The University Of God

[Music]

So the name of the class tonight is the University of God. The University of God. Because if I say, you know, we're going to turn IUIC Arkansas into a university, some brothers may be confused. Some brothers may not fully grasp what I'm getting at, right? But throughout our history as a nation of people, this is something that God has always instituted with the prophets. And we're going to prove that tonight. All right, so make sure y'all, y'all tuning in. Make sure y'all being attentive, taking good notes tonight. You're going to fully understand and comprehend what the University of God is and why IUIC Arkansas is about to be, and should have been, all right, a real deal university. All right.

So now, let's open up with Sirach chapter 44, Sirach 44, verse 1. The book of Ecclesiasticus 44 and verse 1. Go ahead. "Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us." Right? So our forefathers that that begat us, right? Who we descend from as the Israelites, they are actually the most, arguably, right, the most famous men on Earth, for real. Who more famous than than Jesus, Moses, David, Solomon? These men have been talked about for thousands of years, millennia. You understand? In the most famous, sold-for-purchased book in the world, in the history of the world, the Holy Bible. You understand? So, "Let us praise famous men and our forefathers that begat us." Go ahead.

"The Lord hath wrought great glory by them through his great power from the beginning." From the what? "From the beginning." From the beginning. Go ahead. "Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms, men renowned for their power; giving counsel by their understanding." Doing what? "Giving counsel by their understanding." So these men, our forefathers, always gave counsel by their understanding. Go ahead. "And declaring prophecies." So now we know that the the Lord has to be dealing with you on a divine level for you to be able to declare prophecies, right? But trust and believe, for them to give counsel by their understanding, that didn't come by osmosis. You understand? It wasn't no spiritual dove that flew into them or whatever the case may be, right? These men were trained up, and we're going to prove it. Our forefathers went through periods of training to get to the level to be able to declare prophecies and give counsel by their understanding. All right. Go ahead.

"Leaders of the people by their counsels and by their knowledge of learning, meet for for the people." So a lot of people want to be leaders in the sense of the title, right? In the sense of the recognition and so on and so forth. But the Bible is telling you how our forefathers have become leaders and how we are to become leaders. It says, "Leaders of the people by their counsels and by their knowledge of learning." Knowledge of learning, meet for the people. You understand, man? So the true men of God, the true leaders, our forefathers, and when they come back into the Earth, this is how they're going to become leaders all over again: by their learning, which is meat, meaning good for the people. Go ahead.

"Wise and eloquent in their instructions." Again, you don't become wise and eloquent in your instructions just from nature. You understand? You have to go through what the Lord instituted, a system in which the prophets were trained up. We're going to show y'all that. But first, go to Acts 8:30. Just to back up what I said. All right. Acts chapter 8:30. We know this. The book of Acts chapter 8 and verse 30. Go ahead. "And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias." So this brother, the Ethiopian eunuch, who was an Israelite, by the way, he was studying the prophet Isaiah. Go ahead. "And said, Understandest thou what thou readest?" So Philip asked him, "Brother, do you understand what you're reading?" Go ahead.

"And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me?" How can I get this understanding? Remember what we read about our forefathers, right? "Leaders of the people by their understanding, knowledge of learning, meet for the people." It was always understood, you cannot just get understanding without some man guiding you, guiding you. Now, we know that it was special elected spirits that the Most High chose to, you know, deal directly through them, right? With the spirit of prophecy. However, they still, you understand, were under the tutelage of men before them. All right? So in a general sense, you cannot get understanding without guidance from men that have the knowledge, that have the wisdom. Go ahead. "And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him." All right.

So from there, let's go to Hebrews chapter 5:12. Hebrews 5:12. So, so now, in the context of Hebrews chapter 5, you're dealing with brothers that were Jews, that were raised up in the law, that are now coming into the knowledge of Christ. So they've grown up their entire life in the synagogue, temple, so on and so forth, learning from the the leaders of that time period that had not the knowledge of Christ. Christ. So once the leaders were established in Christ, and these brothers started to repent, guess what they had to do? Read what you got. "The book of Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 12. Go ahead. 'For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again.'" So before you become a teacher, now this is New Testament. The Bible is telling us that you have need that one teach you again. Modern-day Christianity has destroyed our mind. All you got to do is just believe, and you go in there and find some type of combination of "shalom, shalom, shalom," and you, you good. You understand? You got the spirit. But in the New Testament, the Bible is telling us that you have need that one teach you again. So there has to be teachers, and you have to come and be taught. That is what's supposed to go on in a church. And the church is not the building, by the way. The church is the assembling of the people that comes. You understand? And the actual building is more so set up as a what? A school. And we're going to get into that. We're going to show that. All right? Why? Because "ye have need that one teach you again." Go ahead.

"'Which be the first principles of the oracles of God.'" Right? So they had to start from the beginning of the book because they thought they knew the law. They thought they understood the Torah, but they had never saw Christ in their law. So they had to start all the way over again and be taught Christ from the beginning of the book, the first principles. Go ahead. "'And are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.'" Right? Like kids. You go to school, the first thing you get in the morning, milk. All right.

So from there, let's let's get the definition of university on vocabulary.com. All right. University. I want you to scroll down. All right. Read number one and number two. "University: A large and diverse institution of higher learning created to educate for life and for a profession and to grant degrees." So I know this is early in the class, right? But I want y'all to remember that word, "degrees." Because I know we know it in a literal sense, in terms of coral universities or whatever the case. But just remember that word, all right? Degrees. But it says, "a large and diverse institution." How is it a large and diverse institution? Because it's many different majors, concepts of learning, and things of that nature, right? It's not just one area. Like the Bible is a vast book. You got law, you got history, you got faith, doctrine, prophecy, so on and so forth. All right? So, "a large, diverse institution of higher learning to educate for life and for a profession." Read number two.

"Number two: Establishment where a seat of higher learning is housed, including administrative and living quarters." And living quarters. Because guess what? We're going to read that too. The prophets would dwell, you understand, in these places. All right? Just like a university has dorms, right? Go ahead. "As well as facilities for research." For research. What else? "And teaching." Facilities for research and teaching. H. All right.

Now, give me the Google definition of university. Give me the Google definition. "University: An educational institution designed for instruction, examination, or both, of students in many branches of advanced learning." Of what? "Advanced learning." So, "an educational institution designed for instruction and examination, all right, of students in many branches of advanced learning, with conferring degrees." Conferring what? "Degrees." Degrees. Go ahead. "In various faculties." In various faculties. Come on. "And often embodying colleges and similar institutions." Embodying colleges and similar institutions. Read the synonyms. "Similar college, college, academy, academy, institute, uh-huh, varsity, uh-huh, school, school." Right? So you can call a university a college or a school. All right.

So from there, jump, uh, hit "see more." Scroll down. Scroll down. All right. Read the Middle English from Old. So this is the origins of the word, all right. Go ahead. "From Old French univers, from Latin universitas, the whole, in late Latin, society, guild." From universus, c. universe. So I want to try to remember that word, "guild," or "universitas." I don't know which one. I don't know because I don't know if I should go with how you pronounce it. It'd be the annunciation to be on point, but I don't know if the pronunciation is exact. But I'm going to go with you. "Guild." Okay. Guild. So remember that word, "guild." All right. It may be "universitas," but we'll just say "guild." That's how you want to read it. You're the reader. Let's get it. All right.

So now, let's open up with 1 Samuel chapter 1. So we're going to go into our history and show, we're going to show you in the scriptures, the University of God. All right. 1st Samuel chapter 1, verse 19. "The book of 1 Samuel chapter 1, verse 19. And they rose up in the morning early, early." So for the sake of time, we ain't got time to go through the history. Read the chapter on your own. But this is going into the birth of Samuel, the conception and birth of Samuel. His mother, Hannah, she was barren. She prayed to the Lord, and the Lord blessed her. That's what we're going to read about. All right. Read it again.

"And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the Lord, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her." Right? So they had six, and she was able to conceive. The Lord answered her prayer. Go ahead. "Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord." Right? That's what the name means. Samuel means "Asked of God." Asked of God. Go ahead.

"And the man Elkanah, and all his house, went up to offer unto the Lord the yearly sacrifice, and his vow. But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him." So the child be weaned, meaning he will no longer need my, he will no longer need to feed on my breast, right? So once the child is weaned, then will I bring him. Go ahead. "That he may appear before the Lord." Uh-huh. "And there abide for ever." And there do what? "Abide for ever." And there abide forever. H.

Jump down to verse 27. Verse 27. Uh-huh. "For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him." Go ahead. "Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord." And he worshipped the Lord there. Y'all do y'all understand what she's saying? She's saying, "The Lord answered my prayer and gave me the ability to give birth to this son. I'm going to give him back to the Lord." From the time he doesn't need my breast milk anymore, he's going to be in the temple, period. His life was dedicated from the Lord from toddler time. You understand? Now, watch this. Go to chapter 3:1. 1 Samuel 3 and verse 1.

"And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli." Eli was the high priest. Go ahead. "And the word of the Lord was precious in those days: there was no open vision." Meaning the Lord wasn't appearing to brothers in dreams and stuff like that, giving them visions at that time. Go ahead. "And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; and ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep." So Samuel, as a little boy, he's sleeping in the temple. Go ahead. "That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I." Right? So the Lord called Samuel as a little boy. Now, watch this. Jump down to verse 19. Verse 19. Uh-huh.

"And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground." Uh-huh. "And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord." So everybody knew what time it was with Samuel. You understand? Everybody knew he was established to be a prophet of the Lord. Go ahead. "And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord." Now, watch this. Go to 1st Samuel chapter 7. So this is later in life. All right. 1st Samuel chapter 7 and verse 15. 1 Samuel 7 and verse 15. Uh-huh.

"And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life." Watch this. "And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places." So it says he went, when he became judge over Israel, he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. All right. So think about it, right? Pull up the, pull up the commentary and scroll down to Matthew Poole's commentary. It said he went in circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. Now, this is what I got from, uh, one of my favorite classes, if not my favorite class of all time, "Following the Footsteps of Elijah." If some of y'all was around at that time, then this should be a refresher for y'all. It was in the Men's Conference, I think, 2021, something like that, all right, with an elder. So now, where you at? I'm on Matthew Poole. What you, what is Gilgal? All right.

So, Matthew Poole: "judged Israel in all those places." Matthew Poole's commentary: "judged Israel in all those places. He went to those several places, partly in compliance with the people, whose convenience and benefit he was willing to purchase with his own trouble." Right? So he wanted to make sure the people were all right. Those were like central areas of the people that needed his attention, right? Go ahead. "Making himself an itinerant judge and preacher for their sakes." Itinerant judge and preacher for their sakes. So he was going and teaching in those particular places, right? Go ahead. "And partly, that by his presence in several parts, he might the better observe and rectify all sorts of miscarriages against God or men; or, in other words, make sure he kept the people in order." So I want y'all to think about it, right? Will a righteous man like that put all of that on his own shoulders? Because anything could just happen to him out of the blue, and he wouldn't be able to do that anymore, right? So understand, when he was going to these particular places, and I want y'all to stamp Bethel and Gilgal in y'all brain, all right? He wasn't just going there on solo missions. He was establishing young men to come up in his stead. All right? And we're going to prove that. Go to 1st Samuel chapter 10, verse 5. 1 Samuel 10, verse 5.

"1 Samuel chapter 10 and verse 5. 'After that thou shalt come to the hill of God,' so this is him speaking of Saul. Go ahead. 'where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets.'" A company of prophets. A company of prophets. A company of prophets. Wait a minute. So Samuel, we know that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord, but he's telling Saul about a company of prophets that he's going to see coming to him. Go ahead. "'Coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them, and they shall prophesy.'" All right.

Now, let's pull up that commentary. I want O.T.'s commentary. All right. First Samuel 10:5. Read that. O.T.'s commentary for English readers: "After that thou shalt come to the hill of God." Uh-huh. "These words should be rendered to the hill of God." The writer here is alluding to Saul's own city, afterwards known as Gibeah of Saul. The name of Gibeah, or Hill of God, was given to it on account of a well-known high place or sacrificial height in or hard by the town. We know that this sacred place was chosen by Samuel as the site of one of his schools of the prophets." Wait a minute. Hold up. Because we thought Samuel was just going around like he was just Superman, just doing everything on his own. No, he had the wisdom and understanding from the Lord. Listen, you got to train up men to succeed you, right? So that was one of the places where he established the school of the prophets. Now, scroll down. Watch this. Scroll down. "And a company of prophets." These evidently belong to one of those seminaries termed schools of the prophets. Go ahead. "Founded by Samuel for the for the training of young men." For what? "For the training of young men." For the training of young men. Come on. "The foundation of these schools in different parts of the country was one of the greatest of the works of this noble and patriotic man." Y'all hear this? The foundation of these schools. That's why you, listen, a [expletive] that'll sit up there and disrespect your bishop, calling him [expletive]. I'm telling you, bro, the the these damn devils the Bible speaks of, bro, ain't no way you reading about Samuel say, "The foundation of these schools in different parts of the country was one of the greatest other works of this noble and patriotic man." How could you speak evil of a man that set up schools all over the Earth? Come on, man. But go ahead. Keep reading.

"These schools seem to have flourished during the the whole period of the monarchy." Right? Meaning when we had kings. Go ahead. "And in no small measure contributed to the moral and mental development of the people." You see this, right? It said that these schools, "in no small measure contributed to the moral and mental development of the people." Damn. And how many brothers here right now? The hell is this? I keep reading. "Some of the youth of Israel who received in these schools their training became public preachers of the word." I need you to read it again. Yes, sir. "Some of the youth of Israel who received in these schools their training." Their what? "Their training." Their what? "Their training." Became what? "Became public preachers of the word." Who, who do y'all think these men are? Who do y'all think y'all leadership really is? Y'all think we some [expletive] just pretending to be some people in the book? Hell, we got to be these men. It ain't no, listen, what it say? The spirit bear witness. When our spirit, you understand. Watch this. Keep reading. "For after all this, rather than foretelling future events, was the grand duty of the prophet's calling." Was the what? "The grand duty of the prophet's calling." So being a public preacher of the word was the grand duty of the prophet's calling. All right. You could drop that now.

Give me the Zondervan screenshot, page 563. This is the Zondervan Bible Dictionary, page 563. Zondervan Bible Dictionary. "Sons of the prophets: Members of prophetic guilds or schools gathered around great prophets like Samuel and Elijah." So wait, wait, wait. Y'all remember that word, right? I told y'all to remember that word. Is it "guild" or "guilds"? We're going to say "guilds." Okay. "Members of prophetic guilds or schools." Read on. "Gathered around great prophets like Samuel." Who? "Samuel." And Elijah. Who? "And Elijah." Okay. "For common worship, united prayer, religious fellowship, and instruction of and instruction of the people." All right. Go ahead. "In the times of Elijah and Elisha, they lived together at Bethel, Jericho, and Gilgal." So remember we read about Bethel and Jericho? I mean, Bethel and Gilgal, right? There were two of the places that Samuel went in circuit to year by year. You understand? Those places remained established as schools or colleges of the prophets. All right.

H. So now, give me the "guild" definition. Pull that up real quick. So it says, "Members of the prophetic guilds or schools." All right. Come on, man. The hell is this? "Guild" definition. All right. I want the dot. First. Yeah, the first dot. "Guild: An association of people for mutual aid or the pursuit of a common goal." So it says, "mutual aid." Remember it said that public preaching was the what? It said the, the grand duty of the prophets, right? Because it was in no small measure the moral and some of the development of the people. You understand? So, uh, that school of the prophets was an association or organization of men with a common goal to teach the people the word of God. All right. Read the synonyms. Hit the little arrow. Read the synonyms. "Association, society, union, league, alliance, coalition, coalition, federation, consortium, uh-huh, syndicate, combine, trust, organization, company." What company? What company? What we read in 1 Samuel 10:5? What he tell Saul? He was going to see a company of prophets. Damn. All right.

So from there, let's go to, uh, 1st Kings chapter 19:3. Dealing with Elijah, because we just read that, and those sons of the prophets gathered unto the likes of Samuel and Elijah, right? So let's read about Elijah. First Kings 19:3. "First Kings chapter 19 and verse 13. Go ahead. 'And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave: and, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?'" What you doing in this cave, bro? Go ahead. "'And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets.'" Slain thy prophets with the sword. This happened during the time of Ahab and Jezebel, all right? She was getting rid of the prophets, and she had the authority from her wicked ass husband to do it. Go ahead. "'And I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.'" So Elijah thought he was the last prophet left. H. Go ahead. "And the Lord said unto him, Jump down. Hold on. Jump down to verse 16. Verse 16.

"'And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.'" Right? So he's telling Elijah that you're going to anoint Elisha, or Elisha, to be prophet in your place. All right. Now, watch this. Keep reading. "'And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth shall Elisha slay.'" Come on. "'Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.'" So he's telling Elijah, "Nah, bro, you ain't the last one left. I got 7,000 on reserve for you, my boy." All right. Now, watch this. Read verse 19. Verse 19.

"'So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.'" Right? Meaning he anointed him like the Lord instructed him to do. Now, read 21. Verse 21. "'And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and took their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat.'" He took care of his family real quick. Go ahead. "'Then he arose and went after Elijah and ministered.'" And then he went and got under Elijah's wing. All right.

So from there, go to 2 Kings chapter 2, verse 1. So now, this is years have gone by, all right? And Elijah is about to depart. 2 Kings 2, verse 1. "2 Kings chapter 2 and verse 1. 'And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha, or Elisha, from Gilgal.'" From Gilgal. From where? "'Went with Elisha from Gilgal.'" Gilgal. Remember Gilgal. Go ahead. "'And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel.'" So he sent an Elijah. Now, this is before Elijah. He sent an Elijah from Gilgal now to Bethel, right? Go ahead. "'And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.'" So this is showing a level of courage, the relationship that Elisha, or Elisha, had with Elijah, right? He would not depart from this man. He was cleaving the hell out of, I don't even know how to phrase it, right? You understand? But he was doing some hell of a cleave to Elijah, like, "I'm not letting you go." Go ahead.

"'So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel.'" The sons of the prophets that were at Bethel, right? Where that school, that company. Go ahead. "'Came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day?'" Don't you know that the Lord is going to take your teacher from you? Right? Go ahead. "'And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.'" Yeah, I know, dude, shut up. Go ahead. "'And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho.'" Uh-huh. "'And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.'" So they came to Jericho. Read. "'And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho.'" So you had that company or that school at Jericho as well. They told Elisha what. "'Came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day?'" Don't you know Elijah departs from us today? Go ahead. "'And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.'" Yeah, I know, man, damn, shut up. Go ahead.

"'And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan.' And he said, 'As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.' And they too went on." Now, jump down to verse 9. Verse 9. "And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee." So they went over Jordan, and Elijah's like, "All right, bro, what you want? Ask what you want from me." All right. Go ahead. "Before I be taken away from thee." Because I'm going to be taken away from you. Read. "And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." Sheesh. Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. Go ahead. "And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing." That's that's extreme, bro. Go ahead. "Nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so." So the Lord keep you here to witness him taking me from you, then you'll get that double portion. All right? If not, then you won't. Read.

"And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." And Elisha saw it. "And he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." Uh-huh. "And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces." So Elisha did not only value Elijah as a teacher, but as a father figure. All right. Go ahead.

"He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" Read. "And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither." They did what? "Parted hither and thither." And Elisha went over. So what the hell just happened? Just made it part of the river. H. Go ahead. "And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho." So, so you had sons of the prophets watching. Go ahead. "Said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha." Oh yeah, he got the spirit of Elijah on him. Read. "And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him." Right? So as you can see, this is this is the fulfillment of what the Lord told Elijah was going to happen. You're going to anoint Elijah, or Elisha, to be prophet in your room, meaning he's going to now become the leader over the sons of the prophets. You understand?

Get that real quick in Sirach chapter 48. Read verse 1 real quick. "The book of Ecclesiasticus 48 and verse 1. Uh-huh. 'Then stood up Elias the prophet as fire, and his word burned like a lamp.'" From down. Verse 8. "'Who anointeth kings to take revenge, and prophets to succeed after him.'" And what? "And prophets to succeed after him." Because ain't no real prophet going to just be like, "Yeah, I'm that thing, and when I'm gone, I'm gone." It's not. If you got the spirit on you, you're going to set up prophets to succeed after you. So he anointed Elisha, or Elisha, to be the head man, and he had the sons of the prophets, you understand. All right.

So from there, watch this. Go to First. Now, give me this. The screenshot. Uh, that, uh, the first sentence's highlight. Yep. That's it right there. Put that on the screen. I just need the highlight part. What's the top? Read the top and highlighted part. "Prophets Elijah and Elisha often visited this city." So this is talking about Bethel. Right? What we was reading about, right? So it says, "Prophets Elijah and Elisha often visited this city." Go ahead. "For here was the nursery." Read. "And for scripture learning, where the sons of the prophets were addicted to the study." Were what? "Were addicted to that study." So in Bethel, they were addicted to that study. Can we get there real quick? 1 Corinthians 16:15. "They were addicted to their study in Bethel." All right. 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 15. Keep the bombs coming, man. Don't ease up on the damn bombs. The hell wrong with y'all. Go ahead.

"'I beseech you, brethren, ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.'" Y'all know what it means to be addicted? That's what Elisha, he's like, "Bro, on my life and on your life, I ain't letting you go." Hell wrong with you. I need more and more and more and more. If you ever was in the trafficking business, if you know what I mean, them real addicts, they gonna harass you like Ahab was a harass and Elijah, you understand. Where you at? I need it. Pull up. You understand? That's how the prophets said, "Bethel, they were addicted to the ministry." You understand? It was no man of understanding going to be around him and they weren't trying to get the understanding. The hell. Now, watch this. Get the next screenshot with the blue highlight. Come on. If you can't read it, I can. All right. Go.

"Or Gilgal, or Galal, Galal, Galala, Galala." So this was, uh, we just read about Bethel. Now we're reading about Gilgal. Another place where Samuel went in circuit, and Elijah went in circuit. Go ahead. "Was another of their schools. There was a plain over against it, which shows, which shows that it had an open and free air. Come on. It was not far from the river Jordan. Here Saul was made king, and David also was received again to his kingdom. Samuel, a priest, prophet, and judge." A priest, prophet, and judge. Go ahead. "Yearly visited this place." We read about that in 1 Samuel 7. Go ahead. "Elijah and Elisha, uh-huh, two old prophets were, if not presidents of this college, if not what? "Presidents of this college." Of this what? "Of this college." This college. Do y'all hear this? Do y'all hear this? Come on. Was that yet? Yet at the least visitors of it, to examine how the sons and students profited there. Uh-huh. To instruct, reform, and to put all into good order." Y'all hear that? So if they wasn't the damn principals or presidents or deans of the college, they was damn, you know how we got captains that go and visit the schools to make sure they in order, to see how they being built up? That's what them brothers was doing. Go ahead.

"There they sat before their directors on lower seats to hear instruction as disciples at the feet of their masters and teachers and tutors." I need you to read that sentence again. This is what was going on in them, in the college. What was going on there? "They sat before their directors on lower seats to hear instruction." So they sat before the directors, they teachers, on lower seats. On lower seats. To hear instructions. As what? "As disciples at the feet of their masters and teachers and tutors." At the feet of their masters and teachers and tutors. Or leadership. They they sat to the faces of their influencers, their, uh, instructors. They sat to the faces of the instructors, meaning they sat facing the instructors. Go ahead. "This scripture, what is that expression? Expression of the sons sitting to the faces of the old, old prophets." Elisha, Elisha doth speak out such an useful truth. Uh-huh. "As given a very apt, apt direction both to teacher and to scholars." To what? "And to scholars." Or disciples. Go ahead. "In order to both his instructing and disciplining of them." So instructing and disciplining of them. Go ahead. "And their regular demeanor before him." Uh-huh. "And growing and growing and and growing and growing profiting by him, by his teachings."

So from there, go to Acts 22:3. So this, notice it said they sat at the feet. Uh, go back. Hold on. Put it back up. It said, "There they set before the directors on lower seats to hear instructions as disciples at the feet of their masters, teachers, and tutors." All right. Give me that in Acts 22 and 3. "The book of Acts chapter 22 and verse 3. Go ahead. 'I verily am which, excuse me, I verily a man which am a Jew.'" So this is talking about Saul or Paul when he was Saul. Go ahead. "'Born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in the city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.'" So Saul, as a child, he grew up at the feet of Gamaliel. At the feet of Gamaliel. And was taught the perfect manner of the law of the fathers. Can we get that in chapter 5, verse 34, about Gamaliel? Now, we're going to come back to the point about these institutions and learning, the the synagogues that were set up before Christ, right? But watch this. Read what you got. "The book of Acts chapter 5 and verse 34. 'Then stood there up one in the council a Pharisee, named Gamaliel.'" So this is the Gamaliel that brought up Saul, right? That taught Saul the scriptures. Go ahead. "'A doctor of the law.'" A what? "A doctor of the law." So it's not saying that he was a damn, he could perform, damn, he had a stethoscope. It was saying that he was, you know how somebody got a doctorate degree and they a professor at a school? That's Doctor Such-and-such. Gamaliel was a doctor. He had a doctorate degree in God's laws. You understand? He was a doctor of the law, and Saul was brought up at his feet. All right. You can drop that now.

Watch this. Go to, um, give me the next screenshot. All right. "Some of them, yes sir, them open schools or houses of instruction." Talking about our forefathers, the prophets. "Some of them open schools or houses of instruction." Go ahead. "And there to their disciples they taught the pure religion of Moses, the laws of God." Go ahead. "At Naioth, in the suburbs of Ramah, there was one where Samuel dwelt." Uh-huh. "And there was one at Jericho, and where? "At Jericho." Uh-huh. "And the third at Bethel." Read. "To which Elijah and Elisha often resorted." So we read about that in 2 Kings chapter 2. Go ahead. "Thither the people went on Sabbath days." It says the the people went on what? "On Sabbath days." Read. "And at new moons." So this is where the people went on the seven days and new moons. Go ahead. "And read public lessons of piety and morality." Okay. This is what happened in the college. I know. Get the next screenshot.

"Many of the discourses were preached in camps and courts, in streets, schools, cities, villages." So you can't make this [expletive] up. All right. So they, they taught in camps, in courts, meaning public places, streets, schools, cities, villages. Come on. "Sometimes with great composure and coolness." So kind of like how the declarer being so far, great composure and coolness. Go ahead. "At other times with vehement action and rapturous energy." You're going to die. Damn. "Sometimes in a plain, blunt style." Uh-huh. "At other times in all the magnificent pomp of Eastern allegory." So you had different flavors, different energy, different kind of like how you see amongst the different spirits of the mighty teachers that we got, right? Different flavors. Go ahead. "On some occasions the preachers appeared in public with visible signs." With what? "Visible signs." With camp signs. Go ahead. "With implements of war, with yokes of slavery." With what? "With yokes of slavery." On these signs, they had images of yokes of slavery. Come on, man. You can't make this up. Come on. "Or something adapted to their subject." Right? It could have been Jacob and Esau, could have been the, you know what I'm saying? Just different stuff to going on with what they was teaching. Go ahead. "They gave lectures on these, held them up to view." Come, look at this, sir, right here. Come on. Come on. "Girded them on, excuse me, sorry, girded them on." Uh-huh. "Broke them in pieces, rent them their garments." All right. So you can drop that. You can drop that.

All right. From there, what I want, what I want. Go to 2 Chronicles 17:1. So just to show you, so we showed y'all the schools of the prophets, right? But we're going to back that up. What that book said about them, them same brothers that came from the schools, they will become public teachers. All right. During the time of the monarchs. Read what you got. "2 Chronicles chapter 17 verse 1. Uh-huh. 'And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.'" Now, he was reigning during the time of Ahab, which was during the same time as Elijah, right? Jump down to verse 7. Verse 7.

"'Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Micaiah, uh-huh, to teach in the cities of Judah.'" To do what? "'To teach in the cities of Judah.'" So he called his princes to go out and teach in the city. Go ahead. "'And with them he sent Levites; even Shemaiah, and Nethaneel, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shimoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobijah, and Levites; and with them Elisha, or Elisha, and Jehoram priests.'" What did all these men do? "'And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the Lord with them.'" So they had the Bible with them. Go ahead. "'And went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.'" So they went and taught in the public, and they wasn't brothers that just didn't know nothing. You understand? They was brought up in the schools of learning, and they went and taught publicly. All right.

So from there, go to, uh, 2 Kings chapter 22. So we read about from the time of Samuel on up to the time of Elijah and Elisha. Now we're going to read about during the time of Josiah. 2 Kings 22:8. "The book of 2 Kings chapter 22 verse 8. Go ahead. 'And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.'" Read. "And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it." Jump down to verse 13. Verse 13.

"'Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found.'" So they found Deuteronomy 28, by the way, that's what they found. Go ahead. "'For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, but if thou shalt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake.'" That's what they just found and read. Go ahead. "'To do according unto all that which is written concerning us.'" Watch this. "So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe: and she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college." In the what? "In the college." In the what? "In the college." And they talked with him. So now, so they going to this sister, right? Because she got, she got some understanding. She dwelt in the college. Can we get the commentary? I want the Benson commentary first. All right. Scroll down. Scroll down. All right. Oh, damn. All right, there you go. "Now she dwelt in the college." Read that. Benson commentary: "Now she dwelt in the college." So it's going to expound on that part of the scripture in verse 14. Go ahead. "Where the sons of the prophets, and others who devoted themselves to the study of God's word, they devoted themselves to what? "To the study of God's word." Read. "Used to meet and discourse of the things of God." Uh-huh. "And receive the instructions of their teachers." Y'all see what this was called, right? The college. Now, scroll. Scroll down. "I won't the Geneva Study Bible commentary." Geneva Study Bible. All right. Here we go. Letter G. Geneva Study Bible. G. So this is going into the college. All right. Or the house of doctrine. What was the college called? "Or the house of doctrine." Go ahead. "Which was near the temple." Uh-huh. "And where the learned assembled to search the scriptures and the doctrine of the prophets." The learned assembled. That's what the word "church" means, by the way. With the learned, or were the church assembled to do what? "To search the scriptures and the doctrine of the prophets." So the college was where the church assembled, and they didn't assemble to hoop and holler and percolate. They assembled to search the scriptures and the doctrine of the prophets. Damn. Hold on.

All right. Give me 1 Ezra 8:1. So we're going to go later in time now. So now, if you know anything about the time of Ezra, this is during the Persian captivity. This was after the Babylonians destroyed the Babylonians, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. When they destroyed Jerusalem, guess what else they did? They burnt up the Bibles, right? But watch this. So this had always been. The Lord will raise up men after the period where you thought that the people was destroyed, the records was destroyed. The Lord always have his spirit collect the records and wake up the prophets to go and find them and be able to teach them. All right. 1

Ezra's chapter 8, verse 1. The book of 1 Ezra's chapter 8 and verse one. Go ahead, and after these things, when Artaxerxes the king of the Persians reigned, came Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah.

Jump down to verse three. Verse three. This Ezra went up from Babylon as a scribe, being very ready in the law of Moses. Being very ready in the law of Moses. How do you think he got ready? You understand? Read on. That was given by the God of Israel.

Jump down to verse seven. Verse seven. Uh-huh. For Ezra had very great skill, so that he omitted nothing of the law and commandments of the Lord. Uh-huh. But taught all Israel the ordinance and judgments. So it said that Ezra had very great skill and taught all Israel the ordinances, ordinances, and judgments. How did he do that?

Go to Ezra 7. Ezra chapter 7 and verse 10. How did he establish that skill? The book of Ezra chapter 7:10. Go ahead. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. So he had to go through a period of preparation. He had to be brought up. He had to be taught it. It ain't just something you could just go out there and do. You understand?

So now, watch this. Go to Nehemiah chapter 8. Read verse one. Nehemiah and Ezra were contemporaries. All right. So in the book of Nehemiah, you're going to read about him speaking about Ezra. Read what you got. Nehemiah 8, ver 1. Go ahead. And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the Watergate. And they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

So then we read, what is the first day of the month? The new moon, right? And this one in particular, particular, was the the memorial of the blowing of the trumpets. But we just read in one of the books that that they would meet at the school on the Sabbaths and the what? The new moons, right? So they gathered together on the new moon.

Read verse three. And he read therein before the street that was before the Watergate from the morning until midday. From what? From the morning until midday. So he did what? That is the uh the morning class. You understand? So he taught from the morning to the midday. Go ahead. Before the men and the women and those that could understand. Read. And the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. So all the people was paying attention.

Go ahead. And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Azariah, and Hilkiah, and Meshullam, on his right hand. So he had six men to his right. Go ahead. And on his and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. So he had seven men to his uh what that word? To his left. So he had six to his right, seven to his left, and he stood in the middle.

All right. Go ahead. And and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people. Uh-huh. And when he opened it, all the people stood up. Read. And Ezra blessed the Lord. All people stood up. And and Ezra did what? And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Uh-huh. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands. Wa- with lifting up their hands. So wait a minute, 'cause every time you come to the school, somebody stand up that's above everybody else and bless the Lord. We all got our hands up. And then everybody do what? Say Amen. We didn't make this stuff up. Damn.

Go ahead. And they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Read. And Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites caused the people to understand the law. So it wasn't just Ezra. You understand? It was a whole leadership table, a whole board of men that was bringing out scriptures, bringing out points. You understand?

Go ahead. And the people stood in their place. And the people stood in their place, facing them. Go ahead. So they read in the book of the law of God distinctly. Uh-huh. And gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. So this is where the people was getting instruction. They was learning, right? They got it from the men that were sitting above them, and they faced them. You understand? And they read to them the book of the law of God distinctly, and gave them the sense.

Now, watch this. So this is during the time of who? Ezra and Nehemiah, right? Now, I mentioned that this was after the period of Babylon coming and destroying the temple, and they thought they had destroyed our records. Second Maccabees 2:3. So we going from Persian captivity, now we going to the Greek captivity. All right. But they're fixing to mention something about Nehemiah.

[Music] What club was that at? That was admit that uh a lot of people don't even realize. I've called her, she hasn't responded. I've called her more than a few times with the Zulu Nation. I'm like, what the hell is this? I know nobody know what I'm talking about. You leave me on the island by myself. I don't know what the hell Bishop's talking about. That's what y'all do. Then after class. Yeah, I knew what you were talking about. I just don't want to be caught out there. The hell is this? Get on my damn nerves.

So read that [Music] again. Read that second Maccabees chapter 2, verse 13. Go ahead. The same things also were reported in their writings and commentaries of Nehemiah. Of who? Of Nehemiah. Of who? Nehemiah. Nehemiah. The same during the same time that Ezra taught, right? Watch this. And how he found a library. What a library? He did what? And how he found a library. So wait a minute. So Ezra and all them brothers that was teaching, what did they have at their disposal? A library. A library. Where you find library? Let's go. You can't make this stuff up. Come on. How he found a library. Gathered together the acts of the kings. He gathered together the acts of the kings. Read. And the prophets. And the prophets. And of David. And of David. Meaning the Psalms. Go ahead. And the epistles of the kings concerning the holy gifts. So they're making a point how Nehemiah was able to do this after the destruction that Babylon had done unto Jerusalem. Right?

Now, watch this. Read in like manner also. So in like manner also, at this time, read. Judas gathered together all those things that were lost by reason of the war we had, and they remain with us. Right. So the Greeks had came and did the same thing Babylon did. They thought they had destroyed the temple and destroyed the records. But Judas was able to get to gather all of the records, or at least some of them that they thought they had destroyed. Let's get that first Maccabees 2:48. The book of First say some. It say all. All right. It say all, though those things he was able to recover. First Maccabees 2:48. Go ahead. So they recovered the law out of the hand of the Gentiles. They did what? So they recovered the law out of the hand of the Gentiles. So they recovered the scriptures out of the hands of the enemy. Go ahead. And out of the hand of kings. Uh-huh. Neither suffered they the sinner to triumph.

Now, watch this. Second Maccabees chapter 14 and verse 6. So now this is Alcimus. This is somebody that hated us. And he kind of lumped Judas with another group. They had a time of what's the word? A time of unison where they was unified together. But we read in First Maccabees 7 about when they broke apart. But read that second Maccabees chapter 14, verse 6. So we read about how, just like Nehemiah had gathered all of those books, right, and founded a library, Judas Maccabeus was able to do this in like manner. So during the time of the Greek captivity, you had Judas and men of his same cloth, right? They were studying these books. All right. Now, read what you got. Second Maccabees 14:6. Come on. Those of the Jews that be called Aidans. Called what? Aidans. Whose captain is Judas. Judas Maccabeus. So Alcimus had described Judas Maccabeus as their captain. All right. Go ahead. Nourish war and are seditious, and will not let the realm be in peace. So who know who the Aidans are, or who they went on to be famously known in history? Go ahead. Read that. Come on. The Pharisees. Hebrew perish emerged as a distinct group shortly after the Maccabean Revolt, about 165 to 160 BCE. Come on. They were, it is generally believed, spiritual descendants of the Hasmoneans. The who? Hasmoneans. The Hasmoneans, or the Aidans, that we reading about during the Maccabees, right? So we remember we read that Judas Maccabeus had gathered together all them books, all our records, right? And associated with Judas Maccabeus was the group known as the Aidans, who went on to be known as the Pharisees. Y'all understand?

Now, from there, go to uh John chap. No, I want the screenshot. Give me the screenshot real quick. Uh, it says from this period. Yep. Read that. From this period to that of the appearance of Jesus Christ. So from the time of the prophets all the way up to the time of Jesus Christ. Go ahead. Public preaching was universal. Uh-huh. Synagogues were multiplied. What was multiplied? Synagogues were multiplied. So it says synagogues were multiplied. Go ahead. Vast numbers attended. Read. And elders and rulers were appointed for the purpose of order and instruction. So in those synagogues, elders and rulers were appointed for the purpose of order and instruction.

Now, let's go to John. Read John 12:42. Just to establish who had power over the synagogues. Read that. The book of John 12 and verse 42. Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on him. But because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. Lest they should be what? Put out of the synagogue. So who had the power to put people out of the synagogue? Who sat in the chief seats of the synagogue? The Pharisees, right? Who were spiritual descendants of the Aidans.

Now, watch this. Get the Zondervan Bible Dictionary, page 572. Put that on the screen. Dealing with synagogues. So what were these things? All right. Synagogue. Place of assembly. So the synagogue was the place, the physical um building where the church would come to assemble. All right. Read. Jewish institution for the reading and exposition of the Old Testament. So the Jewish institution, or the Jews' institution, for the reading and explaining of the Old Testament. Go ahead. Which originated perhaps during the Babylonian exile. So the synagogues didn't start with the Pharisees. It started with what we read during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. Notice where scriptures say Nehemiah. What? Nehemiah 8:2. So when we read about them gathering in the street, right, that was a synagogue. Y'all see it, right? So now, keep reading. It means both a community of persons organized for a religious purpose and also the building in which gatherings for such purposes were held. Watch this. Matthew 4:23. Functions were. So these were the functions of the synagogue. Go ahead. Worship and instruction. Worship and instruction. Go ahead. Provide place where adults and children could learn the law. Could do what? Learn. Could learn the law. So scroll up. Scroll up. All right. Social center um for the discussion of community problems, funerals, legal transactions. There were synagogues all over the Mediterranean world. Synagogues had a reading platform with lecturing cases for sacred books. You read it like that was together. Had a Comm. Synagogues had a reading platform with lecter. Uh-huh. Cases for sacred books, like a library. Go ahead. Seats for congregation. What seats for congregation? Come on. Lamps and trumpets and officers who were responsible for the services. I see this, right? Go ahead. The New Testament has many references to the synagogue. Uh-huh. Services included prayer, reading of the scriptures, sermon, and benediction. Synagogue officials were ruler of the synagogue, responsible for the building, general oversight of the public worship, appointing of persons to read the scriptures, pray, and address the congregation. The minister or attendant who took care of the building, furniture, and rolls of scripture. Luke 4:20. The congregation was divided. Watch this. Scroll down. So the congre- When you walked in the synagogue, this is how the seating was set up. The congregation was divided. Go ahead. The men on one side. The men was on one side, and the women on the other. And the women on the other side. Go ahead. The more prominent members took the front seats. The leadership, they took the front seats. Go ahead. No single individual was appointed to do the preaching. It wasn't just one person doing the preaching. Go ahead. Any competent worshipper might be invited by the ruler to bring the sermon for the day. Right? Meaning you could be, you could be the one bringing at the class that Sabbath. All there. Switch it up. Go ahead. The form of worship of the synagogue was adopted by the Christian church. All right. All right. So in Christianity, they don't read the law. They don't separate the men from the women. So that's kind of a lot. But the original Christian church, meaning the followers of Christ in the book of Acts, they had that same form established. All right. That's right.

Now, watch this. Go to John 11:47. About what happened under the Pharisees with the synagogues. John 11:47. The book of John 11:47. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council and said, What do we? For this man doeth many miracles. Read. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him, and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. So what does this let you know? That over a period of time, the the synagogues, the the way that how we did, how we set it up to teach our people and so on and so forth, was corrupted. All right. The Romans had took some type of some level of authority dealing with those synagogues. Kind of today, how the white man got some type of authority over over the church's message.

So now, put that on the screen. So I had to go and get this from a video, a class I did some years ago when I went over this, right? Because the website took it down. They took it down. So I had to go to the class and screenshot. All right. Read that. By the time Rome took occupation of Israel, the empire was large but spread thin. Israel's location was strategic. It lay at the crossroads between Europe, Asia, and Africa. Ruling Israel meant Rome would be able to move freely between the continents. So Rome needed a strategy to be able to take control over that land. All right. Go ahead. The Jews were defined by their worship, their temple practices, and their history as followers of one God, and one God only. Uh-huh. Jehovah, Father. Go ahead. Rome knew that devotion like this was hard to extinguish. So they reckoned it would be politically wise to leverage Israel's religious zeal as motivation to live at peace with their occupiers. So they, they move, they dealt wisely with them. Like, okay, okay, we know y'all want y'all to synagogues, until that's all y'all care about. All right. Go ahead. Rome arranged a compromise. Israel could continue to practice their monotheistic religion. Monotheistic, meaning one God religion, so long as the, excuse me, so long as they obeyed Roman rule. So long as they what? Obeyed Roman rule. You see that compromise? Israel, you can keep your little synagogues and all that, as long as you obey Roman rule. That's what we just read in John 11. Can't if everybody would and follow Christ, the synagogues would be empty, and Rome would come and take away their place. What? Huh? So this is why you read about in First Maccabees 7, Hasmoneans had that same spirit long ago. That's why Judas Maccabeus and them broke off from them because they had a spirit to to bend to the will of the enemy. All right. You can read about that history in First Maccabees 7. But this is what they did. They compromised. And we didn't finish that sentence. What are y'all doing? So it says, so long as they obeyed Roman rule, paid their taxes. Paid their taxes and kept the peace.

So now, go to the next. Go to the next. Uh, all right. Read that. This was a shrewd psychological move. Under this arrangement, many in Israel came to see their right to worship God as a privilege that was now granted to them by Caesar. Y'all see this? Y'all see this, right? So I'm telling you, this is where it was a change in the spirit of the leaders. 'Cause when you read about the Maccabees and the Aidans during the time of the Maccabees, they was in the spirit, right? But when they made this compromise, their spirits got corrupted. All right. Go ahead. Who could take it away if they fell out of line? What? Why would it? This goes back to that John 11, because if everybody followed Jesus, that would basically be exactly following him as the authority rather than Caesar. And Caesar would observe that and shut the synagogues down. All right. Go ahead. We see this on display during the triumphal entry when the Jewish religious leaders pleaded with Jesus to tell those laying down their palms and coats to stop referring to him as a king. If Roman authorities heard this was happening, they might have shut down the Passover celebration. Please watch this. Under Roman law, Jews were given certain rights that made the arrangement more palatable. For example, they were excused from military service and from ever having to appear in court on the Sabbath. By the time we come to the book of Acts, the dealings between Jews and Romans were predominantly positive. Right? So that's why I remember like, you read about with Christ, when he taught, it was like, damn, he teach with authority and not as the scribes. That the spirit of the scribes and Pharisees got soft because they didn't want to become a disturbance to the Romans. You understand? And remember when the people was like, bro, Herod going to kill you. They came to Christ like, bro, Herod going to kill you. You keep on. He was like, man, tell that fox, I prophesy today, tomorrow. You know what I'm saying? But the Pharisees and scribes, they had got weak because they had compromised to their Roman rule. To see, like today. But what do I know? What do I know?

Now, watch this. Go to Matthew chapter 2. Real quick. Matthew chapter 2. Now, Herod was put over him. Herod had reconstructed the temple, a part of the temple that Solomon built. During this time, where the Romans had took over. And this scripture going to show you, because the scripture tell you that uh during the time of John Hyrcanus, the Hasmonean dynasty, which was the from the Maccabees, they had converted a bunch of [ __ ] right? And them [ __ ] eventually turned on us, right? And uh Rome had ended up setting them over us, the the Herods. But Herod was still masquerading like he was a Jew, a Jewish, and go to our synagogues and come up in our learning institutions. You read about that in Acts 26. Get that real quick. Acts 26, in verse two. By the grace. The book of Acts chapter 26, verse two. Go ahead. I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews. This especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. How would he be expert in all customs and questions among the Jews? Because he was brought up in our institutions or synagogues. Now, watch this. Does this mean that he got the the same understanding that the Israelites got? Hell no. Show. Go to Matthew chapter 2. Matthew chapter 2. Start at verse one. Matthew chapter 2 and verse one. Go ahead. Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled. He was what? He was troubled. He was troubled. Why was he troubled? Why wasn't he jumping for joy like, yeah, there's a Messiah coming, woo, we're all going to be saved, now we're all going to be one in Christ Jesus? Hold up, 'cause he knew the Savior, the Messiah, was only coming for Israel. And he was in Israel. Damn. So he was bothered by that thing. Go ahead. And all Jerusalem with him. Watch this. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together. So this when he, when he heard that Jesus was about to be born, right? He called for all the chief priests and the scribes, right? The the Israelites who knew the law, studied the law. Read. He demanded of them where Christ should be born. I need y'all to show me in y'all scripture where Christ going to be born. Showing you, even though he was raised up and brought up in our schools, the Lord never gave any other nation the understanding of our books to be able to understand and declare prophecy. They never had that. He had to go and call, "Hey, hey, y'all go in y'all book and show me where Jesus going to be born at." Go ahead. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea. Uh-huh. For thus it is written by the prophet. So they went to the to the book of Micah 5, verse 2, and they showed him. Yeah, said, right here, he going to be born in Bethlehem. You understand? He couldn't do that himself because he is not from the lineage of Israel. All right. Also showing you that you had scribes, priests, the Pharisees, and them, they was brought up in these institutions of learning. All right. They studied the law. They devoted themselves to the studying of the law. But at this time, they had been corrupted.

Now, watch this. Go to Luke chapter 1, verse 17. Now, this is about John the Baptist. All right, sir. Read what you got. Luke 1, verse 17. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias. So this is the angel talking to the father of John the Baptist, Zacharias. He telling him, your son, he is going to go in. What? And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias. So John the Baptist will go in the spirit and power of Elias, meaning Elijah. Go ahead. To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. To make ready a people prepared for the Lord. So the the prophet John the Baptist would be in the spirit of the Prophet Elijah, right? And he would turn the hearts of the people back to the back to the the the books, the book of the Bible, meaning the fathers, right? The books of our fathers.

Now, watch this. Go to John chapter 1:35. About John the Baptist. Now, we read about Elijah earlier, right? Okay. John 1:35. The book of John chapter 1 and verse 35. Go ahead. Again, the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples. Read it again. Again, the next day after. Again, the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples. So the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples. All right. So all right. Oh, praise. So now, watch this. Get the definition uh of disciple from the Zondervan Bible Dictionary. John the Baptist had disciples, and remember he was in the spirit of Elijah. What is a disciple? Disciple. A learner. A what? A learner. Uh-huh. A pupil of some teacher. A pupil or a student of some teacher. Disciple means student. Must study to be rooted, right? That's what disciple mean. Go ahead. The word implies the acceptance in mind and life of the views and practices of the teacher. All right. So you can drop that now. Give me the uh Google definition of disciple. John the Baptist had disciples, just like Elijah had the sons of the prophets. All right. It's I should have it already, but okay. Y'all don't y'all don't got it. Disciple definition. Scroll down. All right. Read the dot. Disciple. A follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher. All right. Now, here the little drop down. Similar. Follower, adherent, believer, admirer, devote. Uh-huh. Acolyte, pupil, student. Student. Disciple means where do where do students go to school? All right. Go ahead. Prot. Prot. Read. Learner, upholder, supporter, advocate. All right. All right. So you can drop that now. Go back to John chapter one. So John the Baptist was indeed in the spirit of Elijah, and he had students. He had disciples. Read verse 36. John chapter 1:36. And remember, he was just preparing a way for the Lord, right? So watch this. And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. So he saw Christ. He said, look, that's the Lamb of God. Read. And the two disciples heard him speak. So two of John's disciples heard Christ speak. Read. And they followed Jesus. And they started to follow Jesus. Read on. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said unto them, What seek ye? They said, Go ahead. They said unto him, Rabbi. Uh-huh. Which is to say, being interpreted, Master or Teacher. Read. Where dwellest thou? Where you live? Go ahead. He said unto them, Come and see. So I thought Jesus lived in like the trees and and sticks. Come on now, dog. Now, Jesus had a crib. He said, come and see. Pull up. Go ahead. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day. Uh-huh. For it was about the tenth hour. So what the hell you think they was doing? Talking about the sports in the Roman Coliseum? Hell no. Jesus was starting to teach them. You understand?

Now, watch this. Go to Luke chapter 5, verse 29. So I just, I want to start here to show y'all where Christ, the people that followed Christ, was first called disciples. Read that. Luke 5:29. Uh-huh. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house. And there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. Read. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples. Murmured against Jesus' disciples. They were students. All right. Go ahead. Saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? All right. So now, go to chapter 6, verse 13. Luke chapter 6, verse 13. Go ahead. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples. So it wasn't just 12 at first, right? Well, it was never just 12, but he narrowed or magnified 12 out of his disciples. Go ahead. And of them he chose 12. That's the proof right there. Of his disciples, he chose 12 in particular. All right. So from there, go to chapter 9, verse 1. So in chapter 5, we saw that the terminology was used. The people that followed Christ was his disciples or students. In chapter 6, he magnified 12 of them to to stand out to be his main ones, right? Now, read chapter 9, verse 1. The book of Luke 9 and verse 1. Go ahead. Then he called his 12 disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. Go ahead. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. So I don't know what the hell Christianity we in. Luke chapter 9, we read in Luke 5, whatever was first called disciples. Now in Luke chapter 9, he's giving them authority to go and teach. So what has happened throughout that period of time? They was learning. You understand? They didn't just go out there and just get the teaching. Christ had to teach them. For the time when you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again. So they were disciples. They were students. They learned from Christ. All right.

So now, watch this. Go to go to chapter 10, verse 1. Let's see if the buck stopped with them. Luke 10, verse 1. The book of Luke chap 10 and verse 1. After these things, the Lord appointed other 70 also. So other 70 outside of the 12. Go ahead. And sent them two and two before his face into every city and place with himself would come. So go ahead. And prepare the people for me. Two by two. Go and tell the people about me before I come to that city. You understand? So you had what? That's that's 82 brothers that was groomed up and learned enough to go out and teach without the presence of Christ physically. You understand? So this is proof that they, they learned. They were learned men. Disciple means student.

Now, watch this. Go to John chapter 21. When Christ is about to depart after his resurrection. Let's see what he told Peter. John 21:15. The book of John 21, verse 15. Jesus saith unto her. Excuse me. John chap 21 and verse 15. Come on. So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He said unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. So we ask Peter, you love me more than the rest of the disciples? Peter like, yeah, you know I love you. He was like, all right, feed my lambs. What do, what is the lambs talking about? His the people that follow Christ, right? The people that's going to hearken to the word and believe the gospel. He's charging Peter to feed them. Go ahead. He said to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep. You say you love me? All right, feed my sheep. Go ahead. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. Uh-huh. Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep. So this wasn't by coincidence that the Lord did this three times. Remember what Peter did three times? He denied the Lord. You understand? So the Lord had that go and ask him three times, you love me, feed my sheep. You love me, feed my sheep. You love me. People like, damn, bro, yeah, I feed my sheep. Right? What does it mean to feed the sheep? Feed them with the word of God.

Now, read verse uh, you can drop that. Go to Second Peter 3:1. Just to show you what Peter went on to do years later when he was established as a leader after Christ the departure. Second Peter 3:1. Second Peter 3:1. This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, that she may be what? Be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior. So what did Peter do? He did what Christ told him to do. He fed the sheep with what? With the word of God, the words of the holy prophets. All right.

Now, watch this. Go to Acts chapter 1, verse 6. Acts 1, verse 6. The book of Acts chapter 1, verse 6. Read that. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? All right. So he had died and resurrected. So they're like, what's up? It's that time, ain't it? Read on. And he said unto them, Them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. Read. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. Read. And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost. You got on your mind? Oh my God. Read, read the bottom part again. And and woo, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. So before I return, brothers, before the kingdom can be established, y'all got to spread this gospel throughout the whole earth.

Now, watch this. Go to chapter 2, verse 37. So let's see how the gospel will be established throughout the earth. Read that. The book of Acts chapter 2 and: 37. So this was when they was gathered together at Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came upon them like Christ said it would, and the people are hearkening to what Peter was bringing out. Go ahead. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? So what do we do now? We believe you. Now what's next? Go ahead. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Repent and be converted. Go ahead. And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Come on. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are a far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Come on. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Read. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized. Then they that what? Then they that gladly received his word were baptized. Read. And the same day there were added unto them about 3,000 souls. About 3,000 souls in one day. 3,000 brothers and sisters repented. All right. Go ahead. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. So it said that they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. Apostles' doctrine. Apostles' doctrine. And fellowship. So it didn't become a social club. They were just coming and partying and hooping and hollering and dancing. They would come to learn the doctrine, right? Let's see how often. Verse 46. Verse 46. Uh-huh. And they, continuing daily, continuing how much? Continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. So let's get a precept and see what they was doing daily when they gathered together. Acts 17:1. Read that. The book of Acts chapter 17:1. Go ahead. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica. It's talking about the church in Berea. Go ahead. And that they received the word with all readiness of mind. Read. And searched the scriptures daily. They did what? And searched the scriptures daily. Because that's what schools were always for, right? That our forefathers established to search the scriptures. Go ahead. Whether those things were so. All right.

So, watch this. Go back to Acts 13, verse 1. So now, this place, right, is where the roots of Paul were as far as him becoming a teacher, him becoming a leader. All right. Read what you got. The book of Acts chapter 13 and verse 1. Go ahead. Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets. Right? So in the church, meaning the assembly of people in the place of Antioch, were found what? Certain prophets. And teachers. Certain prophets and teachers. What, what contains prophets and teachers? You understand? When have you ever said, "I'm going to church to uh get"? You know, they not known for having no damn teachers. You understand? Christianity, and we going to show y'all that Christianity is not a continuation of what we reading at all. You understand? You going to go to pull up on some real deal teachers. The Israelites. The world starting to realize that you understand. Them the ones that know what they doing. They know what they teaching. Go ahead. As Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger. Right? Black. They was called black men. Go ahead. And Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch. Read. And Saul. And Saul. Meaning Paul. Now, watch this. Go to chapter 20, verse 7. So Paul's roots as a leader was established in that school, a church in Antioch, right? And let's, this is just an example of what Paul used to do when he would gather the brothers together, when they would assemble together. Read that. The book of Acts 20 and verse 7. Go ahead. And upon the first day of the week, uh-huh, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them. Did what? Preached unto them. Right? 'Cause he came from a place where it was certain prophets and teachers, right? So it said Paul preached unto them. Read. Ready to depart on the morrow. Uh-huh. And continued his speech until midnight. So Paul was very long-winded in the scriptures. You know, our brothers and sisters be complaining like, damn, his class long, I'm ready to go. They would have hated Paul. The Corinthians, they did hate Paul. They, you know what I'm saying? Brother, some brothers did slander Paul, you know what I'm saying? Like, damn, brother, I know you got a zeal, but damn. But that's what the brothers was doing. They was teaching like we read about Ezra. Now, from morning till midday, you know what I'm saying? They always went into the scriptures for lengthy hours at a time. You understand? 'Cause that's what is, that's what happens in a school, an institution of learning. You're going to learn. You're going to learn today. All right. And tonight.

So from there, go to Second Timothy chapter 4. So let's see what Paul went on to do. All right. Second Timothy 4. Read 22. Second Timothy. Really, I just want the last little, the little, you know what I'm talking about, sir. Sir. The second epistle unto Timotheus. Uh-huh. Ordained the first bishop of the church of the Ephesians. So it says Timothy was ordained the first bishop of the church of the Ephesians, right? So who set him up? Get there real quick. 1 Timothy chapter 1. 1 Timothy chap 1 and read verse 1. 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 1. Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope. Read. Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith. Right? So we called Timothy his own son in the faith. This is Paul didn't make some stuff up that we, uh, I'm going to call [ __ ] my sons. What was the brothers called under the tutelage of Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha? The sons of the prophets. Timothy was no different. He said unto Timothy, my own son in the faith. Go ahead. Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Come on. As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus. So Paul is who set up Timothy in Ephesus as the first bishop. So he the one that made Timothy a bishop in Ephesus.

Now, watch this. First Peter 5:1. This is what Peter said is the job of bishops. And the word bishop in the scriptures is interchangeable with elder. All right. Read what you got. 1 Peter chapter 5, ver 1. Go ahead. The elders which are among you I exhort. For the bishops among you I exhort. Read. Who am also an elder. Because Peter was a bishop over Rome. Go ahead. And I a witness of the sufferings of Christ. Go ahead. And also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Come on. Feed the flock of God. What? Feed the flock of God. So where did Peter get there from? Christ had to tell him three times, bro, feed my lamb, feed my sheep, feed my sheep. You understand? So Peter reiterating that thing. Listen, you a leader, you a bishop, you understand? This is feed the flock of God. Feed the. And it ain't talking about chicken, it ain't talking about pasta. It's talking about the word of God. That's your responsibility as a leader, as a leader over the church, right? Feed the flock of God. Go ahead. Which is among you. Uh-huh. Taking the oversight thereof. Because that's what the word bishop means as well, overseer, right? And we going to D. I was supposed to get that. Get there real quick. I want that word bishop. All right. Bishop. Bishop. Bishop. Bishop. Bishop. Bishop. Bishop. All right, there we go. Now hit more definitions. Scroll down. Scroll down. All right, that's what I want right there. The origin. Yep. Yes. I mean, the old English. Yeah. Bishop. Old English biscop, bisc. Uh-huh. Via Latin from Greek episkopos, overseer. What? Overseer. Overseer. Overseer. All right. Read on. From epi, above, plus skopos, looking. Right? Meaning looking above, looking over. Overseers. So go back to 1 Peter 5:2. 1 Peter chapter 5:2. Go ahead. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof. Being an overseer thereof. Goe not by constraint, but willingly. Read. Not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Uh-huh. Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. Because that's really the main way how Jesus taught his disciples, by way of example. All right.

Now, watch this. Go to Acts chapter 20 and verse 28. Acts chapter 20 and verse 28. The book of Acts chapter 20, verse 28. So this is Paul speaking, showing you that the disciples, they all spoke the same thing 'cause they all had the spirit of Christ. Read what you got. Take heed therefore unto yourselves. Read. And to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. Have made you what? Overseers. Read. To feed the church of God. To do what? To feed the church of God. To feed the church of God. It ain't talking about fish and bread like in the gospels. It's talking about with the word of God. Go ahead. Which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Now, go to 1 Timothy chapter 3. So not only did Paul ordain bishops, but the brothers that he ordained bishops also had the power to ordain other bishops. You understand? Just like he told Elijah, you going to anoint Elisha to be prophet in your room. He anointed prophets to succeed after him. It's not, this ain't a Nation of Islam. This ain't Malcolm X. This ain't Marcus Garvey. This ain't where just one leader and when he dies, it's over with. You understand? We in a business of building other leaders. Bishop is trying to multiply bishops. You understand? This is what this is all about. 1 Timothy chap 3, verse 1. 1 Timothy chapter 3, verse 1. Come on. This is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop. Right? Meaning an overseer. Go ahead. He desireth a good work. That's a good thing. That mean you got some type of love for your people. You want to feed the flock. Read. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior. Of what? Good behavior. Given to hospitality, apt to teach. What? Apt to teach. Why must a bishop be apt to teach? Because that's his job to feed the flock of God. Once you set up over that church, you set up over that body, your job is to teach them. Why? Because it is a school. You understand?

Now, jump down to verse 12. Verse 12. Uh-huh. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife. Right? So the deacons are the brothers in positions of leadership, right, up under the bishops. Go ahead. Ruling their children and their own houses well. Listen good. For they that have used the office of a deacon well. Watch this. Well purchase to themselves a good degree. A what? A good degree. A what? A good degree. In order to be a deacon, what did you have to have? A degree. You had to be a learned man. You understand? Thanks for the late bum. What the hell is this? You had to be a learned man. You understand? To become a leader, you had to move up through that University of God. Read on. And great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Go to Titus 1:4. We almost done. Titus 1:4. The book of Titus 1, ver 4. To Titus, mine own son. My what? Mine own son. Just like he said about Timothy, right? He's saying the same thing about Titus. Titus was like, in former times, would be one of the sons of the prophets, right? Somebody that came up under the feet of Paul. Go ahead. To Titus, mine own son after the common faith. Uh-huh. Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord.

Jesus Christ Our Savior. On for this cause, let I Thee increase. So this is the reason why I left you in Crete. Crete was a whole region. Go ahead, that thou should as set in order the things that are wanted. Like we read earlier about what the, what they would do, why they would do their circuits to set the places in order. Go ahead and ordain elders in every sin. So he gave Titus authority to ordain elders or bishops. And in every city, you understand, every city we need a school, every city we need prophets and teachers in order for this gospel to be spread throughout the Earth. You understand, that's how the prophecy is going to be fulfilled in Ezekiel 11. "I will be unto thee as a little sanctuary in the places that you scattered." It's through the gospel being spread and leaders being set up, through being taught and purchasing a good degree, meaning becoming earned men. All right, go ahead. "As I had appointed thee, as I had appointed you as an elder." Go ahead. "If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly." So this is the people that you ordain as elders. They got to be blameless, one wife, faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly. Why? "For a bishop must be blameless." Uh-huh. "As the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to one, no striker, not given to filthy lucre, but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men." So holy, temperate. Watch this. "Holding fast the faithful word, holding fast the faithful word, the word of God as he hath been taught." As he have been what? As he hath been taught. So in order for this brother to become a leader, an elder, a bishop, he had to have been taught. Showing you that these churches was what they was called, all right, colleges. Read on. "That he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers." How do you think you got to have the, you got to be taught the word and be able to exhort and convince the gainsayers? Come through what? Training, brothers. You understand? Training. Where did the training take place? In the schools, the colleges. All right. "For the sons of the prophets." Give me the last screenshot. Watch this. The last, no, the meaning the last one that I sent y'all. I believe it's the one y'all just had up. Yeah, that's, that's the last one because y'all give me the one that say the apostles. All right, the apostles. I believe, yeah, there you go. There you go. Put that on the screen for me. All right. So basically, we just read that the apostles carried on the customs of our forefathers in establishing schools where the brothers that was coming up, learning under their tutelage, they were the sons of the prophets, like Paul was calling the brothers that his sons and stuff. There wasn't nothing new. All right. Put that on the screen. Read that. "The apostles copied the Divine Master." So the apostles copied Christ. Go ahead. "They formed multitudes of religious societies." They formed what? What multitudes of religious societies, brothers? Y'all remember what a synonym for society is? University. Read. Look, you can't make this up. So it said, "The apostles formed multitudes of universities." Where the hell is the damn bond? Goodness gracious. Go ahead. "They formed multitudes of religious societies and were abundantly successful in their labor." Abundantly successful. They had schools set up everywhere. Go ahead. "They confined their attention to religion, the laws, the doctrine of Christ." Go ahead. "And left the schools to dispute and politicians to intrigue." Come on. "The doctrines they preached, they supported entirely by evidence, by evidence in the scriptures." Go ahead. "And neither had nor required such assistance as human laws or worldly policy, the eloquence of schools, or the terror of arms could afford them." Watch this. "The apostles being dead, but after the apostles died, read everything came to pass as they had foretold." Uh-huh. "The whole Christian system in time." So the whole Christian system, which was much like the system of the forefathers establishing schools of learning where you would train up men to become teachers and prophets, in time, what happened? "Underwent a miserable change." Underwent a miserable change. What was that miserable change? After the apostles died, the church became paganized, heled. They infused pagan doctrines and beliefs, and that strong foundation of teaching, right, replicated after our forefathers, diminished. And that was prophetic. Get that in Daniel chapter 12. Daniel chapter 12 and verse 4. Book of Daniel chapter 12, verse 4. Go ahead. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end." So the book will become sealed until the last days, right? Meaning the understanding that Christ had and the apostles had, that would diminish out of the Earth until the last days. That's the period that we know as the Dark Ages. Go ahead. "Many shall run to and fro." Right. "Many shall run to and fro, seeking the wisdom and the knowledge, but wouldn't find it." Go ahead. "And knowledge shall be increased." Right. Meaning technology, science, right, carnal knowledge would be increased, right? That's where you got all of these technological advances and things of that nature. That's what it's talking about. Now watch this. Jump down to verse 13. Verse 13. Look what he, listen to what he's telling Daniel. Read. "But go thou thy way till the end be." So Daniel, go thou your way until the end be. Until the last days, right? Now mind you, Daniel was alive during what? The Babylonian captivity and the Persian captivity. He said, "Go your way till the end be." Watch this. "For thou shalt rest." For thou shalt rest. Meaning you shall sleep, right? In the world, we call it dying, but the Most High called it sleep because we don't die. So he's telling Daniel, you shall die or rest, sleep. Go ahead. "And stand in thy lot at the end of days." So Daniel, you're going, you're going to come back. You and your spirit are going to be back in the last days. After we go through that period of the diminishing of the true understanding in the church, your spirit is going to be sent back into the Earth to reestablish what I had established with your forefathers, Christ and the apostles. Get Revelation chapter 10, verse 9. Revelation chapter 10 and verse 9. So it's not a coincidence, brothers, that you see all of this stuff out of nowhere with the brothers saying that they the Israelites. You understand? You seeing these things that mirror exactly what our forefathers was doing. The public teaching, holding up the camp signs with the yolks of slavery, the, having the schools where they would set up above the people, the people facing them, they stand up, send up the prayers, everybody say Amen. You understand? Ain't none of that new. What it say about the synagogue? The men set on one side, women on the other. You had officers appointed for different tasks. It's not a coincidence that this is happening with IUIC because the Lord said he was sending His prophets back in the last days after that period of diminishing. All right, when the word of God was sealed. Read that Revelation 10 and verse 9. Read. "And I went unto the angel and said unto him." So this is the angel speaking to the Apostle John, right, an apostle of Christ. Read. "Give me the little book." Read. "And he said unto me, Take it and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey." And that book is the Bible. Go ahead. "And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey." Right, the understanding, right, the gospel, the prophecy is in your mouth sweet as honey. Read. "And as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." But just like the prophets of old, just like the apostles when they preached that word, what came behind it? Persecution, death, suffering. You understand? Read on. "And he said unto me." This is what the angel said to John the Revelator, an apostle of Christ. Read. "Thou must prophesy again." Thou must what? Prophesy again. Thou must what? Thou must prophesy again. Go ahead. "Before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings." Just like told that you're going to come back in the last days. I'm going to send forth the apostles, the prophets back in the last days. That's why you see this emergence of the universities of God. And now you ask, right, about to be one of them, right? Y'all get your school supplies, your highlighters, your pens, you know what I'm saying, your your different, you know, different books and things of that nature, because I'm telling you, it's about to go down. All right, because we the real deal. Y'all better take heed to that. So Lord's willing, y'all was edified. Shalom. Most High Christ bless.

What is a nation? Nation is men leading by example. Nation is family. Nation is community. Nation is children with role models. Nation is unity. Nation is you. And finally, my brother, be strong. Alarm is one. His one. His one. His one. You.