WEBVTT 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:04.080 Well, this week is our national birthday. 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:09.039 This is uh this coming Thursday is when we will tell America happy birthday. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:16.239 And as we look at Independence Day and as we look at our birthday, a lot of people they it's like what's Independence Day all about? 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:18.399 I I'm it's a holiday, we celebrate it. 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:19.519 Why did we celebrate it? 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:22.480 Mark Dice went out in San Diego to ask that question. 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:31.760 I have no idea, man. 00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:33.359 I don't know. 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:36.640 What are we celebrating on the 4th of July? 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:38.479 Our independence. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:40.320 A little more specific. 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:43.600 It's the day that we overtook the South. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:46.799 And it's the day that um it's our independence. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:48.000 That's why we have the Friday. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:48.719 From the South. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:49.759 From the South, exactly. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:51.759 So it was the victor of the Civil War? 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:52.399 Yes. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:53.840 Fourth of July? 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:54.640 Yes. 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:01.439 The Declaration of Independence was signed by who? 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:04.799 I don't know. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:06.560 Just name one person. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:10.000 Um Abraham Lincoln? 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:12.799 I don't know. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:13.680 Sorry. 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:14.159 No. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:18.480 What year was that Declaration of 1964? 00:01:19.599 --> 00:01:20.239 84? 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:21.359 1984. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:22.400 84? 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:23.599 I don't know. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:26.879 1864! 1864. 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:27.519 I don't know. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:30.239 This country, no one of this country's in trouble. 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:35.280 What country did we declare our independence from? 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:37.599 Help me, baby. 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:38.719 Nope, just you. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:40.560 You're on your own. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:43.840 California. 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:53.920 From oh, from we declared independence from a certain country, which is why we celebrate 4th of July. 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:55.519 What country was that? 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:58.879 You're gonna be celebrating though. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:01:59.599 Yes. 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:01.680 But you don't know what you're celebrating. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:04.079 You're right, you're right. 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:06.959 That's tonight's homework, it's not good. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:10.319 So we've got Independence Day. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:15.280 We may not know what it's about, but we do have Independence Day, but there's something worth noting about it. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:25.680 When you look at the average length of a governing document in any nation in the history of the world, the average length of a governing document is 17 years. 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:31.120 This Thursday, we will celebrate 243 years under the same piece of paper. 00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:38.719 We've been blessed in ways we don't even recognize. 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:41.120 We're so used to stability we think it's natural. 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:41.759 It's not. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:44.879 What we have is unusual for any nation in the history of the world. 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:46.080 So where did it come from? 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:47.599 Well, let's go back to our beginnings. 00:02:47.759 --> 00:02:53.360 If we go back to our beginnings, that's going to take us back to about the time of the American Revolution, which means the founding fathers. 00:02:53.520 --> 00:03:02.639 And by the way, anytime we look at history, I don't care who we look at, founding fathers, I don't care what nation it is, what period of history, the starting place is always very simple. 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:04.719 All of sin and comes short of the glory of God. 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:07.199 So we look at the founding fathers as a group, and you know what? 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.240 There's some guys in there that really were godly, really were good. 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:11.840 They're gonna be like the Apostle Paul. 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:15.599 I mean, they were just gung-ho, they were right on Christian issues. 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:21.520 Then there's gonna be guys like King David that overall they loved God, had a good heart, but they sure made some goof-ups along the way. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:28.560 And then you got folks like Samson that, you know, the whole lot of goof-ups with him, but he loved his nation, did a lot of stuff for God's people. 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:41.360 So when you anytime you look at history, you've got to realize there's individuals involved, and when we look at a group, a group that we call the Founding Fathers, they're made up of individuals, and they're individuals, and they've all fallen short of the glory of God, just like we have. 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:46.960 These guys first got together in 1774, September 1774 in Philadelphia. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:52.879 There were things going on with Great Britain at that time that really concerned them and said, we need to talk about what our response is going to be. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:57.680 So when they got together, they come from 13 different colonies, 13 different states. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.080 And by the way, the states were not part of a nation then. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:02.240 They didn't even like each other, many of those states. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:05.840 So when they got together, the guys from Georgia had never met the guys from New York. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:08.560 The guys from Massachusetts didn't know the guys from Virginia. 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:12.479 So they get together, and all these guys meeting each other for the first time, how do you start? 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:13.680 Well, they started with prayer. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:16.240 I mean, that's what we do at the city council and school board. 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:18.079 No, these guys didn't do that. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:19.279 They started with prayer. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:22.160 It was a two-hour prayer session that they started with. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.240 That's the first act of the first Congress. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:28.639 In addition to prayer, John Adams, who was there, he wrote Abigail, his wife. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:34.480 He said, Abigail, not only did we pray, but we studied four chapters of the Bible. 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:39.120 And God so spoke to us in that Bible study, so spoke to us out of Psalm 35. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:41.519 You've got to see what Psalm 35 said. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:46.560 So he told Abigail, he said, Abigail, he said, I must beg you to read that Psalm. 00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:49.439 Read the 35th Psalm to your friends, read it to your father. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.199 Abigail, you've got to see what God showed us this morning in Psalm 35. 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:56.800 For the first time, we as a group think we're going to be able to defeat the British. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:57.920 But he told her more. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:07.120 He said, in addition to having this two hours of prayer, in addition to having Psalm 35 and this Bible study, he said, we have appointed a continental fast. 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:09.519 We've called people to time of fasting and prayer. 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:17.360 He said, millions will be upon our knees at once before their great creator, imploring his forgiveness and blessings, that smiles on American council and arms. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:21.759 He said, Abigail, can you imagine the impact of having three million Americans pray and fast? 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:23.680 And three million is what we had back then. 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:29.519 So what you have is this is the first of 15 times that Congress called the nation to days of prayer. 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:33.920 Now, this first day of prayer that they called was a day of humiliation and fasting and prayer. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:39.759 And if you look in the records of Congress, about four or five months later, they say, Hey, you remember that day of fasting and prayer we had? 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.639 Man, look how God answered all this prayer and that prayer. 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:44.160 Let's have a day of thanksgiving. 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:46.000 And so that's what the day of thanksgiving is for. 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:47.680 And that follows the day of prayer and fasting. 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.040 But then a few months later, they say, look how things are going. 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:52.399 We really need God's help. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:54.399 Let's have another day of prayer and fasting. 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:58.319 And so 15 times Congress said, Let's have a day of prayer and fasting. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:05:59.519 It's time for Thanksgiving. 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:01.120 No, it's time for more prayer and fasting. 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:02.240 No, it's time for thanksgiving. 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:04.000 Fifteen times it goes back and forth. 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:12.720 And the government called the people to prayer so often that by the time that you get to 1815, there were 1,400 government-issued calls to prayer. 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:17.519 The government called the people to pray 1,400 times by 1815. 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:23.439 Now, within that framework, you see the number 1,400 there, right under it, you see the word John Hancock. 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:27.040 John Hancock is one of the founding fathers, one of the signers of the Declaration. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:29.360 He's the governor of Massachusetts. 00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:31.040 And so he called his people to prayer. 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:32.959 This is one of his prayer proclamations. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:40.720 We own 100,000 documents from before 1812, so I have thousands of the original handwritten documents of the founding fathers, including prayer proclamations. 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:43.759 This is for a day of public fasting, humiliation, and prayer. 00:06:43.920 --> 00:06:48.480 Now, John Hancock called his state to prayer on 22 separate occasions. 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:54.639 Why would John Hancock, what would John Hancock have the state of Massachusetts fast and pray for? 00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:03.920 Well, he says very simply, we need to fast and pray that the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be established in peace and righteousness among all the nations of the earth. 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:06.319 Ooh, that's a pretty strong prayer request. 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:09.040 But he had other times he called 22 times. 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:10.560 Look at some of the other requests. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:20.240 He said, Let's pray and let's fast that all nations may bow to the scepter of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the whole earth may be filled with his glory. 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:29.920 He said, Let's also pray that and confess our sins before God and implore our forgiveness through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:41.120 He had at other times, he said, let's pray that the spiritual kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be continually increasing till the whole earth shall be filled with his glory and on it goes. 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:43.839 Now, he's a governor. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:48.720 Can you imagine what would happen in America today if any governor had a proclamation like that? 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:52.160 Obviously you can because you're snickering about it. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:53.680 Okay, let's go a step further. 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:59.839 Can you imagine what would happen if any Massachusetts governor had Massachusetts praying fast for that? 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:01.199 He did. 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:02.959 That's the governor of Massachusetts. 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:05.759 Twenty-two times he calls his people to prayer. 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.439 So what happened after this first national day of prayer and fasting? 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:11.360 Uh, John Adams wrote Abigail. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:13.600 He said, Abigail, you're not gonna believe what's happening. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:17.120 And he went through and he says, he said, listen to this. 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:21.600 He said, Colonel Smith and a group of his men has just captured a British fort. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:24.399 And we read that today and say, so what? 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:25.439 That's what we're supposed to do. 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:26.319 We're fighting the British. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:30.480 No, no, you've got to understand, at the time he wrote that, we were not yet an independent nation. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.039 We had not signed the Declaration of Independence yet. 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:37.360 We're trying to build a nation, and that means we're trying to build a military. 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:38.240 We have no military. 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:50.639 Now, Great Britain's the greatest military in the world at that power, and we're asking a bunch of shopkeepers and school teachers and farmers to go home and get their rifle off the mantle over the fireplace and come back and take on the world's greatest army. 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:53.039 That's not going to be much of a fight. 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:57.600 And so what happened is as we are trying to build the American military, here's the way it worked. 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:00.240 Now, I've got two kids in the active duty army right now. 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:05.039 Understand military, there's a lot of military veterans here, there's a lot of military officers here. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:09.519 And so, what I'm about to tell you about the American Revolution, if you're an officer, please don't be offended. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:11.120 This is just the way it was back then. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:13.440 What happened to build the American military? 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:25.120 They said if you can get 20 of your neighbors to come enlist with you, if you can go find 20 of your neighbors and recruit them and enlist with you, you get to be a colonel in the United States Army. 00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:27.519 Ooh, a little different from today. 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:32.720 So what happens when John Adams says Colonel Smith and a group of his men just captured a British fort? 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:37.519 What he actually said was Farmer Smith and a bunch of his neighbors just captured a British fort. 00:09:37.679 --> 00:09:39.039 Because that's what was going on. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:46.000 He said, in addition to that, he said, we have captured a 20-gun British man of war, and we captured a 64-gun British man of war. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:49.519 Now, that's impressive because we didn't have a Navy at that point. 00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:51.039 We haven't even built a Navy yet. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:52.080 Well, I take it back. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:53.519 We did have a Navy of sorts. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:55.679 It wasn't much of what you would think of a Navy. 00:09:55.840 --> 00:10:02.879 If you want to see the American Navy back then, you go to Washington, D.C., go to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, go up on the third floor. 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:05.919 Up on the third floor, you will see the American Navy. 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:10.799 The American Navy is not much more than a rowboat with a cannon at each end. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:14.720 That's got to scare the British to death to see that coming at them. 00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:20.000 Okay, so we capture a 64-gun British man of war and a 20-gun British man. 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:21.600 How do we do that? 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:26.480 Well, John Adams said a bunch of them were talking in a tavern, and this is what they concluded. 00:10:26.559 --> 00:10:36.720 He said, looking at what's happened, since we had that day of prayer and fasting, looking at all the things that's happened, he says, it appears to me the eternal Son of God is operating powerfully against the British nation. 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.320 He said, There's no way to explain this except it's a God thing. 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:43.600 None of this makes sense unless you look at the God factor in this. 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:46.639 Now, significantly, many others saw the same thing. 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:54.960 For example, in 1778, George Washington, commander-in-chief, military leader, he wrote a letter to Thomas Nelson. 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:59.200 Thomas Nelson is a general, but he's also a signer of the Declaration of Independence. 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:03.039 And he says to Thomas, he says that Thomas, you and I have been through so many battles. 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:05.200 We've seen so much happen in battle. 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:19.039 He says, when you see it, he said the hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that hath not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:37.039 Thomas, if people had seen what you and I have seen in battle, if they had seen all the times that God had showed up and intervened in battle, he said, if they see that, and if they don't feel an obligation to show gratitude to God, if they don't feel an obligation to hit their knees, he said, they're not just infidels, they're just flat, wicked. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:38.559 They've got a hard heart. 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:45.519 If you've seen what we've seen in battle, and you've seen how many times God has showed up, you've got an obligation to hit your knees and think. 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:51.759 See, that's what the military commander-in-chief is saying is there there's just no way we should have been winning these battles. 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:52.879 This is a God deal. 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:54.399 It was that way throughout the revolution. 00:11:54.559 --> 00:12:00.399 By the time you get to 1781, the American Revolution comes to an end with the final battle there at Yorktown. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:10.399 As a result of what happened at Yorktown, the British lay down their arms, and when the British lay down their arms for the first time in 150 years, it does not matter what the king tells us because we're not under a king anymore. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:19.360 Now, the reason that's significant was 150 years earlier, right when America got started, the British king said, Oh, by the way, you do realize we have a national religion in Great Britain. 00:12:19.440 --> 00:12:21.360 So whatever the king is, that's what you'll be. 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:22.879 If the king's Catholic, that's you. 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:25.600 If the king's Protestant, if he's Anglican, that'll be you. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:29.600 So you cannot print any Bible in the English language in America. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:32.080 Whatever the king has, that's what you'll have too. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:39.039 So we're not allowed to print Bibles in America in the English language, but as a result of what happened at Yorktown, we now can. 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:40.960 We're not under British law anymore. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:45.039 So at that point in time, they said, let's print a Bible in English in America. 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:49.519 That Bible rolled off the presses 11 months later in September of 1782. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:51.679 It's called the Bible of the American Revolution. 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:53.440 It's one of the rarest books in the world. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:55.679 They printed 10,000 copies back then. 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:58.159 There are eight copies left today in private hands. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:00.000 There are some in institutional hands. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.279 But of those eight copies left in private hands, I have one of those eight copies. 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:04.639 I have one of those original copies. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:09.360 And it's pretty cool because when you look at it, you say, well, who printed this first Bible in English? 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:11.360 And it's a guy named Robert Aiken. 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:12.799 Who's Robert Aiken? 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:17.440 Robert Aiken is the official printer of the Congress of the United States. 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:18.240 Really? 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:24.320 That's why when you look at the inside of the Bible, you find on the inside of the Bible there's a congressional committee right there. 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:27.039 You have James Duane, the chairman of the committee. 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:38.879 The Bible also has in the front William White and George Duffield, the two chaplains of Congress, because not only was there a committee of Congress over this, you had these two chaplains that said, Yeah, we've looked at the scriptures. 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:40.000 He hasn't changed anything. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:42.080 It's still God's word, it is still accurate. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:44.320 And so at the bottom it has an endorsement. 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:50.480 It says, resolve the United States and Congress assembled, recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States. 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:57.519 So the first Bible printed in English in America is printed by the with an endorsement of the Congress of the United States? 00:13:57.679 --> 00:13:58.000 Really? 00:13:58.159 --> 00:14:00.480 Well, why would they have done this in the first place? 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:10.720 Well, when you look at the records of Congress, Robert Aiken explained to Congress, he said, look, he said, this Bible, this Bible will be a neat edition of the Holy Scripture for the use of the schools. 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:11.679 End quote. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:14.159 Say that again. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:20.720 The first Bible printed in English in America was a neat edition of the scriptures for the use of the schools. 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:22.879 It has a congressional endorsement in front of it. 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:28.799 By the way, this is the actual original memorial to Congress, handwritten, a neat edition of the Holy Scripture, the use of schools. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:31.200 How many of you learned that in history class? 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:32.879 See, we didn't get this at all. 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:36.639 The founding fathers said, yes, this is a perfect Bible for our schools. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:39.039 Oh, founding fathers didn't want the Bible in schools. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:40.559 That's so different from what it was. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:42.159 But that's 1782. 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:48.240 When you get to 1783, these are the guys who signed the peace treaty to secure America as an independent nation. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:52.159 We ended the battles in 1781, generally a few skirmishes after that. 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:55.039 1783 is when we get to be an independent nation. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:58.320 And these guys on the left, you have John Jay and the center is John Adams. 00:14:58.399 --> 00:14:59.600 On the right is Ben Franklin. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:00.960 They signed the peace treaty. 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:02.320 There's the signatures right there. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.039 The top signature, by the wax seal, is David Hartley. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:06.720 He's the British guy who signed the treaty. 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.360 And then under that is John Adams, Ben Franklin, John Jay. 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:10.879 Above it, you see Article 10. 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:12.320 There's 10 articles in the treaty. 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:13.840 You can still see this treaty today. 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:17.360 It's on display in Washington, D.C., the sixth floor of the State Department. 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:18.879 You can go right there and look at it. 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:26.799 And if you do, if you look at the title of the treaty, the title of the treaty says, In the name of the most holy and undivided trinity. 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:30.159 I could be wrong, but I think that's Christian. 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:31.759 Does that sound Christian to you? 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:35.600 We get none of this tone today when we look backwards at all. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:41.679 So the document that secures our independence says in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:43.120 See, that was the tone throughout. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:44.240 John Adams knew that. 00:15:44.399 --> 00:15:46.480 John Adams signed the declaration of the start. 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:47.919 He signed the peace treaty at the end. 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:53.679 John Adams said the general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:56.399 He said, I will now avow that I believed. 00:15:56.559 --> 00:16:03.759 I then believed, and I now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:08.080 He said, I was there from start to finish, and I'm telling you, we did this on the principles of Christianity. 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:10.879 Now it's interesting to me to see how we portray this today. 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:13.440 I love collecting articles from across the nation. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:19.120 For example, the LA Times, the article the LA Times has, it says America's unchristian beginnings. 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:23.360 It says the founding fathers were deists who rejected the divinity of Jesus. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:25.519 You've got to let the academics get involved in this. 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:29.279 So professors tell us the founding fathers were not Christians. 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:29.919 I love this. 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:32.480 John Adams said, we did this on Christian principles. 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:37.279 Academics says, I have a PhD, and he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:38.720 I'm telling you, they aren't Christians. 00:16:38.879 --> 00:16:39.679 Isn't this crazy? 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:45.759 The eyewitness who actually wrote about it, who actually we ignore them and we go to guys who are academics. 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:51.200 And there's some good academics out there, but by and large, why don't you go with the eyewitnesses who are actually there? 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:53.840 See, that's we don't do that in education anymore. 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:57.759 And then we've got a whole chain of newspapers on the East Coast who ran this editorial. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:00.960 They all said there's a declaration were enemies of Christ. 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:06.319 Now, this is the kind of stuff that's out there, and this is usually the kind of stuff we hear, and it's interesting. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:08.799 I do speaking at a lot of universities and colleges. 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:12.000 I said Duke University Law School, sharp kids at Duke. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:15.759 I put this picture up of the signers of declaration, 56 guys there. 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:17.039 I said, Who do you guys recognize? 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.400 I asked the kids, Duke, tell me who you can call by name. 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:22.799 Which signers can you call by name? 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:26.319 And they said, Well, there's Thomas Jefferson and there's Ben Franklin. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:28.160 And then it was the sound of crickets. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:29.119 No other sound at all. 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:31.359 I said, Come on, you have 54 more to go. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:32.480 Give me somebody else. 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:33.039 They couldn't. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:34.079 I said, okay. 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:35.519 Let me give you some hints. 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:37.200 Let me just take you across the front row. 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:39.519 Uh, right here you have Richard Henry Lee. 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:50.079 Right beside him, you have Sam Adams, then you have George Clinton, the guy looking backwards the opposite direction is Charles Carroll, the guy in the light brown jacket on the front row beside him. 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:51.119 Wait for it. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:18:01.759 Robert Morris, then beside him, you have Benjamin Rush, the guy leaning on his elbow in the front row, elbow chair. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:03.759 I can just keep going through the other 54 names. 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:04.799 They said, Who? 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:06.799 Never heard those names before. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:12.880 Isn't it interesting that today we've all been trained to recognize the two least religious founding fathers? 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:17.599 We can find them, don't have a clue about the others, but they all had to be like Franklin and Jefferson. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:19.039 Well, not really. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:22.319 As a matter of fact, a bunch of these guys were involved in Christian ministry. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:29.759 In fact, 29 of these guys graduated from schools that in their day were considered Bible schools and seminaries for training of ministers. 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:32.880 Among those, you will look at folks like John Witherspoon. 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:35.680 John Witherspoon's the president of Princeton University. 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:39.279 John Witherspoon is the best-known gospel evangelist in his generation. 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:41.039 He is the Billy Graham of his day. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.839 More than a dozen volumes of published gospel sermons. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:47.440 Also, in addition to that, he is the guy who gave us this. 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:51.440 This is America's very first family Bible, done in 1791. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:55.359 This Bible is big enough that families can gather around and have Bible studies together. 00:18:55.440 --> 00:18:57.359 That's the original from 1791. 00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:01.839 When you read the writings of people like John Witherspoon, you find statements like this. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:07.759 I entreat you in the most earnest manner to believe in Jesus Christ, for there is no salvation in any other. 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:08.960 Acts 4.12. 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:17.039 If you're not reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, if you're not clothed with the spotless robe of his righteousness, you must forever perish. 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:20.079 I'm not used to atheists talking this way. 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:25.759 I mean, this is kind of unusual because these are atheist, agnostic, deist founding fathers. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:27.440 Then you have people like Benjamin Rush. 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:31.039 Benjamin Rush, John Adams said he's one of the three most notable founding fathers. 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:34.079 He said you have George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Benjamin Rush. 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:35.920 And today we go, I've never heard the guy. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:38.640 Well, he is the father of public schools under the Constitution. 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:41.119 He started five universities, three or so ago today. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:42.799 He's a huge civil rights guy. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:48.079 Started the first abolition society in America as an act of civil disobedience against King George III. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:49.839 He led the national abolition movement. 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:54.000 He helped start the first black denomination in America, trained the first black physicians. 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:56.720 By the way, he was the most famous doctor in American history. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:57.920 He was the director of the U.S. 00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:58.160 Men. 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:00.319 I can just keep going with all the stuff the guy did. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:05.119 In addition to that, Benjamin Rush is also the guy who founded the Sunday School Movement in America. 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:08.400 He's also the guy who founded the first Bible Society in America. 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:13.039 Here's the first Bible Society, and they produced the first mass-produced Bible. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:14.240 This is from Benjamin Rush. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:16.480 First mass-produced Bible ever done in America. 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:18.480 Now, why would he found a Bible society? 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:23.519 He said, if we can get God, if we can get Americans into the Bible, he said two things will happen. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:29.680 If we can get them into the Bible, number one, they'll become Christians, find out how to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:36.319 Number two, if we can get them into the Bible and have them read and study the Bible, he said, we'll solve all of our social problems. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:37.680 We won't have crime. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:38.960 We won't have slavery. 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:41.839 He went through all the things we would not have when we would get in God's word. 00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:44.799 And so when you look at his writings, he has numerous writings. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:47.039 We have volumes and volumes of his writings. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:48.160 This is what he says. 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:01.920 That sounds evangelical to me. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:04.319 It should, because he was an evangelical. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:06.240 We have people like Roger Sherman. 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:09.599 He's the only founding father to sign all four founding documents. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:11.680 He also is a framer of the Bill of Rights. 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:13.519 In addition to that, he's a theologian. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:16.480 He wrote the doctrinal creed for his denomination in Connecticut. 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:23.039 When you look at statements from Roger Sherman, you find statements like this: God commands all men everywhere to repent. 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:28.720 He also commands them to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and has assured us that all who do repent and believe shall be saved. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:37.279 He says, God has promised to bestow eternal blessings on all those who are willing to accept him on the terms of the gospel, that is, in a way of free grace through the atonement. 00:21:37.599 --> 00:21:38.960 That's very Christian. 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:39.680 It should be. 00:21:39.759 --> 00:21:41.039 He's a Christian theologian. 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:43.920 By the way, this is the way the newspapers talked about him. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:49.440 Newspaper says, Roger Sherman, the volume which he consulted more than any other was the Bible. 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:57.599 It was his custom at the commencement of every session of Congress to purchase a copy of the scriptures, to peruse it daily, and to present it to one of his children on his return. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:03.039 You see, he was in Congress a long time and Back then, they believed you should read the Bible from cover to cover once every year. 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:04.319 That's what every Christian should do. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:07.279 So every year he goes to Congress, he has a brand new Bible with him. 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:12.960 As he's reading the Bible that year in Congress, he's annotating out in the margins what the Lord's showing and what the Lord's saying to him. 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:14.720 When he gets home, he gives it to his kids. 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:15.680 Now, a couple things. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:21.359 You had to be in Congress a long time to be able to give a Bible to all your kids because he had 15 kids. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:24.880 So you have to keep going to Congress a long time, keep having a bunch of them. 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:27.759 Roger Sherman, we don't even know who the guy is today. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:29.920 We have the same thing when you go to Charles Carroll. 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:32.720 He's the final surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:34.400 He lived to be 95 years old. 00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:39.519 The average lifespan in that generation was 33 years old, so he lives to be 95. 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:42.799 He outlived his kids, he outlived his grandkids. 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:48.559 One of his family members wrote him and said, Charles, you will die someday. 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:52.559 And when you do die, are you ready to meet God when you die? 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:53.759 He answered this. 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:55.440 This is his handwritten letter. 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:56.319 This is his answer. 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:58.160 Am I ready to meet God when I die? 00:22:58.319 --> 00:22:59.440 He says, Yes, I am. 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:02.640 He says, right here in the center, you see where it says, on the mercy? 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:05.200 He says, Of course I'm ready to meet God when I die. 00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:08.720 He says, it's on the mercy of my Redeemer that I rely. 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:09.759 Get it going here. 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:10.240 Come on. 00:23:10.400 --> 00:23:10.720 There it is. 00:23:10.880 --> 00:23:17.279 On the mercy of my Redeemer, I rely for salvation and on his merits, not on the works I've done in obedience to his precepts. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:19.279 Now that's quoting Ephesians 2.8 and 9. 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:23.200 By grace are you saved through faith, not of works, lest you can boast. 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:28.000 He says, I'm ready to meet God because of what he did for me, not because of what I've done. 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:30.000 And so that was the position we held. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:42.079 And interestingly enough, Charles Charles Carroll was one of the by the time you get to the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, there's only three signers left alive 50 years later. 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:45.440