1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:25,160 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you if you would 7 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:28,920 turn your Bibles, please, to. Daniel chapter #4 Daniel chapter 8 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,880 #4 We're in the middle of our series, World Religions and 9 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,400 Cults. We look for several weeks at the 10 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:38,040 issues surrounding Islam, and we're actually moving to our 11 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,800 first biblical cult, and that is the Jehovah Witness. 12 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:42,960 Now remember, the difference between world religion and a 13 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:46,360 cult really is that a cult has some similarities to 14 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,520 Christianity, but yet takes a lot of the names, the 15 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,160 characters, the entities that we are familiar with in 16 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:57,400 Christianity use the same names, same terminology oftentimes, but 17 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:00,080 completely changed it and twists into something that is 18 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,680 completely different. And so we want to talk today 19 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,840 about the Jehovah Witnesses and give you a little bit of an 20 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:08,600 introduction to them. All right, now we're going to 21 00:01:08,600 --> 00:01:09,600 start this way. Are you ready? 22 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,080 Knock, knock. Jehovah Witness. 23 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:13,720 That's it. That's the end of the story. 24 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:15,040 That's it. So that's all I got. 25 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,840 All right, so that's how we're familiar with the Jehovah 26 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,240 Witnesses, aren't we? Because they go around our 27 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,080 neighborhoods. We see them in all types of 28 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:25,520 other places. If you were driving around 29 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,560 Brockton, you will see people that are in downtown Brockton. 30 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,640 You'll see over at Mansfield Commuter Rail Station, you'll 31 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:39,040 see at the heaviest times of the day that there will be those who 32 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,320 are Jehovah Witnesses that are there really, if you go to about 33 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:44,680 any T station in Boston at any given time, I know South Station 34 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:46,720 is certainly this way. You're going to see several 35 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,880 people that are dressed up to the nines with a smile on their 36 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,920 face next to a rack of literature and they are just 37 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:57,520 waiting for someone to come by and to talk to them about their 38 00:01:58,040 --> 00:01:59,960 booklets and pamphlets that are there. 39 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,200 And certainly there are some very, very nice people. 40 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:06,920 If you just take people for who they are, that they can be some 41 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,039 very friendly people, some very kind people in many ways. 42 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,400 But I do want you to understand that what you see in the 43 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,640 Watchtower materials, that what you see when it comes to the 44 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:20,320 teaching the Jehovah Witness is exactly opposite of what the 45 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,720 Bible teaches is true Christianity. 46 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:27,200 And that what they have there on those racks of literature are 47 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:32,200 ways and methods of teaching that are so very opposite of 48 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,800 what the Bible teaches about who Jesus Christ is. 49 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,080 In fact, I would put it this way, They've made so many 50 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,640 predictions over the years about predictions. 51 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:44,440 And we'll look at this in just a moment about the world coming to 52 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:47,680 an end, prediction about Armageddon, predictions about 53 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,920 David and Abraham walking the earth, that they've made so many 54 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:55,080 predictions that if having a false religion was an Olympic 55 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,440 sport, they would receive a gold medal because they have. 56 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,800 I've been so wrong so many times. 57 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:03,440 It actually is unbelievable that there would be people that would 58 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,520 still follow their teachings. However, they have found ways 59 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,560 over the years to cover up many of the errors that they have 60 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,920 made in these false predictions. And because of that, there are 61 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:15,040 still people who follow in lockstep. 62 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:17,600 Now, I want to remind you, as I remind you every time we look at 63 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,400 one of these false religions that we are not attacking the 64 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:22,560 people that are involved in those false religions. 65 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,600 That is not our desire. We want to love these people to 66 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,200 Jesus Christ, and maybe I put it this way, we want to love these 67 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,000 people to the true Jesus Christ, the Jesus Christ, the Bible. 68 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,000 What we attack is the articles of faith. 69 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,640 What we attack is the authorities, those that are 70 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,360 leading those people astray. That's what we are looking at, 71 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,840 not those people who out of a heart that are trying to find 72 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,840 God have been turned to a false direction and turned to a false 73 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:47,880 gospel. That is not our desire here 74 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,480 today. And even mentioning those key 75 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:54,080 doctrines were not key doctrines rather, but those key dates 76 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,120 where they were mistaken. Just look at some of these 77 00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:00,640 predictions and the outcome. In 1878, the Jehovah Witnesses, 78 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,120 or at least what was starting to form as the Watchtower Society 79 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:26,760 then called the Jehovah Witness. Well, if you look around, well, 80 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,600 we're still here, right? So that didn't happen and that 81 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:33,120 had to be reinterpreted. 1918, destruction of churches and the 82 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:34,800 death of millions, which did not occur. 83 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:37,640 The resurrection of Abraham, Isaac, and other patriarchs, 84 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:42,640 1825 or 1925, that did not happen. 1975, the suggested 85 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,520 start of Christ's millennial reign. 86 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,360 And then that led to disappointment and membership 87 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:49,760 decline. That over and over and over 88 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,720 again, the Jehovah Witnesses have made predictions about 89 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:57,120 future events and over and over and over again, they have been 90 00:04:57,120 --> 00:04:59,200 wrong. They've changed their positions 91 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,720 on blood transfusions over and over again for many, many years. 92 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,200 If you were a Jehovah Witness, you could not have a blood 93 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,600 transfusion of any kind. But according to the records 94 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:12,640 that I have, and these have been reviewed by others, and so this 95 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,560 is not something that I've just pulled out of a hat, they've 96 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,280 changed their positions on blood transfusions at least 18 97 00:05:19,280 --> 00:05:23,560 different times since 1940. 18 different times, the doctrine of 98 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,360 whether you can receive a blood transfusion or whether you can 99 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,000 receive part of a blood transfusion or who can or who 100 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,600 can't. 18 different times since 1940, that has changed. 101 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,880 So over and over again we find that the doctrines of the 102 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,840 Jehovah Witnesses have changed. Now I know this from the Word of 103 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:41,560 God. The Bible says Jesus Christ is 104 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:43,560 saying yesterday, today, and forever. 105 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:45,480 Amen. Now, aren't you glad that when 106 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,160 it comes to the Word of God, that the doctrines of the Word 107 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,160 of God, when we talk about biblical Christianity, do not 108 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:52,880 change? Could you imagine coming to 109 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,280 church and one Sunday morning I say this, listen, I've had some 110 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:59,840 new light. I've received a word. 111 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,760 And remember what I told you about a couple months ago? 112 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:05,760 It's not true anymore. God has revealed to me that that 113 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:09,640 is no longer true. Could you imagine over and over, 114 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:12,360 that being the case, at some point you'd say, well, who's 115 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:14,520 really in charge here? Because it doesn't seem like God 116 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,080 is in charge. The Bible says this, that God is 117 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,080 not the author of confusion. Well, if God's not the author of 118 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:22,280 confusion, then who is? Well, Satan. 119 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:26,040 And if there is all of these different dates and there's all 120 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,400 these different times and there's all these different 121 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,160 doctrines that get changed over and over and over again, and 122 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,080 what do we find? None of it comes to pass. 123 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:38,720 What are we to say? Just as we're doing a very 124 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:41,720 topical inspection right now, we're not even diving deep into 125 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:43,120 the doctrine. We're just giving you the 126 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:44,720 introduction today. We look at that and say 127 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,440 something's not right here. And what's not right is the fact 128 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,760 that the Word of God has been pushed to the side by the 129 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,240 Jehovah Witnesses using their own version of the Bible called 130 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,800 the New World Translation, which we'll look at a little bit 131 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,240 later. That takes the long held 132 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,680 doctrines of the Word of God and removes them. 133 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,880 They're inconvenient and they're removed from their version of 134 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:09,280 the Bible. I really hesitate to call it a 135 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:12,520 Bible because it is not a Bible. It's been so radically changed, 136 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,280 but they've taken these things and removed them. 137 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,480 Just you don't like something in the Bible, cross it out. 138 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,280 You don't like that doctrine, cut it out, remove it. 139 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:24,960 And that's what they have done with their New World 140 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:27,880 Translation. So how does this group grow? 141 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:34,280 How are they able to grow with what seems to be such blatant 142 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,640 disregard for the truth? How could they possibly grow? 143 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,840 Well, the answer is because of the fact that they are out there 144 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,720 in the communities and they are talking with people. 145 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,320 By the statistics that I saw, on average almost nine and a half 146 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:53,280 million individual personalized Bible studies are held by 147 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:57,720 Jehovah Witnesses in people's homes every year. 9.5 somewhere, 148 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:02,000 give or take million every year. And so because of that, there 149 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:06,440 ranks of around 20 million worldwide can grow because they 150 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:10,160 are so very adamant about being in people's homes and being able 151 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:12,200 to talk to them. Now the way to be able to do 152 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:17,680 that is this with Bible closed because if the Bible, I mean the 153 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,760 true word of God was opened, the things that they're teaching 154 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:25,840 just could not be true. But when you try to take away 155 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:29,640 the word of God and give them a a word of God, that's not the 156 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:32,679 word of God, and then you really tell people, well, instead of 157 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:35,240 really worrying about the Bible, you really should read our 158 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:37,320 materials. You really should read our watch 159 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,520 that you read the Watchtower materials and it'll explain 160 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,280 everything you need to know. Why is it so important? 161 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:44,840 I don't want to go on a tangent here this morning, but why is it 162 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:46,640 so important that we bring our Bibles to church? 163 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:48,960 Why is it so important that I say open your Bibles? 164 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,640 Why is it so important that we turn from one scripture to 165 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:53,400 another Tonight? You're going to get dizzy and 166 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:55,240 all the scriptures we're going to look at because I think we've 167 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:57,920 got about 10 different passages we need to look at to be able to 168 00:08:57,920 --> 00:09:01,040 properly cover the subject that we're going to be looking at 169 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:02,880 this evening. Why do we do that? 170 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:05,320 Is it because pastors are stalling for time and he doesn't 171 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:07,240 have anything to say and he just wants to keep going through your 172 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:08,760 Bible? So that means it's less time 173 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:10,480 that I talk. Well, listen, you all know me 174 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:11,840 well enough. I'm just going to keep talking 175 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:14,320 no matter what, all right? You can't make me stall. 176 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,440 But the idea is this. I want you to see in the Word of 177 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,960 God for yourself. Don't take my word for it. 178 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,880 What does the Bible say? Because that's really what true 179 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:27,920 religion is all about. Not not what religion says or 180 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,480 not what the higher up say, but what does the word of God say? 181 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:33,600 There's really only one higher up that we need to be concerned 182 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:37,120 about, if you will. That's the Lord, what His word 183 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:39,840 says, is it? And if I contradict the word of 184 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,600 the Lord, then I'm an error. I cannot say, well, this is what 185 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:44,680 I believe, and so I'm going to change the Bible to fit what I 186 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:46,880 believe. Listen, that's rank heresy. 187 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,560 So how do they do this? Well, what I want to do is 188 00:09:49,560 --> 00:09:53,600 actually take you into the living room of someone. 189 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:57,520 This is a staged event here, but of what it would be like if 190 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:02,320 someone is giving a Bible study, a Jehovah Witness to someone who 191 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,920 is searching and meeting in one of those 9.5 million Bible 192 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,120 studies a year. Now, the video I'm about to show 193 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:10,840 you does not come from YouTube. It does not come from someone 194 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,200 who is a denier, the Jehovah Witnesses. 195 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:17,080 This video that I have has been downloaded from jw.org. 196 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:19,800 I found it myself all right. And So what you're going to 197 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:22,040 watch is not something from a plant. 198 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:24,960 It's not something from someone who is trying to debunk the 199 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,720 Jehovah Witness. This comes from their very own 200 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:29,760 organization. So I want you to watch this. 201 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,960 And then what we're we're going to do is from that introduction 202 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:35,760 to their Bible studies, actually go through the word of God and 203 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:39,160 see why they are so wrong. And so we'll just go ahead and 204 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,200 do that now and then we'll give you some comments. 205 00:10:41,200 --> 00:11:08,000 So let's take a watch. And I thought what we could do 206 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:12,040 is just go right to the Bible account that deals with that. 207 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:16,600 Your Kingdom will be yours again after you come to know that the 208 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:21,760 heavens are ruling. So that is the dream that King 209 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:25,160 Nebuchadnezzar had. But as we discussed last week, 210 00:11:25,360 --> 00:11:27,920 that dream is actually a prophecy. 211 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,360 Now it's important to remember that similar to other prophecies 212 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,920 in the book of Daniel, this prophecy points forward to God's 213 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:38,280 Kingdom with Jesus Christ as ruler. 214 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,520 So what I thought we could do today is look at some specific 215 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:47,080 points of this prophecy and to see the relationship between the 216 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:52,440 God's Kingdom and the year 1914. And this article has a fantastic 217 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:55,480 chart here that provides some great visuals that we can go 218 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:57,480 over. And I also made a few notes for 219 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:00,280 myself additionally. So if you don't mind, maybe we 220 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:02,720 could just spend the next few minutes and consider this? 221 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:06,600 Sure, sure, that sounds good. I always enjoy talking about the 222 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:07,520 Bible. Great. 223 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:10,760 Well, let's get started. What do you see in that first 224 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:13,800 box there? An enormous tree. 225 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:16,880 Is this the tree that we just read about in the prophecy? 226 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:19,600 That's exactly it. And in the second box, you'll 227 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:23,320 notice that there's a picture of an axe, and that indicates that 228 00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:26,720 the tree was chopped down. But what happens next? 229 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,760 It says let 7 times pass. Yeah. 230 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:34,600 And so a period of time went by, and then eventually the tree 231 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,560 grew again. So those are the basic pieces to 232 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:41,000 the puzzle. We've got this enormous tree, it 233 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:46,520 gets chopped down 7 times, pass, and then eventually the tree 234 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,800 grows again. Well, that's the prophecy. 235 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:52,680 But what we want to know is what does that actually mean? 236 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:55,200 Well, the chart helps us out there as well. 237 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,480 Notice underneath it mentions rulership. 238 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:02,120 So the tree signifies rulership. Now, logically, if that's the 239 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:05,520 case, if it's spoken of as being chopped down, then that 240 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:09,000 rulership would be interrupted, someone's rulership, then 241 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,720 there'd be an interval of time that would pass, and then 242 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,040 eventually that rulership would be restored again. 243 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:17,600 So does that explanation seem reasonable? 244 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:19,560 I think so. Good. 245 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,960 Well then, let's consider the fulfillment of the prophecy. 246 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:24,720 Now, as we can see from our chart, there's both an initial 247 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:27,840 fulfillment and a larger one. Let's just spend a few minutes 248 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,880 considering the first one. So who is pictured by that tree? 249 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:35,120 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Excellent. 250 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:37,240 And the tree would be an apartment depiction of 251 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,920 Nebuchadnezzar, because like that tree, he was very prominent 252 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:43,480 and very powerful as the king of Babylon. 253 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:48,680 But also like that tree, he was chopped down, so to speak, when 254 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:52,720 he lost his sanity and can no longer continue ruling now, 255 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,080 according to the chart. How long did that last? 256 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,120 It says 7 literal years. That's it. 257 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:02,760 So after those seven years, Nebuchadnezzar regained his 258 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,840 sanity and began ruling again. So let's just recap kind of what 259 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,280 we've considered so far. Who was pictured in his first 260 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:11,640 fulfillment by the tree. Nebuchadnezzar. 261 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,400 Good. And how is he chopped down? 262 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,200 He loses his sanity. That's it. 263 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,160 And for how long? Seven years. 264 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,960 True. And after that seven years, he 265 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,920 regained his sanity and then began ruling again. 266 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,360 Now does that make sense? Yes, but what does this have to 267 00:14:30,360 --> 00:14:33,880 do with God's Kingdom in 1914? That's a great question. 268 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:38,320 Well, we know there's a larger fulfillment of this prophecy 269 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:40,760 because Jesus himself spoke about it. 270 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:44,880 See later in the chart here refers to Luke 21 and verse 24. 271 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:49,320 Notice what Jesus said, Jerusalem will be trampled on 272 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,240 until the appointed times of the nations are fulfilled. 273 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:57,240 Well, what did he mean by that? Well notice here in the first 274 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:01,160 box down at the bottom it says Israelite kings who represent 275 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:05,080 God's rulership. Well those kings are also 276 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:07,760 represented by that tree. So that line of kings is is 277 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:09,680 really the larger fulfillment of that. 278 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,400 Now you might remember the Bible referred to these kings as 279 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:17,440 sitting on Jehovah's throne. That's because God appointed 280 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:20,760 them to rule over his chosen people at the time, the 281 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:24,280 Israelites. Unfortunately, as years went by, 282 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:29,120 most of those kings became disobedient to God, and in turn 283 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:34,720 their subjects did the same. So eventually Jehovah saw fit to 284 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,360 destroy Jerusalem in six O 7 BCE. 285 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:43,880 After that point, no more earthly kings figuratively sat 286 00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:48,440 on Jehovah's throne, so it's as though God's rulership was 287 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,720 interrupted. Now, according to the chart, how 288 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:57,280 long did that interruption last? The chart says 2520 years. 289 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:02,920 Exactly. So if we calculate 2520 years 290 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,680 from the time Jerusalem was destroyed in six O 7, that 291 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:11,320 brings us all the way to 1914 and that is when Jesus began 292 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:14,200 ruling in heaven as King of God's Kingdom. 293 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,200 I know it's a lot to take in, but does that explanation make 294 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:22,880 sense? I think so, but I still have 295 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:28,440 some questions. Where do you get this 2520 296 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:30,800 years? How do you know that that's the 297 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,440 period of time? And how do you know for sure 298 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:36,840 that this prophecy is about God's Kingdom? 299 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:41,480 Is it possible that the kingship would be restored right here on 300 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:45,520 Earth, in Jerusalem? Those are all excellent 301 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:50,000 questions and we've taken in a lot of information here, but the 302 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,480 best thing for us to do to really get the answer is to look 303 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,760 at it in light of the complete Bible because that will assure 304 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,280 us that this is definitely a heavenly Kingdom and we can find 305 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:04,560 scriptural texts that point to this number 2520. 306 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,319 So what if the next time I come, we consider those specific 307 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:12,040 scriptures and also the remainder of this article, and I 308 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,440 think you're going to find it answers the rest of your 309 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:16,880 questions. Sure, that sounds good. 310 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:20,640 Is there some way that I could download this electronically? 311 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,160 I'd like to take a look at this chart some more. 312 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:25,240 Absolutely. Let me show you how to get on 313 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:31,280 our website, thesiteisjw.org. So when you go to the site, you 314 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:35,040 just go up to publications and then from there you choose 315 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:48,770 magazines. Chart and so we have that here 316 00:17:48,770 --> 00:17:50,210 on the screen for you just a moment. 317 00:17:50,410 --> 00:17:52,490 How many of you would say this? You just watch it say why on 318 00:17:52,490 --> 00:17:54,330 earth are they talking so much about 1914? 319 00:17:54,330 --> 00:17:57,330 Does anybody have any concern? Like, it seems like they are 320 00:17:57,330 --> 00:18:01,560 fixated on 1914. Why would they have a Bible 321 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:05,120 study in a guy's house talking only about 1914? 322 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:07,320 And here's the answer. If you remember the chart that I 323 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:10,960 just showed you previously, they believe that in 1914, and it 324 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:15,160 taught for somewhere around 40 years that 1914 that Armageddon 325 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,880 would take place, all of the world kingdoms would dissolve, 326 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,520 and that Jesus would set up his rightful throne here on earth. 327 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:27,920 Now, the problem was, and in 1914, that didn't happen. 328 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:29,880 You know, I know that we're still here. 329 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:35,400 There was no Armageddon, there was no type of world kingdoms 330 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:37,760 dissolving and Jesus rightful throne. 331 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:39,800 In fact, does anybody remember what happened in the beginning 332 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:41,680 of 1914? Anyone have any kind of 333 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,280 historical context that it was the beginning of World War One? 334 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:49,040 So not only did Jesus not set up his Kingdom, but World War One 335 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:50,560 continued for the next four years. 336 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:52,240 In fact, it was exactly the opposite. 337 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,160 So what has the Jehovah Witnesses had to do for the last 338 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:59,760 100 plus years? Explain why Jesus did not come 339 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,920 and start an earthly Kingdom, but instead he started his 340 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:08,360 heavenly Kingdom in 1914. Now you say, wow, that is that's 341 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:11,520 that's a lot of things going on there. 342 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:13,040 And the answer is that's exactly right. 343 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,480 Because when you get away from the word of God, you have to 344 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,280 start pulling into all of these other different things. 345 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:20,360 And there's a lot of things that are going on now. 346 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:23,560 There's a lot of problems with what we just saw. 347 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:27,760 Maybe the first thing that you noticed was this the Bible. 348 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:30,920 And when I say the Bible, I mean the New World translation was 349 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,800 read from for one verse. And then what happened? 350 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,240 The Bible was closed. What was the next thing that was 351 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:41,640 opened the Watchtower materials, those magazines, were they 352 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,000 reading from the Bible? No, not really. 353 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:46,520 And it's funny because at the end he says we need to really 354 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,000 understand this in context of the whole Bible. 355 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,720 But the problem is, is that Jehovah Witnesses aren't going 356 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:54,320 to guide you to self-directed Bible study. 357 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,480 They're going to direct you to you need to read the Watchtower 358 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:00,480 and you're going to hear the term Watchtower a lot. 359 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:03,680 But they are the ones that put together all the publications 360 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:05,680 like what you just saw right here. 361 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,120 And so the Bible is put away and the Watchtower public. 362 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,800 Locations are pulled out. You're going to see that over 363 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,080 and over again as we look at the Jehovah Witnesses. 364 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:19,200 A lot of time and energy was placed on that. 365 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:23,440 But the real problem from what we saw was even beyond that, and 366 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:30,000 that's this purposeful, sloppy Bible interpretation, purposeful 367 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:33,720 sloppy Bible interpretation, meaning taking a little bit of 368 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:35,520 this, a little bit of that, a little bit of this, a little bit 369 00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:37,840 of that, throwing it all together and then creating a 370 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:41,440 doctrine, whether that's what those verses said or not. 371 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:46,480 Listen, you can say a verse or part of a verse and make it mean 372 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,480 whatever you want it to mean if you're not careful. 373 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,480 And even Baptist can do that if we're not careful. 374 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:55,640 I remember one time I was in Bible college and there was a 375 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:01,160 visiting pastor who preached the love of money is the root, and 376 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:04,640 that's all he preached. But you understand that the 377 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:07,480 Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. 378 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,920 You can't just take the beginning and just preach on the 379 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,760 beginning of that verse and not explain what the whole verse 380 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,440 means. And so all of us, not just in 381 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,880 reference to Jehovah Witness, but any of us, when we deal with 382 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,640 the Bible, we always have to look at the Bible in context. 383 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:22,920 So why do I have US turn to Daniel chapter 4? 384 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:24,800 Well, I'm not in Daniel chapter 4 for some reason. 385 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:27,680 I'm in Psalm 144. But why are we in Daniel chapter 386 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:29,520 4? Well, that's where they 387 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,240 referenced what took place in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. 388 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,120 So why don't we take a look at that for ourselves? 389 00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:40,240 Because they said that there was a fulfillment at first when 390 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:44,400 Nebuchadnezzar went mad, and then there was another larger 391 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:47,440 fulfillment where it says the Israelite kings who represent 392 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:50,680 God's rulership, gruesome is destroyed, destroyed, 393 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:52,560 interrupting that line of Israelite kings. 394 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,800 And that this is told to us in Luke 2124 that these two 395 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,760 passages are connected. So why don't we read Daniel 4 396 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:04,720 for ourselves and Luke 2124 for ourselves and see if there's 397 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:09,120 actually a connection or not? Daniel Chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar, 398 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:13,040 the king unto all people, nations, languages that dwell in 399 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:15,000 all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you. 400 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:18,200 I thought it good to show you the signs and wonders that the 401 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,920 high God hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs, How 402 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,880 mighty are his wonders. His Kingdom is an everlasting 403 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:28,080 Kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. 404 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,640 I Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in 405 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,200 my palace. I saw a dream which made me 406 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,520 afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head 407 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,560 troubled me. Therefore made I decree to bring 408 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:43,400 in all the wise men in Babylon before me, that they might make 409 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,560 known unto me the interpretation of the dream. 410 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,720 Then came in the magician, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, the 411 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,320 soothsayers, and I told the dream before them, and they did 412 00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,080 not make known unto me the interpretation thereof. 413 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,960 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was 414 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,960 Belteshazzar, according to the name of my God, and in whom the 415 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,040 spirit of the holy gods. And before him I told the dream, 416 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,680 saying, Oh, Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know 417 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,840 that the spirit of the holy gods is in the and no secret trouble 418 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:12,760 of thee. Tell me the visions of my dream 419 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:14,440 that I've seen, and the interpretation thereof. 420 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:16,800 Thus were the visions of my head and my bed. 421 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,160 I saw and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the 422 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:22,760 height thereof was great. So does that track so far with 423 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:24,920 what we saw on here? Yes, it does. 424 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:30,160 There was a tree now moving on, it says, And the tree grew, was 425 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,040 strong. The height thereof reached unto 426 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:34,960 heaven, the sight thereof to the ends of all the earth, and the 427 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,240 leaves thereof were fair, the fruit thereof much, and in it 428 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:40,520 was meat for all. The beasts of the field had 429 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,640 shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the 430 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:45,800 boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. 431 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:49,480 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, A 432 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:51,920 watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. 433 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:55,160 He cried aloud, and said Thus hew down the tree, cut off his 434 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:58,160 branches, shake off his leaves, scatter his fruit, let the beast 435 00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,160 get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches. 436 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,520 Nevertheless leaves the stump of his roots in the earth, even 437 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,960 with a band of iron and brass. And the tender grass of the 438 00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:10,200 field, let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his 439 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,520 portion be with the beasts of the grass of the earth. 440 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,320 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart 441 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,680 be given unto him. And let 7 times Passover this 442 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,840 matter is, that the decree of the watchers, and the demand by 443 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,040 the word of the holy ones to the intent, that the living may know 444 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,000 that the most High ruleth in the Kingdom of men, and give it to 445 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:31,760 whomsoever he will, and set up over it the basis of men. 446 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:34,560 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. 447 00:24:34,800 --> 00:24:37,520 Now thou belt to Shazzer, declare the interpretation 448 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:39,360 thereof. For as much as all the wise men 449 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:42,560 of my Kingdom are not able to make known unto me the 450 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,480 interpretation, but thou art able, for the spirit of the holy 451 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:47,760 Gods is in thee. Well let me ask you this. 452 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:52,080 Did what we just read here in the first in Daniel chapter 4 453 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:53,360 track with those first three boxes? 454 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:56,600 It does, doesn't it? Here's why. 455 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:01,160 Understand that when it comes to error, truth is always found in 456 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:02,760 it. But just a little bit. 457 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,000 Just like a hook has to have a worm in it for people. 458 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,280 Not people to get it, but for a fish to get it, error has to 459 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:13,160 have a little bit of truth in it to get people to be interested. 460 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,280 And so was there a tree? Yes. 461 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,400 Was they told to chop down the tree in the vision? 462 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:19,560 Yes. Were several times to pass? 463 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:21,560 Yes. In fact, even represented were 464 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,240 the bands there around the tree stump. 465 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,280 And so yes, that is true. Well, we can go on. 466 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,080 And for the sake of time, we're not going to read the whole 467 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,000 chapter. But I would say, unlike our 468 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,960 Jehovah Witness friends, I would encourage you to read the entire 469 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:35,240 chapter. There's nothing here that's 470 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:37,400 hidden that I think you should not be able to read. 471 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:39,840 No sleight of hand, no nothing up my sleeve. 472 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:42,960 You know, nothing like that. It's all about being able to 473 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:44,400 read the word of God for yourself. 474 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,800 But in summary, we find that there is nothing in the 475 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:51,200 interpretation of the the vision that we're going to find next 476 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,800 that says that there is going to be this initial fulfillment. 477 00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:58,600 But then also this larger fulfillment and will you know 478 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:02,120 what this vision was about Nebuchadnezzar and that was it, 479 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,200 that Nebuchadnezzar was for seven years going to be a madman 480 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,120 because he did not honor God. And after those seven years he 481 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:10,280 would be restored to the Kingdom. 482 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,400 Again. There was nowhere else where it 483 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:16,120 says or even hinted that there was going to be a larger 484 00:26:16,120 --> 00:26:17,720 fulfillment. You say, well, pastor, hold on. 485 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:21,920 They said that really that is to be found in Luke 2124. 486 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:25,200 And so maybe if we look at Luke 2124, that will make the 487 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:27,320 connection so well, let's go do that. 488 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:30,880 All right, so turn to Luke 2124. For the sake of argument, let's 489 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:35,280 follow their logic, Luke 2124, because we want the word of God 490 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:42,920 to have it say Luke 2124. I hear a cricket right now while 491 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,240 I'm talking. Usually while I'm talking, I 492 00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:46,600 hear crickets. That's not a good thing, you 493 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:50,440 know. And so Luke 2124. 494 00:26:56,320 --> 00:26:58,480 And this is talking about the end of days. 495 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:02,880 And so let's start not in 2124, but let's get a little bit more 496 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:05,520 context here by going up just a little bit. 497 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:10,240 And it says in verse #21 Then let them which are in Judea flee 498 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,200 to the mountains, and let them which in the midst of it depart 499 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,520 out, and let not them that are in the countries enter there 500 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:19,000 into. For these be the days of 501 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,240 vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 502 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,560 But woe unto them, they're with child, and to give them suck in 503 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:27,280 those days. For there shall be great 504 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,480 distress in the land, and wrath upon this people, and they shall 505 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,480 fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be LED away captive 506 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,520 into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down at the 507 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:40,680 Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled. 508 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:43,320 Now it says here. And this is where they want to 509 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:49,200 focus, that in 1914, the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled, 510 00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:52,680 which is why Jesus Christ came back and set up his heavenly 511 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:54,800 Kingdom. But I have to ask you this 512 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:59,440 question. What does Daniel chapter #4 and 513 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:03,280 what we just read here in Luke chapter 21 have anything to do 514 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:05,760 with one another? And the answer is they have 515 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:11,840 nothing to do with one another, nothing at all that this is 516 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:15,040 talking about the end times and the issues that will take place 517 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,880 during the end times and yet that has not taken place yet. 518 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:20,600 Remember, it's so bad during those times. 519 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:23,440 It says if you have a child, it's going to be hard for you 520 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:26,120 because you have a child because of how difficulty, the great 521 00:28:26,120 --> 00:28:29,960 difficulty during those times. And so we find that what we find 522 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:34,000 in this whole issue here at the bottom is faulty from beginning 523 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,960 to end. There are many other faults that 524 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:39,240 can be found here as well. Sixteen O 7, they say is the 525 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,640 time that Jerusalem fell. There are there are no reliable 526 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:46,440 historians that say that Jerusalem fell in six O 7 BC. 527 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:52,680 Rather it's somewhere around 587588-BC, not BCE. 528 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,080 By the way, they use these because they want to take out 529 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,440 any reference to Christ in the years here. 530 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,960 But six O 7, there's no one that says that it was six O 7. 531 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,720 So why did they pick six O 7? Because somewhere they have to 532 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:10,960 come out with 2520 years. Now you say, why is it 2520 533 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,080 years now? Oh man, my head hurts from all 534 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:15,720 this. I hope that somehow that it's 535 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,080 coming across to you, what's coming through on the pages and 536 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:23,480 through their own doctrine here. But they chose 2520 years 537 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:26,640 because they said seven times will pass. 538 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:29,400 Remember, 7 times. And that was seven years for 539 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:31,720 Nebuchadnezzar. But in the larger fulfilment, 540 00:29:31,720 --> 00:29:35,720 they go to Revelation chapter #12 where there's a whole 541 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,280 different prophecy that's taking place. 542 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:41,440 And there they talk about that there is going to be in the 543 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:43,480 Tribulation period. Well, we know the Tribulation 544 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,560 period, seven years. And they take the days that are 545 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:50,360 there, they calculate it out, and they say that the Bible says 546 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:54,080 that it says in prophecy a day really counts as a year. 547 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:58,880 And they misinterpret Numbers, the book of Numbers, chapter 14, 548 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,800 verse 34, because nowhere in the Bible does it say in prophecy a 549 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,120 day is always a year. There's nowhere it says that. 550 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:05,880 But they take a little bit of here, a little bit of there, a 551 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:07,560 little bit of here, a little bit of there, a little bit of there 552 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:10,120 of texts that have nothing to do with one another. 553 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,480 And they hope that you don't read your Bible and that you 554 00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:15,120 just look at that little magazine and by the time you're 555 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:18,640 done, you say 02520. That makes perfect sense when 556 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:22,960 none of this has anything to do with the Bible and the only 557 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:26,040 reason they're teaching this in the 1st place is because they 558 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:29,520 had failed prophecies that Armageddon was supposed to 559 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:32,880 happen in 1914 and everything was supposed to be destroyed and 560 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,600 it didn't happen. So they have to find a way to re 561 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:39,520 explain it. Listen, this is a mess. 562 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:44,840 This is an absolute mess and it has nothing to do with the 563 00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:48,000 Bible, but what they hope to do when they talk to you on a 564 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:51,360 corner, what they hope to do when they knock on your door. 565 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:54,280 What they hope to do when you come to a Bible study is that 566 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:58,800 you do not know anything about the Word of God or that you take 567 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:01,640 just the veneer of the Word of God that they're using. 568 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:04,360 Just just that little covering, that little coating of the word 569 00:31:04,360 --> 00:31:06,800 of God on the outside. They're hoping that you take 570 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,160 that look at this. Wow, doesn't this look nice? 571 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,680 Doesn't this look sharp? Boy, this makes a lot of sense 572 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:16,880 when nothing here from here on down, well really from here this 573 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,440 is all true, but from this section here has anything to do 574 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:24,880 with the Word of God. So there is truth, but the error 575 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,560 is what gets you. And I say, well listen, we never 576 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:34,840 said, we never said that the world was going to end in 1914. 577 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,720 And the fact of the matter is, not only did they say it, they 578 00:31:37,720 --> 00:31:41,680 said it over and over and over and over again. 579 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:45,960 For instance, it says in Source and Studies in the Scriptures, 580 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,040 1889. Be not surprised then, when in 581 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,280 subsequent chapters we present proofs that the setting up of 582 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,480 the Kingdom of God has already begun, that is pointed out in 583 00:31:55,480 --> 00:32:00,560 prophecy as due to begin the exercise of power in AD 1878. 584 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,200 And at the battle of the Great Day of God Almighty, which will 585 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:08,600 end in AD 1914 with a complete overthrow of earth's present 586 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:11,600 rulership is already commenced. Does that sound like something 587 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:13,480 that's figurative or something that's literal? 588 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:18,640 Sounds literal to me. But going on in the upcoming 26 589 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:21,280 years, all present governments will be overthrown and 590 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:23,480 dissolved. CT Russell, Studies of the 591 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:25,960 Scriptures. Remember that the 40 years 592 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:29,400 Jewish harvest ended in October AD 69 was followed by the 593 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:32,400 complete overthrow of that nation, and that likewise the 40 594 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:36,000 years of the Gospel age harvest will end in October 1914, and 595 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:39,320 that likewise the overthrow of Christendom, so-called, must be 596 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:43,520 expected to immediately follow. Continuing on, in the view of 597 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:45,920 this strong Bible evidence concerning the times of the 598 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:48,720 Gentiles, we consider it an established truth that the final 599 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,360 end of the kingdoms of this world and the full establishment 600 00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:54,560 of the Kingdom of God will be accomplished by the end of AD 601 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:56,720 1914. I wish I was done. 602 00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:58,960 I'm not done. True, it is expecting great 603 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,120 things to claim as we do, that within the coming 26 years all 604 00:33:02,120 --> 00:33:04,360 present governments will be overthrown and dissolved. 605 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:06,920 I'm still not done. We see no reason for changing 606 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,400 the figures, nor could we change them if we would. 607 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:11,960 They are, we believe, God's dates, not ours. 608 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:15,280 But bear in mind, at the end of 1914 is not the date for the 609 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,560 beginning, but the end of time of trouble. 610 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,960 Now, in view of recent labor troubles and threatened anarchy, 611 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:25,280 our readers are writing to know if there may not be a mistake in 612 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:28,120 the 1914 date. They did not see how present 613 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:30,360 conditions can hold out so long under the strain. 614 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:34,280 We see no reason for changing the figures, nor could we change 615 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:36,920 them if we would. They are, we believe, God's 616 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:39,560 dates, not ours. But bear in mind that the end of 617 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:43,560 1914 is not the date for the beginning, but the date of the 618 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:47,520 end of the time of trouble. I believe that's the last one 619 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:48,600 that I have. No, I'm not done yet. 620 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,240 Oh, there's still more. True, it is expecting great 621 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:57,320 things to claim, as we do, that within the next coming 26 years 622 00:33:57,320 --> 00:33:59,520 all present governments will be overthrown and dissolved. 623 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:02,480 But we are living in a special and peculiar time, the day of 624 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:04,520 Jehovah. In view of the strong Bible 625 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,600 evidence concerning the times of the Gentiles, we consider an 626 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,040 established truth that the final end of the kingdoms of this 627 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:13,360 world and the full establishment of the kingdoms of God will be 628 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:17,120 accomplished by the end of AD 1914. 629 00:34:17,320 --> 00:34:22,199 And then it goes on and on and on. 630 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,400 Does it sound like it's something that was just a 631 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:30,239 spiritual or metaphorical Kingdom, or did they really 632 00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:32,719 believe that the world was going to end in 1914? 633 00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:37,080 They really believed that the world would end in 1914. 634 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,400 And spoiler alert, we're still here. 635 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,040 We're still here and they're still here. 636 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:49,080 So what do you have to do? Well, you have to find a way to 637 00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,800 cover up the mistake. And to do that, they had to 638 00:34:51,800 --> 00:34:56,800 reverse engineer a prophecy of taking a little bit from Daniel, 639 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:02,360 a little bit from Luke, a little bit from Revelation, and a 640 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:03,680 little bit from the book of Numbers. 641 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:07,400 And they cooked it together. And what they ended up was a 642 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:12,280 toxic soup, a false doctrine. You know, it's amazing to me 643 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:16,840 that you can take truth and truth and truth and truth. 4 644 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:20,200 Bible passages. All true, but put them together 645 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:23,720 in a way that absolutely destroys them. 646 00:35:24,200 --> 00:35:25,920 Why? Because the Bible tells us this, 647 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:28,880 that the word of God is not for private interpretation, meaning 648 00:35:28,880 --> 00:35:30,840 this. I can't make it say what I want 649 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:33,240 it to say. I can't take the doctrine of the 650 00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:35,120 Word of God and make it what I want it to be. 651 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:39,480 Why is it so important I believe to be not just a Christian and 652 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:42,400 one who knows Jesus Christ their Savior, but to be a Baptist? 653 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:45,000 What is one of the things that people ask us about being 654 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:49,080 Baptists all the time we say this, it's because we want to 655 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,000 believe the Bible from beginning to end. 656 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:52,960 We need no other book. We need nothing else. 657 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:56,280 What we say is it's the Bible and the Bible alone that saves 658 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:58,200 you. It's the Bible and the Bible 659 00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:01,040 alone that will teach you. It's the Bible and the Bible 660 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:04,880 alone that will guide you in every area of your life. 661 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,560 And so here's what I want us to understand today, and we'll 662 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:09,240 actually finish in just a moment. 663 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:14,080 As a little bit of an aside, you say how on earth could we reach 664 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:17,320 a Jehovah Witness? How on earth could we reach 665 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:18,240 them? And it seems hard. 666 00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:20,440 And the reason why it's hard is for several different things. 667 00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:23,880 One, you can't use your Bible with them because they do not 668 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:26,920 accept this as the word of God. They will only accept the New 669 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:30,320 World Translation. You can't talk to them about 670 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:33,640 things that you found online. Listen, they will not research 671 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:37,080 and they are forbidden to research anything about Jehovah 672 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:39,440 Witnesses online. They have been told on high. 673 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:41,680 We'll look at the hierarchy the next time we look at this 674 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:44,240 lesson. But basically the hierarchy are 675 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:49,000 8 men who meet in New York and those eight men tell everybody 676 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:50,880 what they believe, how they believe it. 677 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:54,360 And when the end times come, in their minds, they will have to 678 00:36:54,360 --> 00:36:57,360 do whatever those eight men tell them to do That's it. 679 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,680 So how do you reach people that are even told by those eight 680 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:05,560 men? Don't even Google the words 681 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:08,680 Jehovah Witnesses. Don't Google it because whatever 682 00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:11,200 you see on there will be propaganda and it will be false. 683 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:14,720 The only website that they really can legitimately go to 684 00:37:14,720 --> 00:37:19,960 isjw.org, where you saw videos like the one we just watched a 685 00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:23,920 few minutes ago that are false. If you're like me, you think, 686 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:26,160 how on earth can you reach someone like that? 687 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:31,480 How on earth, when you don't even have something in common, 688 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:36,200 how could you talk to them while at the same time we share common 689 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:39,200 words and phrases and terms, but yet when they talk about them, 690 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:41,400 they mean something totally different than what we mean. 691 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:44,720 How do we reach these people? And we reach these people by 692 00:37:44,720 --> 00:37:48,960 using their own literature. What I just showed you right 693 00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:51,960 there shows that in their own literature they were false. 694 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:55,400 By showing them places in the Watchtower that teach their 695 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:57,960 wrong, by showing them place in the New World Translation, we're 696 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,240 still Jesus Christ is uplifted. For whatever reason, they remain 697 00:38:01,240 --> 00:38:03,960 in the New World Translation. They're few and far between. 698 00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:08,480 In fact, the by the New World Translation won't even call that 699 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:11,680 a cross. It's called a stake because they 700 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:15,960 refuse to acknowledge the cross. How do you deal with someone 701 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:19,320 like that? You have to understand what they 702 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:22,960 believe and you understand where they believe it from so that 703 00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:25,480 when you have a conversation with them, you were able to 704 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:29,360 lovingly bring up these issues. Because I will tell you this, 705 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:32,200 from all that I've seen and I've watched several videos and a lot 706 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:35,200 of research this week in preparation for the next several 707 00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:39,520 weeks on this on top of my normal reading for this series. 708 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:43,440 But what I found is this. Jehovah Witnesses are afraid. 709 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:47,000 They are so afraid. Say afraid of what? 710 00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:50,600 They are afraid that they won't make it to heaven because it's a 711 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:56,200 works based salvation. If they do not go and knock on 712 00:38:56,200 --> 00:38:59,520 people's doors once a week. And if they do not go or rather 713 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:02,080 once a month and they do not stand at one of those stands 714 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:04,880 once a month, they have no hope of heaven, period. 715 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:07,160 That's been an edict. One hour. 716 00:39:07,480 --> 00:39:11,520 You have to do it. And on top of that, they have 717 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:13,720 this idea that the end times will come. 718 00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:17,040 And if they're not ready, some of the biggest preppers, if you 719 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:19,600 will, or actually Jehovah Witnesses, because they are so 720 00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:24,840 afraid of what will happen next. Where is the life that were 721 00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:28,520 promised in the word of God and life more abundantly, it's not 722 00:39:28,520 --> 00:39:31,920 found there. It's fear, anxiety. 723 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:37,400 In fact, watching one video this week, I saw that that these 724 00:39:37,400 --> 00:39:38,680 public, they're called publishers. 725 00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:42,600 If you go out and you share the good word, if you will, of the 726 00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:44,400 Jehovah Witnesses, you're called a publisher. 727 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:47,560 And they talked about the publishers walk. 728 00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:51,360 Because if you've ever watched a Jehovah Witness, and I, and I 729 00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:53,560 realize this now, once I saw, if you ever see them walking down 730 00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:59,480 the street, they walk like this. They're in no hurry to get 731 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:01,080 anywhere. You know why? 732 00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:03,880 They're just trying to fulfill their hour. 733 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:07,040 That's it. They're not really worried about 734 00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:08,960 souls. They're not really worried about 735 00:40:08,960 --> 00:40:13,280 who knows about their Jesus. They just want to make sure the 736 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:16,280 hour is done. I'm thankful yesterday we were 737 00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:18,640 making visits to people and talking to people about Jesus 738 00:40:18,640 --> 00:40:21,520 and we're and, and the idea I have is just, we got time for 739 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:23,640 one more. Can we, can we see one more 740 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:25,440 person? Can we talk to someone else 741 00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:26,280 about Jesus? You know why? 742 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:28,800 Because I want people to know about Jesus. 743 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:30,120 I wanted many people. You know why? 744 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:32,240 Because he's done so much for me. 745 00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:35,440 That's the difference between false religion and pure 746 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:37,160 religion. That's the difference between 747 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:39,480 falsehood and the truth of the word of God. 748 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:43,400 So I hope this has been a little bit of a wedding of your 749 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:45,040 appetite. You said, boy pastor, that was 750 00:40:45,040 --> 00:40:49,160 so convoluted, right? And it's going to get even more 751 00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:51,320 detailed as we go along. And I know you may not capture 752 00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:53,160 all that we're talking about, and that's OK. 753 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:57,000 But if nothing else, to help you understand the confusion that 754 00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,640 these people live with, the fear that they live with, but that we 755 00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:01,760 want to show them the hope of the gospel. 756 00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:05,200 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 757 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:08,080 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 758 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:11,560 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 759 00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:16,160 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 760 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:21,000 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 761 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:23,800 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 762 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:25,000 grow in His Word.