GYC 2012 Acts: The Revolution Continues

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Generation. Youth. Christ. (GYC)

GYC 2012 Seminar: Revolutionary Apologetics - The Adventist Edge

Anil Kanda

Terminating Eternal Torture. Where Adventism and Atheism are Friends

This message was presented at the GYC 2012 conference in Seattle, Washington.

For other resources like this, visit us online at www.gycweb.org.

It's the perfect temperature for this seminar then.

So, it's just gonna get a whole lot hotter, amen?

So, the name of the seminar is called Terminating Eternal Torture.

This is going to be a very interesting seminar and as we progress, there are various points that are going to come out.

I would highly recommend to you that you would take notes.

I'm not sure when this recording is going to be up, but it would be very important to take notes.

Some of the stuff I'm sharing with you, I really believe that God has led in and it's going to be very instrumental in reaching many people.

So, before we go any further, I'd like to start by asking Jesus to bless us with the greatest of all preachers and teachers, the Holy Spirit.

Father in heaven, we thank you so much for John chapter 16 that says, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you to all truth.

Father in heaven, we need to understand this topic, this subject, like never before.

It is very relevant, Lord, and as we get closer and closer to the end of time we know that This message could save many people and draw them back into the fold Please bless us with insight with understanding sharpen our mind when we pray by the very end of this message, that we walk away with our minds blown because we have sat in the presence of God.

Reclaim Jeremiah 33 verse 3, that says, call upon me and I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know.

Lord we hold that promise and ask that you would bless us now in Jesus name, amen.

Again the name of the seminar is called Terminating Eternal Torture, What Adventist and Atheist Have in Common.

Again you might have heard some of this very similar seminar on audio-verse, but I want you to know that I've gone in a very different direction.

I've also included a whole new insight into this topic.

Just also giving you a little bit about what's going to happen tomorrow.

Tomorrow we're going to cover genocidal God or just judge.

My mind has been blown just studying this topic.

I've also been corresponding with Paul Coopman, who's considered 1 of the foremost authorities on the Old Testament wars.

And he's not an Adventist, but he knows his stuff.

I've even sent him some Ellen White quotes, just to see what he thinks about them.

And it's really interesting, some of the dialogue that's been taking place.

We're also gonna be talking about Jesus is apologetic on Ellen White, and that is tomorrow.

So those 2, I think it starts at 9.45, am I right about that?

The other 1 I'm gonna be covering on Monday is called Buried Truths in World Religions.

This is not a seminar I've done with a lot of people, but your mind is going to be blown by the end of this.

You might have heard seminars on the book of Genesis, but I guarantee you come to this seminar, you're going to learn a whole lot of stuff.

And then I may give my testimony, that one's still tentative, from Sikhism, Hinduism to seeking Him.

How I was born and raised, I also come from a Sikh and Hindu background, and how I became a Seventh-day Adventist.

It's a very interesting story, and we may do some Q&A, depending on the time.

So, we want to be done by 4 o'clock, So just buckle up and hang on, alright?

Okay, now this is a very interesting quote by Josh Billings, this is what he says, as scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.

God has so much truth to reveal to us Amen, and if we think we know all the truth we are wrong.

We know very little Because truth is always progressive by the way does anybody know what the word disciple actually means it means learner If you're called to be a disciple of Christ, what are you called to be?

In other words, somebody who's always going to be learning at the feet of Jesus.

I've been blown away just studying the what Ellen White said about heaven and how heaven is just going to be this progressive opening up of who God is, the infinite God.

1 of them passed away, I believe it was sometime earlier in the year.

And these are, these individuals are called the 4 Horsemen of Atheism.

How many people have heard of the 4 Horsemen of Atheism?

And these individuals are what's, are people who have been branded the new atheists, the new militant atheists because they have a very aggressive approach in their atheism.

You can go to YouTube, you can see all the debates that take place there.

They write articles that really denounce Christianity, denounce religion altogether.

They're sometimes very rude as well and so that's why they've been seen as sort of the new atheists, very militant atheists.

These individuals have said some very interesting things about Christianity.

1 of the areas that they particularly attack is the doctrine of God's divine justice.

In other words, what happens in the afterlife?

Pay attention to some of these quotes right here.

Many of these people will be going to hell because they're praying to the wrong God.

Okay, there are about 1.2 billion people in India at this time.

No matter how good these people are, they are doomed.

If you are, you are praying to the monkey god Hanuman.

If you are doomed, okay, you will be tortured in hell for eternity.

This was an individual, his name is Sam Harris.

He said this in a debate, very interesting.

The extreme horribleness of hell as portrayed by priests and nuns is inflated to compensate for its implausibility.

If hell were plausible, it would only have to be moderately unpleasant in order to deter.

Given that it is so unlikely to be true, it has to be advertised as very scary indeed to balance its implausibility and retain some deterrence value.

This individual was none other than Richard Dawkins.

Genocidal God or Just Judge. New Material on Genocide in the Old Testament

I actually missed it because I was doing some work.

You know, I've been really, I was really blessed by what Wes Pepper said yesterday and so I'll get the recording about for this morning.

We're going to be covering some very interesting topics.

Just to give you a heads up, You know, we're obviously covering genocidal God or just judge this morning, but right after we're going to get into Jesus' apologetic on Ellen White.

It's basically encounters of people who were non-Adventists who came across Ellen White's writings.

Tomorrow we're going to get into the Gospel truths.

We'll learn about how Jesuits actually discovered the story of Abraham in Hinduism.

And you're thinking, where in the world did that come from?

Well, Ellen White gives a clue, actually.

And we'll also go with biblical secrets in the book of Genesis.

Some of the stuff that is going to be talked about I've never heard presented anywhere else.

So I think you're really going to enjoy that.

And then tomorrow, as the very last session, I'll share my testimony.

We may do some Q&A after this if there's enough time.

I know we're already a little bit late, but I'd like to start with a word of prayer.

And let's ask God to send the greatest of all preachers, the Holy Spirit.

Father in Heaven, thank You so much again for Your goodness, for Your kindness.

And thank You, Lord, for the power of God.

Lord, it is our earnest desire for the Holy Spirit that you will illuminate our understanding give us wisdom in your word Father we need to understand who you are in the midst of the Old Testament.

Alright, the name of the subject today is called...

By the way, if some questions come up in your mind, please save them.

If there's enough time, like I said before, we'll cover some of these questions.

Name the topics called Genocidal God or Just Judge and we're gonna learn some very, very interesting revelations, things I personally never heard of until I began to study this subject out and I was blown away by just the amount of research that has been done in the Old Testament concerning topics like the Canaanite Wars and destructions of certain tribes, certain groups.

Well there's a man that I became very interested as far as his work goes.

His name is Eli Wiesel and he was a man who was in the Jewish concentration camps as a young boy.

This man, you know, Right now he's still alive and he speaks all over the world.

He speaks for human right groups, he's acquainted with many stars and presidents.

When it comes right down to human rights and just the preservation of life and the sanctity of life, many times he's a sought after speaker because he shares his experience in the concentration camp.

His dad and his brother actually died in the concentration camp but he as a young boy was able to escape.

In fact, here's a picture of him and he's in the third row, third rack and he's way in the corner.

You see him kind of just looking at us, kind of like the Where's Waldo, he's just kind of peeking out, right?

But something happened in his experience there.

And his story went like this, and he actually wrote a book about it.

And what happened was, 1 day while he was in the racks of that camp, he was just laying there waiting for time to pass when he noticed 3 Jewish rabbis.

They were former rabbis who were actually in the prison, and actually were there, and they get up, and they go right in the middle of this internment camp.

And what they begin to do is they begin to have a mock trial and he's just watching the entire thing and he said, this is just unusual, this is very curious and as he's watching this trial, he begins to realize who has been put on trial.

These 3 rabbis actually put God on trial.

And so he was watching the whole thing take place.

And he was saying that these rabbis, they brought God to the stand and they accused him before the court, which was the rest of the world.

The reason why he was being tried was because these rabbis believed he was responsible for what happened to the Jewish people.

At the end, They condemn him for being guilty.

Ironic thing is, in the end of the story, God stands up and condemns them as well.

So, I bring this out because God is on trial.

The Bible says in Revelation chapter 14, the hour of His judgment has come.

It's not just that we're on judgment, it's that God Himself is on judgment.

The question is whether you're a good witness.

And you want to make sure that you have the best witness on your side, right?

And so what we're going to be taking a good look at is what the Old Testament is talking about when it comes to these various wars and what may be called genocide.

Very interesting, there's a man by the name of Richard Dawkins.

He's considered 1 of the 4 horsemen of atheism.

If you were here yesterday, we learned about what he said about Christianity.

But he made this comment about the God of the Old Testament.

The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all of fiction.

You can see he's just going right for the throat right here.

Jealous and proud of it, a petty unjust unforgiving control freak, a vindictive bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser.

I mean when I was reading this I was like I don't want to even put this up, I'm just disgusted by what he said.

Very interesting, when this man goes after Christianity, he really hones in on the Old Testament.

You know, many of us as Christians, when we're reading the Bible, say we get up in the morning and we're just like, oh, I'm just so excited about reading God's Word.

We open up the Scriptures and we just read about how God commanded the destruction of the Amalekites.

And as we read that, we're thinking to ourselves, I'm just going to read Psalms today.

Jesus’ Apologetics on Prophets: EGW Outside Adventism

Father in heaven, thank you so much again for this time.

And Lord, we're praying that you would bless us and Lord, we claim Jeremiah 33 verse 3 that if we call upon you, you will show us great and mighty things which we do not know.

Please bless us, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen.

Name of the topic is called, What's Right About Ellen White?

It's much more than a prophet, much more than a prophet.

When you take a good look at the Seventh-day Adventist Church and look at all the inspirational people who started it, you can see that there's just a cluster of very unusual people who have unusual backgrounds and unusual talents.

But there was 1 individual who was, say, you could say, 1 of the main thrusts behind the church, and that was none other than Ellen G.

And this seminar is going to deal with an apologetic about Ellen White.

It's going to be a very interesting angle when it comes to this apologetic.

Let's take our Bibles, let's go to Numbers chapter 12.

I'm going to show you something about Moses.

There was a situation that took place in Israel, and this was in its very primitive state.

You had Moses as the leadership there, but the leadership was still being defined and restructured.

There was a situation that took place when Miriam and Aaron, the brother and sister of Moses, began to contest his rulership.

In fact, they became jealous and began to speak negatively about his authority.

Numbers chapter 12, let's start with verse 6.

God confronts Miriam and Aaron, and this is what he says, hear now my words.

If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make himself known to him in a what?

Face to face, even plainly and not in dark sayings.

Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

God distinguishes, or he separates Moses' authority from the authority of the prophets who were Aaron and Miriam.

And he was saying, look, if there was a prophet, I'll speak to him through a dream or a vision.

He says, I communicate with Moses in a different way.

This is very interesting, because God begins to say, look, there is somebody who can be more than a prophet.

There can be somebody who's more than a prophet.

And it was based upon revelation and their personal communion with God.

Do you know what God strikes Miriam with?

Because she was talking bad about Moses' wife.

In fact, walk through what the Bible says right here in Deuteronomy 34, verse 10, speaking about Moses.

But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

Notice this, the Bible says, since that time, there has not arisen somebody like Moses.

In fact, the Bible talks about, in Matthew chapter 11, talking about John the Baptist.

Jesus himself says John the Baptist was much more than a prophet.

And then he says this in Matthew chapter 11, "...Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women, there has not risen that same phraseology borrowed from the Old Testament, 1 greater than John the Baptist." So notice this, both Moses and both John the Baptist were more than just prophets.

Those who boldly assume that they are prophets in this, they are often reproached to the cause of Christ.

My work includes much more than this name signifies.

Now pay attention to what Ellen White is saying.

She is saying, look, the work that I'm carrying out is actually much more than that of a prophet.

That's similar language borrowed as well.

I regard myself as a messenger entrusted by the Lord with messages for his people.

My commission embraces the work of a prophet but it does not end there.

It embraces much more than the minds of those who have been sowing seeds of unbelief and can comprehend.

Moses was more than a prophet, John the Baptist more than a prophet, Ellen White more than a prophet.

Well, 1 thing to pay attention to is that these 3 were spiritual leaders in Israel.

Where you had prophets simply communicating a message to Israel, These particular 3 actually were leaders of great revolutions.

And these 3 never saw the fulfillment of their work.

Moses never went into the physical holy land.

Led the children of Israel right up to the borders.

John the Baptist never saw the work of Christ carried forward.

Ellen White proclaimed the second coming and helped raise up the church, but she never saw the fruits of what the church would become.

Folks, these individuals were given very special messages.

They were leaders, special leaders that were arisen to deal with Israel and help guide them in their formation and to lead them.

When I first became an Adventist Christian, I came from a Hindu background.

In Hinduism, pantheism, the idea that God is in everything.

More than God is just, you know, creates everything, but God himself is a part of everything.

He's in this chair, he's in this podium, He's in the ground.

1 of the very first things I read when I became a Christian was Testimonies, Volume 9, where she deals with pantheism in her messages to Kellogg.

And so, Through this time, over and over again, I have seen the fruits of her writings.

We always ask the question, is there going to be another messenger at the very end?

Abundant light has been given to our people in these last days.

Whether or not my life is spared, my writings will constantly speak and their work will go forward as long as time shall what?

Lost Gospel Truths in World Religions: Abraham and Hinduism

The Bible says if you humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, He will lift you up.

God, we come to you, not with pride or arrogance, but we come to you humbly, Lord, seeking wisdom and knowledge from the world's greatest teacher.

Father, please let your light shine, Lord, that we may behold you more and more.

And thank you, God, that you're not just the light of our lives, but you are the light of the world.

Alright, just letting you also know that after this session we're going to cover the next session, Powerful Secrets in the Book of Genesis.

And I really believe you're going to be challenged with some things in the book of Genesis I should have...

Ok good maybe someone should have passed them out so you see a group of people coming towards the front either means something...

Appeal or something dangerous is about to happen.

So, I always tell my deacons when I'm preaching, I tell my head deacon just to keep on guard because you never know what type of people you get in church.

And, you know, I've seen a lot of heckler videos.

Series

GYC 2012 Seminar: Revolutionary Apologetics - The Adventist Edge

Genocidal God or Just Judge. New Material on Genocide in the Old Testament

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

GYC 2012 Plenary Sessions

My Testimony

44m

Abraham, Apologetics, and the Big Ideas of Scripture

Romance and Courtship: Who has a Better Love Story?

54m

GYC 2012 Seminar: Pentecost and Feasts, Tongues and Charismatic Movements

Return to Babylon

1h

GYC 2013 Seminar: Triple A: "Angels, Apologetics, and Adventists"

04-Evolution, Philosophy, and Apologetics: Outreach in The Classroom

1h 10m

GYC 2013 Seminar: The Neophyte and the Great Controversy

04-The Neophyte and The Great Controversy, Part 4

1h

Missional Business

03 Breaking In: Christ’s Method of Marketing

58m

Biblical Leadership

Biblical Leadership Part 1

1h

Abused: Bruised but Not Broken

Beyond Me

57m

GYC 2012 Seminar: Unleashing the Power - A Practical Guide for Finishing God's Work

Beyond Good Intentions

1h

GYC 2013 Seminar: The Individual Conflict: Victory Over Sin

04-Sin is a Four-Letter Word

53m

How to Interpret Scripture

How to Interpret Scripture: Does the Bible Really Reveal the Future? Prophecy and the New World Order

1h 2m

Ed Reid: Faith and Finances in the End Times

Financial Planning for the Cycle of Life

1h

Sound Doctrine