Tampering with Heaven's Constitution - SFC2213

SPEAKER A Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. SPEAKER B Would you like to better understand the Bible? How can you grow as a Christian and find personal peace? What happens at the second coming of Jesus? What is the relevance of Bible prophecy today? How do you identify a cult? What happens when you die? Here is your opportunity to find answers to these and many other questions by exploring 30 not only relevant, but life changing topics that await your discovery. Welcome to search for certainty. SPEAKER C I'm glad you could join us. I'm your host Gayl Fong, and with me in the studio today is Hana Nakagawa. Welcome, Hana. SPEAKER D Thank you, Gayl. SPEAKER C So good to be back and to be studying God's word together. SPEAKER D Definitely. SPEAKER C Our topic today is tampering with Heaven's constitution. The prophecies of Daniel and revelation unmask a titanic struggle between good and evil just before Jesus comes. This last battle in the great controversy centers in the law of God. Satan hates the eternal principles that are the basis of heaven's government. He desires to lead all to violate God's law and disregard the very foundation of happiness. The enemy's special attack is upon the Fourth Commandment, which exalts Jesus as the Creator. As we discovered Hana in our last lesson. The 7th day Sabbath is a memorial of Christ's creative authority. It is an eternal symbol of both our rest in Christ for salvation and our absolute loyalty to Him. The Sabbath is an eternal link to our Creator. Many sincere Christians are asking the big question how was the Sabbath changed from the 7th day Saturday to the first day Sunday? Is there information in the Bible predicting an attempt to change God's law? The answer to these questions is found in a symbolic vision given to the prophet Daniel. And before we begin, Hana, would you pray and invite the Holy Spirit to guide us in our study today? SPEAKER D Sure. Heavenly Father, we want to praise you. We want to thank you Lord, because you have given us the Bible. You have given us the truth so that we will know you and we will know your truth. Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit will be with us. Please guide us and clear our mind that we may hear your voice. We pray all these things in Jesus name. Amen. SPEAKER C Amen. Hana, the first question we're going to ask is what did Daniel see in prophetic vision? Well, we need to turn to the book of Daniel. SPEAKER D Sure. SPEAKER C Daniel, chapter seven, verses two and three. SPEAKER D It says Daniel spoke, saying, I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of heaven were staring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion and had eagle's wing. I watched till its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on 2ft like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. SPEAKER C Wow. This is quite an amazing vision here. Now, Hana, what did Daniel see in this vision, according to that verse? Those verses? SPEAKER D Yes. He saw the four winds of heaven were staring up the great sea. Four great beasts came up from the sea. So he saw this four great beast. SPEAKER C So beast coming out of the sea or the ocean. It can't be literal. No, it's obviously there's symbols and what is represented by the symbols of wind, sea and beast. And we're going to let the Bible interpret that for us. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C So, Hana, for winds, if you would go to Jeremiah, chapter 49, verses 36 and 37. SPEAKER D Yeah. It says, Against Elam, I would bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven and scatter them toward all those winds. There shall be no nation where the outcasts of Elam will not go, for I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them. My fierce anger says the Lord, and I would send a sword after them until I have consumed them. SPEAKER C So here, Hana, winds represent disaster or strife. Now, sea, what does sea represent in Scripture need to go to Revelation, chapter 17 and verse 15. And this is helping us unpack the scene that Daniel saw in his vision. SPEAKER D Yeah. So verse 15 in Revelation 17, it says, then he said to me, the waters which you saw were where the hallowed sits are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. SPEAKER C So, Hana's, sea here represents a lot of people. A lot of people. We sometimes say there was a sea of yes, there's just so many people. SPEAKER D Too many. Yeah. SPEAKER C So I couldn't pick you out. SPEAKER A There's just so many. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C And a beast represents going back to the book of Daniel. Daniel, chapter seven, same chapter where you began, verse 17 and verse 24, it. SPEAKER D Says, those great beasts which are four and four kings, which arise out of the earth. Verse 24. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom, and another shall rise after them. He shall be different from the first ones and shall substitute three kings. So these great beasts, which are four, are four kings for kings, for kingdoms. SPEAKER C For powers that will arise out of the earth. Interesting. Hana, well, how many beasts did Daniel see? Name these beasts in Daniel seven, verses three through two. Seven. SPEAKER D Yeah. And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other. The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to sun on 2ft like a man, and a man's heart was given to it. And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear, it was rised up on other side and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and they said thus to it, arise, devow much flesh. After this I looked and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of the bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the night vision, and behold, a four beast fourth feast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth. It was devouring, breaking in pieces and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it. And it had ten horns. So there are four beasts, like a lion and bear, leopard and the one dreadful and terrible. Yes. SPEAKER C Hana in Daniel seven, the prophet pictures these four great beasts, as you've just read, rising up out of the sea, remembering the sea is a populated region. These beasts represent four great kingdoms that arise as we've identified beasts as kingdoms and as we studied much earlier in Daniel chapter two, the four great nations that ruled in succession from Daniel's time are Babylon, Nidoposia, Greece and Rome. The four beasts of Daniel seven are a fitting description of these four great ruling powers. The lion, as you read Hana, with eagle's wings, has been found on Babylonian coins and on the brickwork of ancient Babylonian buildings. The king of beasts is a fitting symbol for the king of empires. The prophet Jeremiah described Babylon as a lion. That's interesting, too. In Jeremiah four and verse seven, MIDA Persia, as a dual empire came into prominence by destroying Lydia, Babylon and Egypt. Soon the Persians rose to ascendancy over the Medes. The Bible aptly describes this empire as a bear raising itself on one side with three ribs in its mouth. And then the leopard that you read about, Hana, with wings, clearly describes the third empire, Greece. Alexander the Great swiftly conquered the nations of his day, and thus the four wings. He didn't have two. He had four with great swiftness and the dragon like beast, dreadful and terrible. The last one, the fourth one, and exceedingly strong, describes the fierceness of Rome. Wow. So how was the fourth beast, Rome, different, Hana, from all the beasts before it? Daniel, chapter seven and verse seven after. SPEAKER D This I saw in the night vision and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth. It was devouring, breaking in pieces and trembling the rescue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it. And it had ten horns. SPEAKER C Interesting. So the Roman Empire was not overcome by a fifth world ruling empire. The ten horns represent the divisions of the Roman Empire. The barbarian tribes attacked from the north and divided the empire. SPEAKER D It is also related to when we studied Daniel chapter two, there was ten toes as well on the feet. SPEAKER C That's so correct, Hana. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C Those divisions again are very notable. God is using repetition and expansion to help us to understand. Well, Hana, how does the prophet Daniel describe the power that arose after the ten divisions of the Roman Empire? In Daniel seven, verse eight, I was. SPEAKER D Considering the horns and there was another horn, a little one coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking pompous words. SPEAKER C Interesting, Hana. So there's another little horn that comes up out of the ten. So the ten are in place and then this little one rises. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C And he had eyes and a mouth. SPEAKER D Yeah. SPEAKER C This new horn in Daniel's prophecies, a horn is a symbol of power. This power begins small at first and subtly grows unsuspectingly into a dominant world force. Well, where did this little horn arise? Daniel seven, verse eight. And how it's worded is so important to give us the clues. SPEAKER D Yes. I was considering the horns and there was another horn, a little one coming up among them before when three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there in this horn were eyes like the eyes of men and mouths speaking pompous words. So coming up among them. SPEAKER C So whoever this little horn is, Hana, it arises among the ten horns. Yes, the division of the Roman Empire arising out of Rome. It dominates the world. So our next question, Hana, is when did this little horn arise? In Daniel, chapter seven, verse 23 and. SPEAKER D 24, it says thus he said, the fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. Then the ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom and another shall arise right after them. He shall be different from the first ones and shall subdue three kings. SPEAKER C There's a very interesting little word in that passage you read, Hana. And another shall arise after them. It pinpoints definitely after the tenor in place. SPEAKER D Yeah. SPEAKER C The little horn arises after the fall of the Roman Empire. It was rising to prominence in the latter part of the fourth and throughout the fifth century from Ad 351 to 476 Ad, when Rome was in the process of being invaded by the barbarian tribes from the north. Well, what special identifying characteristics does this little horn have? In Daniel chapter seven and verse eight. SPEAKER D I was considering the horns and there was another horn, a little one coming up among them. Before from three of the first horn were plucked out by the roots. And there in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking Pompous. SPEAKER A Hmm. SPEAKER D It has eyes and mouth speaking Pompous was interesting. SPEAKER C So, Hana, we're letting the Bible help us to decode this amazing prophecy. Now, eyes in the Bible represent wisdom of understanding and Paul gives us a verse in Ephesians, the New Testament, chapter one and verse 18. SPEAKER D The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. So it's understanding or knowledge. SPEAKER C Now, it's interesting because as you've read that yes. That helps us unpack eyes. And ancient prophets were called seers, they saw with divine wisdom into the future. But this little horn has eyes like the eyes of a man. It's human wisdom. SPEAKER D Yes. It's not God's wisdom. SPEAKER C Not God's wisdom. Hana, this power does not have God's wisdom. It substitutes human wisdom for divine truth. SPEAKER D Wow. SPEAKER C The little horn substitutes human authority for the eternal claims of God's law. Wow. What does the little horn do to the people of God? In Daniel, chapter seven and verse 25. SPEAKER D It says, he shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. Yeah. It says that this little horn power will persecute the saints of the Most High God's people. SPEAKER C The little horn oppresses those who do not accept its authority. It defends its traditions and persecutes those who do not conform. Well, how long would the little horn reign? Hana? In Daniel seven, verse 25 yes. SPEAKER D He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change time and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. SPEAKER C Now, Hana, we have to unpack that time, times and half a time. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C The prophet Daniel uses that expression. There time, times and half a time. But in Revelation twelve and verse six, it explains this period. If you would read that verse for us. Revelation twelve and verse six. SPEAKER D Sure. It says, Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1260 days. SPEAKER C Interesting. Now, this time period in Bible prophecy, we can only understand it when we allow the Bible to teach us. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C And in Bible prophecy, one prophetic day equals one literal year. We know the time, given the time times and half a time is prophetic time because the beasts are rising up out of the sea with wings and more than one head for the leopard, et cetera. We know these are not normal. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C So we must apply this principle. Now, this principle is found in two verses in the Bible. We've got in Ezekiel four, verse six, and Numbers 1434. So, Hana, if you'd read for us, which one would you have there first? SPEAKER D Ezekiel, chapter four and verse six. SPEAKER C We want to look at this key that's unlocking one prophetic day equaling one literal year. SPEAKER D Sure. And when you have completed, then lie against on your right side, then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. 40 days I have laid on you a day for each year. SPEAKER C So Ezekiel was physically carrying out that command of what God was going to bring upon the nation. SPEAKER D Yes. SPEAKER C Then we go to numbers 14 and verse 34. SPEAKER D It says, according to the number of the days in which you spiced out the land, 40 days. For each day you shall bear your guilt. One year, namely 40 years, and you shall know my rejection. SPEAKER C So again, when Moses sent the spies into the land to spy out the land of Canaan, they'd been gone for 40 days. But when they came back, what did they do? Hana? What did they say? What was their problem? SPEAKER D You shall know my rejection. SPEAKER C God rejected them because they did not believe that God could take them in. Instead of bringing back a good report, they were scared. They were scared of the giants there. So God said, well, for every day that you were spying out the land, you'll be a year wandering in the wilderness. He could not bring them into the Promised Land because they had an unbelieving heart. There were two faithful spies, though, joshua and Caleb, and God did bring them in 40 years later. Interesting. So there's one prophetic day equaling one literal year principle. Now, since one prophetic day equals a prophetic year, 1260 days equals 1260 years. Now, I just like to add in there, going back to the Book of Daniel, where we had the time, times and half a time. If you've been following our Bible studies through, you would remember that we looked at this in a previous study, but perhaps you're just joining in today and we'd just like to just add a little there. Time represents one year, times represents two years, and half a time is half a year. So Daniel is talking about three and a half prophetic years. So when you do the math in Jewish reckoning, one year had 360 days, two years would have 720 days, and half a year would have 180 days. Because you see, every month was 30 days. So when you add up the 360, the 720 and the 180, you come to 1260 days. The same as mentioned in Revelation. This time period is actually mentioned seven times in the Bible. SPEAKER D Wow. SPEAKER C So going back to unpacking it, in Ad 538, the Roman Church became the single dominant religious power in Europe. The pagan Roman Emperor Justinian gave to the Pope of Rome civil as well as religious authority. Eventually, this resulted in severe persecution. The Dark Ages followed. On the heels of this union, god's people were imprisoned, tortured and martyred. From Ad 538 to Ad 1798, this union of church and state continued throughout Europe. Well, what would this power, based upon human wisdom, do to the truth of God in Daniel chapter eight and verse twelve. SPEAKER D It says, because of translation, an enemy was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices, and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered. Wow. He cast truth down to the ground. And he even prospered as well? SPEAKER C Yes, for that length of time. That's a long period of time of persecution that the world has been through. How did the Apostle Paul describe this apostasy in early Christianity? We go to the Book of Acts. Acts, chapter 20, verse 29 to 31. SPEAKER D It says, for I know this that after my departure, savage wolves would come in among you, not sparing the flock also from among yourself men will rise up speaking perverse thing to draw away the disciples after themselves. So there will be a confusion, there will be speaking perverse things to draw people away from the truth. SPEAKER C Yes, very true. Hana. And what counsel does Paul give then? SPEAKER D In verse 31 31, therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. SPEAKER C It's very important to know what the Bible says. And watch. Yes, watch with a prepared heart. The apostle Paul predicted false religious teachers would arise in Daniel 724, the little horn is described as being different from the other ten horns. The ten kingdoms of Rome were political. The little horn is clearly a religious power. What would this little horn power attempt to do with the law of God? In Daniel 725, the Bible says he. SPEAKER D Shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saint shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. So he will intend to change times and law? Well, it didn't say he did, but intend to change it. SPEAKER C That's correct. Hana well, let's ask ourselves what power arose by destroying three of the ten tribes into which pagan Rome was divided? And as a little horn comes up. Hana, if you just read again Daniel seven and verse eight, it says, I. SPEAKER D Was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little horn coming up among them before from three of the first horn were plucked out by the roots. SPEAKER C Okay. Now, which power arose out of Rome after the division of the Roman Empire from Ad. 351 to Ad. 476 as a religious, not a political power? Which religious power arose from Rome in these early centuries and had a man as its visible head or leader, as we read in Daniel seven? Which one made boastful presumptuous claims about its authority, which has persecuted the people of God, has reigned for 1260 years, and has attempted to change God's law? There is only one power in history that could possibly fit into this clear delineation, and that's papal Rome. Let us note how it fits Daniel's description. History reveals that Rome's power base expanded gradually as it uprooted that which stood in its way. It is part of human nature to want to crush opposition in an attempt to solidify one's power base. It became dominant by bringing about the destruction of three of the tribes the Heralai in Ad 493, the Vandals in Ad 534, and the Ostrogroths in Ad 538. And you can find that history from Gibbons The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume four, chapters 39 and 40. It was different from its predecessors. It claimed dominion over the souls as well as the bodies of men. Historians of the period confirm more than 50 million people died for their faith in God's word. The papacy reigned supreme for 1260 years. In 85 33, the Roman Emperor Justinian declared the bishop of Rome supreme bishop of all the churches. In Ad 538, the Roman General Belcerius drove the Ostragoths out of Rome. The papacy was the supreme religiopolitical power in Europe from Ad 538 to Ad 1798. The French General Berthier. Napoleon's supreme commander, imprisoned the Pope in 1798. People living at that time might have thought the papacy had come to an end. Revelation's prophecy, though, predicts that the deadly wound would be healed. Hana, if you wouldn't mind reading for us Revelation 13 and verse three. SPEAKER D Sure. The Bible says, And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world marveled and followed the beast. SPEAKER C Thank you, Hana. So Daniel's prediction regarding the Little Horn met its fulfillment in the Pope's captivity in 1798. Well does the papacy claim it changed the law of God? Well, Hana, this is an interesting thought. This is fascinating. The papacy clearly acknowledges changing the Sabbath from Saturday, the 7th day of the week, to Sunday, the first day of the week. It declares the change to be an act of its ecclesiastical authority. Now, the statements that we're about to read cover the past 100 years and clearly demonstrate the consensus of the Church's thinking on the change of the Sabbath. Hana, if you'd like to read this quote for us on sure. SPEAKER D The Catholic Church, for more than 1000 years before the existence of a Protestant by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday. It's from the Catholic Mirror. September 1893. Question which day is the Sabbath day? Answer saturday is the Sabbath day. Question why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Answer because the Catholic Church transferred the sonti from Saturday to Sunday. So it's from Peter Kieriman, The Converts Catholicism, 1948, page 50. The Church, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or 7th day of the week, to the first may the Third Commandment, refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy, as the lost day. The Catholic Encyclopedia, volume four, page 153. The human tradition can never be a substitute for divine truth. The commandments of men are no substitute for the commandments of God. No human power has the authority to change the law of God. Written with his own finger on tables of stone, jesus invites us to listen to his voice alone. He says, if you love me, keep my commandments. SPEAKER C John 1415 wow, Hana, there's some amazing statements there that have been put in print by the Catholic Church. Well, when we are faced, Hana, with a decision between truth and tradition, what counsel does Jesus give us? We're just going by what the word of God says. And God's word says in Matthew 633. SPEAKER D This it says, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. SPEAKER C And then Acts, chapter five and verse 29. SPEAKER D The Bible says, but Peter and the other apostle answered and said we ought to obey God rather than man. SPEAKER C That's a very powerful command, isn't it? God lovingly appeals to his followers to obey him willingly. Our obedience is a sign of our deep love. He invites us to turn from the commandments of human beings to the law of God. No individual has the authority to change God's law. It is much more than a matter of days. It's a matter of master. Jesus invites us to acknowledge Him as the supreme Lord and Master. There's a little statement here, and maybe I should read this as well, that I have here in my notes. It says, you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify. And that's from J. Gibbons, Faith of Our Fathers, page 111. The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is a homage they pay in spite of themselves to the authority of the Catholic Church. And that's from plain Talk about Protestantism on page two, one three. Here's another quote from Carl Keating, catholicism and Fundamentalism from 1988, page 38. Fundamentalists meet for worship on Sunday. Yet there is no evidence in the Bible that corporate worship was to be made on Sundays. The Jewish Sabbath or day of rest was, of course, Saturday. It was the Catholic Church that decided Sunday should be the day of worship for Christians in honor of the resurrection. Then there's another one here the Catholic World, March 1994, page eight, nine. The sun was a foremost god with heathendom. The sun has worshippers at this hour in Persia and other lands. There is no truth. There is in truth I'm sorry, something royal kingly about the sun, making it a fit emblem of Jesus, the Son of justice. Hence the church in these countries would seem to have said, keep that old pagan name. It shall remain consecrated sanctified. And thus the pagan Sunday dedicated to boulder became the Christian Sunday sacred to Jesus. Now, Hana, if you'd read the next little quote there. SPEAKER D Sure, but since Saturday, not Sunday, is specified in a Bible, isn't it curious that non Catholics who profess to take their religion directly from the Bible and not from the church? Church observe Sunday instead of Saturday. Yes, of course it is inconsistent, but the change was made about 15 centuries before Protestantism was born. They have continued to observe the custom, even though it rests upon the authority of the Catholic Church, and not upon an explicit text in a Bible. That of servants remains the reminder of the Mother Church, from which non Catholic sects broke away like a boy running away from his mother, but still carrying in his pocket a picture of his mother or a lock of her hair. That was from Rev. John or Brian the Faith of Millions, page 421 and 422. Protestantism, in discarding the authority of the Church, has no good reason for its Sunday theory and ought logically to keep Saturday with the Jew. It is from American Catholic Quarterly Review, january 1883. And we have another quote now every child in school knows that the Sabbath Day is a Saturday, the 7th day of the week. And yet, with the exception of the 7th day Adventists, all Protestants keep Sunday instead of Sabbath Day, because the Catholic Church made this change in the first age of Christianity. It was from Free Press, april 21, 1884. SPEAKER C Wow, Hana, there are so many historical quotes there from her own writings which are telling us the same thing. Well, God's word is true. Yes, god never changes. And I pray that you're listening today. This would be Your prayer too. Dear Lord, I choose to give my obedience and loyalty as a sign of my deep love for you. I desire to be faithful to Your law rather than the commandments of human beings. I acknowledge you as supreme lord and master in my life. I pray that which be Your desire. I'd just like to add a final word of prayer to that. Our dear Heavenly Father, who is our Supreme God, who is the Ruler and King of the Universe, who is our Creator, who is our Savior, who is our High Priest, who is our coming King to you and to you alone. We choosing to worship and give you the reverence and praise that you deserve. We pray, Lord, that you may bring home to our hearts a desire and a hunger to study Your Word, so that we may experience the joy of knowing you and knowing you in all that is true, because you are God who's true and faithful. Thank you for the Sabbath. Thank you for revealing through prophecy how the change came about. And Lord, you have many children scattered throughout this world, of every denomination, of every nation, tribe, language and people. And Lord, you love everyone because you died for the sins of the world. We pray, Lord, that you may bring. US all into a wonderful knowledge of who you are so that we may experience the joy of salvation. And thank you for revealing truth to us today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. SPEAKER D Amen. SPEAKER C Thank you so much for joining us today. We've really been blessed by this study and it's been so good to study with you, Hana, today. And we pray that you will join us again. May God bless you and go in peace. SPEAKER A Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and a light unto my path. You're the light unto my path. SPEAKER E If you have questions or comments about any of the programs you've heard, you can call three 3ABN Australia Radio within Australia on 024-97-3456, or from outside of Australia on Country Code 612-497-3456. Our email address is [email protected] that is radio at the number 3abnaustralia.org.au Our postal address is 3ABN, Australia, Inc. PO. Box seven five two. Morisset, New South Wales 2264, Australia thank you for your prayers and financial support. SPEAKER F You want from me in stone. SPEAKER A A. SPEAKER F Reflection of your character, O Lord so I try to keep your loss without. SPEAKER A Regret. SPEAKER F But I'm easily distracted and forget. SPEAKER A So write them on my heart feel them in my mind the beauty of your war and grace combined. SPEAKER F Remind me. SPEAKER A Just how lovely your commandments are and. SPEAKER F Write them on the tablets of heart. SPEAKER A Inside of me it's to be everything you've created me to be and I know the only way that I can grow is for you to come inside and take control write them on my heart see them in my mind the beauty of your Lord grace combined remind me just how lovely your commandments are and write them on the tablets of my heart your heart reflects your goodness and the cross reveals your grace love the motivation behind your perfect ways so. SPEAKER F Write them on my heart feel. SPEAKER A Them in my mind the beauty of your grace combined remind me just how lovely your command and rise upon the tablets of my heart remind me just how lovely your commandments are and write them on the tablets of my heart. SPEAKER C From. SPEAKER G Marleta Fong's album in his presence. That was write Them on my heart. Up next, Sarah Draget will sing. Remember. SPEAKER F In ancient times God built a monument at the dawn of creation. He hallowed and blessed those moments of rest that day of complete veneration. That pillar he made not a stone, but of time. The hours were sacred. The idea divine and the morning stars sing for joy they did shine and shout that first week of creation. SPEAKER D And. SPEAKER F Lest they forget he made angels food fall down from the sky on all days but one and he wrote it down for the sake of us all. Among the ten rules on the stone those rules about murder and stealing and lying engraving with blazing finger defying whoever in heaven or hell should endeavor to change the commandments. SPEAKER A He wrote here is the patient for the saint. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. SPEAKER F Then came God's own Son to show us the way. He hallowed that same Sabbath day. The pure Lamb of God as our soil, he trod in God's perfect will, he did say till heaven and earth shall indeed pass away, not one daughter, one dash will be changed, he did say. The apostles of old, kept and honored, were told the same law that their. SPEAKER A Master obeyed. SPEAKER F For 300 years after our Savior died and arose from the grave and ascended on high. The Christians respected the law and the stone, the one written with finger divine. But then came the day Constantine was his name. SPEAKER A The emperor who over owns it rain. SPEAKER F Towards the old landmark, the pillar of God and directed the day of the sun. SPEAKER A Here is the patience of the day. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. SPEAKER F As millennia past, the memory of God's pillar of time was slowly erased by the ceaseless waves of generations of human traditions and days. But God called his people out from. SPEAKER A Among them to point to his word. SPEAKER F And light up the darkness and restore the knowledge of his special covenant reserved. SPEAKER A From the dawning of time. Let you think that the crowd can't be wrong today. Remember the crowd in a land far away the one who blindly rejected their king and the pride of the breath and their death we sing as the jealous lying accusation they bring and they murder their humble messiah. SPEAKER F Beast left its mark on the pages of time pushed a heathen day in place of the divine thought to change times and laws the laws that God's finger engraved on the tables of stone. Those who oppose it, it trembles and kills that city that sits on seven hills. The head market causes small and great to receive on forehead or hands in thought or indeed it cares not whether you're really deceived or just afraid and so follow it lead. SPEAKER A Here is the patience of the day. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Remember in my remember in my safe. SPEAKER H You enjoy the short presentation of how God led his people after the Reformation. From lineagejourney.com Ellen White's work in Australia and New Zealand was largely a pioneering work. Ethan Haskell and his team had arrived several years earlier, but much of the work was yet to be done. Here in this new country, they would go into unentered fields, open schools, churches, sanitariums and publishing houses. The membership was small, but the vision was big. Ellen White had mentioned Australia as early as 1874 when she wrote the message will go in power to Oregon, to Europe, to australia. At the age of 60, 417 years later, she would arrive here in Australia. The original team had originally docked in Sydney, but they would end up settling here in Melbourne and this city is really the birthplace of Adventism in Australia. This was also where Ellen White first settled. When she came in mid 1892, she sent a message to the conference president, AG Daniels, that a school needed to be started for the education of the youth. This message was both welcomed and also troubling. How could a membership so small and poor in worldly goods accomplish it? They started the Australasian Bible School in two rented houses on St George's Terrace. On St Kilda's Road. In their first term, they had between 25 and 50 students. Later on, the school would grow and a third house would be added. Later on, the school would move north to Kurambong, but its roots lie here. Early on, the publishing work was started and a building on the corner of Ray and Scotchma served as both accommodation and publishing house. The first copy of the Bible Echo and Signs Of the Time was published in January of 1886. Later on, they would purchase a property here on Best Street for one $400 and a three story building was erected. The publishing house would stay here until it would move in 1905 to Warburton, where it remains to this day. Our early pioneers sought to use the best means of communication to share the message and this was integral to the strategy of the church as it planted in new areas here in the Edinburgh Gardens. They also held the first tent meetings that would later on lead to the first Adventist Church in the Southern Hemisphere, the North Fitzroy 7th day Adventist Church. Another work that started early on was a health food company. This was known as Sanitarium Health Foods and started in 1898 on Clark Street in North Cut, Melbourne. Ellen White strongly encouraged this, as well as the later move of the company from Melbourne to Avondale so that the college students could work there. Today's, Sanitarium Foods is one of the largest health food companies in the world and is widely recognized throughout Australia for its wide range of products, in particular its flagship product, Wheat Bix. The financial support given by Sanitarium to the work of the church is in line with the instruction Ellen White gave about the health food work that it is God's gift to his people and the profits are to be used for the good of suffering humanity everywhere. This is perhaps the best illustration of this close working relationship anywhere in the world. And so the work of the church started in a comprehensive fashion evangelism, church planting, education, a health food company, a publishing house and a sanitarium. There were many dimensions to the church in its early days. Despite only having a few members, they worked hard and sought to follow the counsel that God had given them, even though they only had a little bit of funds sometimes. Today I think we are too constrained by our circumstances. And if the pioneers manifested the same hesitancy that we often have, I wonder if the work would ever have got going. God is looking for people today who will step out in faith, who will follow the counsel that he has given and seek to accomplish great things in these times in which we're living. To view more episodes in this series, visit lineagejourney.com. SPEAKER G Today, friends, I would like to share with you a short piece entitled My Body. My name is William Ackland. Eat my body and drink my blood. The Lord said long ago, as he watched them eat of the common things, of the stalks and chaff that the devil brings and the dry husks of this world's food. Eat his body and drink his blood. They queried in disbelief how can we do that and be accepted in the faith of our fathers long believed? Now how can that do me, good friends? I speak of a purer world than this poor earthly sod of the Word and the way that you should live, of the sacrifice I am soon to give and the victory gained by the life I've lived to bring you back to God. SPEAKER C You have been listening to a production of three ABN Australia Radio.