Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CUTJ
Program Code: CUTJ000006
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00:33 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
00:35 Father in Heaven, we thank You so much for the privilege of 00:39 being in Your house. 00:40 We thank You Father, for Your Word. 00:43 We thank You for the Holy Spirit who gave that Word, 00:47 and who was willing to come and open our minds and hearts 00:51 that we might be able to understand and receive it. 00:53 We ask Father, that as we study this sixth part of Catching Up 00:59 to Jesus, that Your Spirit will be with us and instruct us. 01:02 And we thank You, Father, for hearing and answering 01:05 our prayer, for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, Amen. 01:12 During the last five sermons that I have had here at 01:16 Fresno Central Church, we have been discussing the movements 01:21 of Jesus through the sanctuary. 01:24 And we've noticed that the movements of Jesus through the 01:29 sanctuary follow a definite pattern. 01:33 First of all, we noticed that the door to the court opened, 01:38 and Jesus entered the door of the court and presented Himself 01:43 as the perfect unblemished Lamb. 01:48 That represented the perfect life of Jesus before His death. 01:53 Then we noticed that Jesus moved a little bit further forward, 01:57 and He offered His life in sacrifice, 02:01 as lambs were sacrificed in the Old Testament's 02:04 ceremonial system. 02:05 In other words, the door to the court opened, Jesus entered, 02:11 and was presented as an unblemished Lamb, 02:13 and then that Lamb was sacrificed 02:16 on the cross of Calvary. 02:18 In other words, this first phase of the life of Jesus represents 02:23 the fact that Jesus lived the life that we should live, 02:26 and He died the death that we should die. 02:28 In other words, He lived so that His life could become 02:31 mine, and He died so that His death could count as my death. 02:37 But then we noticed that the door to the court closed, 02:41 and the door to the holy place opened. 02:43 And on the day of Pentecost Jesus entered the holy place 02:47 to begin His ministry as high priest 02:50 in the heavenly sanctuary. 02:52 Now what He did on the cross, and what He did by living 02:56 a perfect life could be claimed by individuals. 02:58 In other words, His perfect sacrifice, and His perfect life, 03:03 I could not choose to receive or to accept, and come to Him 03:07 as my high priest, and ask Him to represent 03:10 me before the Father. 03:11 That is the work that Jesus performed in the holy place. 03:16 But then we noticed that in 1844 Jesus closed the door to the 03:23 holy place, and He opened the door to the most holy place. 03:26 And in the most holy place, in 1844 He began 03:30 the judgment of the dead. 03:33 In other words, all of those who died in Christ, who claimed 03:37 the name of Jesus, Jesus began the process of revealing before 03:41 the universe that they truly accepted Him as Savior and Lord. 03:47 And then we noticed in our last study together, 03:49 that there's going to be another opening of the most holy place. 03:53 In other words, the people of the world are going to see Jesus 04:00 enter His final ministration in the 04:02 most holy place of the sanctuary. 04:04 It's known as the judgment of the living. 04:06 And I believe that today the door to the most holy place 04:12 is being revealed to many in the world, and they're realizing 04:16 that Jesus is soon going to begin judging the living. 04:21 And then we must have a life which is in perfect harmony 04:26 with the life of Jesus; a life that reflects fully the image 04:32 of Jesus, as we studied in our last sermon. 04:36 Now today we're going to study about the closing of the door 04:41 of the most holy place. 04:43 So you notice that we have a series of doors here. 04:46 We have the door to the court opens, then the door to the 04:50 court is closed, and the door to the holy place is opened. 04:52 Then the door of the holy place is closed, and the door to the 04:55 most holy place is opened. 04:57 But today we want to talk about the final closing of the door 05:01 of the most holy place of the sanctuary. 05:05 In other words, the conclusion of the sanctuary 05:08 ministration of Jesus. 05:11 Now what I would like to do is take a prophecy from the 05:16 Old Testament to reveal what is going to happen when the door 05:23 of the sanctuary of the most holy place is closed. 05:27 I want to take a story of the Old Testament which illustrates 05:30 five specific points of time that we need to remember 05:36 as we study about the close of the door of the most holy place, 05:40 and the closing of the door of probation. 05:43 I want us, in our minds, to go back to the days of Noah. 05:49 Because of all of the prophecies of the Old Testament about the 05:53 closing of the door of probation, I believe that this 05:55 is the clearest, and it has the most information, and the exact 06:00 sequence of events, which are going to take place 06:03 at the end of time when the door of probation is closed. 06:08 What I want us to notice first is that God called Noah 06:12 to preach a very special message for his day and age. 06:18 This message was a message that God was going 06:22 to come in judgment. 06:24 Destruction was going to come upon the world. 06:26 And that people, through the power of God, should straighten 06:31 out their lives, and put their lives in harmony 06:34 with the will of God. 06:36 We find, not in Genesis, but in 2 Peter 2:5, a reference 06:44 to the preaching of Noah. 06:45 So if you go with me to 2 Peter 2:5, we're going to notice what 06:51 the preaching of Noah was like, and what he spoke about. 06:55 It says there: 07:05 And now notice this: 07:14 What did Noah preach? 07:16 He preached what? righteousness. 07:19 Now what does that mean, he preached righteousness? 07:23 He wasn't only talking about accepting the imputed 07:26 righteousness of Christ. 07:28 He was talking about living a righteous life, 07:31 changing their ways from un-Godliness to Godliness, 07:37 from breaking the law, to obedience to God's law. 07:40 And, by the way, the message of Noah was accompanied by the 07:44 power of the Holy Spirit. 07:46 You say, How do we know that? 07:48 Because in Genesis 6:3 we find these words: 08:02 Notice that we have here a reference to the fact that the 08:06 preaching of Noah was accompanied by the striving 08:09 of the Spirit of God with those who lived in the 08:13 world before the flood. 08:14 And so the first stage that I want us to notice in this 08:18 Old Testament story is that Noah preached under the 08:23 ministration of the Holy Spirit to the antediluvian world, 08:28 calling them to repentance, calling them through the power 08:32 of God to change their lives. 08:34 Now there's something very important that I want us to 08:37 realize, and that is that God not only called Noah to preach, 08:41 God also called Noah to build. 08:44 You know, people complicate biblical terms. 08:47 You know, when you talk about faith, there are all sorts of 08:50 definitions for faith. 08:52 But in the Bible faith is very simple. 08:54 It means, faith simply means, that God speaks, 08:59 and we do what God says. 09:02 I mean is that really that complicated? 09:05 God speaks and we do what He says? 09:08 You know, God not only asked Noah to preach, but He asked him 09:12 to build, because in building Noah would be showing 09:16 his faith in action, because words are cheap. 09:21 You know, not only preaching a flood is coming, 09:24 a flood is coming, and the people ask, 09:26 What are you going to do about it? 09:27 Well, the Lord will provide. No. 09:30 The Bible tells us that Noah preached, 09:33 and he put his faith in action; he built a boat as large as the 09:37 Queen Elizabeth on dry land, when it had never rained. 09:43 That's faith in God's Word, irrespective 09:47 of the circumstances. 09:48 And so we find Noah preaching God's message under 09:52 the ministration of the Holy Spirit, calling the people 09:55 before the flood to live righteous lives 09:58 that they might be spared. 10:01 But then the message of Noah reaches an end. 10:06 And I like to imagine what it must have been like for Noah 10:10 to stand in the door of the ark. 10:12 All of his family have gone in, all of the animals have gone in, 10:17 only Noah is at the door looking at all the antediluvian world. 10:22 By the way, I believe that there was very advanced 10:26 technology back then. 10:27 We think of them as primitive, you know, living in caves, 10:31 and killing dinosaurs with stone hatchets. 10:34 You know, that's the remnants of evolution 10:36 that we have in our brains. 10:38 But actually the Spirit of Prophecy tells us the people who 10:41 lived before the flood needed no books, because everything that 10:46 they allowed to come through their senses was brought back 10:51 immediately when they needed it. 10:54 In other words, they had photographic memories. 10:56 Ellen White says that Adam studied the mysteries 11:00 of light and sound. 11:01 Now you know that for video technology you need light 11:04 and sound, don't you? 11:06 Besides, the men lived to be almost a thousand years old. 11:10 They had twenty times the mental vitality, according to the 11:15 Spirit of Prophecy, that men have today. 11:17 Let me ask you, What could a scientist do in a laboratory 11:20 for 800 years with 20 times the mental capacity of the greatest 11:25 scientists of the world today? Amazing! 11:30 So Noah stands at the door of the ark and he says, 11:33 This is it folks. I'm inviting you to come in. 11:37 I've preached for 120 years. 11:39 The Holy Spirit has been speaking to your hearts. 11:41 This is the last call of this great evangelist. 11:46 Talk about apparent failure, how would a conference president 11:51 have looked at the success of Noah? 11:54 This conference evangelist baptizing only seven souls, 12:01 and they were all members of his own family. 12:05 Have mercy! And so Noah goes into the ark, and you have the 12:11 second key moment of time, which is the closing of the door. 12:17 Notice Genesis 7:16, Genesis 7: 16. It says there: 12:36 Notice this. 12:42 I like that expression. 12:45 It doesn't say that the Lord shut the door, although we know 12:47 that an angel was sent to shut the door. 12:49 It says that the Lord shut him in. 12:53 In other words, he was now under the protection of God. 12:57 Patriarchs and Prophets says that God 12:59 placed His seal on the door. 13:01 There you have the sealing message. 13:04 The seal was placed on the door. 13:06 Noah and his family now were secure. 13:11 They needed security for two things: 1. because they needed 13:14 to be protected from the violence that was going to come 13:18 from those who were outside the ark, and they needed God's 13:21 protection from the cataclysm which was going to take place 13:25 when the flood came. 13:27 And so the door is shut. 13:29 And the very moment that the door was shut 13:33 it started to rain. 13:38 There, how come you have a delayed reaction here? 13:44 How many days passed between the closing of the door 13:47 and when it began to rain? seven days. 13:50 Actually, it started to rain early on the eighth day, 13:52 according to the Spirit of Prophecy. 13:54 Go with me to Genesis 7:7-10. 13:58 This is the third point of time; the time that 14:00 they spent in the ark. 14:02 First period of time: the preaching under the ministration 14:05 of the Holy Spirit. 14:06 People can be saved. 14:08 Second point of time: the closing of the door. 14:09 When the door closes that's it. 14:11 Third point of time: the time that Noah and his family spent 14:15 in the ark before it begins to rain. Notice: 14:41 Notice this. 14:47 The waters of the flood were on the earth. 14:51 How many days in between the closing of the door, 14:55 and when it actually began to rain? seven days. 14:58 Well let me ask you, What do you suppose happened with the 15:04 wicked during those seven days? 15:08 Do you think they carry on their life as usual, 15:10 business as usual? Sure. 15:13 Were they lost? Of course they were lost. 15:16 Did they know that they were lost? No. 15:20 They were lost, but they didn't know that they were lost. 15:23 So you have the wicked... 15:26 In fact I'm going to read in the Spirit of Prophecy in a few 15:28 moments, that the wicked became more daring and violent 15:31 every day outside the ark. 15:33 That's one of the reasons the Lord shut 15:35 Noah and his family in. 15:38 How do you suppose Noah and his family felt inside that boat 15:41 during these seven days? 15:45 Hum, one day goes by, two days, three days, four days, 15:51 five days, six days, seven days. 15:55 What do you suppose was going through their minds? 16:00 Is it just possible that we've believed a delusion? 16:04 Is it just possible that it's not going to rain? 16:09 that what I was preaching was wrong? 16:12 In other words, it was a time of triumph for those outside 16:16 the ark, and it was a time of trial for those inside the ark. 16:20 Listen to this statement: Patriarchs and Prophets, 16:24 pages 98 and 99. 16:45 You can imagine each day that goes by the people outside 16:49 saying, Oh look at those crazy people in that boat! 16:52 Look at that colt! They're in there with all of those animals. 16:58 Can you imagine what the smell must be like? 17:03 I can imagine the topic of conversation. 17:05 It was the moment of triumph for those who were outside, 17:09 because it appeared like God had forsaken His people 17:11 for each day that it didn't rain. 17:15 She continues saying: 17:54 So outside they became violent. 17:57 Inside their faith is tested seven days. 18:00 Why do you suppose God didn't make it rain immediately? 18:04 Could God have closed the door, and then made it rain 18:07 immediately? Of course He could have. 18:09 Why didn't He? I believe it's because God wanted to teach 18:13 a lesson about end time events. 18:15 God is developing, in this story, a whole typological 18:19 relationship between what happened and what will happen. 18:22 He wanted to illustrate what is going to take 18:25 place in the end time. 18:29 So we have three stages so far: Stage 1. Preaching under the 18:32 power of the Holy Spirit. 18:34 Stage 2. The closing of the door. 18:37 Everybody is saved or lost when the door closes. 18:39 Stage 3. The period of tribulation in the ark. 18:43 The faith of God's people tested, and those outside 18:46 becoming more and more violent all the time. 18:48 Now let's go to Stage 4., which is the flood itself. 18:52 The flood is described in Genesis 7:11. 18:56 And, by the way, you can imagine what those people must have felt 19:00 like before the flood, or when the flood came. 19:02 You know the Bible tells us that the earth was covered 19:06 with water before creation. 19:08 And what God did in creation week, the second day He took 19:11 part of the water and placed it above the earth, 19:13 and He took part of the water and placed it under the earth. 19:16 Those became the fountains of the great deep. 19:20 And then the waters were held inside by the windows of 19:23 heaven, which were closed. 19:24 And God watered the earth by a mist. 19:28 He had an automatic sprinkler system that watered 19:31 the earth from below. 19:32 So when the flood came, Noah said that water was going to 19:38 fall from the heavens. 19:39 They said, This is ridiculous. 19:41 It's unscientific; can't happen, never has happened. 19:44 The law of condensation doesn't apply, 19:47 because it's never rained. 19:50 Imagine building a boat on dry land when it's never rained. 19:53 But God told Noah, It's going to rain. 19:56 Take it to the bank. 19:57 Noah believed God, and he acted on it. 20:01 That's faith! Even when it appears to be ridiculous. 20:07 And so now, early the eighth day the Spirit of Prophecy says, 20:12 people look in the heavens and they begin seeing these strange 20:17 things that look like UFO's. 20:21 What are they? clouds! 20:25 Suddenly the clouds get darker and darker. 20:29 Suddenly in the distance they start hearing thunder, 20:32 and they start seeing bolts of lightening. 20:37 All of a sudden they start feeling drops of water 20:40 falling from the sky. 20:42 Can you imagine what they must have felt like? 20:46 They must have thought, Noah was right! 20:50 We are wrong! And they started banging on the door of the ark. 20:55 Nobody heard their pleas. 20:58 Because when the door closed, probation closed for them. 21:05 The flood is described in Genesis 7:11. 21:10 Let's read it, Genesis 7:11. 21:28 Ellen White says that there was so much water coming out of the, 21:34 up out of the earth, great jets of water, she says, 21:38 were so powerful that huge boulders were carried by the 21:42 jets of water into the sky, hundreds of feet into the sky. 21:46 Do you know that the Old Testament uses a special 21:49 term for the flood of Noah's day? 21:51 You know, there are about nine words in the Old Testament 21:53 that are translated flood, Hebrew words. 21:56 But there's a special word for the flood in Noah's day; 21:58 the word ma-boom. 22:00 And in the New Testament there are two words for flood, 22:04 but one of them is used exclusively for the 22:07 flood of Noah's day, and that is the Greek word, kataklusmos. 22:13 What word do we get in English from kataklusmos? 22:17 the word cataclysm. 22:19 In other words, the flood was a cataclysm. 22:23 In these days there are some scholars in the Adventist church 22:27 who still believe that this was some local flood over in 22:29 the valley of Mesopotamia. 22:31 May God deliver them. 22:35 And then, of course, you have the final stage that I want 22:42 to deal with as we're discussing what took place, 22:45 and what's going to take place. 22:46 And that is the world is covered with water like it was 22:51 at the very beginning. 22:52 And I want you to notice what happened with Satan. 22:55 This is in Patriarchs and Prophets, page 99. 22:59 By the way, did the world return to the condition it was 23:02 in before creation? Yes. 23:06 Was the earth totally covered with water again like it was 23:10 before the week of creation? Absolutely. 23:13 It was covered with water. 23:14 Was the earth in darkness like it was before 23:18 the week of creation? Absolutely. 23:21 Was the planet lifeless as it was before the week of creation? 23:27 Was it without form and void as it was before 23:31 the week of creation? Absolutely. 23:33 Now the question is, what happened 23:35 to Satan during the flood? 23:37 Here comes this remarkable statement. 23:56 So you have what happens with Satan after the cataclysmic 24:01 flood comes upon the earth. 24:03 Satan is forced to stay on Planet Earth in a disorderly 24:08 state, and without any of his followers alive. 24:16 Does that ring a bell? 24:18 Now I would like us to go to the book of Revelation, 24:26 and we're going to follow this out. 24:28 We're going to see the same stages in Revelation that we 24:33 found in the story of the flood; the same five points. 24:37 Notice Revelation 14:6, 7, Revelation 14:6, 7. 24:43 See, what happened back then is symbolic of what is 24:46 going to happen at the end of time. 24:49 In other words, we need to learn lessons from this story 24:53 that we find in the Old Testament. 24:55 This is a prophecy. 24:57 The flood story is a prophecy. 24:58 Jesus expressed it by saying, As it was in the days of Noah, 25:02 so also shall it be what? at the coming of the Son of man. 25:05 He made this story a typological relationship. 25:10 Now notice Revelation 14:6, 7. 25:13 The first stage is preaching, right? 25:18 preaching to the world God's message. It says: 25:41 So you have a message that goes where? to all of the world. 25:45 To fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of 25:49 His judgment has come. 25:55 Do you have preaching at the end of time like you 25:57 had before the flood? Absolutely. 26:00 Calling the world to give glory to God, and to fear God, 26:04 and to keep the commandments of God? Absolutely. 26:08 Once again we have the same experience as took 26:11 place before the flood. 26:14 By the way, this message will be preached 26:17 through the power of the Holy Spirit. 26:19 You say, How do we know that? 26:21 Very simple, after the three angels' messages are proclaimed, 26:25 Jesus is seen seated on a cloud, and He has a sickle in His hand, 26:30 and it says, Harvest the harvest of the earth because it is ripe. 26:37 Let me ask you, What was it that ripened the 26:39 harvest in Biblical times? 26:41 You know the early rain, that caused the seed to germinate 26:46 and begin its growth, what was it that led the plant to reach 26:50 its maturity, and to produce fruit? 26:52 It was the latter rain. 26:54 So if after the three angels' messages, the harvest of the 26:57 earth is ripe, it must be that with the three angels' messages 27:01 the latter rain was what? poured out. 27:04 And so you have this end time message, which goes to the 27:08 world, the three angels' messages, which are going to 27:11 ripen the world into how many groups? two groups. 27:14 How many groups in Noah's day as a result of his message? two. 27:21 Are we to expect that the majority of the world 27:23 are going to accept the message? 27:24 You know, today people, Christians, they like to belong 27:29 to the churches that have the most members. 27:32 Say, how can your church, how can the Adventist church 27:34 be the true church? 27:37 You have only fourteen million members all over the world. 27:40 My church has one billion. 27:45 Well the fact is, folks, that the majority 27:47 has never been with God. 27:51 Now God is a majority because when you're 27:53 with Him, you're a majority. 27:54 But I'm talking in terms of numbers. 27:56 Now let me ask you, What is going to happen after this 28:00 gospel of the three angels' messages are 28:02 proclaimed to the world? 28:04 What's going to happen? 28:05 The same thing as in Noah's day. 28:08 The door is going to what? close. 28:12 By the way, the closing of the door-listen to this point- 28:16 the closing of the door in the days of Noah represents the 28:20 closing of the door to the most holy place of the sanctuary. 28:25 You say, How do we know that? 28:27 Go with me to Revelation 15, and lets read verses 5-8. 28:33 Revelation 15:5-8. This is immediately after the 28:37 three angels' messages. 28:38 The message that has been proclaimed under the power 28:40 of the Holy Spirit. 28:42 God's people have proclaimed the message. 28:43 By the way, that's you and us. It says: 28:54 By the way, the temple of the tabernacle, 28:57 the tabernacle is the sanctuary. 28:59 The temple of the tabernacle is the most holy place. 29:04 Are you with me? The tabernacle is the sanctuary. 29:09 The temple of the tabernacle is the most holy 29:13 place of the sanctuary. And so it says: 29:22 And, by the way, it's not open for you to go in. 29:26 It's open for the angels to come out. It says: 29:48 And now notice: 30:05 What's going to happen with the temple of the tabernacle? 30:09 What's going to happen with the most holy place? 30:11 It's going to be closed. 30:13 It's going to be filled with smoke. 30:14 In other words, nobody is going to be able to what? 30:17 to go in to the sanctuary. 30:22 Because the sanctuary ministration will have closed, 30:25 just like in the days of Noah. 30:26 The door of probation will be what? closed. 30:30 You know, most Christians think that they can prepare for the 30:34 coming of Jesus until He comes, until the very moment that He 30:38 comes in the clouds. 30:40 I can say, Lord, I'm with You! 30:43 It's not that way. Probation is going to close before 30:47 the second coming of Jesus, like in the days of Noah. 30:51 And there's a tribulation period that is going to come between 30:54 the closing of the door, and when Jesus actually comes, 30:57 when the destruction actually comes. 31:00 What I just read is applying to the closing of the door. 31:03 No one is going to be able to go into the sanctuary. 31:06 We're going to have to live without an intercessor. 31:09 Ellen White was right. 31:10 It says so here in Revelation 15, no one 31:15 could enter the temple. 31:16 Let me ask you, Can we enter the temple today? 31:20 Can we enter the heavenly temple today? 31:22 Can we enter the most holy place today? 31:24 How can we do that? 31:26 We live in Fresno; the temple is in the New Jerusalem. 31:29 We can do it, how? by faith! 31:33 Because our high priest is up there. 31:35 He's not only judging, He's interceding. 31:38 So we can enter there by faith, because He's 31:40 still ministering there. 31:41 But the time is coming when the door is going to close. 31:44 The temple is going to be filled with smoke; 31:46 the temple of the tabernacle. 31:48 And then the same thing is going to happen as 31:51 in the days of Noah. 31:52 The ministration of Jesus, the door of mercy, will be finished. 31:55 And then what do you have immediately after 31:59 the door is closed? 32:00 Remember that Noah and his family had a great 32:02 tribulation in the ark? 32:03 Their faith was severely tested. 32:06 It was a time of triumph for those who were outside. 32:11 Notice Revelation 16:1, Revelation 16:1. 32:18 Immediately after the door of probation closes 32:21 a great tribulation is coming upon this earth. 32:24 It's known as the period of the seven last plagues. 32:28 And it says there in Revelation 16:1, immediately after 32:32 the temple is closed it says: 32:43 In other words, probation will have closed, and now God's wrath 32:47 is going to be poured out upon the earth. 32:49 This is what Daniel calls the time of tribulation, 32:52 such as never has been seen since there was a nation. 32:57 Jesus referred to this same tribulation period in 33:00 Matthew 24. He says, A period of tribulation such as 33:04 never has been seen. 33:05 Let me ask you, Is the faith of God's people going to be tested 33:08 during this period? Absolutely. 33:10 Is it going to be a day of victory for those outside? 33:12 They're actually going to say, according to the Spirit of 33:15 Prophecy, Where is their God? 33:18 They're in jails. They've fled to the mountains. 33:22 They're hiding. Where is their God now? 33:24 If God is so great, why hasn't God delivered them? 33:27 The same experience as in the days of Noah. 33:31 But God's people will be shut in with the Lord; 33:35 shut in just like Noah was. 33:40 And so you have this period of time between the closing 33:44 of the door, and when the destruction of the world 33:47 actually takes place when Jesus comes. 33:50 See, that's the period, folks, that many times we've forgotten 33:55 in the Adventist church. 33:56 We think that we can prepare until the very moment 34:00 that Jesus comes. No, we can't 34:03 We have to be ready when the door closes, or else we won't be 34:07 ready for the coming of Jesus! 34:09 And, by the way, you've noticed in Revelation we have the 34:13 preaching of the gospel, then the door of probation closes, 34:16 then the plagues of the tribulation come. 34:18 The fourth stage is actually the second coming of Jesus, 34:22 when the world is destroyed. 34:25 Notice Revelation 19, Revelation 19, and I want to read verse 11, 34:31 and verse 14. Revelation 19: 11, 14. It says: 34:47 Who is this rider upon this white horse? it's Jesus. 34:50 What event is being described? His second coming. 34:53 Now notice, He doesn't come by Himself. Verse 14: 35:05 This is actually the moment of the coming of Jesus, 35:09 at the end of the tribulation. 35:11 When Jesus comes to destroy the world, and to make the world 35:16 desolate, like when the flood came upon the earth. 35:21 Now, let me ask you this: What condition is the earth going to 35:25 be in at the end of the second coming of Jesus? 35:31 Jeremiah described it in Jeremiah 4:23. 35:35 He says, I beheld the earth, and lo it was what? 35:40 without form and void. 35:43 And I look at the heavens and they had no light. 35:46 Is that the condition of the earth before creation? 35:51 Was the earth without form and void before creation? Yes. 35:55 Was it in darkness? Absolutely. 35:59 Now let me ask you, What's going to happen with the Devil 36:02 during this period of a thousand years after the second coming 36:07 of Jesus, when the world has been reduced to ruin, 36:10 like at the time of the flood? 36:11 Notice Revelation 20, Revelation 20:1-3. 36:18 See, we're dealing with the typological relationship. 36:21 God is trying to teach us something here about the 36:24 sequence of events, and when we need to be especially ready. 36:28 Not for the second coming. 36:31 There'll be no second chance. 36:33 It has to be for the moment of the closing of the door. 36:35 Notice Revelation 20:1. 36:37 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to 36:41 the bottomless pit... 36:45 A better translation would be the deep. 36:46 The same word that is used in Genesis, 36:48 in a different language. 36:50 ...and a great chain in his hand. 36:51 He laid hold of the dragon, and serpent of old, 36:53 who is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him for a thousand 36:55 years, and He cast him into the bottomless pit, 36:59 or into the deep, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, 37:03 so that he should deceive the nations no more, 37:06 till the thousand years were finished. 37:08 What's going to happen with the Devil during the period 37:11 in which the earth is without form and void, and in darkness? 37:16 He is going to be forced to remain where? on Planet Earth. 37:22 And how many of his followers are going to be alive? None! 37:29 Is this the same as at the time of the flood? 37:32 That the earth is returned to a chaotic state, in darkness, 37:37 and the Devil is bound to Planet Earth without any of his 37:41 followers alive? Absolutely. 37:45 Now I would like us to go to Matthew 24, and see how 37:50 Jesus puts this together. 37:52 Matthew 24, and I want to read verses 36 to 39, 37:58 Matthew 24:36-39. See, Jesus caught this. 38:06 Most people talk about preparing for the coming of Jesus. 38:10 The fact is that we need to prepare not for His coming, 38:14 but we need to prepare for the closing of 38:16 the door of probation. 38:18 And nobody knows when the door of probation is going to close. 38:21 That's the reason why we always have to be ready. 38:24 Let me ask you, Do you know when a thief 38:27 is going to visit your house? 38:30 The thief puts an add in the paper. 38:32 He says, I'm coming to your house, such and such a day, 38:34 and such and such a time. Of course not. 38:36 He could come anytime, so what do you do? 38:39 Knowing that the thief could come at any time, 38:41 what do you do? You're ready all the time. 38:45 You take precautions all the time, because you don't know 38:48 when the thief is going to come. 38:52 By the way, the coming of the thief has two stages. 38:55 The first stage is when he comes, and the second stage is 38:59 when you discover that he came. 39:03 Jesus speaks about the close of probation as the coming 39:05 of a thief. Very interesting. 39:11 Imagine that you've locked your house for the last 39:15 one thousand nights. 39:16 You say, Ah, the thief is never going to come. 39:18 I don't have to lock the doors. 39:19 So you leave your doors open, and at midnight, while everyone 39:22 is sleeping in the house, the thief says, This is the night! 39:25 And he comes into your house. 39:29 He steals your camera, your microwave, your television. 39:37 Amen? And everybody in the house is what? sleeping. 39:44 Does everybody, anybody in the house know that 39:47 the thief has come? No! 39:49 All your stuff is gone, but you don't know it. 39:52 When do you find out? 39:53 When you wake up in the morning. 39:58 That's what the close of probation is going to be like. 40:00 Jesus is going to come like a thief. 40:03 He's going to close the door, and God's people 40:05 are going to be sleeping. 40:08 Most of them, according to the Spirit of Prophecy, are going to 40:10 are going to be sleeping, unaware 40:13 that probation is closed. 40:14 And they will continue business as usual. 40:16 They will only find out that they're lost when Jesus 40:22 comes on the clouds. 40:23 They will say, the thief came, and the door was closed, 40:28 and I wasn't ready. 40:31 Notice Matthew 24, how Jesus caught this. Matthew 24:37. 40:42 Is Jesus making a comparison here? 40:46 As it was then, it will be at the end. 40:51 By the way, this coming is not only the second coming, 40:53 it's the close of probation, and the second coming. 40:55 Notice verse 38: 41:05 By the way, this means that they were carrying 41:06 on business as usual. 41:09 They were doing what they do every day. And now notice: 41:26 Did you notice that the word until is used twice 41:30 in verse 38 and verse 39? 41:32 The first until is when Noah what? entered the ark. 41:38 The second until is when what? the flood came. 41:44 How much time between the one until and the second one? 41:49 seven days. And as it was then, it will be at the end. 41:55 So let me ask you, Is the door going to close at the end of 41:58 time, and then the destruction is going to 42:01 come some time later? Yes. 42:03 And what's going to happen in between? 42:05 Jesus says, They did not know until the flood came. 42:10 What didn't they know until the flood came? 42:13 They did not know that they were what? that they were lost 42:18 until the flood came and took them all away. 42:22 By the way, if I might mention in passing, Matthew 24 has the 42:28 same order of events that we found in the story of the flood, 42:32 and in the story that we find in the book of Revelation. 42:35 Let me just go through that very quickly. 42:37 Give you a little bit of homework. 42:39 Matthew 24:14 speaks about preaching the gospel to 42:44 all of the world, and then the end will come. 42:47 Matthew 24:15 speaks about the abomination of desolation, 42:52 which is the final deciding issue. 42:55 We're going to be doing a Matthew 24 series here 42:57 in the month of June. 42:59 You'll be receiving some advertising on it. 43:00 I'm going to show you that when it says, when Jesus speaks about 43:03 the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel 43:06 the prophet, it's talking about the Sunday Law, 43:08 which is going to separate humanity into two groups: 43:10 the saved and the lost. 43:12 It's referring to the closing of the door of 43:15 probation, in other words. 43:17 Then immediately after that, Jesus speaks 43:19 about the tribulation. 43:22 He says there'll be a tribulation such as 43:23 never has been before. 43:25 Don't turn back to grab any of your stuff. 43:30 Flee to the mountains, those who are in? 43:32 Pray that your flight is not on Sabbath, because the Sabbath is 43:35 still going to be binding. 43:39 So you have the tribulation, and then Matthew 24:29-31, 43:45 when it speaks about the sun being darkened, 43:49 the moon being dark, and the stars falling from heaven, 43:52 and the voice of Jesus being heard, the powers of the 43:55 heavens being moved. 43:56 And Jesus will send His angels to gather together His elect. 43:59 That's the second coming. 44:01 Once again you have the same sequence: the preaching of the 44:03 gospel, the closing of the door, the great tribulation, 44:06 and the coming of Jesus. 44:11 Now you notice that the title of our study today is, 44:20 Rich, Busy, Distracted, and Lost. 44:31 I want to read a passage from the gospel of Mark, 44:33 and then I want to read you a statement from the 44:35 Spirit of Prophecy to show you why I've placed this 44:39 title for our sermon. 44:42 What would happen if the door of probation closed today? 44:45 How many of us would be ready? 44:50 I think that's an important question. 44:54 You know, we're so rich, we're so busy, we're so distracted by 45:01 the things of the world that we barely have time 45:05 for our Spiritual life. 45:08 And in consequence, the Spirit of Prophecy tells us that 45:12 most of us are going to be lost. 45:17 You know, I find it amazing that we are able always to make it 45:21 to work on time, but it's very difficult to make it to 45:25 Sabbath School on time. 45:29 And, once again, I emphasize, I underline 45:31 prayer meeting attendance. 45:34 It's like an hour and a half a week. 45:37 What about family worship? 45:41 What about our Bible reading habits? 45:44 What about our prayer habits? 45:45 Are we telling anybody about these things? 45:50 How is our Spiritual life? 45:52 Where are our priorities? 45:54 We're not going to be saved, we've not going to enter the 45:56 kingdom just kind of slipping in under the door. 46:03 There's a tremendous preparation that needs to take place. 46:08 It's total commitment to the Lord. 46:10 I want to read Mark 13:33-35, and then I want to read you this 46:18 passage from the Spirit of Prophecy. 46:21 Mark 13, and beginning with verse 33. 46:28 It says there, Jesus is speaking: 46:38 What is Jesus referring to when He says, you don't 46:41 know what the time is? 46:44 Most everybody thinks it's the second coming. 46:45 It's not talking about the second coming there. 46:49 Then Jesus illustrates: 47:07 What coming is referred to here? not the second coming. 47:21 Lest coming suddenly he find you what? 47:24 He find you sleeping. 47:28 Now here's the passage. 47:29 It's a relatively long passage, but very meaningful. 47:33 Volume 2 of Testimonies for the Church, pages 190 and 191. 47:37 Everybody should read that whole chapter. 48:06 Where is Ellen White quoting from? Mark 13, right? 48:11 Now notice her comments on this. 48:25 Now notice this: 48:34 Notice her answer. 48:51 She says again. I think she wanted to be emphatic. 48:55 What time is here referred to? 48:57 Not to the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven 48:59 to find a people asleep. 49:35 When are the cases of everybody decided? 49:37 When Jesus ceases to what? to plead. 49:43 And now I want you to notice the terminology. 49:54 What have they neglected? the preparation of what? 50:00 purity and holiness. 50:02 Is that what Noah preached? 50:04 The people needed to be pure and holy, 50:07 and change their behavior? 50:09 Yes, see the message today in the Christian world is, 50:12 Oh, Jesus died for your sins. Halleluiah! 50:15 Just receive Him. His imputed righteousness is yours. 50:18 And keep on living like the Devil. 50:23 The true gospel not only forgives, 50:25 the true gospel empowers. 50:29 The true gospel not only stands for the righteousness of Christ, 50:34 imputed, but it also stands for the righteousness of Christ 50:38 imparted to gain victory over sin. She says: 51:12 Notice again. 51:14 Not rejected, neglected. 51:24 Now notice this: 51:33 Second coming? My Great grandparents talked about that. 51:39 My grandparents talked about that. 51:42 My parents talked about that. 51:44 And here we are still on Planet Earth! 51:52 They became weary of waiting and watching. 51:56 Notice, weary, neglected, weary. 51:59 Then she says, They became indifferent. 52:04 You don't have to reject it. 52:07 It's just neglect, weary. 52:09 They became indifferent in regard to the 52:12 coming of their Master. 52:14 Notice this: They longed not for His appearing. 52:18 Do you long for His appearing? 52:23 What does long for mean? 52:25 Oh yeah, I want Him to come. 52:27 No! It's I really want Him to come! 52:51 Now notice this: 53:19 Notice, it's not talking about rejection. 53:22 She speaks about neglect, indifference, not longing for, 53:27 losing anxiety and interest, indifferent and careless. 53:32 She says: 53:50 That's a powerful passage, and it speaks to the needs 53:55 that we have folks of ordering our priorities correctly. 53:59 You know, I'll just give you one example. 54:04 There is so much money in this congregation, 54:10 and yet look at our church budget. 54:13 I know at the end of the year everybody chips in. 54:16 Do we realize folks, that all of the excess that we have 54:21 is going to burn, and souls are going to be lost, because we did 54:26 not invest in the Lord's cause? 54:30 It seems like, you know, what we think is, 54:32 Well, I believe heaven is coming. 54:34 I believe Jesus is going to give us riches, but just in case, 54:39 I'll hang on, or grab as much as I can here. 54:43 You know, Ellen White saw some people crying out 54:46 in the little time of trouble, We wish that we had invested 54:49 what we had in God's cause. 54:50 Now we can't sell for any price. 54:55 Money wasted, resources wasted that could have been used, 55:00 could have been used for the salvation of souls. 55:03 What are we doing with our time? 55:05 What are we doing with our energy? 55:07 What are we doing with our talents? 55:08 What are we doing with our money? 55:10 What are we doing with our influence? 55:11 How much of our interest and time is caught up in 55:15 things of the world? 55:17 Things that are not necessarily bad, but just in the hustle and 55:21 bustle of life, business as usual, the regular routine. 55:28 You know the close of probation is going to catch those people 55:33 who have their priorities in the wrong order by surprise. 55:39 I'd like to read one statement in closing. 55:43 The Great Controversy, page 491, Ellen White makes 55:49 this remarkable statement: 56:18 Do you believe that Jesus is coming soon? 56:22 That was very weak. 56:25 You evidently don't believe it very much. 56:27 Do you believe Jesus is coming soon? Yes! 56:30 Do you long for His coming? Yes! 56:32 Well, words are cheap. 56:37 Remember that Noah not only preached, Noah built. 56:41 God wants us to preach, and He wants us to build. 56:45 To build means to invest in an ark to save 56:49 souls for the kingdom. 56:55 had he invested it in the ark. 56:59 And, by the way, every thing he invested was saved. 57:04 I like to say, and some of you have heard this, 57:07 everything that Noah possessed he invested in the ark. 57:10 All of the rest were saving for a rainy day! Ha! 57:15 And when the rain came it took everything away. 57:20 I pray to God that that is not the case with us, 57:23 that we will make a total commitment on the altar 57:26 of sacrifice for Jesus. |
Revised 2016-09-08