Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: 3AM
Program Code: 3AM000023
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00:30 Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we than You once again
00:36 for the privilege of coming into Your presence to study Your 00:42 love letter to us; Your Holy Word. 00:46 We ask that as we study about the testimony of Jesus 00:52 that You will speak to us through the ministration 00:55 of Your Holy Spirit. 00:56 Help us to understand, Lord, why You have raised the 01:01 testimony of Jesus in these last days, so that we might be 01:06 ready for that glorious event that will soon transpire: 01:10 the coming of Jesus in power and glory. 01:13 And we thank You for hearing our prayer, for we ask it in the 01:17 precious name of Jesus, Amen. 01:21 I'd like to invite you to open your Bibles with me 01:25 to Revelation 12:17, Revelation 12:17. 01:32 This verse is speaking about the end time remnant. 01:37 And we've studied a few things about this verse, 01:42 but now we want to take a look at an expression that appears 01:47 at the very end of this verse. 01:50 It reads in the following way: 02:11 So God's end time remnant will not only keep the commandments 02:16 of God, not only will they have faith in Jesus, 02:20 not only will they have the patience of the saints, 02:23 but they will also have, or possess, 02:27 the testimony of Jesus Christ. 02:30 Of course the question is, What is 02:34 the testimony of Jesus Christ? 02:37 I believe that the best way to understand what is meant by this 02:42 expression is to return to the times of Jesus, 02:47 actually right before the coming of Jesus 02:50 the first time to this earth, and study a few things 02:54 about John the Baptist. 02:58 And so I invite you to go on an interesting tour with me 03:03 to examine the story of John the Baptist, 03:07 the one that was called to prepare the way for the 03:11 first coming of Jesus. 03:14 The first thing that I want us to notice is that 03:17 John the Baptist arose in the midst of a 03:21 great religious revival. 03:24 Notice Matthew 3:5, 6, Matthew 3:5, 6. It says: 03:46 Notice that there was great expectancy. 03:49 It says here that Jerusalem, all Judea, and all of the region 03:53 around the Jordan went out to John the Baptist. 03:57 And one of the reasons is because John the Baptist 04:00 was very similar, as we'll notice in a few minutes, 04:03 very similar to another prophet of the Old Testament: Elijah. 04:09 He dressed like Elijah. 04:10 He ate like Elijah. 04:12 He lived in the desert like Elijah. 04:14 He spoke like Elijah. 04:15 And so there was great expectancy that the Messiah 04:19 was about to come, because it was expected that a forerunner 04:22 would come, which would prepare the way for the 04:26 coming of the Messiah. 04:27 And, by the way, the Jews also knew that a very important 04:32 prophecy of the Old Testament was about to the fulfilled: 04:35 the prophecy of the seventy weeks. 04:38 In other words, the prophecy of the seventy weeks said that 04:41 after the first sixty-nine weeks the Messiah would come, 04:46 the anointed One would come. 04:47 And they knew that 483 years of that prophecy 04:52 had just about transpired. 04:55 From the going forth of the word to restore 04:57 and to build Jerusalem, they could count forward, 05:00 and they knew that the prophecy of the seventy weeks, 05:03 the last week was about to begin. 05:05 And so because of John the Baptist looking like Elijah, 05:10 and because this prophecy was about to be fulfilled, 05:13 there was great expectancy, and a great religious revival. 05:19 Now John was asked if he was a prophet, 05:22 or if he was the prophet. 05:25 Now I want you to notice what his answer was. 05:27 John 1:19-21, John 1:19-21. 06:02 So when they asked John the Baptist if he was the prophet, 06:05 John the Baptist said no. 06:08 So the question is, Who was he then? 06:11 Go with me to Luke 7:27. 06:15 If he wasn't the prophet who was he? 06:18 Luke 7:27. Here Jesus is speaking, and He says: 06:41 So the question is, What was John the Baptist? 06:45 He was the Lord's messenger. 06:48 He said, I am not the prophet, but he was the Lord's messenger. 06:53 Now why did God call John the Baptist? 06:57 Let's read a few verses that tell us the reason 07:01 why God raised him up. 07:02 John 1:23, John 1:23. 07:07 He said, this is John the Baptist speaking. 07:23 In other words, he arose in harmony with the fulfillment 07:26 of a prophecy of Isaiah. 07:28 And it says that he was called to prepare the way of the Lord. 07:33 In other words, he was the forerunner of the Messiah 07:37 to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. 07:40 Notice Matthew 3:1-3, Matthew 3:1-3. 07:58 That means the Messiah is about to come, 08:00 because the Jews were expecting the coming of the kingdom. 08:04 Verse 3. 08:07 Speaking about John the Baptist. 08:22 Now what does that mean, Make His paths straight? 08:26 Well, in antiquity when a king was about to arrive, 08:30 there was a group of individuals who would be sent on the 08:35 highways and on the roads to make sure that they would remove 08:38 all of the stones. 08:39 They would fill in all of the holes so that the king's chariot 08:43 could come on the road easily and smoothly. 08:46 So that's what this means. 08:49 Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. 08:53 In other words, prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. 08:57 Notice Luke 1:16, 17, Luke 1:16, 17. 09:04 Speaking about John the Baptist, this is before his birth, 09:08 And he will turn many of the children of Israel 09:13 to the Lord their God. 09:15 Isn't that interesting that he would turn the children 09:17 of Israel to their God? 09:19 That must mean that they went astray from their God, right? 09:21 And notice that his mission is not with the world, 09:24 his mission is with the church. 09:27 His mission is with those who claim to serve God. 09:30 And so it says, And he will turn many of the children 09:33 of Israel to the Lord their God. 09:37 That is John the Baptist would go before the Messiah. 09:51 In other words, to turn around the disobedient so that 09:55 they would follow the... 09:57 And notice the ultimate purpose: 10:04 What was the role of John the Baptist? 10:05 It was to prepare a people to receive the Messiah 10:10 who was about to come, so that they would be ready 10:13 to receive the kingdom. 10:15 By the way, do you know that John the Baptist 10:19 was not an innovator? 10:21 He did not bring new truth. 10:23 And we're going to look at this in a few 10:25 moments more extensively. 10:26 He actually was a great restorer. 10:30 Notice what we find in Matthew 17:11-13, Matthew 17:11-13. 10:38 John the Baptist was not raised up to bring revolutionary new 10:42 truths, new doctrines. 10:44 He was brought to restore that which had been torn down. 10:47 And, by the way, that's why the New Testament calls him Elijah. 10:50 Do you remember in the Old Testament what Elijah did 10:53 when he went to the top of Mount Carmel? 10:55 It says that he took the stones of the altar of the Lord 10:58 that were laying all over the place, and he built, he rebuilt, 11:02 or he restored the altar of the Lord. 11:04 In other words he restored true worship to God. 11:08 Notice what it says there in verse 11. 11:10 Jesus answered and said to them, Indeed Elijah is coming first 11:15 and will what? will restore all things. 11:20 But I say to you, Elijah has come already, 11:23 and they did not know him. 11:26 That means that they rejected him, by the way. 11:27 They did not know him, but did to him whatever they wished. 11:32 In other words they mistreated him. 11:34 Now notice this, it continues saying: Likewise the Son of man 11:40 is also about to suffer at their hands. 11:43 See, the Messiah is going to suffer at their hands just like 11:46 John the Baptist suffered at their hands. 11:49 And so it continues saying, Then the disciples understood that He 11:53 spoke to them of whom? 11:55 He spoke to them of John the Baptist. 11:58 Now folks this verse is telling us that if they rejected the 12:01 forerunner, they would also reject the Messiah. 12:04 If you reject he who prepares the way for the coming of the 12:09 Messiah, you will eventually also reject the Messiah. 12:13 Because the word likewise is used, Likewise the Son of man, 12:18 is also about to suffer at their hands. 12:21 Now lets notice something else interesting 12:24 about John the Baptist. 12:25 John the Baptist was actually more than a prophet. 12:30 He was not the prophet; he was more than a prophet. 12:33 Notice Luke 7:26, Luke 7:26. 12:40 Here Jesus is speaking, and He says, 12:50 Let me ask you, Was John the Baptist a prophet? 12:52 He most certainly was a prophet. 12:53 But he was not a prophet, he was more than a prophet. 12:57 Remember these details, because we're going to come back to them 13:00 a little later on in our study. 13:02 Another interesting thing about John the Baptist is that he did 13:05 not perform any miracle. 13:08 Notice John 10:41, 42, John 10:41, 42. It says here: 13:19 Came to Jesus, that is. 13:24 That means no miracle. 13:36 And so you notice that John the Baptist did 13:38 not perform any sign. 13:39 He did not perform any miracle, which is a very important 13:43 detail as we study along. 13:45 Another interesting thing about John the Baptist is that he had 13:49 the testimony of Jesus. 13:51 Notice John 5:31-33. 13:56 And before we read that passage I need to make 13:59 a note of clarification, and that is that in English 14:05 we have two words, which is testify and witness. 14:09 Those two words are the same Greek word. 14:14 So whenever you find witness or testimony or testify, 14:17 they are the same Greek word. 14:19 Now notice John 5:31. 14:23 Jesus is speaking and He says, If I bear witness... 14:28 That can be translated testimony. 14:31 If I bear testimony of Myself, My witness, or testimony, 14:36 is not true. There is another who bears witness, or testimony, 14:42 of Me, and I know that the witness, or testimony, 14:46 which He witnesses, or testifies of Me is true. 14:50 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness, 14:55 or testimony, to the truth. 14:57 Do you get the impression that John the Baptist had 15:00 the testimony of Jesus? 15:02 He most certainly did. 15:03 It's translated witness, but it's the same word, 15:07 testimony, in English. 15:10 And so John had the testimony of Jesus because he was raised 15:14 up to give witness, or testimony, to Jesus. 15:18 Now another interesting detail is that John the Baptist 15:22 was not the light. 15:24 Notice John 1:6-8, John 1: 6-8. 15:30 It says here: There was a man sent from God 15:34 whose name was John. 15:37 This man came for a witness. 15:40 Here's the word again: came for, to testify, or for a testimony, 15:44 to testify, or bear witness of the light, that all through 15:49 him might believe. 15:50 Now notice this: He was not that light. 15:55 Was John the Baptist that light? 15:56 No, he was not that light, but was sent to bear witness... 16:01 Here's the idea again. 16:02 He was sent to testify of that light. 16:05 So the question is, Was John the Baptist the light? 16:09 No, John the Baptist was not the light. 16:12 But was John the Baptist a light? 16:16 He most certainly was. 16:17 Go with me to John 5:35, John 5:35. 16:23 Here Jesus is speaking about John the Baptist, and He says: 16:27 He was the burning and shining what? lamp. 16:34 And you were willing, for a time, to rejoice in his light. 16:40 Did John the Baptist have light? 16:42 He most certainly did. 16:44 Was he the light? 16:45 He was not the light, but he was a light whose purpose was 16:50 to give witness to the light, or to testify about the light. 16:55 So I guess we could say that John the Baptist was a lesser 17:01 light, whose purpose was to lead to the greater light. 17:06 And, by the way, this is not my surmising, because let's read 17:11 verse 35 again, and continue with verse 36. 17:14 It says, He, John, was the burning and shining lamp. 17:18 And you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 17:22 But then Jesus says, But I have what? 17:25 a greater witness than John's. 17:28 So who was the lesser light? 17:32 John the Baptist was the lesser light. 17:35 Who was the greater light? 17:36 The greater light, who gave greater witness, was none less 17:41 than Jesus Christ. 17:42 In other words, John the Baptist was the lesser light that God 17:46 raised up to give witness, or to testify about the greater light. 17:51 I'd like to read you a statement from that classic book about 17:55 Jesus called, The Desire of Ages, Page 220. 18:00 The prophet John was the connecting link 18:04 between the two dispensations. 18:06 That's between the Old and New Testament. 18:09 As God's representative he stood forth to show the relation 18:14 of the law and the prophets to the Christian dispensation. 18:19 He was the lesser light, which was to be followed 18:25 by a greater light. 18:28 In other words, John the Baptist was a lesser light 18:32 to lead to the greater light. 18:34 He was not the light, but he was a light, whose purpose was 18:39 to lead men and women to the greater light. 18:42 But you know, it's interesting as we read John 5, 18:46 there was another lesser light. 18:48 You see, John the Baptist was not what we'd call 18:51 a Canonical prophet. 18:53 In other words He's not one of the writers of the Scriptures. 18:56 We don't have a book in the Bible that was written 18:59 by John the Baptist. 19:00 Does that make him less of a prophet? Absolutely not. 19:03 He was still a prophet even though he was not an individual 19:08 who had a book that forms part of Scripture, 19:11 or part of the Bible. 19:13 In other words, he was an extra- Canonical 19:16 prophet, if you please. 19:17 But do you know that there was another lesser light besides 19:20 John the Baptist that gave witness to the greater light? 19:23 You say, What was that light? 19:24 Go with me to John 5:39, 40, John 5:39, 40. 19:32 Here Jesus is speaking to a group of Jews and He says, 19:35 You search the Scriptures... 19:37 Which Scriptures was Jesus talking about here? 19:40 There was no New Testament. 19:41 Jesus was still in His ministry, so there was no 19:44 New Testament written. 19:46 This is the Old Testament Scriptures. 19:48 So He says, You search the Scriptures for in them you think 19:52 you have eternal life, and these are they which what? 19:56 which testify of Me. 19:58 What did the Old Testament Scriptures do? 20:01 They testified of whom? Jesus. 20:04 What did John the Baptist do? 20:06 He testified of whom? of Jesus. 20:08 So how many lesser lights do we have? 20:10 We have two lesser lights that testified to Jesus, 20:14 the greater light. 20:15 We have John the Baptist, a non-Canonical prophet, 20:18 and we have the Scriptures, which are part 20:21 of the Biblical Cannon. 20:23 Notice also John 5:45-47, John 5:45-47. 20:30 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father. 20:34 Jesus is speaking. 20:35 There is one who accuses you: Moses, in whom you trust. 20:39 For if you believe Moses, you would believe Me, 20:43 for he wrote about Me. 20:45 But if you do not believe his writings, 20:47 how will you believe My words? 20:49 Whom did Moses write about? 20:51 He wrote about Jesus. 20:53 To whom did Moses give testimony or witness? to Jesus. 20:57 In other words, Moses was a lesser light who was to lead to 21:01 Jesus, the greater light. 21:02 So we have two lesser lights: John the Baptist, 21:05 a non-Canonical prophet, and we have the Scriptures 21:09 that are part of the Biblical Cannon. 21:12 And, of course, the question that begs to be answered 21:14 is this: Why did you need two lesser lights to lead to Jesus, 21:20 the greater light? 21:22 Why did you need a non-Canonical prophet, and why did you need 21:25 the writings of the Biblical Cannon to give witness to 21:30 Jesus, the greater light? 21:31 Wasn't it enough just to have the Scriptures as a lesser light 21:36 to lead to Jesus, the greater light? 21:39 Let me explain the reason why it was needed to have two 21:44 lesser lights to lead to Jesus, the greater light. 21:47 And I want to frame this by asking a question. 21:50 Do you believe that the Jews could have accepted Jesus 21:55 simply by reading the Scriptures of the Old Testament? 21:58 Do you think it would have been possible for them to 22:01 recognize Jesus as the Messiah only by reading the Scriptures 22:06 of the Old Testament, by reading that lesser light? 22:08 Do you think so? I do. 22:11 You say, How do you know that? 22:13 Because every event of the life of Jesus was choreographed 22:18 in the written Scriptures. 22:20 You have, in the material that I gave you a list, 22:23 and I'm going to go through it quickly. 22:25 We're not going to read all of the verses. 22:27 The Old Testament said that the Messiah would 22:29 be born in Bethlehem. 22:30 He would be born of a virgin. 22:32 His birth would be announced by a star. 22:34 When He was born the children would be massacred. 22:36 He would be called out of Egypt. 22:38 He would be baptized and anointed at the end of the 22:41 69th week of Daniel 9. 22:43 He would do marvelous and powerful works. 22:45 He would be a powerful speaker. 22:46 The Jews would reject His message. 22:48 They would serve Him with their lips, while their hearts 22:50 were far from Him. 22:52 He would march into Jerusalem on a donkey, 22:54 in the midst of great acclamation. 22:56 He would cast the money changers out of the temple. 23:00 Zeal for God's house would consume Him. 23:02 He would be sold for thirty pieces of silver. 23:05 His disciples would forsake Him in the garden. 23:08 He would die a vicarious death. 23:10 He would say on the cross, My God, My God, 23:12 Why have You forsaken Me? 23:14 His hands and His feet would be pierced. 23:17 Lots would be cast upon His garments. 23:19 His heart would be poured out like water. 23:22 His enemies would spit in His face. 23:24 His enemies would dare Him to come down from the cross. 23:27 None of His bones would be broken. 23:29 He would say on the cross, I thirst. 23:31 His passion would last three days and three nights. 23:34 He would be buried in the tomb of a rich man. 23:37 He would resurrect on the third day. 23:39 He would ascend to heaven. 23:40 And He would sit at the Father's right hand. 23:42 Was there enough evidence in the written Scriptures to show 23:46 them that Jesus was the Messiah? Absolutely. 23:50 So could they have just discerned the Messiah by looking 23:54 at this lesser light; the written Scriptures? Absolutely. 23:58 So the question is, Why didn't they discern Jesus, the Messiah, 24:05 in the written Scriptures? 24:06 The simple reason is that they were living after a period 24:11 which is called the Intertestamental period. 24:14 It's a period of prophetic silence of 400 years 24:18 between the book of Malachi, and when John the Baptist 24:22 appeared on the scene. 24:23 During that period the people of Israel 24:27 fell into great darkness. 24:28 Many wrong teachings, many heresies penetrated Judaism, 24:34 like keeping the Sabbath legalistically, 24:37 like the idea of the immortality of the soul, among other things, 24:40 came in among the Jewish nation, and they were in great darkness. 24:45 And they read the Scriptures as they wished to read them. 24:48 They wanted the Messiah to come as a glorious king, 24:51 and that's the way that they read the Scriptures 24:54 of the Old Testament. 24:56 Notice Matthew 4:16. 25:00 It speaks about the condition of the people. 25:03 It says the people who sat in darkness have seen what? 25:08 a great light. And upon those who sat in the region and shadow 25:13 of death light has dawned. 25:15 So what condition were the people in when Jesus came? 25:18 They were in what? 25:20 They were in darkness. 25:21 Notice Luke 1:78, 79. 25:25 It says here: Through the tender mercy of our God, 25:29 with which the dayspring... 25:31 That is the dawning of the sun. 25:33 ...the dayspring from on high has visited us to give light 25:38 to those who sit what? in darkness, and the shadow 25:42 of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 25:47 So were the Jews understanding the Old Testament? No. 25:53 Were they oblivious to the coming of the Messiah 25:57 as He was predicted in the Old Testament? Absolutely. 26:01 So do you know what God did? 26:02 He says, I'm going to give them a little help. 26:05 I'm going to raise a non-writing prophet, a non-Canonical prophet 26:11 that will shine on the pages of the Old Testament so that they 26:17 can discern the Messiah when He comes. 26:21 In other words, God is saying I'm going to help them 26:24 understand the prophecies of the Old Testament, so that they can 26:28 see the Messiah when He comes. 26:30 They can understand that this is the Messiah when He comes. 26:34 In other words, John the Baptist was not raised up to bring 26:38 new light, but to shine upon the pages of the Old Testament 26:42 so that they could understand the prophecies 26:44 that they had misunderstood. 26:46 His role was to amplify, explain, correct them from the 26:52 mistakes they had committed in studying the other lesser light, 26:56 the written Scriptures, so that they could discern the Messiah 27:00 in these prophecies. 27:02 You see, the people in the days of John the Baptist claimed 27:05 to be God's people. 27:06 They professed to be waiting for the Messiah. 27:10 They professed to love God. 27:13 And yet these very people would ultimately end up crucifying 27:18 the Messiah, because they misunderstood the Old Testament. 27:21 So God says, I'm going to raise up John the Baptist to interest 27:24 them in the study of prophecy. 27:26 They're going to see this man who dresses like Elijah, 27:29 eats like Elijah, lives in the dessert like Elijah, 27:33 he talks like Elijah, and maybe that's going to remind them of 27:37 Malachi 4, where it says, I'm going to send you Elijah 27:42 before the great and terrible day of the Lord. 27:44 Maybe this will jog their thought processes and they'll 27:47 study the prophecies again from the other lesser light, 27:50 the written Scriptures, so that they can understand 27:53 that the Messiah has come. 27:55 In other words, He did not come to bring new light. 27:58 He came to shine upon the light that had already been given. 28:06 Let me give you an illustration. 28:08 When I came here to Fresno Central Church, one night I went 28:11 to our tape room here, and I was going to look for a 28:15 cassette tape, and I went into the room. 28:18 It was pitch dark. 28:19 I'd never been in the room, but they told me where the cassettes 28:21 were, so I went in. 28:22 The first thing that you do is try and find the light switch 28:25 so that you can turn on the light and find it, you know. 28:26 So I passed my hand over the wall. 28:29 And for the life of me, I couldn't find 28:30 any switch anywhere. 28:32 I looked up, and, you know, I could kind of see that there 28:34 was a bulb in the ceiling. 28:36 So I said, There's got to be somewhere to turn the light on. 28:38 But, you know, in spite of the fact that I looked and looked, 28:41 I couldn't find it, so finally I gave up. 28:43 I said, I'm going to go to my office. 28:44 I'm going to get a flashlight. 28:45 So I went to the office and I got a flashlight, 28:48 came to the tape room, turned on the flashlight, and I started 28:51 flashing the light on the walls. 28:53 And man, I still couldn't find a switch anywhere. 28:56 So I said, Huh, I've got the flashlight, I'm going to look 28:58 for the tape, so I went into a cupboard that was just about 29:02 floor level, and the flashlight veered, or turned up just a 29:08 little bit, and when it turned up I saw under one of the 29:11 shelves there the light switch. 29:13 Who would have guessed that it would be under a shelf? 29:15 Who would ever think so? 29:16 And so what do you think that I did? 29:18 I turned on the greater light. 29:20 What was the purpose of the flashlight? 29:23 The purpose of the flashlight was to help me find the switch 29:27 to the greater light. 29:28 And that was the purpose of John the Baptist. 29:31 It was to shine on the pages of the Old Testament so that the 29:36 people could discern, so that the people 29:38 could see the Messiah. 29:39 For example, you know when John the Baptist introduces Jesus, 29:43 he says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away 29:48 the sin of the world. 29:50 Boy, that was some revolutionary new truth. 29:52 Was that a revolutionary new truth? Behold the Lamb of God? 29:56 Would people say, I don't see a lamb, I see a man? No. 30:02 What would they think of? 30:03 Oh, lambs are sacrificed morning and evening. 30:07 Isaiah 53 speaks about the lamb taken to the slaughter. 30:12 The lamb, yeah, could this be the lamb that we're expecting? 30:18 In other words, John the Baptist was not bringing any new 30:22 revolutionary light. 30:24 What he was doing was saying, Here is the Lamb that was 30:28 predicted in Bible prophecy. 30:29 Go back to Isaiah, go back to the sanctuary service and study 30:34 about the coming of the Messiah. 30:35 In other words he's shining upon the pages of the Old 30:38 Testament so that both of these lights, John the Baptist and the 30:43 Old Testament can reveal clearly that Jesus Christ is 30:47 the expected Messiah. 30:49 Are you understanding the role of John the Baptist 30:52 not to bring new truth, new doctrines? 30:55 But, unfortunately, the Bible tells us that John the Baptist 30:59 was rejected by God's own people. 31:02 Matthew 11:18 says, For John came neither eating nor drinking 31:09 and they say, He has a demon. 31:11 They even said that he was demon possessed; God's own people. 31:16 He was rejected by the leaders especially. 31:19 Notice Luke 7:29, 30. 31:21 And when all of the people heard him, that is John the Baptist, 31:26 even the tax collectors justified God. 31:28 See, the problem was not with the common people. 31:30 So it says: And when all the people heard him, even the tax 31:35 collectors justified God, Having been baptized with 31:38 the baptism of John. 31:40 But the Pharisees... 31:41 By the way, the Pharisees would be the preachers. 31:44 And lawyers... That would be the theologians today. 31:49 But the Pharisees, and the lawyers, or the preachers, 31:53 and the theologians rejected the will of God for themselves, 31:57 not having been baptized by Him. 32:01 And as we read previously, in Matthew 17:12, 13 it says: 32:08 Jesus is speaking. 32:10 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, 32:12 and they did not know him. 32:14 That means that they rejected him, by the way. 32:17 They did not know him, but did to him whatever they wished. 32:21 Likewise the Son of man is also about to suffer at their hands. 32:26 Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them 32:30 of John the Baptist. 32:34 So let me ask you this, Did the Jews reject the Messiah? 32:40 They did. Especially the religious leaders? they did. 32:45 Why did they reject the Messiah? 32:47 Because if you reject the lesser light, 32:49 you will reject the greater light. 32:52 They rejected the Scriptures, and the rejected John. 32:56 And therefore they were not prepared to receive Jesus, 32:59 the greater light. 33:01 You see the Jews, they boasted, they said: 33:03 We have Moses, we have the Old Testament. 33:07 But they didn't understand anything of the Old Testament. 33:11 They were in blindness. 33:12 They were in darkness. 33:14 And therefore God said, I'm going to help them 33:16 by sending a lesser light to lead them to the greater light. 33:21 By the way, John the Baptist was not 33:24 omniscient or infallible. 33:30 Prophets were human. 33:31 John the Baptist grew in understanding. 33:35 John the Baptist, for example, believed that Jesus, 33:39 that there was only going to be one coming of the Messiah. 33:41 The Messiah was going to come. 33:43 He was going to destroy the wicked. 33:47 And He was going to reign on the throne in Jerusalem. 33:50 You read his preaching in Matthew 3 and it's very obvious 33:54 that he believed that there was only going to be one 33:55 coming of the Messiah. 33:56 And as you continue reading Scripture you'll notice that 34:01 when John the Baptist was in prison, he sent some messengers 34:04 to Jesus and said, Now I need to get this straight. 34:07 This Messiah isn't fitting with my view of the Messiah. 34:10 So he sends the message, Are you the one that we're expecting? 34:14 or are we to expect another? 34:16 Folks this is the same John the Baptist that... 34:18 He didn't say, Maybe this is the Lamb of God who 34:21 takes away the sin... 34:22 He said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away 34:24 the sin of the world. 34:26 And now he's saying, Are you the Messiah, 34:27 or are we to expect another? 34:29 You see, he did not fully understand all of the 34:32 implications of Bible prophecy. 34:34 By the way, when those messengers went to see Jesus 34:38 all day Jesus healed the sick, and He cast out demons. 34:41 He did His marvelous works, and He told the disciples, 34:43 Go tell John what you saw. 34:45 And John finally understood that the Messiah's coming was 34:48 going to have two stages. 34:50 But the point is that he grew in his understanding. 34:54 Was John a false prophet because he did not fully understand 34:59 from the start? Absolutely not. 35:01 Was John the Baptist any less of a prophet because he grew 35:05 in his understanding in the course of time? Absolutely not. 35:08 He was a true prophet, but he grew in his understanding. 35:11 It would be unfair to look at the John the Baptist 35:14 who preached at the beginning and say that that was the same 35:17 John the Baptist who had developed in his understanding 35:20 when he finally understood the mission 35:22 of the Messiah in prison. 35:25 Now we're going to talk about another prophet. 35:28 This is an end time prophet. 35:31 Interestingly enough, this prophet, 35:35 whose name is Ellen White, arose also in the midst of 35:39 a great religious revival. 35:40 It's known as the great second advent movement, 35:44 which took place in the 1830's through 1844. 35:49 And do you know that this religious revival was the 35:53 fulfillment of the same prophecy that was fulfilled by 35:59 John the Baptist when he came and baptized Jesus, 36:01 or anointed the Messiah. 36:03 Because the 2300 day prophecy, the first part 36:06 of it is the 70 weeks. 36:08 The second part of it is the 2300 days. 36:12 So it's the same identical prophecy, only John the Baptist 36:16 comes at the end of the first segment. 36:17 Ellen White rises after the second segment of the same 36:22 prophecy, in the midst of a great religious revival. 36:25 Ellen White was asked if she was a prophet. 36:28 Interesting! Do you know what she said? 36:31 Let me just read. This is in Selected Messages, Volume 1, 36:34 Page 36. She's giving a speech in Battle Creek, 36:38 which is a famous Seventh-day Adventist church in Michigan. 36:41 During the discourse I said that I did not claim 36:46 to be a prophetess. 36:47 Some were surprised at this statement. 36:50 And as much is being said in regard to it, 36:52 I will make an explanation. 36:54 Others have called me a prophetess, but I have never 36:59 assumed that title. 37:00 I have not felt that it was my duty to thus designate myself. 37:06 Selected Messages, Volume 1, Page 35, she said this: 37:11 When I was last in Battle Creek I said before a large 37:15 congregation that I did not claim to be a prophetess. 37:18 Twice I referred to this matter, intending each time to make 37:22 the statement, I do not claim to be a prophetess. 37:26 If I spoke otherwise than this, let all now understand that what 37:31 I had in mind to say was that I do not claim the title 37:36 of prophet or prophetess. 37:40 So what happened when people asked Ellen White if 37:42 she was a prophetess? 37:45 She said, No, I don't claim the title. 37:48 Is that similar to what happened with John the Baptist? Um. 37:51 So who was Ellen White? 37:52 Selected Messages, Volume 1, Page 34. 37:56 And I'm telling you what, Ellen White did not sit down to make 37:58 this parallel that I'm sharing with you today. 38:02 Selected Messages, Volume 1, Page 34. 38:05 Ellen White says: But my work has covered so many lines 38:10 that I cannot call myself other than what? a messenger sent to 38:14 bear a message from the Lord to His people, and to take up work 38:19 in any line that He points out. 38:21 So who was she? the Lord's what? messenger. 38:25 Does that ring a bell? 38:26 Notice Selected Messages, Volume 1, Page 32. 38:29 Early in my youth I was asked several times, 38:33 Are you a prophet? 38:34 I have ever responded, I am the Lord's messenger. 38:39 I know that many have called me a prophet, 38:42 but I have made no claim to this title. 38:45 My Savior declared me to be His what? His messenger. 38:51 So like John the Baptist, she is the messenger of the Lord. 38:56 By the way, do you know that some people accused 38:59 Ellen White; said she couldn't be a true prophet because 39:01 she didn't perform miracles? 39:06 Notice Selected Messages, Volume 2, Pages 53, 54. 39:07 Some declare their unbelief in the work that the Lord has given 39:11 me to do because, as they say, Mrs. E. G. White 39:15 works no miracles. 39:17 Was there another individual who worked no miracles? 39:20 John the Baptist. She continues saying: But those who look for 39:25 miracles as a sign of Divine guidance 39:29 are in grave danger of deception. 39:32 Did Ellen White have the testimony of Jesus? 39:35 She most certainly did. 39:37 By the way, she wrote a series of books called 39:40 Testimonies for the Church. 39:41 In fact she called her writings The Testimonies many times. 39:46 But not only this, the Bible shows that the end time church 39:50 would have the testimony of Jesus Christ, 39:53 the prophetic gift. 39:54 You say, How do we know that? 39:56 Let's notice three verses: Revelation 12:17 that we already 40:00 looked at the beginning of our study; Revelation 12:17. 40:14 Now the question is, what is the testimony of Jesus Christ 40:17 that the remnant has? 40:18 Revelation 19:10 give us a definition. It says: 40:24 John falls at the feet of an angel. 40:38 What do the brethren of John have? 40:40 The brethren of John have the testimony of Jesus. 40:51 So what is the testimony of Jesus that the 40:53 end time remnant has? the spirit of prophecy. 40:56 And John's brothers have the testimony of Jesus. 40:58 Now go with me to Revelation 22:8, 9, Revelation 22:8, 9. 41:18 Once again this same type of scene that we saw in Chapter 19. 41:22 Verse 9. 41:31 What did the brethren have according to Revelation 19:10? 41:34 The brethren had the what? the testimony of Jesus. 41:36 But here it says what they are. 41:38 It says in Verse 9: Then he said to me, See that you do not do 41:43 that for I am your fellow servant, 41:53 So what is it to have the testimony of Jesus? 41:57 It's to be a what? a prophet. 42:01 So would we expect the end time remnant church 42:04 to have a prophet? 42:06 We most certainly would. 42:08 Because the end time church has the testimony of Jesus, 42:11 which is the spirit of prophecy. 42:14 And the reason why it's called the testimony of Jesus 42:16 is because that end time prophet is going to 42:19 give witness to Jesus. 42:21 That end time prophet is going to give testimony about Jesus. 42:26 By the way, do you know that Ellen White also, 42:29 even though she did not claim to be a prophet, she says, 42:33 My work is greater than the work of a prophet. 42:36 Notice Selected Messages, Volume 1, Page 32, 42:39 My work includes much more than the word prophet signifies. 42:45 On Page 36 she says, My commission embraces the work of 42:50 a prophet, but it does not end there. 42:53 It embraces much more than the minds of those who have been 42:57 sowing the seeds of unbelief can comprehend. 43:00 And on Page 36 she says, My work includes much more than 43:05 this name signifies. 43:07 I regard myself as a messenger entrusted by the Lord with 43:11 messages for His people. 43:14 So even though she did not claim to be a prophet, 43:18 she was greater than a prophet. 43:21 Do you know why? Because John the Baptist was to join, 43:26 or unite, the Old Testament period with the 43:29 New Testament period. 43:30 The role of Ellen White was the create the link between this 43:34 dispensation and the coming of the kingdom of Jesus Christ 43:39 at His second coming. 43:40 In other words, as John the Baptist was to prepare people 43:44 for the first coming of Jesus, Ellen White was raised up to 43:47 prepare a people for the second coming of Jesus. 43:50 And both stand at the turning point of a dispensation: 43:54 John the Baptist between the Old and the New Testament, 43:57 Ellen White between the New Testament 44:00 and the coming kingdom. 44:01 By the way, do you know that Ellen White also referred to 44:05 herself as a lesser light? 44:07 Notice Selected Messages, Volume 3, Page 30. 44:11 She says, Little heed is given to the Bible, and the Lord has 44:17 given a lesser light to lead men and women to what? 44:22 to the greater light. 44:24 And some people have mistakenly assumed that Ellen White is 44:26 saying here that the Bible is the greater light, and she's a 44:29 little lesser light that was raised up to give light, 44:33 and show people the greater light, which is the Bible. 44:36 But what's she's saying is that people ignore the Bible 44:39 just like the Jews ignored the Scriptures. 44:41 And God raised her up to shine upon the pages of the Bible 44:46 so that they could see Jesus Christ 44:48 in the Old and New Testament. 44:50 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 44:51 Some people might ask, Pastor, why do you have two smaller 44:56 lights at the end of time? 44:58 Why do you have a Canonical source of light, 45:03 which is the Scriptures, and a non-Canonical prophet 45:07 whose writings are not in Scripture? 45:08 Why would you need to have two lesser lights? 45:10 Isn't it enough just to have the Scriptures? that one lesser 45:15 light that leads to Jesus the greater light? 45:18 Let me explain the reason why. 45:19 You see, just like the Intertestamental period brought 45:23 darkness into the Jewish nation, so the middle ages, 45:27 known as the dark ages, brought darkness into 45:30 the Christian church. 45:31 Many counterfeit doctrines, false doctrines, like the idea 45:34 that Sunday is the day that we're supposed to worship, 45:38 the immortality of the soul, and many other kindred doctrines: 45:42 the idea of an eternally burning hell. 45:44 All of these things were brought into the Christian church. 45:47 Darkness came into the Christian church. 45:49 And so what God did was raise up Ellen White to shine on the 45:54 pages of the Bible, so that as she shone on the 45:56 pages of the Bible the truth could be recovered, 46:00 and people could see the fullness of truth. 46:03 Are you understanding what I am saying? 46:05 Was she raised up to bring new light? 46:08 Was she raised up to bring new revolutionary doctrines 46:11 that no one had ever heard before? Absolute not! 46:14 She was to rescue, to restore that which had been buried, 46:19 and had been forgotten by the Christian world, 46:22 so that people could see Jesus once again 46:25 in the teachings of the Bible. 46:27 Do you know that Ellen White herself says that if people had 46:29 paid attention to the Bible, God would have never raised her up? 46:32 Let me ask you, If the Jews had discerned Jesus 46:35 in the Old Testament, do you think God would have raised 46:38 up John the Baptist? 46:39 If they'd seen all that the Messiah was going to do, 46:42 and when Jesus came they would have receive Him with open arms, 46:45 would God have raised up John the Baptist? no purpose. 46:48 Would God have raised up Ellen G. White if the Christian world 46:54 was practicing the truth, and believing 46:56 what the Bible teaches? Absolutely not! 46:58 In fact, notice Ellen White had something very interesting 47:02 to say about her writings. 47:03 Volume 5 of the Testimonies, Pages 664 and 665, 47:07 she says this, speaking to an individual: You are not familiar 47:11 with the Scriptures. 47:13 If you had made God's Word your study, with a desire to reach 47:17 the Bible's standard, and attain to Christian perfection, 47:22 you would not have needed the Testimonies. 47:24 Is the Bible sufficient? 47:27 Would the Bible have been sufficient? Yes. 47:31 Why did God raise her up? 47:33 Because He wanted people to understand the Bible; 47:36 people who were in darkness. 47:37 You know, would you be critical of that? that God wants to give 47:41 a helping hand to the Christian world, so that they can truly 47:45 understand what the Bible contains? 47:47 She continues saying: It is because you have neglected 47:51 to acquaint yourselves with God's inspired book... 47:55 See, because you neglected to study the Bible. 47:58 ...that He has sought to reach you by simple, 48:01 direct testimonies, calling your attention to the words 48:06 of inspiration which you had neglected to obey, 48:10 and urging you to fashion your lives in accordance with its 48:14 pure and elevated teachings. 48:16 Where did Ellen White direct people? to the Bible. 48:21 Notice what she continues saying: The Lord designs to warn 48:25 you, to reprove, to counsel through testimonies given, 48:30 and to impress your minds... Listen to this. 48:33 ...with the importance of the truth of His Word. 48:37 The written Testimonies are not to give new light... 48:41 Is that clear?... but to impress vividly upon the hearts 48:47 the truths of inspiration already revealed. 48:52 Man's duty to God and to his fellow man, has been distinctly 48:56 specified in God's Word, yet but few of you are obedient 49:01 to the light given. 49:02 Additional truth is not brought out. 49:04 She's talking about her writings. 49:06 But God has through the testimonies simplified the great 49:11 truths already given, and in His own chosen way brought them 49:15 before the people to awaken, and impress the mind with them, 49:19 that all may be left without excuse. 49:25 Does she have it straight? 49:28 Just like John the Baptist. 49:29 Not to bring new light, not to bring new doctrines, but to lead 49:34 people to once again understand the light that is given 49:38 in Scripture, so that through both a clear discernment 49:42 can be gained of Jesus Christ. 49:44 Just to give an illustration: A few years ago I was preaching 49:47 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 49:49 I was listening to a radio talk show. 49:51 And this individual, not a Seventh-day Adventist, 49:54 he was answering questions. 49:55 And this individual called and he said, Sir, 49:58 I have two questions. 49:59 My first Bible question is, Is it a sin to smoke? 50:03 And the second question is, Is God going to send me 50:07 to hell for smoking? 50:09 And he said, I'll hang up and take the answer on the air. 50:12 Now I was very amazed by the questions, but I was even more 50:16 amazed by the answers. 50:17 This minister who was answering the questions says, Well, with 50:21 regard to your first question, I can assure you that smoking 50:25 isn't a sin, because you don't find a text in the Bible 50:27 that says, Thou shall not smoke. 50:31 And he said, With regards to your second question, 50:34 whether God is going to send you to hell for smoking, 50:36 No, to the contrary. 50:38 You might make it to heaven quicker. 50:41 Because he believed that the man's soul was immortal. 50:45 And if he dies quicker he'll go to heaven quicker. 50:47 This was a Christian minister answering questions on the air. 50:51 Now let me ask you, Is there a text in the Bible that says 50:55 thou shall not smoke? No, there isn't. 50:57 But are there texts in Scripture that forbid smoking? Yes. 51:01 The Bible says, Thou shall not kill quickly. 51:04 That's not what the Bible says. 51:06 The Bible says, Thou shall not kill. 51:08 Whether you kill slowly with a cigarette, or whether you kill 51:11 quickly with a gun makes no difference. 51:13 Both are killing. It's violating the commandment 51:16 thou shall not kill. 51:17 Besides, the Bible says that our body is the temple 51:20 of the Holy Spirit. 51:21 Do you know that Ellen White says that it's a sin to smoke? 51:23 Because it violates the temple of God. 51:25 So is she really adding to Scripture? 51:28 She's not adding anything to Scripture. 51:30 What she's doing is she's taking the principles 51:33 and she's amplifying Scripture. 51:35 Her writings are like a telescope. 51:37 Let me ask you, When an individual, when an astronomer 51:41 looks through a telescope at the stars, does he see stars 51:44 that you don't see with your simple eyesight? Yes. 51:47 So the telescope is creating those stars. 51:50 The telescope is inventing those stars. 51:53 Are those stars out there? 51:55 What is the purpose of the telescope? to create new stars, 51:58 or to help us see the stars that are already there? 52:02 It's for us to see the stars that are already there. 52:05 Ellen White's writings are like a telescope. 52:07 If we had spiritual discernment we wouldn't need the telescope. 52:12 But because the Christian world is so messed up in its belief 52:15 system, especially about prophecy, God says, I'm going to 52:19 raise up a prophet, and I'm going to help them along, 52:22 so that they can come back to the teachings of the Scriptures. 52:29 Let me give you, in closing, a parallel that will help you 52:34 understand what I'm saying. 52:35 How many of you have ever received a visit from a Mormon, 52:40 from a member of the Church of Jesus Christ 52:43 of Latter Day Saints? 52:44 I see several hands going up. 52:45 By the way, they're good people. 52:47 You know, they have very high family principles. 52:50 They also have very good health principles. 52:53 Sometimes they have better health principles than we do 52:56 as Seventh-day Adventists, sad to say. 52:57 And they're more family focused, many times, than we are. 53:00 But having said that, when they come to the home, 53:03 if they've been to your house, (they've been to my 53:07 house several times), what is the first thing that they want 53:10 to teach you when they come to your house? 53:13 What is the first study that they give you? 53:16 The whole history of what? of the Book of Mormon. 53:22 How Joseph Smith found the golden plates, 53:26 and how Maroni actually translated these golden plates 53:32 that were in ancient Egyptian, and how Joseph Smith translated 53:35 them, and the result is the Book of Mormon. 53:37 That's their first Bible study; the whole history 53:40 of the Mormon church. 53:41 And the history of the Mormon book, which is called another 53:50 testament of Jesus Christ. 53:51 You've seen the advertisements on television. 53:53 Why do they want to give you the Bible study 53:56 on the Book of Mormon first? 53:58 Let me explain why. 53:59 Because many of their doctrines they cannot 54:01 prove from the Bible. 54:03 So the first thing that they have to do is convince you 54:06 that the book of Mormon is as inspired as the Bible, 54:10 and as reliable as the Bible, so that then in the Bible studies 54:14 from then on they can use not only the Bible, 54:16 but also the Book of Mormon. 54:18 In other words, for them the Book of Mormon, listen, 54:21 supplements Scripture. 54:23 It does not compliment Scripture, 54:26 it supplements Scripture. 54:28 It has many truths that are not contained in Scripture, 54:31 according to them. 54:33 The whole history of the native Americans, 54:36 they say, is in there and not in the Bible. 54:39 So they have to convince you that the Book of Mormon is 54:42 as reliable as the Bible. 54:44 Do you know, Seventh-day Adventists do it 54:46 just the other way around. 54:47 When we give a series of Bible studies, or a series of 54:51 evangelist meetings, we go through the Bible 54:53 point by point: state of the dead, the Sabbath, the law, 54:57 grace, God's grace, healthful living, baptism, you name it. 55:00 We go through what the Bible has to say, and then when we 55:03 get to the end... And I hope that we do this. 55:05 When we get to the end we say, Oh, by the way, 55:09 we also have a prophet. 55:11 You noticed that we haven't gotten any of our teachings 55:14 from the prophet; all from the Bible. 55:17 But the prophet amplifies, and helps us understand what is 55:23 contained in Scripture, and it's explained in a beautiful way. 55:27 Are you understanding the difference? 55:30 Ellen White was raised up by God to be an end time 55:36 John the Baptist to prepare God's people in every sphere 55:41 of life: health, publishing, education, spiritual life, 55:46 institutions, you name it, to prepare a people in all of the 55:50 areas of life to be ready for the second coming 55:53 of Jesus Christ in power and glory; 55:56 just like John the Baptist was raised up to prepare a people 55:59 for the first coming of Jesus. 56:01 And I'm sad to say that many, even within the Seventh-day 56:04 Adventist church, are criticizing Ellen White. 56:06 Books like The White Lie, all kinds of Internet sites 56:12 that basically trash the writings of Ellen White 56:18 with vitriolic hatred. 56:19 Do you know, I learned something long ago, and that is you don't 56:23 get your concept of someone, or of a church, 56:26 from their friends or from their enemies. 56:29 You don't get your concept of a church from the enemies 56:32 of that church, because they're going to make matters worse 56:36 than they really are. 56:38 And you don't get your concept from their friends, 56:40 because they're going to make the church look better 56:44 than it really is. 56:45 What you do is you go and you check it out for yourself. 56:49 You don't go to the Internet sites, or to books written 56:53 about Ellen White. 56:55 You go to the source itself. 56:57 And, by the way, Ellen White was not infallible, 57:00 she was not omniscient. 57:01 She grew in her understanding. 57:03 If you want to see this, just compare Early Writings 57:06 and the book, The Great Controversy. 57:08 She grew in her ability of describing truth. 57:11 And so God has given this marvelous message 57:14 to the Seventh-day Adventist church for us 57:17 to share to the world. 57:18 And I pray to God that we will appreciate it, 57:21 and share it like the leaves of Autumn. |
Revised 2016-01-26