of weeks ago, I ordered a set of them, so we can look at them. Jonathan's right, none of them go back any distance at all. They are new creations, so that any money you use to buy them goes for building the temple. I've sent in my 70-shekels to get them.

All of this shows us some very important things that we need to realize and understand. Deut. 8 is quite a lesson for us as to why we go through the things that we go through. I dare say, after reading some of this about Jacob and after reading some of the other things about what the saints went through, we haven't experienced anything, nothing!

BE DILIGENT

The children of Israel are all getting ready to go into the 'promised land.' Moses is telling them:

Deuteronomy 8:1: "All the commandments which I command you this day shall you be diligent to observe… [we will look toward what is called Laodicean] …and to do that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land, which the LORD swore to your fathers."

Let's apply this to entering into the Kingdom of God spiritually. Are we not to be diligent in what Jesus said? Yes!

Verse 2: "And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God led you these forty years in the wilderness in order to humble you, to prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not."

Every single trial is for that purpose! They had the journey to get in the 'promised land.' We have our lives to live, which we could liken to a journey, to get into the Kingdom of God.

Verse 3: "And He humbled you and allowed you to hunger, and then He fed you with manna which you did not know, neither did your fathers know it…"

That's the whole crux of the whole Bible—Old Testament and New Testament—from the beginning with Adam and Eve. What did God tell Adam why the curse was coming upon him? Because you listened to the voice of your wife instead of Me! Which tells you: Could Adam have stopped it. If he would have said no, get rid of that. Possible, don't know.

"…so that He might make you know that man… [includes man and woman] …does not live by bread alone; but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD does man live" (v 3). That needs to be the whole thing. You've heard me say how many times? The three words: Obey My voice!

Verse 4: "Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years." Imagine that, didn't wear out, didn't break down. What He's saying: Look at your clothes, look at your feet, for forty years!

Verse 5: "And you shall consider in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. And you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God to walk in His ways and to fear Him, for the LORD your God brings you into a good land…" (vs 5-7).

The greatest land in the world is the United States of America. As I read the description of it here, we have this in abundance beyond belief. The only reason it is there is so that there can be a base for preaching the Gospel. As Paul said, 'Whether in contention or in truth.'

"…a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey, a land in which you shall eat bread without scarceness..…" (vs 7-9). Have any of us really, really gone hungry? Think about it.

I think about this very often when I'm watching television or doing something and I get hungry. I go up in the kitchen. We have a big refrigerator there and we have a lot of food in it. And we have a big refrigerator back in the pantry. There's all kinds of food in it.

I open it up and I say, 'What do I want to eat? This? No! That? No! Some of it's already cooked. Some of it's already prepared. Some of it you have to cook. Last night I had Jonathan bring in dinner for us. He got the same thing for himself. There's a man-smith out here and he makes tri-tips and chicken all cooked over the coals and everything, and barbeque sauce, baked beans, potato salad and garlic bread. So, he brings it there and I come home and it's all sitting right there. Amazing!

Then think about the homeless, quite a contradiction. The homeless don't know where their next meal is coming, for the most part. But because of the government that we have, they give each one about $300 a month. But imagine that. I think about that in wintertime, especially, when I go to bed and get in my warm bed and the rain is coming down and the wind is blowing. Here are these poor homeless out there trying to keep warm, trying to keep dry. We do some things to help them with it. We give them sleeping bags and tarps to go over them so they can at least keep dry and a military pad to sleep on. At least we can do that to help them, but it's a pitiful thing.

• Have any of us really, really suffered?
• Have you gone for a week looking for food and couldn't find any? No!

God wants us to really remember this!

"…You shall not lack any thing in it. It is a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig copper.… [brass, oil, gold, silver, precious stones] …When you have eaten and are full…" (vs 9-10).

• Isn't that us?
• Laodiceans?
• You have need of nothing; you have everything!

"…then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land, which He has given you. Beware…" (vs 10-11).

Here is the lesson for us today with all of this, especially in the light of what the Waldensians went through and those who gave their lives in martyrdom.
"…that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes, which I command you today, lest when you have eaten and are full and have built goodly houses and lived in them" (vs 11-12).

Goodly houses are sealed houses. Look at all the houses we have in communities, mile after mile after mile of houses. You've got electricity, water, roads, supermarkets and hardware stores. I had to go in the hardware store the other day to get something and I was overwhelmed all the things they have in the hardware store. Amazing!

Verse 13: "And when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then you become haughty of heart, and you forget the LORD your God Who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage" (vs 13-14). Think of that spiritually, brought us out of the world. Yes, indeed!

Verse 15: "Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness with fiery serpents and scorpions …"

Look at what they went through. The biggest thing that confronts a lot of people today at baptism is they may lose their job. Like one man said when counseling for baptism, he said, 'What am I going to do, I'm going to lose my job.' I said, 'Trust God; He'll give you another one, maybe a better one. Who knows?' That's what happened. That's the biggest thing. One of these days we're going to be confronted with the mark of the beast and then we'll know what all of those things are instantly.

• How much water can you store? Not very much!
• How much food can you store? Not very much!

If someone finds out you have it, they're going to come take it from you.

"…and thirsty ground where there was no water, Who brought forth water for you out of the rock of flint, Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know…" (vs 15-16). You talk about a staple diet, but it was always the same.

"…so that He might humble you and that He might prove you to do you good in your latter end" (v 16).

Think of the Scripture which helps describe this: All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). They'll all work together for good, in the long run.

Verse 17: "Beware lest you say in your heart…" You look at all that was done there and this reminds me of the man there (Luke 12), the parable where the man said, 'Look at all the crops I had. I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to build more barns; we're going to fill them full. I'm going to say, soul, have your rest.' What did God say? Fool, your life is required of you tonight!

We need all those things to keep us on the straight and narrow, when we have everything available to us.

"…that He might prove you to do you good in your latter end" (v 16). What is the good that God wants to do to us? Give us eternal life; give us a place in New Jerusalem! That's going to be fantastic. I can't feature what it's going to be like to be walking on gold streets. That blows my mind.

Verse 17: "Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.' But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth…" (vs 17-18).

That, I'm afraid, is what's going to be happening with all the things that are going on in the country right now. They say, 'Look what we're doing. We've got the economy going. We have all of this, and that, all the other things.'

"…so that He may confirm His covenant, which He has sworn to your fathers as it is this very day. And it shall be if you do at all forget the LORD your God and walk after other gods serving them and worshiping them…"

That doesn't necessarily mean an idol. Eze. 14 talks about idols of the mind. We can have those things by not giving God credit for everything that He does. Same way spiritually. Anything we know and understand of the Truth, God has given it. I like that Friar Cornelius, who said, 'I know absolutely nothing about the apocalypse.' And here the weaver and candle maker was teaching him.

"…I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish—yes, perish. As the nations whom the LORD destroys before your face, so you shall perish because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God" (vs 19-20). That's the story of Israel from that day to this.

Let's see some of the things we are to do. 2-Tim. also covers what we covered at the conference. We're going to try and have a nice brochure with some pictures and things about the conference. Here in 2-Tim. there are quite a few things for us to really take to heart and understand what we need to do.

I need to do a sermon on how soon did the apostasy begin? Quite an interesting study when you get into it. Certain events take place, like the destruction of Jerusalem. I imagine there were a lot of people who left at that time. 'Well, Jesus said He was going to come by time Jerusalem was destroyed and He didn't show up, so what the apostle taught us must not be true.'

This is setting the stage up to that point. I was talking to a man the other day. He called and said, 'We've had a Bible study at work here and a man was talking about the trinity. I told him that when you read the first part of every Epistle of Paul, he doesn't mention the Spirit as a person. What should I do?' I said, 'Why don't you take your Bible with you, so when you have Bible study again, you can say, look here's a Bible that's even better than the King James Version.'

2-Timothy 1:1: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." (vs 1-2). That opening statement in every one of the epistles sets the stage for the epistle! Blessed of God.

Verse 3: "I am grateful to God—Whom I have been serving from the days of my forefathers with a pure conscience—because I never fail to remember you in my supplications night and day. As I recall your tears, I am longing to see you, so that I may be filled with joy; when I remember the unfeigned faith that is in you…" (vs 3-5).

What we need to do is get to that point of unfeigned faith today as well. Remember, the time to really grow in grace and knowledge is when everything physical around you is not a great labor to come by. That's when you should grow in grace and knowledge, because you've got the time. You've got everything that you need.

• you have the Word of God
• you have study help
• you have CDs
• you have the Internet

You have all of this, and all of you who have the Bible in your hand on your smart phone, you have it right there all the time. Think of that compared to some of the people who never had the whole Bible themselves. It's good to think of those things so that we don't get carried away.

"…which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that it dwells in you also. For this reason, I admonish you to stir up the gift of God that is in you by the laying on of my hands" (vs 5-6)—that is the Holy Spirit.

Tie this in with Deut. 8—don't forget; don't slack down. The time to be diligent and prepare is when you have the time and the means to do it. It's so easy to say, 'I'll do this tomorrow.'

Verse 7: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of sound-mindedness. Therefore, you should not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner; but jointly suffer with me for the sake of the Gospel, according to the power of God, Who has saved us and called us with a Holy calling…" (vs 7-9).

Think about that for a minute. Verse 2: "…from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." They have intervened in our lives!

Verse 9: "…not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace…" What purpose does God have for each one of us? Think of what that's going to be like!

"…which was given us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time" (v 9). God had a plan. Do you not think He had it all planned out from beginning to end? Of course!

Verse 10: "But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, Who has annulled death, and has brought to light eternal life and incorruptibility through the Gospel unto which I was ordained a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles; for which cause I am also suffering these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed…" (vs 10-12).

Paul was in chains. The three most inspiring epistles that he wrote was when Paul was imprisoned in Rome: Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians, the three most inspiring of them all. When he was at his lowest, God revealed to Paul the great spiritual heights of the calling of God. An amazing thing.

"…For I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He has the power to keep what I have committed to Him for that day. Hold as the standard for doctrine the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good thing that was committed to you by the Holy Spirit that is dwelling in us" (vs 12-14).

As was brought out, there are some ripples of persecution already being formed. Could it be that there will be a time when it will come just like a tsunami wave and hit the whole Church all at once? I do not know! But if we are prepared, then we could answer like Jacob.

Notice what Paul says, because there will come a time when you're deserted by other people. Paul was!

Verse 15: "You know this, that all those who are in Asia have rejected me…" That's how far the apostasy went while Paul was still alive! Imagine that!

"…of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus because he frequently refreshed…" (vs 15-16). Then Paul tells Timothy to rightly divide the Word of God! He tells him preach the Word in season and out of season. There's just a whole lot here that will help us really grasp and understand:

• how important our calling for eternal life really is
• what we need to be doing

Scriptural References:

• Matthew 10:16-28
• Revelation 2:18-26
• 1-Corinthhians 1:19-31
• 1-Corinthians 2:4-7, 9-14
• Deuteronomy 8:1-17, 16-20
• 2-Timothy 1:1-9, 2, 9-16

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Mark 2
• Isaiah 8
• Zechariah 4
• Matthew 7
• Deuteronomy 30
• Romans 8:28
• Luke 12
• Ezekiel 14

Also referenced:

• Series at churchathome.org:
• What's Happening in Orthodox Christianity?
• How Credible is the Bible
• Come Out of Her My People
• Was Peter Ever in Rome?
  • DVD: Israel of the Alps (produced by the Seventh Day Adventist Church)
  • Transcript Book: The Covenants of God
  • Articles:
    • Disputation from Criminal Court of May 9, 1569A.D.

(www.homecomers.org/mirror/martyrs113.htm)

• Another Temple Mount Battle. Where Was It Located?

(https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/another-temple-mount-battle-where-was-it-located) Posted on May 29, 2018 by Scott Ashley

FRC:lp        Transcribed: 6-12-18 | Formatted: bo—6/17/18

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