Republic being established in the year 509 b.c. . The Roman Forum was the center of commercial and civil life during the centuries of the Roman Republic people would gather here to buy and sell to hold elections to listen to speeches and to watch the triumphal procession it's a great Congress of the hundreds of years. It was here that you could hear Roman luminaries such as Cicero one of Romney's greatest orator is the statesman Cato the Elder even Julius Caesar not far from here in the Senate House Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus and his coconspirators and it was here in 27 b.c. On this very spot where Caesar's nephew Octavian took the name of all Gustus and was a claimed by the Senate and people of Rome as the state's 1st emperor. From here you could see the great temple of Jupiter who was the supreme god of the Roman people crowning the Summit of the Capitol Hill. It was here in $390.00 b.c. That the city of Rome was secretly infiltrated by a group of Gallic soldiers who sacked the city and destroyed much of it now the presence of the enemy was betrayed by a flock of geese they reacted when the invaded is came in here now for some reason the Roman dogs did not act they didn't. Run never forgave its dogs the procession commemorating this event for years afterwards featured 9 crucified dogs and the goose wearing a garland of flowers it's. Not enough you could say today that all roads lead to run but when you come to the Bible you see that wrong. An extremely significant role as the Bible unfolds I'll be back with more in just a moment. If you are watching the weekly it is written program with Pastor John Bradshaw but did you know that there's a daily program to every word is a one minute Bible based daily devotional presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially for busy people like you look for every word on selected networks or watch it online every day on our website it is written dot com receive it spiritual watch every word you'll be glad you did. Thanks for joining me Peter and John were told by religious leaders to no longer speak in the name of Jesus this wasn't a suggestion but an order from the very people responsible for the death of Jesus and here's what they said in response whether it be right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God You judge that's x. For 19 that's the right question what's right in the side of God We know what you're saying but ultimately we're going to be led by what God says Now I'm not advocating diligence in the name of Jesus is already too many people who justify bad behavior by appealing to God's will but that question should guide us what's the right thing to do in God's sight not in the sight of friends or family or even authorities today I ask that same question and follow God's leading in your life I'm John Bread you for it is a reason to live today by every word. I'm John Bradshaw and this is it is written thanks for joining me today. When you read the Bible the kingdom of Rome and the City of Rome hugely influential No you're not going to find Roman Genesis Exodus Leviticus or numbers or so forth you want to read about many Roman generals and 1st kings or 2nd Kings but go a little further into the Bible and Rome begins to make its appearance and when it does it's a whale of an appearance in Daniel Chapter 2 there is the remarkable prophecy of the great image of King Nebuchadnezzar dream woken one night by an impressive dream never could never asked his wise men to tell him what the dream was and what it meant in fact he told them that if they couldn't do it he'd have them all killed why was he so exercised over a dream Well it's because he believed the gods communicated with him through dreams ancient kings believe that routinely ultimately young Daniel a captive in Babylon came to have a kidney as a and explained the dream but head of gold of the image that was Babylon the chest and of silver that was me to the next will grueling Kingdom to come on to the world stage in fact in Daniel Chapter 5 that kingdom is mentioned by name. The midsection of bras Greece Alexander the Great led the Greek took the womb and banned the legs of. Bats in Rome and the long legs equate to a long Roman writing from 168 b.c. To 476 a.d. Move it's a long time. In Never kidneys a stream the legs of ion represented the kingdom of Rome but notice what happens next Daniel said that the Kingdom of Rome would be divided into feet and toes partly of clay and partly of I'm Daniel said this in Daniel 241. Whereas you saw the fit into those Patni of potter's clay and possibly of. The kingdom shall be divided yet the strength of the eye and shall be in it just as you saw the eye and mixed with ceramic clay. Now what Daniel tells us is that the representing of Rome would be present in the feet and the toes down to the end of time meaning that the effect of the Roman Empire would be felt all the way down to the time of the return of Jesus that's a very biblical idea keep in mind that at its apex the empire of Rome was a color losses. Emperor triage and was voted by the Senate as optimists princeps the best emperor of this magnificent structure is Trajan's column built to memorialize Trajan's military conquest it was built in 113 a d. It's 1900 years old. During Trajan's time the empire stretched in one direction all the white a Hadrian's wall England's border with Scotland and in the other to the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf this was a massive Kingdom. Now you'd expect that something that have awful that influential would leave its mock the Greeks who ruled before the Romans certainly there is in philosophy in architecture in a great many ways so how would Rome leave its. Now keep in mind the Romans were essentially heathens but they were a religious bunch fact is they worship a great many. They build temples to gods they get a-K. Did some of the spoils of wars to gods they prayed and offered sacrifices sometimes human sacrifices not often evidently but at times they did just that So imagine Roman soldiers coming face to face with the message of salvation through Jesus. When Jesus was born in Israel Israel was occupied by the government of wrong that was a Roman cross on which Jesus Di Roman soldiers John the Baptist preach they heard John the Baptist say that the Messiah was soon to come in fact they would be deeply moved by what they would say we read this in the Gospel of Luke Likewise the soldiers asked him saying and what shall we do so he said to them do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely and be content with your wages. When you understand the times a little bit it isn't difficult to appreciate what was going on there discontent among Roman soldiers regarding day pay was common in those days and here were men who were simply looking for a bit away and then there's the story where Jesus heals the servant the same cheery and we read about that in the Gospel of Matthew. Now when Jesus had ended Capernaum a scene Tyrian came to him pleading with him saying Lord my servant is lying at home paralyzed dreadfully tormented and Jesus said to him I will come and heal him. This ain't cheery and shouldn't see it Lord I'm not would be that you should come under my roof but only speak a would and my servant will be healed for I also am a man under oath already having soldiers under me and I say to this one go and he goes and to another Come and he comes and to my servant do this and he does it. When Jesus who did he model and said to those who followed assuredly I say to you I have not found such great faith not even in Israel Matthew 8513. This is one of the most profound of the miracle stories of Jesus he was a man representative of many he was looking for something more than his faith and that is culture offered him and the fact is Jesus pointed out that this man demonstrated more faith in Jesus then any body living in Israel at that time he had more faith than the people who were supposed to be looking for the return of the Messiah this man had been walking the Roman road but he was how it really impacted by the person of Jesus so how much more would Christianity affect Rome and how much would Rome affect Christianity. Perhaps the ultimate encounter between Jesus and the Romans took place in the judgment hole of a governor named Paul just pilot punches pilot was impressed by Jesus so imprest the Bible says that he wanted to set Jesus free in spite of the accusations made against Jesus pilot believe that Jesus was innocent in fact he received a message from his wife who had had a dream about Jesus and the message of a pilot was had nothing to. Do with this just man Jesus tried to impress upon part of the importance of following God and and being all of us about Bible truths. The pilot seemed mystified by what Jesus had to say even asking Jesus at one point what is truth see even punches pilot had the opportunity to paint on how things might have been different had it done so. The apostle Paul went to rather he was imprisoned and died there in a moment we'll go to the mammoth teen prison the very place was kept in Rome as a prisoner I'll be right back. Babylon Rising is a dynamic book by Pastor John Branch op that describes the significance of Babylon in the Bible Prophecy right now this powerful book is available free from it is written just call 180-253-3000 ask for the book Babylon rising or write to it is written box 01000 Oaks California 91359 and we will mail a copy to your address in North America please note this free book is limited to the supply on hand for even faster access you can download a free electronic version of the book Babylon rising from our website it is written is a faith based outreach made possible by viewers like you thank you for your continued support our toll free numbers 180-253-3000 our web address it is written dot com. When you get a little further into the New Testament you see how profoundly the Christian gospel affected Roman society many historians believe that Paul was kept as a prisoner in the memory teen prison in Rome during his trial before Emperor Nero by the time Paul got to Rome Christianity had penetrated much of the Mediterranean basin the effect that the Christian message had on Roman society was revolutionary The Bible tells us how the apostle Paul was brought to the city of Rome 1st he was arrested by his own people then delivered to the Romans and eventually he was brought across the Mediterranean to Rome for trial before the Emperor The Bible doesn't describe poles arraignments before Nero or his eventual mot of them in what was then the world's capital city but the Bible does say the Apostles message reached directly into the emperor's court we read this in the book of Philippians Corsa be written by Paul from this very prison all the saints greet you but especially those who are of Caesar's household Philippians 422 so they were Christians in the household of Emperor Nero himself the Christian gospel was shaking the Roman empire to its very high and no doubt it was from the mammoth teen prison that the Apostle Paul pinned these poignant words for I am already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure is at hand I have fought the good fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith. Finally there was laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give me on that day and not to me only but also to all 'd who have loved his appearing 2nd Timothy Chapter 46 through 8. The famous Roman Coliseum could hold as many as 80000 people. Over a period of a couple of 100 years. Thousands of Christians met beer final gruesome fate here in this arena. Some of them of faith the wild animals some of crucified. Some of them were rolled in pitch and burned alive during evening festivities. There was something that the persecuting Romans just couldn't figure out about these Christians want to early Christian leaders to Tuli and Roche to Emperor d.c.s. During a time of some of the most intense persecution suffered by the Christians is what he said. The often a we all moan down by you the more in number we grow the bull lot of Christians is seen. The more the Romans tried to wipe out Christianity the more Christianity florist and the Romans didn't persecute the Christians because the Christians worship Jesus people all over the Empire had the various gods that they wish it didn't bother the Romans a bit but the Christians wouldn't do is they wouldn't add the woodchip of Jesus to the woodchip of the Roman state in a bt ns to the commandment of God They refused to take that seemingly innocuous pinch of incidents and place it upon the seas as old. Writing about this one recent historian had this to say. Wrong could except they had version of the supreme god whom others. Cold Jupiter or 'd Saul It could also accept Christ together with other heroes and abilities but what was preposterous was the Christian and arrogant insistence that no gods had ever walked the earth until an obscure good Jewish teacher who was executed during the reign of Tiberius. You see what the Romans had going on as they were mixing truth together with untruth truth and error they really didn't mind if the Christians wanted to believe in Jesus what they weren't impressed with was the Christians believing in Jesus alone and that attitude of combining truth and era would be the attitude the patten moving forward you see all the time Satan managed to figure some things out he came to realize that he was never going to be able to crush Christiana the altogether so we decided that a persecution wouldn't work he'd come at it from another angle. In the 4th century a.d. The Emperor Constantine claimed to be converted Roman symbols became Christianized the Roman day of the Sun Sunday became the popular day of Christian worship the statue of Jupiter the Roman Supreme God would become the statue of the Apostle Peter now in St Peter's Basilica over time Rome became a strong Christian Center. But Ron continue to mix truth with era while today's Roman religion deals a lot with values and morals and that's good you have today a system where people are taught to pray which is truth to so-called sense which is not truth and in order to get forgiveness from God The leaders are instructed to confess this sins which is truth to a priest and ordinary sinful man which is Arrow. Martin Luther learned this when he found himself walking on his knees up pilots staircase in Rome along with many other pilgrims he was humbling himself before God truth one expecting to somehow get merit with God by his works. Era. Luther came to realize that but just shall live by faith which is truth and not by penance and sacraments which era. When Jesus saw in the feet and toes of the image of Daniel Chapter 2 he saw the influence of Rome extending down to the very end of time put another way he saw a way that he realized it on lot well intentioned well meaning people mixing truth and error together down to the last days of Earth's history now is that something we should be concerned about what if you think truth is important it would be something that you should be concerned with that you see Jesus said If anybody wants pot into sin they should come straight to him who will intentioned people have said if you want pot and sin come and see one of our priests but then you might be like punch a Skylane through the night before Jesus died couldn't decide whether or not truth was important. There are 2 roads that you can follow one is the way of Jesus the other is that Roman road where truth and era a blended together. Paul walked the Appian Way It led him to the heart of the city of Rome he walked this very rugged and it led him to yield in his life the course of Jesus Jesus walked the road he walked the Via Dolorosa the way of suffering the path of self-denial he was led down that road because of his total commitment to his father's would and doing his father's will. Which road are you going to walk you could walk the road of self you could walk the road of doing your own thing or you could work that road with Jesus leads the way would be for you truth and era tradition and truth. The whole Jesus. And all the by God is looking today to see the stand up and send to follow the Bible and God is by doing that allowed the god given the gun to my life and make me come is God will do that for you if you live. But you live to do that today let's pray to get a Father in heaven we thank you Jesus is the Way the Truth and the life I thank you the people such as Cold War this happy and way of those who like him walk these roads sharing Jesus and demonstrating a commitment to the God of heaven give us grace to walk the same footsteps that same the road of commitment the road of truth the road of Christ we thank you today in Jesus name and. Thanks for joining me today I look forward to seeing you again next time until then remember it is written men shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the bell to go. You've been listening to it is written presented by Pastor John Branch on John is again next week at the same time on this station for it is written with John Bradshaw this program is produced by it is written all right reserve it is written is a faith based ministry thank you for your letters and continued support for more information please visit our website it is written dot com. For a school that provides quality Christian education at an affordable price a school where your child receives personal attention from qualified teachers come to site then 7th Day Adventist school their new combined Child Development Center an elementary campus is located in challenge behind the Mobil gas station registration is open for toddlers 18 months to 8th grade and scholarships are available for qualified applicants at 347326 You can also visit their website www dot sight in s.d. School dot org. Recently a survey was conducted in the city of Portland Oregon and it revealed some startling things concerning what the average American thinks about the Bible the participants in the survey were chosen randomly from the phone book those fallen home or ask what they thought about the Bible Their answers were calculated and they reveal a great difference of opinion among people in this country about what the Bible means to them the majority of people surveyed thought it was just a good history about the Jews some have been told that there are many errors in the Bible and you can't be certain about its accuracy some felt it was God's word very few people read the Bible on a regular basis to see what God had to say to them. Someone would ask the question what difference does it make what I think about the Bible if I'm a good person following the Golden Rule Well friends what you believe about the Bible makes a world of difference in what you believe about God There's only one place where you can get a clearer picture of God and that is in the Bible in fact that is the reason the Bible was given to us it tells us about a god whom we have not seen with our own eyes and who can only be known by reading the messages he is sent by his prophets and his son to reveal Himself to us let's take a look at this book or should I say at this library for you see the Bible is really 66 books written a different times by different authors over a period of 1600 years there are 39 books on the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament 45 different men wrote these books yet we find among them an amazing uniformity that can only be explained by the fact that they had a common source this resulted in their total agreement with each other even though most of the writers of these boats never saw each other many were from various cultures and occupations some were fisherman some shepherds some kings some government leaders some farmers some preachers some statesmen a physician men from all walks of life yet there is a perfect unity and harmony between the books they wrote a miracle indeed this uniformity can only be explained by acknowledging that God gave this book to man so that he might be able to communicate his will to mankind Peter explains it this way for prophecy never came by the will of man but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit 2nd Peter 121. The apostle Paul wrote all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete thoroughly equipped for a very good work 2nd Timothy 316 and 17 the reason God chose this method of communication is that the channel between him and man had been cut off by sin when God and man walked and talked together in Eden there was no need to have a prophet write down what God wanted man to know when Adam sand he hid from God for he was fearful and guilty about what he had done when God asked Adam where he was Adam replied I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid and I hid myself Genesis 39 and 10 no longer could God continue to have face to face conversations with his creatures God chose to reveal what he wanted them to know through His prophets and through His Son surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secrets to his servants the prophets Amos $37.00 starting with Moses in the Midian desert God gave to Moses the Book of Job and the 1st 5 books of the Old Testament which together are called the law it's interesting to note that alphabetic writing was invented by a Canaanite workman who was working in the mines near Mount Sinai just when the nation of Israel had grown to a mighty nation of several 1000000 people and God needed to be able to communicate his will in written form alphabetic writing was invented that people would not be able to read the 10 Commandments that God wrote with his own fingers and the Book of the law that Moses wrote for God So the question remains is the Bible still accurate and dependable as God gave it. Until 1907 the earliest manuscripts we had of the Old Testament were copies from around $8900.00 then came the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in a cave overlooking the Dead Sea The Isaiah Scroll went back to 125 b.c. It had been copied over a 1000 years before they oldest manuscript that had been found up to that time it contained the entire book of Isaiah Sir Frederick Kenyon one of the most qualified experts and president of the British School of archaeology reported that in one chapter of 166 words there is only one word 3 letters in question after a 1000 years of transmission and this word does not significantly change the meaning of the message Sir Frederick Kenyon put it this way the Christian can take the whole Bible in his hand and say without fear or hesitation that he holds in his hands the true Word of God handed down without essential loss from generation to generation throughout the centuries sir Kenyon made the statement after spending a lifetime examining the evidence of how the Bible was transmitted and what effect that transmission had on the message of the book the Bible critics a little over a century ago found many reasons to raise doubt about the Bible but many of these criticisms have been silenced by the spate of the archeologist until the 19th century little was known about the ancient past except for what the Bible had to say about it ancient history seen locked for ever behind the strange picture writings the hieroglyphics of Egypt for no one in Egypt nor anyone in the whole world could decipher them then in 1798 Napoleon led a military expedition into Egypt. With his 38000 soldiers Napoleon took a 100 artists linguists and scientists to help him better understand the history of that intriguing land everywhere they saw all relics of the past indecipherable inscriptions decorated monuments and temple walls Napoleon and his scholars wondered what secret messages those picture writings contained a year later in $799.00 the most significant of all archaeological discoveries up to that time occurred one of Napoleon's soldiers on earth a black stone $122.00 centimeters long and $76.00 centimeters wide 4 feet by 2 and a half feet that what unlock the mystery of the picture writing and reveal secrets hidden for centuries known as the Rosetta Stone It is now housed in the British Museum this rock slab uncovered near the delta town of Rosetta bore and ancient decree in 3 different scripts hieroglyphic picture writing demotic Egyptian and Greek of course scholars could easily translate the Greek text but the hieroglyphics were something else however 20 years later and 822 a brilliant young Frenchman by the name of John Francoise Shan polony on startled the world by decipher ring the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone thus the vast treasures of Egypt's ancient past were opened to the scholars of the world but most important the long forgotten history of Egypt Nala stepped forward to confirm the pages of scripture the inscribed stones cried out to the whole world that what the Bible had said was true the more archaeologists continue to dig the more evidence they find to confirm Bible history with historical records of past civilisations. Recent discoveries at Tellme Arctic the ancient city of Ebel and Syria once a rich and sophisticated society of almost $300000.00 people have electrified the world of archaeology not since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls have so many scholars in this field of study been so excited about a find but it's even more exciting to the students of the Bible in a scribe school adjoining the city's Palace $14000.00 and scribe clay tablets and fragments were found dating back to at least $2300.00 b.c. The world's oldest discovered government archive containing the official records of the kingdom of for more than a century some historians had questioned whether the Hebrews could have developed the art of writing by the time of Moses until the 19th century no historical evidence existed to verify it however they employ tablets and other finds date back far beyond the life time of Moses in fact archaeologists have discovered whole libraries that date back centuries before Moses the tablets refer to a creation story and a flood story also mentioned our names and places which coincide with biblical ones Esau Abraham Israel Sinai even Jerusalem but the real bombshell is the mention of the 2 sins cities Sodom and Gomorra before the discovery of these tablets no historical reference to the cities had been known except in the Bible therefore they were considered to be just mythical places however many books will have to be rewritten for these findings do indeed confirm many geographical names of that day some authors will have to concede the genesis is more than just ancient shepherds songs and legends the discoveries that ebb and elsewhere have confirmed the authenticity of the Bible. David said by word is true from the beginning Psalm 119160 and Isaiah agrees for the last says the Lord that created the heavens God Himself that formed the earth and made it I the Lord speak righteousness I declare things that are right Isaiah 4518 or 19 they say that dead men don't tell tales but they do tales more fascinating than fiction civilizations long dead are speaking from their dusty grave confirming the accuracy and reliability of God's word until the 19th century some scholars believe the queen some around us built Babylon yet in the Bible Daniel quoted King Nebuchadnezzar as saying Is not this great Babylon that I have built Daniel for 30 who was right in 1909 Robert cold who he began excavating the old ruins of Babylon unearthing tens of thousands of kiln baked bricks all bearing the stamp of King Nebuchadnezzar all taken from the walls and temples of the city block you need a form tablet recounting Neb you could measures achievements was also found by the archaeologists of Babylon and that the king says the fortifications of East and Babylon I strengthened and established the name of my reign for ever the Bible states that proud now because Nasser spoke saying Is not this great Babylon that I have build for a royal drawling by my mighty power Daniel 430 the East India House inscription now in London devotes 6 columns of Babylonian writing to a description of the huge building projects of maybe you could measure the spade again stood by the Word of God. Another mystery of secular history was the absence of bow Shaz or as a ruler of Babylon the Bible named Bel Shaz or as the ruler of Babylon who witnessed the handwriting on the wall of the banquet hall was the only the invention of Daniel's fertile mind not at all never a night us successor of the great nephew could Messer had and trust of the kingship to his son has or while he was away a team in Arabia for 10 years tablets from archaeologist finds state that the kingdom was indeed intrusted to belch as are the crown prince and as to Bel Shaz are the exalted son the offspring of my body do they all place the adoration of the great deity in his heart may he not give way to sin may he be satisfied with life's abundance and may reverence for the great divinity dwell in the heart of Belle Shaz or my firstborn favorite son God speaks to modern man page $154.00 isn't it interesting that in the closing chapter of Daniel we read but the how old Daniel shut up the words and seal the book even to the time of the end many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased Daniel 12 for knowledge would only be increased not only in the scientific world knowledge would also be increased as to the accuracy of God's word bricks in cylinders tablets and manuscripts dug up by archaeologists in places where bible characters walked in the ancient past are proving that what the Bible says is true however another compelling evidence that the Bible is God's inspired word is its ability to foretell the future I am God and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done. Isaiah 469 and 10 yes as God pulls back the curtain of time giving us a glimpse of the future he demonstrates to the world that the Bible is not just a book it is his book before Babylon reached its zenith of power and glory God's book foretold its fall and Babylon the glory of kingdoms the beauty of the Caledonian this pride will be as when God overthrew Saddam and Gomorrah Isaiah 131000 the Bible even foretold the power that would overthrow this mighty Kingdom the Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the me for his plan is against Babylon to destroy it Jeremiah $5111.00 the name of the man who would lead the armies against Babylon was prophesied 150 years before his birth as was the very way he would do it thus says the Lord to his anointed to Cyrus I will open before him the to leave the gates Isaiah 451 where the prophecies of the Bible fulfilled to the very letter in the British Museum in the Persian hall stands the Cyrus Cylinder discovered in the ruins of Babylon on this clay cylinder Cyrus tells of his conquest the details are accurate the Bible not only foretold Babylon's destruction it further stated Babylon shall become heaps Jeremiah $5137.00 Isaiah wrote it shall never be and habited but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there and I shall dwell there Isaiah $1320.21 only God could foresee the future and predict so accurately the fate of the mighty Babylon. The Explorer Austin h. Layer describes the site having shown Babylon shapeless heaps of rubbish cover for many an acre the face of the land a naked and hideous waste our will start from the scanty thickets and the fall of jackals skulks through the for those discoveries among the ruins of Nineveh and battle on page $413.00 of Babylon's former glory nothing remains but its name on a signpost at the roadside the vast heaps scattered over the ancient Babylonian ruins our monumental evidence to the inspiration and integrity of the Bible we can but agree with the prophet of old the grass with the wrath the flower faded but the word of our God shall stand forever Isaiah 48 and friend if God had the wisdom and ability to precisely foretell centuries in advance the future of ancient kingdoms past and we doubt for a moment his ability and wisdom to predict accurately what our future holds for us hardly in fact Bible prophecy gives us the privilege of pulling up the blinds looking into the future through God's eyes and catching a glimpse of his solution to the problems threatening man survival on planet Earth the Bible is more than just authentic history more than scientific facts more than prophecies fulfilled if it were not it would not matter what man did with it the theme of the book the heart of it all is the account of what happened on a rugged hill outside of Jerusalem more than 19 centuries ago and it makes a difference what we believe about that either the son of the Living God died on that cross or he did not either he was who the Bible says he was or he was not was Calvary fantasy or fact. It makes a difference and we need to know perhaps the greatest evidence that the Bible is what it claims to be is the power in the book to change lives and that power is wrapped up in one person Jesus Christ Jesus said Search the scriptures for in them ye think he have eternal life and they are they which testify of me John 539 Jesus was speaking of the Old Testament for the New Testament had not yet been written and as you turn the pages of the Old Testament you will discover that they prophesied of a coming Messiah and tell of his mission of love and salvation Jesus told His disciples these are the words which I speak unto you while I was yet with you that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and in the saw concerning me Luke 2444 the Old Testament prophesied of Christ and the New Testament is his life story so you see the entire Bible is a revelation of Jesus Christ who came to demonstrate to a planet in rebellion what his father was really like that is why the Bible is called The Living Word of God It carries a vitalizing power with it wherever it goes a power that changes lives transforms human character give strength to the weak courage to the depressed and hope to the dying all through history the power of the Bible to change people has been proven over and over angry people have been changed into peaceful people through the power of the Bible lustful immoral people have become pure and clean drunkards have been delivered from their drinking thieves from their stealing cheaters from their cheating. You don't have to look far today to find hardened murderers in prison who have been changed into rejoicing Christians through the power of the Bible you don't have to look far to find marriages that were headed straight for divorce that have been saved and filled with new love through the power of the Bible no one can read the Bible faithfully every day without God's Book changing him or her and if you spend time each day in the Bible my friend it will change you to Jesus spent his time changing people that is the heart of the Christian religion and it is the heart of the Bible the secret of its power Jesus knew what power it was that changed man you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free John 832 it is truth that sets men free the changes man it is the truth that makes a drunkard a sober and loving father it is truth that frees the drug abuser with so much deception being practiced in the world today we ask what is truth Jesus gave the answer daya word is truth John 1717 the Bible God's Word is Truth the power of that word can change the hearts of men and women but God's word can change only those willing to be changed those willing to accept the man in the book Jesus Christ and millions of lives have been changed as people have studied the Bible no greater power exists in the world to touch hearts and change lives many of you have heard of the bounty and the mutiny that made this ship famous in $790.00 Captain Bligh and his crew started off from England to bring a load of bread fruit tree plants to transplant in the West Indies as cheap food for slaves. Because of Bligh's cruel leadership and mistreatment of his crew there was a mutiny and Fletcher Christian the leader of the me of me set Bly and 18 of the crew adrift in a small boat they managed to find their way back to England because of the expert ability of Captain Bligh to navigate the crew on the bout he didn't fare very well but they ended up on uninhabited Pitcairn Island they burned the body so they could not be traced when they had been empty he Bligh had taken aboard a number of women and children and a few native men evidently life on Pitcairn was a sort of paradise for a time but it was a flawed paradise no manmade utopia will endure for long while the hearts of men are unchanged if Fletcher Christian had read his Bible it would have told him it couldn't last for we read unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain who built it Psalm $12071.00 when the men learned how to make liquor they began to quarrel and kill each other the mutineers on the t. He Sion men began killing each other including Fletcher Christian before long because of their wasted living their survivors were reduced to only one man John Adams and a number of women and children John Adams remember that Fletcher Christian had owned a Bible it was the only book on the island he searched until he found it and began reading it a change came over his life he recognized the serious responsibility that he had he then took upon Himself the work of educating the people using the Bible as his only textbook here with these children fathered by the mutineers some of them lectures children these children were now in his hand their future would be the future that he John Adams created for them. He taught them to read and write and how to live the children grew up to be a well mannered orderly and dedicated Christian youth it was this unusual interest in the Word of God and the amazing transformation in the entire population of the island that attracted the attention 1st of passing vessels then of the British government and finally of the whole world for such secrets cannot be kept Today most of the people are Christians what one Bible can do you see friend it makes a difference what we do with the book it is more than just a book to carry to church or to display in our homes it is more than helpful information or useful advice it is God speaking to our hearts it is his love letter to his children on planet Earth it is the secret of survival everlasting happiness and peace of mind the history of the Bible tells the truth about the past even the distant past its prophecies tell the truth about the future and friends it tells the truth about God too it tells you and me that God made us because he wanted us then when we human beings sinned and disobeyed God he loved us so much that He sent His own Son to die in our place so that we could have a chance to live for ever and ever some day in a perfect world the Bible tells us about a God who knows how weak and trapped in sin we are how controlled we are by our own selfishness and in the Bible God shows us how he wants to change us from the inside out to be on the selfish and giving and loving people. Do you know of friends that one of the most important ways of getting to know God is by reading the Bible he has given us. And as we learn in the Bible about the kind of God we have about his great love that led him to give his own son to save us we will come to trust him if we read and study the Bible we will come to know God And when we know him we'll trust him and when we trust him we'll accept the salvation He offers us so do you see how important it is to trust the Bible yes friend it's not just the book it's the author of the book makes the difference and as we catch a glimpse of that author our faith. Is to Love and question. Being. Good evening my name is Don you're from the village of an island and you're listening to Joy. Again and again heights and. 89 and for some time now he's given a. This is table talk a program to discuss those topics of interest to today's Christian the panel includes David ensuring James Rafferty Jeffrey was Aereo. And now here's table talk I'm thoroughly enjoying these conversations I don't know about you guys Jeffrey you said a moment ago that when you say this feels like home feels like. And just take in these things that make our hearts just so. My house your house or Jeffrey what we're talking about the goodness of God the love of God Scripture that we don't also talk about other things but that this is a thing this is an office.