(Through the Bible) Isaiah 63-66 — Chuck Smith

Isaiah 63 and the Coming Day of God's Wrath

Now, before the restoration, the day of God's wrath is coming, the Great Tribulation. This must be preceded. And chapter 63, the first six verses, go into the Great Tribulation period. And there are two questions that are asked, and they are answered by the Lord.

Who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah? The question, who is this that is coming from Edom with the dyed garments from Bozrah? And the answer, this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness, or there's still the question, this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength.

The answer, I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Who is this that is coming from Edom, who is so glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? The answer, I that speak in righteousness, or the Lord, mighty to save.

The question, why are you red in your apparel? And why are your garments like him who has been treading in the wine fat? Why are your garments all stained? It looks like you've been treading in the wine fat.

It looks like you're covered with grape juice. The answer, I have trodden the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with me, for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment, for the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

And so the answer to the garments that are stained, it's the blood. He's been treading the wine press of the fierceness of the anger of God upon the earth. If you'll turn to Revelation chapter 14, you will read here a corresponding passage of Scripture, beginning with verse 14.

Well, actually let's go back to verse 10. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, the presence of the Lamb.

Who? Whoever worships the beast and the image and receives his mark and his forehead in his hand. Now, this week you're going to learn some very fascinating things about the image of the beast. As they'll be dealing with genetic engineering.

And some of the things that are now being proposed by those scientists who are involved in genetic engineering. And you'll begin to understand a little bit about the beast making an image and giving power to it to speak.

And the whole world being governed and worshiping this image of the beast. You'll find some very fascinating things this week in these lectures that are coming up. But whoever worships the beast or his image or receives his mark in his forehead or in his hand.

The same is going to drink of the wine of the wrath of God poured out without mixture. Then in verse 14, I looked and behold, a white cloud and upon the cloud, one sat like the son of man, having on his head a golden crown in his hand, a sharp sickle.

And another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy sickle and reap for the time has come for thee to reap and the harvest of the earth is ripe.

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle and the earth on the earth and the earth was reaped. And another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle and another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle saying, thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe.

And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city and blood came out of the winepress, even under the horse's bridles by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

Christ's Righteous Judgment in Revelation 19

And then also in the nineteenth chapter of the book of Revelation, beginning with verse eleven, I saw heaven open and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

His eyes were as a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture that is dipped in blood and his name is called the Word of God.

And the armies which were with him in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed him fine linen, white and clean. The church, go back to verse seven and eight. And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword and with it that he should smite the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron and he will tread the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.

So tied in with this in Isaiah the question, who is this? It is coming from Edom with these dyed robes and so forth. I who speak in righteousness who are mighty to save. Well how come your garments are all stained?

For I have been treading the winepress alone, trampling them in the fury. Their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments and I will stain all my raiment. It's going to be a fierce day when God's wrath is poured out upon the earth.

He that despised Moses' law died in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Of how much sore punishment! Suppose ye he to be counted worthy who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God and had counted the blood of his covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done this fight to the Spirit of grace.

For we know him who has said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. And again, it is a fearful thing to fall in the hands of a living God. We talk about being saved. Well what do you mean saved?

Well I'll tell you what we mean saved. We mean being saved from that wrath of God that is going to be poured out upon the earth. Salvation has both a negative and a positive effect actually. It's being saved from and it's being saved for.

A glorious eternity with Him. But I am going to be saved from the wrath of God that is going to be poured out against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth of God in unrighteousness.

Now because God has been slow in judgment, we so often think that God is weak. And men mistake the long suffering of God for weakness and that's a tragic mistake to make. For the day of vengeance and His wrath shall surely come.

He has promised it. He said, I'm not going to bring things to birth and then quit there. God speaks about, surely I'm going to fulfill my word and my purposes. And the fact that God has fulfilled it up to this point, you're only fooling yourself if you think God's going to stop now.

Surely the rest of the prophecy shall be fulfilled and we're right on the border. Once again, of God's intervening in the history of man in judgment. Now people are willfully ignorant of this fact that God has intervened in past history.

Peter said that they're willfully ignorant of the fact that God destroyed the world already once in judgment. People don't like to think about that. They like to think that things are uniform. All things have continued as they were from the beginning.

Not so. God has intervened in the past and He's going to intervene again in the future. But this intervention that is going to take place in the future is going to usher in then the glorious kingdom age and God's new kingdom and age upon the earth of which we really look forward to.

Isaiah's Prayer for Mercy and Redemption

Now the day of the vengeance is in my heart. The year of the redeemed has come. And I looked and there was none to help. And I wondered that there was none to uphold. Therefore my own arm brought salvation unto me and my fury it upheld me.

And I will tread down the people in mine anger and make them drunk in my fury and I will bring down their strength to the earth. God's judgment that is coming here upon the earth. Now as we get into verse 7 and all through chapter 64, we have a very beautiful prayer.

As Isaiah, representing the remnant, prays unto the Lord, I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord. Isn't this interesting? Right at the time that the Lord declares the day of His wrath and vengeance and judgment, the prophet then prays, I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord and the praises of the Lord.

According to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He hath bestowed on them according to His mercies and according to the multitude of His loving kindnesses.

Looking around and seeing what God has done, He has been so kind, lovingly kind to us. For He said, Surely they are My people, children that will not lie. So He was their Savior. And in all of their afflictions, He was afflicted.

Now that to me is a very beautiful scripture. In all of their afflictions, He was afflicted. The early disciples recognized their close identity with Jesus Christ. And they recognized that those persecutions that they faced, they were actually facing and receiving for Jesus Christ.

In all of their afflictions, He was afflicted. So when they were beaten and commanded not to preach anymore in the name of Jesus, they went their way praising the Lord that they were accounted worthy to suffer persecution for Jesus' sake.

Because the Lord identifies with His child in the persecution or in the suffering. Whenever you go through any persecution for the name of the Lord, in all of your afflictions, He is afflicted. He bears our sorrows.

He shares with us the afflictions, the tribulation, the persecutions. And the angel of His presence saved them. In His love and in His pity, He redeemed them. And He bared them and carried them in the days of old.

And yet, though God was so loving to them and so good to them, they rebelled. They vexed His Holy Spirit. Therefore, He was turned to be their enemy and He fought against them. Then He remembered the days of old when Moses and his people sang,.

Where is He that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of His flock? Where is He that put His Holy Spirit within Him? That led them by the right hand of Moses with His glorious arm, dividing the water before them to make Himself an everlasting name.

That led them through the deep as a horse in the wilderness that they should not stumble. As a beast goeth down to the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused Him to rest. And so didst Thou lead Thy people to make Thyself a glorious name.

Look down from heaven, their prayer unto God, and behold from Thy habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy glory. Where is Thy zeal and Thy strength? The sounding of Thy bowels and the mercies toward Me.

Are they restrained? Doubtless Thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not. Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer. Thy name is from everlasting. And so recognizing God as the Father, the Redeemer, O Lord, why hast Thou made us to err from Thy ways and harden our heart from Thy fear?

Return for Thy servants' sake the tribes of Thine inheritance. The people of Thy holiness have possessed it but a little while. Our adversaries have trodden down Thy sanctuary. We are Thine. Thou never barest rule over them.

They were not called by Thy name. O that You would rend the heavens, and that You would come down, and that the mountains might flow down at Thy presence as when the melting fire burns, the fire causes the waters to boil and makes Thy name known to Thine adversaries that the nations may tremble at Thy presence.

When You did awesome things which we look not for, You came down, and the mountains flowed down at Thy presence. For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear. Neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee what He hath prepared for Him that waits for Him.".

Now he's praying, God, why don't You, you know, manifest Yourself like You did in the past? When people saw Your power, the glory of Your power. Now, God is. In the 38th chapter of the book of Ezekiel, when God speaks of His fury rising in His face to destroy the invading Russian army as they come into Israel.

He said, and I will be sanctified before the nations of the earth and they will know that I am God when I have destroyed Thee, O God. And so God once more will move. Now, in prayer, Isaiah is praying for this day that God would move once again.

Come and let the mountains flow down before His presence. The awesome things that He did and He will do them again. Now, verse 4,. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what You have prepared for Him who waits for You.

Oh, the things that God has prepared for those that just wait on Him. Our problem is that we don't wait on God. We get so impatient. We want to see things done. Like Abraham, we know what God wants to do and so we go about to help God out.

And that's always tragic. Oh, the things that God has prepared for those that wait. You remember Paul said something like this in Corinthians. And no doubt he was making reference to this passage here in Isaiah.

For Paul said,. And as the Scripture saith,. Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those that love Him. But He has revealed them unto us by His Spirit.

Paul's talking about the natural man and the spiritual man. How that the natural man doesn't understand anything about the Spirit. He doesn't know the things of the Spirit. He can't know the things of the Spirit because they're spiritually discerned.

Yet he which is spiritual understands all things though he is not understood. But in talking about the contrast between the natural man and the spiritual man, he says,. The eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither has it entered into the hearts of man the things that God has prepared for those that love Him.

But God has begun to reveal them unto us by His Spirit. Paul prayed for the Ephesians that God would grant unto them the spirit of wisdom and understanding that they might know what is the hope of their calling.

Oh, if you only knew what God has in store for us as His children. If you only knew the glory of the Kingdom. It is so marvelous. It is so beyond anything that we in our own imaginations could conceive or devise.

It is so glorious that when Paul got a little view of the thing, got a little taste of it, taken up into the third heaven and there heard these glorious things that were so marvelous it would be a crime to try to describe them in human language.

And it was so glorious that Paul said it was necessary that God give to me a thorn in the flesh to keep me on the ground lest I be exalted above major because of these revelations that were given unto me.

It was just so fantastic. I just, you know, God had to keep me on the ground, man. I just, you know, live in that heavenly vision and realm. So because of the abundance of those revelations, because it was so glorious, this old thorn in the ground that just remind me, hey, I'm still human.

But that desire. From then on, I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. And that yearning. If you only knew the things that God has prepared. Now, God has begun to reveal them to us by His Spirit, but yet, Paul's prayer that you might have the Spirit of Wisdom and understanding that you might know what is the hope of your calling.

If you only knew what God had for you, you couldn't be happier, satisfied with these worldly things anymore. You, like Paul, would just... People say, oh, you're so heavenly minded, you're no earthly good.

Well, I've never yet met that person. In all honesty. I think that we're too earthly minded to be any heavenly good for the most part. I wish we were more heavenly minded. I wish that we were more looking towards what God has prepared for those that love Him, because then our perspective would be better as far as the things of the world, and we wouldn't get so deeply involved in the things that are going to perish.

But we would be more involved in those things that are eternal. We look not, Paul said, at the things which are seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But we look at those things which cannot be seen, for they are eternal.

We have our eyes upon the unseen. The things that the Spirit has revealed of God's glorious kingdom. Oh, you get restless in this world in which you live. And you just want to keep a light touch on the earth.

For since the beginning of the world, men haven't heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He has prepared for those that wait on Him. Oh, God, help us to just wait on Him.

Confession, Human Sinfulness, and Righteousness by Faith

Continuing His prayer, you meet Him that rejoices and works righteousness. Those that remember Thee in Thy ways, behold, Thou art angry, for we have sinned. In those is continuance, and we shall be saved.

But we are all as an unclean thing, for all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away. Now, He is not trying to justify Himself before God, which we so often do in our prayers.

Many a time in our prayers, our prayers are an attempt to explain to God why we're so rotten. To justify ourselves. Like Adam, Lord, the woman that You gave me to be my wife. Well, that's my problem, Lord.

And we're trying to justify ourselves, laying the blame somewhere else. The Bible says, because he that seeks to justify himself will not be cleansed. But whoso confesseth his sin shall be forgiven. Now, if you'll notice in Daniel's prayer, and we'll get there in a few months, Daniel also confessed the sin and the sin of the people.

Lord, You're righteous in what You have done. We are at fault. We are guilty, God. And it is important when we come to God that we come open-faced and open-handed. God, I'm guilty. And put yourself on the mercy of God rather than through your prayers trying to explain to God all of the extenuating circumstances that caused you to do, you know, your transgression.

God isn't interested in that. He's only interested in the confession. Lord, we're wrong. God, we have sinned. And all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in Thy sight. I look at man, poor man, prating about in his righteousnesses.

Well, I do my best to do unto others as I would have them to do unto me. I give to the Red Cross and I give to the United Fund. And, you know, I spend an hour a week in my charitable activities. And men try to clothe themselves in their little good deeds.

And they prate around in such pomp and all in their good deeds. They get their pictures in the paper doing their good deeds. And God says, It's all filthy rags. It stinks. Our righteousnesses. Now, Paul the Apostle said, If any man has whereof to boast in his own works, in the law, I have more than the rest of you.

You want to be righteous by keeping the law? Hey, I've got you beat hands down. See, I was a Jew. I was circumcised the eighth day. I'm from the tribe of Benjamin. I was a Pharisee. I was very zealous concerning the law.

In fact, as far as the righteousness which is of the law, I was perfect. I'd done it all. Yet, those things which were gained to me, I counted loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ for whom I suffered the loss of all things, but count them but refuse that I may know Him and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but having now the righteousness which is of Christ through faith.

My righteousness is as filthy rags. But in Revelation 17 again, he sees the bride adorned for her husband. And she is clothed in fine linen, pure and clean. And the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

I'm clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ which God has imputed to me by my faith in Jesus Christ. And that's what Paul was talking about. I took off my old rags. That which was gained to me as far as the law was concerned is refuse.

It's stinky. I want to be found clothed in the righteousness which is of Christ through faith. The new robes of righteousness that I have in Christ. So, here, our righteousness is as filthy rags in God's sight.

There is none that calleth upon thy name that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee, for thou hast hid thy face from us and have consumed us because of our iniquities. But now, O Lord, thou art our Father.

God the Potter and His Sovereign Work

We are the clay. Thou art our potter. Three times in the Bible, the figure of the potter and the clay are used to describe the sovereignty of God in his relationship with man. Jeremiah and Paul the Apostle uses the same figure.

Paul uses it in emphasizing the sovereignty of God and says, can the clay say to the potter, hey, how come you put that shape in me? I don't like that. No, the clay has no power over what it's going to be.

That's all in the mind of the potter. He has total sovereignty over the clay. Now, that could be very frightening if you didn't know the potter. But because I know the potter, I know that whatever he wants to make of me is the best for me.

I have absolute confidence in the potter to yield myself to him because the only way I can discover what is in the potter's mind is by yielding to the potter. So, thou art the potter. We're the clay. We all are the work of thy hand.

Be not angry, very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity forever. Behold, see we beseech thee, we are thy people. Thy holy cities are a wilderness. Zion is a wilderness. Jerusalem is a desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house where our fathers praised thee is burned up with fire, and all of our pleasant things are laid waste.

Will you refrain thyself for these things, O Lord? Will you hold thy peace and afflict us very sore? And now God answers the prayer offered by the remnant of the people. And He said, I am sought of them that ask not for Me.

Here's the remnant of the Jewish people calling to God, Have you forsaken us? Won't you remember us? And all this. And God answers them and He says, I am sought of them that ask not for Me. I am found of them that sought Me not.

I said, behold Me, behold Me, unto a nation that was not called by My name. I have spread out My hands all the day long to rebellious people which walked in a way that was not good after their own thoughts, of people that provoke Me to anger continually to My face, that sacrificed in the gardens and burned incense upon the altars of brick, which remain among the graves and lodge in the monuments and eat swine's flesh, both of the abominable things that are in their vessels, which say, stand by thyself, don't come near Me, for I am holier than you.

These are a smoke in My nose, a fire that burns all day. So God is declaring here now how that He stretched out His hands actually to the Gentiles. And Paul quotes this in Romans the 10th chapter as he shows how that God set the nation Israel aside that He might draw out from among the Gentiles a people for His name.

And he quotes here in 10th chapter from this passage here in Isaiah where God speaks about how that He has been found really by them who did not seek Me. He turned to another nation that wasn't called by His name.

For all day long, He said, I have stretched out My hands to a rebellious people which walked in their own ways and not after Me, which had committed these abominable practices against the Lord, who became as an irritant unto God, smoke in His nostrils.

Behold, it is written before Me, I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense to their bosom. Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains and blaspheme Me upon the hills, therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.

Thus saith the Lord, as the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, destroy it not, for there is a blessing in it, so will I do for My servants' sake that I may not destroy them all. Speaks now, I'm going to bring forth the faithful remnant.

I will bring forth the seed out of Jacob and out of Judah, the inheritor of My mountains, and My elect shall inherit it. My elect shall inherit it. God is going to gather together His elect, Matthew 24, and bring them back that they might inherit it.

And to try to interpret the elect there as the church is just poor biblical exposition. It is a denying of God's restoration of the nation Israel. And it is anti-Semitic in its teaching and it breeds anti-Semitism.

That identity of Israel as the church. Because they then deny that God is going to yet deal with Israel. That Israel is through and they excuse their hatred against the Jews by the fact that God has cut them off and we are now Israel and so forth.

But that is poor biblical exposition. Sharon. The valley of Sharon shall be the fold of flocks and the valley of Ankor the place for the herds to lie down in. For My people that have sought Me, but ye are they that forsook the Lord, that forget My holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.

Therefore, will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter, because when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not hear, but did evil before My eyes, and you did choose that in which I did not delight.

Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, behold, My servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry. Behold, My servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty. Behold, My servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed.

Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and ye shall howl for the vexation of spirit, and ye shall leave your name for a curse unto My chosen. For the Lord God shall slay thee and call His servants by another name.".

What is the other name by which He calls His servants? And in Antioch, they called them Christians. The servant of God called by the new name. As God is at the present time still working among the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled, which we are there.

The days of God's grace and mercy and hand stretched out to the Gentiles is just about over. If you're going to become a part of the kingdom, you better become a part of the kingdom in a hurry because the opportunities will soon be over.

And that he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth. And he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth because the former troubles are forgotten and because they are hid from mine eyes.

The New Heavens and New Earth

Now in verse 17, it's sort of an isolated verse. For God goes out beyond. Way out now. And He said, Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth and the former shall not be remembered or come into mind.

Now this is out beyond the millennium. Beyond the millennial age. He comes back in the next verse and deals with things of the millennium. But He goes out way to the end now that is described in 2 Peter when God causes this whole universe to dissolve, to melt with a fervent heat.

All of the works in it being dissolved, destroyed. And God said, Behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth. Now there are those who teach the eternity of the earth. In other words, the earth is going to go on forever and ever.

Using some poetic verses out of Psalms. And verses that are in poetic form out of the Psalms. The earth abides forever and all. Yet, the earth and all of its works are going to be destroyed. 2 Peter goes into quite a bit of detail in describing the end of the physical universe.

The molecular structure as we understand it and know it. Now, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and the Hebrew word for create is bara. Which is a word that means to create something out of nothing.

Now only God has that capacity. There is another Hebrew word translated create or made and that is the word asa. And that word in the Hebrew has as a meaning to assemble existing materials. So, some man created this pulpit.

Now he didn't say, pulpit be. And poof out of nothing here was a pulpit. That would be bara. But man can't do that. He took the wood and he cut it and he planed it and he glued it and he put it together and he assembled the pulpit.

He created the pulpit out of existing materials. Now man does have that capacity. Only God though has the capacity of creating out of nothing. Now, when God said behold I create a new heaven and a new earth here in Isaiah.

He again uses the Hebrew word bara. Out of nothing he's going to bring a whole new heaven and a new earth into existence. Now, seeing then that the present earth and universe is to be dissolved. Seeing then that all of these things are going to be dissolved.

What manner of persons ought we to be? If the whole material realm is going to be destroyed then what kind of a person should I be? Well, if I'm a total materialist I'm going to be totally wiped out. So, what kind of a person should I be?

I should be spiritual. I should put my value in spiritual things. I should lay up my treasures in heaven where moth does not corrupt, where thieves cannot break through and steal. I should be spiritual and a spiritual man and mindful of spiritual things because the physical material universe is going to be destroyed.

So, behold I create bara, out of nothing, a new heaven and a new earth and the former shall not be remembered or called into mind. When we get into that final age out at the end of the millennium and the new heaven and the new earth we won't be saying Oh, you remember that day we were surfing down in Huntington?

You won't be remembering that stuff anymore. It won't even be coming into mind. Now, some people are worried Well, you know, I could never really enjoy heaven if my, you know, parents aren't there or my children aren't there or something.

It won't even be... You'll have no memory of these things. It'll never be brought into mind. That is, that horrible period of history when man rebelled against God. All of the sorrow that has been brought because of that rebellion will be wiped out and never brought into mind again.

The Millennial Kingdom and Restored Creation

Now, during the millennial age but be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her nor the voice of crying.

This is during the kingdom age. It's going to be glorious then. There shall be no more an infant of days nor an old man which has not fulfilled his days for a child will die being a hundred years old.

Now, if a person dies when they're just a hundred you say, oh, what a shame. You know, a young child died. Because there will be a renewing of the earth during the millennial kingdom age back to the pre-flood conditions where again God will put a shield around the earth and we'll be protected from these cosmic radiations that cause mutations in the aging process and so forth.

And with this canopy and you'll be hearing all about this this week the canopy that used to be around the earth and why men lived to be so long why lived so many years and why dinosaurs grew so big and why cockroaches were a foot long.