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Thank you both, Hartmut and Claudia. I do expect one day to turn my expositions of Revelation into a book. I am also working on a new and improved website to make the material available in print along with the videos. Again, thank you for your encouragement!

Thank you, Joe! We are looking forward to this book an the new website. Warm greetings from Netphen (Germany) Hartmut

Did you listen to the sermon?

It's much on my mind! I have had quite a bit on my plate lately, otherwise I had planned to resume the series in September.

It wasn't people in the first century who labeled Rome "Babylon" in Revelation. It was God. Because the anti type of Old Testament Babylon was finally being revealed by divine revelation. Old Testament Babylon was symbolized as a woman (see Isaiah 47:1-8). So in Revelation the same symbol is applied to the false church associated with Rome.

Well the Statue of Liberty is a little over 10m wide and 93m tall... We aren't told in Daniel 3 whether the image is raising a hand, holding a sword (or a torch!) or any other details. Just that it is an image. A likeness. A representation. And an ancient Babylonian document from the time reads, “Beside my statue as king . . . I wrote an inscription mentioning my name, . . . I erected for posterity. May future kings respect the monument, remember the praise of the gods. . . . He who respects . . . my royal name, who does not abrogate my statutes and not change my decrees, his throne shall be secure, his life last long, his dynasty shall continue.”

The Statue of Liberty only has a ratio of 3.1 to 1 ( w/ the raised arm!) and a 6.2 to 1 ratio if one includes the pedestal.

@alphaomegaambassador4978 Well I'm not sure that's accurate (regarding the proportions when including the whole structure) but either way it's beside the point. You are assuming that Nebuchadnezzar would have built his image following conventions that are thought of as realistic today (like Greco-Roman or modern statues). But that's not a valid assumption. Paintings from around the same period show very disproportionate portrayals of human figures in order to communicate qualities the artist wished to emphasize. One pre Attic painting from around 600 BC, for example, portrays a man with proportions approximately 13:1. The fact that Daniel tells us Nebuchadnezzar set up an "image" tells us it was a representation (and verse 19 of Daniel 3 uses the same word, ts'lem, for the king's face!). And 10:1 proportions probably are meant to communicate that Nebuchadnezzar believed his kingdom would last forever (he elongates his gold portion of the image in chapter 2, to occupy the whole image in chapter 3). You can be pugnacious if you want and insist that no one would make a statue like that, but all you're really saying is no one who thinks like you do makes statues like that. You're really just contradicting what the Scriptures say, in that Nebuchadnezzar built a humanoid statue with 10:1 proportions.

It is! Any takeaways you'd like to share?

What an absurd and empty assertion. The Bible does not contain a single fairy tale.

@@beacon.church "The Bible does not contain a single fairy tale." The Bible contains many fairy tales, including but not limited to, Adam's Rib, the Tree of Knowledge, a talking serpent, Methuselah, Noah's Ark, the Virgin Birth, and the Resurrection.

More empty assertions. Not a single one of those fits the genre of fairy tales. Unless you mean you think they didn't happen. Then just say you think they didn't happen. If that's your opinion, fine. But it makes one wonder why a teacher from Australia would bother trolling videos from a little church on the other side of the world to share contrary opinions. Are you hoping for a chance to share why you think these things in the Bible never happened? Go ahead, I'm all ears.

You're welcome Bob! 😁

Praise God!

You're welcome. I thank God that it was helpful!

Thanks Rob. Yes, glory to God!

:-)

Praise God!

Praise the Lord!

Amen!

I hope to visit him before winter sets in. I'll take you up on that!

Amen!

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks Rob!

Sure Rob. The Final Prophecy of Jesus, by Oral Collins. The ESV Expository Commentary: Hebrews-Revelation (Revelation is by Tom Schreiner). Matthew Henry's Commentary. G.K. Beale's Revelation: A Shorter Commentary, and The Book of Revelation, by Robert Mounce. Collins and Henry are closest to my own view but I've learned a lot from the others as well.

You are very welcome Rob.

Maranatha, Rob! I'm so glad you're working through this wonderful book of the Bible with us.

You're welcome!

"The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof; therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God. ( 2 Peter 1:19-21; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 John 5:9 )." LBCF 1.4

@Beacon Church For Scripture to have Authority, it must have been written by someone, it didn't just appear out of the sky. Also for the scripture's to have been maintained they must have been maintained by people in Authority. Finally considering the Importance of scripture, it must be told by those who have Authority. Because you have none of the above, why should I believe you. You are not the Authority on scripture, and I can gaurantee you that, God did not make you an Authority on scripture, that Authority belongs to the Catholic Church, and its priests to use scripture to preach and teach the scripture's. Anyone can pick a book any book and say that they have Authority but do not. Authority is something that is passed on from one person to another it is not something that a person can claim for themselves. That belief to claim something you have no right to claim, in this case Authority does not come from God but from satan.

Thank you so much We really blessed by God's word

Kindly pray for Manipur N.E india

@peterxuereb9884 Thanks for your follow-up comment, Peter. Let me respond to your points one at a time below. But first let me point out that your rather accusing tone is not appropriate for a Christian. As Paul writes to Timothy, "And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will." (2 Tim. 2:24-26 ESV) This indeed is my prayer for you, that you may still come to your senses and escape the devil's snare. This video you commented on features one of our elders teaching on a Sunday morning. I am the so-called "lead pastor," (I prefer "preaching elder"). My name is Joe. It falls to me to reply to your comment. You wrote, " For Scripture to have Authority, it must have been written by someone, it didn't just appear out of the sky." The logic of your point is odd. I mean, obviously the Scriptures were written by someone. That's why they are called "scriptures" (i.e. writings). What makes them authoritative or not is who wrote them. You wrote, "Also for the scripture's to have been maintained they must have been maintained by people in Authority." This is just a false claim. The more than 5000 fragments of ancient New Testament manuscripts in existence prove your claim is false. The fragments come from a very wide geographic area, and while some were found in monastic libraries, etc., some were found in piles of trash. The entire New Testament can be pieced together many times over from the surviving fragments (not to mention the parts quoted in ancient sermons!). See here: biblearchaeologyreport.com/2019/02/15/the-earliest-new-testament-manuscripts/ The widespread geography where NT fragments have been found suggest that local churches and local Christians preserved and copied manuscripts for a long time because those manuscripts were loved and cherished by ordinary Christians. You wrote, "Finally considering the Importance of scripture, it must be told by those who have Authority [sic]." What "must be told"? Do you mean that the Scriptures "must be READ" by people in authority? Why? Or do you mean that the Scriptures "must be PREACHED" by people in authority? If that's what you mean, I actually agree with you. See below. You wrote, "Because you have none of the above, why should I believe you." By "none of the above," I assume you mean to say I don't have any authority. I don't have any authority with regard to you. That's true. But my church has entrusted me with the authority to preach TO THEM, and authorizes me to teach them, submitting to the teaching and preaching only insofar as I preach and teach what the Scriptures say. That is, the congregation has chosen me to preach and teach as an "overseer" (Latin: bishop) in our local congregation. But why should you believe me, as you ask? You shouldn't. You should do what Luke says the noble people of Berea did, "Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." (Acts 17:11 ESV) You wrote, "You are not the Authority on scripture, and I can gaurantee you that, God did not make you an Authority on scripture, that Authority belongs to the Catholic Church, and its priests to use scripture to preach and teach the scripture's. [sic]" Did God "make you an authority" over who has authority to preach the Bible? In other words, how can you personally "guarantee" that I do not have authority to preach and teach the Scriptures? The only way you could "guarantee" such a thing, by your own logic, is if God himself had given you yourself authority to determine who has the right to teach Scripture. "…That Authority [sic] belongs to the Catholic Church, and its priests to use Scripture to preach and teach the scripture's [sic]." I am part of the catholic (universal) church, the Body of Christ including all those justified by grace through faith in His name. But I think you must be referring to the Roman Catholic Church, which is not a true church of Christ but a counterfeit. The counterfeit nature of the Roman Catholic Church is symbolically foretold in Revelation under the image of a great prostitute (instead of a true bride). But even if the Apostle John had not foreseen the rise and career of the apostate church called "the Roman Catholic Church," and if the Apostle Paul had not foreseen the rise and career of the Popes, the "man of lawlessness" in 2 Thessalonians 2, it would be obvious from history that the priests of Rome are no priests of Christ. First, because Christ did not appoint priests. He appointed 12 apostles, plus Paul, and sent them to preach His Gospel (which the priests of Rome abandoned centuries ago). And they planted congregations where they preached the Gospel and they appointed elders in those congregations to oversee the churches and preach the Word. They gave us the New Testament Scriptures to instruct and guide faithful congregations to discern and appoint the men God raises up within congregations to serve as overseers and elders to carry on the ministry of the Word (see 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, 1 Peter 4). Second, because whereas the Scriptures call believers to pray to and worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the Roman Catholic Church and its false priests instruct people to also pray to idols. You wrote, " Anyone can pick a book any book and say that they have Authority but do not. Authority is something that is passed on from one person to another it is not something that a person can claim for themselves." You are right that anyone could simply assert they have authority but that does not mean they do have authority. But you say, "Authority is something that is passed on from one person to another…" On what authority do you make this assertion? On what basis does your claim rest? I'll tell you: you think this is true because the priests and Popes of Rome long ago began claiming higher authority than the other churches. In order to buttress their claim they invented a line of succession as "proof" that they are Peter's successors. They have done exactly what you said "claim for themselves" an illegitimate authority. You wrote, "That belief to claim something you have no right to claim, in this case Authority does not come from God but from satan [sic]." As Scriptures teach, those who pastor congregations do not possess authority in themselves. They are not allowed to assert their own opinions and ideas as doctrines. They are merely allowed to explain and apply what is written in the Scriptures. The Scriptures are the holy word of God and as such carry His own authority in every word written. When the Scriptures are faithfully preached and taught, the teaching, if it is faithful to what is written, is binding on those who hear. In other words, as a teaching elder, or pastor, I have no authority at all. Neither do your pope and priests. But the Bible is God's authority. I strive to preach and teach what the Bible says. Your popes and priests have polluted their teaching with "traditions of men" (Mat 15:9; Mar 7:7-8) for centuries. Preaching "another gospel" (2 Cor 11:4; Gal 1:6-7) than the one delivered by the apostles to Christians. As Jude warned, "I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ." (Jude 1:3-4 ESV)

You are welcome!

Praise God! And thank you, Casa, for the wonderful work you are doing in Oaxaca!

Glad it is helpful!

Thanks Margreeth! Please pray that I will finish.

Thanks Brittany! I'm glad you're enjoying the series!

The title had you worried? 😁

You are very welcome. Praise God!

Praise God!

Amen Esther!

And you and yours!

Thanks for listening!

I'm very glad

I'm sorry Matt. I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Are you disagreeing with the statement Adam read in this video?

Wonderful!

You're welcome Steve!

Thank you Jarrett!

Amen!

Amen

👍🏻

So glad!