666

Father, this is your word. Jesus is our Savior, and we are your people.

And we ask that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon your people

so that we would not only understand your word, but that it would change how we live.

We ask that you would help us and teach us how to pray.

We ask that you would help us and teach us to long to see your face,

that you would help us to deny ourselves and pick up our cross and follow Jesus,

even when sometimes that's very hard, although carrying a cross is always hard.

We give you thanks and praise that your Son said that his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would move and work within us

so that your Holy Spirit would have a deeper place in our lives.

Father, we ask that you would do a great work, a work of your work in our lives this morning

as we gather in the presence of Jesus.

And this we ask in Jesus' name, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

So, Revelation 13.

You know, I don't like horror movies in general.

In fact, I rarely watch horror movies.

I remember even when I was watching The Sixth Sense,

I watched it because I didn't think it was a horror movie for some reason.

And about a quarter of the way into the movie,

I was watching it with a couple of my older kids at the time.

I thought, if I was watching this movie by myself, I would turn it off right now and leave.

But then I thought, I do not want to appear a wuss in front of my teenage sons.

So, I continued to watch the movie.

Having said all that, I actually do enjoy the television series, The Walking Dead.

And when I tell you that I enjoy certain things,

this is not a recommendation that you necessarily go out and watch it.

Because some of you might not like zombie television series.

But I actually, I am going to talk about zombies later on in the service,

for those of you who understand such things.

But having said all that, one of the interesting things about horror movies, etc.,

and in our culture, is that while there's a whole range of things in our culture,

that there's many, many people in our culture who are fairly illiterate in terms of the Bible.

And that's, you know, fair enough.

They haven't been raised as Christians.

Why would they know what Christianity is?

But in fact, the idea of the beast and the number 666,

there are many, many, many people who would have understood that.

If you were to go by, probably just stand at the corner of King Edward and Rideau,

and ask people, are you familiar with the idea of 666 and the beast and the number of the beast?

Like, I wouldn't be surprised if 80, 90, 95% of the people said they had heard of such things.

So it's actually sort of interesting that today we get to look at the original source of these ideas.

And so it would be a great help to me if you actually, yeah, let's turn in the Bible,

and let's look at this great source of these very, very familiar ideas.

And it's a book of Revelation.

It's the last book in the Bible.

And it's Revelation chapter 13.

Revelation 13 · chapter mention

And actually, we're going to start reading, like, the very last sentence of the chapter before this.

And the chapter before, it talks about the dragon.

And the dragon is sort of an image of the devil.

And here's how the text begins.

And it goes like this.

Revelation, the very last bit of chapter 12, and then into the chapter 13.

And the dragon stood on the sand of the sea.

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea.

And by the way, the implication of the text is that the dragon is calling the beast out of the sea.

In the original language, that's the implication.

So the dragon stands on the sand of the sea looking out.

And then John, who's having this vision, he sees a beast rising out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads,

with ten diadems on its horns and a name of blasphemy on its heads.

And the beast that I saw was like a leopard.

Its feet were like a bear's.

And its mouth was like a lion's mouth.

And to it, the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.

One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound.

In the original language, it means a death wound.

But its death wound was healed.

And the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.

And they worshipped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast.

And they worshipped the beast, saying,

Who is like the beast and who can fight against it?

Now, I'm going to say some shocking things about this text.

But I want to make sure you understand what I'm saying.

And so I'm going to repeat, and Andrew's going to put it on the screen.

I'm going to repeat some things that I said last week,

just to sort of set the stage for what I'm saying.

And by the way, today, for all of the things that are on the screen,

I think by Monday or Tuesday, if you're interested,

you can go on our webpage and you can write them down.

This first part, it'll be far too quick for you to write down.

But here's the first thing.

Before I say all of the other things about the text,

the shocking thing about the text,

to understand the shocking claim of the text,

you have to understand this.

The Bible teaches that the devil is real.

He is our enemy.

He is alive.

He is active.

He is doomed.

And in the face of his opposition,

we, that means followers of the Lamb,

are to testify with our lips and with our lives

of our Savior, Jesus Christ crucified.

That's what we have to understand,

that the Bible is saying that the devil is real,

just as real as I am or you are.

And to sort of emphasize this,

this is also what I said last week,

which we need to understand if we're to hear Revelation 13,

as it's meant to be heard.

After you hear it, you might say this is all rubbish or whatever,

but at least you need to hear what it's saying,

what the Bible is claiming to say.

The devil is real.

He is not a metaphor,

an analogy,

a symbol,

a process,

a myth,

a mere storybook character,

or a social construct.

He is not a primitive way

to talk of mental illness or evil.

He is not a tool

of politicians to label others

or enemies,

although some politicians

try to make it out as if he's a tool,

but he is not a tool.

He is not a creation of politicians

or cultural leaders

to label others.

The devil is not misunderstood.

He is not a hero.

He is not a rebel.

He is not a freedom fighter.

He is not hip.

He is not cool.

He is not enlightened.

He is not yin or yang to God.

He is not the antithesis

leading to a new synthesis.

He is not energy,

friend,

ally,

means,

tool,

or joke.

In ourselves,

he is more powerful

than we are.

The devil is real.

He is our enemy.

He is alive.

He is active.

He is doomed.

And in the face of his opposition,

we are to testify

with our lips

and with our lives

of our Savior,

Jesus Christ,

crucified.

As I said last week,

if the devil does not exist,

if the devil, in fact,

is merely a metaphor

or analogy

or a symbol

or a social construct

or something like that,

then it's a complete

and utter waste of time

to read the book of Revelation.

I'd say it's probably

a waste of time

to read the Bible.

And it's just a waste of time

to even talk about it.

But if the devil does exist,

then today's teaching,

just like last week's,

is immensely practical.

So here's the thing.

Remember I said

that the text has,

the book of Revelation

is a wonderful book

for those of us

who have very, very great visual,

our minds just love images.

And so it presents

this very, very powerful image

of the devil like a dragon,

a huge dragon.

Think of smog,

only with many heads.

And even far more horrible.

And he stands on the sand of the sea,

looking out to the sea.

And by, he believes his power,

he causes a beast

to arise out of the sea.

And if you'll notice

very early on,

it says that he has,

was like a leopard,

verse two,

its feet were like a bear's

and its mouth

was like a lion's mouth.

And the dragon gave his power

and his throne

and great authority

to the beast.

And that imagery

comes from the book of Daniel.

And in the book of Daniel,

it's very clear

that these are

a succession of empires.

empires.

So from this

and from the rest

of the chapter,

it's very, very clear

that the beast is,

and here's where people differ,

whether it's an individual,

but if it's an individual or not,

that the thing is,

it's the government

and it's the state.

It's a type of,

it's an empire.

It's not only a government,

a state,

it's the judiciary,

it's the military,

it's the police.

It's the state.

It is a government.

It is a person,

the government.

It's that which exercises

political and cultural authority

over nations.

That's the claim of the text.

Here's the shocking point.

Andrew,

if you could put that up,

that would be great.

The devil can have

a significant impact

on any institution,

even the state

and the government.

That's what Revelation chapter 13

Revelation 13 · chapter mention

is saying,

that the devil

can have

a significant impact

on any institution,

even the state

and the government.

See,

I needed to say

that earlier part

because it's very common

maybe in certain types

of political discussion

or cultural discussion

about saying something's demonic

and what we mean

when we say demonic

in our culture

just means,

like rather than saying

it's bad,

we want to say

it's really,

really,

really,

really,

really,

really,

really bad

so we say

it's demonic.

But the Bible here

is making a very,

very different claim.

Not that it's not bad,

it is bad,

but that actually

the devil,

that there is,

it is possible

for the devil,

not just,

last week we talked

about primarily

the one major way

that most people

experience the devil's

sort of hand

or touch

in their lives.

And if you,

you can listen

to last week's sermon

online

and I was talking

about a great sense

of condemnation

and accusation

that can completely

and utterly,

it can have a powerful,

powerful role

in our lives,

a sense of condemnation

and accusation.

And I also warned

of the fact

that there could be

a more direct contact

with Satan

and I warned us

against Ouija boards

and other things.

But just as in our culture

we tend to think

of religion

and spirituality

as being something

inherently private

and sort of inside of us

and often a cross

between a hobby

and an emotion,

and so it is even maybe

when we speak of the devil

or demons,

it's easy for us

to think of it

as being merely personal.

But the Bible here

in chapter 12

and chapter 13

of Revelation

is saying that

not only

is the devil

one who we can experience

in our lives

through accusation

and condemnation

and maybe we will have

a more direct contact

with him,

the devil also

can affect

and impact

institutions.

Institutions.

Even the government

and even the state.

You know,

as I was working

on the sermon this week,

I've been reading,

I read like several books

at the same time,

you know,

bits and pieces of books

and I was reading

a little bit

about Corrie Ten Boom.

How many people here

remember who Corrie Ten Boom is

or who heard of Corrie Ten Boom?

A fair amount of you.

Okay.

On Friday,

it was the 70th anniversary

of her capture

by the Nazis.

I just happened to,

I was just reading it

and it mentioned,

I was reading a book

and it mentioned

on February 28, 1944,

that was the day

that Corrie Ten Boom

was woken from sleep

by a sound

of loud knocking

on their door

and it was the Gestapo.

Corrie Ten Boom

at the time was 54.

Her sister was

five years older than her.

They were both unmarried.

They lived with their father

who was in his 80s.

I think he was 83

and they had played

a central role

in hiding Jewish people

from the Nazis

and as being part

of the Dutch resistance

and that was the day

that they,

their betrayers,

betrayed them

and she,

of course,

eventually went

to a concentration camp.

Her and her sister

and her dad

and her sister

and her father

would die

in the concentration camps

and Corrie

would miraculously

survive

and be delivered

and go on

to have a speaking ministry

and for Christians

who were caught

under Nazism,

it was very easy

for them to wonder

if in fact

there was not just

something evil

about Nazism

but in fact

whether there was

something devilish

and I mean

in terms of a devil

being involved in it

and

we feel very uncomfortable

about such language

living in Canada

and I'm going to talk

a little bit about that

in a moment

but for some Christians

who live in some parts

of the world today

and for Christians

throughout history

there would be times

in certain cultures

and certain times

when it would be easy

for us to actually

take a text like this

and realize that there is

probably a great truth

in it

that we cannot

limit the devil's work

purely to people

but also to institutions

even the government

even the state

and here's the thing

actually you know what

I'm going to have

a little bit of a

okay I know there's

always in any room

this side

there's a few grammar geeks

we're going to have

a grammar geek moment

okay

so for you grammar geeks

and the rest of you

can listen in

you want to just sort of

go ahead to verse 7 and 8

and look at verse 7 and 8

there's a grammar geek moment

coming here in a second

also it was allowed

that's the beast

to make war on the saints

and to conquer them

and authority was given it

over every tribe

and people and language

and nation

and all who dwell on earth

will worship it

everyone whose name

has not been written

before the foundation

of the world

in the book of life

of the lamb

who was slain

and notice that verse 8

and all who dwell on earth

will worship it

in the original language

all the way through

chapter 13

in fact all the way up

to this point

just a little bit past it

the verb tenses

are a particular tense

which means that

everything that's being

described can be described

as in some way

being true in the future

and in the past

and in the present

and in the rest of chapter 13

when it's talking about

the second beast

once again

the verb tenses

are all a type of a verb tense

that allows us

to understand it

on one level

talking about the future

the past

and the present

but in the midst

of a whole range

of verb tenses

like that

there's only one future tense

in the entire text

and that

is in verse 8

all who dwell on earth

this is in the original language

will worship it

in other words

the rest of the text

is describing something

that on one level

there's a certain degree

to which it can be true

even today

but the text reminds us

that there will be

a complete fulfillment

of this text

at some day

in the future

that at some day

in the future

there will be

a beast

a political reality

that will in fact

have a type

of worldwide reach

that will affect

everybody

that at that time

there will in a sense

be those

whose names

are written

in the Lamb's Book of Life

which I'll talk about

in a moment

or those who

quite literally

quite literally

are involved

in the worship

of this beast

but that

is pointing

to a future time

and all the rest

of the way

through the text

it's talking about

things which

can be approximated

now

but are not

the fullness

that will come

see one of the things

that you have to understand

about the Book of Revelation

is this

that

and if you don't get it

if I haven't been clear

about it other weeks

I apologize

is the Bible

very clearly teaches

that Jesus

will return again

that God

will bring history

to a close

and it's because

the very one

who has created

all things

the very one

who sustains

all things

the very one

the Lamb

who died

to redeem

those who turned

to Him

in repentance

and faith

that that is

the very same person

who will bring

all things

to a close

that's the ground

for hope

that's the ground

for repentance

that's the ground

for being able

to stand

in the face

of the dragon

and stand

in the face

of the beast

and stand

in the face

of evil

in our culture

wherever we find it

and it's all

because of the fact

that the Lamb

who was slain

who redeems

all who put

their faith

and trust

in Him

is the same

one

who will

someday

return

whether it's

in a week's time

whether it's

in seven years time

seven years time

seven hundred years time

we do not know

when it is

but at some point

in time

most of the thing

all of the things

that we've been talking

about in the book

of Revelation

there will be

a sense

where

not a sense

it will be

it will be

it will be

in its fullness

and those

Lord have mercy

who are alive

at that time

will see

and understand it

in its fullness

and what the text

is doing

is it's trying

to give us

a language

and a grammar

and a set of images

to understand

our own culture

but also

if we happen

to be that generation

that are still alive

when that final time

comes

that we will have

a set of images

and language

and ideas

to help us

to understand

what in fact

it is

that is going on

now does this

mean here

by the way

this text

George

you're saying

that the

dragon

the devil

can have

a profound

impact

on institutions

human institutions

even the state

does that mean

George

that all the people

that we know

that work

for the military

should quit

does that mean

that all of those

who work

in the police

and the judiciary

should quit

does that mean

those who work

on Parliament Hill

should quit

no

here's the thing

Andrew if you could

put this up

here's a prayer

for us to pray

and it's sort of

a very important

text to understand

it's a prayer

for us to pray

in a sense

an application

a take home

for us to understand

what the implication

of this text is

for us in terms

of how we live

and here's how

I put it

dear God

please help me

to seek

the true good

of this city

please help me

to seek

your definition

of the city's good

not the city's

own definition

of its good

dear God

please help me

to seek

the true good

of this city

please help me

to seek

your definition

of the city's good

not the city's

own definition

of its good

one of the lessons

of the book

of Revelation

and I mentioned

it when I was

describing that

point that I used

last week

is that

the devil is real

he is our enemy

he is alive

he is active

he is doomed

and in the face

of his opposition

in the face

of his opposition

we are to bear

witness with our

lives and with our

lips of Jesus

Christ crucified

and the book

of Revelation

isn't telling us

that because

these things

are happening

we should live

in fear

it doesn't tell us

these things

so we will brood

or be consumed

or obsessed

with them

it doesn't tell us

these things

so that we will

live in holy

ghettos

or enclaves

we have a

fundamental

we have a

fundamental

vocation

that comes

from God

to bear witness

to Jesus

and we have

a fundamental

vocation

that comes

from God

not only to bear

witness to Jesus

but to seek

the good of the city

and now I don't

know what advice

I would give

if we were maybe

in that very very

final time

I mean this text

would inform it

but here's the

primary thing

is that when we

seek the good

of our city

what we do not

seek is the city's

own definition

of the good

we seek

Jesus' definition

of the good

I don't know

how many of you

are familiar

with Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I've been reading

some things about him

this past week

as well

and Dietrich Bonhoeffer

by personal order

of Hitler

was executed

just a very very

short while

before Hitler

himself took

his own life

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

leader of the

Confessing Church

and

maybe not many

of you know this

but the thing

about Bonhoeffer

is that early on

he was one of the

very very first

people in Germany

to speak out

about the evils

of Nazism

and to warn

about the evils

of Nazism

and early on

in the 30s

he actually tried

to create

an underground

seminary

because he

believed that

increasingly

the seminaries

and the churches

they were

because they wanted

to curry favor

and maintain

their position

they were becoming

Nazi in their

theology

and so he created

an underground

seminary

which was eventually

overcome

and closed

by the Gestapo

but how he

ended up

hiding

and working

against the Hitler

for many many

years

is he joined

military intelligence

because

for many years

under Hitler

the main source

of opposition

within Germany

was devout

Christians

within military

intelligence

and one of the

ways that they

sought the true

good of their

country

was to document

the evils

that the Nazis

were performing

was to communicate

the evils

of the death

camps

to the wider

world

and to seek

to overthrow

Hitler

that is how

they sought

the good

of their country

they did not

allow

Hitler

to define

the good

of Germany

they went

to God's

word written

they went

to the Lamb

to understand

God's word

written

and so it is

I apologize

for a second

if I

I'm just going

to say this

anyway

our city

might think

that more

abortion

is good

our city

might think

that euthanasia

is good

and we are

to pray

for the good

of our city

and seek

the good

of our city

but our city

is wrong

about that

what is good

for the city

is that the

strong

care for the

weak

what is good

for the city

is that the

strong and

the healthy

care for the

defenseless

what is good

for the city

is that we

rescue

those

who are

poor

and lonely

and deprived

and depressed

have no power

and that we

seek to rescue

them

to restore

them

to protect

them

and so

there might

be many ways

that we can

work in harmony

with our city

we can

feed the poor

we can

give to

orphans

around the world

and we can

agree with them

but where

the city

is wrong

we still

seek the

true good

of this city

and it's

the lamb

who determines

the true

good

not the city

and so

it is

that the

devil can

have a

significant

impact

on any

institution

even the

state and

the government

and we

are to

pray

that in

any

situation

amid the

example I

gave of

Bonhoeffer

many of

the people

it was

with the

so called

Valkyrie plot

which they

put a bomb

in a bunker

that Hitler

was at

and a leg

of a table

amongst other

things

protected

Hitler

and if you've

seen the

Tom Cruise

movie it

ignores the

Christian side

but many of

the Bonhoeffer's

friends and

family members

very devout

Christians

that plot

ended up

being the

death of

them

and

but they

they

sought to

serve

their city

by the

by the

lamb's

definition

of the

city's

good

and that

is always

our vocation

as followers

of Jesus

now

some of

you might

say

George

that's

I have to

get my

mind around

the fact

that the

devil could

actually have

an impact

on cultural

institutions

and I'm not

quite sure

what to make

about it

I can see

that you

believe it

and I

accept that

the Bible

teaches it

and it's

just something

I have to

sort of

think through

but George

I'm a little

bit confused

by something

that you

haven't gotten

to in the

text and

maybe you

won't

because I

know you

have a

time limit

in terms

of what

you speak

and some

of you

might be

saying

George

I don't

quite

understand

really

how

Christians

think

of the

difference

between

the

beast

and

Jesus

it's

an

honest

question

I mean

George

don't you

guys

believe

that like

miracles

are good

but the

beast

remember

when Ken

was reading

a few

moments

ago

that the

second

beast

that performs

miracles

and George

don't you

like why

is it that

you want

to follow

Jesus

rather than

this beast

I mean

you're

saying that

the beast

is evil

but why

are you

wanting to

follow Jesus

rather than

the beast

doesn't

the beast

die

and come

to life

and isn't

George

the whole

reason

that you

follow

Jesus

isn't a

very key

part of

the reason

that you

follow

Jesus

is that

Jesus

died

and come

to life

so I'm

a little

bit

confused

about why

you think

there's such

a big

difference

here

like

George

isn't

it maybe

a text

about how

like any

type of

thing

can sort

of be

demonic

even

following

Jesus

can be

a little

bit

demonic

it's a

very good

series

of questions

let's

just look

again at

the text

look again

look at

the text

here is

playing around

with a little

bit

it's a bit

starker

but its

head had

a mortal

wound

a death

wound

but its

death

wound

was healed

and the

whole earth

marveled

as they

followed

the beast

and they

worshipped

the dragon

for he

had given

his authority

to the

beast

and they

worshipped

the beast

saying

who is

like the

beast

and who

can fight

against

it

and the

beast

was given

a mouth

uttering

haughty

and blasphemous

words

just sort of

pause here

for a second

as we're

reading

you know

one of the

really

interesting

things

is if

you ever

watch

a movie

where a

TV show

and somebody

says that's

blasphemy

don't you

automatically

think that

that's a

person who's

not a good

person

isn't it

sort of

very

interesting

in our

culture

we've

lost

the

sense

of

blasphemy

that even

to mention

it is

something

that

culturally

puts us

as if

we're

a bit

clueless

just an

idea

and it

was allowed

to exercise

authority

for 42

months

it opened

its mouth

to utter

blasphemies

against

God

blaspheming

his name

and his

dwelling

that is

those who

dwell in

heaven

also it

was allowed

to make

war on the

saints

and to

conquer

them

this is

the death

knell

of

prosperity

gospel

and authority

was given

it over

every tribe

and people

and language

and nation

and all

who dwell

on the

earth

will

worship

it

everyone

whose

name

has not

been

written

before

the

foundation

of the

world

and the

book

of life

of the

lamb

who was

slain

the lamb's

book of

life

talk about

that in a

moment

if anyone

has an

ear

let him

hear

if anyone

is to

be taken

captive

to

captivity

he

goes

if anyone

is to

be slain

with the

sword

with the

sword

he must

be slain

here's a

call for

the endurance

and faith

of the

saints

you see

that's

the key

to that

last

prayer

point

is that

the whole

point

of making

clear

that the

devil

can have

an impact

on culture

and institutions

is to

call us

to faithful

endurance

and enduring

faithfulness

where we

are

it's a

very

very

center

of the

text

I'm

going to

return

to it

at the

end

but

continue

on about

the

miracle

stuff

look at

verse 11

then I saw

another beast

rising out of the

earth

it had two

horns like a

lamb and it

spoke like a

dragon

I'm not going to

talk about it

very much

this is a

very very

powerful

image

it's a

image which

God desires

to have as

part of our

mental

furniture

to help us

understand

what's going

on

that there

can be a

beast

a demonic

beast

that

that would

had two

horns

like a

lamb

and it

spoke

like a

dragon

very

powerful

image

to guide

our

prayers

and

discernment

verse 12

it exercises

all the

authority

of the

first

beast

in its

presence

and makes

the earth

and its

inhabitants

worship

the first

beast

whose

death

wound

was healed

the third

time it

says it

yet the

second beast

performs

great signs

it's the

word for

miracles

even making

fire come

down from

heaven to

earth in

front of

the people

and by the

miracles

or the

signs that

it is

allowed to

work in

the presence

of the

beast

it deceives

those who

dwell on

the earth

telling them

to make an

image for

the beast

that was

wounded

fourth time

it says

that by

the sword

and yet

lived

and it

was allowed

to give

breath

to the

image

that's an

idol

of the

beast

so that

the image

the idol

of the

beast

might even

speak

might cause

those who

would not

worship the

image of

the beast

the idol

of the

beast

to be

slain

now

so what's

what's going

on

here's

the point

and if you

could put it

up on the

screen

Jesus truly

died on the

cross

and truly

defeated evil

and death

and every

hostile

spiritual power

he did not

die

only to die

again

he did not

die

to live a

living death

some of you

have heard

this illustration

before

it's one of

my favorite

illustrations

about what

one of the

things which

is involved

in salvation

and that's

the story

a true

story

happened

quite a few

years ago

I think I

had four

or five

kids at

the time

four kids

I think

they're all

very young

and I was

up in

Eganville

where I

was the

pastor

and my

wife was

down in

Ottawa

visiting her

mother in

the glebe

and Louise

woke up in

the middle

of the night

three or

four o'clock

in the

morning

with a

sense that

something

was wrong

and her

mother lived

in a big

old three

story glebe

house

and Louise

had a sense

that something

was wrong

and she

went to

the door

and she

opened the

door and

the hallway

was filled

with smoke

and in

fact the

entire

ground floor

of the

house was

completely

consumed

in fire

and I

was up in

Eganville

I didn't

know anything

about this

Louise

looked around

they couldn't

get out of

one window

but there

was another

window

she went

and woke

up her

mother

she gathered

our very

very young

children at

the time

and she

was able

to open

the window

she's young

and healthy

and she's

able to

outside of

the window

sort of a

couple of

feet to

the right

there's

a couple

of feet

down

there's a

slanting

roof of

a shed

and she

figures that

she can

get from

the window

to the

shed

and from

that position

with some

effort she

would be

able to

help the

children

get the

children

and bring

the children

to the top

of the shed

and then

help her

mother who

was older

over to

the shed

as well

and so

she got

herself to

safety

and from

that position

of safety

she reaches

across the

gap to

the place

for which

the flames

are coming

and is able

to bring

each of the

children over

to the shed

down to the

ground

and all

of them

in the

house

Louise is

here at

church today

so she's

obviously

still alive

so it

worked out

and I'm

very very

thankful for

it

that's a

very very

good

illustration

of one

of the

great truths

of the

gospel

in the

gospel

we believe

that Jesus

truly died

that he

truly died

upon the

cross

that he

truly died

upon the

cross

and he

tasted

everything

there is

to taste

of death

without

anything

left over

whatever

death

is

Jesus

tasted

it

and on

the third

day

he emerged

on the

far side

of death

having

completely

and utterly

defeated

death

and one

of the

things

that happens

on the

cross

is that

Jesus

is able

to reach

across

that vast

divide