(2 Thessalonians) What Paul Desires of All Saints — Willie Mullan

The Threefold Structure of 2 Thessalonians 3

Second Thessalonians, and we're at chapter three, and if I can't see properly in this platform, I'll have to put on these glasses. I detest these things, but nevertheless, they are scum. This is public enemy to me, but never mind.

Don't look at me, that's all. Now we're at the third chapter, and I believe that this chapter breaks itself into three different parts. I think if you have been reading over the chapter, you'll find this out, that there's a tremendous part in this chapter tonight that we shall call, What Paul Desired of All Saints.

Paul's Sevenfold Desire for the Saints

Paul desired certain things of all saints. You can easily see from the first verse that Paul desired the saints to be praying saints. Why, he loved to hear them pray, and he loved to know that they were praying.

He said, Finally, brethren, pray for us. He loved the saints to be praying saints. You can easily see from verse five, and the more direct you are, what, into the love of God and into the patience waiting for Christ.

He wanted them to be patient saints, didn't he? And I believe there are seven things here in the chapter that Paul desired of all saints. A sevenfold picture of things that Paul desired of all saints.

And then I think the second part of the chapter is, how Paul described some sinners. Do you see verse two? He's asking them to pray that we may be delivered from, here comes the description of some sinners.

Unreasonable men, unreasonable and wicked men, for all men have not faith. Now I think I need to halt you and tell you that that's not the description of every sinner. I believe there are sinners here tonight in this meeting.

And I believe there are sinners just because they're neglecting of great salvation. But they know it very well. Yes, they believe everything about the historical life and death and resurrection of Christ, but that's only historic.

But they know it's true, and they know there's a Savior for them, and they know that they can be saved if they only come and trust the Savior. They're just neglecting. For some of them will go to hell through this midnight.

Terrible when a friend of yours drops into hell just because he neglected the Savior. But then there's another type, and they're unreasonable. Couldn't talk to them, they know everything. And they're not only unreasonable, but they're ungodly.

They're wicked men. And they're not only unreasonable and ungodly, but they're unbelievers. They all say it enough. That's the crowd that goes on the lining here. Unreasonable, ungodly, unbelievers. Unreasonable and wicked men for all men of not faith.

And so Paul is first of all touching in the chapter what he desired of all faith. And then he gives us this description of some sinners. And then there's another thing in the chapter of what Paul detested among servants.

He detested some of the saints of God who wouldn't work. They're lazy. They're just busybodies. But you know that's bad enough when a fellow's lazy, and then he noses into everybody else's business. But when he takes some particular part of God's Word for a foundation for what he's doing, that's detestable.

That's what these fellows were doing. They were wrestling the truth for their own destruction. And that was detestable to Paul, and it's detestable to any man who's got common sense. Here are the three parts of your chapter.

What Paul desired of all faith. How Paul described some sinners. What Paul detested among servants. And having broken up the chapter for you, let's get really into it. Let's have a look at these pictures of what Paul desired.

Do you see the first one? Verse one. Paul begins this chapter with that beautiful word, finally. I like every time I get that word in the writings of Paul, finally. You know, he's gone through a lot of fundamentals here in these two letters to the Thessalonians.

We've had some great fundamental truths. Then he's gone through some wonderful dispensational teachings. Then he gave us some wonderful evangelical outlines. And of course, each week we have found that there's been a lot of practical stuff in these chapters.

But after going through the fundamental, dispensational, evangelical, practical truths, he says, finally. Finally, brethren. I would never like you to get that wrong. There's an apostrophe after finally, and one after brethren.

I have a rather amusing case. I don't know whether I should tell you this or not, but it's in my mind now. I was dining one day with a few fellows, and at the other side of the table was a gentleman who belongs to the brethren.

God bless him. And of course he was trying to get a shot at me, and he said, you know, the reason that I am in the brethren is because the Bible says, finally, brethren. I tried everything, he said, and then finally, the brethren.

That wasn't much of an exposition, wasn't it? He didn't know the old-fashioned character he was working with, because I said over the page it says, farewell, brethren. Why do you look at one another, sir?

Well, no, that's not what Paul's up at all. He's just saying that after I've put all these things over to you, fundamental and dispensational and evangelical and so on, he says, now finally, brethren, pray!

Pray for us! I'd like you to get the hold of that. You know, he was ending on this note. I want you young believers to pray! That's the importance. Now, that's the last chapter of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 3, the next letter in the New Testament is Timothy.

Prayer as the First and Last Priority

Have a look at Timothy, chapter 2, just when you're there. Timothy, chapter 2, verse 1. Now, watch this. I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.

I want you to notice the little phrase, first of all. See, when he's writing to Timothy, he said, now Timothy, I want you to put this first, there! That's the first of all. And when he's finishing these great letters to the Thessalonians, he said, finally, pray, for the great apostle, the Lord.

Pray with first and last. First of all and last of all. Tell me where you pray. First of all, how did you do? Last of all, how did you do? Where do you pray? Maybe there are some of you here tonight and you don't pray at all.

No wonder your children are going to hell. Finally, first of all, by the apostle, he believes with all his heart and soul in this praying business, and so do I. When this church fails to pray, I'll clear out.

He says, I wouldn't be bothering you. I have no time to waste. There are a lot of carnal Christians. There's some of the old Baptists here. I never saw them at the prayer meeting yet. Seven years now.

You might be on your way to hell, for all I know. I have a feeling that some of you are not saved at all. I can never understand, you know, how a man can talk about being born again and out and out. There are robust Christians and they never get to the prayer meeting once in seven years.

God pity you. Talk of believer yourself for shit and let the Lord have a look at you again. Maybe you're not saved at all. Anyhow, Paul wants and desires that these believers be praying Christians, praying saints.

Praying Intelligently for the Gospel and Its Ministers

But I want you to notice this, and I think this is very important for me, that Paul not only wanted these saints to be praying saints, but he wanted them to pray intelligently. He told them what to pray for.

Anybody that I ask to pray for me, I'd like them to know what they're praying for. Now he said this, Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have precourse and be glorified even as it is with you.

There's another rendering of that, that the word of the Lord, the gospel, may not be hindered, but triumph even as it is with you. And I think that's a good translation. He said, I want you to pray that when I preach the word of the Lord, the gospel of his grace, that the old devil won't be able to hinder the message going forth in power, that it may triumph even as it did when I came to I say that's the way to teach them to pray.

I wish some of you young ones that just stayed would come and pray that the gospel would go forth even as it did with you. What a joy it is for us in this place to hear all the young believers, many of the young believers pray.

You know, we have old saints here who held the fort for years when things were lean and difficult. Sometimes I joked them at the end of the prayer meeting, and I said, Are you never going to get your mouth opened again?

You see, the young believers have come in and my, we can hear them lifting their hearts and getting the hold of the throne, and that's exactly what we're longing to hear. You see, writing to young saints is special in nature, and he's encouraging them, Pray you now that the word of the gospel that I teach may have no hindrances placed before it, that it may triumph even as it did with you.

I think that's good. And then he goes further. He said, Don't only pray for the preaching, but pray for the preacher, that he might be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men. He might have put a woman through if he had been quick.

That's true, you know. I was asked by a dear friend in the meeting here to go away the other day, quite a number of miles, to see a man that was perishing, and is perishing, he's dying. And while it was a very busy moment for me, I said, Certainly I will.

And I did go. But his wife met me at the door and she said, I'll not let you in. I'm not letting you in over the door, and you'll not get in, and she nearly hit me. I thought it was the devil himself.

That's what we call unreasonable and wicked. Let me tell you that it's not only in one part of the country you meet that, you meet that in a whole other part of the country. Why once God begins to use a man and people get saved, the devil will get somebody in his role.

He would hinder you. He would haunt you. You'll get these unreasonable and wicked characters that will do the devil's work. Well, you pray. You pray for the preacher that the devil and not just the bastard.

And I want you to pray. Pray that all these tendencies and attacks of the enemy might be overthrown. Learn to pray for the Word of God, and learn to pray for the man of God. Well, that was good teaching.

And I thank you often, because you only knew how the storm howls at some of us at times. You don't come to teach a class like this, you know, the Word of God, for seven years, without all the demons outside of hell being on your track.

Sometimes I come to this platform and I'm nearly blank. And I'm crushed. Oh, I know I don't look it. But I know when the enemy's desperately close to me, you would need to pray. Rather, pray for it. My Paul was a great man, a big man.

There's nothing like him on earth as far as I know. Oh, what a real warrior he was. And yet he's begging, begging of the dead. Pray for us. He did it. Well, I've got to do it, haven't I? Pray for us. Pray for us.

Preserved Saints Strengthened by the Lord

The Lord is faithful who shall establish you and keep you from evil. You see, he didn't only want them to be praying saints, but he wanted them to be preserved saints. As you know, the Lord can strengthen you.

That's the word establishes. It's really the word. And when you're kept from evil, from all forms of evil, when you're empowered by God and kept from evil, you're a powerful, peculiar Christian. My, the man that's preserved.

He's powerful and he's peculiar. It's just like them chicken and the bull with the boys up on the field. You know, he's a peculiar fellow. Kept from evil and established, strengthened, empowered. He says, that's what I want you to find.

I don't only want you praying, I want you preserved, preserved saints. Then he goes on. And we're at the next verse, verse four. And we have confidence in the Lord touching you that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.

Performing Saints Who Obey God's Word

My, he had great confidence in these ones. He said, you know, I know that you'll be praying, and the Lord will empower you and preserve you and make you peculiar, but I want you to be a performing saint.

I want you to do the things that I command. You know, I found great joy lately, the other Tuesday, three or four back. I preached the word here on knowing them that have the rule over you, and they came across one or two of you with a rattle that you'll never forget.

And you know, there's been quite a response to that. And it's good to see you doing the things that you're commanded in the word of God. You know, we're not only to be hearers of the word, we're to be doers.

My, the apostles wanted them to be performing saints. Practical Christianity is what's needed. And so he's going down here talking about praying saints and preserved saints and performing saints. And here's a wonderful word in verse five, and the Lord directs your hearts into the love of God and into the patience waiting for Christ.

Patient Saints Waiting in the Love of God

I think there's a tremendous message there, and I wouldn't like you to miss it. There's a word in Jude, there's only one chapter in Jude, I think you'll remember this phrase, keep yourself in the love of God.

You know, I'd like you to get the hold of that. Dr. Einstein, I think, explained that better than perhaps anyone else could. He said, one dreary winter, my younger son took very serious ill. If I remember right, it was pneumonia.

And he said he was just recovering as the summer came, and then when the good, real sunny weather came, he said, I let him off, and I said to him, now keep yourself in the sunshine. He said, Daddy, I can't keep the sunshine in, you know.

He said, I never asked you to keep the sunshine. I asked you to keep in the sunshine. You're not asked to keep God loving you, you know. But you're asked to keep in the love of God. But the only way that you can keep in the love of God is the law of directing your heart into the love of God.

And that's what Paul was at when he was at Rome in chapter five. It begins like this. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this place wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And not only so, but with glory in tribulation. Knowing that tribulation wrests us patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.

You know, no matter what's happening, God by the Holy Ghost wants you to see that no matter how dark the day may be, how the storm may howl, how the enemy may come near, how your eyes may be filled with tears, how sore may be upon your soul, God wants you to know that He's always God.

You know, we've been going through such a storm at our home. We have missed our good woman for the last seven weeks in hospital, and yet all the time I know that God loves me. You need to keep yourself in the love of God.

Just look into His face and I know. And I'll tell you this, that once the Holy Ghost keeps your eyes upward and your heart filled with the knowledge of the love of God, when you've been directed into the love of God, that gives you patience.

Patience for anything. Patience for anything. You can patiently wait God's time. And it gives you patience to wait for the coming of the Lord. Why, I know that the God who loves me is planning everything and all things work together for good to them that love Him.

And if I look into His lovely face, no matter how the storm may harm, I can patiently wait for the coming of the Lord. And you'll never have the patience you ought to have, except you keep yourself in the love of God.

That's patient faith. Great little bit of truth there, isn't it? Now we come to the tickly bit. Verse 6. And now we command you, brethren, that's a strong word, isn't it? Command you. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that makes it stronger still.

Separation from Disorderly and Disobedient Living

That ye withdraw. That's God's word, you know. That ye withdraw yourselves from every trouble. That's not sinners now we're talking about. But since I'm the commanding God's word, I, in the name of the Lord Jesus, that ye command your, that ye withdraw yourselves from every trouble that walketh disorderly.

Now I wouldn't like you to get that word disorderly wrong at all. For that's a tremendous command, and you would need to be perfectly sure of what he's talking about. That if we're going to withdraw ourselves from every bother that walketh disorderly, we need to know what the Apostle's talking about.

And there's no trouble about it at all in this chapter, because the word disorderly is a whole lot of times in the chapter. You must have noticed that. Look at verse 7 now. For yourselves know how ye ought to follow up.

For we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you. Neither did we eat any man's bread, for not but wrought with labour and prevail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you. Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow up.

For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but of everybody.

And that's what he was saying. You see, and that's the thing that he was really annoyed about. You see, there were some of these young Thessalonians on this, and they were just saying, you know, Paul has taught us that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again.

And just because he's coming back again, we're going to work no more. Some of you fellows have got plenty of money, and we'll share it together, and we're going to work no more. Now Paul didn't like that.

But that was taking a little bit of truth, and making it a truth for to let their laziness loose. Terrible when you take God's word, you know, to let some kind of thing loose. Paul says, now listen, I command you, with power, from that rock, the first thing that came in, when some brother, now let me put it in real language that you'll never forget, when some brother becomes a pusher, and he uses God's word to try to push them.

So you just get rid of them. Withdrawal is a word. This is a tremendous subject, this withdrawing from one thing into another. It's really the great, wonderful subject of separation, isn't it? But this is separation from faith, this time.

Separation from Unbelievers and False Teaching

Let me take you through this for a moment. Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, chapter 6. 2nd Corinthians, chapter 6, and verse 14. Need not all equally youth together with unbelievers. Of course that's unbelievers that time, isn't it?

And the emphasis is on the word youth. And of course no believer should ever be tied up, or youth, in any kind of secret society or open society, with unbelievers. Well, that's the teaching of your book, whether you like it or not.

I'm not too sure whether you like it or not, but I'm not worried whether you do or not. I'm just here to teach it. Whether you like it or not's a different thing. Here's what God's saying to you, and man, you don't get it as if I said it.

God is saying to you, be ye not all equally youth together with unbelievers. That's separation from unbelief. Now, what's done your chapter with it? Verse 17. Therefore come out from among them, and be ye separate towards the Lord, and touch not the unclean things.

And that's separation from unclean things. I want you to watch what I'm having for, separation from unbelief. Separation from unclean things. Now, come over to Paul's second letter to Timothy, and we're after second chapter.

Second Timothy, chapter two, and do you see verse 16? But shun, I don't think you need me to explain that word, do you? Shun cruel things and vain babblings, for they will increase more, increase unto more ungodliness.

And their word will eat, as doth a chamber, a tomb of Hamanaeus and Phileas. You see, what he's talking about is untrue teachings. Are you getting this? Unbeliever, unclean things, untrue teachings. You should shun them.

You know, some of the young believers think they should go and hear them. Well, God teaches you differently. You should do what God says to you. You should shun them. Instead of running around in the back door to hear things.

Shun them. That's God's presence. Shun them. Let it ring in your ears. Never go to hear something just out of curiosity. For if you go to hear an untrue teacher, you'll get stoned. Shun is your word. So that we're to be separated from unbelievers, not to be yoked with them, we're to be separated from the unclean things, and we're to be separated from the untrue teacher.

Shun them. You see down the chapter a little bit, verse twenty-two, free of so useful lusts. Well, of course, those are unworthy deeds, aren't they? And there's the unbeliever, the unclean, the untrue, the unworthy.

Keep away from all that. You see, your next chapter, it says, In the last days men shall be lovers of their own selves. Verse two. And then it says in verse five, Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away.

So do you know what that is? That a crowd of people gathered in an assembly, and they have a form of godliness, just a form. But they don't believe in God in a real sense. There is no power, no life there.

They're denying the very fundamental form, such turn away, of God. It's funny, you just throw it back into his face. Say, keep, we'll do as you like. Well, we'll see, by and by. We'll see. You'd be far better to obey God.

Now, this is a tremendous failure. Unbelievers, unclean, untrue teachers, unworthy beings, all real assembly. But the thing that we're up to tonight is a non-yielded power. Observe it. Observe it. I command you to withdraw from every brother—I'm not a lucrative—from every brother that walketh disorderly.

You see, here's the great idea. Verse eleven again,. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all but are busybodies. Now then, those that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they watch and eat their own bread.

Do you see up the chapter a little bit? Verse ten,. For even when we were with you this we commanded you, that if any would not work neither should they eat. You see, they have been told this before. You know, Paul could see when he was at Bethlehem like a bringing the gospel, that these fellows might as a lazy streak in the moon, and they're going to twist this truth to keep them from working and they'll lose everybody's business.

And when we were with you, we commanded you. But you know, some of them then, you let some of you know. You don't care what God says. You do as you like. Well, we don't want you in this place. You're glad to get rid of us.

And if I really knew that God had talked to somebody in here about something and you wouldn't do it, we would just drop on you. Long as you and I knew this brother is no advantage for anybody. My dear children, don't you come and look into this book and think you'll do as you like, because you're not.

My dear, it's a tremendous test on God's hands. Withdraw from that brother. And God made it. And God certainly underlines it in his chapter. Tremendous thing. Well, what's first? The text, verse 14. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man.

Note him. And have no company with him that he may be ashamed. You know, I think that some people never thought the Paul wrote like this. Some people just think, you know, they can listen to God's word and the bit that suits them, all that suits them, and the bit they don't want, they can pull it back in God's face.

Really, you know, you can't have real fellowship if you're going to treat God like that. This is a non-music brother who heard the command of God and said, keep it, we'll do as we like, and now you'll know.

My, if you were going to walk disorderly, well, then some of us in all the group have got to put you onto the street and let you walk yourself. The first thing they'll tell you, hope you might be ashamed.

Restoration and Admonition of a Disobedient Brother

But just to God or not, you know, the apostle put this bit in. You see, that's what I'm thrashing at just now, is Paul wanted them to be protesting faith. You know, you just can't go on with anything in an assembly.

A little leaven would soon leaven the whole lump, you know. Well, he said, even though you do that, you see verse 15, yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. You have to go on preaching, you know, that's what I'm doing now.

You have to go on preaching that. Let him know just where he is. Don't ever forget, you know, that he's your brother. You see, he's a real saint, but he's disobedient, and he's unyielding to the power of God.

He's got the bit between his feet like the ox, he's going to do as he likes. Well, the discipline in the assembly put him out. Oh, but never forget he's a brother. Never forget that. Don't count him as an enemy.

You know, the thing you're doing, you're trying to get him back in the fellowship. What does he promote you? I think that half-time, you know, in some way it has to be disciplined. You wouldn't think it was for to bring him back to fellowship at all.

You'd think it was to throw him into the depths of the sea that he might belong forever. Only, all this wonderful teaching is to bring that fellow back into fellowship, into sight. He's full of wealth.

He's never an enemy. And you're not to treat him as an enemy. But you're to admonish him. You've to let him know what he's doing with God's word, time after time. You see, that's being a preaching thing.

Persevering Without Weariness or Discouragement

And of course there's a little bit that I passed by that he slipped in, didn't he? In verse 13,. But ye, brethren, be not weary. Oh, those of us. Why, sometimes when you're all up for God and you do the thing that God wants you to say, and then you get a batter or two for doing it, my, it really makes you weary in the work, but you should never be weary off.

It's quite true that I went many miles the other day and got turned at the door and got called, I suppose, everything into the bargain. But it's equally true that I'd go back tomorrow when I would, and I would walk it too.

Do you see that when somebody really opposes you, if somebody's unreasonable and wicked, ah, don't get your eye on the person too much at all. It's the devil's agenda. ...around the back of three men and they answer you.

That's what you do to yourself. The enemy will rage, won't it? Let the fiery darts begun. The world is alive. It should be heard. But you know, if you're a soldier at all, you know exactly what the enemy's up to.

And you never get weary. And where are you? I'd go back and fish for barrage tomorrow again. Brethren and sisters, don't lie down on us too easily. My ever-Lord Jesus had been easily discouraged when they threw him over the brink of the hill of his own city.

When the Samaritans said, clear out, when yon man spots an escape, when yon man lifted the cane and hanged him on the head, when they whipped his butt in the gallows, if he'd been easily discouraged, you would have been gone.

But you know, he set his face to the flint and he went right through. Ah, don't be weary. And well, consider him who endured such contradiction against himself. Lastly, be weary, and change in your mind.

With my eye on the Lord, I could take a lot more. The devil might take you below the belt, but you don't lie on the canvas, you miserly concierge. You just lie on the tobacco, that's all. Don't be weary.

Do you think that he was exhausted of the saints? He desired that the saints, betraying saints, preserved saints, performing saints, patient saints, protesting saints, plodding saints, not really indulging, preaching saints, admonish him as a brother.

The Condition of Unbelieving Sinners

I think we'd better take a moment or two of this description of some sinners, because I think that this is a tremendous treatment here from unreasonable and wicked men, for all men have not faith. You see, why I want to take a moment with this, because I know that some sinners hide behind this.

You see, when we come to Ephesians, have a look at Ephesians, chapter 2. You know how he describes the sinner in those first verses, that he was dead, and domineered by Satan, and desolate, and doomed by nature, but God, in verse 4, who is rich in mercy for his great love, for which he loves us, even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved, and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come we might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness poured out through Christ Jesus.

For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Faith is the gift of God. And you see, some men hide behind this and they say, you know, well, I can't be saved.

Faith is the gift of God, and all men have not faith. Let me teach you younger ones something, and I don't want you ever to forget it. No matter what truth you configure, if somebody gives that truth a twist, that truth that takes the responsibility for man in any shape or form, he's wrong.

Well, a lot of folks would like all responsibility, tip of the head, and either God damn me or save me without me having anything to do about it. It's the very same thing we were considering last week, election.

So it's perfectly true that God chose me and Christ before the foundation of the world, but it's perfectly true that the choice rested with me. Yes, of course, divine sovereignty and human responsibility run in parallel lines.

It's perfectly true that faith is the gift of God. Aye, but it's perfectly true that God gave faith through his words. But why do you think faith comes to you? God hasn't out in the desert. Well, it happens to be that faith comes to you by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

You know why some men I'll tell you. It's perfectly true. They don't believe what's written in that book. That's why. Oh, I've seen the books. These are unreasonable boys. You know, sometimes they say to me, we expect me to believe that.

Certainly we expect you to believe. Didn't I tell you about the schoolteacher who came in to see me one night in the inquiry room? And she was all disturbed in the meeting, and when I spoke to her and showed her God's way of salvation, I opened the room just a turn and said, there's God's way of salvation.

Whosoever believe us, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. We had a look at it, you know, for a moment and read it over. I could see her lips moving. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

She said, I would like to question it. Not in here, dear. Get out through the door and close the door behind you. I said, you don't question it in here. It was just the week that the great Manchester United football team had the horrible disaster in the airplane.

They were all sorry about that. I said, did you read the paper yesterday? Yes. Did you see how many were hurt in the plane? It was a man. She told me, twenty-one. I said, dear, did you question it? No, so then get out.

You can believe the telegraph all right. Oh, but when it comes to God talking, oh, no, she's too late. There's nothing unreasonable about accepting that book. Not a thing. My God, there's a preceptic thing that is in that book.

How, Michael? How did old, on-land ignorant people know that the elements would melt with solvency? How did he know? How did he know that the earth and the planes that are there and the birds, how did he know thousands and thousands of years ago?