THE PRESENTATION OF THE TRUTH
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This portion of our study in the Doctrine of the Scriptures focuses on the Presentation of the Truth. God has spoken - that is REVELATION. And God has graciously caused that which He spoke to be faithfully and accurately written - that is INSPIRATION. These two subjects help us understand how we got our Bible.
REVELATION
We are going to examine Revelation in three ways: Its Definition, Demand, and Divisions.
A. DEFINITION OF REVELATION
General Definition
Revelation means to uncover, to reveal, or to bring to light. We might illustrate it in this manner: to lift a shade and allow the light to pass through or turning on a light as you enter a dark room. A magician says, "Now you see it - now you don't." The reverse is true whenever we are thinking about Divine Revelation. First, you don't see it, then you do.
People use the verbal form of revelation "to reveal" in this manner: "The Lord revealed this to me." Here was something they did not know and now they know it. Something previously hidden is now known and it is called a revelation. This is the general sense of this word as it is used by most people, but Revelation in this study is a very technical word.
Theological Definition
It is the activity of God whereby He communicates truth to man about Himself: His Person, His Presence, and His Purpose. The invisible, hidden, and transcendent God has revealed Himself to us through the Scriptures and therefore the Bible is the Revelation of that truth.
Short Definition: The giving of the truth about God to man.
B. DEMAND FOR REVELATION
Why was it necessary for God to reveal Himself to man?
Because of the Finite Nature of Man
Our God is infinite in character, that is, His divine nature is so great and so superior to ours that this marked contrast requires Revelation. David said, "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable" Psalm 145:3. When God gave David truth about Himself, David recognized his own finiteness and well as his own unfitness. All David could say was, "His greatness is unsearchable." Not unknowable, but inexhaustible! David was limited.
Isaiah 55:9 (God speaking) "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Romans 11:33 "O the depth of the riches both the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out."
The response of all those who have spoken with God is one of utter amazement and profound awe as they come to recognize His infinite glory. In fact, the idea that someone exists who is greater than man would not occur to man apart from God's self-disclosure. It is necessary for God to communicate with finite man because a tremendous gap exists between the Creator and His creatures. Even Adam in his sinless state needed the benefit of God walking with him daily in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8). God must take the initiative to meet man on man's level and speak to him in human language and human concepts.
Summary: Because of the greatness, superiority, and the Godhood of God, without Revelation
(God giving to man truth about Himself) He could not be known. Now, you may say, "I have
known people who genuinely sought after God." Of course you have and so have I. The reason
is this, there exists a Revelation of Him. What I am saying is that without Revelation from God,
we would live in darkness, cut off from His radiant splendor. But not only is man finite in
contrast to the infinite-personal God who is there; he is fallen.
Because of the Fallen Nature of Man
The Word of God tells us that when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they HID THEMSELVES.
Their relationship with their Creator was drastically changed. Now they were separated from
God and from Genesis 3 on the natural inclination of man is to hide from God. So let's look at the
Scripture and document the number of ways this fallen nature expresses itself. I have already
noted one, Adam and Eve after their sin HID from God, Genesis 3:8.
Isaiah 53:6 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way."
(Expanded Translation). Man RUNS from God.
Romans 3:11 "There are none, no not one, that seeks after God." (Expanded Translation). The Word of God says we go in every direction but toward God.
John 3:19 (Jesus said) "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world (Jesus is the light of the world),but men loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil." The darkness represents a sphere which possesses no light. Man desires to be autonomous, free from any thought of God.
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?" Man has a bad heart. If we can't know our own hearts, how can we expect to know the true and living God.
Romans 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." The Bible says that even when the truth of God is made known to his heart and mind, he sometimes suppresses the truth. He says, "There is no God " Psalm 14:1.
What a tremendous contrast! On the one hand there is God, whose great love and grace, pursues us and it is His divine initiative that reaches out to us; and on the other hand there is man, who is totally fallen and lost and characterized by these things:
1. He hides from God.
2. He runs from God.
3. He goes in every direction but toward God.
4. He does not seek God.
5. He loves the darkness.
6. And when the truth is known, he suppresses it.
Finite man is limited and fallen man is lost. The need for Revelation is imperative!
DIVISIONS OF REVELATION
God reveals truth about Himself in two ways: generally through His WORKS, and specifically through His WORDS. We will study these independently and then compare them. What we want to come to understand is HOW GOD REVEALS HIMSELF TO US.
GENERAL REVELATIONA. Definition
It is the continuous activity of God through which He reveals His presence to all people, at all times, primarily through His WORKS. The works of General Revelation which reveal God are many. Dr. Floyd Barackman provides a brief summary:
God's general revelation is given by His works or actions in His creating and governing the universe. His creating the universe manifests His eternity, power, divinity (Romans 1:20), glory (Psalm 19:1), purpose (Revelations 4:11), wisdom (Psalm 136:5), and immensity (Isaiah 66:1). God's government of the universe reveals His goodness in providing for man and beast (Acts 14:17; Romans 2:4; Psalm 104), His sovereignty in controlling nature (Jobs chs. 38-41) and the affairs of men (Daniel 4:17), His holiness in expressing wrath against wickedness (Romans 1:18; 9:22; Psalm 9:16), and His mercy in dealing with His people (Romans 9:15,23; Psalm 103:13).(1) (Barackman, page 26)
We will concentrate on two of the works of General Revelation: Creation and God's providential dealings with Israel.
B. Content of General Revelation
The Witness of the Material Universe
David's testimony in Psalm 19:1-3:
19:1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
19:2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.
19:3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.
David's conclusion:
1. "The heavens our telling of the glory of God..." David says, "As I look at what God created, it reveals the GODHOOD of God. The word "glory" often represents the Person of God. His deity. His divine nature. Such as in Romans 3:23; Ephesians 1:17; Deuteronomy 5:24; Psalm 21:5.
2. "Their expanse is declaring the work of His hands". Creation points. You look at creation and creation points its finger heavenward and says, "God is!"
3. "Day unto day, night unto night..." This is an idiom expressing the idea of that which happens daily or constantly.
4. "Utters speech and reveals knowledge..." Creation speaks. Notice that the point of contact is the mind of man. It reveals knowledge. Anyone who possesses an IQ has the intellectual capacity to see in creation the Creator.
5. "No speech or language where its voice is not heard..." Notice carefully that there are no
barriers to creation. No geographical barriers, no linguistic barriers, no intellectual barriers. In
other words, creation is an effective witness.
SUMMARY:
1. A Universal Witness that reaches everywhere.
2. An Unlimited Witness having no barriers: geographical, linguistic, intellectual, or cultural.
3. An Unending Witness that continues twenty-four hours a day. An around the clock operation.
4. An Unfailing Witness for it speaks to everyone. It is sufficient to bring everyone to an awareness of the existence of God.
Paul's testimony in Romans 1:19-20:
Verse 19 "Because (Paul argues) what is known about the God (something is knowable and therefore there exists a revelation of God) is conspicuous (this information about God is clear) inside of them (addresses man's faculty of reason) for the God has revealed HIMSELF TO THEM" (Expanded Translation).
Verse 20 "For since the creation of the world (Here is the witness of material creation) His (God's) invisible attributes are clearly perceived, being conspicuous through the things which He has created, namely both His eternal omnipotence and His divine essence, so that they are without defence."(Expanded Translation)
Paul's conclusions:
1. There exists a knowledge of God.
2. This knowledge is clear, not muddled, puzzling or cloaked in some sort of mystery.
3. God created man with a mind and he speaks to man's intellect.
4. It is through creation that God provides information about His existence.
The writer of Hebrews' testimony in Hebrews 3:4
"For every house is built by some Person, and He that built all things (creation) is God."
The writer of Hebrews' conclusion:
The writer is using the logic of creation. Can you conceive of two people standing in front of a house and asking each other, "Do you think this house was built by coincidence, or by chaos, such as an explosion? Which of these possibilities do you think built this house?" Isn't it more reasonable and natural for us to ask, "Who was the builder?" Everywhere in the universe one finds intelligent and useful planning - we fit the environment we live in. The atmosphere of Planet Earth and my lung system go together! Where you find design, there exists a Designer.
Dr. Morrison in his little book "Man Does Not Stand Alone" says, "So many essential conditions are necessary for life to exist on our earth that it is mathematically IMPOSSIBLE that ALL of them could exist in proper relationship by chance on any one earth at one time. Therefore, there must be in nature some form of intelligent direction." Some factors which show design are:
1. The world in the right place in relation to the sun.
2. The crust of the earth the right thickness, and the depth of the ocean just right for the presence of oxygen, and hence, vegetation on the earth. He says, had the crust of the earth been ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen, without which animal life is impossible; and had the ocean been a few feet deeper, carbon dioxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and vegetable life on the surface of the land could not exist. The list continues:
3. The rotation of the earth at the right speed for the maintenance of life.
4. The speed of the earth around the sun.
5. The relation of the earth TO THE ONE sun in thousands which could make for life on the earth, for its size, density, temperature, distance, rays, etc., are just right.
6. The presence of the right gases in the right proportion in our atmosphere, for even a slight change in proportion would be fatal."
Finally he states, "The chance of any one of these factors (and others not mentioned) occurring would be one in a million; the chance that they would all occur is too great to be calculated." (2)(Morrison, page 146)
Is there a God? Is there any evidence which reveals His presence? David said, "Yes, look at creation. It points heavenward and says "God is there!" Paul testifies that Creation reveals the Godhood of God. There is a Person, a divine omnipotent Person there. Hebrews was our third witness and what does it say? There is intelligent design, and if there is design, there must be a Designer. This is the logic of creation. It speaks to all! It speaks everywhere! It speaks effectively!
Dr. Francis Schaeffer states it eloquently when he says, "As the Creator, God shapes and fashions and brings bare being into form a form which is truly reflective of the One who fashions it. And when God is finished with this process, what He has made speaks of the God who made it."(3)(Schaeffer, Vol 1, page 37) When I look at a daffodil. I see its color, its biological function, and structural make-up and the truth speaks,"Someone created this!"
Other Witness and their conclusions:
Abraham Lincoln once said: "I can see how it might be possible for man to look down upon the earth and become an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he can look up into the heavens and say, `There is no God!'...."(4) (Phillips, page 26)
It was recorded that one of the people involved in the French Revolution said to a peasant, "We are going to pull down all that reminds you of God." The peasant replied, "Citizen, pull down the stars." (Phillips, page 26)
Hume, a Scottish philosopher, was a skeptic. Now a theist believes in the existence of God. The theist says, "God is there." An agnostic is a person that says, "We don't know whether God is there or not. We don't have any conclusive proof." The skeptic says, "Truth is unattainable by any means within man's reach." This man's philosophy suppressed the truth. Yet it is said, that walking with his friend on a very beautiful evening, he said, "Adam, there must be a God." He was overwhelmed by the beauty of God's creation.(5) (Thiessen, page 32)
Voltaire, a French philosopher of the Renaissance who was an atheist, was said to have "prayed in an alpine thunderstorm." (Thiessen, page 32) Prayed! To Whom? It is not that man doesn't know God exists. It is rather they choose to suppress that truth. Because they live in the world that God has created, they live in constant tension with what is around them and the natural logic of their own mind constantly collides with their preconceived ideas and viewpoints.
Charles Darwin is known as the father of the evolutionary theory. In his autobiography, he said,
"In my most extreme fluctuation I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence
of God." In another place he said, "I cannot believe with my mind that all this was produced by
chance."(6) (Schaeffer, Vol 4, page 272) The truth that he had been suppressing all his life just
surfaced in that statement. Over the years of studying God's creation, developing a theory of
chance in explaining the origin of man, he stood in tension with what is there. His mind has just
evolved from a monkey's mind. If he could not trust his mind on such a pivotal point, how could
he trust his mind to formulate the evolutionary hypothesis?
Albert Einstein, who is one of the greatest thinkers of the modern era, said "I pity the man that says there isn't a Supreme Being. Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe-a spirit vastly superior to that of man and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble."(7)
We have heard from those who have earned academic status and acclaim by their peers, but what about those who live in the remote regions of the world? Does General Revelation reach them? Everywhere in this world the witness of General Revelation speaks. This is what the Word of God states clearly and concisely. But is their any evidence?
Incredible as it may seem, missionaries down through the ages have been startled by the welcome
they sometimes find as they work among some of earth's most remote peoples. People who
cannot read, write,and who have had no contact with the civilized world, yet this phenomena
presents itself time and time again, there is a belief in God. They have had no education. They
haven't gone to the University an obtained their degree, yet they know their is a God. Don
Richardson in his book, "Eternity In Their Hearts"(8) tells an amazing missionary story:
Deep in the hill country of south-central Ethiopia live several million coffee-growing people who, though divided into quite different tribes, share common belief in a benevolent being called Magano - omnipotent Creator of all that is. One of these tribes is the Gedeo people. Two Canadian missionaries in 1948, Albert Brant and Glen Cain, went into this area with the Gospel. The Gedeo people possessed a belief in the existence of God, who they called Magano. There was another deity which was called (listen to this!) Sheit'an. Sounds like our English "Satan".
In contrast to Magano, this god was an evil god. And the two missionaries noticed how occupied the people were with Sheit'an. One day Albert Brant asked a group of Gedeo, `How is it that you regard Magano with profound awe, yet sacrifice to Sheit'an?' He received the following reply: `We sacrifice to Sheit'an, not because we love him, but because we simply do not enjoy close enough ties with Magano to allow us to be done with Sheit'an!' Do you hear what their reply is? Are you hearing these people? We hear about how some part of the world is locked into the most debase kind of worship; actively pursuing the evil one. To a casual observer, we would say these people are evil and degenerate. "But, they are telling us that this really isn't the whole story. We worship the evil one because if we don't, evil and disaster will come upon us, and furthermore, Magano - the Creator is a God we would prefer to worship, but don't know how.
When the two missionaries arrived in Gedeo land, they met a man, a very unusual man named Warrasa Wange. Warrasa lived in a village on the edge of town called Dilla. This man, eight years before the missionaries arrived, became so concerned about the bondage of his people to Sheit'an (note: he was a member of Gedeo royalty), he began praying to Magano when everyone was praying and practicing obeisance to Sheit'an. "He decided to seek Magano. How? Where? He just prayed and waited and he waited eight years. Interestingly, the witch doctors told the people that they had a vision of Magano sending two men with a message. This, of course, came with a warning from Sheit'an to keep away or else.
But Warrasa waited. And when Al and Glen pitched tent outside the village, Warrasa took the center pole of his thatched roof hut, marched out of the city and drove it into the ground in front of the missionaries' hut. Later, they learned this was not a threatening gesture, but in Gedeo, the center pole represents the very life of the one in whose home it belongs. "Warrasa was taking a stand. He was identifying his very own life with those missionaries. He waited eight years for Magano to reveal himself. He waited eight years to find the truth and the truth came to him. It is interesting also to note how these men arrived at this village and not the two hundred other possibilities.
Their mission wanted to begin missionary work for the glory of God among the Gedeo people. They had hoped to gain permission from Ethiopian officials to locate their new mission at the very center of the Gedeo region, but Ethiopians friendly to the mission advised that such a request would meet certain refusal due to the current political climate. 'Ask only to go as far as this town called Dilla,' the advisors said with a wink. 'It is quite distant from the center of the tribe. Those opposed to your mission will think you couldn't possibly influence the entire tribe from such a peripheral town!'
The results were profound. Three decades later Warrasa (now a radiant believer in Jesus Christ, Son of Magano), together with Albert Brant and others, counted more than 200 churches among the Gedeo people - churches averaging more than 200 members each! With the help of Warrasa and other inhabitants of Dilla, almost the entire Gedeo tribe has been influenced by the gospel - in spite of Dilla's peripheral location! Stories such as this abound in missionary history. (Richardson, pages 56-58)
SUMMARY
1. No matter how uncultured a people are there is a basic belief in the existence of God. This is universal. There are no pockets of gross blackness.
2. Among primitive peoples, you will find no atheist. They know there is a God. They know they have sinned. They know that sin must be atoned for and they seek ways to appease their angry god or gods.
3. General Revelation is sufficient to bring mankind to the point of God-consciousness. When this is reached and there is positive desire on the part of just one, Warrasa was just one, to have a closer relationship with God, then God calls gifted men. He burdens the hearts of gifted men to go with the Gospel. "And He gave some evangelist..." Ephesians 4:11.
This is the work of God. Glen and Albert have only told us part of the story, the part they knew. The whole story is yet to be told. Here is an illustration of the work of General Revelation. The continuous work of God in bringing us to Himself so that we might believe in the Son of Magano, the Son of God.
God's Providential dealings with Israel
God selected Israel to be a witness to His existence. Israel received favored nation status.
Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 7:7 The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
Deuteronomy 7:8 but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers...
Israel's spiritual condition today is one of blindness. Yet, in the world of nations, people wonder with amazement how such a small nation could survive the harsh persecutions endured through the centuries. We are not surprised because God gave His Word to Abraham. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a new race of people and that He would protect them. In Genesis 12:1-3 God said:
Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from
thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I
will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
In the Abrahamic Covenant God set up an anti-semitism clause that states, "Nations that oppose Israel will be destroyed; and nations which are friendly to Israel will be blessed in that relation of friendship." The Prophet Jeremiah gave this warning:
Jeremiah 30:16,17 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, everyone of them shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be spoiled, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they call thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. .
There is a direct correlation between the rise and fall of nations and empires with their treatment of the Jews. Nations have been destroyed because of their persecution of the Jew and they have become powerful because of their kindly treatment of the Jew. This fact is recognized by a well known encyclopedia, The Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 13, Page 51.
"It is a noteworthy factor of history that great conquerors such as, Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon, have always treated the Jews well, on the other hand lesser men endowed with narrower outlooks have failed to recognize the Jew and have sought to crush him. But such methods are contrary to nature and tyranny, and tyranny whether toward the Jew or any other race has never secured permanent results. The same policy of religious unification as characterized subsequent dynasties from the Assyrians to the Romanoffs and the same fate has overtaken them, the Jew has survived there disappearance.
Of course we do not expect them to attribute the durability of the Jew to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant, but at least they recognize that anti-semitism doesn't pay and their is something unusual about this. In the history of the family of nations Israel is unique. We are enjoying two hundred years of freedom. We feel pretty good about our longevity. Imagine, Israel began four thousand years ago.
No nation who has had so many enemies over so long a period of time has ever survived. Even the great Russian communist has been hissed off the stage of life. In comparison, tiny, little Israel is still here! She suffered four hundred years of Egyptian bondage and persevered. She was attacked by Canaanites, Amorites, Edomites, and every other "ite" that existed. The Assyrian sought to destroy her and failed. The Chaldeans removed her people from their land and held them captive for seventy years. Persia, Greece, and Rome tried to squash her. In our day, Hitler tried to exterminate the Jew and the Arabs have tried to push her into the sea. The last time I looked, Israel was still there. Why? Because God keeps His promises. The survival of Israel is a very powerful witness to the existence of God.
THE PURPOSE OF GENERAL REVELATIONTo bring us to an awareness of God
General Revelation is part of the redemptive process. It provides a little light, but is not THE LIGHT. It says God is the Creator, it does not say He is Savior. As Dr. Thiessen says:
It has for its object the supplying of the natural need of man and the persuation of the soul to seek after the true God. To incite man to search for a fuller revelation of God and his plan of salvation and that it constitutes a general call of God to man to turn to Him. (Theissen, page 32,33)
To make all accountable to the light of General Revelation
The Scriptures tell us that "Man is created in the image and likeness of God" Genesis 1:26,27. Without going into an analysis of this crucial and important statement, let's confine ourselves to several brief remarks. First, man's basic relationship is upward not downward. God created human nature with the capacity to respond to Him and our separation from Him causes a inward need, as Paul put it: "And He made from one (Adam and Eve) every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope (an inner craving or desire inherent in our being) for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." Acts 17:27. The picture Paul paints is one where we are in a dark room reaching out with our hands, feeling our way along. The witnesses of General Revelation are at work drawing us to the Light.
Secondly, the light which God graciously provides requires a response. We are to move toward Him. Yet, you and I well know that not everyone seeks after the true and living God. If God is there, why are there atheist? It is not because He cannot be found; it is because they choose not to look. Paul talks about those who have rejected this light.
Romans 1:18,19: "For the anger of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and the unrighteousness of men WHO SUPPRESS THE TRUTH. . . Because what is known about the God is revealed inside of them for the God has revealed it unto them."
They stand guilty before God because they knew the truth about the existence of God but they
suppressed it. The culture Paul is writing about is an atheistic culture. They said in their hearts,
"There is no God." Their denial of the existence of God was not derived from the fact they could
not find God, as if they looked but couldn't find him. No! No! Their rejection of the truth
followed after they faced the truth of His existence. So the purpose of General Revelation is to
provide us with sufficient light about God to make us responsible. Accountability is taught. Man
at the point of God-consciousness becomes accountable to God for what he does with that
knowledge. If we reject the truth we are without excuse before God.
There are only three possible exceptions:
1. Ignorance. This could only be an excuse if the witness about God is not clear. Then man cannot be held responsible.
2. Unattainable. If the witness about God is unattainable, then man cannot be held accountable. If there are areas unreached by the witness, pockets of darkness without light, then man has an excuse.
3. Unimpressive. If the witness is not sufficient in its power to roll back the shadows of darkness, if it cannot lift the veil of blindness, if it is too weak to provide light, then man has an excuse.
The Bible says there is knowledge. It is clear, obtainable, and impressive. There can be no
excuse. Some suppress the truth and grovel at the foot of an idol. Others suppress the truth and
worship at the shrine of an idea. Yet, all come to the truth.
THE LIMITATIONS OF GENERAL REVELATION
Is General Revelation sufficient to save? If I believe that God exists, is this sufficient for me to enter heaven? The knowledge we gain from General Revelation is not unto salvation because it does not reveal Christ. For instance, creation does not reveal to me "that God so loved the world,that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Nothing wrong with General Revelation. It speaks eloquently about that which it speaks, but it does not present the Gospel. It neither gives nor suggests Christ is the only Savior. Rather, it signals to all men everywhere that God exists and this truth is to awaken that natural desire within us to know Him. Man knows within himself that he is more than the dust that surrounds him.
Primitive man, Cultured man, Modern man, Eastern man, Western man, all have a testimony that says, "Man is more than what our theories explain." (Schaeffer, Vol 4, page 268. It is our belief
that there is nothing wrong with the witness of creation or the other great witnesses of General Revelation. The problem lies within man. It is not a mental problem, rather a moral problem.
ENDNOTES
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.