Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: 13SCM
Program Code: 13SCM000010
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00:30 Well Danny, I've been here for a lot of these panels
00:33 but I believe this was the best we've ever had. 00:36 It was really good because it answered some pertinent 00:39 questions - right - some real questions on everyday life 00:42 and salvation and it's great. We find the good news. 00:46 You know, the balance of this group... 00:49 We had Shelly in the middle kind of holding together 00:52 and then we had Pastor Dwight and we had Pastor Steve. 00:56 And then we had Pastor John and we had Pastor C.A. 01:00 So we had... It was a tremendous balance in every way. 01:03 Absolutely. I appreciate them. 01:05 And these folk... How about our folks here that have been 01:07 for several hours? They have. Some of them have been here 01:10 all day - all day long - and you're here all evening. 01:12 And they're still staying one more time because they know 01:15 it's going to be... they're looking for a blessing. Amen! 01:17 That's right. Another blessing. And they're going to get one 01:18 in just a little bit 'cause who's preaching for us? 01:20 Pastor Stephen Bohr from Secrets Unsealed. 01:24 And you know, we always enjoy having him here. 01:27 Absolutely. And he always has a different look 01:30 at things than perhaps you may have had before. Um-hmm. 01:34 And even on our panel if you'll notice 01:37 how many times Pastor Bohr had a little different look 01:41 at something than maybe we've thought of before. 01:44 I told him backstage earlier before this... I said: 01:47 "I really appreciate you because you teach us things 01:50 we didn't already know. " Yeah! 01:52 That's something my Aunt Mildred used to say when she'd watch 01:54 television before there was a 3ABN and watch pastors 01:58 not of our faith. And her kids on purpose 02:01 would turn on these other preachers and she'd say: 02:04 "Now why are you listening to that? " And they'd say: 02:05 "Well Mom, it's preaching. Don't you want to hear it? " 02:07 She said: "No, because they don't ever teach me 02:09 anything I didn't already know. " 02:11 She said: "I like to hear Adventist preachers speak. " 02:13 Right. So Stephen Bohr is one of those who teaches us things 02:16 even though we're Adventist that we don't already know. 02:19 Now he's going to lead us in prayer when he comes out. 02:22 And but before he comes 02:25 C.A. Murray - Pastor Murray - 02:27 is going to sing for us Do You Love God? 02:31 All right. Pastor Murray. 03:00 I know what it's like 03:04 to think of things I've done 03:09 and want to run and hide 03:14 my head in shame. 03:20 I know what it's like 03:24 to really hurt someone 03:29 and feel no sense of sorrow 03:33 at their pain. 03:38 Oh, but I know what it's like 03:42 to have enough of my disgrace 03:48 and find because of Jesus' blood 03:53 my sin can be erased. 03:59 He has 04:04 forgiven me. 04:09 My sin has been washed 04:13 from His memory 04:18 by the blood of the Lamb 04:24 of Calvary. 04:30 He has 04:35 forgiven me. 04:42 Do you know what it's like 04:47 for God to be your friend? 04:52 To talk to Him 04:55 with nothing in between? 05:02 Do you know what it's like 05:05 when your day comes to an end 05:11 to sleep in peace 05:14 all because your heart is clean? 05:21 Do you know what it's like 05:24 when the accuser comes your way 05:30 to look him squarely in the eye 05:35 with confidence and say: 05:45 He has 05:49 forgiven me. 05:54 My sin has been washed 05:59 from His memory 06:04 by the blood of the Lamb 06:09 of Calvary. 06:15 He has 06:19 forgiven me. 06:23 He has 06:28 forgiven me. 06:32 My sin has been washed 06:37 from His memory 06:42 by the blood of the Lamb 06:48 of Calvary. 06:53 He has 06:57 forgiven 07:00 me. 07:04 By the blood of the Lamb 07:09 of Calvary. 07:17 He has 07:22 forgiven 07:25 me. 07:39 Amen! 07:51 For those of you who are from the East Coast 07:53 this is the graveyard shift. 08:00 I'm actually pretty glad that they put me at this time 08:03 because I'm on Pacific Time... 08:05 which means that right now 08:07 you know I'm just starting the evening in California. 08:12 So it's a real blessing 08:15 to be able to speak at this time of the day. 08:18 I know that for some of you it probably is a struggle 08:20 because for some of you it's already beyond 10 o'clock. 08:25 But I hope that we're able to concentrate. 08:28 We're going to continue our study on Elijah in scripture. 08:34 But before we do we want to once again 08:37 draw close to the Lord's throne in prayer. 08:41 Never should scripture be opened without prayer. 08:45 So I invite you to bow your heads with me. 08:47 Father in heaven, we thank you 08:50 for the many blessings that we have received here 08:53 at this 3ABN Camp Meeting. 08:55 And Father, we're anticipating a great celebration 08:59 this weekend. We ask that You will pour out Your Spirit 09:03 upon this place that lives will be transformed and changed 09:07 through the power of Jesus. 09:10 We ask that as we open Your Holy Word, 09:12 that book that You inspired through Your Spirit, 09:16 that this evening You will open minds and hearts 09:19 that we might understand Your will 09:22 and that we might be willing to receive it. 09:25 We thank you, Father, for the privilege 09:27 of approaching Your throne in prayer - Your awesome throne. 09:31 We just ask that You will answer our prayer 09:34 because we come to You boldly in the name of Jesus, 09:38 Amen. Amen. 09:42 In this series we have been talking about Elijah. 09:46 Basically up till now we have studied 09:50 the Elijah of the Middle Ages 09:53 and the Elijah of the Old Testament... 09:57 the historical Elijah. 09:59 As I've mentioned, there are actually four Elijahs 10:03 in scripture. The first Elijah is the Old Testament Elijah. 10:07 He's the historical person. 10:10 The second Elijah is what I call the prophetic Elijah, 10:14 and that's the one that we are going to speak about 10:16 this evening. The third Elijah I have called the ecclesiastical 10:20 Elijah... that is the Elijah of the Middle Ages, 10:25 the Elijah of the period of papal supremacy. 10:29 And the last Elijah is the apocalyptic Elijah 10:33 or the end-time Elijah. 10:36 Now we've noticed that we have a governing principle 10:39 when we study the Elijahs. 10:41 The first two of the Elijahs are literal individuals 10:46 and their enemies are literal individuals. 10:51 But when you get to the church age and the end time 10:54 the individuals in the story of Elijah become symbolic 10:59 of world-wide movements or world-wide systems. 11:03 In other words, we're no longer dealing with 11:06 specific individuals... we're dealing with typology. 11:10 The individuals become types or symbols 11:13 of world-wide movements and world-wide systems. 11:19 Now in our study we have noticed that the main protagonists 11:23 of the Elijah story are first of all a king. 11:27 The king is a weak political leader. 11:32 In other words, the king has no moral backbone 11:35 to make decisions. 11:37 The second person is a harlot woman. 11:39 In the case of the historic Elijah it is Jezebel. 11:43 Strong willed, determined, knows what she wants 11:47 and uses the king - the political power - 11:50 to accomplish her purposes. 11:52 Then we also noticed in the Old Testament story 11:55 that Jezebel had prophets... false prophets... through whom 11:59 she extended her counterfeit religion. 12:02 They "ate at her table" which means they did the bidding 12:06 of Jezebel. 12:08 And we notice that this three-fold union 12:10 actually controlled and manipulated the people of Israel 12:16 so that there was an apostasy 12:18 among the majority of God's people and only a small remnant 12:22 remained. And of course, God called Elijah 12:27 to denounce this system... 12:29 to denounce these three powers that had brought apostasy 12:34 into Israel and to try and bring Israel back 12:39 to the straight and narrow, back to their Creator, 12:42 back to their God. 12:46 Now there's another principle that we need to take into 12:48 account as we begin our study of the prophetic Elijah, 12:53 and that is that the Old Testament Elijah 12:56 and the prophetic Elijah that we're going to study 12:59 this evening have details that overlap. 13:03 And one Elijah has details that the other Elijah does not have. 13:09 And when we study the end-time Elijah 13:11 we have to take material from the Old Testament Elijah 13:15 and also from the New Testament Elijah 13:18 or the prophetic Elijah and put all of the details together 13:22 because they all come together 13:23 in the fulfillment of the end-time Elijah. 13:26 Let me just give you an illustration of what I mean. 13:30 In Revelation chapter 13 13:33 we have the beast. 13:36 Now we know that the beast represents the Roman Catholic 13:39 system. But in Revelation 13 we also have a false prophet. 13:45 It's the beast that rises from the earth with two horns 13:48 like a lamb. This beast is called the false prophet. 13:51 This beast is really the false prophet of the first beast 13:56 because the false prophet 14:00 leads everyone to worship the first beast, 14:03 makes an image of the first beast, 14:06 and imposes the mark of the first beast. 14:10 In other words, the false prophet is the false prophet 14:13 of the beast because the false prophet does everything 14:16 that the beast wants. 14:19 Now when you come to Revelation 17 14:21 the symbolism is different but the meaning is the same. 14:24 In Revelation 17 you don't have a beast 14:26 and you don't have the false prophet that persecutes God's 14:29 people. In Revelation 17 you have different symbolism 14:33 but with the same meaning. 14:35 In Revelation 17 instead of the beast you have a harlot woman. 14:39 Instead of the false prophets 14:42 you have the daughters of the harlot 14:46 because she's the mother. 14:48 And instead of the dragon 14:51 that you find in Revelation chapter 12 and 13 14:54 you have the kings of the earth with whom the harlot fornicates 14:59 and she controls these daughters or the false prophet. 15:04 So in other words, when you put Revelation 13 and 15:06 Revelation 17 together you have basically the same meaning 15:11 but different symbols are used. 15:15 Now the Old Testament ends in expectancy. 15:18 Do you know that the Old Testa- ment is really an open book? 15:21 Because it ends in expectancy. 15:24 Something is missing from the Old Testament. 15:27 People anticipate someone who is going to come 15:30 in the future. 15:31 Notice Malachi chapter 4 and verses 5 and 6. 15:35 Malachi chapter 4 verses 5 and 6. 15:38 Here is a promise that is made in the last book of the Bible... 15:42 the last two verses of the Old Testament specifically. 15:46 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet 15:51 before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 15:55 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children 15:58 and the hearts of the children to their fathers 16:01 lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. " 16:06 And so the Old Testament ends 16:08 with God promising that He is going to send Elijah 16:11 before the great and terrible day of the Lord. 16:14 The Old Testament ends with anticipation 16:17 of a coming Elijah... a new Elijah if you please. 16:22 Now the New Testament clearly identifies this Elijah. 16:26 Go with me to Luke chapter 1 and verses 16 and 17. 16:31 Here the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah, 16:35 the father of John the Baptist. 16:37 And I want you to notice what the angel Gabriel says 16:40 to Zechariah. Chapter 1 of Luke verses 16 and 17. 16:46 Speaking about his son that will be born: John the Baptist. 16:51 "And he will turn many of the children of Israel 16:55 to the Lord their God. " Let me ask you: 16:57 who is Elijah sent to? Is he sent to the pagans 17:00 and the secular people? No! 17:03 Once again we are told here that his mission 17:06 is to those who profess to be God's people. 17:09 Because it says he "will turn many of the children of Israel 17:13 to the Lord their God. " 17:14 And then it says: "He... " That is, John the Baptist... 17:17 "will also go before Him... " 17:19 That is, before Jesus... 17:22 "in the spirit and power of.. " Who? "of Elijah. " 17:26 John the Baptist will come "in the spirit and power of Elijah 17:29 to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children 17:32 and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just 17:35 to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. " 17:41 And so in the New Testament we have John the Baptist 17:45 identified as Elijah. 17:50 Now this is not the only text that identifies John the Baptist 17:53 as Elijah in the New Testament. 17:55 Go with me to Matthew chapter 17 and verses 10 through 13. 17:59 This is immediately after the transfiguration. 18:03 And I want you to notice that there's a question that the 18:05 disciples asked Jesus. 18:08 Once again, Matthew 17:10-13. 18:12 It says here: "And His disciples asked Him saying: 18:16 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? ' " 18:20 If you're the Messiah, we haven't seen Elijah come. 18:23 "Jesus answered and said to them: 18:25 'Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will... ' " What? 18:31 Ahhhh, Elijah is not an innovator. 18:35 He does not bring new light. 18:37 Elijah restores and brings people back to the message. 18:42 And so it continues saying: 18:44 "Jesus answered and said to them: 'Indeed, Elijah is 18:46 coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you 18:50 that Elijah has come already 18:52 and they did not know him 18:55 but did to him whatever they wished. 18:57 Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer 19:00 at their hands. ' Then the disciples understood 19:04 that He spoke to them of John the Baptist. " 19:08 So this is the second text in the New Testament 19:11 that identifies John the Baptist as the New Testament Elijah 19:16 or what I call the prophetic Elijah. 19:18 There's a third passage in the New Testament 19:21 in the gospels that identifies John as Elijah. 19:26 Matthew chapter 11 and verses 11 to 14. 19:29 Matthew 11:11-14. 19:33 Here we find Jesus speaking once again 19:36 about John the Baptist. And this is what He says: 19:39 "Assuredly I say to you 19:42 among those born of women 19:45 there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist. 19:49 But he who is least in the kingdom of heaven 19:52 is greater than he. 19:54 And from the days of John the Baptist until now 19:57 the kingdom of heaven suffers violence 20:00 and the violent take it by force. 20:03 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. " 20:06 And verse 14 says: 20:08 "And if you are willing to receive it 20:12 he is Elijah who is to come. " 20:17 Does scripture clearly identify the New Testament Elijah? 20:21 Yes! In fact, when John the Baptist appeared 20:25 many actually believed that he WAS Elijah. 20:29 And the reason why is because John the Baptist 20:32 lived in the wilderness like Elijah; 20:35 he ate like Elijah; 20:38 he dressed like Elijah; 20:41 he called Israel to repentance like Elijah; 20:45 he rebuked a king like Elijah; 20:48 and he called Israel back to the Lord their God. 20:53 In fact, we are told in the gospel of Matthew 20:57 "Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair 21:01 with a leather belt around his waist 21:04 and his food was locust and wild honey. " 21:07 People said: "This is just like Elijah. " 21:10 John the Baptist IS the New Testament Elijah. 21:15 And why did God raise up John the Baptist? 21:19 Let's notice several texts to see what his mission was. 21:22 The mission of the Old Testament Elijah was to restore. 21:26 It was to bring Israel back to the Lord their God. 21:29 It was a message to the church of that day and age. 21:32 The church was in apostasy. 21:34 It had gone away from the Lord, and so Elijah comes and he 21:38 preaches - if you wish - to the church and says: 21:41 "Come back to the Lord. " 21:44 Luke chapter 1 and verse 16 which we already read 21:47 tells us: "And he will turn many of the children of Israel 21:53 to the Lord their God. " 21:55 Notice: he's turning the children of Israel to the Lord 21:57 their God. I thought the children of Israel 21:59 already had God as their Lord. 22:02 Obviously, they were in apostasy. 22:05 And in verse 17 we are told: "He will also go before Him... " 22:10 That is, John the Baptist will go before Jesus... 22:12 "in the spirit and power of Elijah. " 22:15 And then it explains: "To turn the hearts of the 22:18 fathers to the children 22:19 and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just 22:22 to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. " 22:26 The role of Elijah is to prepare a people 22:29 for the arrival of the Lord. 22:30 And you know what? The Old Testament Elijah 22:32 prepared the way for a great reformation 22:36 that was brought by his successor: Elisha. 22:41 And so we find John the Baptist preparing the way 22:44 for a people to accept the One who would come after him 22:48 who would bring a great reformation: Jesus Christ 22:52 the Messiah. 22:54 Matthew chapter 11 verse 10 which we already read: 22:58 once again we find the purpose of God raising John the Baptist 23:02 as the New Testament Elijah. 23:04 It says there: "For this is he of whom it is written 23:08 'Behold I sent my messenger before your face 23:11 who will prepare Your way before You. ' " 23:15 In other words, his purpose is to bring people back to the 23:19 Lord their God so that they are prepared 23:21 for the coming of the Lord. 23:23 In Luke chapter 3 verses 4 and 5 23:25 we find once again a description of the role and purpose 23:29 of this Elijah. We are told there in Luke 3:4-5 23:33 "As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet 23:37 saying: 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness 23:40 prepare the way of the Lord. 23:43 Make His paths straight. 23:45 Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill 23:48 brought low. The crooked places shall be made straight 23:51 and the rough way smooth. 23:53 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. ' " 23:57 Now what is meant by these expressions? 23:59 Every valley? Every mountain? Crooked places? Rough way? Etc. 24:04 What is meant by that? 24:05 I love the description of this that is given by Ellen White 24:08 in the book The Desire of Ages page 135. 24:12 She explains what happened in the past. You know, you 24:16 didn't have paved highways like we do today. 24:18 You had basically unpaved roads. 24:21 And because of the weather, you know, holes would develop 24:24 and little hills would develop in the road and the road 24:27 had to be kept clear. 24:28 She describes in Desire of Ages page 135: 24:32 "Anciently when a king journeyed through the less-frequented 24:36 parts of his dominion a company of men was 24:39 sent ahead of the royal chariot 24:42 to level the steep places and to fill up the hollows 24:46 that the king might travel in safety and without hindrance. 24:51 This custom is employed by the prophet to illustrate the work 24:55 of the gospel. In the book God's Amazing Grace 24:59 page 249 Ellen White explains what this symbolically means: 25:05 you know, filling in the holes in the highway 25:08 and leveling out the rough places. 25:10 She explains: "The work of reformation here brought to view 25:14 by John, the purging of heart and mind and soul 25:19 is one that is needed by many who today profess 25:22 to have the faith of Christ. 25:24 Wrong practices that have been indulged in 25:28 need to be put away. 25:30 The crooked paths need to be made straight 25:33 and the rough places smooth. 25:36 The mountains and hills of self-esteem and pride 25:39 need to be brought low. 25:41 There is need of bringing forth fruits, 25:43 need for repentance. 25:45 When the word is done in the experience of God's believing 25:48 people, all flesh... " she says... "will see the salvation 25:53 of the Lord. " 25:55 So basically, it speaks about being converted 25:59 and the life that comes from a converted heart. 26:03 The life will be made straight; the holes will be filled in. 26:07 Pride will be abased. 26:10 That's the work that John the Baptist was to perform 26:13 in preparation for the arrival of the Messiah. 26:16 It's the preparation that we must have for the coming 26:20 of the Messiah the second time in power and glory. 26:25 In Matthew chapter 17 and verse 11 26:27 once again we are told that John the Baptist was 26:30 called to restore all things. 26:32 It says there: "Jesus answered and said to them: 26:35 "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. " 26:40 Elijah was not an innovator. 26:43 Elijah did not bring new truth and new doctrines. 26:46 His purpose was to bring God's people back to where they 26:51 had gone astray from. 26:53 Matthew chapter 3 verses 1-3 we have a description 26:57 of the message of John the Baptist. 26:59 It says: "In those days John the Baptist came preaching 27:02 in the wilderness of Judea and saying: 27:05 'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 27:08 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah 27:12 saying: the voice of one crying in the wilderness 27:15 prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. ' " 27:20 In other words, Elijah is calling God's own people 27:23 to repentance. Let me ask you: 27:26 did Elijah restore the true gospel? 27:30 Do you remember that in the Old Testament Elijah 27:33 built the altar of the Lord that had been broken down? 27:36 He re-established the sacrificial system 27:38 that represented the sacrifice of Christ. 27:41 How did John the Baptist introduce Jesus? 27:45 You know it: John chapter 1 and verse 29. 27:49 It says: "The next day John saw Jesus coming 27:52 toward him and said... " What? 27:54 "Behold the Lamb of God 27:57 who takes away the sin of the world. " 28:02 And so John the Baptist is attracting the attention 28:05 of God's people to the Lamb of God 28:07 just like Elijah in the Old Testament 28:10 rebuilt the altar with twelve stones 28:13 and at the hour of the evening sacrifice 28:15 placed the victims upon the altar. 28:18 John the Baptist is fulfilling the same role 28:21 as the Old Testament Elijah. 28:23 Let me ask you: did John the Baptist preach God's law? 28:30 Yes he did. 28:31 Do you know that John the Baptist was killed 28:35 because he upheld the seventh commandment? 28:40 Because he said - and we're going to study this in a few 28:42 moments - he said to Herodias and to the king 28:47 "You have an illicit sexual relationship. " 28:50 And it landed him in prison 28:53 and made him eventually lose his head. 28:55 John the Baptist preached the commandments of God. 29:00 And incidentally, even though the Bible doesn't mention 29:03 John the Baptist saying this specifically 29:05 one of the things that the Jews had done 29:08 is they had totally distorted the meaning 29:11 of the seventh-day Sabbath. 29:13 The Sabbath - listen carefully - 29:15 the Sabbath that was kept by the Jews in Christ's day 29:18 was a counterfeit Sabbath because it was created by man. 29:23 It was not the Sabbath created by God! 29:26 It was a Sabbath that was created by them 29:28 loaded down with all sorts of traditions, 29:31 with all sorts of customs. 29:33 The only difference between the days of Christ and the end time 29:36 is that the controversy in the days of Christ 29:39 was having to do with the wrong way 29:42 whereas at the end of time it will be the wrong day. 29:47 But the issue will be the same! 29:50 You see, the people in the days of Christ were worshiping 29:52 themselves. They were not worshiping the Creator. 29:55 The Sabbath had become and end in itself. 29:57 God called the New Testament Elijah - John the Baptist - 30:01 to say: "Folks, behold the Lamb of God who takes away 30:04 the sin of the world. " 30:06 He calls John the Baptist to lift high the gospel 30:09 but the law as well 30:12 and to call people not only to repentance 30:15 but to produce fruit in their lives: the fruit of the Spirit. 30:20 In Matthew chapter 3 verse 8 and verse 10 30:22 we find a clear reference to the fruit of the life 30:26 that comes from repentance and accepting the Messiah. 30:29 It says there in Matthew chapter 3 verse 8: 30:32 "Therefore... " John the Baptist is preaching. 30:34 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance 30:37 and do not think to say to yourselves: 'We have 30:39 Abraham as our father. ' " In other words, they're really 30:41 arrogant. They say: "We belong to the right church, 30:45 to the true church. " 30:46 "For I say to you that God is able to raise up children 30:49 to Abraham from these stones 30:51 and even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. 30:55 Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit 30:59 is... " What? "is cut down and thrown into the fire. " 31:06 Did John the Baptist preach a message of judgment? 31:10 He most certainly did. 31:11 Did the Old Testament Elijah preach a message of judgment? 31:15 He most certainly did! 31:17 He said: "Listen folks, you can't limp between two opinions. 31:20 If the Lord is God, you're going to follow Him 31:24 and if Baal is god, follow him. " 31:26 In other words, his message was a message of separation 31:30 of the righteous from the wicked. 31:32 Did John the Baptist preach a message of judgment? 31:35 He most certainly did. 31:37 Matthew chapter 3 and verse 10 and also verse 12 tells us: 31:41 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. 31:45 Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit 31:49 is cut down and thrown into the fire. " 31:51 And then verse 12: "His winnowing fan is in His hand 31:56 and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor 31:59 and gather His wheat into the barn. But He will burn 32:03 up the chaff with unquenchable fire. " 32:06 Notice that it's the fire that's unquenchable 32:08 not that which the fire consumes. 32:13 You see, when the Bible speaks about eternal fire 32:17 as we were talking about in our question-and-answer session 32:20 the fire is eternal but what it consumes is not eternal... 32:25 because what it's consuming is mortal man. 32:30 And so, folks, we have the message of Elijah 32:33 in the New Testament. 32:34 Very similar to the message of the Old Testament Elijah. 32:39 Now I mentioned before that Elijah never appears alone... 32:46 he always appears in bad company. 32:50 Whenever Elijah appears 32:52 his three enemies appear with him 32:54 because it's inconceivable that you would have Elijah 32:57 and you would not have the other protagonists of the story. 33:01 Every time Elijah appears in scripture 33:04 his enemies appear along with him... which means 33:08 that in the story of the New Testament Elijah 33:10 his enemies must be somewhere. 33:14 Go with me to Mark chapter 6 and let's study this. 33:17 This is very interesting. Mark chapter 6. 33:20 This is talking about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. 33:24 Let's see if there are three enemies 33:26 in the story of John the Baptist. 33:30 Mark chapter 6 and beginning with verse 14. 33:35 First of all I want you to notice that in this story 33:37 we have a king. 33:39 What kind of character does the king have? 33:42 He has a weak moral character and he is easily influenced. 33:48 Easily influenced by the strong will 33:52 of a woman who is fornicating with him. 33:55 Notice Mark 6 verse 14: 33:57 "Now king... " Notice he's called king. 34:00 "Now king Herod heard of Him... " That is, of Jesus. 34:03 "for His name had become well know. And he said: 34:06 'John the Baptist is risen from the dead 34:08 and therefore these powers are at work in Him. ' 34:11 Others said: 'It is Elijah! ' 34:13 and others said: 'It is the prophet 34:15 or like one of the prophets. ' 34:17 But when Herod heard he said: 'This is John who I beheaded; 34:22 he has been raised from the dead. ' " 34:25 And so the first person in this story is the king... 34:31 a weakling king. 34:34 A king that is easily manipulated. 34:39 That does not have a mind of his own. 34:42 Now, do you also have in this story a woman 34:47 who is committing sexual adultery? 34:51 Absolutely. 34:53 Notice Mark chapter 6 and verse 17. 34:56 Mark chapter 6 and verse 17. 34:58 We are told: "For Herod himself 35:01 had sent and laid hold of John... " 35:04 Was that the king's idea? 35:07 No! Because it continues saying: 35:10 "and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, 35:13 his brother Philip's wife, 35:16 for he had... " What? "for he had married her. " 35:20 So whose idea was it to cast John into prison? 35:23 It was the mind of Herodias influencing the king 35:29 that led John to end up in prison. 35:32 Do you know what she especially did not like about John? 35:36 The fact that John rebuked her fornication. 35:39 You know, tomorrow morning we're going to study 35:41 the end-time Elijah. 35:43 Is there a rebuke in Revelation chapters 17 and 18 35:46 where it speaks about the harlot 35:49 fornicating with the kings of the earth? 35:52 Absolutely! 35:53 The end-time Elijah - the story of the end-time Elijah - 35:57 is described in all of its glory if we can use the word 36:00 in Revelation chapter 17 and we're going to take a look 36:03 at that chapter tomorrow morning. 36:05 Notice Mark chapter 6 and verse 18 36:08 what John the Baptist said that enraged this woman. 36:14 It says there: 36:15 "For John had said to Herod 36:18 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. ' " 36:24 So you have this woman. 36:26 She's really in the sight of God an adulterous woman 36:30 and she links up with the king, an illicit relationship. 36:34 And she influences the mind of the king 36:37 to throw John the Baptist into prison. 36:41 But there was a problem, 36:43 and that is that she could not actually kill John the Baptist. 36:48 She wanted to see John the Baptist dead. 36:51 There was something that restrained her 36:53 just like in Revelation chapter 13 we have the beast 36:57 has a deadly wound... 36:58 Just like we studied in the story of the church of Thyatira 37:02 the woman was thrown into a sickbed. 37:05 Jezebel was thrown into a sickbed. 37:07 Somehow she had lost her power and she could not influence 37:10 the king to do what she wanted. 37:12 Notice what we find in Mark chapter 6 and verse 19. 37:17 "Therefore Herodias held it against him 37:20 and wanted to kill him but... " What? 37:24 "but she could not. " 37:28 Her hands are tied. 37:31 She needs a helper... 37:33 somebody that can help her accomplish her purposes. 37:38 And now this is where 37:41 her daughter comes into view. 37:45 Notice Mark chapter 6 and verse 21. 37:49 Mark chapter 6 and verse 21 says 37:53 "Then an opportune day... " Opportune for whom? 37:57 Ah, for Herodias. 37:59 "Then an opportune day came when Herod" - that is the king - 38:03 "on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, 38:07 the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee. " 38:12 And what do you think they were drinking: H20? 38:18 What were they drinking? 38:20 They were drinking wine! 38:22 And as they drank the wine, his mind could not think straight. 38:28 Is there any idea in Revelation? Do the kings of the earth 38:31 drink the wine that the harlot gives them? 38:34 See, this is typology in scripture. 38:37 God has given us three stories - the Old Testament Elijah, 38:41 the New Testament Elijah, 38:42 the Middle Ages Elijah - 38:44 so that we can understand the end-time Elijah. 38:46 Whoever doesn't understand it has a real problem 38:49 because God emphasizes it four times. 38:54 Ellen White says in the book Temperance pages 50 and 51 38:58 "The false enchantment of the dizzy scene 39:02 seemed to take away reason 39:04 and dignity from Herod and his guests 39:07 who were flushed with wine. 39:10 The music and the wine and dancing had removed 39:13 the fear and reverence of God from them. 39:15 Nothing seemed sacred to Herod's perverted senses. " 39:21 And you know, this reminds me of the story 39:24 of Nadab and Abihu. 39:26 Do you know what the sin of Nadab and Abihu was? 39:30 It was the sin of taking that which was common 39:33 and presenting it to God as if it was holy. 39:37 And if you read the story of Daniel 5 which describes 39:40 the fall of ancient Babylon, the great sin of Belshazzar 39:44 was taking that which was holy 39:46 and treating it as if it was common. 39:50 How does God feel when we come to church knowing better 39:55 dressed in secular clothing? 39:59 How does God feel when we take secular music 40:02 and we attach sacred words? 40:06 How does God feel when on Sabbath we speak 40:10 our words instead of speaking holy words? 40:14 By the way, the story of Nadab and Abihu 40:17 and the story of Belshazzar 40:20 illustrates the issue at the end time. 40:23 Because what the Christian world has done - and I say this 40:25 with respect to everyone who's watching on television - 40:28 the Christian world has taken a common day 40:32 and they have presented it to God as if it was holy. 40:35 And they have taken a holy day and they treat that day 40:39 as if it was common. If God should accept that, 40:42 he is going to have to apologize to Belshazzar 40:46 and to Nadab and Abihu. 40:48 Because when God says "You offer this which is holy" 40:52 God is serious! 40:54 He means offer just what He said. 40:57 Now there's another protagonist in this story. 41:00 See, the king is under the influence of the wife. 41:03 And even though the Bible doesn't say it, I believe 41:05 that Herodias had something to do with the drinking 41:07 of the wine. And so now the king cannot think straight 41:13 and this vile woman, Herodias, 41:16 now has everything where she wants it 41:19 and the daughter comes into the picture. 41:23 Notice Mark chapter 6 and verse 22. 41:27 Let me ask you: who's the dangerous figure in this story? 41:30 Is it the king? No! 41:33 Is it Salome the daughter? No! 41:36 Who is the dangerous figure that moves all of the strings 41:40 and is in control of the whole situation? 41:43 It is the mother who is committing adultery! 41:50 Notice Mark chapter 6 and verse 22. 41:53 "And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced 41:58 and pleased Herod and those who sat with him 42:02 the king said to the girl: 'Ask me whatever you want 42:05 and I will give it to you. ' And then he says: 42:07 'I'll give you up to half of the kingdom' " 42:10 he says in Mark 6 verse 23. He had to be drunk! 42:15 Half the kingdom for a dance? Give me a break. 42:24 And we're told in verse 23 he also swore to her. 42:28 "Whatever you ask me I will give you 42:31 up to half my kingdom. " 42:35 And now the mother comes into view. 42:37 Is the daughter just like her mother? 42:40 The daughter is an image of her mother. 42:44 Now notice what happens. 42:47 Chapter 6 and verse 24: 42:50 "So she went out and said to her mother... " 42:55 Notice that we have the three words: king, mother, daughter. 43:00 Those are key words in Revelation 17. 43:03 "So she went out and said to her mother: 43:06 'What shall I ask? ' 43:09 and she said: 'The head of John the Baptist. ' " 43:13 And Salome said: "Mother! " 43:16 Is that what she said? 43:19 No! In fact, we're told in Mark 6 verse 25 43:24 the very next verse: "Immediately 43:30 she came in with haste 43:34 to the king and asked saying: 43:37 'I want you to give me at once 43:40 the head of John the Baptist on a platter. ' " 43:47 Was the king sorry? 43:50 Did he realize that he had been deceived? 43:53 Let me ask you: at the end of time 43:55 is it the civil powers of the world that we need to be 43:58 concerned about? 44:01 No. 44:03 Is it really the daughters of the harlot 44:05 that we need to be concerned about? 44:07 No. It is the mother 44:10 that God's people have to be concerned about 44:13 according to scripture 44:15 because she's the one that moves everything 44:18 from behind the scenes. 44:22 And so we're told that the king was exceedingly sorry 44:26 yet because of the oaths... 44:29 What kind of character did he have? 44:31 He was a weakling. 44:33 He had no moral backbone... 44:36 just like's going to happen with the kings of the world 44:38 at the end of time: they will go along 44:41 with what the harlot wants. 44:42 We'll study that tomorrow. 44:45 And so it says: "And the king was exceedingly sorry 44:47 yet because of the oaths and because of those who sat 44:51 with him he did not want to refuse her. " 44:55 Then verses 27 and 28 have the rest of the sad story. 45:00 It says: "Immediately the king sent an executioner 45:05 and commanded his head to be brought. 45:08 And he went and beheaded him in prison, " 45:12 And now listen to this: "brought his head on a platter, 45:16 and gave it to the girl. " And then what does it say? 45:21 "And the girl gave it to her mother. " 45:26 Who is the daughter attempting to please? 45:30 She's attempting to please her mother. 45:33 Through the daughter the mother influences the king 45:38 to destroy John the Baptist. 45:40 Now you notice that there are two kinds of Elijahs. 45:42 There's the translated Elijah 45:46 and there's the Elijah that dies. 45:49 And you say: "Why do you have an Elijah that is translated 45:54 and an Elijah that dies? " 45:55 The reason is very simple: 45:57 whenever you have an Elijah 46:00 that is followed by an individual who dies 46:03 that Elijah dies. 46:06 And whenever you have an Elijah that prepares the way 46:11 for someone who does not die - 46:14 in this case, the second coming of Christ - 46:16 you have an Elijah who is trans- lated from among the living. 46:20 Now notice Malachi 4 verses 5 and 6. 46:23 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet 46:27 before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 46:29 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children 46:32 and the hearts of the children to their fathers 46:35 lest I come and strike the earth with a curse. " 46:37 Are we to expect the coming of another Elijah? 46:42 Let me ask you: was the coming of Christ 46:44 the great and terrible day of the Lord? 46:46 Was it a day burning like an oven 46:48 like you find in the verses 46:50 immediately before these two verses? 46:52 Was it a day when there will leave neither root nor branch? 46:55 Absolutely not! 46:57 That's speaking about the second coming of Christ 46:59 so we are to expect an end-time Elijah. 47:03 James White wrote something very interesting 47:08 about typology. 47:10 In Review and Herald, April 5, 1870, he said: 47:14 "The first and second advents 47:16 are in many respects parallel events. 47:19 Single prophecies often contemplate both, 47:23 the prophetic utterances glancing from one to the other 47:28 in quick transition. 47:30 Such prophecies receive a partial fulfillment 47:33 in the events of the first advent 47:35 and a complete accomplishment 47:38 in events connected with the second. " 47:41 And then he says: "Of such a nature 47:43 we believe are some of the predictions of Malachi. " 47:48 So John the Baptist was a partial fulfillment 47:52 of the Elijah prophecy 47:54 and we are to expect another Elijah 47:58 right before the second coming of Christ... 48:01 an Elijah that will be trans- lated from among the living 48:04 because the Messiah that will come will be a living Messiah! 48:08 Desire of Ages page 102 48:11 Ellen White concurs with her husband, James White, 48:14 when she says: "In preparing the way for Christ's 48:17 first advent John the Baptist was a representative 48:23 of those... " Is that singular or plural? 48:29 Plural! He was "representative of those 48:33 who are to prepare a people for our Lord's second coming. " 48:39 So what is the principle? 48:40 The principle is that in the Old Testament 48:43 as well as in the times of John the Baptist 48:45 when the theocracy has not ended and God is dealing 48:49 with literal Israel, you have literal Israel 48:52 dealing with literal people on a local stage. 48:55 But the principle is that in the church of the Middle Ages 48:59 and the end time, you are dealing with spiritual Israel. 49:02 And the individuals in the Old Testament and in the 49:06 New Testament represent groups of people 49:09 or systems that are global in scope. 49:16 Now you know, folks, that every time that the church 49:18 has used the state 49:20 the result has been repression and persecution. 49:25 In this story of Elijah we have a vile king. 49:29 Weakling. 49:31 We have a religious adviser who moves the strings 49:36 and we have the false prophets or the daughter 49:40 who does the biddings of the woman. 49:45 You know, you find stories similar to this 49:47 in other places of the Bible. 49:48 Remember the story of Esther? 49:51 Very interesting. 49:53 Do you have a king in the story of Esther? 49:55 Yeah. Does he really know what's going on? 49:57 No... he doesn't have the foggiest idea. 50:00 But when he wakes up he's pretty mad. 50:04 But he's not mad with Jews, 50:07 he's mad at the one who created the plot. 50:10 You have a vile woman in the story of Esther also. 50:13 You say: "Who is she? " Zeresh... the wife of Haman. 50:18 She's the one that told him: "Make a gallows 50:21 to hang Mordecai. " 50:23 And then you have a third individual 50:24 which is Haman himself. 50:27 And you have God's true people, Israel, 50:31 who are under sentence of death. 50:34 The point is, folks, that whenever the church 50:38 uses the state to accomplish its purposes 50:42 the result is repression and persecution. 50:45 And our political leaders in the United States 50:48 and in the world should listen carefully to this. 50:51 You know, it's a sobering thought, folks, 50:54 that Jesus Christ was crucified 50:56 by a vile union of church and state. 50:59 You see, the Jews could not execute the death decree. 51:03 They gave Him first of all a religious trial 51:05 just like happened during the Middle Ages 51:07 with the Inquisition. First there was a religious trial. 51:10 An ecclesiastical trial. 51:12 If the individual was found guilty of heresy, 51:14 he was then taken to the civil power so that 51:17 the civil power would execute that individual. 51:20 That's exactly what they did with Jesus. 51:22 The Sanhedrin did an Inquisition of Jesus. 51:25 They found Him guilty of heresy 51:27 but they could not destroy Him as a church. 51:29 And so what they did: they took Jesus to Pilate 51:32 and they said: "We can't execute anyone. 51:34 We need your help. " 51:37 And so by using Pilate - the political power - 51:41 Jesus was led to the cross. 51:46 And so whenever in the Bible the church uses the state 51:50 to accomplish its purposes the result is persecution. 51:53 And you know what's interesting? 51:55 About six months before Jesus died 51:59 as a result of this union... 52:00 We know that He died for the sins of the world 52:02 but the mechanism that was used 52:03 was the union of church and state. 52:06 About six months before this 52:08 the Sanhedrin met together 52:11 and they said: "We have to do something with this fellow 52:13 because everybody's following Him. " 52:15 The story is in John 11. 52:17 Jesus had just resurrected Lazarus 52:21 and Caiaphas, who was the high priest at that time, 52:23 stood up and he says - and you know the words. 52:28 He said: "It is necessary for one man to die 52:34 and not that the whole nation should perish. " 52:39 It was a matter of national security. 52:43 Interesting. 52:45 But you know what's interesting? 52:47 The Jews felt that by using the Romans 52:51 to destroy Christ they would save their nation. 52:54 But by using the Romans to destroy Christ 52:57 the Romans came and destroyed the nation. 53:01 And so, folks, whenever the church links with the state 53:06 the result is repression and persecution. 53:09 That's why it would be good for our political leaders 53:11 to simply govern in political affairs 53:14 and not allow the church to influence the state 53:17 to have anything to do with religion. 53:19 That why we have a first amendment in the Constitution 53:23 of the United States: "Congress shall make no law 53:25 respecting an establishment of religion 53:27 or forbidding the free exercise thereof. " 53:29 But we know that this is going to be revoked someday. 53:33 Do you know in the French Revolution 53:35 the multitudes that had been deceived by the 53:39 Roman Catholic system that had joined the state 53:42 during the Dark Ages... the people were enraged. 53:45 And those who had followed this system 53:47 arose to annihilate it during the French Revolution. 53:51 In fact, Revelation chapter 17 which we will study 53:54 tomorrow morning, you'll find that the harlot is doing 53:58 real well. She's fornicating with the kings. 54:00 They're having a jolly good time. 54:02 They're enjoying her wine that she's giving to the kings 54:06 and the kings are filled with wrath against God's people 54:09 who don't go along. 54:12 But the Bible says that one day the kings of the earth 54:15 will awaken and they will see that the religious system 54:19 has deceived them. 54:22 Do you know what's going to happen? 54:24 Revelation chapter 17 verse 16 says that the kings 54:27 "will hate the harlot 54:30 and they will leave her naked 54:33 and they will burn her with fire 54:37 and they will consume her flesh. " 54:39 That's a way of saying that they're going to be 54:40 real mad at her. 54:42 And they're going to arise to destroy her 54:45 because they will realize 54:48 that they have been deceived 54:50 into persecuting the wrong people 54:53 instead of destroying those who wanted to use the state 54:58 to accomplish their purposes. 55:02 So folks, in the story of Elijah 55:05 we find a whole typology of end-time events. 55:09 When you put all of the three previous Elijahs together 55:13 and you look at all of the details 55:15 and you combine them, you have a complete picture 55:18 of the end-time Elijah because each of the previous 55:20 Elijahs gives you parts of the story. 55:23 But when you put all of the Elijahs together 55:25 you have a complete picture of what it's going to look like 55:28 at the end of time. 55:29 I would like to end by saying this: 55:32 Pilate, the political ruler, 55:35 when the church of that day and age - 55:37 those who claimed to serve God - 55:40 came and they said: "We want this man killed 55:43 and we need the authority of the state to do it" 55:46 Pilate was deliberating and somebody came and said to him: 55:50 "Your wife sends you a message: 55:55 have nothing to do with this man. " 56:00 Is that a message for the political rulers of the world 56:03 today when it comes to God's remnant? 56:05 Absolutely... have nothing to do with this man. 56:08 But you know what? 56:10 Pilate - the weakling that he was - 56:15 to save his political position 56:18 delivered an innocent man to death. 56:21 And that's exactly what is going to happen at the end of time. 56:25 And folks, the persecutors are not going to be the Muslims. 56:29 The persecutors are not going to be the Buddhists or the Hindus. 56:32 The persecutors - if you take the story of Elijah - 56:35 are going to be those who claim to serve God. 56:40 Because the message of Elijah is a message to the church! 56:44 The message of Elijah is not a message primarily 56:47 to the world at large although it can apply there. 56:49 It is a message to God's church that is falling into apostasy. 56:53 And God says to the church: "Come back to the straight 56:56 and narrow. Come back to the reason why I called you. 56:59 Come back to the Creator God. 57:01 Come back to keeping the commandments of God 57:04 because you love God. Come back to the Lord. 57:07 Repent of your apostasy. " 57:11 Who's going to deliver this message to the world? 57:15 God has called the remnant church to do that. 57:17 He has called us to be that Elijah. 57:22 But in order to do it we must have the commitment 57:24 that Elijah had... 57:26 be willing to preach God's message, 57:28 even in the face of death. |
Revised 2014-12-17