Okay, good afternoon for those
of you here in the studio, and good morning or good evening or whatever it may
be where you’re watching us on television. We want you to feel welcome to a
simple Bible study. We’ve gone from Genesis to Revelation pretty much chapter
and verse, and now we’re connecting the dots. Sort of an overview in a review
situation, but we’re not covering it verse-by-verse like we did the first time.
Anyway, for those of you that
may have just tuned in, that’s what we’re doing on the present programs. And
again, we always want to thank our television audience for your prayer support,
your financial help, and your encouraging letters. I’ll never stop thanking
you for the encouraging mail time that we experience. It just always makes our
day. And when the girls in the office read them and hear the phone calls,
they’re just as thrilled as we are. I’ve got most of the family
here today! Over here Todd and Kim are back from Wisconsin on a little
vacation, and they’ve got their kids with them. And in the center over here is
my son Greg and his wife Janette and Jesse is with them, too, I see. Good
deal. I don’t think Laura’s here yet, but she wouldn’t let me put the camera on
her anyway. But Laura’s in town someplace. She’ll be here later this
afternoon. So anyway, we just always thank the Lord that the family is such
good support. And of course, never forget my precious wife over here – my honey.
That’s the way people address us now, you know, Les and Honey. So, we’re all
here as a family. All right, as we’re still
connecting the dots, we’re going to move on from where we were in our last
program, which was in I Corinthians 15 verse 51. Where Paul wrote, “Behold,
I show you a mystery; We shall not all die but, we shall all be changed,” speaking
of true believers in the Body of Christ. We spent the whole program on the
Rapture, or the out-calling of the Body of Christ. I’m going to keep hammering
away at the fact that nowhere in Scripture, except in Paul’s epistles, do you
see the term The Body of Christ. It’s unknown to all the rest of
Scripture. Peter, James, and John knew nothing of the doctrines of the Body of
Christ. When they speak of His coming, it’s always associated with His Second
Coming at the end of the Tribulation. Jesus knew of the Body of Christ, the
true Church, but He didn’t reveal the secret, because it wasn’t time. His man
for that job, the Apostle Paul, wasn’t on the scene yet. So as I approach these things,
I always have to emphasize and reemphasize – don’t look for anything pertaining
to the Rapture, the Church, and the Body of Christ anyplace but in Paul’s
epistles, because it’s just not in there. Everything else deals with God and Israel. And everything prophetically is looking forward to the Second Coming, which is
preceded by the horrors by the Tribulation—which we’re going to be looking at
pretty much in detail this afternoon. Now, like I say so often at my
seminars, I never know where I’m going to start until I get up here. It’s
pretty much the same today. I’ve just sort of waited for something to gel. So
for now, let’s begin a review of the timeline coming all the way from Abraham
on up to Christ’s first coming—the First Advent, and His three years of earthly
ministry. Then we have the Crucifixion, His burial, and resurrection. Next,
He ascended back to Glory and turned everything He left behind here on the
earth over to the Twelve. And they continued on with the same modus operandi
that was placed here in the three years of Christ’s earthly ministry. But
instead of Christ Himself being present, He passed all of the powers and
everything over to the Twelve. But Israel continued to reject and reject until
you get to the stoning of Stephen. At the stoning of Stephen we’re introduced,
then, to the next major player; which dropped us down to this point in the
timeline where we open up the Dispensation of Grace through the Apostle Paul. Now, as soon as the
Dispensation of Grace has come to an end, as we saw in our last program, God
has to take the Body of Christ out and up to Glory. And the reason is because
it will not fit up in the prophetic timeline. That’s why we are Pre-Trib in our
theology, that the Church or the Body of Christ can have nothing to do with all
of the prophecies concerning Israel. We finish the Dispensation of Grace, and now
we’re going to come back to this top time line to where He went back to glory
forty days after His resurrection. The seven years of Tribulation is the next
event leading up to the Second Coming and the Kingdom. I think a good place to start
would be in Psalms chapter 2, as that chapter is just a brief outline of what
I’ve just covered. We’ll start at verse 1. Psalms 2:1 “Why do the heathen
(That’s the Gentile.) rage, and the people (That’s the other
category of the human race—Israel. You’ve only Jew and Gentile, remember.) imagine
a vain thing? Psalms 2:2a The kings of the earth
(In other words, the leadership. In this case, it turns out to be Rome.) set themselves, and the rulers (That is the religious rulers of Israel. They--) take counsel together,…” That’s why they brought about the crucifixion.
It wasn’t the Jews, and it wasn’t the Romans. It was both of them. Psalms 2:2b-3 “…they take counsel
together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, (Which was the
Messiah) saying, 3. Let us break their bands asunder, (In other
words, we’re not going to have God interfering in our earthly affairs.) and
cast away their cords from us.” Now, here’s God’s reaction. Psalms 2:4 “He that sitteth in the
heavens shall laugh: (not amusement – derision) the Lord shall
have them in derision.” All right, looking at the
timeline again after reading those four verses takes care of all of human
history from the time of Adam, past Abraham, right on up to the Crucifixion. When
they rejected all of God’s offers, and in their own pride and circumstances
they said we’ll run the earth our own way, God says in derision, oh, maybe you
won’t. The next verse says: Psalms 2:5 “Then (That’s
always a time word. After they’ve rejected the Messiah, they’ve put Him to
death, and He is ascended back to Glory--) he (that is God) shall
speak unto them (That is the whole human race, Jew and Gentile.) in
his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.” Now looking at the timeline
again, you see that the Psalmist skips Paul and this Age of Grace that we feel
is coming to a close even as we teach. The Psalmist knew nothing of this. Why?
Because it’s spoken of as a secret. God has never revealed this to anyone in
the Old Testament. So, all the Psalmist could talk
about is this timeline up here. Christ is put to death by the Jew and the
Gentile, and they continue to reject. Then the next big event on the timeline
is the wrath and vexation that we just read about in verse 5—which is going to
be directed, as we’ll see in a little bit, primarily to the Nation of Israel.
But it’s going to affect the whole world. He will vex them. The Tribulation
is going to be awful. It’s beyond human understanding -- “and He will
vex them in His sore displeasure.” It’s going to be a time of death
and destruction, as we saw in our last taping. But then what follows? Verse
6 is the next event on the prophetic timeline, and that is the Kingdom—the 1,000
year reign of Christ. Psalms 2:6 “Yet have I set my king
upon my holy hill of Zion.” There’s the timeline in a nutshell.
Everything came up leading up to His first Advent. They rejected Him. God
called Him back to Glory. And then due to their foolishness, God in His wrath
is going to come back and vex them in His sore displeasure—leading up to the
Kingdom. Now again, I’m going to repeat
it. Nothing concerning the Church Age, the Body of Christ is my favorite term (the
Church which is His Body); none of this is revealed in the prophecies
concerning Israel. We have to start on that point—that you cannot find
anything pertaining to the Body of Christ anywhere in the Old Testament. It is
all a prophetic timeline leading up to the First Advent, the Crucifixion, the
Tribulation, the Second Coming, and the Kingdom. All right, now from there I
think I will take you up to Jeremiah chapter 30. Because what we’ve got to do
is identify these seven years primarily, not exclusively, as a seven year
period of time where God is going to be dealing with His Covenant people. And
that’s why I can’t understand how people can keep trying to put Body of Christ
into the Tribulation. God doesn’t have a point of controversy with His Own
Body. We’re blood-bought. He’s loved us. He’s given Himself for us. Why
should He pour out His wrath on us? Well, that’s what Paul says. I Thessalonians 5:9 “For God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” That
wrath is for Israel primarily—because of their unbelief and their rejection of
everything—culminating, of course, in the crucifixion. Now, if you’ll stop at Jeremiah,
then we’re going to go on up to Daniel. Stop at Jeremiah 30 and see how
uniquely Jewish this whole period of time is. Jeremiah chapter 30 verse 4—because
the first thing we always have to determine is not only who’s writing, but
what’s the next one, Luther? Yeah, who to? Well, it’s to Israel. Jeremiah 30 verse 4. This is Jeremiah the prophet writing by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, of course. Verse 4: Jeremiah 30:4 “And these are the words
that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.” Now stop
a minute. Israel and Judah – that includes how many of the tribes? All of
them. Too many people today think the
ten tribes disappeared. They’re gone, and all He’s dealing with is Judah and
Benjamin. No. No. No. All of Scripture from the time of the captivities
when they come back are still dealing with the whole nation. Don’t ever fall
for that false lie that the ten tribes are lost and all we’ve got left is Judah. No way. And here it is so plain. Jeremiah is writing around 500
or 600 B.C. That’s after the Ten Tribes, back in Kings and everything, were
taken captive. So, don’t ever fall for that, that ten tribes were lost. The
whole Nation of Israel is still intact, and it is as we speak. All right, so “And
these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.” So, who are we directing it to? Israel. Verse 5: Jeremiah 30:5 “For thus saith the LORD;
We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.” See
that? That’s not a very comforting verse, is it? All right, next verse: Jeremiah 30:6 “Ask ye now, and see
whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his
hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, (or in labor pain) and
all faces (men and women) are turned into (What?) paleness.”
Why? From all the mental pressures of the Tribulation! Remember I said not too long
ago, I don’t remember where or when or how, but the horrors of the Tribulation
are going to be mental as a much as physical. It’s going to be beyond
comprehension—the mental pressures that are going to come on the human race as
a result of these plagues and these woes and these judgments. Now, you know the “feel good”
religion people don’t want to hear that, do they? Naturally, you’re not going
to get the multitudes to come in and hear these kinds of words. That’s why
they’re ignorant of it. They don’t want to hear it. They’ve got their heads
in the sand. But see, the Scripture is so blatant. It’s coming, see? I think
I said it over and over in the last taping – If God’s Word said it’s going to
happen, it IS going to happen! We’re getting closer every day,
but we don’t know how close. God’s wheels turn awfully slowly. But it’s
coming. All right, so it’s coming to
the place where “every face will be turned into paleness.” Now verse
7: Jeremiah 30:7a “Alas!...” Now
remember these words when I get up into Matthew 24 later this afternoon. The
words of the Lord Jesus when He puts it this way – “For then shall be
great tribulation such as never has been seen on the earth before or up ‘til
now.” Now lock all those up into your computer, because this is the
beauty of Scripture—that it all fits together. Now verse 7, again: Jeremiah 30:7a “Alas, for that day is
great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of (Who’s trouble?)
Jacob’s trouble,…” Well, in Scripture who’s Jacob? Israel. This is going to be seven years of God dealing primarily with His Covenant people. Now, I know the first thing
that every one of us is prone to ask is one word. Why? Why such horror on His
own Covenant people? Well, I think we can answer it the same way I answer when
people say why do you think America is going to face such a serious judgment? Because
to whom much is given, much is required. Now look, God has been dealing
with the Nation of Israel since 2,000 B.C. plus another two thousand. For 4,000
years, one way or another, God has been dealing with His Covenant people. Even
to this very day, the very rank and file of the Jewish people is belligerently
in, what’s the word I’m looking for? Unbelief! They will not buy into this. So
one day He’s going to come down in His wrath unto those poor people like we
cannot even imagine. All right, so the point I’m
making is that this is all part of the Jerusalem, or the Jewish prophecy. It has
nothing to do with the Church Age. Nothing. This is all God dealing with Israel and preparing them for His Second Coming and the Kingdom, when finally all the
blessings of God will be poured upon the Nation like they have never had
before. Jeremiah 30:7b “…it is even the time of
Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” Now, we have to be
careful. The whole nation is not going to be saved, but one third. I think
that’s in Zechariah chapter 13. Here are two perfectly fitted portions of
Scripture. They fit just like a jigsaw puzzle. It’s going to be the time of
Jacob’s Trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. Not all of them, but a
remnant. And God has always dealt with Israel on the basis of the believing
remnant. Always! Now, we get the remnant in a mathematical term. Zechariah
chapter 13 and drop in at verse 8. We’re dealing with the same seven year
period of time—the time of Jacob’s Trouble. Zechariah 13:8a “And it shall come to
pass, (Will it? Absolutely!) that in all the land, (That
is the land of Israel.) saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut
off and die;…” Now that’s a horrible statement, isn’t it? But it is
God’s Word. It’s going to happen—that two thirds of the Jewish people are
going to lose their lives in this seven year period of time. Zechariah 13:8b-9 “…but the third shall be
left therein. (God’s going to protect that third, and He’s going to
bring them through so that they can come in and enjoy the glories of the
Kingdom.) 9. And I will bring the third part through the
fire, (That is through those seven years of hell on earth and then
some.) and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try (or
test) them as gold is tested: they shall call on my name, and I will hear
them: and I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”
Now, that will be the remnant of Jews that will come through the Tribulation
and come into the glories of the Kingdom. All right, now in the eight minutes
we have left in this half hour, since we’re back in the Old Testament, I’m
going to take you up to Daniel chapter 9—which I’ve always called, as you well
remember, the benchmark of all Old Testament prophecy. Daniel chapter 9, where,
if you remember correctly, we have the time frame of 490 years. Now this is to
establish, again, these two portions of Scripture that we just looked at as
being a seven year period of time just as real as seven years would be today. Beginning
in verse 24, the total prophecy is 490 years. Now, we’ve looked at this over
and over. Daniel 9:24a “Seventy weeks
(or 490 years) are determined (That is decreed by God Himself.) upon
thy people (which would be Israel) and upon thy holy city,
(Jerusalem) to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and
to make reconciliation for iniquity, (Now that’s the work of the cross.
Then the next event that is listed here is--) and to bring in everlasting
righteousness,…” Which, of course, is the Kingdom. But Daniel is speaking here. He
has not brought in the Tribulation as yet. He’s just simply showing that 483
years would take place from the time of Nehemiah’s going back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city wall until the time of the crucifixion. So, that left seven
years of the 490 that were not fulfilled. All right, so God stops His time clock.
Then we come down to verse 26. Daniel 9:26a “And after threescore and
two weeks (483 years) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for
himself: (Not because of anything he had done.) and the people
(Now, here’s one of the clues for the basic Tribulation thing. It is that the
anti-Christ will come. That’s the prince that’s referred to here.) of the
prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;...” Now, we know from A.D. 70 history,
that it was the Roman Empire that destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. So, out
of that Roman Empire will come this prince which we refer to over and over as
the anti-Christ. Never lose sight of that. Today everybody thinks he’s going
to have to come out of the Muslim world just because of the news. Well, I’ve
got news for you. He’s going to come out of the Old Revived Roman Empire,
although he may be Muslim. Europe is just about totally Muslim anyway. So
that’s no problem. He could very well be Muslim. He could be a Jewish
Muslim. He could be a Syrian Muslim. He can be just about anything. But he’s
going to come out of the European Union. He will be one of those government
officials of whom we will never be able to establish his identity, because
that’s going to happen after we’re gone. All right, now verse 27. This
prince that’s coming, and he’s going to come out of the Old Roman Empire or
what is today called the European Union, this prince that shall come-- Daniel 9:27a “And he shall confirm
(Or make a covenant, or I like to use the word treaty.) with many
for one week (seven years):…” Well now, it’s obvious
from all of our news for the last forty years, who are the many people in the
world that are looking for a peace treaty? Well, the Arab world and Israel. So this super individual, he’s going to be very human, but he’s going to have
supernatural power—because we now enter into God’s timing, again, of the
supernatural. He will have the supernatural ability to actually bring the
Palestinians and the Arab world into a peace with Israel. It will have to be
supernatural. No president on earth could do it. No empire could do it. But
God will do it. All right, so this man is going
to make a peace treaty with the Middle East, Jew and the Arab world, for a seven
year period of time. It’ll be a seven year peace treaty. Now here’s the
kicker. Daniel 9:27b “…and in the middle of
the week (or in the middle of those seven years) he shall cause
the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,…” Now, I’m always trying to
get people to analyze every word and ask questions. Now, if we’re going to
have a supernatural peace treaty with a length of seven years between Israel and the Arab world, and now the Scripture says that the temple worship will be
brought to a stop. Before you can stop Temple worship, what do you have to
do? Well, you’ve got to start it. There’s no Temple worship
today. So again, just by using common sense, what will this seven year peace
treaty bring in? Israel’s permission to rebuild her temple. And it’s going to
be such a supernatural, mind-boggling thing. I’ll even stick my neck out.
They’re going to be able to build it right next to the Golden Dome of the Rock up
there on the Temple Mount. I really think that. I think that Temple is
sitting in a warehouse in Israel all prefabbed and ready to be hauled out with
a couple of semis. They’ll have it up and going in no time flat. Okay, so now coming back to the
timeline. Once this seven years opens up for the first three-and-a-half years, Israel is going to have Temple worship—by virtue of the anti-Christ’s guaranteeing them permission
to rebuild their Temple and going back under the Mosaic Law. Everything will be
pretty much, as much as you can hook up with antiquity, as it was back here in
the three years before the crucifixion. Israel is going to have Temple worship. They’re going to have a priesthood. They’re going to have peace. They’re
going to have prosperity. They’re going to be on a euphorian kick, if I can
call it that. It’s just going to be more than they can handle. All right, this is where it all
opens up. That now, once this first three-and-a-half years has gone by, this
man anti-Christ will suddenly turn on Israel. Read the rest of the verse. Daniel 9:27c “…and for the
overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate,…” This newly
rebuilt Temple. Now remember, it won’t be a big gold edifice like
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed. Or Solomon’s Temple. It won’t even be a Temple like Herod’s Temple, but it’s going to be functional. They’ll be able to practice
their animal sacrifices. They’re already talking about it in Israel. But in the middle of that seven year treaty, this man anti-Christ, the wicked
individual that he really is, will turn on Israel and cause the oblations and
the sacrifices and all that to stop. Okay, I’ve only got a matter of
seconds left, so I don’t want to go into another detail. But always remember,
that as soon as these seven years opens up, it’s the unfolding of prophecy like
we’ve never seen before. And it’s going to be under a supernatural umbrella. We
have to understand that. Glad to have you joining us out
in your living rooms or wherever. We’re going to continue right on where we
left off in the last half hour. In fact, all four programs this afternoon will
probably just run together. I’m not going to try and end in a particular
place. And if we end up in the middle of a verse at the end of the program,
we’ll just pick it up in the next half hour. So be aware of that this
afternoon as we continue to connect the dots of Scripture. All right, we’re talking about
the next great event on God’s calendar after the Rapture of the Church, which
will be the seven years of Tribulation—the vexation and wrath of God
predominately on the Nation of Israel, as we showed in the first half hour.
But I decided to stop for a second and establish again from Paul’s writings why
I so adamantly stand on the fact that we as the Body of Christ will not go into
the Tribulation. We will not find out who the anti-Christ is, because that
will not be revealed until after we’re gone. And of course, the primary
Scripture for that is II Thessalonians chapter 2. I think most of you in the
studio have already found the Scripture. For those of you out in television,
join us if you will. II Thessalonians chapter 2 and
we’re going to start right at verse 1. And remember, we’re going to establish
why I teach that this will take place before the anti-Christ is revealed. Now
verse 1: II Thessalonians 2:1a “Now we beseech you,
brethren,…” So, Paul is talking to his Gentile believers. Now, you
know, it’s amazing what these anti-Paul people can dream up. Somebody had
given this guy one of my tapes delineating Paul’s apostleship. And he came
back with a series of questions that the guy should send me. And I mean it’s
just unbelievable. Well, one of the tenets that I held to in that particular
tape was that Paul alone was the foundation, or the founder, of the Body of
Christ according to I Corinthians chapter 3 where he says, “I am the
master builder. I have laid the foundation which is Jesus Christ crucified.”
This guy comes back and asks,
was that only applied to the congregation at Corinth? Was he was the
Master-builder of the church at Corinth? Now, I haven’t answered it yet. I may
not. I don’t know. But listen, if that be the case, then when he wrote to the
Romans that we are “joint-heirs with Christ,” then that would
mean just the Church of Rome. When Paul writes to the Galatians that “you’re
not under law, you’re under grace,” oh, that was just for the
Galatians, that’s not for us. See how ridiculous their
arguments get? It just is nonsensical what they’ll dream up—anything to refute
what Paul has said. But here again, Paul is beseeching these Gentile believers
in the ancient time in what we call Thessalonica. II Thessalonians 2:1 “Now we beseech you,
brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together
unto him,” Now, all you have to do is have
a sixth grade mentality and look at that. Does that say, I’m coming to the Mount of Olives? No. He’s going to gather us to Himself in the air as he had explained in
I Thessalonians chapter 4. So there’s no way that you can put this in line
with the Second Coming when He comes and stands on the Mount of Olives after
all the horrors are over. Evidently there were people who
were trying to upset Paul’s teaching and his Gentile believers. They had come
in and told these Thessalonian believers that they were already in the
Tribulation, and that there was no such thing as the Rapture taking place until
after the Tribulation and so forth. This is why Paul is saying what he’s
saying. Now verse 2: II Thessalonians 2:2a “That ye be not soon
shaken in mind, or be troubled, (Mentally. Don’t get all upset by what
these false teachers are telling you.) neither by spirit, nor by word,…”
In other words, don’t let these guys come in and fast-talk you into thinking
that you’ve missed something, and that you’re out in left field. No. II Thessalonians 2:2b “…nor by a letter as from
us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” What does that imply? They
were actually forging letters and sending them into his churches and signing
Paul’s name to it. I mean, the devil will stop at nothing. That’s what they
were doing. And the Thessalonians…now
you’ve got to always remember. What kind of people were Paul’s converts?
Well, they’d just come out of paganism. They knew nothing of the Old
Testament. They knew nothing of Israel’s Law and Israel’s God. They were just
simply brought out by believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of this
Jesus of Nazareth. And God had transformed their
lives and had given them the Holy Spirit whereby they were able to withstand
all the pressures of persecution and everything. But they didn’t have a lot of
theology behind them. They were still babes in Christ. So these false letters
would come in, and you can understand, it would throw a curve at them. So Paul
is almost frantically writing to them, don’t believe this stuff. Don’t you
take a forged letter as from me. And don’t you believe for a minute that the
day of the LORD is at hand, because it couldn’t be at hand until they were
Raptured, as he had taught in I Thessalonians. Now verse 3 is the one I want
to spend just a couple more minutes on. II Thessalonians 2:3a “Let no man deceive you
by any means: (Don’t you let someone come in and say, well, you’re in
the Tribulation, and there’s no such thing as being called out ahead of it.
You’re going to go through the horrors of all the prophetic things. So he
says,) for that day (Well, what day? The Day of the LORD. And
what’s the Day of the LORD in Scripture? The seven years of Tribulation. So
that day, the Tribulation--) shall not come, unless there come first a
departure,…” Now, I’ve had Jerry put these
men’s names on the board. And I want you to lock this in this afternoon. I’ve
used them before, but I haven’t put them on the board. These are the first
five translations of the original manuscripts from the Greek. Tyndale—1534. A
year later, Coverdale—and he’s the one that I have quoted on the program over
and over. Coverdale way back here in the 1500’s said to always determine who
wrote it, to whom is it written, what were the circumstances, what went before,
and what follows after. That was this guy, and he translated the whole Bible
from Greek to English in 1535. The next one was the Geneva
Bible, which of course was over in Switzerland. And that was in 1537. Then
came the next one, the Cranmer Bible, which was in 1539. And then several
years after those four were completed, we had the Beza in 1565. And I’m not as
acquainted with this one. But we have these four basic translations from Greek
to English all within a matter of one, two, three, four years. Now, when the King James came
along in 1611, the translators used Tyndale’s almost word-for-word and these
other three as well. So, all of these early translations were agreed on this
verse, that it should have been translated “depart” instead of “fall
away.” Now, that’s the point I want to make. Why the King James came in
and used the words “falling away” I’ll never know, but it still
means basically the same thing. But now read it in that light. II Thessalonians 2:3a “Let no man deceive you
by any means: for that day (the Tribulation) cannot come except
there come a departure first,…” And that word departure is used eleven
times, if I’m not mistaken—by Luke in his Gospel, in the Book of Acts, and in
Paul’s epistles. Eleven times it’s always translated to depart from one place
to another. So the departure here, as we’ve
taught before—this is review. This departure then is the Body of Christ
removed from one place to another—from earth to Heaven. All right, so unless
there is a departure first: II Thessalonians 2:3b “…and that man of sin be
revealed, (who, of course, is--) the son of perdition;”
Then Paul goes on and explains that individual much like Daniel does back in
chapter 11. So I want to make the point, that here we come to the end of this
Dispensation of the Grace of God, the out-calling of the Body of Christ. We
have to be taken out first, before the man of sin can be revealed to bring in those
final seven years. Okay, that’s enough on that for now. Now, let’s come back and sort
of pick up where we left off in that first half hour, and let’s establish that
from more portions of Scripture. It isn’t just Daniel who speaks of those final
seven years. Come all the way back to Revelation chapter 11. We’re just going
to establish this period of seven years, so that you can’t say, “Well, you’re
just using one verse back there in Daniel” and so forth. No, all of Scripture
alludes to a seven year period. Revelation chapter 11 and come down to verse
2. Revelation 11:2 “But the court which is
without the temple leave out, (That’s with regard to that Tribulation Temple.) and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the
holy city (Jerusalem) they shall tread under foot forty and two
months.” How long is forty-two months? Well, that’s three-and-a-half
years. This is the second three-and-a-half. We’re going to go look at the
first three-and-a-half in a minute. All right, here we have three-and-a-half
years, verse 3. Revelation 11:3a “And I will give power
unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesy (or speak forth) a
thousand two hundred and sixty days,…” How long is 1,260 days?
Forty-two months. How long is forty-two months? Three-and-a-half years. See
how all these numbers fit. Now, come on over to chapter 12
verse 6. We’re speaking of the escaping remnant, which we’re going to be
looking at. I’m just establishing now, I hope I’m making sense, that this
seven years cannot start until the Church departs. But once it starts, it’s
seven years. It is 1,260 days, 42 months—and another 1,260 days, 42 months,
for a total of seven years. Revelation 12:6 “And the woman (Israel, the Remnant) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of
God, that they (the Godhead) should feed her there a thousand two
hundred and sixty days.” Twelve hundred and sixty days is what?
Forty-two months. Forty-two months is three-and-a-half years. Then you come
on down to verse 14, still in chapter 12. Revelation 12:14 “And to the woman
(this escaping remnant of Israel) were given two wings of a great eagle,
that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished
for a time, (one year) and times, (two, for a total of
three) and a half a time, from the face of the serpent.” And we
have this over and over throughout Scripture, that we have a seven year period
of time. Now come back with me, and
we’ll go to the Lord Jesus Himself. And my goodness, if you can’t believe Him,
then you are in tough shape. If you can’t believe the Prince of Glory, if you
can’t believe the Creator of the Universe, why then, I don’t know, you might as
well fold it up and forget about it. Matthew 24, which I have maintained for
30 some years, is all Tribulation. It’s all prophecy concerning these final
seven years. All right, since we’re in it anyway, I’m going to bring you down
to verse 14, because this all fits. Israel is going to be the core of all this
activity in Jerusalem, and the Temple is going to be rebuilt. The 144,000 Jews
are going to be commissioned to go out and take salvation to the ends of the
earth. What Gospel are they going to be preaching? You know, there again, I had a
letter a while back. I don’t know if these people hear me repeat their letters
or not. So be it. But he wrote me and said, “Les, I don’t want to go in the
Rapture. I want to stay here and witness and see people saved.” Why, the poor
fellow, doesn’t he know he’s going to be ashes before he even gets his mouth
open? And the Gospel of Grace won’t be valid. It won’t do him any good to go
out and preach our Gospel, because it’s not going to be under the Gospel of
Grace. Here it is now. The Lord Jesus Himself—if you’ve got a red letter
edition, it’s in red. Verse 14 and He says: Matthew 24:14a “And this gospel
of the kingdom…” In other words, that which He and the Twelve were
preaching. And what was the Gospel of the
Kingdom? That Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah, and He’s going to bring
in the Kingdom. That’s what going to be preached. Well, now isn’t that
logical. Seven years from this point in time He’s going to stand on the Mount of Olives. He’s going to set up His Kingdom and in will come the 1,000 years. Well,
isn’t that good news? Well, sure it is! That’s the good news of the Kingdom.
That’s what He preached in His first Advent, and that’s why He used the word this!
And this gospel that He and the Twelve are preaching at the
time, Matthew 24:14a “And this gospel of the kingdom
(Not the Gospel of the Grace of God that Paul preached, and that we teach.) shall
be preached in all the world...” So, it’s not going to be confined to Israel. It’s going to go into every tongue and tribe and nation so that there will be
candidates for the Kingdom from every Nation on earth to reestablish the
population. Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and
then shall the end come.” How’s the end going to come? His Second
Coming—He’s going to come and stand on the Mount of Olives. The horrors of
what we saw in our last taping will have been consummated, and the earth will
be made ready as the Garden of Eden. But getting back to our seven year time
frame, go on into verse 15. Matthew 24:15a “When ye therefore shall
see the abomination of desolation,…” That’s the anti-Christ when he
goes into the Temple in the middle of the Tribulation. As Daniel said in
chapter 9, he will go in, and he will cause it to be defiled. And it will
remain that way until the seven years are ended. Jesus is referring to it. Matthew 24:15-16 “When ye therefore shall
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
(and you see that individual) stand in the holy place, (In the Temple, remember.) (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16. Then let them who be in Judea flee to the mountains:” We’ll cover that in a later program. I don’t want to
do that just at this point in time. But see, here we have the
establishment of a seven year period of time that is exactly like what we’ve
got on the board. Three-and-a-half years, three-and-a-half years—and that, of
course, will be ended with His Second Coming, and He’ll bring in the Kingdom.
Now, whenever I teach Revelation, you’ve heard me say it before, the easiest
way to understand these final seven years and all the events is to take the
events at the opening, in the mid-point, and at the end and then fill in the
details. All right, so we’re going to
concentrate this afternoon on the opening events of this final seven years of
time as we know it. And that, of course, would have to be the appearance of
the man anti-Christ. All right, turn with me now to Revelation chapter 6.
We’re not going to stay there very long. Just for a little bit in verse 1 and
then we’re going to have to chase down some information. Revelation 6:1a “And I saw when the Lamb
opened one of the seals,…” Now lock that word in. The “seal,”
just like when you seal a letter. I always immediately think of the revenue
stamps at the courthouse. You stick those revenue stamps on and it designates
an official act, doesn’t it? All right, now that’s what this is. We’re going
to look at it just a minute. Revelation 6:1-2a “And I saw when the Lamb
opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of
the four creatures saying, Come and see. 2. And I saw, and behold a (What?)
white horse:…” Not the white horse of Christ at His Second Coming in
chapter 19, but a counterfeit. And who is the master counterfeit in
Revelation? The anti-Christ under satanic power. So, this is the appearance
of the anti-Christ which will open that seven year period of time. It can’t
open until he is revealed, because he is going to unlock the seven years and
this first seal on this scroll. All right, now we’d better go
back, and we’ve done it before. A lot of this is review, of course. Just back
up a page to chapter 5. What kind of a seal are we talking about? Well, it’s
a scroll. And that scroll was sealed much like we would an envelope, but
instead of with just the lap and the glue, it was sealed with seven seals so
that it wouldn’t unroll. Okay, Revelation chapter 5, now
I love teaching this. I can’t help it! I just think it is so vivid. It’s just
such a beautiful picture. Verse 1: Revelation 5:1 “And I saw in the right
hand of him who sat on the throne (Who’s on the throne? God the Father
or God the Son? Well, God the Father. God the Son isn’t sitting on a throne.
He’s at the right hand. So here we have a picture of God the Father on the
throne, and He has--) a scroll written within (on the inside
where nobody could read it) and on the outside, sealed with seven seals.” Now, can you picture that?
That shouldn’t be too difficult. Here you’ve got a papyrus laid out, and they
write out all the details of a what? Mortgage. Yeah! I like to read lips. A
mortgage. What kind of a mortgage? Satan’s. Well, when did Satan get the
mortgage on planet earth? Wow, here we go, Genesis. Now, isn’t this fun? It
better be! Otherwise, I might as well go home. Genesis chapter 1 and drop in
at verse 28. Now, I know we’ve done all this before, but some of it was
probably 17 years ago. Genesis 1:28a “And God blessed them,
(That is Adam and Eve.) and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have (What?) dominion…”
Now I think most people think that was over the Garden of Eden. No.
How much dominion did he have? Everything is God’s creation. It was all under
Adam and Eve’s control. They were given total dominion. That’s what it says.
Genesis 1:28b “…and replenish the
earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
That was the realm of their dominion. But what happened? Come over to chapter
3 verse 6. Now, I know this is all old hat to you, but it still bears
repeating. Genesis 3:6-7 “And when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food, (The one that the Lord said “Thou
shalt not eat of it,” remember?) and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and
a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did
eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; (Adam) and he did
eat. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were
naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” All right, what happened? Adam
dropped the ball. Right? In a simple act of disobedience, he dropped the
ball. Now, when he dropped the ball, what did he lose? Dominion. He was no
longer in control. He was now under the curse. But, oh my goodness, beloved,
who picked up the ball? Satan did. And he’s been running for a touchdown ever
since. Now, you think I’m kidding? Jump back up to the New Testament. Go to
II Corinthians chapter 4 and verses 3 and 4. II Corinthians 4:3-4 “But if our gospel be hid,
(That is our Gospel of salvation in this Age of Grace.) it is hid
to them that are lost: 4. In whom (That is in the lost of this world.) the
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them who believe not, lest the
light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine
unto them.” Who’s the god of this world? Satan. Since when? Since
he picked up the ball that Adam dropped. Now come back with me to
Matthew—Matthew chapter 4 verse 8. Now, I hope you’re having as much fun as I
am. You know, one of the best seminars I ever did I was sick as a dog out in Indianapolis all day. But I tell you what, I told those people, I am sick as a dog, but
I’m having fun. Because when you get this Book opening up and see how it all
fits, it is fun. I’m sure you’ve all worked a jigsaw puzzle and all of a
sudden a whole bunch falls in place. My, it gets exciting. Well, it is the
same way here. All right, we’ve got to do it quickly. Forty seconds. Matthew 4:8-9 “Again, the devil (Satan)
taketh him (Jesus) up into an exceeding high mountain, and
showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, (That is from stem to stern,
all of them.) and the glory of them; 9. And saith unto him, All these
things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Now,
how do I always put it? Were all the kingdoms of this world his to give?
Yes! Good to see everybody back
again from another coffee break. For those of you joining us on television, if
you’re ever in the Eastern Oklahoma area and it’s the first part of the month,
call us. Maybe you can come in for a taping. We’ve got folks here today from Tennessee, Kansas, and my kids are down from Wisconsin. We just know that people love to
come in and spend an afternoon with us. All right, we’re going to go
right back to where we left off. We’re talking about bringing in the
Tribulation—that final seven years. By the time the Tribulation begins, the
Church is gone, and we have the appearance of the anti-Christ who signs the
seven year peace treaty. We saw from Revelation chapter
6 verse 1 that the anti-Christ is going to make his appearance. We were looking
at the word “seal” in the last lesson, like sealing an envelope
or sealing a document. Then I took you back to Revelation chapter 5. That’s where
we’re going to pick up again this half hour—in Revelation 5. We’re going to
pick up this seal, or these seals, that are on this scroll that is really a
symbolic mortgage. That’s why I took you back. How
did Satan end up holding the mortgage on planet earth? Well, because the curse
fell as soon as Adam fell, and Satan has been the god of this world for 6,000
years. I showed you the evidence of it. Paul said it is the god of this world
who keeps people blind. I showed you how Satan offered
to Jesus all the kingdoms of this world—because under this present economy, he
is the god of this world. But never forget, God is Sovereign. He’s still
above Satan. But He’s been letting him have free reign for these last 6,000
years. But his day is coming. God is going to pay off his mortgage with all
the horrors and the wrath of God in that final seven year period. That’s the
whole purpose of it, along with chastising His Covenant People. So, back to
Revelation chapter 5, picking up the symbolism of a mortgage. We might as well
start over in verse 1. Revelation 5:1-2 “And I saw in the right
hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll written within and on the
backside, and sealed with seven seals. (Picture them as they go down
the line of that scroll.) 2. And I saw a strong angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll, and to loose
(take off) the seals thereof (off of that mortgage)?” Revelation 5:3-5 “And no man in heaven,
nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the scroll, neither to
look thereon. (They were not qualified. They did not have the
wherewithal to even consider paying off this mortgage.) 4. And
I wept much, (John says) because no man was found worthy to open
and to read the scroll, neither to look thereon. 5. And one of the elders saith
unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
hath prevailed to open the scroll, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” Now as I’m reading, I’m
thinking, naturally. I’ve got to bring you back to Daniel chapter 7. Again, I
always do this only to show how beautifully Scripture fits with Scripture.
It’s not just some boondoggle that men have put together. It’s not some story
around the campfire like they try to tell us. But this is the Divinely
Inspired, Intrinsic, Word of God. Daniel 7:13 “I saw in the night
visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man (The word Son is
capitalized, so it’s a reference to Christ.) came with the clouds of
heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, (Which would be another title
for God the Father.) and they brought him (That is God the Son.) before
him (the Father).” Daniel 7:14 “And there was given unto
him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and
languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which
shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”
Now, when you come back to Revelation, this is the beginning of the end of time
as we know it. But it’s the beginning of the beginning of the eternal. So now we have to go through
those seven years of wrath and vexation to lift the curse and to pay off
Satan’s mortgage—now verse 6 of Revelation chapter 5. Revelation 5:6-7 “And I beheld, and, lo,
in the midst of the throne and of the four creatures, and in the midst of the
elders, stood a Lamb (See, there’s the same term again that we’ve seen
before—the Lamb of God, God the Son.) as it had been slain, having seven
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all
the earth. 7. And he (God the Son) came and took the scroll
(this mortgage) out of the right hand of him who sat upon the throne.” Now of course, when we taught
the Book of Ruth, we made the comparison how it was the same way back in
antiquity when a piece of ground was mortgaged. It had to be the next of kin
who could pay off the mortgage. It couldn’t be a stranger, because it had to
stay in the family. We have the same thing here. God the Son comes forward
having all the requirements. He has the power to pay off Satan’s mortgage and
to pay off the curse on planet earth. Now, if you come over to
chapter 11 in Revelation, I maintain, and I realize there are probably hundreds
of books written on the Book of Revelation. And I don’t suppose any two of
them would agree on every detail, so I don’t expect everyone to agree with me.
But I’m going to teach it the way I see it. I feel that while the anti-Christ
is signing this seven year treaty in one part of Jerusalem, across town there’s
another totally different scenario, but I think on the exact same day—the
opening day of the seven years. While the anti-Christ and the leaders of the
Arab world and Israel are putting together their seven year treaty, in another
part of Jerusalem we have this scenario—the appearance of the two witnesses.
I’ll show you in a little bit why I put it at the opening day. Revelation 11:3-4 “And I will give power
unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy (or speak forth or
preach or proclaim) a thousand two hundred and sixty days. (That
has to be from the opening day to the mid-point that Jesus talked about in
Matthew 24, for a total of 3½ years.) clothed in sackcloth. 4.
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God
of the earth.” Now, a lot of people name them. I don’t even try. I’m
not going to stick my neck out, because the Bible doesn’t tell us who they are,
even though there seemingly are some clues. But since the Bible doesn’t name
them, I’m not going to. We’re just going to leave it as two Jewish witnesses.
Yes, it could be Moses and
Elijah. It could be Elijah and Enoch or any two of those three according to
the details. But I’m not going to stick my neck out. I’m just going to leave
it as two witnesses. And they’re going to speak forth for the first
three-and-a-half years. Now verse 4 again: Revelation 11:4-5 “These are the two olive
trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. (But
He’s also the God of everything.) 5. And if any man would hurt them, fire
proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and
if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.” Now I’m going to repeat again.
As soon as we start this seven year period of time, right from the opening bell,
we’re in the realm of the supernatural. Don’t forget that. To sign that
treaty is going to be a supernatural power of God to get all the parties to
agree. Otherwise, it would never happen. These two witnesses are going to
appear supernaturally. If it is two of these three characters in the Old
Testament, then all the more reason to accept the supernatural, but whatever.
Don’t ever lose sight of these things, because these seven years are going to
be way beyond the norm. Revelation 11:6 “These (two,
whoever they are) have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days
of their prophecy: (Now that’s why some scholars feel it’s Elijah,
because that’s what he did. He caused a drought of three years in Israel’s history. And then the other one is like unto Moses.) and have power over
waters to turn them to blood, and (They’re going to have power--) to
smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.” Now, that’s
the horrors of those opening three-and-a-half years. They’re not going to be like a
Sunday school picnic, as I mentioned I think in the last taping. You’ve got to
remember, those first three-and-a-half years, even though they are nothing
compared to the last three-and-a-half years, yet it’s going to be an awful
period of time. One fourth of the world’s population will be gone by the
middle of these seven years. Now that’s 1.75 billion people! That’s a lot of
human flesh. One point seven five billion will be gone by the middle of these
seven years. Revelation 11:7 “And when they shall have
finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit
shall make war against them, (In other words, this is the appearance of
Satan in the empowered anti-Christ.) and shall overcome them, and
(finally) kill them.” That’s at the end of the
three-and-a-half years. Revelation 11:8-9a “And their dead bodies
shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, (That’s another term for Jerusalem.) where also our Lord
was crucified. 9. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues (or
languages) and nations (in other words, globally, from one end of
the globe to the other) shall see their dead bodies three days and a half,…” Now you know, when we first
came in with satellite television I thought, well now, that’s total fulfillment
of this. But now one of my kids or grandkids the other day said, “Oh, Grandpa,
it’s one thing better. Now what has everybody got? Cell phones.” And you
know what I read the other day? I read a lot, you all know that. Fifty
percent of the world’s population already owns their own cell phone. In other
words, that is almost three and a half billion cell phones out there. I was in the airport the other
day, and it just boggled my mind. Everybody in that airport was talking on
their cell phone. Well, I have to wonder. Who keeps the lines from getting
crossed, but seemingly they never do. But, you see, the technology is all here
to fulfill this Book. Without the technology, this wouldn’t mean anything to us.
But now we know what it is. Everyone is going to see these two bodies lying on
the streets of Jerusalem whatever time of the day it may be. Revelation 11:9b-10a “…and shall not permit
their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10. And they that dwell upon the earth
shall rejoice over them, and make merry,…” They’re going to be so glad
that these two prophets are dead, because what do you suppose the devil’s
message is going to be? All of our problems are because of these two guys. If
it weren’t for all their preaching, we wouldn’t have all this turmoil. We
wouldn’t have all these plagues. So when the earth hears that they’re dead,
they’re going to celebrate just like Christmas, and they’ll send each other
gifts. But they won’t be put in the grave. That again, is a God-thing, because
they’re going to rise from the dead at the end of three-and-a-half days—verse
11. Revelation 11:11-12 “And after three days and
a half the Spirit of life from God (the supernatural) entered
into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them who
saw them. (Well, that, naturally, would turn their attitude, wouldn’t
it?) 12. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come
up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld
them.” Nothing they could do. I mean, they’re gone. All right, now
this brings us up to the middle of the seven years, or the end of 1,260
days—now verse 13. Revelation 11:13 “And the same hour
(at this very point in the middle of the Tribulation) there was a great
earthquake, (in the area of Jerusalem) and the tenth part of the
city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven
thousand: (Which, again, is a pretty good size number for a city the
size of Jerusalem.) and the (What’s the word?) remnant (Now
lock that one in. Underline it. Highlight it.) were affrighted, and
gave glory to the God of heaven.” Now, from what we’ve seen in
the first half hour this afternoon, what is this remnant representative of? It’s
the one third of Israel that we saw back there in Jeremiah and Zechariah that
will survive these last seven years. We can chase them down again in a
minute. But for now, underline the word “remnant,” this one
third of Israel. Now most of you, I think,
realize that the population of Jews in the world, the whole world—America, Russia, Canada, you name it—are fifteen million. How many are in Israel tonight? Five million. Now, this is strictly speculation! Does that mean that God already
has pretty close to His five million for the one third? I don’t know, but it
sure is tantalizing to think about. That we may be that close. That already
that one third is in Israel. Now, keep your hand in
Revelation. I think I’ll be back. I’m not sure. Come back with me to Isaiah
chapter 1 verse 9. I’m bringing you back here for the sake of one word. Isaiah 1:9a “Except (or
unless) the LORD of hosts (Which again is God the Son, or
Jehovah, as Israel understood.) had left unto us (the nation of Israel) a very small (What?) remnant,…” Now goodness sakes,
when did Isaiah hold forth? Well, about 700 B.C., about 300 years after King
David. And how many, percentage-wise, of Israel were still righteous and
believers? Only a small remnant. Now, you can put the percentage on it. Two
percent. Three percent. Four, that’s all. And it’s always been this way. All right, you come all the way
up to Matthew 7 verse 13. Now, I may have used this not too long ago, and I’ll
probably use it again not too far into the future. Because this is what we
have to understand—this is where we are. We’re not going to see multitudes.
We’re not going to see tsunamis of people become believers. It’s not going to
happen, because God has never had more than the small percentage, a remnant.
All right, Matthew 7 verse 13, verses that you know. You learned them back in
Sunday school. Matthew 7:13 “Enter ye in at the
straight gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth
to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat: (That is in
the wide gate.) 14. Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way,
that leadeth unto life, (eternal life) and few
there be that find it.” Again, what’s the word for the
few? The remnant! God has always, all the way up through history including the
Church Age, had His remnant. Not the masses. The remnant. And we can see it
more and more today as our denominations are going more and more liberal and
getting further and further away from the Truth. But God is going to keep His
remnant!! Now, have you got your hand in
Revelation, yet? Flip back to it a minute. Just for a minute, then we’re
going to go up to Matthew—so if you’ve got Matthew, goodness sakes, keep it.
We’re coming right back to Matthew. But go back to Revelation 11 where we just
left off in verse 13. This is at the very mid-point after the 1,260 days of
the preaching of these two witnesses who have been put to death, been raised
back, and called up to Glory. Revelation 11:13a&c “And the same hour
(that same mid-point) there was a great earthquake,…(there in Jerusalem)…the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
Who are they leaving out? Jesus Christ. Now most, at least of Americans
and the Western Civilization, do they believe in God? Most? Sure. Yeah, they
believe in God. They have some concept of God, anyway. But is that what they
need for salvation? Well, of course not. You don’t get saved by believing in
God. You have to have a relationship with God the Son, Jesus the Christ. You
get that by believing in your heart that Jesus died for your sins, was buried,
and rose again, as we see in I Corinthians 15:1-4. It is the same way here. I
look at this escaping remnant. They’re going to flee from Jerusalem, now, as a
result of the earthquake in particular. But they’re going to flee in
unbelief. But God in His grace and mercy is going to keep His thumb on them. Now come back with me to
Matthew 24. I don’t know if I’ll have time to finish all of this in this half
hour. Otherwise, it will just go on into the next program. But now Matthew 24
again, where we were earlier this afternoon. Jesus is speaking to the Twelve.
All of this is with regard to the Tribulation as it pertains to the Nation of
Israel. Now don’t forget about that remnant. Matthew 24:15 “When ye therefore shall
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in
the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)” Now again, just
for a quick review. I won’t make you go back there. What did Daniel 9 say?
That in the middle of that week, in the middle of the seven years, the
anti-Christ is going to go into that Temple that Israel has enjoyed for
three-and-a-half years, and he’s going to defile it. He’s just utterly going to shut
it down. He’s going to turn on the Nation of Israel like no persecutor has
ever done. Hitler will be nothing but a Sunday school figure comparatively.
The anti-Christ is going to bring in all the hatred at his command upon the
Nation of Israel. So, consequently, God is going to spare His remnant, as we
saw in the first half hour. That remnant is what? One third. One third of Israel will be supernaturally taken out of the city to a place of safety. All right, now
Jesus tells about it Himself. Matthew 24:16-17 “Then let them who be in
Judea (that’s Jerusalem) flee into the mountains: (Now
there’s a lot of speculation of what mountains, but whatever. They’re going to
flee Jerusalem.) 17. Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take
any thing out of his house:” Well, now again, just use a little
imagination. Here you’ve got somebody that’s got a lot of beautiful things.
My, when he realizes that it’s time to flee, the inclination will be to take
something with him. But the Scripture says, don’t you do it. You haven’t got
time. He says, don’t even think about taking something along. Matthew 24:18 “Neither let him who is in
the field return back to take his clothes.” Now you’ve heard me
qualify this. At the time of Christ, Israel was an agricultural nation. They
were probably 95% rural and agrarian. They had their flocks and their orchards
and their fields and so forth. Today, of course, Israel is cosmopolitan, and it’s urban. Very few percentage-wise are in agriculture. So
the segment of society we’re talking about today will be all the professional
people—the business people of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and Haifa and what have
you. All right, so let them who are of the working class, those who are still
out there making their living—“Neither let him in the field
return back to take his clothes.” In other words, time is of the
essence, isn’t it? All right, now we come over to the female side of the
population. Matthew 24:19-20 “And woe unto them who
are with child, (Repeat the word woe. Woe--) and to them that
are nursing in those days! (Carrying their little ones. And then
horror of horrors--) 20. But pray ye that your flight be not in the
winter, neither on the Sabbath day:” Now even this last winter, you
know, Israel had some pretty nasty weather. They had a lot of snow, and
they had cold miserable days. Well, pray that it won’t be in that kind of a
weather situation, and also that it’s not on the Sabbath day. Well, why?
Well, because they’re back under the Law. Now of course, an Orthodox Jew
today still holds the Sabbath. But Israel in general could care less. But on
this particular event, they’re going to be all practitioners of Temple worship once again. They have been now for three-and-one-half years. So the Lord
says, hope and pray that it won’t be on a Sabbath day, so that they’ll be free
to go to their place of safety. All right, now then verse 21: Matthew 24:21 “For then (from
that point on to the end) shall be great tribulation, such as was not
since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” In
other words, it’s going to be beyond our human comprehension. Now, I’ve shown you verses over
and over. I think I’ve got time. One of the most graphic, of course, is back
in Jeremiah. We used it several times lately. But let me use it again, if I
may. Jeremiah 25 and that will take us to the end of the half hour. This is
just an inkling of the end of those three-and-a-half years. I’m going to have
to read rather quickly. Jeremiah 25:31a “A noise shall come even
to the ends of the earth;…” And you’ve heard me say it. I think this
is nuclear. All these hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hydrogen bombs
that are stockpiled around the world will finally come into play. They’re not
back there for nothing. They’re not being collected just to be collecting.
They are going to be used. Jeremiah 25:31-32 “A noise shall come even
to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, He
will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword,
(that is death) saith the LORD. 32. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold,
evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind (Which
is another indication of nuclear force.) shall be raised up from the
borders of the earth.” Now verse 33, if this isn’t graphic, I don’t
know what is. Jeremiah 25:33 “And the slain of the
LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of
the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall
be dung (trash) upon the ground.” For those of you joining us on
television, again, we’d like to invite you to what I think is a simple Bible
study. We try to make the difficult things simple and interesting. And again,
we want to thank you for your prayer support, financial support, and your
mail. We read every letter. The other night it took us to midnight almost,
didn’t it, honey? Boy, we had a bunch the other day. So anyway, we just want
you to search the Scriptures and study them. And be prepared to answer
questions that are thrown your way, because after all, that’s what we’re here
for. We’re ambassadors, and we are to share our position in Christ. We’re going to go back and pick
up the remnant of Israel that’s going to flee to the mountains as we saw Jesus
warn them in Matthew 24 in our last program. It’s going to be a mixed group of
people. And I’m emphasizing that because a lot of people confuse this escaping
remnant with the 144,000, which is also a remnant. Hopefully in this half hour
we’ll separate those two entities that are not the same. This remnant that
Jesus talks about in Matthew 24 and what Revelation 11 and 12 are taking about
is a cross section of Israeli society. After all, the whole idea of this
remnant is to be there and ready to go into the Kingdom. And you want to
remember, Israel is going to be the largest nation in the Kingdom because of
their largest number of entrants. We’re going to have, as we saw
earlier this afternoon, one third of Israel’s population—which would be around
five million if it’s in the near future. That will be far more than from any
other single nation on earth, although there will be a scattering from every
nation. This remnant of Israel, which will be one third of the total or around
five million, is going to be supernaturally protected by God out in some sort
of a wilderness situation where all the horrors of the Tribulation will not
touch them. But I feel that they go out in
unbelief, and they will become a saved nation when they see Christ returning.
When they see Him coming in all of His power and glory, every last Jew in this
remnant will become a believer. We will, hopefully, have time to show that
before the afternoon is over. So, if you’ll come back in with me to Revelation
chapter 11, we’ll repeat the last part of verse 13. Revelation 11:13b “…and the remnant were
affrighted, (Because of all that’s happened as well as the earthquake.)
and gave glory to the God of heaven.” I feel that will be as they are
supernaturally escorted out of the city. Never forget what Jesus said in
Matthew 24, that you’ve got the people living on the housetop, which I feel are
the retired, the wealthy who are pretty well set. The instructions are, don’t
take anything from your house – just get going. You’ve got the working class,
and you’ve got the young mothers and the children and so forth. So, you have a
complete cross section in this remnant of the one third that we saw back in
Jeremiah and Zechariah. Now let’s pick them up across
the page in my Bible, anyway—Revelation chapter 12 verse 6. Now remember, the woman
is now going to be considered the whole nation of Israel, even as Paul spoke of
the woman in Romans chapter 11. They become the whole even
though there are only a third of them left. Revelation 12:6 “And the woman
(This one third I feel that are escaping from the area of Jerusalem.)
fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, (a
supernatural thing) that they (the Godhead) should feed her
there (out in this wilderness situation) for a thousand two
hundred and three score days.” Three-and-a-half years—from the
mid-point until the end. Now keep my beginnings and
endings straight. The anti-Christ opens the seven years back there in
Revelation 6 verse 1, and the two witnesses appear. Three-and-a-half years
took us to the mid-point, when the anti-Christ went into the Temple and defiled
it. This ended the first three-and-a-half years. All right, now at the beginning
of this second half, we have this escaping remnant. They are going to be
protected for another 1,260 days, which takes you to the end of the
Tribulation. And when they get to the end and Christ returns, they’ll be
ready to go in and enjoy a refurbished, regenerated, and reconstituted—those
are all words the Scripture uses—which prepare the earth like a Garden of Eden
for this 1,000 year Kingdom reign. All right, so God prepares a
place, and they’re going to be fed there for 1,260 days or three-and-a-half
years. Now, the interesting part of the flight is in verse 13, still in
chapter 12. Revelation 12:13-14 “And when the dragon
(That’s another name for Satan. Remember, he is working hand and glove with the
man anti-Christ.) saw that he was cast unto the earth, (out of
heaven for the last time) he persecuted the woman (this remnant
of Israel) which brought forth the man child.” Now verse 14 is
God’s intervention. Revelation 12:14-15 “And to the woman were
given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into
her place, (the one spoken of in verse 6) where she is nourished
for a time (one year), and times (plus two years),
and half a time (half a year), from the face of the serpent. 15.
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he
might cause her to be carried away of the flood.” Now you’ve got to remember that
this is all language of symbolism. And what we have to put to this is a reality.
So, since Satan and the anti-Christ are in control of everything, and they see
this fleeing remnant of the Jews, what are they going to do? They’re going to
send out a command to some military to go and destroy these escaping Jews
headed for the wilderness. Now, before I go back to Exodus, we’re going to
finish this account. So read on, if you will, in verse 15. Revelation 12:15 “And the serpent
(That is Satan, who is, like I said, using the man anti-Christ.) cast out
of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be
carried away of the flood.” Well, that’s just a military command to go
and destroy these escaping Jews. Now verse 16, supernaturally now, don’t lose
that—supernaturally. Revelation 12:16 “And the earth helped the
woman, (this escaping remnant) and the earth opened her mouth,
and swallowed up the flood (Or that military contingent that the
anti-Christ has sent out after them. The earth opens up and swallows up this
group of military.) which the dragon cast out of his mouth.” It
just simply and utterly destroys them. Now what we have to do is go
back to Exodus and understand that this is just a repeat of what has happened
before. Exodus chapter 19 and this is, of course, after Israel has gone through the Red Sea. The Red Sea closed over the Egyptian military and destroyed
every one of them without the loss of a single Jew. Now they’re safely
encamped around Mount Sinai, and Moses goes up into the mountain to meet with
God. Verse 3 and as you read, constantly compare this with Revelation.
Revelation is just a repeat under a little different circumstance. But on the
whole, it’s the same thing as you have here. Exodus 19:3-4 “And Moses went up unto
God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou
say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; (Now watch
it.) 4. Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, (What did He
do? He drowned them all in the Red Sea.) and how I bare you (the
Jews out of Egypt) on (What?) eagles’ wings, and brought
you unto myself.” Well, we’ve got to stop now and be careful. They
didn’t fly, did they? No. They walked. But it was a
supernatural exodus that got them ahead of the Egyptian armies. Far enough
that they never touched even the rear echelons of the Jews. And it was a
miraculous thing that brought them all the way out to Mount Sinai after the Red Sea experience. The Scripture calls it “on eagles’ wings.” Well, it’ll
be the same thing for this escaping remnant at the middle of the Tribulation.
They’re going to escape out of Jerusalem and Judea just as miraculously as they
did coming out of Egypt. So the language is the same. “I bare you on
eagle’s wings, and brought you unto myself.” Now come back to Revelation 12
just for a moment, again. We find that they have been brought to this place of
safety where Jesus said they would be protected until the end of the
Tribulation. Now back in Revelation 12 where we just left off, verse 17—after
he sees the destruction of his military force and not the loss of a single Jew,
he knows that he cannot do anything more with them, because God is still
greater than Satan. Now he turns his anger. Verse 17: Revelation 12:17 “And the dragon
(Satan) was angry with the woman, (That is this nation as a
whole.) and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, (But
now here’s a different remnant than the one that Satan just missed. This is a
remnant--) who keep the commandments of God, and
(keep, or) have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Now what
remnant is this? Well, this is the 144,000. This is not the escaping
remnant that we just read about that escaped as on eagle wings—which
went out in unbelief. They’ll stay there in unbelief until they see Christ
coming, and then they will believe to the last Jew. I feel that’s what Isaiah
66 means when it says, “will Israel be born in a day?” Yes.
When that whole five million to the last Jew will become believers, and not a
one will be lost. Now, I told you I would show you where I get that. I
imagine I should do that before I go into the 144,000. Let’s do that a minute. Go back to John’s Gospel
chapter 21, and drop in at verse 4. This is in that period of time between His
resurrection and the ascension. He has showed Himself visibly, physically,
over and over. Now, the first thing I’ve got to define is that the Book of
John has eight sign miracles. Eight! And they are sign miracles because of
the Greek term Semion. Now, all the other miracles were not necessarily
signs. All signs were miracles, but not all miracles were signs. Now, a sign for Israel was something that proved to them miraculously that God was in it. This wasn’t a
thing that would happen on the ordinary, everyday life. It was a sign, so it
was miraculous. All right, now in the Book of John, we have eight of those
miracles. They were all signs. Now, the first seven took place before His
crucifixion. This one takes place after the crucifixion and resurrection. Now,
if you know numbers in Scripture, seven is the number of completion. Eight is
the number of new beginnings. So here we have, I feel, an indication of the
new beginnings of the Kingdom, in which not a single Jew will be lost. All
right, let’s look at it, verse 5 of John 21. John 21:5-7a “Then Jesus saith unto
them, Children, have ye any meat? (Or food. Have you
caught any fish?) They answered him, No. 6. And he said unto them, Cast
the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore,
and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7.
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved (Who I feel is John.) saith
unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,)…” Now, he
wasn’t stark naked, but he was probably down to what we call underclothes. John 21:7b-11 “…and he did cast himself
into the sea. 8. And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were
not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with
fishes. 9. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there,
and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the
fish which ye have now caught. (Now here’s the key.) 11. Simon
Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and
fifty and three: (I know there’s more there than meets the eye, but
here’s what I want you to see.) and for all there were so many, yet the
net was not broken.” Now, you remember in other
instances when they had a net full of fish, what happened? The net broke. But
the miraculous part of this is the net should have broken, but it didn’t. Since
it’s the eighth sign, and we’re now looking at the Kingdom over the horizon, I
feel that this is the sign to Israel that this remnant that’s going to be
spared in those last three-and-a-half years will all become believers when they
see the coming Christ. Not a single one will fail to believe. So the whole net
full of Israelites will be brought into the Kingdom experience. It’s kind of exciting to
realize that this miraculous thing takes place, and yet you can reduce it to
what we can understand and see what will happen day-by-day in Israel’s experience. Now then, let’s go back and
look at the other remnant. This is the remnant that Satan is now going to
concentrate on for these last three-and-a-half years, or nearly so. Because I
feel that these men will be raptured up shortly before the end of the
Tribulation. Come with me to Revelation chapter 7. This is the other
remnant. The first remnant was a cross section of Israel—men, women, boys,
girls, wealthy people, common people—just a cross section of society. This is
a remnant of young Jewish men—twelve thousand from each of the Twelve Tribes. Revelation chapter 7 and drop
down to verse 9. In verses 4 through 8 we have twelve thousand from such and
such a tribe, and we wind up with 144,000. Revelation 7:9a “After this
(After the sealing of these 144,000 young Jewish men.) I beheld, and, lo,
a great multitude, which no man could number, (Now watch where they’re
coming from.) of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and languages, stood
before the throne,…” Because as fast as they become believers in this
final three-and-a-half years, they’ll be martyred. They will not live to see
the light of a second day. So John already sees the result
of the ministry of these 144,000 Jews as they were able to circumvent the
land. Now again, it’s miraculous. Do they have to go to language school?
No. They’ll know every tongue and tribe and language that they approach. Will
they have to fight the airports? No. They’re going to supernaturally go from
place to place, and no one can put them the death! Because that’s the purpose
of their sealing. They may suffer privation, but no one will be able to put
them to death. But due to the preaching of the
144,000, the converts who have become believers in this Kingdom Gospel—now,
remember, it’s not our Gospel of Grace. That ended with the Rapture of the Body
of Christ just before the Tribulation began. These Tribulation believers have
believed the Kingdom Gospel—which is, the King is coming. And that’s what
they’re to believe. So here they are in heaven from every tongue and tribe and
nation, and then we find, as you drop down to verses 13 and 14-- Revelation 7:13-15 “And one of the elders
answered, saying unto me, What are these (or who are these) who
are arrayed in white robes? and where did they come from? 14. And I said unto
him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they who came out of
great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb. 15. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve
him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell
among them.” All right, now the 144,000 will
minister to the nations of the world throughout most of the seven years. I
think they’ll be raised up and raptured sometime before the final weeks. Come
back with me now to Isaiah 24. Here we’re at the final end of the seven
years. Everything has been destroyed. There’s nothing left except a few
survivors. I think I’ve got time. Let’s read all the way from verse 1. Isaiah 24:1a Behold, the LORD maketh
the earth empty,…” Now, this is the result of the seven years of the
horrors of the Tribulation. I think the final month is going to be a nuclear
holocaust like none of us can imagine. Isaiah 24:1-2a “Behold the LORD maketh
the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth
abroad the inhabitants thereof. 2. And it shall be, as with the people, so with
the priest; as with the servant, so with his master;…” The whole cross
section of society is mentioned here in verse 2. Isaiah 24:3 “The land shall be
utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.”
There will be nothing left. I always have to stop and ask people. You know
that during the 1,000 year Kingdom, it’s going to be heaven on earth. Now
think about that. Heaven on this earth. Gambling casinos in heaven? Why,
heavens, no! What’s going to happen? Puff! They’re going. And all the other
garbage that is associated with the world society, would that fit in heaven?
No. So common sense tells you God is going to have to cleanse the planet of
all of it. Everything that man has contrived is going to have to go. God’s
going to make it all new. “The land shall be utterly empty.” Now I envision it, and this is
strictly my own idea. I can’t prove this from Scripture. I can come close,
but I can’t really prove it. I see everything reduced to ashes like Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in 1945. Everything! Then God will miraculously bring it all
back to the beauty of Mount St. Helen’s. Now that’s another one. I think God
sent Mount St. Helen’s just to show us what He can do. How long did it take
until Mount St. Helen’s was almost more beautiful than it was before? A year
or two under ordinary circumstances. Look what God can do with the
supernatural as the Garden of the LORD reappears as we see in Isaiah 51:3 So, the planet will be
regenerated and reconstituted. Now these are scriptural words that happen in
just a moment of time. But I think it’s going to be reduced to ashes with all
the nuclear bombs that are being store-housed today. All right, back to our
text in Isaiah 24:4. Isaiah 24:4-5 “The earth mourneth and
fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the
earth do languish. 5. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof;
because they have transgressed the laws, (they’ve) changed the
ordinance, (they’ve) broken the everlasting covenant.”
In other words, they’ve flown in the face of God in everything they think, say,
and do. Isaiah 26:6 “Therefore hath the curse
devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the
inhabitants of the earth are burned, (My, if that isn’t nuclear
language, I don’t know what is. But what are the last three or four words?) and
few men are left.” Well, what is that? All around the planet, here
and there, there are going to be survivors. A few from every nation, I think,
as we understand nations. By the time we get to the end
of the millennium, after 1,000 years of tremendous population explosion, is
there just one nation? No. All the nations of the world are back in vogue.
Well, where’d they come from? They come from the survivors of the Tribulation. All right, it stands to
reason. Just like today, you’ve got some believers; you’ve got some unbelievers.
Well, it’s going to be the same way here at the end of the Tribulation. Not
all these survivors are going to be believers, nor are they all unbelievers.
So, what do we have to do? We’ve got two minutes to show you. Come back again
to Matthew 25 verse 31. I’m going to have to do this quickly. Matthew 25 and
here come these survivors of Isaiah 24. Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of man
shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit
upon the throne of his glory:” He’s going to assume the throne there in
Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. He’s finally going to be on His throne. Verse 32, now
remember, supernaturally again. Matthew 25:32-33 “And before him shall be
gathered all nations: (Now, when the Scripture says all, it means
all. So there will be survivors from every one of the hundred and forty
some nations that are listed in the world today.) and he shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33. And
he shall set the sheep (the believers) on his right hand, but the
goats (unbelievers) on his left.” Matthew 25:34 “Then shall the King say
unto them on his right hand, (the believers of these survivors) Come,
ye, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world:” Where do they go? Into the Kingdom!!! And, I think,
back to their homeland. So now the stage is set.
You’ve got the remnant of Israel, the largest number. Then you’ve got the
scattered survivors of all the other nations of the world. This is at the
beginning of those 1,000 years. There’s no death, and it’ll be a tremendous
population explosion. If I had time, I could take you back to Revelation
chapter 20. I can’t do it. I’ve only got seconds. But get into Revelation 20:8,
and when Satan is released, how many nations are represented? All of them! Revelation 20:7-8a “And when the thousand
years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8. And shall go out
to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth,…” Okay, it’s good to see
everybody in again today. My goodness, we’ve got a full room. We’ve got folks
from various places around the country. Again, we always appreciate the fact
that you come in and are a part of this, not only by your presence, but by your
prayers and your financial help. I think most of you in the room realize that
your faces are familiar now from coast to coast. They just feel like you’re
family. For those of you out in
television, if you’re catching us for the first time, we’re just an informal
Bible study. We don’t try to get too theological. I want to keep it down at a
level where kids can understand. You know, we had a letter the other day from
some folks and their seven year old kid. I don’t remember whether it was a boy
or a girl. The minute they hear our music, they come running. Got a couple
here today with a little seven month old infant. They swear up and down that the
little fellow already recognizes our music! So anyway, we just have to praise
the Lord for the folks that we’re reaching with the Word. Like I said, I try
to keep it simple and yet not just scratch the surface. We want to get down into the
deeper things. That’s why I’m so convinced that a lot of these things people
have never heard before, because that’s the kind of comments we get. This is
all new to them. I made reference to it once before. I had a fellow who
called who had two Ph.D.’s in Theology. He said, “Les, how in the world after
forty years in the pulpit and two degrees in Theology and I missed all of it!”
He said he had never seen any of this before. Well, that’s why we’re going to
keep teaching it the way we are. All right, now ever since the
beginning of Book 74, we’ve been connecting the dots of Scripture. Today we’re
in the middle part of Book 77. We may wind this series of lessons up. We’ve
been connecting the dots now for quite a long while. We started way back in
Genesis connecting the dots and are now into the 1,000 year Kingdom
portions of Scripture. This study has not been
detailed like we did in our Through the Bible Series. We are only hitting the
highlights and just sort of covering the timeline from Genesis. We’re just
about to the end. In our last taping, we were at the final days of the
Tribulation and the horrors of it. So today I’m going to introduce that 1,000
year period of time that most of you have heard as the millennium. It’s the
1,000 year earthly Kingdom, which most of Christendom knows very little, if
anything, about. They just don’t know what we’re talking about when we speak of
the Kingdom. Now you remember years and
years ago, way back in one of the early programs. I made the statement “the
Kingdom is the Kingdom”…you remember, don’t you, Jerry? People didn’t know
what I was taking about. What are you talking about—the Kingdom is the Kingdom
is the Kingdom? Well, you see the word in Scripture all the time. You see the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. But, they just don’t know the difference. About two
years ago we did a series, you remember. Sharon drew the circles on the
board. We had the big circle of the Kingdom of God. Inside the Kingdom of God she drew two small circles for me. One was the Body of Christ. The other
was the Kingdom of Heaven. All right, now whenever I speak
of the Kingdom is the Kingdom is the Kingdom, I’m speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven—which is that earthly 1,000 year reign of Christ that’s going to be on
the planet. It’s going to follow the horrors of the Tribulation. That’s where
we left off in our last half hour—the final days and the death and destruction
that will hit the planet. We feel soon. So today’s taping I want to take us
back and reconstruct, again, the promises as well as the bringing in of that
final 1,000 year Kingdom—Heaven on earth. Heaven on earth—like I
mentioned in a couple of my seminars lately, and I think I did at the Tulsa
Bible Conference. If it’s going to be Heaven on earth, will there be any room
for gambling casinos? Why, the Mississippi Gulf Coast will just have to be
cleansed clean, because that’s all that’s down there anymore. All across the
country the casinos are popping up everywhere. They won’t fit in a heavenly environment.
So, what’s going to happen? Poof! They’re going to go—and not only the
casinos, but everything else that smacks of the ungodly world. But since we’re going to go
back and reconstruct the promises of the Kingdom as Paul refers to it, I’m going
to take you back to Exodus chapter 19 and verse 3. For a lot of you this is
probably the 15th or 20th time you’ve heard me teach
these verses. But it’s the only way we can start, because this is the place of
first mention. The scenario, of course, is Israel has just come out of Egypt. They’ve crossed the Red Sea. They are gathered around Mt. Sinai. While they’re
encamped around the mountain, God calls Moses up into the mountain. All right, we pick it up in
verse 3. Now get the scenario—just fresh out of Egypt. The nation has arrived
as nationhood in Egypt, but yet this is really the beginning of all the
promises and the putting of Israel under the Law. Verse 3: Exodus 19:3-5a “And Moses went up unto
God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou
say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 4. Ye have seen
what I did unto the Egyptians, (this recent crossing of the Red Sea) and how I bare you (the Nation) on eagles’ wings, and brought
you unto myself. 5. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant,…” Now that’s a word that we used
quite extensively a couple or three years ago—all the covenants between God and
Israel beginning with the Covenant with Abraham and then this Covenant of Law
and the Covenant with David and so forth (found in Book 63). Exodus 19:5b “…and keep my covenant,
(covenant of Law) then ye (The Nation—never forget who we’re
talking to.) shall be a peculiar treasure (That is a treasure of
intrinsic value.) unto me above all people: (So, that’s what puts
Israel in their, what we call, the favored nation or the chosen people
category.) for all the earth is mine:” Now, here comes the verse
I was heading for. Exodus 19:6a “And ye (the
Nation of Israel) shall be unto me a (What’s the next word?) kingdom…”
Now, if I’m not mistaken, this is the first mention of this word Kingdom.
This is where I start when I say the Kingdom is the Kingdom is the Kingdom.
It’s this Kingdom on earth that God is promising to Israel, right from day
one. They’ve just come out of Egypt as a Nation of people. Now, you know why I’m saying
this over and over? Come back with me, because it all needs review. Come back
with me to Genesis. I think it is chapter 46. I may have to look a moment. I
didn’t plan to do this. But it just dawns on me that some of these things I
haven’t said for a long time. Genesis 46, this bears repeating and reviewing.
This is just as Jacob is being invited to come over into Egypt under Joseph, remember? We might as well start at verse 1. Genesis 46:1-3a “And Israel (or Jacob) took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer-sheba, and
offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. 2. And God spake unto
Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here
am I. 3. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not
(Because remember, they’d been told all the while until now to not go down into
Egypt! See, that was the command given to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. But
now God says--) to go down into Egypt; for I will there (in Egypt) make of thee (What?) a great nation:” So, when did Israel become a nation of people? Down in Egypt while they were under slavery. But even though
they were under slavery, if you remember the first chapter of Exodus, what was
happening to the population? My, it was exploding. The little Jewish babies
were coming so fast the Egyptians got all shook up. They had to do something
to stop it, or they would be outnumbered. Well, that was the purpose. Because
down in Egypt is where Israel became a numerous number of people and achieved
nationhood. So, back to Exodus 19 verse 6
once more. Then we’re going to move on up through the Old Testament. But here
is the first mention of this coming earthly Kingdom promised to the Nation of
Israel – and nobody else! All right, read it again. Exodus 19:6 “And ye shall be unto me
a kingdom of priests, (In other words, every Jew was to be a go-between
between the rest of the nations and Israel’s God.) and an holy nation.
These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” Now, we don’t hear too much
more about the Kingdom until we get up to II Samuel. Jump all the way up to II
Samuel chapter 7. Now we’re dealing with King David some 500 years later. II Samuel 7:10a “Moreover I will appoint
a place for my people Israel, (in other words, a geographical territory
of land) and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own,
and move no more;…” Now see, you’ve got to know this in view of
today’s news. What does the world in general
say about Israel? They’ve got no business being there. Who are they to
displace those poor Palestinians? Well, those poor Palestinians should have
known before they went there that they were going into foreign territory. This
is God’s Land! And He’s given it to the Nation of Israel ever since the call
of Abraham. Don’t ever forget that. They’re dealing with God’s Promised
Land. And here’s just another one of the instances. II Samuel 7:10b “…I will plant them, that
they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; neither shall the
children of wickedness afflict them any more, as before time,” Now
stop a minute. Has that happened yet? No. It still hasn’t happened. They’re
still afflicted. They still are not in their real homeland under their own
authoritarian king. This has been promised now for these thousands of years.
You and I are living to see it, we feel, come to final fruition. Now reading
on in verse 10: II Samuel 7:10c-11a “…neither shall the
children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, 11. And as since
the time that I commanded judges (Which, of course, was a few hundred
years previous to this.) to be over my people Israel, and have caused
thee to rest from all thine enemies,…” Now remember who He’s talking
to. He’s talking to King David. David had the throne and had the Kingdom up
into it’s epitome of all of Israel’s history. We’re going to look at it again
later, if we get there this afternoon, in Acts chapter 1 when the Twelve ask
Jesus, “Will you at this time restore again the Kingdom?” Oh,
what Kingdom? David’s! But also the same one we’ve been talking about and
will talk about all afternoon - this 1,000 year reign of Israel’s Messiah over planet Earth. All right, go all the way back again to King David at about
1,000 B.C. in verse 11. II Samuel 7:11 “And as since the time
that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to
rest from all thine enemies. (In other words, David finally achieved a
period of peace.) Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an
house.” Now, I always have to stop and qualify. What kind of a house
are we talking about? Not a building of sand and stone and steel, but a
genetic house, rather a bloodline house—a Royal House. I always go back and rehearse,
especially in Europe, the families of Europe’s Royalty. All are named as a
“house.” You remember, the House of Orange was the Netherlands. Great Britain still has the House of Windsor. Austria had the House of the Hapsburgs.
But what was it? It wasn’t a “house.” It was family. The House of Windsor
has provided the Kings and Queens and Princes for England for hundreds of
years. All right, God is doing the
same thing now with Israel. He is setting up a royal family. And who’s going
to be the beginning of it? King David. And that’s why when everybody referred
to Christ and His Earthly Kingdom—He’s going to sit on whose throne?
David’s! Because that’s when all of these royal house promises began. So He
says: II Samuel 7:11b-12 “…he will make thee an
house. 12. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy
fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy
bowels, and I will establish his (What’s the word again?) kingdom.”
Now, who are we talking about? Solomon. Solomon was the next in line. It
wasn’t only that He was building an earthly kingdom for that period of time,
but in the long view, in the big picture, he was in that royal family that
would lead all the way up to Matthew and the coming of the real King. II Samuel 7:13 “He shall build am house
for my name, (And again, it’s referring primarily to the royal family
rather than the temple of stone and so forth. He’s going to be second in line,
now, of this royal bloodline. And God says--) and I will establish the
throne of his kingdom for ever.” In other words, we know that after
the 1,000 years has run its course, this kingdom is going to slip right on into
eternity, under different circumstances of course, but it’s not going to end
with the 1,000 years. All right, then you come on
down to verse 14. In the interval, while Israel is waiting for this glorious
King and Kingdom, they’re going to go through some trials and tribulations, as
we well know they have for the last 2,000 years or more, verse 14: II Samuel 7:14 “I will be his father,
and he shall be my son. (You see that relationship between God and Israel?) If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the
stripes of the children of men:” And goodness sakes, if you know
anything about biblical history, did it happen? Why, over and over. The one we’re the most
acquainted with is the Babylonians. My, how Nebuchadnezzar came in and just
literally slaughtered the Jewish people in Jerusalem and totally destroyed the Temple. He took all the Temple artifacts, whatever you want to call them, the gold and the
silver back to Babylon. That’s all part of Israel’s history. And then, of
course, the next awful occurrence was A.D. 70 when the Romans did the same
thing all over again. They came in and slaughtered the people in Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple, and Israel was sent out into the dispersion. You go
on up through history, and you come to Hitler’s Holocaust. And so it’s been,
over and over in Israel’s history, a constant under the heavy boot of the
Gentile world. But then verse 15, what’s the first word? II Samuel 7:15-16 “But (Even though
Israel is chastised and always for a reason, God didn’t do it because He
enjoyed their misery. They deserved it. In spite of all of their chastisement
and in spite of all of their problems, God says--) But my mercy shall not
depart away from him, as (like when) I took it from Saul, whom I
put away before thee. 16. And thine house (And again, I’m
going to come back to the royal family.) and thy kingdom shall be
established for ever before thee: thy throne (That is the place of rule
and authority.) shall be established for ever.” All right, this Kingdom, we’re
going to chase it on up all the way through the Old Testament. Everything,
especially when you get to the prophets, is talking about the preparation of
the Nation of Israel for this coming Kingdom. Now, let’s jump all the way up
to Psalms chapter 2. Again, this is a chapter that most of you are well
acquainted with. We use it quite often, because I like to use it as an outline
of the Old Testament program. We can look back and see how it was fulfilled to
the very jot and tittle. And that’s the beauty of prophecy. That’s the beauty
of this Book. No other book on Earth can do that – foretell the future
thousands and thousands of years and then have it fulfilled exactly. Psalms 2:1 “Why do the heathen
(the Gentile world, the non-Jewish world) rage, and the people (Israel) imagine a vain thing?” See, you’ve got to remember. So far as
Scripture is concerned, on the one hand we’ve got two groups of people. Who
are they? Jew and Gentile. Then on the other hand we’ve
got two groups of people – lost and saved. But in this chapter, we’re talking
about Jew and Gentile. The heathen which are Gentiles, and then the other half
of the verse is a reference to the Nation of Israel. Here they are now—the
whole human race in those two categories of Jew and Gentile. Verse 2: Psalm 2:2 “The kings of the earth
set themselves, and the rulers (that is of Israel) take counsel
(What’s the next word?) together, against the LORD, and against his
anointed, saying,” Don’t ever let anyone put all the blame for the
crucifixion on just the Jew. The whole world is guilty of the crucifixion,
because they consorted together. Psalms 2:2b-3a “…and the rulers take
counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
(Of course, the Anointed in Scripture is always a reference to the
Messiah, Jesus, the Christ, the Son.) 3. Let us (Jew and Gentile)
break their…” Now here again I like the
little intricacies of Scripture. Why a plural pronoun in a reference to the
Godhead? Because God is Three in One, so it’s a plural pronoun. And you’ll
see that all the way back into Genesis chapter 1 verse 26. This is just a fact
of Scripture that we have a plurality in the Godhead. Even though Deuteronomy
6:4 says, “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD,” yet that
One God is made up of the Three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All right, now
in Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 at the creation of Adam, we have the same use of
the plural pronoun as in Psalms chapter 2. And it’s for the simple reason that
God is Triune. Genesis 1:26a “And God said, Let
(What’s the pronoun?) us (Well, come on you English grammars, us
is a singular or a plural? Plural. It’s not singular. But yet the word God
is singular. Us—well, it’s just a complete picture of His plurality in the
Godhead.) make man in our image,…” Not my image, see
that? And, again, it’s a reference to the plurality. That’s all I wanted you to
see. All right, come back to Psalms chapter 2. We have the same thing. This
same God is speaking, but when they respond in verse 3, humanity says: Psalms 2:3-4 “Let us break their bands
asunder, and cast away their cords from us. (Not his, but their.
All right, now verse four. We’re back to the singular.) 4. He
(God) that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them
in derision.” It’s not a laugh of entertainment. It’s a laugh of
derision, a laugh of scorn to think that they can stand up against the God of
creation. Well, God says, I’ll show you a thing or two. And, of course, we’re
still waiting. But it’s coming. Then, after they have rejected
the Messiah; they’ve crucified Him. And they have no remorse over it
whatsoever. Then verse 5 says: Psalms 2:5 “Then shall
he (God) speak unto them in his (What’s the next word?) wrath,
and vex them in his sore displeasure.” Now we’ve got the timeline on
the board, don’t we? Here we are. We’ve come out of the Old Testament, and
we’ve come all the way up to Christ’s earthly ministry. They’ve crucified Him,
and He’s ascended back to Glory. Now, according to all the Old
Testament prophecies, with no inkling whatsoever of this period of time we are
now in—where God is calling out the Gentile Body of Christ by having faith in
the finished work of the cross. These Old Testament prophets thought
everything would be coming right on through one thing after another. He’d been rejected, and He’s
ascended. The next event on this Old Testament timeline is the wrath of the
Tribulation, as we’ve been talking about it in the last several tapings
now—that seven year period of time which we refer to as the Tribulation.
Psalms 2 puts it so obvious that that’s the next event after the crucifixion.
It was to be followed by the next great event, the Second Coming of Christ and
the bringing in of this Kingdom that we’re talking about. But of course, God stopped that
upper timeline and brought in the one below. We’re still in that period of
time waiting for the out-calling of the Church. Then will come the Tribulation,
and then will come the King and the Kingdom. All right, back to Psalms
chapter 2, so that you can see with your own eyes how perfectly true this
prophecy in Psalms as a timeline is laid out. Psalm 2:5-6 “Then shall he speak unto
them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. (That’s the
seven years that we’ve been talking about lately. And then what’s the next
event? The King!) 6. Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”
Now, whose throne was on Mt. Zion? David’s throne. So Christ will rule from Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. Okay, I’ve only got one minute
left. Let’s go over to Isaiah. Now, I’m not going to try to separate these
four programs. We’ll just go as far as we can get. We’ll take the break, and
we’ll come back. We’ll do that all afternoon. So, for you in television, you
may have to wait until tomorrow morning, and then we’ll pick up where we left
off yesterday. Okay, Isaiah chapter 2 verse 2, and this is as far as we’re
going to get in this program. All got it? Isaiah 2:2 “And it shall come to
pass (It hasn’t yet, but it will.) in the last days, that the
mountain (or the kingdom) of the LORD’S house shall be
established in the top of the mountains (kingdoms), and shall be
exalted above the hills; and (This is going to be such a great and
glorious Kingdom that the last part of the verse says--) all the nations
will (What?) flow into it.” In other words Jerusalem is
going to be the Capital of the World, and all the nations of the world will
funnel all of their business as well as their faith relationships into the city
of Jerusalem. Okay, good to have you all back
after our break. We’ll go into program number two for the afternoon. Let’s see,
we’re in book 77, and we’re in the middle four programs today. Hopefully by
the end of book 77, we’ll have all the dots connected in Scripture. Huh,
Jerry? Hopefully. But we’ll just take it as it comes. So anyway, we always want to –
what shall I say – thank our TV audience for your prayers, your financial
support, and everything. And as I’ve said before, I’ll say it again, mail time
is something else. One of my girls from the office is here. It’s not just the
mail, but the phone calls, as well, isn’t it, Delena? My, how we appreciate
all those fine phone calls. You know, I don’t need any financial pay. That’s
enough in itself, just to hear how folks are being exercised by the Word. Not
Les Feldick. It’s the Book that’s getting them exercised and excited. Iris wants me to let the
audience know once more that we’ve still got our one and only book. It
has eighty-eight questions and answers. We like to let folks know. It’s a
well-received book. It’s got a lot of information in it and makes wonderful
gifts. It’s nominally priced, so call if you’re interested. So anyway, we’ll continue right
on now in this program where we left off in the last one. We’ll do that all
afternoon. We’ll just go until our time runs out. Then we’ll take our break
and come back on the next one. We’re going to jump right back in on the
Kingdom concept in Isaiah chapter 9 and a couple of familiar verses, verses 6
and 7. We are going to continue getting ready for the New Testament
introduction of the thousand year reign of Christ. It’s been promised ever since Israel became a Nation. That’s what I’m trying to show, that this isn’t just a New
Testament concept. This is something that the Nation of Israel has been
promised almost from the time of Abraham. Definitely since the time of Moses,
and that’s why we started today in Exodus chapter 19. But now we’re up to the
Prophets, 700 B.C., up to Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6: Isaiah 9:6a “For unto us (the
Nation of Israel) a child is born, unto us a son is given:…” I
always connect that with John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He
gave His only Begotten So.,” I connect that this is what they got when
He gave. Isaiah 9:6b “…and the government
shall be upon his shoulder:…” Looking ahead now to the time of this royal
family coming to a head in the person of the Messiah, the Christ, sitting on
David’s throne ruling from Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. Never lose sight of that.
It’s going to be an earthly Kingdom on which God the Son Himself will rule and
reign. Now this is all prophecy, yet—700 years before Christ. Isaiah 9:6c-7a “…and the government
shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (All those
are titles that God the Son will wear, you might say, when He becomes King of
this glorious Kingdom.) 7. Of the increase of his government…” Now, what does government speak
of? People. Government is what controls the masses. Without it you’ve got
anarchy. So here, even in the Kingdom economy, we’re going to have a
government. It’s going to be a benevolent government. It’s not going to be
one of high taxation. It’s not going to be one of penal punishment and all
those other things. It’s going to be Heaven on Earth. But nevertheless, it’ll
be a government under the rulership of the King. Later on today, or whenever
we get over into the New Testament, we’ll see how the Twelve Apostles of Israel
will each rule one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. They’ll sit on thrones underneath
the throne of Jesus Himself. All right, here we have it then. Isaiah 9:7a “Of the increase of His
government and peace (There’ll be no war during this Kingdom.) there
shall be no end, (Because like I said in the last half hour, it’ll slip
right on into the eternal environment. He’s going to sit there--) upon
the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,…” See that? I made
reference to it in the first half hour, that it’s the throne of David on which
Christ will sit in Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. All right, so He will sit: Isaiah 9:7b “…upon the throne of
David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment
(that is rule) and with justice (There’ll be no bribery.
There’ll be no corruption, and it’ll be--) from henceforth even
for ever. (Because--) The zeal (or the authority, the
sovereignty) of the LORD of Hosts will perform this.” Well, now that’s about as plain
as language can get, isn’t it? Now turn the page. We go into another aspect of
His earthly Kingdom, and that is the animal kingdom. Isaiah chapter 11, now
this isn’t Heaven, this is the Kingdom. You know, I think I made mention in
the last taping. Somebody sent me a book that he had authored or someone had
authored. I think the guy did himself, and he was speaking of what Heaven will
be like. Well, all of the references were these Kingdom references. This isn’t Heaven as we think
of Heaven. This is the earthly Kingdom. Now keep that straight. This is the
Heaven that Israel is looking forward to on the earth under the headship
of their Messiah. But it’s not the Heaven that you and I think of, which is,
of course, in the Heavens of the Heavenlies. I don’t know where it’s at, but
it’s certainly not here on the earth. This Kingdom is simply going to be a
heavenly-like environment but on planet earth with the capital in Jerusalem. All right, now on planet earth
we’re going to also have aspects of the animal kingdom. Let’s jump in at
chapter 11, and let’s start at verse 4. Again, we’re making reference to the King. Isaiah 11:4a “But with righteousness shall
he (the King) judge (or rule) the poor,
(Those who are at the bottom of the totem pole.) and reprove with equity
for the meek of the earth:…” Now, of course, whenever I read that
verse I’m always reminded—when did Jesus address these things? Well, in the
Beatitudes. The Beatitudes—they’re the constitution of the Kingdom. And they
make far better sense if you leave it with the Kingdom than try to bring it
into Christianity today. Isaiah 11:4b-5 “…reprove with equity for
the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
(That, of course, is previous to all of this.) and with the breath of his
lips shall he slay the wicked. (That was all accomplished before we
open the Kingdom.) 5. And righteousness (Absolute perfect
fairness and equity and honesty, everything will be without any smack of
pollution or corruption. It’s going to be perfect!) shall be the girdle
of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” Now verse 6,
and we jump into another aspect of the Kingdom—the animal kingdom. It’s going
to be there. Isaiah 11:6 “The wolf also shall
dwell with the lamb, (Because the curse has been lifted. They’ll no
longer be carnivorous. They will eat as they ate in the Garden of Eden before
the curse fell.) and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
(the baby goat) and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
(They’ll all be co-mingling. And in the midst of what used to be
carnivorous animals, what?) and a little child shall lead them.”
Kids are playing. They’re
going to be playing with these wild animals instead of cats and dogs, or rather
along with cats and dogs. I shouldn’t say instead of, or somebody is going to
get all shook up, and say, wait a minute, I’m not going to have a kitty in the
Kingdom? But we know that all these wild animals are going to be
domesticated. They’re no longer going to be carnivorous. I’ll show you why in
the next verse. Isaiah 11:7 “And the cow and bear
shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion (the
fiercest of all) shall eat straw (or forage) like an ox.”
Well, if it can forage like an ox, it doesn’t have to kill something else for
its food. So everything is going to revert back. Now, let me show you from
Scripture. Go back to Genesis again. Like I said in the last program, we’ve
got to keep reviewing Genesis, because it’s been many, many years since we
taught it verse-by-verse. But you remember back in Genesis chapter 1 verse 30,
and this is before Adam ate. This is before the curse fell. This is what it’s
going to go back to when the Kingdom is set up—just like it was in Eden before Adam fell. Genesis 1:30 “And to every beast of
the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon
the earth, wherein there is life, (in other words, every living thing) I
have given every green herb for food: and it was so.” In other words, everything in
God’s creation ate and survived on things that grew naturally. They didn’t
kill anything. Why? Death was still unknown. Death was an unknown factor
back here. Nothing died. Consequently, nothing killed something else for its
food. Everything ate of that which grew naturally. Well, it’s going to come
back to that. Now back to Isaiah 11, this is
why the lion will eat grass and forage and so forth just like cattle. All the
other carnivorous animals will eat the same way. They’ll eat of the herbs and
so forth. And now verse 8: Isaiah 11:8-9 “The nursing child shall
play on the hole of the asp, (or a poisonous snake in our time) and
(a larger child) the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’
den. (without any harm or danger) 9. They shall not hurt nor
destroy (Nothing will die, and nothing will go back into
uselessness.) in all my holy mountain: (That is the Kingdom.) for
the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the
sea.” Now, isn’t that a fabulous
promise? You know, I think I read years and years ago that the human capability
of even the brain that we have is only about 5%. That’s all we can use is
about 5% of our capability. Well, can you imagine what will happen when God
gives us full knowledge? Paul even speaks of it—that we will have full
knowledge and understanding. That’s why when questions come
in that are kind of hard to answer, and over which a lot of the theologians
like to argue, you know what my favorite answer now is? Well, hey, if it
doesn’t affect where you’re going to spend eternity, if it doesn’t affect your
daily life, why worry about them? We’ll find out when we get there. We’re
going to have full knowledge. We’re going to understand all
these things that today are in a state of unknown. We’re going to have this
kind of knowledge as the waters cover the sea. Now, that is for these here in
the Kingdom. Of course I’ll have to refer to the Church’s experience in the
Kingdom at a later time. But anyway, “the knowledge of the LORD will
cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.” Now, let’s move on up through
our Old Testament. Let’s go on up to Jeremiah. This is what I wanted you to
see first—Jeremiah 31:31. We’ve looked at these verses before. Again, the
Lord is speaking through the prophet, and look what He says. Jeremiah 31:31a “Behold, the days come,
(Now, what does that speak of? Out in the future. Doesn’t say when, but
sometime out in the future.) saith the LORD,…” This is a promise
that He’s giving concerning the believing element of Israel. Now you want to remember—only a
small remnant of Israel has ever been believers or will believe. Even as we
saw in our last taping, that only 1/3 of the Jews of our present time will
become true believers and go into this glorious Kingdom. But nevertheless,
this is the promise that God makes to that surviving remnant that will enjoy
these Kingdom promises. Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, the days come,
saith the LORD, that I will (It’s going to happen.) make a new
covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:” Now that makes me stop again. You know, there are so many people who still think
that the ten tribes were lost and disappeared and only Judah and Benjamin
survived. Don’t you believe it. God never lost a single tribe. They were all
intact when they went out into the Babylonian captivity. And don’t you ever
forget that. When they came back from the
Babylonian captivity, Ezra and Nehemiah spoke over and over of the whole house
of Israel. Not just Judah and Benjamin – the whole house of Israel was represented going out and coming back. All the way up through the Old Testament it’s a
constant reference not just to the tribe of Judah, but to all of them. Then when you jump all the way
up – now let’s just do this, because this is what I have to do with Scripture.
Jump all the way up to Acts. Keep your hand in Jeremiah. I’m not through
there by any means. But just to see what I’m talking about, jump up to Acts
chapter 2 and the day of Pentecost. Peter is preaching his Pentecostal
sermon. Let’s see, I was going to use even more than one, but one will do for
now—verse 36. Got it? Acts chapter 2 verse 36 and remember, he’s addressing
the Jews that have been gathering there around the Temple for this Feast of
Pentecost. And look how Peter addresses them. This is in plain English. Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all
the house of Israel (not just two tribes, all of them) know
assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord
and Christ.” They’re all there. Now, if that’s not enough for you,
just keep going. Go all the way back to Revelation chapter 7. Now how can they be lost when
Scripture has got them right in front of you? I’ll tell you what; the devil is
a master at spreading a lie. You know that, don’t you? He was the father of
it. He’s the master of it. But we’re not going to follow a lie. We’re going
to follow the truth. Revelation 7:4 “And I heard the number
of them which were sealed: and they were sealed an 144,000 of all the
tribes of the children of Israel.” Two? All of them! Now, when you
take all twelve tribes of Israel and you take 12,000 out of each one as it
shows in verses 5-8, how many do you end up with? 144,000. And it’s not Jehovah’s
Witnesses, it’s Jews! Next time they come to your door, you just ask them, my,
are you a Jew? You don’t look like one. Well, no, I’m not a Jew. Well, then
you can’t be one of the 144,000, because they have to be Jews. It’s what the
Book says—twelve thousand from each one of the twelve tribes. Now, can you get
it any plainer than that? Okay, back to Jeremiah. That
was all free for nothing. I didn’t intend to do that either. Jeremiah 31
verse 32, this new covenant is: Jeremiah 31:32a “Not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand
to bring them out of the land of Egypt;…” That was where we first
started this afternoon back in Exodus 19—when Israel was gathered around Mt. Sinai and God was getting ready to give them the Law. Now, Jeremiah says, we’re not
talking about that covenant. We’re not talking about the Ten Commandments and
the Temple worship. We’re talking about a new covenant. And now verse 33: Jeremiah 31:33 “But this (This
new covenant that’s still out in Israel’s future when the Kingdom comes in.
That’s when this covenant will kick in.) shall be the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, (In
other words, after all of their history is gone by, and they’re now coming into
the Kingdom. Then this new covenant is going to become a reality. God says--) I
will put my law (in other words, their means of behavior, their daily
discipline) in their inward parts, and will write it in their hearts; and
will be their God, and they shall be my people.” What a difference
from where they’ve been for the last couple thousand years. Jeremiah 31:34 “And they shall teach no
more every man his neighbor, and (They shall no more teach--) every
man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive
(See that?) I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin
no more.” All right, now let’s jump all
the way back for comparison sake to where the Jew even today is still resting.
That is Deuteronomy chapter 6. Many of you know where I’m going to go.
Deuteronomy chapter 6, now this is just for comparison. Look at the vast
difference between this first Covenant of Law and the New Covenant that
Jeremiah is talking about. Deuteronomy chapter 6 and drop in at verse 4. Deuteronomy 6:4-6 “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD: 5. And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6. And these words,
which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:” But not like
it is in Jeremiah, because in the next verse what are they still going to have
to do? Teach it. Deuteronomy 6:7-9 “And thou shalt teach
them (That is these words which God is going to give in His Covenant of
Law.) diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest
down, and when thou risest up. 8. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine
hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9. And thou shalt
write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” You see the
difference? In other words, beginning with
the Law, they had to work at it constantly in order to pass it on to their
children and in order to practice it. But when they get into the Kingdom, it’s
going to be so glorious there won’t be any need for a law that says “thou
shalt not.” Instead, God is going to write all of His righteousness in
their hearts. They’re not going to have any problem living a righteous life. Now, while I’m back in Jeremiah
31, I want to bring you back there for a moment. Because, here again, I have
to disagree with these people who are maintaining that Israel has gone down the tube. They’re gone—they’ve disappeared, and all these promises have been
given to the church. Don’t you believe it! Israel is still a viable entity.
That’s why they’re back in the land. That’s why everything is getting ready for
these Kingdom promises to yet become a reality. Okay, let’s look at what the
Scripture says to these people who claim that Israel disappeared. Jeremiah 31
verse 35. Now, that may shock some of you people, but there are a lot of them
out there. I get a magazine every so often, and that’s all they trumpet—that
the Jew disappeared in A.D. 70. Christ returned in A.D. 70, and all the
promises that were given to Israel have disappeared and have now been turned
over to the Church. Well, that’s not what my Bible says. Look at verse 35. Jeremiah 31:35 “Thus saith the LORD, who
giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon
and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea
when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: (Now this
is what God says.) 36. If those ordinances depart from before me, saith
the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before
me for ever. 37. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the
foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the
seed of Israel for all that they have done, (Because they certainly
deserve it.) saith the LORD. 38. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.” All of God’s promises are going
to be fulfilled. Israel hasn’t disappeared. Israel is not going to
disappear. They are there today by virtue of God’s decree, and it’s a
miraculous thing that they’ve been called back from every nation on the planet.
They resurrected the dead Hebrew language. And then people scoff at it and say
they’re nothing but impostors. Well, not according to this Book. You have to
remember that all of these promises are still future. They are still valid. Okay, now for the minute that
we’ve got left, let’s just stay in Jeremiah and turn over to chapter 33 verse
7. Now, these are God’s promises. And, beloved, if God can break these
promises, then what have you and I got to stand on? Nothing! Because if He can
break His promise with Israel, He can break it with you and me. But He won’t.
He hasn’t. Okay, now look at this, Jeremiah 33 starting at verse 7. The “I
wills” are God speaking. And He says: Jeremiah 33:7-9a “And I will cause the
captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, (Now that’s
all Twelve Tribes. Israel is the ten. Judah is the two.) and will build
them, as at the first. 8. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity,
whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities,
whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. 9. And
it shall be to me a name of joy,...” Why? Because Israel is now at the place that they have been waiting for—for 4,000 years! For those of you joining us in
television, again we’re just an informal Bible study. We’re not associated
with anybody. We’re totally independent. We have no one underwriting us, so we
do appreciate all the financial help we get from our audience. But more than
that, we appreciate your prayers for the ministry. All right, Ezekiel chapter 47,
and we’re going to continue on with the Old Testament prophecies concerning
this time that is still future. We’ve been looking at all the horrors of the
Tribulation in the past several tapings. That’s why we’re looking at the
Kingdom now, because that’s the next event after the Battle of Armageddon.
We’re going to be looking at the Second Coming of Christ, if not this
afternoon, it’ll be in our next taping. But here we’re still in the Old
Testament promises concerning this glorious Heaven on earth Kingdom with the
capital in Jerusalem. All right, in Ezekiel chapter 47, Ezekiel is describing
the millennial throne in Jerusalem. I’m not going to take the time to go back
to all that. But in the first verses of chapter 47, he’s speaking of the
throne room in Jerusalem as being the headwaters of this gorgeous river that’s
going to flow from Jerusalem to the Mediterranean to the West, and it’s also
going to flow to the Dead Sea to the East. Now, we’re going to pick up the
one that flows east of the Dead Sea in Ezekiel 47 verse 7. Now get the
picture. Christ is ruling from the throne room on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. From underneath the throne room will come this fountain of fresh water—half
going west to the Mediterranean and half going east to the Dead Sea. Ezekiel 47:7-8 “Now when I had returned,
behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one
side and the other. (in other words, on both sides of this river)
8. Then he said unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, (That
is from Jerusalem.) and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: (That
is the Dead Sea.) which being brought forth into the sea, the waters (the
Dead Sea waters) shall be healed.” Now, I think you are all
aware that nothing lives in the Dead Sea today. Now verse 9: Ezekiel 47:9a “And it shall come to
pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall
come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because
these waters shall come thither:…” In other words, this freshening
water supply coming from this river out of Jerusalem will actually generate the
Dead Sea into a fresh water sea, and all the fish will begin to be in its
habitat. Ezekiel 47:9b-10a “…and there shall be a
very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they
shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. 10. And
it shall come to pass,…” You know, I love those words—just simply
because it flies in the face of most of humanity. They doubt these things, and
they think that we’re just grasping at something. But listen, as I’ve been saying
for the last six months every place I go. When it says it’s going to happen,
then it’s going to happen! You can just rest on it. And we’re getting closer
and closer every day. My goodness, when you see what’s going on in the world
and the things that are almost – like I told Iris, I’m not one to worry, but I
am getting a little bit concerned even about our own beloved America. Because, you see, everything is so fragile. If anything collapses, the
whole thing goes. I trust you all know that. And all of a sudden our
abundance might be anything “but.” So, I’m all for—you’d better get a little
garden ready. You’d better start some home garden, because it could happen
overnight. But anyway, when the Book says that--“And it shall come to
pass,” we can see the handwriting is on the wall. We’re getting closer
and closer. Now, after the Dead Sea becomes fresh water and filled with fish, well, what follows? Fishermen! And
here we come in the next verse. Ezekiel 47:10a “And it shall come to
pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi…” Now, those
of you that have been there, En-gedi is a park. It’s a Jewish wildlife park on
the west side of the highway. On the east side is the Dead Sea where you
usually go swimming. It’s a resort area now. That’s En-gedi. Ezekiel 47:10b “…from En-gedi even unto
En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish
(They’re going to be catching fish.) shall be according to their kinds,
as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.” The Mediterranean—this
renovated Dead Sea is going to produce fish like you won’t believe. And that’s
all part of this regeneration of the planet. The places that were cursed the
worst are going to be the most blessed. Now, let’s move on into a
little different prophetic view in Daniel. Daniel is going to show how that
this Kingdom cannot come in until the King sets everything straight. Come in
at Daniel chapter 2. It’s a portion of Scripture that many of you have heard
taught from other Bible teachers. You’ve heard it from me. This is the vision
from the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel chapter 2 and let’s
start at verse 31. I think you all remember the story. The King had a dream
and couldn’t remember what it was. He was about to put all his magicians to
death because they couldn’t figure it out for him, but they told him about this
Jew that maybe could do the job. So he calls up Daniel. And Daniel, of
course, by the miraculous power of his God, is able to not only recover the
dream but interpret it. And here we are in Daniel chapter 2 verse 31. Daniel
is speaking and he says: Daniel 2:31-33 “Thou, O king, sawest,
and behold a great image. (or likeness) This great image, whose
brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
(or frightening) 32. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and
his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33. His legs of iron,
his feet part of iron and part of clay.” Now, we know from previous
studies that this great image was a preview of prophecy concerning the Gentile
empires that would be coming down the pipe of history. We’ve always shown it
before that the head of gold was Babylon—the first great Gentile Empire in
human history—Nebuchadnezzar. And he told Nebuchadnezzar “thou art this
head of gold.” The next part of the image
coming down to the chest area of silver was indicative of the next empire,
which was the Medes and the Persians. And you remember the Medes and the
Persians blocked off the Euphrates River. The Babylonians were caught sleeping,
and the Medes and Persian army came in on the dry river and just simply
overwhelmed the Babylonians in a minute of time. Then the next empire that
usurped the Medes and the Persians was Alexander the Great—the Greek Empire.
And that, of course, is indicated by the belly of brass. The Greek’s only held
forth two or three hundred years, and then here come the Romans—the fourth
great Gentile Empire. And Rome not only defeated the Greeks, but enlarged
their Empire. And then we have another extension of this image, and that is
down to his feet and toes. Here we have, especially the toes, designated as
part iron and part clay. Now, we know from our study of
prophecy that these great empires all came in their prophetic order. First the
Babylonians, then the Medes, then the Greeks and then the Romans—and Christ was
rejected and crucified under the Roman Empire. But, the prophecy stopped, and
the clock stopped. And instead of carrying on as
our timeline shows—instead of this timeline just keeping right on going after
the crucifixion and the ascension, then the Tribulation and the Second Coming
and the Kingdom—it stopped after His ascension. We have the rise of the
Apostle Paul, and in comes where we have been for 2,000 years—what we call the
Dispensation of Grace, the Church Age. This Church Age is made up of mostly
Gentiles who have believed for salvation that Jesus died for their sins, was
buried, and rose again. We feel we’re right out here at
the final days of it. We don’t know, but it certainly seems that way. We have
to be taken out of the way, because this Body of Christ will not fit with the
prophecy from the Old Testament. This is totally separated from all of this.
So now we’re over here at the end of the Church Age, at this point in time on
this timeline. We’re waiting for the Rapture, for the removal of the Body of
Christ. Then the next event is still like it is up here – the Tribulation, the
Second Coming, and the Kingdom in that order. And all of this is unfolding,
because we’ve seen these same four Empires back in the news now every day—the
same four Empires. Babylon of course is Iraq. I’ve said for the last three
years—this is not Bush’s war; this is God’s war, because Iraq has to be made ready for the end time. Now, if you want to see Iraq in the end time—I didn’t
intend to do this, either. That’s why I get off schedule. I shouldn’t do
this, but I have to. That’s my way of teaching. Come back with me to Revelation
18. Oh, my goodness, jump in at verse one. I was going to go all the way over
to verse 9, but let’s start at verse 1. Now, why am I doing this? Because of
what I just said—this Iraqi war is God’s war. It’s getting the Middle East ready for the Second Coming. This is why I feel it has to be the way it is,
because – now why do we do this? You all know that Iraq has the second
greatest supply of oil of any nation on earth—greater than anybody except maybe
Saudi Arabia. All it needs is the right kind of people to come in and put it
into production and get it shipped out. Well, that oil is at a hundred and
some dollars a barrel. Can you imagine the wealth that gives that little
country? And you see, when you’ve got money, you can do anything. Now, I maintain that once all
the dust settles, Iraq will start pumping oil like you won’t believe. They
will, just wait. It’ll happen. All that money, it’s already accumulating, you
know. All that money will be spent to rebuild the ancient city of Babylon. And this is what you see here in Revelation. Now, when they’ve got the money,
they’ll be able to build a city of two or three hundred thousand population in
less than a year’s time. They did it over in the Emirates in the little city
called Dubai. I’m sure that you’ve all been seeing a little bit about Dubai. Unbelievable! Manmade lakes and golf courses out there on what was nothing but
pure sand. Well, how did they do it? Money! Well, all right, if Iraq ends up with all these jillions of oil dollars, this can happen almost overnight.
Okay, here we come, Revelation 18 verse 1. Revelation 18:1-2a “And after these things I
saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was
lightened with his glory. 2. And the angel cried mightily with a strong voice,
saying, Babylon the great is fallen,…” Now, when I taught this ten
years ago, I put the word Babylon here as connecting all the global systems of
the world, not just Babylon alone. All the great financial centers and the
whole globalized economies in the world are now going to be under the control
of the anti-Christ, and it’s going to fall. That’s what this chapter is all
about, the end of this great Gentile financial empire. Revelation 18:2b-3 “…Babylon the great is
fallen, is fallen, and this is become the habitation of demons, and the hold of
every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3. For all
nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings
of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the
earth are waxed rich (Money, money, money—that’s all they can think
about.) through the abundance of her delicacies.” Revelation 18:4-5 “And I heard another
voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers
of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5. For her sins have
reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” Verse 7: Revelation 18:7-8
“How much she hath
glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her:
for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, (She’s a big, new, beautiful
city—but don’t forget all the other financial centers of the world are all tied
together. It’s not just this one city alone. But on the other hand, it has to
be a city, because it’s spoken of as such.) and am no widow, and shall
see no sorrow. 8. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, (This
will be at the Second Coming of Christ. This is what we’re building up to out
of our Old Testament study today.) death, and mourning, and famine; and
she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth
her.” Now, coming down to verse 9, I
think we identify the city in particular. Don’t forget, it’s going to be Paris and Berlin and London and New York and Chicago and San Francisco; and you just go
all around the globe. They’re all tied together in our globalized economies.
But here sits the queen of them all. Revelation 18:9-11 “And the kings of the
earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall
bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that
great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. 11.
And the merchants of the earth shall weep, and mourn over her; for no man
buyeth their merchandise anymore:” And look at their commodities. Revelation 18:12 “The merchandise of gold,
and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and
silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory,
(all the things of the wealthy society of this globalized economy) and
all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble.” Now,
come all the way down to verse 16. Revelation 18:16-18 “And saying, Alas, alas,
that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and
decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! 17. For in one hour
(Now, I’m a literalist. This is going to just be almost instantaneous.)
so great riches is come to nothing. And every shipmaster, (Which I feel
will be down on the Persian Gulf.) and all the company in ships, and
sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, 18. And cried when they
saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!” Well, I think again, all the
petrol dollars are being accumulated, and it’s going to rise up out of the
dust—the most beautiful city the world has probably ever seen. The Gardens of
Nebuchadnezzar will be put to shame by what they’ll be able to do with all this
oil money. And if you doubt me, you just go to the internet or whatever, and
you look up the city Dubai – D u b a i – and it is unbelievable. They’ve built
all that in just a short period of time. See, Ike knows what I’m talking
about. And that’s just a little foretaste of what I think they’ll do in Iraq. Well, back to Daniel 2. I
didn’t plan to do that. Here we have the great Gentile Empires. Starting with
Nebuchadnezzar back there in 606 B.C. and ending with the Roman Empire at the
time of Christ. All right, about 300 and some years after Christ’s death, the Roman Empire disappeared into the dustbin of human history. But now here we are. That’s
where I left off. Iraq is back in the news every day. That’s ancient Babylon. It is the same place. All right, the next empire was
the Medes and the Persians. Well, who’s Persia? Iran. And if you don’t know
that Iran is in the news every day, you’ve got your head in the dirt
someplace. All right, then what’s the next one? Syria. And Syria is in the news now every day. Getting closer, I think, to a confrontation with Israel. So that brings us up to the fourth empire, which was Rome. What’s the present day Roman Empire? The European Union. And like I think I shared in
the last taping. Way back when the European Union was still in its infancy, I
told my Bible classes that someday they would have their own currency. I
didn’t know what they’d call it. And I said you just watch that. After it
finally gets on the world currency markets, it’ll just gradually go right up
past the American dollar. And that’s where it is today. I think it’s up to
about a dollar and a half or more for a dollar. And it’s all right here. So, now we are at that point in
history where all these Old Testament Gentile Empires are back in the news.
They’ve all got a role of one sort or another. Now, let’s continue on reading
in Daniel. So I can at least finish this part of it before this program ends.
Now then, verse 34 of Daniel 2, after laying out these four empires, with a
fifth made of ten toes, which I feel is the European Community. It’s a revived
Roman Empire. Daniel 2:34 “Thou sawest (he
tells the king) till that a stone was cut out without hands,…” Now,
I’m thinking that someday I may make an afternoon, or at least program or two,
on all the references throughout Scripture where Christ is the “Rock” or the
“Stone.” I think it’s enough for an afternoon. But over and over Christ is
referred to as the Stone or the Rock. You remember when Moses struck
the Rock? Who was the Rock? Well, it was Christ. All right, here we have a
Stone depicted in this prophecy, but what’s unique about this Stone? It’s cut
out without hands. So, what is it? It’s a supernatural boulder. A huge
boulder! That’s what we want to be putting in our imagination. Here comes
this huge boulder with which human effort has nothing to do whatsoever. It’s a
miraculous thing. Now read on. Daniel 2:34 “Thou sawest till that a
stone (Which is a reference to Christ; but in its symbolism, it’s a
boulder.) was cut out without hands, who smote the image upon his feet
that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.” Now remember,
the image is standing upright. The head is Nebuchadnezzar, the chest and then
the legs and the feet. Now, when this boulder comes
and strikes that image on its feet, what’s the natural result? It’s going to
tip over. As it tips over, what does that boulder do to the statue? Crushes
it. Grinds it to powder. That’s the symbolism. What’s the reality? When
Christ comes, the powers that be that the anti-Christ is going to be coming out
of and is going to use as base will be the European, the Revived Roman Empire.
That’s going to be the base of it all. All these other empires’ influences are
still with us, but they’re all going to be crushed with the Second Coming of
Christ. Now, you got the picture? All right, so he “strikes
the image upon his feet,” which is the Revived Roman Empire, out of
which the anti-Christ is ruling the world. But all the influences of the
Persians and the Syrians and the Greeks and so forth are still evident. But
they’re all going to come under that rolling Stone. Daniel 2:34b-35a “…which smote the image
upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35. Then
was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces
together,…” See where we’re going? We’re going from feet to legs, to
the belly, to the chest, to the head. And it’s going to be utterly ground to
pieces together. Daniel 2:35b-35c “…and became like the
chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, (Which
means what? There’s no more evidence of them. They’re completely wiped off the
planet—everything pertaining to them.) that no place was found
for them: (But now, that’s not the end. What’s the next part of the
statement?) and the stone (Jesus Christ in His Second Coming)
that smote the image became a great (kingdom) mountain (in
the King James), and filled the whole earth.” All right, now we’ve got to
make one more reference. I’m not through in Daniel. I may come back next half
hour. I don’t know. But now, come over quickly in the minute we have left to
Zechariah. This is the next to the last book in your Old Testament.
Zechariah—because I want you to see how the language is exactly the same.
Daniel depicts this great Kingdom as filling the whole earth, not just the
Middle East, not just Israel. It’s going to be an earthly Kingdom covering the
whole earth. All right, Zechariah 14, again, I’ve got to watch my time. I
think I’ve got time. Here are the closing stages of
the Tribulation as we saw it in our last taping. When everything is going to be
utterly reduced to nothing, so that God can start out with a totally cleansed
earth. All right, then verse 3: Zechariah 14:3-4a “Then shall the LORD go
forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of
battle. 4. And his feet (His Second Coming) shall stand in that
day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east,…” All right, now skip across the
page, at least in my Bible, to verse 9. Here we’ll have to close. Now verse 9,
and look at the identical words that we saw in Daniel. Zechariah 14:9 “And the LORD shall be king
over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”
And that Kingdom is going to fill the earth from one end to the other, and it’s
going to be like the Garden of Eden. Okay, once again you’re all
back from your break. This is our last program for this afternoon. After it’s
over, we can go home. For those of you joining us on television, we’ll see you
tomorrow morning. But anyway, we are so thankful for every one of you out
there whether you contribute or not. As long as we know you are praying for
us, then the Lord will do the rest. We know He’s touching a lot of hearts and
lives through the teaching of His Word. All right, we’re still on what
we started on several months ago called “Connecting the Dots of Scripture.”
We’re still heading toward the end of the Book of Revelation. Someday. We’ve
just finished, pretty much, the Old Testament in review—just hitting the high
points of all the promises concerning this coming glorious earthly Kingdom over
which we feel Christ—God the Son, Israel’s Messiah—will rule and reign some day
soon. Now, before we go back to
Matthew and pick up the New Testament account of this coming Kingdom, I’d like
to take you back to Romans chapter 15 verse 8 where Paul makes another
reference to this very same thing. But he clarifies what most of Christendom
still doesn’t get. That is, that Christ’s whole earthly ministry was to
prepare Israel for this glorious Kingdom. He came to present it—knowing, of
course in His foreknowledge, that they would reject it and bring about the
crucifixion which had to happen. But nevertheless, it was a valid offer of
this glorious Kingdom promised ever since Exodus 19. Romans 15:8 “Now I say that Jesus
Christ was (From Paul’s point in time, it’s past tense. We’re going to
be looking at it in a minute from the very beginning.) a minister of the
circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers:”
What’s he talking about? What we’ve been seeing for the last three half
hours. Those were the promises that were made to the fathers—first through
Moses at Mt. Sinai, and then through the prophets and King David. All these
prophecies concerning this coming glorious Kingdom were promised to the Nation
of Israel. That was their “Heaven” that they were looking for. Now, a lot of people call and
say, “Les, when did you catch on to all of this? And how?” Well, I just wrote
a letter yesterday explaining it, so it’s fresh in my mind. You can be turning
back to Matthew chapter 3. I had just started teaching home Bible classes
outside of my regular denominational church. I had been a Sunday school
teacher and a deacon for many, many years. About the third week, this lady
came up after a class and she said, “Les, why isn’t Heaven taught in the Old
Testament?” I said, “What?” I’d never heard of that. I said, “What are you
talking about?” She said, “Well, those Jews had no idea of dying and going to
Heaven. It’s not back there.” Well, that was a whole new concept to me. So I
had to get into the Book and start digging to prove her wrong. But you know
what? She was right! The Jew had no idea of going to
Heaven. They were going to go to Paradise. They were going to go down to
Sheol. They had to wait for the atonement, and then Christ emptied Sheol, or Paradise, and took it up to Heaven. But see, she was so right that the Jew had no concept
of going to Heaven. Now, the verse I usually like
to use, keep your hand in Matthew, because I’m going to come right back. Come
back with me to Job. We’ve done this before for some of you. But for those of
you who are just getting part of this, we’ve got to prove that this is what the
Jew was looking for. Job puts it perfectly. Chapter 19 verses 25 and 26 and
this is exactly the concept that the Jew had of death and life after death. It
wasn’t the idea that we have of going up to Heaven. They were going to come to
a heaven on earth. Job 19:25-26 “For I know that my
redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day (Where?) upon
the earth: (at the latter day, not at the beginning, at the last) 26.
And though after my skin worms destroy this body, (In other words, he
dies and goes back to the dust, yet here was his future.) yet in
my flesh (resurrected flesh) I shall see God:” And
where’s God going to be? Standing on the earth! So Job had the right idea.
That after he had finished this life of the physical and he died, one day he
would be resurrected back to the earth. But it wouldn’t be the earth under the
curse, it would be an earth under the Kingdom authority of the Messiah. The
whole Old Testament view of their eternal destiny was to come back to an
earthly Kingdom. Matthew chapter 3 is the first
reference that we have to it in the New Testament. And don’t forget what Paul
said—that Jesus Christ, when He came in His first Advent, was a minister of the
circumcision (that’s Israel), not the whole human race. He was a minister for
the Nation of Israel to fulfill, or bring to completion, all these Old
Testament promises of a coming glorious earthly Kingdom. Matthew 3:1-2 “In those days came John
the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2. And saying,
Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Not the Kingdom of God - the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, remember a couple of years
ago, Sharon put it on the board. I think I referred to it a little earlier
this afternoon, that the Scripture uses those two terms almost
interchangeably—“the Kingdom of God” and “the Kingdom of Heaven.” Well,
they’re not one and the same. Yet they’re intertwined, because the Kingdom of God is that overall sphere of God’s righteous influence. To make it simple,
imagine a large circle called the Kingdom of God. Now inside that large
circle we have two smaller circles. One is called the Kingdom of Heaven, and one is called the Body of Christ. There is nothing of the
unrighteous here, but only that which is righteous—which includes Heaven and
the angels, every believer from Adam, Abel and on up through the Old Testament,
and then you come to the Body of Christ. We, too, are in the Kingdom of God, but we are singularly in a smaller sphere called the Body of Christ. Maybe I should ask Sharon to draw it again. I don’t want to, but she could. But nevertheless, the other
entity that’s in that big circle is the Kingdom of Heaven. So you’ve got the Kingdom of Heaven sitting over here inside the Kingdom of God waiting to be fulfilled. Over
here we’ve got the Body of Christ in which you and I are a part; and it’s
already, just about we think, full. It’s also in the Kingdom of God. So, when Paul speaks of the Kingdom of God, he’s talking about the big circle. But when
he gets down into the nitty-gritty of where we are, he calls us the Body of
Christ. Now John the Baptist is
introducing this other entity that’s in the Kingdom of God—the Kingdom of Heaven. And that’s this earthly 1,000 year reign of Christ on a planet earth
that has been totally regenerated. It has been lifted from the curse. It’s
going to be made beautiful just as it was in the beginning. That’s why we have
been looking all afternoon at the Old Testament prophecies concerning this Kingdom of Heaven. Now, what most of Christendom
doesn’t understand is that this is strictly a Jewish phenomenon. It is only
between God and Israel. It is to Israel that He’s going to promise this
glorious earthly Kingdom. Albeit, we know that in the Tribulation, 144,000
Jews, with their preaching around the globe, will bring in multitudes of
Gentiles who will become the Gentile part of the earthly Kingdom. But Israel will be the primary player. Israel will be by far the largest nation during the
1,000 year reign. But all the other Gentile
nations are going to come into the picture, because it’s going to be a
population explosion. But for the most part, I want you to see that the Kingdom of Heaven is a God and Israel relationship. So when John the Baptist began preaching
to the Jews of the day of Christ’s earthly ministry, the language was “the
Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” But the verse that most of
Christendom totally misconstrues is where Jesus said, “the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” But it was a rank error in translation, because
that Greek word translated within is actually better translated in
your midst. Now, think about that. The Kingdom of Heaven is in your midst. How? In the person of the Messiah. Just like John says here, “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Why? Because in a few days he’s going to introduce the
King. Here comes Jesus now in His earthly ministry proclaiming to be Israel’s Messiah, Redeemer, and King. Now, in order to set that a
little straighter, I’m going to take you back to verses that we’ve used over
and over through the past many, many years. That is Peter’s confession in
Matthew chapter 16. Turn with me to that. Matthew 16 and we’ll drop in at
verse 13. I’m going to come back to another verse that we use over and over
and over, because most of Christendom rejects it. They’ll just actually say I
don’t believe that. Well, they’re in trouble. But let’s look at Matthew 16
first, at the end of His three years. They’re up in northern Israel. In short order they’re going to be heading back south and up to Jerusalem for the Passover
and the crucifixion. But the Twelve don’t know that. Jesus does, but the
Twelve don’t. But what Jesus is getting the Twelve ready for, is to make sure
they understand who He is. All right, that’s the whole idea of these verses
right here. Matthew 16:13a “When Jesus came into the
borders of Caesarea Philippi,…” Now, that’s clear up on the very
northern border of Israel. It’s at the headwaters of the Jordan River. For
those of you that are going with us to Israel this fall, we’ve got plans made
to go up there. We’re going to go up to Caesarea Philippi, the headwaters of
the Jordan River. Matthew 16:13b “…he asked his disciples,
saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” That’s a simple
question, isn’t it? Fellows, whom do people up and down the highways and
byways of Israel, the rank and file, or today they use the term “the street.”
Who do they think I am? Now, look at the ridiculous answers. Matthew 16:14a “And they said, Some say that
thou art John the Baptist:…” Well, my heavens, what happened to John
the Baptist? Got imprisoned and then got his head cut off. So how could this
be John the Baptist? But see how ridiculous people can get? You know, I’m always making the
point. Do you realize that people 2,000 years ago were not a nickel’s worth
different than we are today? Not a nickel’s worth. Oh, we may have a little
more modern conveniences and so forth, but our basic thoughts and actions –
there’s no difference. Matthew 16:14b-16a “…and some think you are
Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. 15. But Jesus saith unto
them, But whom say ye that I am? (They’d been with Him now for three
years.) 16. And Simon Peter (the spokesman) answered, and
said, Thou art the Christ,…” Now, unless you understand
Scriptural language, when he says, “Thou art the Christ,” what
did he really say? Who was He? The Messiah! That’s what the word Christ
means in the Greek. It comes from the Hebrew word, the Messiah, the Anointed
One. So, Peter is recognizing that
He is the Promised King. Well, if He’s the King, what was Peter looking for?
The Kingdom! They weren’t looking for a crucifixion, for heaven sakes. They
were looking for the Kingdom to come in. All right, so he says: Matthew 16:16b “…Thou art the Christ,
(You are the King, but he also qualifies that he was--) the Son of the
living God.” Who alone could be the King of this heavenly Kingdom? All right, now when I said that
this was strictly a Jewish phenomenon, I’ll have to bring you back to Matthew
chapter 10. Come back a few pages to Matthew chapter 10. Then you’ll see what
I mean. And again, He has just chosen the Twelve. He’s ready to begin their
earthly ministry with Him of three years. So in verse 5: Matthew 10:5 “These twelve Jesus sent
forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and
into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:” Now, that’s plain
English. Don’t have a thing to do with Gentiles, likewise the Samaritans down
there who were half-breed Jews, remember. But, now here’s what they were to do
in verse 6. Matthew 10:6-7 “But go rather
(or instead) to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7. And as ye go,
preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is (Out there in the future?
No. What is it?) at hand.” Why? Because the King was here! Now we know some theologians
disagree with me on this basis—that Jesus could not have offered the Kingdom
before the cross. I can see where they’re coming from. But on the other hand,
I say, now wait a minute. There was another time that Jesus made an offer to
the Nation of Israel, and it was just as valid as this one. That was when He
offered them the Promised Land. You remember that? What did He tell them? Go
in and take it. It’s yours. It’s all been made ready for
you. He used the labor of the Canaanites for 400 years preparing the land of Canaan for the Nation of Israel. Got all the wells dug. Got all the granaries
built. All the housing was ready. The vineyards were producing. The grain
fields were producing. The Canaanites must have been a tremendously
technologically-oriented people. Consequently, it was a land of
what? Milk and honey. And the spies brought back grapes so big that it took
two men to carry the clumps of grapes. Now listen, that’s quite a production
feat! But it was waiting for the Children of Israel. They didn’t even have to
draw a sword to drive the Canaanites out, because what did God promise? I’ll
send hornets ahead of you, and they’ll drive the Canaanites out, and all you
have to do is occupy. Was it a valid offer? Well, I
reckon it was. God doesn’t lie! But what did God know? That they wouldn’t do
it. And they didn’t. And because of their unbelief, they went back into the
desert and died off like flies over the next 40 years. But could they have had
it? Yes, because God said they could. Well, I look at this the same
way. Yes, Jesus is in their midst, and He’s fulfilling all the Old Testament
promises. He’s proven now for three years who He is. They could have had it,
but what did they do? They rejected it. Now then, here’s where it becomes a
little more valid. After He’s been crucified—now let’s just move up a minute
to the Book of Acts after He’s been crucified. The atoning blood has been shed,
which Israel had to have. Now Peter and the Eleven come back beginning with the
Day of Pentecost, and again, what are they offering? The King and the
Kingdom! Oh, granted, He’s gone back to
Glory, but that doesn’t stop Him. It’s only a split second for God to move
from Heaven to earth. So the whole idea was that now it was definitely a valid
offer, because the atoning blood has been shed. The price of redemption has
been paid. Israel, it’s yours for the taking. All right, now come with me to
Acts chapter 3. Then I’m going to back up to Acts chapter 1, if we’ve got
time. But look at Acts chapter 3, when He made a valid offer of the Kingdom.
Peter is speaking. Acts chapter 3:18 “But those things,
which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets,
(See, all the things we’ve been looking at all afternoon.) that Christ
should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.” So, what’s Peter saying?
There’s nothing left for God to do. So, in whose park is the ball? Israel’s. It’s in Israel’s park. And what were they to do with it? Believe it!
Believe that He was the Christ. Believe that He has now paid the price of
redemption. Believe that He’s the promised King and He will bring in this
earthly Kingdom. Now verse 19: Acts 3:19-20 “Repent ye therefore,
(Well, what was the big thing Israel had to repent of? The crucifixion. The
rejection. Repent of it!) and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, when the times of refreshing (Kingdom blessings) shall
come from the presence of the Lord; 20. And he (God) shall send
Jesus Christ, who before was preached unto you:” Now, you can’t get any
plainer than that? All Israel was expected to do
was repent of the sin of rejection and unbelief, and God could have sent Jesus
Christ to fulfill all these Old Testament promises. But of course, Peter now
comes back and suddenly realizes that it couldn’t happen until the Tribulation
unfolded—that’s verse 21. Acts 3:21a “Whom the heaven must
receive (in other words, at His ascension) until (time
word) the times of restitution of all things,…” Well, what does
restitution mean? Made like it was at the beginning. So Peter realizes that
Christ has to stay in Glory at the Father’s right hand until the Tribulation
has run its course and the curse is lifted, as we’ve been seeing for the last
several months now. The earth will be made ready to be reconstructed like the
Garden of Eden. The curse is gone, and it’ll be a glorious, beautiful
Heaven-on-earth experience. But Israel rejected it. They continued to reject
it and reject it and reject it. Okay, now I’ve got to back up a
moment. In Matthew we’ve got the preaching of Christ. They are to go into the
Nation of Israel only and not have anything to do with anybody else but Israel. But in Israel’s unbelief, they rejected Him. Now we come into the Book of Acts
chapter 1. With this we’ll probably have to wind up this half hour. Acts
chapter 1 and Luke is writing. Acts 1:1-3a “The former treatise
(In other words, speaking of the Gospel of Luke, I think.) have I made, O
Theophilus, of all that Jesus began to do and teach, (in His earthly
ministry.) 2. Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he
through the Holy Spirit had given commandments unto the Apostles whom He had
chosen: (the Twelve) 3. To whom (to the Twelve) also
he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen
of them forty days,…” Now, that’s that forty days between His
resurrection and His ascension. Acts 1:3b “…and speaking of the
things pertaining to (The what?) the kingdom of God:” All the things that involved God’s righteousness. But, you see, they couldn’t
talk about the Church Age, because that wasn’t revealed yet. They couldn’t
talk too much about the Kingdom on earth, because that hadn’t happened yet.
But all the rest of God’s righteousness was certainly a topic for conversation. Acts 1:4-5 “And being assembled
together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Father, which, he saith, ye have heard of me. (Which
was, of course, the Holy Spirit coming on the Day of Pentecost.) 5. For
John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit
not many days hence.” Now verse 6 and here’s where we’re going to wind
up. Acts 1:6 “When they therefore were
come together, (The Eleven. Judas is gone, and Mathias is not in yet.
It’s the Eleven and Jesus.) were come together, (the Eleven) they
asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again
the (What?) kingdom to Israel?” What’s on their mind?
The Kingdom. The King. Now, I don’t think as yet they
realize that He’s suddenly going to be taken up from them. He’s now been dead,
buried, and resurrected. Hey, what’s to stop the Kingdom from coming in? So
that was the question. And what was Jesus’ answer? What’s the matter with you
guys? No. He merely says: Acts 1:7 “And he said unto them, It
is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in
his own power.” What’s He saying? Well, Peter, the Kingdom is
coming. I’m still going to be your King. But it’s not for you to know when. And in the next few verses,
what happens? He goes back up to Glory. Well, that was according to the Old
Testament prophecies. What did Psalms 110 verse 1 say? “Sit thou at my
right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” And that, of
course, is what He did, and where He has remained up until now. But the day is
getting closer and closer when He is going to arise from that seated position;
and He’s yet going to return and set up that glorious 1,000 year Kingdom! Okay, it’s good to see
everybody in this afternoon. Again, for those of you out in television, we’re
just an informal Bible study. Today we’ve got folks in here from Kansas and Oklahoma City and several outside of Tulsa. All right, again we want to
always thank our television audience for your prayers. My, how we appreciate
that you all pray for us every day. And your letters, my goodness, how we love
our mail time. I want people to know that I’m not just wasting words when I
say that we appreciate your letters. And of course, your financial help, we
can’t pay the bills without that. We’re in the final four lessons
of Book 77 today. We’ve been connecting the dots of Scripture for the past four
books. The girls have been asking me the last few days, “Well, Les, people are
asking what you mean by connecting the dots?” Well, I just thought everybody
knew. Sometimes you’ll see a blank sheet of paper with a whole bunch of dots
and numbers. You take a pen or a pencil and start going from one to two to three to four to five, then all of a sudden something comes up that’s recognizable.
It’s just a matter of making sense out of something that maybe didn’t make
sense. Well, that’s what we’ve been
doing in these past four books, including this one. We’ve gone from Genesis
through Revelation. We’re just hitting the highlights, not in-depth like we
did the first time through, but just sort of a review. I like to think of it
as an overview of Genesis to Revelation. I’m hoping that today we can finish
with connecting the dots of Scripture. But before we get into
connecting the dots, I was reminded again by a magazine that somebody sends me
every so often from people that call themselves Preterists. Now, a lot of
folks aren’t acquainted with the term. It’s not new. I used to always call them
Amillennialists, because they reject all end-time prophecy. But I have found
out since I’m in the ministry, that a true Preterist maintains that everything
was fulfilled in A.D. 70. And of course they go by Matthew 24, where it says “that
this generation shall not pass until all things are fulfilled.”
From that they maintain, and they show Scriptures—you know you can do anything
with the Scripture if you look often enough—that Christ returned, and that
everything was finished in A.D. 70. Israel disappeared and the Jews are no
more, and the people who claim to be Jews today are not Jews at all. They’re
impostors. Oh, it’s ridiculous. But the thing that really
raised my hackles in this last article was that they started it out by saying,
“There is nothing in Scripture to indicate a gap or a parenthesis in God’s
timetable.” And that’s what I’m always emphasizing that the Church Age is, a
parenthetical period of time. We’re going to be looking at that after the boys
turn the board. I decided I’m going to confront
that. I just can’t let people get away with something like that without
warning people to “look out, look out!” They’re highly educated, no
doubt about that. They use the Scriptures seemingly to make their point. But
I’m going to use the Scriptures to show that they are totally out in left
field. So, we’re going to start right
now in Acts chapter 15 at verse 13. The background for this chapter, of course,
is that Paul and Barnabas have come up from their work of service amongst the
Gentiles. Especially up in Antioch where Judaizers have been coming in behind
them and telling Paul’s Gentile converts that they cannot be saved unless they
practice circumcision and keep the Mosaic Law. So the Lord directed Paul and
Barnabas to go up to Jerusalem and confront the Twelve about this very thing.
After they had spent a good part of a day, Peter, James, and John finally came
to conclusion that Paul was right. He was sent specifically to the Gentiles.
This is one of the portions that I feel makes it so plain that God definitely
stopped the Old Testament timeline and opened it up for the Church Age. All right, let’s start our
reading in Acts chapter 15 verse 13. Now remember, they had been discussing
these things all day up there in Jerusalem. Acts 15:13-15 “After they had held
their peace, James (who was the moderator) answered, saying,
Men and brethren, hearken unto me: (Now remember, he’s got
nothing but a Jewish audience here.) 14. Simeon (Peter) hath
declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them (the
Gentile world) a people for his name. 15. And to this agree
the words of the prophets; (the Old Testament) as it is written,”
Back in Amos, and in a moment we’re going to go back and look at it in Amos. Acts 15:16 “After this
(After the calling out of a people for His name from amongst the Gentiles.)
I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen
down; (Which certainly it is as we speak.) and I will build again
the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:” Hasn’t happen yet, but it
will! All right, now if you’ll go
back with me to Amos, we’ll see exactly what Peter is referring to. Amos
chapter 9, now that’s right after Daniel and Hosea, and then there’s Amos.
Those little Minor Prophets are sometimes hard to find. I know they are.
Okay, this is what James quoted. And that’s what’s interesting about
Scripture. When the New Testament writers quote the Old Testament, check them
out. Go back and see exactly what the setting was in the Old Testament. Amos 9:11 “In that day I will raise
up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, (In other words, it’s gone
into the dustbin of history for all these hundreds of years now, remember.)
and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will
build it as in the days of old:” In other words, that’s the
promise of Israel’s total restoration to all the things promised in the Old
Testament. Of course, it’s a reference to the coming in of the King and the
Kingdom, as we’ll see as we read on—verse 12. Amos 9:12-13a “That they (Israel) may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, (the Gentiles) which
are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. 13. Behold,…” Now
this is the Kingdom after the Church Age has been Raptured out. Then God will
come back and pick up where He left off with Israel in their prophecies and
promises. Amos 9:13 “Behold, the days come,
saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of
grapes (will overcome) him that soweth the seed; and the mountains
shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. Well, enough of
that. I think my timeline is up
here. Here we are. We’ve come out of the Old Testament promises and all the
Covenant promises. Had Israel at some point in Jesus’ earthly ministry
recognized Jesus of Nazareth as their King and their Messiah, then according to
all the Old Testament, the Four Gospels, and the early chapters of Acts, after
He had ascended in Acts chapter 1 then in would come the wrath and
vexation—which we call the seven years of Tribulation. Then Christ would
return and bring in the Kingdom. All right, now here is the gap
thing that these people are just furiously opposing – that God stopped His
timeline before the Tribulation came in after He had ascended and brought in
instead what Peter refers to as “a calling out a people for His name.”
Well, that’s exactly what the Church Age is. Paul calls it the “Body of
Christ.” Israel never tried to evangelize the Gentiles. They had no
commission to go and bring salvation to the Gentile world until they had
the King and the Kingdom. Then they would, but they rejected everything. All right, so if you’ll come
back to Acts a minute and rehearse what Peter said, because I’ve got to make
the point in verse 15. Acts 15 and we’ll start at verse 14 for review, again. Acts 15:14-15a “Simeon (or
Peter) hath declared how God at the first (for the first time) did
visit the Gentiles, (See? God never went to the Gentiles until Paul.) to
take out of them a people for his name. 15. And to this agree the words of the
prophets; as it is written, 16. After this (After the calling out of
the Gentile Body of Christ, then--) I will return, and will build again
the tabernacle of David,…” And finish His program with Israel. Well, that’s my number one reason that it’s definite that there is a parenthetical
time between Israel’s fall and her promises of the Kingdom. All right, now I’ve got another
one that I’ve used before. We’ll use it again, still in Acts. Change over to
Acts chapter 13 and drop in at verse 6. Here we have Paul and Barnabas
just beginning their first missionary journey. They’ve left Antioch where the
church has prayed for them and sent them out. And the Holy Spirit leads them,
of course, first to the Island of Cyprus. As they go to the western end of Cyprus, they come to the major city, which, of course, is Paphos. Then we come to verse 6. Acts 13:6a “When they had gone
through the island unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet,
(who was) a Jew,…” And, remember, Israel in the future is going
to do the same thing this Jew did—try to keep the Gospel from going out to
Gentiles. Acts 13:6b-7 “…whose name was
Bar-jesus: 7. Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a
prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of
God.” In other words, this guy had his head on straight. Acts 13:8-10 “But Elymas the sorcerer (for
so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the
deputy (the Gentile) from the faith. (That, of course,
Paul and Barnabas were proclaiming.) 9. Then Saul, (who also is called
Paul,) filled with the Holy Spirit, set his eyes on him, 10. And said, O full
of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of
righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” Now
verse 11: Acts 13:11a “And now, behold, the
hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind,…” Highlight
those words, “Thou shalt be blind.” Now in this case, it’s a physical
blindness, because it is a symbolic prophecy concerning the Nation of Israel as
a whole. All right, this individual Jew who is withstanding the Gospel from
going to the Gentiles will now be physically blind. Acts 13:11b “…not seeing the sun for
a season. (not for the rest of his life, but for a period of time) And
immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking
some to lead him by the hand.” All right, now there we have in
symbolism, again, a preview of the Nation of Israel as a whole, who also were
blinded because of their constant rejection of the Gospel of the finished work
of the cross and who Christ was, and so on and so forth. All right, now just
to make that point, come over to chapter 17. We’ll see what I’m talking about,
that this Elymas was merely a preview symbolically of the Nation as a
whole—because here, instead of just one Jew withstanding the Gospel, we’ve got
a number of them. All right, verse 5 of Acts 17, they’re up in Thessalonica. Acts 17:5 “But the Jews which
believed not, (See that? Just like this fellow over on Cyprus.) moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and
gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house
of Jason, (Who was with, of course, Paul and Silas.) and sought
to bring them out to the people.” All right, now then, just to take it
a little step further, come on down to verse 10. Acts 17:10-12a “And the brethren
(That is the fellow believers up there in the area of Thessalonica.)
immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: (Which is
the next little city further south.) who coming thither went into the
synagogue of the Jews. 11. These (Jews) were more noble than
those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of
mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 12. Therefore
many of them believed;…” But now look in verse 13. Acts 17:13-14a “But when the Jews of
Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of
Paul at Berea, (to Gentiles, remember) they (the Jews
from up at Thessalonica) came thither also, and stirred up the people.
14. And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go (toward)
as it were to the sea:…” So, there’s evidence that the Jews would not
only reject it for themselves, but they did everything in their power to keep
the Gentiles from hearing our salvation message of faith in that finished work
of the cross and His glorious resurrection All right, now in response to
that, then, the Holy Spirit leads the Apostle Paul to make a graphic statement,
and if you’ve had any contact with bringing the Gospel to the Jewish people,
you’ll know exactly what it’s talking about. Romans 11 verse 7. Now this is
years and years later, remember. We’re now into the early 60’s, whereas up
there in the early part of Paul’s ministry, we’re still down in the 50’s. But
here we are up in the 60’s, and Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes
this graphic statement. Romans 11:7a “What then? Israel (that is the Nation) hath not obtained that which he seeketh for;…” In
other words, they were always looking for that glorious promised Kingdom and so
forth, but they couldn’t see it as fulfilled in this Jesus of Nazareth. That
was their hang up. Not that they didn’t believe in a King and a Kingdom. They
just couldn’t see that Jesus had any connection to it. Romans 11:7 What then? Israel hath
not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election (In
other words, that little small number of Jews who did embrace Jesus as the
Messiah—which later on became the church at Pentecost and the Jerusalem
church. They embraced it, but they were only a small, small percentage of the
Nation as a whole.) hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” The
vast majority of the Nation was blinded. Blinded. Just like the sorcerer was
up there in Cyprus, and that was the preview. Now, why and when were they
blinded? Well, they’ve been blinded for this whole period of what we call the
Dispensation of Grace, or the Church Age. Not all Jews, but for the most
part. In fact, I had a call from a Rabbi not too long ago. My goodness, he was
hot under the collar to the extreme, because he said, “I’m getting phone calls
from California to Tel Aviv.” I said, “Rabbi, I’m not on in Tel Aviv.” And he
said, “You must be. I’m getting phone calls.” But anyway, he’s probably
listening. During the course of our conversation, he let me know. He said,
“Now, Les, we do not believe one word of that New Testament.” I said, “I know
that. Aren’t you glad it’s a free country? That’s your privilege. It’s a
free country for me, so I can teach the way I see it.” And he had to agree
that this is part of our freedom. But you see, it just pointed
out that the Jewish people in general cannot believe one word of the New
Testament. Why? They’ve been blinded. Providentially blinded until the Body
of Christ, the true Church, is out of the way. And then God will again pick up
dealing with His chosen people Israel. Absolutely, God loves the Nation of
Israel. He loves the Jewish people. But as Stephen said in the Book of Acts,
and I think even Peter used the same word, they were stiff-necked. They
just would not bow to the fact that Jesus was who He said He was. So, they’ve
been blinded. All right, that gives rise to
my next point, which is still in Romans chapter 11 verse 25. And if this
doesn’t show a parenthetical period of time, then I don’t know how to read. Romans 11:25a “For I would not,
brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery,…” Now let’s see,
we don’t have the mysteries up here. They’re on the other side of the board.
My, how much time we have spent on the mysteries in Paul’s epistles. It’s that
whole body of truth between Romans and Philemon that was kept secret through
the thousands of years of the Old Testament, through Christ’s earthly ministry,
and through the early chapters of Acts. Nobody had an inkling of any of these
so-called mysteries. Not a one of them. All right, now here’s another
one. Paul is again showing us a particular secret that was not understood
until it came to the pen of this Apostle. All right, so he said: Romans 11:25a “For I would not,
brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, (or this secret)
lest ye should be wise in your own conceits;…” Now stop and ask
yourself a question. Who’s writing? Paul. Who’s he writing to? Gentiles.
Not to Israel, he’s writing to Gentiles. He says that you should not be
ignorant lest you should be wise in your conceits. Now, here is the mystery,
the secret that nobody really understood until Paul comes along. Romans 11:25b “…that blindness
(a Spiritual blindness. Forever? No. What are next two words?) in part...”
For a period of time. Now for us this is a long
period of time. It’s been over 1,900 years. How long is it in the mind of
God? A snap of the finger. God’s timeless. Don’t ever forget that. Time
means nothing to God. So when it says here that they would be blind in part,
we think that more or less means a month or two. No, it’s been 2,000 years.
But it’s a snap of the finger in God’s thinking. And here Israel has been blind all these 1,900 and some years, but now don’t stop there. Romans 11:25c “…that blindness in part
is happened to Israel, (And what’s the next word?) until (And
what have I called that for 20-some years? A time word! Oh, it doesn’t give a
month and a day and a year, but it gives a point in time that Israel is going to be kept spiritually blind—until some point in time, and then it’s going to be
lifted.) the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.” That is the
Rapture of the Church! All right, now you get the
picture? While Israel is in a spiritual blindness, God is doing something He
never did before. He went to the Gentile world with this glorious Gospel of
Grace without works, without sacrifice, and without Temple worship. It’s a
parenthesis, and it’s going to end. And when that parenthetical period of time
ends, this “until” ends, and what is God going to do with Israel? He’s going to come back and deal with them on the basis of the Old Testament
promises again. Then all of this—that’s why
we’ve got it in a double line. Once we get through this Dispensation of Grace and
the Church is out of the way, God is going to pick up right where He left off.
We’re still going to have Israel in the limelight, the seven years of
Tribulation leading up to the Second Coming—which we’ve been talking about now
for the last several months—bringing in the Kingdom. Now, if you’re watching your
news, my goodness, I think we’re getting close! You know we’re planning a tour
to Israel – October? November? After reading some of my news magazines last
night, I don’t know if we’ll be going or not. Because this one commentator
maintains that either Israel or America is going to attack Iran before election day. Well, if they attack Iran before election day, we will not be going to Israel! And if it does happen, then to me that’s just the opening for the seven years of
Tribulation. So we’re getting close one way or another. I don’t set dates.
You know that. But here we have a definitive
statement that Israel is going to be blinded for a period of time during which
God will go to the Gentile world with Paul’s Gospel. But when it ends, it’ll
be when the Church is complete. All right, let’s get back to our verse in
Romans again. My goodness, time is gone already. Romans 11:25c “…that blindness in part is
happened to Israel until (What?) the fullness of the Gentiles be
come in.” Now remember what James said back in Acts? That He would
call out a people for His name from among the Gentiles. Well, something that
starts has to what? End. I mean, that’s just common life. So, once God started
calling out the Gentile Body of Christ, it’s going and going until it gets to
the full mark, and then what? We’re out of here in the Rapture. It just has
to be. And once we’re out of here,
what does God do? He picks up where He left off with Israel, and in comes the seven years of the Tribulation. Everything is now moving forward to the
coming of the King and the Kingdom, which we will pick up again in our next
half hour. All these things are just literally laid out so simply. First,
James and Peter and John recognized that Paul and Barnabas indeed had a
ministry to the Gentiles that did not affect Peter, James, and John and the
Twelve whatsoever. They are over there with Israel. These guys are out with
the Gentiles. Then we have the picture of the
Nation being blinded, because of their rejecting all these things. And when the
Nation was blinded, that opened the door for the Gentiles. Then Paul comes back
with this graphic statement that Israel’s blindness is going to end
when the fullness of the Gentiles is brought in. And my goodness, how many times
have I used the illustration of a young lady who is waiting for delivery?
What’s the time frame? Who knows? Nine months or thereabouts—when that little
baby is complete and everything is in place, what happens? Delivery. And
that’s what we’re looking for. We’re going to be delivered out of this mess.
We trust sooner rather than later. Okay, it’s good to see
everybody back after a break. We’ll go into program number two for this
afternoon. We’re going to continue connecting the dots of Scripture. Those of
you joining us again, we want to thank you for your prayers, your letters, your
financial help, and everything. And for those of you here in the studio, my,
how we appreciate you coming in every month. Now again, we’re just going to
pick right up where we left off in the last taping. I think Jerry has titled
this one “Eternity.” When I review the programs, I think sometimes I waste too
much time, so we’re going to get right back into it. We’re going to start in
Revelation chapter 19 at the Second Coming of Christ. Now, if you remember, for the
last several programs we were talking about the Tribulation and the horrors of
it. And how by the end of the Tribulation, all the wrath and vexation of God
will have utterly destroyed planet Earth as we know it. Out of that will come,
then, a renewed Garden of Eden-like planet that will be made ready for the
millennium, or the thousand-year reign of Christ. We’re going to look at
that a little bit this afternoon. But the millennium begins, of course, with
the Second Coming of Christ. Oh, by the way, Iris wants me
to let our television audience know we still have some of these Q & A
books. I don’t mind advertising them, because they are a blessing. Everybody
that gets one just loves our Question & Answer Book. It’s still available.
It will be the best $11.00 you will ever spend. They make wonderful gifts. All right, Revelation 19 and
we’re going to begin at verse 11. Now, before the guys flip the board,
remember that this is what we’ve been talking about for the last, oh, I don’t
know how many programs. That this parenthetical period of time that we had in
our last half hour program is made up of these various doctrines of the Apostle
Paul – what he calls the Revelation of the Mysteries. That’s why we’ve left it
on the board. So that if you haven’t caught them all, you can at least be
reminded that these mysteries are only found in Paul’s Epistles and nowhere
else. That’s why I’m always
emphasizing Paul’s Apostleship, and 90% of Christendom never reads Paul. They
never look at his letters, and that’s where we find the message for salvation
and the Rapture of the Church and all the other mysteries concerning the Body
of Christ! I can tell from our audiences
that they never get to hear Paul’s letters in Sunday school and Church. They
say, “Why don’t we get anything from Paul?” Well, get on your Pastor. Tell
him to get to where the things are really meant for us, but they won’t do it.
I’m aware of that. All right, Revelation 19—the
Second Coming is going to be the final event of those seven years of wrath and
vexation and will usher in the thousand years of Christ’s reign. Verse 11: Revelation 19:11 “And I saw heaven opened,
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.” In other
words, God never does anything out of anger or getting even. No vengeance, as
such, it’s simply the result of man’s rejection of His offer of love and mercy
and grace. Verse 12: Revelation 19:12-13 “His eyes (speaking
of Jesus the Christ at His Second Coming, now) 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. 13. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped (or
sprinkled or splattered) in blood: and his name is called The Word of
God.” Which, of course, is a perfect fit with John’s Gospel chapter 1. Revelation 19:14-15a “And the armies who were
in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean. 15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should
smite the nations:…” Now as I’m reading, I’m thinking. A lot of these
things come up, and I really don’t intend to do. But, you see, there is a
difference of opinion, and I don’t mind that. I don’t mind that people
disagree with me. And on some things, I just sit on the fence. In fact, my
answer with people is getting more and more, “Hey, let’s wait until we get
there! And then we won’t have to argue. We’ll know.” Now, the question that is
coming up more and more is—Is the Body of Christ going to return with Christ at
His Second Coming, or will we be eternally set in the heavenlies? Now, of
course, there is a large group of people that think we will be strictly
heavenly bound and heavenly abode; and yet, you see, when I come to a verse
like this—this is why I had to stop. When I come to a verse like this, I have
to think that maybe we will be with Him at His Second Coming, even though we
may later on go back up. Because don’t forget, when we get into the eternal
state, time will mean nothing. In other words, when Jesus went from Earth to
Heaven, and He came back, He ascended again to Heaven. Well, was that millions
and millions and millions of miles that He had to traverse? Well, if it was,
He did it instantly. So, never confine yourself once we get into the eternal
that, oh, it can’t happen. Oh, yes, it can. All right, now here’s what made
me stop. I sure didn’t plan to do this. Verse 14: Revelation 19:14 “And the armies which
were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean.” Now think. Who can be the armies in Heaven? I think (this is
why I’m on the fence), I think this is a reference to the Body of Christ. Not
angels. It can’t be the Old Testament
Saints, because they’re not going to be resurrected until 75 days later,
remember. Here’s what puts me in a dilemma. On the one hand, yes, I think
we’re going to be with Christ at His Second Coming, and I think that we may
have something to do with the Kingdom. Now, I know that’s going to rile a lot
of people. But I just tell them, hey, disagree with me lovingly, as I’m not
setting it concrete. I’m not being obstinate. I’m just saying, now wait a
minute, we’ve got to think these things through. Come back with me to Romans.
This is another portion that nobody that I read has ever addressed to my
satisfaction. And again, I’m not going to claim that I’ve got the answer,
because a lot of these things are debatable. No doubt about it. We have that
freedom. And when we get there, we’re going to find out who was right and who
was wrong. All right, but in Romans chapter 8, here’s another portion of
Scripture that I just can’t throw aside and say, no, that doesn’t mean us, it
means somebody else. No, it means us. Romans 8 verse 18, now Paul is
writing, so he’s writing to us members of the Body of Christ. Romans 8:18-19 “For I reckon that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in (or to) us. 19. For the earnest
expectation of the creation (That is all the animal kingdom, the birds,
and everything on creation.) is waiting for the manifestation of the
children of God.” Well, now go back up to verses 14, 15, and 16. And
let’s establish—who are the Children of God that Paul is talking about? Well,
it’s us, see? It’s us! Verse 14: Romans 8:14-17 “For as many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God. 15. For ye have not
received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Because we’re His child.)
16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children
of God: 17. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with
Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
together.” All right, now back down to where we were in verse 19. Romans 8:19 “For the earnest
expectation (of all) of the creation (At the end of the
Tribulation and the horrors of it, what are they waiting for?) waiteth
for the manifestation of the children of God.” That’s us. Well, how
else could we be manifested except to be with Him at His coming. Now, that’s
the way I have to look at it. All right, read on: Romans 8:20-21 “For the creation was
made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected
the same in hope. 21. Because the creation itself shall also be delivered from
the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of (Whom?)
the children of God.” Who were the children of God? The Body of Christ.
Now, I can’t separate that. But kind of leave it. If you read an article
tomorrow that refutes what I’m saying, don’t get angry. Just say, “Well,
that’s one way of looking at it.” Now, I have to give you another
one, if I can find it quickly. I’m thinking of all this while I’m talking, you
want to remember. Back here in Revelation 19—it’s not only here that I have a
question, where the armies which are in Heaven are clothed in
fine linen. Well, that can’t be anybody, I don’t think, except
the Body of Christ. Now, I’m not going to take time to look for the other
one. Like I said, this is all off-the-cuff anyway. But come back to
Revelation 19, at least I want to get people to think. You don’t have to agree
with me, but think. Revelation 19:14a “And the armies which were
in heaven…” And I just can’t see that as angels, then it would have
said angels. It can’t be the Old Testament saints, because like I said,
they’re not resurrected until 75 days later, remember. That’s Daniel chapter
12, in case you have to look it up. All right, verse 15: Revelation 19:15a “And out of his
(that is out of Christ’s) mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he
should smite the nations: (And remember that Hebrews tells us the Word
of the Lord is a what? A two-edged sword. So we’re not talking about a metal
sword here. We’re talking about the spoken Word that will come from the mouth
of the Lord Jesus Christ at His Second Coming.) and he shall rule them
(future—in the coming 1,000 years) with a rod of iron:…” And
then coming back to the final days of the Tribulation which we looked at in a
previous program. When I feel He will use the 100 pound hailstones, you
remember, to crush those millions and millions of people gathered in the
valleys of Israel. All right, then verse 16: Revelation 19:16 “And he hath on his
vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Now you see, there’s His full title. And He’s going to set up His Kingdom.
All right, as a result of the horrors of those closing months of the seven
years of Tribulation, come on up to verse 17. Revelation 19:17 “And I saw an angel
standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls
that fly in the midst of heaven, Come (Now these are birds of prey—the
vultures and the eagles and what have you.) and gather yourselves
together unto the supper of the great God;” Now, do I have to compare
Scripture? Yes. Come back with me again to
Jeremiah chapter 25 and drop in at verse 31. Because I sometimes think when I
read these verses that people just—well….maybe….but maybe not. This is what is
coming. And I read an article again the other day of all the thousands of
nuclear weapons that are just waiting to be exploded. And we’re getting closer
and closer to it every day. All right, by the end of the
Tribulation I think they’re all going to be used, just like a string of
firecrackers. And this will be the end result. Verse 31: Jeremiah 25:31-32 “A noise shall come even
to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, (All
of them. Not just Israel now, we’re dealing with the whole.) he will
plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the
LORD. 32. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, (The same Lord that we’re
reading about at His Second Coming.) Behold, evil shall go forth from
nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from
the borders of the earth.” Jeremiah 25:33 “And the slain of the
LORD (By the millions, beloved, millions, billions are going to be
losing their lives.) shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto
the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor
buried; they shall be dung (or road kill) upon the ground.”
Everywhere you look, dead bodies. It’s going to be awful. All right, back to Revelation.
And you know one of the amazing things of the last few years, and I’ve had more
than one person call some of the wildlife people to see if this is true. All
around the planet, there is a great increase in the birth rate of these birds
of prey. The first one I read about, probably about 10 years ago, was one of
the vulture types, I think, that was in the Middle East. They normally had two
eggs in their nest, but were now having four. And same way here in America, a lot of the species that we call vultures and birds of prey are increasing by
leaps and bounds. And, of course, they are under protection. Nobody can kill
them. And it’s all for a reason. And now here we have it in
Revelation 19. He calls all the birds of prey together that they can come for
the supper of the great God. All of this death and destruction, verse 18: Revelation 19:18-19 “That ye may eat the
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the
flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free
and bond, both small and great. 19. And I saw the beast, (that is the
anti-Christ) and the kings of the earth, (who have been subjected
to his demonic rule) and their armies, gathered together to make war
against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.” Of course,
we covered that several programs back, but now this is a new part that I hadn’t
covered before—verse 20. When the Tribulation has run
its course, and it’s over, then those two men who were primary in the
leadership of planet Earth—the anti-Christ in the political and economical and
the False Prophet, who will be the religious leader of that time—two men, and
here they come. Revelation 19:20 “And the beast
(the anti-Christ) was taken, and with him the false prophet (Or
the religious leader, whoever it is. I’m not going to put a name on either one
of them. These men--) that wrought miracles before him, with which he
deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them who worshipped
his image. (All during these seven years. Now both of these men--)These
both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Now, I know we all shrink at
the thought of an eternal hell-fire. And nobody wants to even preach it or
teach it anymore. In fact, I had a letter just the other day where the guy was
angry. What kind of a God is it that would cast people into such a place?
I’ll tell you what kind of a God He is. He’s a God who paid the price for
every one of them if they would have believed it. They don’t have to go there.
And that’s going to be one of the awful things of eternal loss. They’re going
to regret for eternity why they rejected their free pardon out. They don’t
have to be there. So, don’t ever blame God for preparing such a place, because
He suffered far more alone than the billions of mankind will in unison. So,
don’t ever take anything away from God in that department. All right, so these two men,
the anti-Christ and the false prophet, who had been the leaders of the last
seven years, will be the first human beings to go into what we now realize was
the eternal Lake of Fire. All right, I’m going to take you on over into
chapter 20. The Tribulation has ended. The Kingdom is now ready to be brought
in. Verse 1 of chapter 20: Revelation 20:1-2 “And I saw an angel come
down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his
hand. (Not an iron chain. Iron won’t hold a spirit being like Satan.
But it will be something that God can use to confine Satan.) 2. And he
laid his hand on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan,
and bound him a thousand years,” Now, this is the first time in
Scripture that we have a time frame on the Kingdom. All through the Old
Testament, the Kingdom is merely promised as being forever and ever. But never
is it signified as 1,000 years. But here in the Book of Revelation, we now
have it simply defined as that period of time. All right, reading on in verse
3. Revelation 20:3 “And cast him into the
bottomless pit, (Not hell, not the Lake of Fire, this is a separate
place that God has prepared to hold Satan for these 1,000 years.) and
shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no
more, (But what’s the next word?) until (See, there’s
another time word. He’s not going to stay there forever, yet. He’s only being
confined for that 1,000 years of the Kingdom rule and reign of Christ and
then--) the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be
loosed a little season.” Now there again, we don’t know
how long a period of time that will be after the 1,000 years of the perfect
rule and reign of Christ over planet Earth. It’s going to be Heaven-on-Earth
for all the inhabitants. I maintain the 1,000 years are a dispensation. Now,
I’m going to exercise your thinking. Remember what a dispensation is? I hope
you remember. A period of time during which God deals with the human race
in a particular way or under a set of instructions. That’s a dispensation!
(Note the seven dispensations listed below) Adam and Eve were in a
dispensation in the Garden of Eden. It was the dispensation of “Innocence,”
and their instructions were simple—don’t eat of that tree. The next
1,400-1,500 years they were under the dispensation of “Conscience.” Their
instructions were to bring a blood sacrifice. Well, conscience
didn’t cut it, so they reaped the punishment of the flood. Then after the
flood, they under the dispensation of “Human Government,” and they went
through the Tower of Babel and the scattering of the population. And then God did something
totally different. He called out Abraham, and for a period of time he was
under the dispensation of “Promise,” where God promised Abraham several
things in Genesis chapter 12. All right, then after Abraham had established
the Nation of Israel, they became a Nation down in Egypt. Then in 1500 B.C.,
God brought them out, and He put them under a new dispensation that we call
what? Law. He gave the dispensation of Law, and that carried on from
Moses until Paul. And that dispensation has its set of instructions—how to
respond to sin and how to keep the Law and so on and so forth. It was a
dispensation. A period of time during which there were specific instructions. All right, today we’re in the
dispensation of “Grace,” in which it covers the mysteries of Paul. But
what are our instructions? To believe Paul’s Gospel—which is believing in your
heart for salvation that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose
again—plus nothing else. Believe the Gospel. And once we become a believer
of the Gospel, how to walk the Christian life. Those are our instructions. It’s
our dispensation. But when the Church goes in the
Rapture, this dispensation ends, and the world goes back under an extension of Israel’s Law in the Tribulation. But now we come to the final dispensation of the Kingdom.
It’s a period of time during which those people will be re-populating at an
amazing rate, remember. And what are their instructions? Be obedient to the
King. That’s all. Recognize that He’s the King. He’s the God of Glory. And
as long as they’re obedient, they’re in God’s Grace. All right, now in order to exercise
the instructions of a dispensation, you have to have two choices. Think about
it. You’re either going to follow the instructions, or you’re going to disobey
them. Now, I stop once in a while to make people think. In this Dispensation
of Grace, the world is faced with two alternatives – believe the Gospel or
reject it. It’s that simple. Believe it and have eternal life. Reject it and
go to an eternal doom. Now, you can’t get it any simpler than that. All right, now in the Kingdom,
it, too, is a dispensation. It is where God has given them the circumstances so
that all they have to do is be obedient to the King. But, there has been
nobody to trigger the opposition. Satan is locked up. So, in order for people
to have the unction to make a choice, God has to bring Satan back for a period
of time. Now, I hope that answers a ton
of questions, because it comes all the time. Why bring Satan back if He once
had him off the scene? He’s got to give those new generations of people who
have been born during this 1,000 years the opportunity to be obedient or
disobedient. To make a choice like we had to make. So when Satan comes back
in that period of time, we don’t know how long it is. Like I said in the first
program, time means nothing to God. It could be awhile. But it’ll be long
enough for those millions upon millions of new inhabitants of planet Earth to
be confronted with the options—remain loyal to the King or follow the
adversary. And what will most of them do? Like they’ve been doing for 6,000
years. They’ll go after the adversary. Unbelievable. All right, let’s pick
it up in verse 7. Revelation 20:7-8a “And when the thousand
years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8. And shall go out
to deceive (Just like he’s been doing through this 6,000 years.)
the nations…” That’s why several programs back I pointed out, who comes
in at the front end of that 1,000 years? Well, a remnant of the Nation
of Israel, who’ll be the largest of any nation. But there will be a sampling
of all the other nations on the planet who have survived the Tribulation as
believers (Matthew 25:31-32). They’ll come in on the front end and start
having families and reproduce. It’s going to be just like Israel in Egypt. My land, how fast do you think the Jews reproduced in those early years in Egypt? Why, like flies. You know, they probably had multiple births. They never lost a
child. You remember what the mid-wives said, Why, those Hebrew women are so
lively, there’s no way of putting their babies to death. It was a
population explosion. Well, you’re going to have the same thing in the
Kingdom. This 1,000 years is going to be a population explosion like the world
has never seen, because there’s nothing to refrain life. There’s no death. No
sickness. No weakness. All right, so now Satan comes back on the scene. Revelation 20:8-9a “And shall go out to
deceive (all these repopulated nations) the nations which are in
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to
battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9. And they went up on
the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
beloved city:…” In total—just like it was 1,007 years earlier. They
come back in total rebellion against the King, with the idea of overthrowing
Him. But this time God doesn’t fool around. He speaks the Word, and the whole
mass of them will be wiped off, except those who remain true to the King. Revelation 20:9b “…and fire came down from
God out of heaven, and devoured them.” All right, now in a quick
half-a-minute. What in the world will Satan use to deceive people who have had
Heaven-on-Earth for a thousand years? Well, the Bible doesn’t specifically say
it, but I think it’s implied, and I’m comfortable with my opinion. He’s going
to offer them, just like he did Eve in the Garden of Eden – why be content to
be under God? Why don’t you just be God? And that’s Satan’s lie. And it’s
going to just take all those billions of new people, and they’re going to
follow after him, and they’re going to go to their doom. It is so good having such a
large group in for the taping this afternoon. We’re going to start right where
we left off in the last lesson and that would be Revelation chapter 20. We’ll
go down to verse 10. While you’re looking that up in
the studio, for those of you joining us on television, of course I say it over
and over, but in case we’ve got new listeners, we’re just an informal Bible
study. Hopefully you are learning how to study. Because the Word of God is so
interesting, and it really becomes interesting when you learn how to rightly
divide the Word Now that’s the secret to good
Bible study! And it’s not dividing the Old from the New Testament. But
rather, since we’re under Grace in the Body of Christ and Paul is our apostle
(Romans 11:13), we have to do most of our studying in Paul’s letters, because
they are addressed to you and I today. The rest of Scripture pretty much is
addressed to the Nation of Israel, especially from Genesis chapter 12 through
Revelation, with the exception of Paul’s letters. Well, I hope that helps.
Because once you see what belongs to you every day of your Christian walk, then
Bible study becomes exciting. All right, Revelation chapter
20, and in this lesson we’ll look at the judgment for all the lost from Cain
till the last one that will be born goes out into eternity lost. There is no
reason for any to go to that horrible place. God has made it so simple for
mankind to live with Him throughout eternity—by just believing in your heart
for your salvation that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the
dead (I Corinthians 15:1-4). But most of mankind fails to take advantage of
this free gift from God. Revelation 20:10 “And the devil that
deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast (the
anti-Christ) and the false prophet are, (We addressed that in
that last half hour.) and they shall be tormented day and night for ever
and ever.” Now, I realize there are a lot of folks who are beginning
to think that there’s an end to the punishment of Hell fire, but I cannot find
it in Scripture. Revelation 20:11 “And I saw a Great White
Throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” Now, we’ve
got to identify the time factor here. This will be after the millennium has
run its course. Those who rejected Christ at the end of the millennium will
now be involved in this Great White Throne, because the Great White Throne
judgment is for all the lost of all the ages—from Cain on up until the end of
the millennium, and at which there will be no believers. Now, I had a letter again the
other day from some folks. Their preacher said that we were going to be there
and see our loved ones judged. No, we will not! Because that would take all
the glory of salvation away from us if we saw loved ones doomed to their
eternal Hell fire. So, this is only for the lost. We as believers have had our
judgment, if you want to call it that, our examination at the judgment seat of
Christ, which Paul taught back in II Corinthians chapter 5. So don’t ever let anybody
tell you that any believers will be at this Great White Throne judgment. It’s
at the beginning of eternity, now, and we don’t know where it is. It’s
probably someplace out in the vastness of outer space, but whatever. It’s a
real thing. It’s genuine. The Bible teaches it, so consequently, I have to
address it. I’ll never forget, I was
teaching at a large church down in Florida. I won’t name it. It doesn’t
matter. I’d had an all day Saturday Seminar. I wrestled all night, because
they wanted me to teach the adult Sunday school class on Sunday morning and
nothing, nothing was coming together. I got up that next morning on Sunday
morning and I told Iris, “I can’t get anything to come together for that Sunday
school class of about 200 people, I think.” I was just speechless. When it was
time to start the class, I just told them, you know, the Lord just seemingly
hasn’t laid anything on my heart and mind. And, I said, I guess the only thing
I can do is ask if somebody has a question. Well, one of the assistant
pastors was sitting way at the back. He was a younger fellow. He said, “Les,
you are always talking about works. How about the works in Revelation 20?” I
about had heart failure! I said, great! That’s the Great White Throne. We’ll
talk about it. So we turned to this chapter, and I spent the whole hour
teaching Revelation 20 and the Great White Throne. Well, the Sunday school was
a little ways from the sanctuary. As we were walking from the Sunday school to
the Sanctuary, I can’t tell you how many of the older people in that
congregation came around and said, “Les, this is the first time we’ve heard
Hell fire in this church in 50 years!” But, you see, that’s most
churches. Preachers never address it anymore. I’m aware of that. People don’t
want to hear it. They don’t want to admit that there is that kind of an
eternal future for the lost. But, beloved, it’s in the Book. It’s as plain as
language can make it, and we’d better address it. So here we are, the Great White
Throne out some place in space at the beginning of eternity. I think it’s in
that interval of time between the destruction of everything and everything
new—as we’re going to see, hopefully, in the next half hour in chapter 21 and
22, which is the eternity that’s awaiting us. But back to verse 12 in
Revelation 20 where John says: Revelation 20:12a “And I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened:…” Now, I
have to stop a minute. Where do all these lost people come from? How could
they stand before God now after 7,000 years of the human experience? Well, go back with me to John’s
Gospel. I think we can make it as plain as language can make it. John’s
Gospel chapter 5 and we’ll jump in at verse 28. If you’ve got a red letter edition,
it’ll be in red, because Jesus is speaking during His earthly ministry. John 5:28-29a “Marvel not at this: for
the hour is coming, (He doesn’t say when, but it’s coming.) in
the which (at that particular hour) all that are in the graves
(In other words, who have lived and died.) shall hear his voice, 29. And
shall come forth; (That’s resurrection.) they who have done
good,…” In other words, the people of faith, whether it was Adam or
Seth or Noah, all the way up through our present age, the Age of Grace and our
faith in the Gospel—all who have been people of faith. I shrink at the “done
good” of that verse, because then the first thing people say is, “Well,
then I have to work for my salvation.” That’s not what Jesus meant. What He
meant here was those who have responded by faith, which has always been the
way. John 5:29b “…they that have done
good, unto the resurrection of life;…” Now, let’s stop a moment. For
the Body of Christ believer, that’ll be at the time of what we call the Rapture
at the end of the Church Age. Then we’ve got other groups
that will be resurrected. I think they will all, for the most part, come under
the resurrection of—now come back with me. Keep your hand in John. I’m not
through there. But come back with me to Daniel. I referred to it in the
closing moments of the last half hour, so it’s a good thing we looked at it.
Daniel chapter 12 and we’ll just let Scripture speak for itself. Daniel 12:1 “And at that time shall
Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people:
(that is Israel) and there shall be a time of trouble, (A
reference to the seven years of Tribulation) such as never was since
there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be
delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” In
other words, you remember, the believing remnant of Israel is going to survive
the Tribulation and go into the Kingdom. Daniel 12:2a “And many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,…” Now we’ve got to be
careful. You know there are groups that teach “soul sleep” and so forth. I
always answer with one terse answer. The body may sleep awaiting a
resurrection, but the soul never sleeps or dies. The soul never dies. Because
at creation, back there in Genesis 1:27, the human race was created in the
image of God. So the human soul, spirit, that invisible part of us will die
the day God does. When will that be? Never! So remember, if we’re a member of
the human race, the soul and spirit will never die. It’s going to keep on
living in the interval between physical death and resurrection. It’s going to
keep on living for all eternity, because we’re going to live as long as God
lives, whether saved or lost! Daniel 12:2a “And many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth…” In other words, the body has been put
in the grave, returned to the dust of the earth, but the soul and the spirit
are still someplace. Now, keep your hand in John and Daniel and let’s go to
Luke chapter 16. Again, I didn’t intend to do any of this today. I’m sorry.
But I guess it’s what the Spirit leads. That’s what we have to go by. Luke chapter 16, the rich man
in torment and Abraham and Lazarus are in Paradise. All right, Luke 16, we
haven’t got time to look at all of this, but just to show you that even though
they’re in the place of the departed in what the Hebrew calls Sheol. In the
Greek it’s called Hades, and in the English, be it right or wrong, it’s called
Hell. All right, here we are: Luke 16:19-21 “There was a certain rich
man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
(That is in his days of life on earth.) 20. And there was a certain
beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores. (In
other words, he had none of the things of this world.) 21. And desiring
to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the
dogs came and licked his sores.” Luke 16:22 “And it came to pass,
that the beggar (in this case Lazarus) died, and was carried by
the angels into Abraham bosom: (Which was down in Sheol, but on the Paradise side.) the rich man also died, and was buried;” So his body is going
to go back to the dust of the earth. Now verse 23: Luke 16:23-24 “And in hell (in
Hades, in Sheol, the place of the departed) the rich man lifted up
his eyes, being in torments, (See that?) and seeth Abraham
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24. And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” Now
remember, this is the Lord Jesus Himself speaking. So you can’t put any doubt
on it whatsoever. This is for real. Now remember, the rich man is
in the torment side of Hades, or Hell. Abraham and Lazarus are over on the Paradise side. Now, to refresh your memory, what did Jesus tell the thief on the cross
just before they died? “Today, thou shalt be with me (Where?)
in Paradise.” That’s what He’s talking about. Where Abraham and
Lazarus were. They were in the place of the departed, which Jesus said in
Matthew 12 is in the center of the earth. So I have to go along with that. At
some place in the center of the earth was this place of the departed called
Sheol or Hades or Hell. But it had a great gulf fixed, and over here was
Torment, over here was Paradise. Now, at Christ’s death, burial,
and resurrection, He took Paradise up to Heaven. But Hell remains as it is.
Okay? Now just a couple of comments here, so that you’ll get where I’m coming
from. Verse 25: Luke 16:25-26 “But Abraham said,
(to the rich man) Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime received thy
good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou
art tormented. (Now here it is.) 26. And beside all this, between
us and you there is a great gulf fixed: (that separated Paradise from Torment) so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot; neither
can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” And so on and so
forth. But what I want you to see is that in the Old Testament economy, where
of course Daniel is writing, the believers went down into Paradise of Sheol,
and the lost went over to where the rich man is. Now, if you’ll come back with
me to Daniel, maybe we can wind this up and make it understandable. Daniel 12:3-4a “And they that be wise shall
shine as the brightness of the firmament; (See, just like Jesus said in
John 5 – those who have done good; they’ve been people of faith.) and
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 4. But
thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book,…” All right, then
He tells Daniel to shut up the book and so on and so forth. But now come all the way over
to verse 8, still in Daniel 12. We’re still dealing with the resurrection of
the non-Body of Christ. I have to put it that way, because, remember, we’ve
got to still take care of Adam and all those before Israel became a Nation.
Those are all part, I feel, of the Old Testament economy. So they’ll all be
resurrected at the same time. There is not a separate resurrection for the
first 2,000 and then another one. There is one resurrection for anybody that’s
not in the Body of Christ, but were believers. Daniel 12:8a “And I heard, but I
understood not:…” Now, do you see what this is saying? These Old
Testament writers wrote of things by virtue of the Holy Spirit. They didn’t
have a clue what they were writing about. But they wrote. And that’s exactly
what Peter meant back here in his little epistles--“how they searched
diligently.” But did they find the answers? No. It wasn’t meant for
them to. And this is what we have to understand – that God reveals things for
man’s understanding when He is ready to reveal it. Daniel wasn’t that fortunate.
He wrote things that he couldn’t comprehend. Daniel 12:8-9 “And I heard, but I
understood not: then I said, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?
9. And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed
until the time of the end.” Well, now I have, I guess, almost a canned
answer by now. I’ve taught it so often. I call it the signs of the times. And
when did end time signs really start accumulating. The late 1800’s. And again, I go back to Isaiah.
When Isaiah was warning Israel of the coming Babylonian invasion and the
captivity, what did it sound like? Next month. How long was it? Hundred
years. That’s why I feel that time-wise we’re right on God’s end time scenario
of being about a hundred years. You can go back and just see in every segment
of our existence that all the signs of the end time began in the last part of
the 1800’s. Then after we cross over into the 1900’s, it’s a down hill run.
And here we’re culminating now after a hundred years of the signs of the end
time. All right, now same way
here—these things that Daniel had written prophetically were not understood
until the late 1800’s. For eighteen hundred years Christendom had absolutely
no concept of end time prophecy. And God didn’t intend it to be. But as we
approach the end time now, of course, more and more becomes evident. So
reading on in verse 10: Daniel 12:10a “Many shall be purified, and
made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: (My, we’re
seeing that, aren’t we?) and none of the wicked shall understand;…” You
go out into the world today and try to tell them about end time events, and
they look at you like a “bull at a new gate.” What are you talking about?
Isn’t that right? Forgive me, but my big city
people love those little things. But that’s true. They haven’t got a clue
what you’re talking about. It’s what the Book says. Now verse 11: Daniel 12:11 “And from the time that
the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, (Now, you’ve got to be a Bible
student. When does the anti-Christ shut down Israel’s temple? In the middle
of the Tribulation. All right, so from the middle of the Tribulation, then--)
and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, (From the middle of
the Tribulation until the event that Daniel is going to wait for--) will
be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” That’s an extra thirty
days. Daniel 12:12-13 “Blessed is he that
waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and thirty five days.
(So we’ve got an extra 75 days in Daniel 12 that leads up to the resurrection
of the Old Testament saints, which is in verse 13.) 13. But go thy way
till the end be: for thou shalt rest, (In other words, Daniel is in
that place of perfect bliss and rest as Abraham and Lazarus were. Only it’s not
down in Paradise. Paradise is now in Glory. But nevertheless, they are still
waiting for their resurrection day.) and stand in thy lot (or
your company—your group of saved people) at the end of the days.”
Or 75 days after Christ returns. Now, I take that 75 days to be
what Daniel 2 referred to as the dust that was blown away after the stone
smites the image. You remember that in Daniel 2? The stone that smote
the image and ground it to powder and then the wind blew the chaff and the residue
away. I take that to take place during this 75 days, and that will
make the earth ready for the glory of the Kingdom. All right, now we’re still back
in John. Okay, John chapter 5 again, now maybe this will mean a little more to
you. Verse 28, let’s just read it all over. John 5:28-29a “Marvel not at this: for
the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his
voice, 29. And shall come forth; they who have done good, (the people
of faith) unto the resurrection of life;…” And we’ve broken them
down into two companies or orders. The Rapture of the Body of Christ before
the Tribulation; and after the Kingdom is set up, the Old Testament and the
rest of the world’s population that are believers. Those are the two
resurrections of life! Now, come to the next one. John 5:29b “…and they who have done
evil, (They’ve never responded to God’s Word. They have never
responded by faith. They will come--) unto the resurrection of
condemnation.” Okay, now I’ve got four minutes left to bring this to a
head. Come back with me once again to Revelation chapter 20. For the believers there will be
two resurrections. The resurrection of the Body of Christ at the Rapture, and
the resurrection of all the rest of the believers before we come into the
Kingdom event when the Old Testament saints will come back 75 days after Christ
returns. But now at the end of everything, at the end of the 7,000 years or
whatever else goes on after that. At the end of everything, the Great White
Throne is set up and here come all the lost of the ages. And I feel they’ll be
in bodies, otherwise why have a resurrection? Resurrection simply means a
person who has died and has been supernaturally brought back to life. Not like
Lazarus. Lazarus wasn’t resurrected. He was simply brought back to life. The
widow’s son was brought back to life. But resurrection is when, by God’s
supernatural power, a person who has lived and died and gone back to the dust
of the earth is called out with a resurrection body. And that’s what we have
here. And I feel that they’re going to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ
bodily. With a body not fit for eternal bliss, but a body fit for the Lake of Fire. Now, that’s my own interpretation. I can’t specifically say that’s what the
Book says, but I think I’m close. All right, read on in verse 12. Revelation 20:12a “So I saw the dead, small
and great, stand before God; and the books (plural) were opened: and
another book (singular) was opened, which is the book of life:…”
And if they weren’t in the Book of Life, God would show it to them, proof
positive. You’ve never entered into eternal life. You’ve never exercised
faith. And then He judges their punishment in the Lake of Fire, where there will be degrees. Absolutely there will be. He gives out the punishment
according to the works that were registered in the books. Reading on in verse
12: Revelation 20:12b-13 “and the dead were judged
out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; (And I think that
takes you all the way back to the early centuries of the human experience
before the flood.) and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in
them: and they were judged every man according to their works.” None
excepted. Every human being that has ever lived is going to have his moment of
time, although it’s in eternity, before the Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 20:14 “And death and hell were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” In other words,
they’re resurrected out of Hell where the rich man was. They’re resurrected
out of wherever the lost have been in the interval of time, and then bodily
they are cast into the Lake of Fire—the second death. The first death, of course, is
physical death. The second death is spiritual death. Now then verse 15, oh,
we don’t like this. I know we don’t. I can sometimes wake up at night and
think about this. How I wish it weren’t true. But, beloved, it is. And until
God tells us clearly that it’s wrong, we have to accept it as biblical truth.
Verse 15: Revelation 20:15 “And whosoever was not
found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” And
Jesus Himself over and over used what kind of terminology? Forever and ever
and ever and ever. It is without end. Okay, good to see everybody.
This is program number 4 for this afternoon. We’re hopefully going to wind-up
“Connecting the Dots of Scripture” with this program. So they will all be in
books 74, 75, 76, & 77. We’re going to finish the Book of Revelation
hopefully, and we’ll trust that the Lord will use it for His glory. Okay, for those of you in
television, again, we are just an informal Bible study. We don’t want anybody
to get the idea that I am a pastor. I don’t have a church. All I’ve got is a
herd of black cattle, so don’t call me Reverend and don’t ever say I’m
anointed, because in my Book, there was only one that was anointed and that was
Christ Himself. So, I’m kind of picky about what people call me. All right, let’s go to
Revelation 21 and all of a sudden, we’re into eternity. And it’s a whole new
ballgame, once again. Verse 1: Revelation 21:1-2 “And I saw a new heaven
and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and
there was no more sea. 2. And I, John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
All right, now I’m going to spend the biggest portion of our time, I think, on
verse 1, because we want to look at what it really says compared with other
Scripture. Revelation 21:1a “And I saw a new heaven
and a new earth:…” All right, go all the way back to Genesis. If you
know it from memory, you can see it in your mind’s eye, well and good. Don’t
bother. But otherwise, go back and look at it once again. It’s where we
started 17 or 18 years ago. Genesis 1:1 and I made the point then, and I’m
going to make it again today. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God
created (What?) the heaven and the earth.” And if you’ll
remember, I made the point that not right away but after two thousand years of
human history, the Nation of Israel appears. And from the onset of Israel, they are God’s what kind of people? Earthly! And all that God dealt with
was the Nation of Israel, until He sent the Apostle Paul to the Gentile world
with another whole new ballgame and called them the Body of Christ. But what
kind of people were they? Heavenly! This is what you have to do
with Scripture. Is God addressing His earthly people Israel? Or is He dealing with the heavenly people, the Body of Christ? Now Revelation 21 just told
us that everything is going to be made new just like it was in Genesis, a new
heaven and a new earth. Now as you come back up through
your New Testament, go all the way with me to II Peter chapter 3. Now again,
not everybody is going to agree with me. But I feel as though Peter here is
referring to what we’re seeing in Revelation 21. II Peter chapter 3 and go all
the way to verse 4, so we get what I call the flow of Scripture. And remember,
Peter is writing. And who is he writing to? Jews. This is not an ecumenical
book at all. This is Peter addressing fellow Jews. II Peter 3:4 “And saying, Where is the
promise of his coming? (That’s what the scoffers said up there in verse
3. That’s why sometimes I should go further up than I do, but the scoffer
said--) for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of creation.” Sound familiar? Well, we’re hearing the same
thing today. You try to talk to people about the signs of the times and hear,
“No, Les, it’s always been this way.” No, it hasn’t! We are in a time that’s
different than anything else. Oh, granted, it’s all connected, but we are in
the signs of the times. All right, now verse 5: II Peter 3:5-7a “For this they willingly
are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth
standing out of the water and in the water: 6. Whereby the world that then was,
being overflowed with water, perished: 7. But the heavens and the earth, which
are now,…” Now remember, when Peter is writing in the first century,
A.D. 60-65, the world is as it is now. The oceans and everything haven’t
changed. II Peter 3:7-8a “But the heavens and the
earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, (In other
words, God has not permitted anything to happen to it, but He has reserved it
for His own purposes, remember, which is--) reserved unto fire against
the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8. But, beloved, be not
ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a
thousand years,…” Now I’ve been alluding to that all afternoon,
haven’t I? God is eternal. Time means
nothing to God. A thousand years is no different to God than a day. A second
is no different than a hundred years. He’s eternal. He’s timeless. All
right, verse 9: II Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Now
remember, Peter is dealing with his fellow Jews. Now verse 10: II Peter 3:10a “But (In spite of
dealing with the human race, and Israel in particular, for a total of 7,000
years as we get ready for eternity--) the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night; in the which the heavens (To me, that’s outer
space.) shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements…” Now
I’ve got to stop right there. How many of you have ever taken
high school chemistry? Have any of you had high school or college chemistry?
Yeah. All right, what was the big chart on the wall? Huh? The Periodic Table.
They’ve got the atomic make-up
of all the elements. That’s what they called it. See, this is such a
scientific book. It’s the exact language that chemists use today and also
physicists—the elements, the things that make up planet Earth. Now look
what’s going to happen. II Peter 3:10b “…and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also (along with, I think, the whole
universe) and the works that are therein shall be (What?) burned
up.” What does that mean? Melted down to nothing! All right, the
next verse, I think, makes it even more believable—verse 11. II Peter 3:11 “Seeing then…” Now
you want to remember, Peter wasn’t a university graduate. Peter was an
uneducated fisherman. He was about in the same boat that I am as a farmer.
You know, I don’t claim to have any education about anything. But you see,
Peter writes by inspiration with the same language that scientists use today.
And what’s the word I’m looking at? Dissolved--if you work in a
chemistry lab, there are certain things that you can put together and it’ll
just dissolve it into a liquid. II Peter 3:11 “Seeing then that all
these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all
holy conversation (or manner of living) and godliness.” Now
he’s putting the frosting on the cake. He’s bringing it to the point. II Peter 3:12a “Looking for and hasting
unto the coming of the day of God, (Now, I think he’s referring to the
beginning of eternity, the end of 7,000 years of planet earth.) wherein the
heavens (See? We’re not talking about the planet.) being on fire,
shall be (What?) dissolved,…” Now again, for those of you who
have had a little bit of college physics and chemistry, you realize that the
make-up of the atom is such. Let’s see, I’ve got my old blackboard up here. I
haven’t done this in a long time. I hope I’ve got a piece of chalk that
works. You see, the little old atom is much like the solar system. Here
you’ve got the nucleus, which is comparable to our sun. And then out here in
what we call the outer orbits are the (If I remember right. Boy, it’s a long
time since I’ve done this.) electrons. And within the nucleus, I’m going to
keep that a circle. Now remember, this is billions upon billions of
multiplications for size, but within the nucleus-- Now let me put that in a bigger
circle. Inside the nucleus, from the center to the outer edge, what’s
happening? What’s going on? These little particles in the nucleus are zipping
to the outer edge, but instead of going on out, their velocity drops to zero.
They come back to the middle, and that’s going on constantly. All right, now
when our scientists split the atom, what do they do? They permit these little
particles to zip on out. Now when they zip out, what do they do to the atom
next door? Split it, and that’s what we call nuclear fission. I think that’s
right word. Been a long time since I’ve done this. I’m flying by the seat of
my pants today. Maybe that’s why I’m getting tired. But anyway, I’ll never forget
my old chemistry professor and his explanation of this very phenomenon. That
from the center--now this is the nucleus right down here. This doesn’t affect
these outer electrons. These are protons and neutrons, but anyhow, I’ll never
forget. He said, why does it drop to zero and come back to the center, instead
of going out through the outer edge? Nuclear glue. I read another scientific
article a while back, the guy still used the same terminology. Nuclear glue.
It’s what holds the atoms together. Now let’s use Scripture. On
the one hand, it’s hard work today. But on the other hand, I’m having a ball,
because I’m not tied to any particular line of thought. Come back with me to
Colossians. Colossians chapter 1, because see this is why I love teaching this
Book. I can show over and over how everything fits just like a jigsaw puzzle.
All right, now remember what we’re talking about—that God in His providence has
constructed the atom in such a way that it does not self-destruct. Man has to
somehow trigger it. And that’s what they do with the atomic energy. They have
to trigger those particles into breaking out and then in turn splitting all
those around us, and then you have your energy. All right, now look what the
Pauline Scripture says. Colossians 1, dropping down to verse 15. We use them
over and over. I had a letter again the other day that I had to answer right
back with these verses. You have to understand who Jesus Christ really is, or
you can never understand the Gospel. You can never understand the work of the
cross unless you understand who He really is. And here it is. This is one of
the best descriptions of Jesus Christ that you can find in this whole Book. Colossians 1:15-16 “Who (the Son up
in verse 13) is the image of the invisible God, the first born
(or before) of every creature: 16. For by him (this Jesus of
Nazareth) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things (anything that you can imagine) were
created by him and for him:” Now here’s the verse I’m heading for. Colossians 1:17 “And he is before all
things, and by him all things (What?) consist.” Held
together. It’s the power of Jesus Christ that keeps that atom from
disintegrating. Now come back to Peter. When he speaks of this whole creation
being reduced to solvency, down to a fluid of some kind, it’s going to be
dissolved. II Peter chapter 3 again, looking at verse 12. That’s the capstone.
II Peter 3:12a “Looking for and hasting
unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be
dissolved,…” What’s He going to do? He’s going to release all the
atomic energy of the universe. And it’s going to be a meltdown. Totally. Now, I’ve referred to it in the
past. I’ll never forget an article I read years ago in a scientific magazine.
Probably back in the ‘60’s before we even moved to Oklahoma. This guy at the
time was a physicist, if I remember correctly, down at the University of Texas. And he was writing an article on the origins of the universe. And he
went through all these scientific formulas and this and that and everything.
But then he came to this conclusion—that everything originated from an original
source of light. Now those of you who have a little science, light is equal to
what? Energy. What’s God? He’s Light. He’s Energy. So, I remember telling Iris
that this guy is so close. Even though he’s probably miles away, he’s so close
to the truth that, yes, God was that source of Light out of which the universe
came. And then he came to the end of his article. And this really put me
through the ceiling. He said, I can further see that sometime way on out into
the future the whole thing will come back into that original source of light.
And you know, that just gives me goose bumps. Yeah, I think that’s what’s
going to happen. And that’s what Peter says. It’s all going to be reduced.
It’s going to dissolve. And God’s going to pull it off. Now I just shared this with
somebody on the phone the other day. Somebody called and said, “Well, why will
God destroy everything?” What do you suppose was my stock answer? Who has
defiled everything? Satan has. Heaven? Yes. Satan’s had access to Heaven.
His filthy presence has polluted everything that he’s ever touched. So I think
God is just going to have to show that, yes, Satan diluted and polluted
everything in His creation. And He’s going to make it all brand new. Now
isn’t that a thrilling concept? Everything is going to be brand new for
eternity. Reading on in verse 13, then we’ll run back to Revelation for a few
minutes. II Peter 3:13 “Nevertheless we,
according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth (What?) righteousness.” Oh, it’s going to be
glorious! Now let’s come back to
Revelation 21, where John is saying the same thing inspired by the same Holy
Spirit. And along with this new heaven and new earth, we see something that I
sometimes think will be evident during the millennium. It won’t be on the
earth. It will be out in space. And that is the Holy City. Revelation 21:2 “And I John saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.” Now, that’s not anything but a
city. Whether it is square or pyramid, there again, is a lot of debate. But
it’s going to be 1500 miles by 1500 miles by 1500 miles. That’s huge, you know
that? That’s the City, not the planet. I’ve always maintained, since I
understood a little bit of this, that if you’re going to have a city 1500 miles
wide and long, it would never sit on this planet. My goodness, half of it
would be out over the Atlantic Ocean. So in order to have a planet big enough
to hold a city 1500 miles square, can you imagine how huge that will be? But
it’s going to. It’s going to come down, and it’s going to rest on this new
earth. I think it’ll be bigger than Jupiter. It’s going to be humongous, but
whatever. It’s going to be a city 1500 by 1500 by 1500, whether it’s up to
the point of a pyramid, or if it’s a cube. You take your pick. Okay, now verse 3. First,
before you read any further, to what people is John writing the Book of
Revelation? Israel. There’s not one Gentile word in here. This is all
directed to the Nation of Israel. Reading on: Revelation 21:3 “And I head a great voice
out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them, and be their God.” Who did God say that to way back in
Jeremiah? Israel. Go back to Jeremiah 31. This is the new covenant, and it’s
going to carry Israel right into the eternal state. Jeremiah 31:33 “But this shall be the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the
LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and
will be their God, and they shall be my people.” You see how Scripture
identifies itself with Scripture? All right, come back to
Revelation once again. John is saying the same thing in chapter 21. That God,
dealing with His people Israel, will be their God and they shall be His
people. Verse 4: Revelation 21:4-7 “And God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are
passed away. 5. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things
new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6. And
he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, (I’m the A and the
Z.) the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of
the fountain of the water of life freely. 7. He that overcometh shall inherit
all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” Now there’s that word “overcometh.”’
Where else did you see it? In the seven letters to those seven assemblies in
the first three chapters of Revelation. And you know, I’ve made a point.
Those weren’t Gentile churches. Those were Jewish Synagogues. Same language.
Now down comes the city in
verse 10. The city four-squared and, again, I’m going to make the point. Look
how Jewish this all is. I’m still in Revelation 21 verse 12. Revelation 21:12 “And had a wall great and
high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names were
written thereon, which are the names of the (Body of Christ? No.
Who?) the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:” Now verse
13: Revelation 21:13-14 “On the east three gates;
on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three
gates. 14. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the
names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” But were they the apostles
of Israel or Gentiles? Israel!! So, this is all Jewish. I don’t care what
they say. You can’t put Gentile language in there! I’ve only got three minutes
left, so let’s skip over and glean a little out of the last chapter of the
book—chapter 22 verse 1. Revelation 22:1 “And he showed me a pure
river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God
and of the Lamb. 2. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the
river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and
yielded her fruit every month:…” And I feel that all of this is
primarily the promises made to Israel. Now, we’re in there someplace
as the Body of Christ. I’m not going to leave you destitute of an eternal
hope. But all of these things are first and foremost God’s promises to His
covenant people Israel. Now for just a couple of minutes that we have left,
come on down to verse 9. Revelation 22:9 “Then saith he unto me,
See thou do it not, for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the
prophets, (that’s Old Testament) and of them who keep the sayings
of this book: worship God. 10. And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of
the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. 11. He that is unjust, let
him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he
that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be
holy still.” Then the Lord Jesus Himself says, in verse 12: Revelation 22:12 “And, behold, I come
quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work
shall be.” As we’ve already seen earlier this afternoon, when the lost
will come before the Great White Throne. The saved of the ages, of course, will
be in a different judgment. All right, so here again, verse 13: Revelation 22:13-14a “I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14. Blessed are they that do
his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,…” Now
you want to remember, the Tree of Life disappeared back there in Genesis and
has been off the scene until we get to the last chapter of the Book. Then it’s
back in view. The tree of life is still alive and well, thank you. All right,
now here’s a verse that causes a lot of questions. Revelation 22:15 “For without are dogs,
and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosever
loveth and maketh a lie.” Now it’s simply that those people will have
no part in this eternal bliss of the new heaven and the new earth. They have
already gone to their doom. It’s just a reminder, I think, of the kind of
people that will not be in that glorious abode. All right, I’ve got to take
time to make one point, verse 20. Revelation 22:20 “He which testifieth
these things saith, Surely I come quickly.” Let’s pray for it!LESSON ONE * PART I
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (The Tribulation)
LESSON ONE * PART II
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (The Tribulation)
LESSON ONE * PART III
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (The Tribulation)
LESSON ONE * PART IV
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (The Tribulation)
LESSON TWO * PART I
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (The Kingdom)
LESSON TWO * PART II
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (The Kingdom)
LESSON TWO * PART III
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (The Kingdom)
LESSON TWO * PART IV
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (The Kingdom)
LESSON THREE * PART I
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (Eternity)
LESSON THREE * PART II
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (Eternity)
LESSON THREE * PART III
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (Eternity)
LESSON THREE * PART IV
BOOK 4 of CONNECTING THE DOTS
Genesis – Revelation (Eternity)
Copyright © 2008 Les Feldick Ministries. All rights reserved.